Chapter 701: Chilly
After the match with Man City, the media lost interest in hyping up the resentment Bendtner had against Nottingham Forest. Upon losing the bet, Bendtner treated all his teammates to a round of drinks. He was smiling again, almost as if he had forgotten his experience he had playing that match in that city. Although he lost the match and his bet, his relationship with his new teammates became more harmonious. Guess there was not a gain without a loss.
There were also no Nottingham Forest fans discussing the player who no longer belonged to the team, but Bendtner would be greeted with jeers if he returned to that city for another match as a Man City player. His performance in that match made a lasting impression on Nottingham Forest fans.
Nottingham Forest players would also no longer talk about the past matches, even though that match created many topics which could be talked about with great relish. George Wood’s goal was evaluated to be the best in that round, and was repeatedly played in the highlight reel. Žigić was also favored by the media, because he had only recently transferred into the Premier League for a month, but had already scored for Nottingham Forest in his second match. Plus, this goal became the final winning goal.
After the end of that league match, Twain brought the team to Kyiv, Ukraine to participate in their second match in the Champions league. It was October, and the weather in Kyiv was cool and perfect for outdoor activities.
Although they were playing in the Champions league, Twain decided to use rotations on account of FC Kyiv Dynamo’s true capabilities and the current state of the team. Switching up the roster they used in the Man City match and relying on the second-grade roster, Nottingham Forest was victorious over FC Kyiv Dynamo with a 2 : 1 victory as the away team. Having a streak of two consecutive wins streak and a good start for their group matches.
Continuing their expedition created problems in the physical fitness of the team. Their physical reserves, which were never that good to begin with, have been hovering below the safety line since the international matches.
Upon returning to England, Nottingham Forest drew against Middlesbrough with a score of 0 : 0.
After seven matches, Nottingham Forest ranked 4th in the league with 14 points. They were even behind the newly promoted Hull City. Hull City, since their 5-goal loss to Nottingham Forest in the second match, had achieved three consecutive wins, bagging 4 wins and 1 draw in their 5 most recent matches. They had accumulated the same number of points on the league table as Nottingham Forest, placing third and thereby becoming the biggest black horse since the opening of the new league season.
Even Twain would lament on the inconstancy of life. Hull City, who they had utterly destroyed in the second match, now placed above them in third place. But he was not concerned that Hull City could become a real threat to their team. It was normal for recently promoted teams to be ranked highly at the start of the season as they relied mostly on momentum and the public’s general unawareness of them. However, the test of endurance was what truly tested the mettle of these teams. Wigan Athletic F.C. was once also called a black horse. But now? The coach who looked up to him was still leading a team that was working hard in the Champions League to return to the Premier League.
Soccer’s top leagues were essentially just a rich man’s game. Without a stable financial backing, a team would only be a temporarily brilliant display. At the end of the day, they would still be heartlessly eliminated. No matter how strong a team was, stronger teams would split them up if they did not have money, reducing them to a “player market” . This was what happened to Italy’s Parma and England’s Leeds United.
Though Twain knew Hull City posed no threat to him, he also knew that the league was a long battle where one placed most of their efforts not at the start during the middle or towards the end. As for the current state of the team, Twain was still not very satisfied.
What happened during the summer threw a wrench in their plans for transfers and they did not achieve many of their goals, which resulted in the players being overwhelmed with problems It had only been 2 months since the league had begun and they were already in such a state. Winter, the more ruthless season, had not even started. Twain could not predict what other unfortunate events would happen to the team; he needed to take precautions.
He decided to find Evan to discuss the financial issues they would face when attracting players during the winter transfer period. Speaking of Evan made him realise that he rarely saw Evan around. Evan used to frequent Nottingham but meeting him in Wilford had become a rare occurrence in the past month. Allan Adams was another person Twain rarely saw. They were probably busy with some things, though it was a relief they were in Nottingham these days. Twain decided not to put it off any further. He immediately left to find Evan.
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In Evan’s office, Twain saw Allan again. Because both of them were business partners are friends who were always hanging out together, this was not a surprising sight for Twain. He greeted Allan and went straight to the point.
“Evan, you’ve seen what the team is like now. The reserves are not sufficient, resulting in many matches where I could not arrange a well-rounded and complete roster. I feel that we should at least transfer in 3 players during the winter period, especially for the offensive half…”
Upon finishing, Evan looked at Allan for a moment, then gave a bitter smile while spreading his hands. “Tony, I’m afraid I can’t meet your requests this time.”
Twain felt strange. “Why?”
Evan’s smile was not any less bitter. “We’re out of money.”
“Out of money? I don’t understand, isn’t the club still in a good financial state?”
Allan stood up from the sofa. “Simply put, the current costs of running the club are still affordable, but coming up with additional money to buy new players is a little difficult. Have you seen the news, Tony?”
“I only watch the sports side…”
Allan sighed. “There’s a financial crisis.”
Twain was a little confused. He could not differentiate between “financial crisis” and “economic crisis”; they were the same to him. He only had two opportunities to learn about these crises: once during high school where he learnt from the history books about the 30-year global economic crisis in the past century, and the 1998 financial crisis in Southeast Asia. But being an ordinary person living in China, even the most recent case in 1997 had minimal effects on his life, so it was unlikely for him to have a concrete idea of what a financial crisis was.. What exactly was a financial crisis, and what impact did it have on my life? Now, he had the chance to properly learn about it.
“A sub-credit crisis broke out in the United States, so it’s only time before this crisis affects the whole world. Evan’s business in the States took many blows. This sub-credit crisis started due to the United States’ property market bubble, and Evan’s company in the United States was property investment…”
Evan continued from what Allan said. “Simply put, Tony, my company in the United States went bankrupt.”
“But isn’t your business in the United States always separated from the duties in the club?” Twain asked. He still did not understand why Evan’s company in the United States had any relations with the club.
“It is. But in reality my business in the United States could still financially support the club. This summer we were doing heavy investments in China, but we overestimated ourselves and the investments were insufficient. Now the business in the United States collapsed, our investment chains are broken,” said Evan as he sat on the chair, looking a little dejected.
Twain felt like he more or less understood the situation. Although the business in the various lands were separated, they were always linked. The business in the United States could fund the club’s activities, and the club’s gain could be used for their investment project in China.
From the United States to England, then onto China, this structure of organisation for a soccer club, which was not considered wealthy and lacked a financial backing, was spread too big. Now, if any part of the link broke, the rest of it would be affected. Of course, if there were issues with their investments in China, the other two areas would not be impacted as much.
“If you want a large-scale business, your money cannot stay in a single place, which is why the money is constantly circulating. Now that there is an issue in the United States, this chain will break…” Allan’s words confirmed Twain’s conjecture. “We’ve been in the States this month to handle some affairs.”
Twain asked carefully, “How bad is the situation?”
Evan smiled a little, but it did not reach his eyes. “It’s not too bad now, but I think it will be bad once the crisis spreads across the world. Globalisation has made it easier for one country’s problems to become a shared one. Actually the sub-credit crisis had already begun in the United States last year, but at that time I was still optimistic that the economy will not collapse, that the self-regulating function of the market would resolve the crisis. Also, at that time there were many who were as optimal as me. But in reality we all underestimated the crisis. It was only a crisis last year, but it snowballed into Europe and Japan’s financial markets, becoming a windstorm…”
“Will the club go bankrupt?” Twain did not understand the professional terms that Allan would use, he was only concerned about one thing.
“I cannot confirm,” said Allan as he shook his head.
“That is indeed very terrible,” Twain mumbled.
Seeing how the atmosphere turned a little dull, Evan clapped his hands and grinned. “Alright, the situation isn’t actually that terrible yet, is it? I’ve already shut down all the business in the United States, now this club is the only business I own. I will not let this club go bankrupt no matter what.”
Twain looked at Evan Doughty who was beaming, and Allan Adams who was usually confident, but now seemingly at wit’s end. “How can I help?”
Evan laughed. “Just lead the team well, Tony. Don’t worry about the financial side of things. It’s not something you can worry about, anyway. Didn’t I say? No matter how terrible things are, I will also hold onto this club. Because this is my last hurrah.”
What else could Twain say? He had initially come here to ask for funds, but he could not make that request now. He bid them goodbye and went back to the team alone.
He sighed at the inconstancy of the world. Allan Adams and Evan Doughty had been smug upon arriving from Asia last summer. On the plane, they described the future of Nottingham Forest to him as one full of excitement. Unexpectedly, only after two months, things changed completely. The company in the United States went bankrupt, cash flow became unstable, and the plans went from becoming a reality to becoming completely impossible to carry out with the current state of affairs.
But what could he do? How could a club profit? Profit came mostly in the form of television money and sponsors, along with ticket and merchandise sales, and all of these stemmed from one thing — results. If the team’s results were not good, their television airtime would be reduced, sponsors would no longer be interested, ticket and merchandise sales would be reduced, and cash prizes from competitions will be lost. Twain felt the burden on his shoulders grow heavier, and was no longer able to relax.
Actually, even if Nottingham Forest went bankrupt, he could just jump ship. Depending on the results he achieved while leading the team, he could land a high-paying job as a head coach in any club in the world. Even now, some teams were waving cheque books in hopes of him joining them. He definitely did not have to worry about starving. It was not like his early days where not succeeding at his job would cost him his job, causing him to starve to death. That would never happen to him.
He did not need the guilt and emotional stress from worrying over Nottingham Forest’s potential bankruptcy. But he could not put down this team which he raised personally, nor the fans which looked up and trusted him. Being a traditional Chinese, he valued sentiment. Allan and Evan also treated him well, so he could not do things that would betray them. He should try to help them to his fullest. Evan said Nottingham Forest was his last hurrah, so Twain was also willing to regard the team as his.
Twain did not know how to run a club, and he was not some business genius. Looking at large numbers gave him a headache, and even when he was buying things from the market he would pay the wrong amount. What he did know was how to lead a soccer team in competitions, and winning those would mean the club earned cash prizes. Twain could only get the club through these tough times by earning money the only way he knew.
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Tony Twain, someone who only cared about soccer, only learnt about financial crises today. In reality, this global-wide financial crisis had already persisted for almost a year. Property markets took a heavy hit, stocks of various countries took a huge dip, credit companies went into bankruptcy, currency devaluation was occurring. It was akin to a windstorm, forming in 2007, spreading over the world and peaking in the second half of 2008.
The global market, during the first half of 2008, was still carrying the optimal thought of “subprime mortgage crisis’ worst period has finished”. But upon reaching the second half of the year, the situation took a turn for the worse.
In August, France announced its profit warning. Following that, an estimate of 8.2 billion euros were lost, because they, under an extent of 127 billion euros called the “Rhineland Fund”, participated in the United States’s sub-credit investment business.
The United States’ 10th largest mortgage institution — American Home Mortgage Investment Corporation, officially applied for bankruptcy protection on 6th August, following the bankruptcy of Century Financial Corporation, another big-scale mortgage institution in America.
On 8th August, the 5th biggest American investment company, The Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. announced the fall of two funds, reason also being the sub-credit windstorm.
9th August, France’s biggest bank BNP Paribas announced the freezing of its three funds, similarly because of investing in the subprime bond with the United States and resulting in huge losses. Thus, the European market was in shambles.
On 13th August, Japan’s second biggest bank Mizuho Bank’s parent company Ruisui Group announced its losses from the United States’ sub-credits being 6 billion yen. In the past, people thought if the United States partnered with other economic powers in other countries, this economic state would not be so devastating. However now the cruel reality has been displayed in front of everyone. The financial crisis was not just a frightening thing to raise an alarm, it had became a reality.
These incidents were actually still quite distant from Tony Twain’s life. But as September transitioned into October, an event had begun to alter the work life he originally had. The American investment bank Lehman Brothers, which invested in Nottingham Forest’s new stadium through loans, applied for bankruptcy protection.
That October, in England, Twain also felt a chill.
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Chapter 702: Winter Has Arrived
The most immediate impact of the Lehman Brothers’ collapse on the Nottingham Forest Football Club was that their new stadium landed in a predicament of a shortage of funds.
Though Nottingham Forest’s new stadium did not yet have an official name, it had become a highly anticipated British construction project. Because it was not merely about a construction of a stadium.
It was a massive real estate development plan. With Nottingham Forest’s new stadium as the core, the development radiated outward to form a commercial and residential circle, as well as facilities such as a football theme park, a national fitness park and green space. With Nottingham Forest’s increasing rise to fame, Allan Adams also planned to open the site as a tourist attraction to the world in the future. Like Real Madrid’s Bernabéu, Barcelona’s Camp Nou, and both AC Milan’s and Inter Milan’s San Siro and Meazza….and the other stadiums of famous European clubs, they were not just stadiums. Due to the glorious tradition of the teams, they had become sacred places for countless tourists and fans at the same time
The plan was huge, and the prospects were fantastic, but the cost was much bigger than building a single stadium.
Manchester City’s new stadium, City of Manchester Stadium, had cost just over one hundred and ten million pounds. If only one such stadium was built, it would not have been such a big deal for Nottingham Forest’s finances. They only had to tighten their belts for a year.
But Allan’s plan would cost at least six hundred million pounds. It did not include the investment from Nottingham City Council.
If they did not want to spend that much money, then the Forest Club would end up with the ownership of the stadium with no other facilities to earn money and accumulate wealth. In order to maximize the club’s development, Allan and Evan ventured to be the majority owner in the project, in return for the development rights of the stadium, football theme park, and a commercial area.
America’s financial problems were already prominent at that time. But who would have thought that the self-regulating capacity of the market economy was so vulnerable?
It took only a year to bankrupt Lehman Brothers, America’s fourth-largest investment bank….
Allan became more haggard during this period and flew around the world all the time. Evan Dougherty’s businesses in the U.S. were completely over, and now Allan was busy looking for follow-up funding for the new stadium. Many banks had refused to lend to Nottingham Forest because of the global financial downturn.
Without a choice, Evan had to announce a temporary shutdown of the new stadium construction and other building developments. Otherwise, if they continued to invest money in the project, the entire Nottingham Forest Football Club would sooner or later be dragged into this bottomless abyss.
The news immediately made headlines in the British press. Everyone knew that the Nottingham Forest club was finally in big trouble after a rapid expansion in the last few years.
“… I admit that the Nottingham Forest boss is ambitious and driven. But overly rapid development will lead to stalling. The Nottingham Forest team is widely popular in Europe, but their economic fundamentals have not kept pace with the team’ progress, with the club’s construction and their results not matching. Look at the other powerhouse clubs, both their results and the club’s conditions are very much in line with their status. Only Nottingham Forest… Like a deformed child, it has a pair of fast-moving feet, but without a body that can withstand the impact of this speed…” The various professional experts at the television stations, analyzed Nottingham Forest’s current predicament. They thought it was a reverse archetype of how a football club should survive and develop in the midst of the world’s economic downturn.
“I think the Nottingham Forest Football Club should reflect on their strategy of expanding everywhere. China, Japan, Southeast Asia, England, United States of America and the entire world…. Tony Twain’s magic has caused his boss to think that his team and club are omnipotent. To be honest, I am not at all surprised by the current predicament when I know that the chairman and market manager of Nottingham Forest are Americans who have never cared about football before. They ignore the important point—a football club is different from an ordinary listed company. Other than having to abide by the laws of the economy, it also has to obey the laws of football. Tony Twain’s magic has given the team a good foundation for development, but they still need to take it slowly and develop step by step. Evan Doughty had once revealed his goal of turning Nottingham Forest into a powerhouse club at a certain reception held in Nottingham. But I’ve never heard of a powerhouse club that can be built in just five or six years. Chelsea is rich and has good results, but is it a powerhouse now? I think the vast majority of people will disagree that it is a powerhouse club.”
“Nottingham Forest is one of the clubs established the longest in the history of the modern football world and the only team to still compete in the top leagues. However, now the club is giving everyone the impression that it is young. From the owners of the club to the manager of their team and to the players, they are all extremely young. Young people will always make some errors in judgment and their estimation of the situation will be overly optimistic…”
“Now they know how bad the situation is.”
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“There are sounds of plaintive whines everywhere.” Evan sat in the large boss’s chair in the office and rested his chin on his hands. “It’s as if winter is coming early.”
He appeared to be talking to himself, and yet as if he was speaking to Twain sitting next to him.
Allan was not in the room. He was on his way to China. Those investment projects in China also ran into financial problems which he needed to personally solve.
Twain looked down at the sweater he wore inside his suit.
“Winter is really not that far away…”
After a 0:0 draw with Middlesbrough, the team was dismissed again as the national teams’ games resumed. The players flew to various countries in the world for the World Cup qualifiers on all continents. Some of them did well and the others performed badly. The players who returned to the Forest team after two national games were mostly unsatisfactory in terms of their form and physical strength. Under such circumstances, Nottingham Forest lost its away game to Liverpool and quickly slipped to the seventh spot in the league table. It was the first time in two years that Nottingham Forest had placed at seventh in the league. The last time they were in the seventh spot in the league tournament was on October 14th, 2006, after they lost to Manchester City in the eighth round of the league tournament and the team finished seventh following three consecutive rounds of no victory.
The score was 2:3. They worked hard but still lost. In the post-match press conference, Twain expressed concern about the fatigue of the Premier League players and suggested that the Football Association should consider giving the players a breather by setting up a winter break. But his suggestion elicited no response and he did not receive any reply from the Football Association. The setting up of a winter break had hotly debated for so many years, but it was just wishful thinking of the coaches and players. Neither the Football Association nor the league committee would agree because it was directly related to their income…
Now he was about to lead the team to Italy to compete against a strong rival, Juventus.
Before he went to Italy, Evan came looking for him.
Twain knew what Evan was here for. Could it be anything else other than the team’s recent poor results?
But there was nothing he could do about the current situation. The players’ physical strength had been depleted by the club and national team competitions. The continuous twice weekly games had left them with no time to rest and adjust their form. For Benítez to have been able to reverse the score in the last five minutes, the Forest lads had already played outstandingly in the game against Liverpool. But it also took a lot of physical energy to play like this, and the whole team was exhausted after the game. He did not even know how to face Juventus.
He could not afford to buy anyone during the winter transfer window, and he must rely on the players to stand for one season. But he had not given up. He was still indoctrinating his players with the goal of winning at least one title this season. No matter how bad the situation might be, the team could not lose its confidence.
“I know what you’re going to say, Evan. The team will win against Juventus.” He stood up and wanted to get out of here as soon as possible.
Evan smiled at him and did not detain him.
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Two days later at the Stadio delle Alpi in Turin.
Nottingham Forest lost 2:0 in the away game against Juventus, which returned to the Champions League.
Twain sat in the technical area of Stadio delle Alpi’s visiting team, without any angry expression on his face. He did not throw his suit jacket down nor kick a water bottle. He just sat there with a helpless look on his face. In fact, just before the final whistle sounded, he was still angry like a bull that saw red on the sidelines. He flew into a rage on the sidelines over the team’s performance.
He had deployed the strongest lineup he currently had. But his tactics were not effective against Juventus at all. After all, his routine bore a lot of resemblance to the routine that Juventus was best at, and Ranieri knew how to deal with him.
Defensively, Juventus was no worse than Nottingham Forest. The Italians’ blood had long been infused with defensive instincts. No matter how much the Forest team dispatched back and forth, no matter how quickly and suddenly the Forest team counterattacked, Juventus’ rear defensive line was not disorderly. Moreover, they used sneak attacks to defeat Nottingham Forest by scoring a goal each at the start of the first and second half.
Twain’s tactics came from Juventus during Capello’s time. Juventus’s football was ugly to watch but stable and capable of obtaining victories and winning titles. Now that they were up against Juventus, which was more stable than themselves and hungry for victory, he could not take any advantage. On the other hand, the Forest players might have depleted their strength due to the consecutive campaigns and could not get into their competitive form, as if they ate too much and not fully awoke. After Juventus scored their second goal, they did not appear to have any desire for victory even though there were almost forty minutes left. They were simply too tired. The players were human too and not machines. They would be tired and following their fatigue, they would certainly be slack, which could produce some negative thoughts …
There was nothing Twain could do about it. No matter how energetically he tried to rouse the players in the locker room, the players did not have any strength at all. It was impossible for them to generate infinite power out of thin air and then POWER-MAX to blast their opponent away just because they heard him roar a few words of “we must win!” Nor could they definitely win the game just because he promised Evan Doughty that the game must be won before coming to Turin.
The Juventus players embraced each other with exceptional excitement after they won the game. Kerslake, who could not stand the spectacle, snorted, “It’s not as if they won the Champions League title. It’s only a victory in the group stage. Must they be so excited?”
“They did beat the defending champion after all, since their return to the Champions League…” Dunn explained. He thought that this could explain why the Juventus players were so excited. Many of these people had experienced the tragedy of relegation from Serie A to Serie B, also experienced the years of striving for Serie A while in Serie B and the joy of returning to Champions League qualifiers a season after a successful promotion.
Many of them must have tasted the ups and downs, as well as the joys and sorrows in life.
He looked at the Juventus captain Del Piero as he thought to himself.
While the two men talked, Twain stood up from his seat without a word and walked slowly toward the tunnel. He did not want to see the Juventus players get so excited that they were crazy because he felt that it was the victor showing off to the loser and a disgrace to the loser. He did not want to sit here and be treated as such.
In the post-match press conference, Ranieri looked very excited, while Twain was reticent and refrained from answering. Even if he must answer a question, he would try to be as succinct as possible.
“What do you think about losing this vital game?”
“I have no opinion.”
“Žigić, who was the substitute for the injured van Nistelrooy, performed poorly in the starting lineup for the game. Do you think it was a mistake to buy him?”
“No.”
“Will the loss to Juventus affect the team’s eventual advancement out of the group stage?”
“There’s no impact.”
“What’s your assessment of Juventus’ performance?”
“It has nothing to do with me.”
When the reporters saw that he was so uncooperative, they directed their questions at him, and not the team or the game.
“Are you in a bad mood since you lost the game?”
“Take a guess.”
“Then why are you acting like you’re unwilling to answer questions?”
“I don’t feel like talking.”
“Why don’t you want to talk?”
“I have a toothache.” Twain replied with a straight face.
“… All right. Are the team’s recent results related to the financial difficulties the club has encountered?”
“I can assure you that the worldwide financial crisis has nothing to do with the performance of our team.” This was the longest sentence Twain had uttered at the press conference.
The press conference ended unhappily amid such a cold atmosphere.
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Having to break his promise, Twain was in a bad mood and did not even criticize the players’ poor performance in Turin. Back in Nottingham, the Forest team beat Aston Villa, which ranked above them, 1:0 at home after much difficulty. With this hard-won victory, their ranking rose from seventh to fifth.
But in the Champions League, the Forest team was in big trouble.
Back at home, Nottingham Forest, which swore revenge, were forced to a 1:1 draw at the City Ground stadium by Juventus, which used its usual method of clinging to defense, holding their ground and sneak attacks. A draw with Juventus left the Forest team now uncertain of their advancement out of the group stage. After the grouping came out for the Champions League group stage, the pundits were unanimous in their bullish view of Nottingham Forest and believed that it would be normal for them to be the first team to advance.
Tony Twain, who liked to go up against the media, had done it once again. However, it did not go as he wanted this time. If possible, he would rather cater to the media’s predictions this time.
Juventus was at top of the table with three wins and one draw; Nottingham Forest was second with two wins, one draw and one loss.; FC Kyiv Dynamo was third with two wins and two losses, following close behind with six points; FC BATE Borisov lost all four games with nary a point gained and had basically been declared out of the group ahead of schedule.
If there was no other surprise, it would not be a problem for Juventus to advance. Now the problem was between Nottingham Forest and FC Kyiv Dynamo. The gap between the two teams was so narrow that no one knew which team would advance until the last minute.
The final two rounds of the Champions League group stage were scheduled as followed: on November 26th, Nottingham Forest would challenge Belarus’ Borisov in an away game and against FC Kyiv Dynamo in a home game on December 11th.
The away game against Borisov would be crucial. If they lost in this game, Nottingham Forest might bid farewell to the Champions League early. As for why the game was so important, it was not because Borisov was strong, but because the impact from the long journey to Belarus and the harsh natural climate would have on the Forest team would be too great to be ignored.
At the end of November, Belarus had already entered a cold winter. The worst-case scenario would be that Nottingham Forest would have to play in a world of ice and snow against the opponent which had the home-field advantage and was adapted to the icy weather in order to take the lead in the knockout stage against FC Kyiv Dynamo.
In that game, they would not only play against the Borisov team, but also against the cold weather in Belarus. Furthermore, it was often when the players were the most tired and the most vulnerable to injuries during that time period.
The players’ fitness needed to be guaranteed to win and so that no one would get hurt.
As soon as Twain remembered the condition, he felt a boulder pressing on his chest and making him breathless.
In early November, in the morning of Nottingham, the mist from the Sherwood Forest still shrouded the city, the roads were wet, and it was still raining. The sun had already risen but was blocked by the thick dark clouds in the sky, not even letting in a ray of sunshine. The men who went to work huddled their bodies in black coats and hurried along. The headlights on the cars were still on as they drove across the roads, splashing sprays of icy water.
Twain stood outside Wilford Lane, looking up at the training base in front of him shrouded in the woods and fog. He tugged open the collar of his turtleneck, and the cold air took advantage of the opportunity to thread in, giving him the chills which he was unprepared for. But the good thing was that the feeling of breathlessness had finally eased a little.
He had just opened his mouth to take a deep breath when a puff of white breath from his mouth gushed out. It was dispersed by the chill in front of his eyes and diffused into wisps of white mist which gradually faded until it finally disappeared and melded with the white fog in the early winter morning.
Winter had arrived.
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Chapter 703: The Distance Between the Dream and Reality
Seven months had passed since he came from China to the faraway Britain. Chen Jian was getting used to life in this distant country. His language proficiency progressed very quickly in an environment where English was spoken everywhere. Only his studies progressed slowly at the University of Nottingham.
It was not that he did not want to study well but that he was too tired.
In the beginning during that period, his landlord, Fat John and his family were used to seeing the somewhat tanned looking Chinese young man dragged his exhausted body back home after the training and returned to his room to study English diligently once he had dinner. Then the next morning, he would go Wilford if there was training or take a bus to the University of Nottingham if there was no training.
Simple days like these were repeated. He rarely went shopping in the city center and did not go to any parks to relax. Other than John sometimes obtained an extra ticket for him to go to the City Ground stadium to watch the Forest team play, the city of the legendary English hero Robin Hood was just these three places, “Wilford training base”, “University of Nottingham” and “Mr. John’s house” and the roads between them to him.
Such arduous time slowly improved recently. He already had no problems with his English listening and speaking abilities. He could now communicate with his landlord at the dinner table and listen to John talk about Nottingham Forest’s proud history.
His body had adapted to the youth team’s training program and had shown his consistent qualities in training which were his strength and hard work.
However, he still felt very tired. Not just because the intensity of the training was particularly strong, but also because of the psychological reasons…
Chen Jian had formed the habit of keeping a daily diary since he came to England. His original intention was since this was a valuable life experience, he did not want this period of experiences to be forgotten over the course of his life as time went on. Therefore, he wanted to record his life, training and study in Nottingham in a written form.
Now when he flipped back at the earlier diary entries and read those crooked lines, he would recall each day during these seven months. In fact, he felt that even if he did not write a diary, these seven months, as well as the remaining five months would not be easily erased in his memory. They were too deep and strong, as real and clear as the aching in his body after the daily training.
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…
“Chen! Can’t you run anymore? Can’t you?” The youth team manager, Greenwood leaned over and opened his mouth wide as he was almost going to bite Chen Jian’s ear. He rushed to Chen Jian, exhausted on the ground, and loudly scolded in English, regardless of whether Chen Jian could understand. “If you can’t do it, you can go home now! No one’s going to keep you here! No one here has any hope for you! You’re just a lucky contestant from the talent show! Do you really think you’re lucky? Stand up! Keep practicing! You’ve got twenty more runs to dribble the ball back and forth! Don’t delay my dinner time, this is the most ordinary youth team training!”
Chen Jian could not understand what Manager Greenwood shouted. Even though the manager always had such a loud voice during the training, he knew that the English coach must have been unhappy with himself—he’d never seen anyone crouch next to his ear to compliment him with such a fierce expression.
He got up from the ground and wobbled as he continued to dribble the ball forward. He ran a few steps forward before he stumbled and fell to the ground again. But this time, without waiting for Greenwood to continue to rush up to “rain down on him with wrath”, he climbed up and continued.
※※※
“Are you calcium-deficient or had polio as a kid? Chen! If you can’t withstand such a tiny collision, how are you going to play football? Are you a little girl? Do you secretly stuff your panties with sanitary pads? Are you having your period? Get up, continue! What are you hiding from? This is not motherf**king playing football. This is war! If you can’t win, you might as well die. Anyone who runs away and does not die on the battlefield, will be dead by my hands! If you’re so afraid of getting hurt, I can recommend you train with ten-year-olds! Do all you Chinese behaved like this? Direct confrontation! Face the confrontation! How many times do you want me to say that? Face it!!”
Chen Jian could more or less make out the series of grunts from the youth team’s loud-mouthed coach’s mouth and what they meant. He did not shout back, nor did he did not wash his hands off it and leave. Instead, he got up, and yelled as he rushed up to his opponent. Then he tackled the opposing player to the ground with a foul.
The young man who was knocked down by Chen Jian shouted in an exaggerated way. He laid on the ground and did not want to get up.
“James, if you’re going to keep lying on the ground and pretend to be lazy, I’ll punish you with running ten laps with the ball!” Greenwood changed the aim of his muzzle this time and rushed to bellow next to the ear of the boy lying on the ground. The other person immediately jumped up from the ground. He certainly did not forget to give Chen Jian a smack in the chest and said, “Hey! You should have just used the force just now to vent at the coach!”
The youth team players who were enjoying this lively sight around them, watched and laughed. Greenwood also applauded Chen, “Although it was a foul, a defense player has to be used to fouling to stop the other side. And it was a good momentum… Another thing don’t go ‘ah ah’ and yell out the next time. You looked silly.”
There was more laughter.
Chen Jian wrote in his diary: “… I still don’t quite understand, but I think Manager Greenwood praised me. It was the first time in three months that he had complimented me… Professional football in England is indeed different from what I’ve heard at home…”
※※※
“Chen, you should pay attention to the position of the opposing attacking player! You chased after the ball, but why were you chasing the ball? Do you think your physical strength is that good? This is not your talent show. You won’t be able to hold on till the halftime interval with that little strength of yours in a professional game. Are you training here for professional competition as your goal? If that’s not the case, then you just take it that I did not say…”
“Of course, I am, Manager Greenwood, of course. But George Woo…..”
“You want to say his stamina is very good, right? Yes, his stamina is extremely good. But he’s a monster. Are you a monster? Are you George Wood?”
Chen Jian shook his head.
“Then listen carefully! Your body may be considered strong in your country…”
“No, not strong, Manager Greenwood…”
“Don’t interrupt me! Well, since you’re not considered strong in your country, then you’re not strong here. You can’t always think about using your body to defend. I don’t know which idiot told you that the defense depends on the body. In fact, the body is only an innate gift, but people can’t always rely on innate gifts to live. You need to learn how to observe and analyze every move of the attacking players and then figure out what they will do next to prepare yourself in advance. It’s prejudgment. Do you understand prejudgment?”
“I think… I understand, Manager Greenwood.”
Greenwood pointed to his head and said, “If you think football is a physical sport, you’re wrong, Chen. Football is actually a sport full of wisdom. Idiots and fools don’t have a future here. Your body isn’t strong, but there’s no rule that only strong people are qualified to be defenders and defensive midfielders. You have to learn to defend with your brain and intelligence, find the attacking players’ next moves and weaknesses, and then make targeted countermeasures. Your speed and agility of an East Asian are your characteristics. You have to work on them…”
Chen Jian nodded vigorously and said, “I see. Manager Greenwood, thank you for the instructions.”
※※※
“Chen! I ask you to use your brain to play. I did not ask you not to run at all! What are you doing there, standing like a fool? What are you defending? A human vegetable can easily bypass a wood block like you!”
“Shovel the ball! Be decisive … Look, you put him in the penalty area. What are you going to do next? Give the opponent a penalty shot? Foul? What are you afraid of? What will you choose when it comes to a free kick as compared to a penalty shot?”
“Plug ahead and plug ahead! Don’t just stand in place after you pass the ball. Run forward diagonally…How is your teammate going to pass to you if you don’t run? His other passing routes are blocked. Only if you plug ahead from behind, can you create a passing route for him. Don’t just think that passing is only something a playmaker has to consider. It requires people next to him and the whole team moving together to create a passing route! Standing to play football is absolutely not allowed here!”
“Chen, do you know what your biggest problem is? It’s not that your body is thinner and weaker than an Englishman and not because you don’t have a solid foundation. Those things can be improved through constant exercise and practice. Your biggest problem is here. The brain, wisdom, consciousness. It’s football awareness! Playing on the pitch is completely different from watching in the stands. Don’t think that just because you’ve watched a lot of football games means you have a lot of outstanding football awareness. If you don’t come down and play in person, you never know what’s going on! You have to learn to observe and analyze the situation on the field… Isn’t your English fast improving? Why can’t you use the same intelligence to develop your football awareness?”
…
Chen Jian could still think of a lot of such examples of remarks now. He discovered that the praise at the time turned out to be the only time the youth manager, Greenwood had acknowledged his efforts in seven months. He had just picking at his faults all the other times. Greenwood could certainly find more faults just when he thought he had done a good job in one area.
Chen Jian often felt that he was not really suitable for playing football …he simply made too many mistakes. Even with the most basic running, Manager Greenwood would think that there was a problem with his running posture, which affected his speed and explosive force… But he had run like that since he was a kid. He had been running for eighteen years and no one had ever said to him, “Hey, man. There’s a big problem with your running posture.”
He admitted he thought about a variety of things before he came here, including how the professional training in England should look like. But he never thought it would be so harsh and unbearable. One tiny misstep, the sharp whistle and Greenwood’s loud voice immediately rang out in his ears.
He could not refute and explaine. A mistake was a mistake and he could only say “yes, Manager Greenwood. I won’t make a mistake the next time!” The reason was simple as he was from China, a country with a backward level of football. Anyone from the English youth team was better than him and knew more than he did. In the sport like “football”, he had no say as a Chinese.
During the seven months in the youth team, in addition to the unimaginable intense training, he was also subjected to mental challenges—any effort would almost certainly be relentlessly rejected. He absolutely could not expect an appreciative glance from the manager after he beautifully stopped a long pass or receive the appreciation and applause of his teammates after he successfully intercepted an opponent’s dribble… Those scenes that appeared in the football fantasy novels never happened to Chen Jian. Why? Because the coaches and teammates would think that what he did was common. Did a footballer have to be complacent about praise and rewards when he did his job?
Chen Jian would never tell his parents or the fans and classmates in China who cared about him, the things he encountered on the training ground. He also would not tell his landlord, John and his family. No matter what kind of treatment and difficulties he encountered, there was one thing that remained unchanged for him and that was to always keep smiling, even if he found it hard to smile. He did not want to look miserable in the face of difficulties, giving the impression that he could not handle it.
As he always smiled, he was on fairly good terms with his teammates and there was no such thing as crowding him out. Perhaps the teammates were aware that this kid was just a product of a talent show and could not possibly fight with them for a spot here. He was basically not a rival.
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Sometimes Chen Jian would call his two companions at Bolton Wanderers and Everton to ask about their situation. Whether it was Wang Yang at Bolton Wanderers or Song Hui at Everton, they seemed to be in a much better position than he was. Everyone had the same training content and did not receive any special treatment but was not abused either. After they met the standard required and completed a training session, they would be warmly praised by the coaches. Their training intensity and training environment simply could not be compared with Chen Jian’s “hell.”
They were all very surprised when they heard about what happened to Chen Jian. Wang Yang even asked him directly if he had offended the youth team’s manager, or if the manager hated Chinese people.
Chen Jian firmly stated that it was impossible.
Wang Yang curled his lips and said maybe he did not realize he had offended the other man with some small details.
Chen Jian thought for a while this time and still shook his head to say it was impossible.
Song Hui was very concerned about Chen Jian’s training situation. After hearing Chen Jian’s account, he stayed quiet for a long while before he faintly said just when Chen Jian thought the phone cut off, “Ah, completely two different worlds….”
Although their training was easier than Chen Jian’s and the people around them were relatively kinder, Wang Yang and Song Hui had basically given up on their “dream” of staying in the United Kingdom after a year. They called their “dream” a “daydream” after they experienced the level of English football. They knew their own levels and were also aware that be it Bolton Wanderers or Everton, they had no interest in either of them. Frankly speaking, the previous talent show only came about because they represented the Chinese market.
After figuring it out, they felt a little disheartened and foolish, knowing in advance that they had been eliminated while they tried their best.
“I have learnt much during the year. Even if I can’t stay in the UK in the end… Ah, I definitely can’t. I don’t regret this year too.” With six months to go before the one-year deadline, Wang Yang had begun to characterize his one year of experience. “No matter what happens, I’m here anyway. I’m much luckier with those who were already eliminated and did not even qualify to be here. I don’t think I can ask for anything more.”
“The gap is really too wide. Before I came here, I had the fantasy in my mind that I might even be the main character in those football fantasy novels on the Internet? I only realized what I’m made of when I came here. I’m worse than other people… by a billion light-years. The level of Chinese football is really backward in every area. It’s not just the system, the players and the coaches who are behind…” Song Hui shook his head and sighed, somewhat frustrated. “Sigh, the only benefit is that the improvement in my English level… Even if I study in England later, I won’t have to go to a language school first.”
The manner of these two men was completely different from the complacency they showed before they came here. The reality was cruel, so they woke up from their dreams.
Only Chen Jian was still persistent in his dream. He was not arrogant, nor was he fanciful. He just felt that even if it was a game that he knew he was going to lose; he would persist to the final whistle. Giving up early was not his style and had never been since he participated in the audition of [The Football Kid] and was eliminated the first time.
※※※
Chen Jian returned to the locker room after he completed Greenwood’s special training program for him again. The players in the youth team were still changing their clothes and everyone looked very excited. It made him a little curious.
A black man on the team gesticulated to explain to him, “Manager Greenwood said the First Team manager, boss and chief will come to the youth team tomorrow to watch the training match!”
Chen Jian knew what it meant for these people. If they performed well, they might even be transferred to the reserve team and be qualified to play for the official competition. If they did well in the reserves, they could even move up to the First Team and play in the league tournament. They could perhaps obtain a spot to participate in the Champions League after the winter transfer window, then shine and make a name for themselves—all the young people would have that dream, wouldn’t they? They thought that they would become the most special, prominent, unique and the best player.
It was a moment that all young players who had practiced hard for years, yearned for day and night. It was a chance to decide their own destiny.
But what did this have to do with him? Chen Jian used English to wish the enthusiastic black kid good luck, and then went to the shower room to wash off his sweat.
There were still five months away from his dream and he still could not see the road ahead up until not. He did not know whether his dream was really waiting for him up ahead. But he had to keep running. Even if he stumbled and did not have the strength, he had to keep going.
Because he really did not know what else he could do except to run forward.
...
Chapter 704: Strong and Resolute
The worsening global economy, the construction works on the new stadium that were ceased due to a lack of funds, problems with the players’ fitness, signs of an imminent increase in injuries amongst the players and unstable team results. All these different factors came together to weigh down as an immense pressure on Twain.
At the same time, they also opened his eyes to the fact that he could not pin his hopes on the club to splash the cash and buy players during the winter break, and that he had to learn to make use of his local resources more to strengthen the team’s capabilities.
The youth team was definitely an area that he should pay attention to. However, it was not enough to just pay attention to it just by sitting in the office and looking at data and reports as he had always done so far. He had to go down and see the youth team for himself. This was a way to make a statement on his stance. It did not matter if he all he did was to stand by the side of the pitch with his sunglasses on and space out. To the youth players, what they will see is hope. The sight of him will bring them encouragement.
This act of his would also be a signal to Evan Doughty. I know you don’t have money to buy players, but the youth team is the foundation for the team’s survival. You can scrimp however you want elsewhere, just not here.
The only thing he had not done to get his message across to Doughty was to paint the words ‘you can scrimp, but not on the kids’ on the walls of the youth team’s training ground.
He decided to make a trip down to North Wilford with his two assistant managers Kerslake and Dunn after the first team’s training session to check on the kids’ progress. He wanted to see how far the talent of those young geniuses that the scouts have brought back from all over the world have developed.
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As Britain embraced winter, it also embraced the rainy season.
London was called the ‘City of Mist’ during the days of the Industrial Revolution due to how it was engulfed in industrial gases and smoke. But now, instead of industrial gases and smoke, it was shrouded in fog.
Nottingham was no different. The incessant cold rain had already lasted for four days, and there were still no signs that the weather would clear up or stop raining according to the weather reports.
Even though Twain was brought up in Sichuan where there would also be frequent cold rain during winter, he still disliked weather like this. The constant rain made people feel as though both their clothing and body have gone moldy. His body exuded an unbearable stench of mold and his clothes were always damp. It felt terribly uncomfortable when his clothes clung to his body.
“I hate weather like this.” Twain grumbled under his breath as he walked under a black umbrella. He was on the way to North Wilford with Dunn and Kerslake. “Looking at a sky like this only makes people feel depressed.”
He tilted his umbrella to the side a little and looked up at the sky. The raindrops went pitter-patter as they hit him on his face, in his mouth, in his eyes and rolled down his neck into his collar.
Kerslake furrowed his brows. The team’s performance has been very unstable recently. A weather like this would certainly make people feel ‘disoriented’.
He did not believe that they would be able to find suitable players for the team from the youth team during this winter break. He could not be any more familiar with the training of Nottingham Forest’s youths. The team may have been constantly scouting for young, gifted players from overseas in recent times, but all those players are still far from ready to play in the league… The earliest they might be ready would be January of next year.
As for Dunn, he already had someone in mind. When Twain suddenly mentioned that he wanted to take a look at the youth team yesterday, the first person that came to his mind was not any of those hardworking kids in the youth team. Rather, it was Chen Jian.
He could not help but worry about him every single time he heard news about him from the youth team.
Can he hold on? Can he realize his dream?
The three of them arrived at North Wilford, each deep in thought.
The rain and bad weather did not deter the youth team from carrying out their training sessions outdoors. A small-scale practice match had been arranged in place of the usual training session to make it easier for the first team managers to discern the players’ true abilities.
The youth team’s training ground was hidden by a forest and usually looks to be of a better condition than the first team’s training ground. However, all they could see today was a stretch of muddy field due to the bad weather.
The skies above were dark enough to mislead people into thinking that time had fast forwarded and that evening had already dawned. The forest to the north of the training grounds came across as a black, hazy shape amidst the fog, and it added an even darker shade to the training grounds.
The youth players were changing their clothes in the dressing room. They ran out timidly after the manager’s exhortations.
Chen Jian was one of them. He had only found out a minute before that he was actually playing as a member for the yellow team in this intra-team match.
The youth players had been grouped into red and yellow teams for the practice match, and they would each wear a jersey corresponding to the color of their teams.
In the first team, the yellow jersey was typically worn by the starting players, but over here in the youth team, the colors meant nothing. They were only used to allow everyone to differentiate who were their allies and foes.
It has been more than seven months since Chen Jian came to Nottingham Forest, but he had never once represented Nottingham Forest to participate in a youth game.
It was not that he was ineligible, but rather he had only been building on his foundation for this entire time. He had only started training with his team mates two months ago and still lacks coordination with them.
He did get a chance to feature in intra-team games from time to time, but he was nothing more than an accessory for the most part. He would play the game and get substituted after a while.
Regardless of how well he might have played in those games, his performances would never be taken into account by the youth team managers.
It was quite cumbersome to be an ‘accessory’. No one truly believed that an amateur chosen from a talent show would really make it through the year and ultimately get to stay at Nottingham Forest Football Club.
Thus, it did not matter how hard Chen Jian tried. Nobody other than Greenwood paid much attention to him, because Greenwood knew that assistant manager Dunn was exceptionally concerned about him. As someone who had worked with Dunn in the youth team before, he was willing to help Dunn keep an eye on his Chinese compatriot.
Since this was a game that would allow the first team managers to scout players who could be brought over to the reserve team, he believed that he naturally did not have a part to play since he would just be taking up a spot in the team. Therefore, he was quite surprised to hear Greenwood call his name.
Chen Jian might have been surprised, but he did not act as though he had just been given a once in a lifetime chance. All he did was to smile and nod his head as an acknowledgement, before he calmly went to change his clothes. He then ran out of the dressing room that was situated at the second floor and ran out onto the training grounds and into the rain.
As he passed by the side of the field, he saw Greenwood conversing with three men under black umbrellas. He was only able to make out the men’s features from under the umbrellas after he had run past them, and that was when he recognized who each of them were.
One of them was the Chinese assistant manager Dunn, whom he was the most familiar with. In his eyes, Dunn was a man who was always gentle and busy. He was already the assistant manager in a team like Nottingham Forest despite the fact that he had yet to turn 30. It was quite the feat.
Seeing him fills Chen Jian with strength. It did not matter that Dunn was a manager and he was a player. Dunn was his top role model on his journey to achieve his dreams.
The tall man standing next to Dunn, who did not speak much and was wearing a black shirt and a frown on his face was the king of this football team, their boss Tony Twain.
Nottingham Forest has had a bad run of results recently, and they were also struggling to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League.
After enjoying success for three years, the pressure riding on Twain now must be immense…
Behind the two of them was a man who kept looking about. He was the other assistant manager Kerslake. It has been said that he became the manager of the youth team after Twain made his departure. Manager Greenwood even worked under him at one point.
He has since been promoted to become the first team’s assistant manager… But people at the top also have their troubles. The team is performing badly, so his days as an assistant manager must not be good either.
Chen Jian ran past all three managers and started to do warm-ups with his other team mates under the guidance of their youth team managers.
The temperature was low in the winter and it was also raining. This made it even more vital for him to do his warm-ups properly. It would be a complete shame if he were to get injured during match like this.
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Dunn discussed the recent state of the youth team’s training with Greenwood so as to obtain first-hand information and advice. After their discussion, all four of them turned around to watch the young players as they went about with their warm-ups on the field.
Out of them, only the youth team manager Greenwood was wearing a knitted hat to conceal his deeply cherished, almost bald head. The other three all had umbrellas over their heads.
Greenwood’s entire body had become drenched in the rain as a result, but he did not care about such trifles. He was not a first team manager who had come to observe the players. He was in charge of this place. He was not in the position to be leisurely strolling around holding onto an umbrella. There were times where he had to get on the pitch to demonstrate a particular movement, or get in a player’s face when the player made a mistake.
Given his role, was it appropriate for him to be holding onto an umbrella?
He squinted his eyes in an attempt to keep the raindrops from sliding into his eyes. He waved his hands towards the field and shouted, “That’s enough. Let’s begin!”
Players from both teams stood in the field as they were told. The practice match kicked off the moment the referee-cum-manager blew the whistle.
Twain was fully aware that it would be almost impossible to find a player from the youth team whom he could bring into the first team. Nonetheless, he had to appear in this training ground to motivate the youths and to give them the peace of mind to remain in Wilford.
The truth was that the ones who were taking everything into consideration and doing the scouting were his two assistant managers. He was just there to find players who interest him.
It was particularly demanding for players to play in the fairly heavy rain and their ball handling techniques were constantly put to the test. Players slipping and falling on all fours became a frequent sight on the pitch.
Greenwood felt a little awkward. Twain had been too random with his visit. Or rather, he had chosen a poor time to come and visit. It was impossible for the players to demonstrate their best form and abilities in a match like this.
The first team managers would surely lose their patience and simply condemn the youths for their performances if all they could watch were several minutes of ‘football in the mud’.
Greenwood wanted to let the first team managers see the abilities of the youth team players, so he had specially transferred their two gifted players John Bostock and Nicolás Millán from the U16 team to the U18 team to let them participate in today’s practice match. Both players have yet to reach 18 years of age, but they have been training in the U17 team all this while.
They were players that Twain wanted to pay close attention to as well. He was interested in seeing how far the two geniuses had progressed after a year of training in the Forest team.
What he saw from them was satisfactory. The two of them might still be young, but they were able to perform exceptionally well against numerous team mates who were older than them by a year or two. They were each the core player for both the red and yellow teams respectively. Neither looked estranged from the team and they were both able to coordinate well with their team mates. It was clear that Greenwood had often utilized them in the U18 matches.
The poor condition of the training grounds and the bad weather did impact their performances slightly, but Twain was confident that if they were to keep developing as they were now, he would have to bring both of them into the first team in the coming season, so as to provide them with more chances and a better stage to shine on.
After confirming that both players’ performances were up to his standards, Twain began scanning through the pitch aimlessly to search for another player to focus on. The way he looked around could easily lead others to the misperception that he was being inattentive.
Besides the sounds of players’ shouts, the sounds of water splashing as the players ran, tackled and shot for goal and the sounds of the whistle going off repeatedly, there were no other sounds that could be picked up on the field.
Everyone was focused on the match and on leaving the best impression possible in front of Tony Twain.
※※※
Chen Jian was well aware that he was nothing more than an ‘accessory’ in today’s match once again, but once the match started, he invested his whole mind and body into the game. He ran around and tackled the ball industriously, and tried his hardest to fortify the defense. They were tasks that were delegated to him by Manager Greenwood as the right back for his team.
He was not trying hard so as to catch the eye of the first team managers. He was trying hard because it was a match.
However, to Greenwood, Chen Jian’s performance was terrible. The pitch was slippery due to the rain and as a result, there was no power behind some of his movements. Chen Jian also looked extremely clumsy due to the fact that he was wearing soccer boots with short cleats that provided very poor traction as he ran. The right flank that he defended was always easily broken through by the opposition, which led to the red team primarily attacking down the right as the match progressed.
John Bostock also found the Chinese to be someone he could take advantage of, so he started to bring the ball towards the right as well.
The yellow team had just gotten a chance to counterattack, but the red team pushed them back and made it difficult for them to move forward. The young players became irritated at the fact that they were being held back and started acting out a little. Their actions allowed Bostock to earn a penalty. He stepped up to the plate to take the penalty and the red team led by 1-0 afterwards.
Greenwood, who was standing by the pitch, applauded and praised Bostock loudly after he scored the penalty. His gestures upset the yellow team who was trailing by a goal.
Discord began to brew in the yellow team. The goal from earlier had not been scored because the red team had broken through from Chen Jian’s side, but the looks that everyone sent Chen Jian were looks of animosity. Everyone got along well with him usually, but that was only because he did not pose a threat to them. However, if they were to become unable to perform as a result of Chen Jian’s terrible performance, then he would surely be resented by his team mates. Who would treat a guy who was only going to stay in the team for a year kindly at such a time?
If you make a mistake, the ones with a better temper would only send a look your way, but the ones who were more hot-headed would most likely charge at you directly and admonish you.
Chen Jian stood at the right flank. He was not an idiot. He knew the meaning behind the gazes.
He tried his best to not let himself think about the looks of contempt from his team mates, and continued carrying out his duties at the right flank.
He continued to defend and continued to be the target for the opposition’s attacks. He felt like an idiot every time he fell to the ground after losing his balance and climbed back up.
The words ‘at wits’ end’ could be used to describe the predicament that he found himself in. He could not stop an entire team’s attacks all by himself. He lacked support from his team mates. His poor performance from before had caused all his team mates to lose trust in him.
Raise a hand and ask for support?
Nobody would listen to him anyway.
He felt aggrieved, but could only keep on dealing with the red team’s relentless breakthroughs by himself.
One-on-one, one-on-two, one-on-three…
The red team’s dogged efforts finally paid off in the end. Bostock easily ran past Chen Jian, who was already about to drop dead by then. He passed the ball into the middle and provided an assist to his team mate who went on to score the second goal.
The yellow team was behind by two goals.
Unlike the previous time when they had conceded a goal however, no one looked at Chen Jian this time round. They were completely treating him like air. A center back playing for his team ran up and stood beside him, clearly unhappy about the shoddy defending he did previously and wanted to take over the role as right back himself.
Chen Jian looked at his team mate, then turned his head to look at his managers at the side. He wanted to see if this arrangement had been done at Manager Greenwood’s wishes. He did not see Manager Greenwood make any special gesture, but what he saw was Tony Twain looking around, seemingly distracted.
Twain’s actions angered Chen Jian instantly.
Regardless of how he performed, the ball had been rolling around him this entire time. Even if his managers were not pleased with his performance, they would at the very least stare at him and shake their heads, or they would look away when they realized that he was looking their way.
What’s up with that?
All he was doing was to lift his head and look around. Was he watching the match or was he watching the forest in the distance?
So he was actually nothing more than a bundle of air to all these British!
Look at how he was covered in mud from top-down now. If he were to fall to the ground, he would just blend right in and nobody would look surprised if they were to accidentally step over him.
Chen Jian looked down at his miserable state and felt humiliation for the first time.
That’s right, I’m from a country whose abilities in football trails behind many other countries. I’m just a celebrity who came from a commercial talent show. I know my place and I never expected any of you to revere me and treat me like a star. But at the very least…You all should at the very least look my way! I am a grown-up who’s alive and stands at 183 cm tall and weighs 70 kg.
He was broken through time and time again. He faced numerous opponents all by himself. He was toyed with. He ran. He jumped. He fell….
He was a human who could move!
Are you foreigners all so f*cking blind that you can’t see me?
At that moment, Chen Jian suddenly desperately wanted Greenwood to run up to him angrily and scold the living daylights out of him. Because that meant that he was being paid attention to. It meant that he still belonged on the pitch.
I don’t expect praise from you lot anymore. I only wish that you don’t ignore my presence, that you don’t pretend I’m not here, and that you don’t close an eye to all the effort that I’ve put in!
Why have I worked so hard for every single day? What did I hope to gain by working hard in a foreign land all by myself?
All of you are chasing after your dreams, and I’m the same!
I don’t want to get promoted to the first team of Nottingham Forest. I just want to become a true professional footballer!
It has been seven months. Other than being praised once before, all I have gotten were criticisms and rebukes. None of my hard work was rewarded or acknowledged in any way.
No matter how badly I performed, it will just be that I worked hard to all of you right? What right does any of you have to so easily deny my every drop of sweat and hard work that I have put in over the seven months?
Chen Jian saw that Dunn, who was standing next to Twain, was looking at him. Dunn then sighed and lowered his eyes, clearly disappointed at his performance. That was good.
A fire set off within Chen Jian and he galvanized into action instantly. He walked to the side of the pitch and walked in front of Greenwood. He then said in English to the youth team manager, “Please substitute me, Manager Greenwood.”
Everyone was shocked at his words. Greenwood did not understand what compelled Chen Jian to do this. He was never one who stirred trouble and was never one who got angry at anyone else. The Chen from China who had always kept a smile on his face was standing before him with his lips tightly pressed together, his eyes wide open and brimming with fury.
Greenwood had yet to answer him, but Chen Jian had already gone past him and was headed for the dressing room.
“Stop right there.” Someone pulled him back.
Chen Jian turned around to stare at the person who was pulling him. The person was none other than the ‘distracted’ Tony Twain who was looking all around just now.
Tony Twain was not wearing his trademark sunglasses due to the dark skies overhead, and it allowed Chen Jian to see the manager’s eyes clearly.
They were a little cold.
“Who allowed you to leave?” He asked coldly.
“Tony…” Dunn was a little surprised and called out to him.
Chen Jian did not respond to Twain’s question. He had no idea why the first team manager would hold onto him suddenly and not let him go.
“I’m asking again, who allowed you to leave?” Twain repeated his question in a cold voice as he stared straight ahead at Chen Jian. His gaze felt colder than his voice.
Greenwood could not bear to let Chen Jian get berated by the King of Nottingham Forest. He was well aware what sort of person Tony Twain was. His acrimonious words could make even the toughest of kids cry. He wanted to help Chen Jian out, and was about to wave his hands and call for the substitute player from the side when he was stopped by Twain’s outstretched umbrella.
“Get back on the pitch. The match has not ended and the manager has not substituted you.” Twain said with a dark face as he enunciated his every word slowly.
Chen Jian still did not understand why the first team manager would suddenly butt his nose into the affairs of someone like him who was only training in Forest’s youth team.
He turned his gaze towards Greenwood. To him, only the youth team manager Greenwood had the right to give him instructions.
Greenwood forced a smile and waved his hands. “Get back onto the pitch, Chen. The match has yet to end. I haven’t substituted you yet.”
Twain released his grip. Chen Jian glanced at Twain before walking back onto the pitch with a face that suggested he did not feel like relenting.
The players stared quizzically at Chen Jian who made his way back onto the pitch. They still did not understand what had just happened.
The center-back who had wanted to take over the role as right-back was asked to return to his initial position by Greenwood.
The match restarted after that.
※※※
Chen Jian’s performance after the match restarted was as terrible as ever. To be precise, it was even more terrible than before. His emotions had undoubtedly taken a hit after the events from earlier. How could someone like him whose mental state was in turmoil play a good match?
Twain had finally stopped looking around after the incident. He was only staring at Chen Jian under his black umbrella.
Chen Jian was broken through by the opponents’ two-versus-one pass when he tried to defend against Bostock. He lost his balance as he turned around and he slipped. He fell onto the ground on both knees. Both his hands were stuck in the mud. He kept his head low and never got back onto his feet.
He felt extremely dejected. He was looked down on and chided by others because he was incapable. Because he performed terribly.
Reality was so cruel.
He realized that his dream was starting to distance itself from him. Maybe it was never waiting for him at the end of his journey in the first place. Everything was just his fantasy. He was just pulling the wool over his own eyes.
He suddenly felt like bawling his eyes out. He wanted to cry for the dream that he has kept in the depths of his heart and chased after relentlessly for all these years. He wanted to cry for the 10 years of time that he had lost by being passionate about soccer. He wanted to cry at his stupidity for choosing to give up his studies to come to Britain to pursue his dream.
What was hard work without talent? How could an amateur football fan dream of becoming a professional footballer? Stop kidding yourself! If it was that easy to succeed, there won’t be so many people relying on those imaginary things to fulfil their desires!
So what if you are resilient? So what if you never give up till the end? Your attitude can determine everything?
Bullsh*t!
It has been seven months. I worked so hard for seven months and what have I gotten in return?
Endless criticisms and looks of distrust and displeasure from those around him!
Forget it, let’s go back. Leave behind all your unrealistic thoughts. Study hard and make progress every day.
He clenched both his hands and grabbed onto two fistfuls of mud tightly.
But… But… I really can’t accept this…
※※※
Dunn was discreetly shaking his head at Chen Jian’s terrible performance when he saw a wobbling umbrella by his feet.
He then heard Kerslake’s shout of surprise.
“Tony!”
When he raised his head, he saw Tony Twain’s back as he took big strides onto the pitch. The umbrella he was holding onto had been tossed onto the floor. It was flipped over and had already collected a little rainwater.
The referee-cum-manager saw Tony Twain walk onto the pitch. He blew his whistle to suspend the game in a hurry before running towards Twain. All the players got out of Twain’s way as he advanced. They all wanted to hide from their dark-faced boss.
Twain trudged forward under the rain. Puddles of muddied water splashed and dirtied his pants as he walked.
He made his way straight towards Chen Jian who was still crouching in the muddied water. Chen Jian did not notice his approach. He continued to kneel there with his head lowered.
A voice rang out above his head.
“Get up.”
Chen Jian did not respond.
“Get up!”
Chen Jian raised his head at the second shout and stared blankly at Tony Twain who stood before him.
Twain knotted his brows together at the sight of a dazed face that was devoid of life and radiance. He quite preferred the face that turned to glare at him earlier than the one he was seeing before him now.
He bent over and grabbed Chen Jian’s collar with both hands abruptly. Then, he pushed Chen Jian over onto his back with force.
“I told you to f*cking get up! What are you doing kneeling here? Are you trying to do a kowtow to someone? Me? I don’t give a damn about a loser asking for mercy!” Twain opened his mouth and began to give Chen Jian a dressing-down after he had pushed him over onto the ground.
Chen Jian was dumbfounded. Tony Twain was speaking fluent Chinese.
Twain spoke in Chinese once during the very first time the two had met, but ever since then, he had insisted on using English to converse with him, even if it was easier for him to speak in Chinese than to translate his words.
Chen Jian understood that the reason why Tony Twain did what he did was to remind him that they were in Britain, and to tell him not to take it easy knowing that he had a manager who could speak in Chinese with him. It was important for him to learn to speak in English so that he could truly get used to life and football here.
But now, Twain was using Chinese that could not sound any more fluent and any more authentic to castigate him.
“Look at you and the miserable, sh*tty state you are in! You really look like you are a patch of f*cking mud by lying there. Utter mud! Grass can’t grow where you are lying now! What are you doing? What are you doing staring at me? Are you upset? If you are then get on your feet and punch me!”
Twain noticed that there were two areas on Chen Jian’s mud-stained face that were clean. They extended from the corners of his eyes all the way to the wing of his nose.
“What’s this? Did you cry? Tsk tsk. Look at you! All you did was play a bad game of football, and you are all snot and tears. Do you think this is some kindergarten’s football match?”
Dunn was shocked to hear Twain mock and swear at Chen Jian in Chinese.
It was not just him. Everyone by the side of the field were stunned to see Tony Twain lose his temper, even if they could not understand whatever was coming out of Twain’s mouth.
“What’s wrong, Mr. Mud? Did you decide to cry your way back home since you just played one bad game? Are you going to go back to China to continue your studies earnestly and find a job upon graduation, and then be satisfied playing occasional amateur soccer once you are lugging a big belly about? Then when you are old you will brag to your grandson about how his grandpa once trained for a year in the youth team of Nottingham Forest, who was the European Champion! What if your grandson asks you what happened after a year? What are you going to say? You are going to tell him, ‘Ah, your grandpa performed badly in a match and gave up trying and then came back to China crying… What do you think your dear grandson will say to you?”
Twain pointed at Chen Jian who stared at him dazedly and chided, adding a pause between his every word, “You. Are. A. Wimp! A. Cowardly. Scaredy. Cat! You are never going to be able to raise your head before your grandson till the day you die, just like a man who can’t get it up. Get this right, you are an impotent man, not a man who has premature ejaculation, because you are a man who can’t f*cking raise your head so you don’t even have the right to have premature ejaculation!”
Dunn thought that Twain’s admonitions were all over the place. What exactly was he scolding about…
Why was Twain so infuriated? All Chen Jian did was to perform slightly badly. How did that rub him off the wrong way? Didn’t he not rate Chen Jian’s performance all this while?
“So? Have you finally realized that you have been daydreaming all along after experiencing for yourself how cruel reality can be? Let me tell you. This isn’t even f*cking professional football! This is just a f*cking youth game! And an intra-team one to boot! Did you think that all dreams were easily achievable? Did you think that as long as you got fired up like some stupid main character then your dreams will just strip itself and let you f*ck it? You need to f*cking pay even if the other person is a prostitute! There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world! That little hard work of yours means nothing! It means nothing!” Twain pointed at the youth players all around him, who stood there completely stunned.
“How many of them here have not been training for 10 years? How many of them do you think can be successful on the professional stage and make their appearances in Nottingham Forest’s first team? Who do you think you are? You are not the protagonist of some novel or comic. You are not a genius. You are just an ordinary man! Hundreds of people who are just like you die every second in this world!”
“One year!” Twain held up his middle finger. “You f*cking want to become a professional footballer after one year? How can such a good thing exist in this world! You can talk about your dreams all you want, but let’s see you try! Do you remember what I asked you when you first came here? You said you will never give up… Look at your cowardly state right now. Do you have the face to say those same words to me again right now? Do you dare to say, ‘I will not give up, sir’ to me again?”
The rain got heavier. It had drenched Twain from top to toe, but he did not feel anything about it. All he did was to stare at Chen Jian with eyes that looked as though fire could erupt from them.
“Very well. I want to congratulate you for not being that stupid little kid who only knew how to superficially chase after his dreams anymore. You have matured, you now know that reality is cruel! You have decided to beg for mercy in the face of the cruel reality. I won’t stop you if you want to walk away now. The match is not over, but your match is, boy! You have lost and have been disqualified! When you are ready to go back to China crying, don’t forget to give me a call. I will buy the plane tickets for you and will even give you a complimentary packet of tissue.”
Twain finally caught a breath after going on for so long and he inhaled deeply.
Following that, he bent over once again and looked squarely at Chen Jian. His face was right before Chen Jian’s.
“Before you leave, I have one last question to ask you. Tell me, what’s your name, you failure.”
Seeing that Chen Jian did not respond to him, he repeated his question. “Answer me. What’s your name, you failure!”
Chen Jian answered, with trembling lips,” Chen… Chen Jian.” It was unclear if the trembling was because he was frightened, or if it was due to the cold weather.
“Very good! Chen Jian, Chen Jian… Your mother gave birth to you, your father gave you this name. Chen’s your surname, and which Chinese character is it for your ‘Jian’? It’s not the character that can be found in the word that means ‘rape’, not the one that is found in the word that means ‘indistinguishable’ and not the one that is used for the word that means ‘get a bargain’. It is also not the character that is found in the word that means ‘depraved’ or the one that is used in the word that means ‘blade’. The Chinese character that is used in your name ‘Jian’ can be found in the words that mean ‘strong’ and ‘resolute’! Remember this well. This is your name, Chen Jian!”
After finishing those words, Twain straightened his back and turned to leave. He no longer cared about the youth team’s practice match, and did not bother seeing what expression Chen Jian had on him while lying in a pool of muddied water. He did not stop to pick up his black umbrella off the floor. He walked straight out of the field and out the door.
Dunn saw Twain walk straight out of the training grounds. He quickly apologized to Greenwood before chasing after Twain while holding an umbrella over his head.
※※※
Everyone on the pitch was stupefied. This included Chen Jian. He remained in the same posture after he was pushed over by Twain. He looked spaced out and could not believe the scene that had just unfolded before him earlier.
He felt like giving up, then he suddenly got chastised by the first team manager… And it went on for several minutes?
What… What exactly happened?
※※※
Dunn shared half of his umbrella with Twain and sheltered him from the rain above his head. He had left in a hurry earlier and had forgotten to pick up the umbrella that Twain had tossed to the ground.
“Why?” Dunn asked.
“I can’t bear to see these scaredy-cats being all cowardly before me. If you want to cry then do it while hiding in your home! Doing it here is indecent!” Twain’s voice as he spoke still sounded stiff. He was truly angry.
“Just because of this?”
“And also to relieve some pent up stress after what happened these few days.” Twain turned around to look at Dunn. “It’s true. Scold people when you have time on your hands. It’s good for your health.”
Dunn smiled. “And?”
Twain was not in a hurry to answer Dunn’s question. He fumbled around his coat pocket for a pack of cigarettes and was about to light one when he realized, to his annoyance, that the entire pack of cigarettes was wet from the rain and none of the cigarettes could be lit up. He crushed the entire pack of cigarettes with his hands and discarded it into a rubbish bin by the road. He patted his other pockets and gave up once he realized that he had run out of cigarettes.
“Honestly, it was nothing. He has a dream, and has already gotten so far. But the reality was also right in front of him. All I told him was that there were two roads before him right now. The rest is up to him. As for what he chooses, that has nothing to do with me. But, if he really wants to go, I will definitely pay for his airline tickets and the packet of tissues like I said I will. I have never gone back on my word.”
“But there is clearly only one road.” Dunn did not agree with Twain’s opinion. “The dreams have reached a dead end.”
Twain smiled. “No, to me, there are actually two roads. One road leads to reality,” he pointed at Wilford Lane. It was a straight stretch of road and one could see the end.
“The other leads to dreams and it is a…” He pointed at the wall surrounding the training grounds and continued, “… Dead end.”
“What difference is there?”
“To some people there might not be a difference, but to some others, there is a difference. You are right, the dreams have reached a dead end. Some people will choose to stop, then turn around and walk back towards the road to reality. What about the others? They will choose to push at the wall!” He pushed at the wall near him.
“It might be more tiring than to walk back to the road that leads to reality, and it might also be more challenging… And there is also a risk that they will get hit on the head by bricks that fall over. But how can dreams be so easily attained? It’s very easy to give in to destiny or reality. But you have to risk your life… If you want to push down a wall.”
Twain stood by the road and mumbled under his breath as he stared at the wall.
Dunn stood beside him, and held up an umbrella to shelter Twain from the rain.
...
Chapter 705: Accidentally Caught a Cold
The next day, Greenwood was slightly surprised to see Chen Jian run up to him with a ball at his feet at North Wilford.
“Chen, what are you doing?”
“I’m practising my first touch, Manager Greenwood.” Chen Jian kicked the ball upwards using his heel and began to juggle it with his feet as he stopped to talk with Greenwood.
Greenwood smiled at the sight of Chen Jian practising. “Still, you didn’t need to practise while you make your way here, right?”
Chen Jian shook his head. “I can’t think of what else I can do besides this. I don’t have much time left, Manager Greenwood. I have barely five months left. I must…” he paused for a moment, “The training time is limited. So I am making use of the time when I come here and when I go home to practise my first touch.”
Greenwood looked at the boy from China. In truth, he did not understand why Twain got so angry at Chen Jian yesterday. However, it was not a question that he needed answers for. The incident only made him increasingly interested in Chen Jian.
“All right. You might have added extra practice items for yourself, but don’t expect your training regime later to become lesser as a result.”
Chen Jian nodded. “That’d be for the best, Manager Greenwood.” He wanted to bid farewell to Greenwood as he finished his words, but was stopped.
“Chen, tell me. What are your aspirations? To be more exact, why did you come here to go through a year of practice?”
“To become a professional footballer.” Chen Jian replied without hesitation.
“Where do you want to play in?”
Chen Jian hesitated this time round. “If… I can play in Britain or Europe, that’d be for the best. Even if I can’t, I’d still like to be able to play in other countries.”
“What about your home country?”
Chen Jian froze.
“I…” He did not know how to answer the question. He was a Chinese and was undoubtedly patriotic. Nonetheless, he was well aware of the state of football in China and the standard of play in their so-called ‘professional leagues’, namely the Chinese Super League and the China League One.
In the end, he responded with apparent conviction, “I will not return to China to play professional football.”
Greenwood nodded his head to signal that he understood. He knows a little about the standard of football in China due to the presence of Dunn, Sun Jihai and the ‘China Hand’ [1] Tony Twain in the team. The environment in China was certainly not ideal for someone who desires to play professional football.
Greenwood patted Chen Jian on the shoulder. “Continue working hard. You still have five more months.”
Chen Jian was working hard to push down the wall that was in his way.
※※※
After he had given Chen Jian a dressing-down in the rain, Twain woke up to a headache the following morning. However, he did not pay much attention to it. He ate his breakfast and rested for a bit before heading out to Wilford to work.
Twain had only stood by the side of the training grounds for a short while when he felt like he could not hold on any longer. He did not sneeze, did not have a runny nose, and was not coughing either. All he had was a headache and it felt as though something wanted to rush out from his temple. It felt swollen and painful and it affected his thought process. He also felt debilitated. The muscles on his back were sore, and he felt chilly.
He turned around, walked to the back and leaned against the pillar that propped up the sunshade, wanting to rest for a bit.
Kerslake had a whistle to his mouth as he directed the players’ training on the pitch, while Dunn was making preparations for the next training item off the pitch.
Dunn realized that Twain was not standing at the spot he last saw him at. Finding it odd, he turned his head and looked behind.
He saw Twain leaning weakly against the pillar with his head shaking left and right gently.
Seeing that, Dunn immediately tossed aside everything that he was doing and scurried over to Twain’s side.
“What’s wrong?”
Twain saw that it was Dunn and continued to shake his head. “My head just hurts a little.”
“Go and see the doctor.”
“It’s a waste of time.” Twain continued to shake his head.
“Then I’d get Fleming to check on you.”
“He’s a physiotherapist, not a doctor who can treat everything.” Twain found the suggestion to be ridiculous.
Dunn ignored his remark. He turned around and walked towards Fleming who was examining Beckham’s ankle.
“Gary, Tony’s not feeling too good. Can you take a look at him?”
Both Fleming and Beckham raised their heads in unison and looked into the distance at Twain. They saw Twain shaking his head with all his might.
Fleming pressed hard on Beckham’s left ankle. Beckham gasped and grimaced in pain.
“Apply ice over it after you are done with your training. This part here needs rest. Don’t treat it too roughly, David.”
“What’s wrong?” Fleming’s very first question was the same as Dunn’s.
“Headache.” Twain’s response was the same as well.
Fleming reached his hand out and felt Twain’s forehead.
Twain drew back his neck at his cold touch, and the back of his head collided against the pillar. He winced in pain from the impact.
“Your hand is really cold.”
Fleming ignored his comment. He continued to press his hand against Twain’s forehead and asked, “What other symptoms do you have besides the headache?”
Twain thought about it for a moment and said, “Muscle pain. Feeling weak all over. And I feel a little chilly…”
“You have caught a cold, you idiot.” Fleming shook his head. “I heard you coolly tossed aside your umbrella yesterday, scolded a Chinese boy for several minutes in the rain and got drenched from top to toe. Did you take a bath after going home?”
Twain shook his head. “I had already bathed the night before…”
“Poor bachelor,” muttered Fleming, “Go back home and rest. Eat some medicine for your fever. If they don’t work you’d have to go get an injection at the hospital.”
“Don’t make things sound so serious. Saying things like go to the hospital…” Twain did not want to leave. There were lots of things going on with the team right now. How could he leave?
“If you don’t leave, I can’t guarantee that you won’t spread your cold to others here.” Fleming knew what was on Twain’s mind, so he brought up the reason that would force Twain into compliance.
Twain watched as both Dunn and Fleming started to retreat away from him and threw up both his hands. “All right, all right. I’m going back. I’ll leave things here to you, Dunn. Help me tell Kerslake and the rest. I won’t be going over, or Gary’s going to call me a contagion…”
Fleming was skilled at chasing Twain away. “Hurry up and go. The earlier you leave, the safer we feel!”
Twain glared at him, then turned around and walked out of the premises.
Everyone on the pitch had already taken notice of what was happening by the side of the pitch when Fleming and Dunn both walked towards Twain, and they were quite surprised to see Twain turn to leave.
Dunn walked over and whispered a few words into Kerslake’s ear. The assistant manager smiled, then clapped his hands and announced to the players, “There’s nothing for you to see. Your boss got drenched in the rain yesterday and is suffering from a headache and a fever today. To prevent him from spreading his cold to us, Fleming has already chased him back home.”
One of the players laughed softly.
“Don’t laugh. The temperature has been dropping very quickly recently, and the rain that goes on all day long can make people feel as though their bodies have gone moldy. So all of you have to be extra careful these few days. Make sure to take a hot bath every day after training and change into a set of clean clothes daily. I don’t wish to see our results being affected due to these tiny cold viruses! All right, get back to practice, don’t let your bodies cool down!”
※※※
Twain returned home, ate a bunch of cold and fever medicine, added two layers of blankets on his bed, took a hot bath, wrapped himself up in three layers of blankets, laid on the bed and left everything else to fate.
His body kept on shivering as he laid in bed. Looks like his cold this time round is pretty bad…
All I did was to get drenched in a bit of rain… Do I really deserve this?
He felt like he was down on luck. He thought to himself, when have I ever taken medicine for my colds, and when have I ever felt this terrible for being down with a cold? When have I not gotten better just by toughing it out?
Looks like this body of mine is really getting old with every day, every minute and every second of my life.
That reminds me, others who transmigrate get to be reborn, but I get 10 years of life taken away from me instead. Twain felt upset at this.
However, there was no point getting angry over it. You gain some and you lose some. What he has gained so far is unimaginable fame, honor and wealth, and he even has a chance to gain a peculiar love relationship.
It was necessary for him to use 10 years of his life in exchange for all the things he has and is about to gain. After all, how can one wish to have their dreams come true but give nothing in return in this world?
His biggest worry right now was whether he would be fit to direct the team in the EFL Cup’s game a day later.
Because their opponent for that match is Arsenal…
What’s more…
He found himself unable to lay in bed and rest in peace the moment he thought about the situation that the team is facing currently.
The team had just won narrowly against the weak Stoke City by 1-0 in the last league game. The players’ conditions were still unstable. The team may be ranked third in the league currently, but the gap in points between them and the first and second-ranked teams was slowly widening.
Chelsea and Liverpool have both racked up 29 points.
Arsenal won their last match and has 23 points. They are very close behind Nottingham Forest who has 24 points.
Manchester United might have lost to Arsenal and are ranked fifth in the league with 21 points, but they are one game behind the other teams at the top of the league.
He cannot let the two teams ahead of him widen the gap too much before the winter transfer window commences, and he also cannot allow Arsenal and Manchester United the opportunity to overtake them.
He would have to see if there are any free agents whom they can obtain without paying a cent, and if there are any really, really cheap players that they can buy in January to strengthen the team and help them get through the winter.
His painfully swollen brain kept on mulling over all sorts of problems.
The medicinal effects started to kick in after a while, which made Twain feel drowsy, and he slowly drifted off to sleep.
※※※
Twain managed to triumph over his cold virus before the EFL Cup game. His body still felt a little lethargic, and he would cough intermittently when he spoke with too much force, but other than those, he was fine, which is why he did not care about the persisting issues that he was still suffering from.
Based on his past experiences, many of his cold symptoms lasted for quite a while before he was able to make a complete recovery. He was going to stop taking medicine and let his body recuperate by itself slowly.
He is so busy on a daily basis. If not for the fact that his symptoms were so glaring this time round, he would definitely not have remembered to eat his medicine on time.
Nottingham Forest, who played a team of players from the reserve and the youth team, lost 1-3 to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, who also similarly played a team comprising of their youth players.
It was the third consecutive year that Nottingham Forest have failed to make it past the third round of the EFL Cup.
The final score for the match demonstrated the difference in abilities between the youth players for both teams.
Arsenal’s youth players looked monstrous and dazzling. Carlos Vela scored two goals by himself, and Jack Wilshere slotted another one in before full-time, thoroughly securing a victory for Arsenal with his goal.
The only goal for Nottingham Forest came from Şahin, and his goal helped to rescue Forest from total humiliation as the away team.
He felt that the time was right for Şahin to play in the first team matches. The team lacks players currently, and Şahin’s arrival will help to lessen the burden on van der Vaart. The Dutch is certainly trusted and valued in the team, but the pressure placed on him has also multiplied as a result.
Van der Vaart does not have players who can replace him, when even George Wood gets to have players who can replace him. Twain cannot keep getting Ribéry to run down the middle so as to share the burden that is placed on van der Vaart.
Twain was full of praise for Wenger’s young geniuses when he shook hands with Wenger after the match. He could not conceal his urge to salivate at the talent that was displayed by Arsenal’s youth players.
Wenger pretended not to notice Twain’s urges. “No one would have believed half a year ago that he would be able to perform as he had just now. Tony, you are great at turning junk into gold.”
Twain forced a smile. “I was forced to do that.”
Indeed, he had been forced to do whatever he did. Why would he only rely on Şahin if Forest had a youth system that was as developed as Arsenal’s, or came close to how Arsenal have produced numerous talented youths ceaselessly over the years, and how it is known throughout the world as a football club that valued talented youths?
Wenger spent 10 years to get Arsenal to where they are today. He had only spent six. He still has a long way to go as a manager…
“Hey, Professor. Is Wilshere available for loan?”
Twain had set his eyes on Arsenal’s talented youth players. Since the club did not have money to purchase players, then it should be acceptable for him to get some of these young players on loan to help the team through this difficult time.
Wenger shook his head. “He’s a part of my first team’s plans, Tony.”
Twain muttered the word ‘scrooge’ in his heart. How is Wilshere a part of his first team’s plans? All Wenger plans to do is to let Wilshere play a few games in the EFL Cup, and then let him play during ‘garbage time’ in the league games.
At the end of the day, Wenger just did not want to let a talented player be on loan at a rival’s team, and did not want to bolster the strength of their rivals.
He decided to stop talking about a potential loan.
“May you progress far in the EFL Cup.”
“Thank you.”
※※※
Twain became the focus of the British media once again after losing the EFL Cup.
This time however, it was not because of something that happened during the match. Twain had not provoked any of the Arsenal fans by the pitch, had not gotten in the face of the fourth official, and had not questioned the fairness of the referee in the post-match press conference.
He had peacefully accepted the loss, since winning the EFL Cup was never in his plans.
The reason he became the focus was not because of the match, but rather the publication of a new book…
The book written by Carl Spicer from The Daily Telegraph had finally been published after six months of preparations.
Due to how Spicer would actively speak about the book in his interviews prior to the publication of the book, everyone already knew about the frighteningly long title of the book before it was even released.
“What Kind Of Man Is He: Uncovering The Mysterious Halo Around Tony Twain”
A blurry back view of a person was printed over the red book cover. The white letters of the title took up all of the space on the cover and was printed over both the red background and the black, blurry image of a person’s back view.
During a television talk show, Spicer held up the book and told the audience with a solemn face,
“He is a ‘phenomenon’.”
It was a quote from the title page of his book.
Twain had observed the author for a while after he found out that he was the one who conducted that utterly foolish survey. He realized that many of the views that were against him were all written by this man.
He was actually a resolute ‘Anti-Twain’.
If that is the case, is his reason for writing the book so that he can earn money while writing about his anti-Twain comments?
The book was sold out the moment it was released. The publisher had not anticipated that a book analysing Twain would be so highly sought-after. Even people who were not fans of Nottingham Forest or football bought the book. The book had to be hastily sent for reprint due to the overwhelming popularity.
Carl Spicer proudly announced in his own column that the book delved into a very serious ‘social issue’, and that it was not one of those boring biographies that discussed the private lives of celebrities. He also denied that he wrote the book to satirize Twain, calling it a form of performance art instead.
There was not a single good thing that was written about Twain in the book. The book was full of comments that derided him, questioned him, and scolded him in a roundabout way.
However, such a book still became a bestseller in Britain. It had barely been published for a week and was already ranked third on Britain’s Bestseller List for the month of November, and it looked like it could continue to climb higher up the list.
A book with the name ‘Tony Twain’ printed on it became overwhelmingly popular, but Twain earned nothing from it.
He felt like he was ripped off.
...
Chapter 706: Carl Spicer’s Hardcore Fan
When Carl Spicer’s book was on sale, Twain received a signed copy. On the book, Spicer wrote, “To my closest friend Tony Twain, wishing you all the best.”The inscription wrote, “Your life-long partner, Carl Spicer”.
When Spicer had gifted the book to Twain, he brought this matter up to the media. He was showing off about this incident on his own column. “I really want to see his reaction upon receiving the book… Haha!”
The relationship between Carl Spicer and Twain had always been tricky. In the past, the Twain’s hatred for the media had always been generic and not specific to a person. Now, Spicer had bravely stood out and raised a flag indicating “Twain being bad”. How could Twain stomach such a brazen provocation? 80% of the people thought it would be uncharacteristic of Twain to not respond to this. Spicer thought so, too. He was well-prepared to deal with Twain’s revenge. For example, having a verbal warfare on the column, using Nottingham Forest’s recent unstable results to criticize Twain… Since the start of the provocation, he was starting to be impatient for Twain’s inevitable revenge.
Since there was still half the day left, Twain drove around the whole of Nottingham to all the bookstores and newsstands, maxing out his credit cards to buy all the copies of [The mysterious aura of Tony Twain—the man he is] in Nottingham.
Since the book was essentially mindless gossip, it was not selling well in Nottingham. Other than a portion of Notts County’s fans who might buy the book, almost all of Nottingham Forest fans did not care about it at all.
As such, Twain bought so many copies until he could not store any more in his jeep. In the end, he had to tell the bookstores, “Pack the books the exact way they were sent to you, and wait for me to call a truck to haul these.”
※※※
BBC aired a programme preview on television. In the new episode of Match of the Day this coming Sunday, they were going to invite the popular soccer journalist, Carl Spicer, as a guest and discuss with him about his thoughts on [The mysterious aura of Tony Twain—the man he is] , interesting episodes during the creative process, and his personal opinions on Tony Twain as a person.
[Match of the Day] producer Lineker predicted that this week’s programme would attract widespread attention, and sure enough, two days before the recording of the programme, he received a bill of lading.
“What is this?” Gary Lineker looked confused as he held onto the bill. The bill was attached with a letter which wrote, “For my dear friend Carl Spicer”. The inscription made Linekar laughed. It was signed “Tony Twain”.
The letter opened with a greeting for Lineker, thanking him for speaking on behalf of Nottingham Forest several times. At the end he raised a small request —
“I want to thank someone very important who spent close to half a year writing a book to log my achievements. To express my respect for him and my gratitude for his efforts, I have a presumptuous request: while interviewing this book’s author, please ask the respected Carl Spicer to sign my copies. All of the books have to be signed; I want to gift the book to a few of my friends so I hope he can sign them. Of course, I’m not asking too much from him with this small request, right?”
Following that, Lineker ran out of the BBC building while holding onto the bill, and he almost fell when he reached the car park.
What was it that he saw? Four trucks, weighing five tons each, were parked neatly. The containers were covered by canvas and secured tightly by the rope. The truck drivers who were huddled together and smoking saw Lineker. One of them frantically ran over and shook hands with him. “Gary Lineker. I’m a fan!”
Lineker did not care about him, he was only blankly staring at the four trucks. “This is…”
The four truck drivers gave each other a look, and broke out into laughter. The leader said. “Heh, we delivered props for your programme on Tony Twain’s request.”
“Props?”
The driver pulled Lineker to the back of one of the trucks and pulled up a corner of the canvas. “The three trucks behind contains the same thing.”
A chill ran up Lineker’s spine when he saw what was in the trucks.
※※※
Adrian Chiles was a well-known BBC talk host. He was the host of Match of the Day: Sunday Edition, but this episode where they interviewed Carl Spicer was also his job, and it was a lot better compared to Lineker’s.
Carl Spicer was absolutely delighted during the show. He answered several questions, and both parties seemed to be able to talk a lot. Even though he was criticizing Tony Twain on the show, this host did not comment much. On the contrary, he incited Spicer to say more groundbreaking words. They spoke about the motive behind the production of this book; Spicer thought researching on Tony Twain had a lot of purpose for the society.
“… on a road interview, those who picked ‘I hate Tony Twain, he is a b*stard’ made up 93% of the whole group, and those who picked ‘I like this guy, he is not bad’ were only a pitiful 7%. Worth mentioning was that no one chose the option of ‘Tony Twain? Who is that?’ Adrian, did you know why Twain would think our research was lame?” Once they got to badmouthing Twain, Carl Spicer became overjoyed. He liked to see a strong figure being beaten up in front of him as it gave him a sense of achievement.
In this episode, there were many topics similar to this one. Before the end of the program, the program director had already received several calls protesting from Nottingham. The only position opinion towards Twain was the sentence of the title, “He is a phenomenon.”
Towards the end of the programme, Adrian Chiles told Carl Spicer cryptically, “Since the start of the programme, the bottom of the screen was constantly showing that we would give you a mysterious gift at the end.”
“I know, you brought it up to me.” Spicer nodded.
“We can guarantee to the audience that this is definitely a mysterious gift, and that we did not discuss this with you before the filming. This is a live broadcast.”
Spicer nodded continuously to confirm that Adrian Chiles indeed did not arrange anything with him beforehand. He smiled, as if he were also looking forward to it.
Lineker and his colleagues hid in the production room, sheepishly laughing while preparing for the good show. Mark Hansen leisurely said at the side, “This programme is becoming more and more like an entertainment show…”
Alan Lawrenson turned his head towards his colleague with the sharp mouth and grinned. “Isn’t this great? We need to relax from time to time.”
Back to the live broadcast. Adrian Chiles smiled like he knew a prank was about to unfold. The lights shone on his face, lightening up his face till it seemed vibrant.
“Here’s the thing, Carl. You have this extremely loyal fan. He keeps up with your various columns in the newspaper and is very supportive of your book. It sounds quite extreme, right?”
Carl Spicer acted surprised, but he actually loved it inside. “What? There is really such a reader? I didn’t know about this.”
Adrian Chiles nodded profusely. “Yes, there is. To show his support and love, he used his own money to buy a lot of copies of this book.” He waved a copy of [The mysterious aura of Tony Twain—the man he is] in his hand. “He has a small request. He hopes that you can sign on every copy of his book for his collection.”
This boosted Carl Spicer’s ego so much he might even have forgotten what his surname was. He then waved. “No problem, I am never stingy with satisfying other people’s requests.”
Adrian Chiles snapped his fingers and a worker from the back of the live broadcast room pushed a trolley that was specially for goods out onto the room. Loaded onto it was a stack of neatly arranged books, almost one meter tall.
“Ha!” Carl Spicer laughed a little, “he bought all of these? Should I say if he is hardcore or crazy?”
He reached into his pocket to fish for a pen, but as he reached in, his hand stopped. Just now, he had been grinning so widely he could not close his mouth, but now he was so frightened that his jaw dropped.
Following behind the first trolley came a second which had another load of books neatly stacked into a metre-high column. Then came the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh… There were 10 exact same trolleys were placed right in front of the stunned Carl Spicer. The front of the recording studio was completely blocked.
The screen panned from the top to the bottom. Adrian Chiles applauded, then he took one book from the first trolley and placed in front of Carl Spicer, flipping to the title page, “You must satisfy this small request of your hardcore fan, Spicer!” Upon finishing, he turned and carried another 10 books over, placing them beside Carl’s hands. Spicer knew he had been had, but there was nothing he could do but reluctantly pick up his pen and start signing his big name on the first book.
At the same time, the screen started rolling the credits — Special thanks to Tony Twain providing 11038 copies of [The mysterious aura of Tony Twain—the man he is]
After came the normal namelist of the productive crew.
Under the credits, Adrian Chiles said something that devastated Carl Spicer. “Sign slowly, Carl. This is not even 1% of all the books, there are still four more full trucks downstairs! Your reader is really both hardcore and crazy, but I don’t envy you one bit…”
The pen slipped out of Spicer’s hand, and he was not unaware of it at all. He only raised his head and gasped while looking at the host Adrian Chiles who was holding in his laughter. At the same time, in the productive room, Lineker and his crew could no longer hold it in and broke down into laughter.
※※※
“This is the most exciting episode of [Match of the Day]! Hahaha!” Before the start of training, Nottingham Forest coaches were still excitedly discussing yesterday’s television programme. At the start when Adrian Chiles signaled the crew to bring out the books, everyone had been as confused as Carl Spicer, not knowing what had happened. Only when the credits with the special thanks started rolling then they started breaking into laughter in front of their televisions.
“Tony played this beautifully! Did you all see the expression on Spicer’s face? It was simply too exciting!”
What happened in Wilford was not just an epitome. After that day, discussions about how Tony Twain made Carl Spicer admit defeat spread like a wildfire. It was phenomenal; as the story spread, Twain sending Spicer four trucks of books eventually exaggerated into him sending ten trucks.
Carl Spicer also admitted on his own column that he was utterly defeated by Tony Twain this time. However, he would not give up on this promising career in going against Twain. “Despite being played by him, he still insisted that going against Twain was an interesting matter. Undeniably, people do look forward to what other ridiculous tricks Twain could possibly resort to.”
Towards this, Twain’s private evaluation was only a word — cheap. But Twain did feel that everyone started to get busy near the end of the year, including those reporters, because news relating to him suddenly skyrocketed.
※※※
Once, Shania’s news had been on a film magazine.
These magazines were booked for Shania, because of her interest in movies. Since it was her hobby, she would naturally want to learn more about movies. However, she went to the United States afterwards, and there was still a year before the subscription expired, thus Twain just took over and occasionally flipped through it to see if he could find any new good movies. Soccer coaches were human. too, so they needed to rest and relax as well; forgetting about all his worries and just letting his eyes flit about the pages of the magazine was naturally a good way to let loose. He was not some film critic who needed to search their hearts and use their brains to uncover a hidden meaning while watching the movies.
He discovered Shania’s whereabouts in the latest magazine issue. She appeared with Tom Cruise on the cover page. This issue introduced the new movie produced by Tom Cruise, [Florida’s Summer]. In the movie, Shania acted as a beautiful lady who participated in the stream party who had a one-line dialogue with the main character. Afterwards, she had another appearance without dialogue but a 5 minute close-up. This portion did not have screen time and had almost no bearing on the plot, so one could say her role was just for the sake of appearing with the other main characters on the cover page of the magazine. It was evident Cruise had other intentions for partnering up with this new friend of his.
There was a paragraph in the magazine allocated specifically for an interview with Shania. The paragraph was not long, it was almost as important as the other main characters’.
Actually, all this attention Shania was getting could be because of her relationship with Cruise, but it was also because of the reputation she had already been building up in the modelling industry. Before she started acting, Judy Shania Jordana had been famous in the global modelling and fashion world. She had been a global supermodel at a young age and a spokesperson wanted for many big international brands. It was natural for people to pay attention to such a personality when she started acting.
Shania’s interview were no different from others. Other than being asked for the issues in her work, she was also asked for the difference between catwalking and acting in a movie, if there were any conflicts, and what she thought of the cast. Shania was a smart girl. When reporters asked for a male Hollywood star she liked, she immediately blurted out, “Tom Cruise”, with a vibrant smile. The reporter continued to ask, “Is this because of the intimate relationship you two shared?” Shania shook her head, “It is not that. I have rewatched every one of his movies several times, I do like him a lot.”
Twain pouted upon seeing “I do like him a lot.”
Then he thought back to when Shania told him, “Uncle Tony, I love you.”
Liking and loving are two different emotions, but Shania also started with liking Uncle Tony which then developed into love too right?
He continued reading. In the final portion of the interview, the reporter started to pry into Shania’s private life, asking, “From what the public knows, you have no other boyfriends save from the few rumours that have spread in the past. Since you’re still single, could you reveal your ideal type?”
“Yes, my standards are very special.”
“Exactly how special is it?”
“I like… older men.”
The reporter was a little shocked. He wrote on the back of his handbook that he was indeed shocked by what Shania said, where he only responded after a long while. Thinking that revealing those emotions was ill-mannered, but he still emphasized, “It is … very unique.”
Shania jokingly disregarded the emotions of the reporter.
Twain stared in shock at this final conversation. Uncle Tony counted as an old guy right?What was she trying to do, revealing her preferences so brazenly? While he was still stunned, he received a call from Shania.
“Uncle Tony! I’m going to come visit you the night after tomorrow. Help me tidy up the room ok?”
“Ah… the room has always been tidy, you can come anytime…”
“Ok, thank you Uncle Tony! See you on the day after tomorrow!”
Hanging up, Twain then reacted. Why was she suddenly coming back to England suddenly? There were no other words exchanged, saved for that redundant greeting. Was it possible that she still felt a little distant after that incident at the airport?
Indeed, he said he owed her an answer, but it was almost December now and this answer was not given to her yet. On top of that, the results of the team, the financial crisis and Chen Jian’s issue had made him so busy that he could not think it through properly sufficient times.
All of a sudden, they were to meet so soon. When that time came, how could he face Shania? What if she asked him for that answer he owed her? What should he tell her then? What a pain. On and off the field, there were issues giving him a headache.
...
Chapter 707 - High Technological Inflatable Doll
The ultimate rule of the natural world was as follows: no matter what humanity desired, the Earth would still rotate everyday and orbiting around the sun. Hence, despite Twain’s headache, Shania would still be here.
“How did you find the time to come over?” Twain drove her from London back to the home in Nottingham, a broad grin stretched across his face.
“To promote the movie in London.” Twain set her luggage down while she looked around downstairs. “It’s just one day, then I’m going to Italy after.”
In the absence of a woman, the house had become messy again; a bachelor’s life was just too tragic. In the past, she had a job too, but she would regularly clean the place when she had time off. After all, no woman would want to live in a dumpster. She wrinkled her brow as she took a deep breath, as if she had smelled something foul.
Her focus was everywhere, but she saw the few film magazines on the table. She was on the cover. Her face relaxed and the corners of her mouth started to rise.
Footsteps sounded from the top of the staircase. Once Twain came down, he immediately saw Shania reading the magazines but he did not sit down. He was quite embarrassed too, because the sofa was indeed too messy. He did not want the big star to just be lounging on a dirty and messy sofa.
“I’m really sorry. I wanted to tidy up yesterday, but in the end I was so busy I became drowsy,” Twain apologised as he frantically tidied up the room.
Shania did not walk forward to help, she only stood at her spot to watch Uncle Tony being busy. “Are you very busy?”
“Yes, I am.” Twain carried a pile of books and walked in front of the bookcase, slotting them back into their respective places according to their index.
“Did you miss me, Uncle Tony?”
Before Twain’s birthday, everytime Shania asked this, Twain would giggle and reply like Feng Gong, “I missed you so much I could die!”
But now…
He hesitated, but continued slotting the books. “Yes, I missed you.”
“Liar,” Shania pouted. “You sound so insincere. You didn’t call or text, You’ve forgotten about our chat, haven’t you?”
Twain felt his heart tighten. What was meant to happen truly was meant to be. He stood rooted to the ground, unable to decide whether the book in hand should be placed back on the shelf.
“I think we’re drifting, Uncle Tony.”
“You’re in America, I’m in England.” Twain threw out an excuse clumsily.
“No, since that incident, I’ve felt like that. Are you angry at me?”
“No, why would I…”
“You think I’m too capricious right? My dad used to reprimand me like this frequently, saying I was too playful as a girl, making things tough for them. I know I was being unreasonable. You have your life, you are you, and I am me. However…, nevermind, I should stop talking about this. I only came back to see you, Uncle Tony. Don’t look so startled, alright? The more polite you try to be, the more it feels like you’re trying to distance yourself from me.”
Twain turned to look at Shania who was behind him, smiling. “Silly girl, I was afraid you’d scold me for being so careless when I lived alone. Look at this, my house is too messy.”
As long as Shania did not bring up that matter, he could relax.He was too afraid Shania would ask him directly, “I love you, do you love me?”
If it came to that, he would not know what to answer. Twain could not reject her bluntly. There was no reason why, he just could not do it. He did not hate Shania, but did this type of “like” equal to “love”? He still did not know. What exactly was love? He was older than Shania by a whole 22 years, and this gap was hindering him from understanding his true feelings inside him. Developing feelings for a girl who was younger than him his junior, was this “love” or just a platonic “liking”? Even if it was “love”, was it “love” between young couples, or “love” from an older person to a younger one?
Physical age gap aside, he was also emotionally older than Shania by a whole 14 years. He knew this world had no lack of old couples. Yang Zhenning even married a young lady who had a master’s degree. Though they had intense quarrels back in China, both of them still continued to live together. However, that was them. It is a whole new feeling putting it on himself, no matter how small the matter, it was still an issue to one’s self.
Thinking of this problem gave him have a headache. He was not an expert when it came to women. Though he was very thoughtful and confident, he was still relatively dull when it came to understanding women. He did not know what Shania thought of this; he just wanted to clear up how exactly he should think about this.
This girl, whose beauty was comparable to an angel’s, had a lot of potential in Hollywood, a superstar with large fame in both the modelling and the fashion world. They had already known each other for five years. When they were alone together, he had never thought of her the way the public did. In his eyes, Shania was still a person who had been brave enough to leave her house when she had not even turned 14, someone who went to the faraway England, a mischievous girl who met him on the streets then. Twain liked a girl like this, he definitely did, but did he love her??
“What do you want to eat tonight, Shania?” Twain decided to temporarily forget about the unspoken words and troubles that were plaguing his mind, because it was late and it was time for dinner. Although he was a bachelor, he was still somewhat confident in his culinary skills. At the end of the day, he was still a man from Sichuan; how could he not know how to make a few common dishes? However, Shania turned and vivaciously ran into the kitchen first.
“You clear the living room first, alright? Let me make dinner. I learnt a few new dishes in the States!” Right after entering the kitchen, she peeked out, staring at the helpless Twain, “You’re not allowed to say it’s bad!”
※※※
After dinner, Twain went into the kitchen to do the dishes and clean the dining table. Shania went upstairs to fetch her Chinchilla doll, and sat on the sofa with the legs crossed as she watched the television. Just like any ordinary night, she did not pester Twain to go shopping, to nightclubs, or play around.
Twain finished the dishes and dried his hands as he stood at the entrance to the kitchen. As he looked at Shania who was sitting on the couch, a sort of misperception started to flesh out in his head. This was just like a regular family. No socialising, no flashing lights. The time after diner was for a family to enjoy in peace.
“I didn’t think you’d be able to make it. You coming actually makes me really happy.” Twain sat beside Shania and said softly, “Besides, your cooking skills are getting better.”
Shania beamed. “I’ll take that as the truth!”
Twain opened his arms, his face innocent and sincere, “I only speak the truth. I’m the most honest person; I have never lied.”
Shania covered her mouth as she chuckled. As her laughter died down, she tilted her head back and leaned on Twain’s shoulders. Twain tensed for a moment before relaxing. He did not struggle, letting her rest her head on his shoulder.
“Uncle Tony, do you hate me?”
“No, why would you ask this?”
“Hehe, then that’s great…” She adjusted her posture, like a cat curling into itself, and snuggled into Twain. Twain’s hands hovered for a while before he gently settled them onto Shania’s shoulders.
※※※
On the dawn of the second day, while the sky was still pitch black, Shania hurriedly rushed back to London to participate in the promotional activities for the movie. It was Mr Fascal who fetched her; Twain had not even been out of bed yet.
After he got up, he discovered a warm breakfast coupled with a paper slip. “Remember you still owe me an answer, Uncle Tony.”
Beckham had already applied for leave yesterday in order to participate in this event. At the promotional activities in England, they had to get the most popular superstar. On account of their friendship, Twain agreed. He was not interested in these types of activities. Shania had even invited him to go together with her yesterday night but he rejected her. Beckham was a soccer player so missing some training was nothing much, but he was the head coach, so how could he leave his position?
In the blink of an eye, it was already December. The league schedule started to clutter, so he had to give a 120% worth of attention to deal with various issues.
After finishing breakfast Shania prepared for him, he carefully kept the slip in his wallet and walked out of the house. Just as he stepped out of the house…
“Snap!”
A blur of white flashed before his eyes and it almost knocked him to the ground. After he could see properly again, all he saw was a somewhat familiar car driving down to the end of the street, drifting out of his sight.
“F*ck…” he cursed. “What the h*ll is going on?”
Just as Dunn opened the door to walk out, he heard what Twain said, and looked at him filled with confusion. “What happened?”
“How would I know?” Twain answered sourly.
※※※
Soon, Twain and Dull both knew what happened. Other than the both of them, everyone on the Wilform training ground, the whole of Nottingham, and the whole of England knew what happened.
The promotion team for Shania and Tom Cruise just left, and an explosive news just appeared on a star gossip tabloid, which the newspapers quickly spread to even more media companies.
One of the main characters was undoubtedly Tony Twain who had been quite popular recently and even had someone writing a book to evaluate him. As for the other main character, everyone was definitely not unfamiliar with her. It was Judy Shania Jordana, an international supermodel who officially recently left London. Everyone was definitely not strangers to the content of the news — the huge reveal of the relationship between Shania and Tony Twain!
It was the same news publishers and reporters behind this, but the main reason that this was completely different from the previous time, and why it attracted the attention of mass media so rapidly was because, this time, Lisa Aria had gotten hold of the most critical evidence which convinced the media and the audience that everything she said was true.
Photographs. The four photographs were displayed on the top of the title, and they were sequenced much like a four-panel comic.
In the first one, Twain and Shania were returning home and both were at the door. He was carrying the luggage while searching for the keys while Shania was beside him and holding his arm, seemingly intimate.
The second was taken when both were entering the house. Shania turned to close the door, the angle rendering her face visible. Even with the shades, her tall built and other distinct facial features made it hard to believe this tall girl was not the world-renowned model Judy Shania Jordana.
One look at the third picture made it obvious it was taken at dawn, under the dim light when the streetlights were still bright. Shania was walking out of Twain’s house without her shades, and everyone could properly recognise her face.
The fourth was of her getting into a car and driving away.
These four suggestive pictures clearly explained all the happenings. From the timestamp on the bottom right corner of the pictures, these four pictures were taken over the course of the whole night. Hence, when Lisa Aria had vowed in her articles saying, “After Shania entered Tony Twain’s housing, she was staying over there for a whole night.”, there were no doubts to this.
But what did staying over entail?
In the past, though everyone knew Twain and Shania had a good relationship, both only admitted they were friends, so no one thought too much about it. On top of that, the age gap was so big that no one would assume they were a couple.
Even if staying over at Twain’s house was not a big deal to the both of them, it was definitely not the first time. But to the media and the audience this was big news, because they did not know about this before the expose!
Lisa Aria staged a beautiful come back. In the past, people had mocked her for being a small reporter from the village who wanted to become famous so desperately she would make up lies and fabricate news. Now, no one was saying that. Seeing how these four pictures were personally taken by her, the public opinion was an uproar.
In the past, any conjectures the media had about Tony Twain’s personal life were just that. There were even rumours that he was gay. However, no one would have thought a soccer coach who get together with a supermodel…
This rumour should have been one involving a soccer superstar instead. Professional soccer has developed for more than a hundred years, and there was an uncountable number of soccer players who had become superstars due to their high income and dated various superstar girls, living a life of luxury. But has anyone ever heard of a soccer coach getting together with a hot female superstar? Of all the great head coaches who had achieved numerous stellar results and left behind great legacies,, how many of them had rumours during their careers? There was not even one.
Tony Twain did it! No matter what measures he took, or what sweet nothings he said, it was a pixie who was 22 years younger than him, and a dream girl in the eyes of several fans’ who followed this middle-aged uncle into his house and stayed throughout the whole night. The dreams of male teenager shattered. The hearts of middle-aged women were also shattered.
※※※
Just seeing her name was enough to anger Twain. He called her and the first thing he said was, “Are you deliberately going against me, Lisa Aria?!”
“All I wanted to do was to prove I’m not a liar, Mr Tony Twain.” Aria was not intimidated by him.
“How did you know Shania was coming to my place?” Twain could not be bothered to care about these details recorded by the other party. He immediately asked the question he wanted to know most.
“They were going to be promoting the movie here in London, so I knew she would definitely swing by Nottingham.”
“You’re actually quite smart, aren’t you?” Twain grinded his teeth. Aria analysed something so trivial and spun it into a paragraph.
“Because I’m a woman, I understand the mind of a woman too, Mr Twain.”
“But you don’t understand me!” Twain roared, and then hung up.
In reality, when he was called this time, his tone was not as firm as it was the last time. He knew about Shania’s intentions; if she saw this article, she might not be mad and might even feel happy about this. The one who was mad was him. This was as good as pushing him down the road of no return.
Thinking back how the article hinted on Shania not leaving throughout the night and staying over at his own house for an entire night. Regarding about what they did, it was only them both who knew…
Twain thought the audience definitely thought that he hooked up with Shania. But the problem was nothing happened between Shania and him. Although Shania confessed to him, and he did not agree to accepting these feelings, but their relationships still continued as per the past. How could he tell others about this relationship and the story behind it? Who would understand him?
※※※
“Since the reporter, Lisa Aria, caught Twain and Judy Shania Judana returning to his house together, where Shania did not leave throughout the night, Tony Twain stood in front of the media and explained this incident for the first time today.”
It cut to the vibrant outdoors.. Tony Twain’s house entrance was already swarming with reporters from various places; they were all very concerned with the personal life of this famous tempered coach who was famous in the Premier League. Everyone wanted to hear him personally admitting his relationship with Shania.Once he admitted it, this forgotten relationship would be officially established.
Twain stood in front of this bunch of excited reporters, looking at the microphones which were almost stuffed into his mouth, and coughed. The live scene quietened immediately.
“I have nothing much to say, Lisa Aria’s every word can be believed. Shania and I are friends, but our relationship is not what you all are thinking of.” Twain was still stubborn as a mule.
“But it’s clear from her picture that you and Shania went home together…” Some of the reporters were unhappy, rebutting him with evidence, clearly wanting Twain to clear up everything.
Lisa Aria was also in the crowd. She raised her hand to attract the attention of everyone. “I can guarantee, on my dignity, all of these photographs are real and are definitely not fabricated or edited via Photoshop!”
Twain stared at this woman who was trying to making a promise to everyone. His peaceful and quiet life was totally destroyed by this woman. He thought that it was definitely due to his act of bribing her initially which hurt this woman who had strong self-esteem, so all of this is for her revenge!
This was too much. This was worse than when Twain gave Carl Spicer ten thousand plus books to sign on live scene!
“Your photograph is definitely not fake, Ms Lisa Aria.” Twain stared at her coldly and said, “But that is not Judy Shania Jordana. That is just my newly ordered inflatable doll.”
Once the word was out, everyone was shocked!Even Lisa Aria did not think that Twain would actually used this type of means to cover up his relationship with Shania. She screamed, “I clearly saw her walked in and out, how can the inflatable doll walk by its own!
Twain smiled, “Like I said, it’s the latest model. What’s so impressive about it walking? It can cook, too. With the press of a button, it will cook me anything I want. Ah, the wonders of technology”
Suddenly, everyone thought they were too stupid…
※※※
The entrances of Twain’s house and the Wilform training grounds were filled with reporters who rushed from various places around the world. When they huddled to discuss, they buzzed like a group of flies.
After Twain’s speech on “inflatable doll”, the people who were surrounding the Wilford training grounds retreated first, only those who did not give up continued to camp at Twain’s housing entrance. They wanted to mimic Lisa Aria’s one-night stakeout in the car during the winter’s harsh winds, seeing if they could dig out some more breaking news.
Twain did not entertain them, he would wave to greet them when he entered and left the house, shouting in a Chinese accent, “Hi my fellow partners! You all worked hard!” Nowadays he would allow them to shrink their necks and snivels during the winter winds to camp for their “exclusive groundbreaking gossips”.
As long as his heart was at peace, these reporters blocking the entrance to his house posed no problem to him. In fact, he even wanted to thank them. Now that there were so many more reporters here, the security at Branford Garden street was a lot better and there were virtually no thieves or pickpockets.
Twain made a text on his column to remind the Nottingham police to quickly present a medal to these heroes who persevered in protecting the citizens’ property openly complimented them. After this move, the reporters who had no idea of how long they had to wait beat a hasty retreat.
In another face-off against the media, Tony Twain was clearly victorious. But his “backyard” started a little fire — he received a short protest from Shania:
“I am not an inflatable doll who knows how to cook, Uncle Tony! If you speak carelessly again, be careful I fly back to hit you!”
...
Chapter 708 - A Narrow Escape
Twain soon could not think about the stage at which his relationship with Shania should be. Once again, he was plagued by the many complicated and compressed competition schedule as well as the undulating and inconsistent condition of the team.
On November 15th, Nottingham Forest traveled north to the cold Newcastle and lost 1:2 to the opponent in the away game.
On November 24th, the Forest team returned to its home ground and struggled to beat Everton by 3:2 after a bitter battle. They finally managed to hold to the third place in the league tournament.
The Forest team’s results were not too bad purely based on the points table alone. Other than their point difference being a little far away from the top two teams, they were still in the top tier in any case.
But only those people, who were really familiar with Nottingham Forest, knew how dangerous the Forest team’s situation was now. Every game won was always full of twists and turns. It was scary while trying to win. Furthermore, the specter of injury was like a nightmare which could not be dispelled and always followed the Forest team’s onward march, ready to pounce and bite hard when the Forest team was tired.
Tony Twain himself had the illusion that he was walking a tightrope.
He did not know when the team would collapse if they were to persist continuing. From last summer until the end of this year, his players did not have any time to rest and their physical strength had reached the stage of collapse. How were they going to survive the cold winter? He had no idea at all.
They achieved victories by the skin of their teeth. If they slightly loosened the grip, they might fall like a house of cards. But the constant taut nerves might cause them to collapse earlier …
“… I’m awestricken by Tony Twain’s approach to coaching and also admire the Nottingham Forest team’s fighting spirit and will to win. They reversed West Ham United and Manchester City to win, but lost to Liverpool at the last minute, and then overtook Everton to win… Tony Twain proudly declared after the game against Everton that his team was the only one in the world which could turn the tide against their opponents. But I think he’s just seeking to impress by exaggerating his abilities—which manager would want his team to win every game with such a thrilling reversal? I bet Tony Twain is eager for his team to take a two-goal lead at the start of every game, and then win by a comfortable margin…”
The pundits on the television station analyzed the current situation the Forest team was experiencing. Although Twain always said that his team was in a good shape and everything was normal to the outside world, plus the team’s results were not bad, any fool could see that he was putting up a front.
Any discerning person could see the team’s crisis at the first glance. Twain’s actions were nothing more than doing what his personality dictated.
Indeed, the crisis was not the kind of crisis in which they had been hit by repeated defeats in a row, and continuous decline in the points ranking. However, that kind of situation was likely to be the future for Nottingham Forest. Now the team was walking a tightrope, in case of a misstep, what was underneath them could really be the abyss…
※※※
Twain brought an exhausted team and flew to Minsk, Belarus, to face the local team. It was a crucial battle over whether Nottingham Forest could finally make it out of the group stage. If they did not break through the group stage as the defending champion, then he and his team could really become the laughingstock of the entire world.
No matter how bad the team’s situation was now, Twain would never allow that to happen to him.
Therefore, he deployed the strongest squad he could send. Pepe, who had a minor injury, was also in the starting lineup as it was important to ensure that the team’s defense was worry-free.
By the end of November, Belarus had turned white all over the country. Pure white snow had covered the Eastern European country. When the team went to adapt to the venue, only to find that they simply could not adapt to the venue ahead of time—a thick layer of snow covered the pitch and the snowplows were plowing snow in the stadium.
Until the day before yesterday, it was still snowing here, and it was a blizzard. Although it stopped yesterday, the thick layer of snow was still a shocking sight. Twain frowned as he looked at the field in front of him.
FC BATE Borisov’s Dinamo stadium in Minsk did not have the same artificial turf field as Russia. If the geothermal and drainage system were not good enough, tomorrow’s game would be a mud pool …
The players huddled around their necks and looked at the pitch at a loss. Could this kind of venue really allow them to play their best?
During the pre-match preparations, Twain also knew that the game would be tough. The tactics were repeated more than once. Now there was no need for talk. He just told the players that no matter what difficulties they encountered; the game must be won. He said, “I don’t care how you do it, even if you put the ball into the goal with your hand, as long as the referee does not see it!”
Now the Champions League was not just about his face. After the financial crisis affected the Forest team, the Champions League tournament also directly involved economic benefits— UEFA bonus was awarded for winning games. The more games they played, the more bonuses they received. The share in the final television broadcast fee was higher. The Forest team’s financial losses would be huge if they were eliminated early in the group stage.
※※※
Thankfully, there was no snow on the day of the game. Although dark clouds loomed over the city, the snow that Twain was most worried about did not descend upon them. The lights at the Dinamo Stadium were kept on till at night. The sky was calm and still.
The snow plowed yesterday was piled around the pitch, hemming in the green field in layers.
Twain was a little relieved.
At the start of the game, Borisov used a long shot that brushed out of the goal to warn the visiting team, which was intent on scoring. They were not pushovers that could easily be overpowered.
In the frigid weather, the Borisov players were able to move freely and with vigor. They played better than they did at Nottingham Forest’s home game. On the other hand, the Nottingham Forest players, with the exception of Arshavin, a Russian player, were a little unaccustomed to the weather here. It was so cold that even if they had warmed up for twenty minutes before the game, their bodies seemed to be stiff.
The ground was slippery. With a little force, the footage of a complete mess would emerge. Clearly there were opportunities to shoot, but as the supporting foot slipped, the players would directly shoot the football into the stands behind the goal. They could barely struck the football, but the shots were weak.
The fifty-five thousand fans who came to cheer on the home team filled the stadium’s stands to the brim. Their enthusiasm even melted the snow beneath the stands. There were also some valiant fans who were topless and rode on the grandstand railings to wave the scarves in their hands, sing and clapped loudly as they shouted for Borisov. The Borisov players’ every move would elicit thunderous cheers. Furthermore, whenever the Forest players took the ball on the sidelines or kicked a corner kick, white snowballs would fall from the air and struck beside the players, splitting into numerous spatters. If the snowball was packed with a lighter, cell phone, coins or something else… it would be unthinkable if it hit someone.
The fans and team brought a double pressure to the Forest team, which could not enter the game form and its attack appeared to be messy.
The first half was basically Borisov besieging and bombing the Forest team’s half of the field indiscriminately. The Forest team only had the strength to ward off the attacks but was powerless to retaliate.
But in the end they managed to keep it to a tie after much difficulty and did not lose the game yet.
In the second half, Borisov began to withdraw while the Forest team began to fight back, with both sides deadlocked near the midfield.
In the seventieth minute, van der Vaart was inattentive and fell to the ground when he picked up the ball in the front field because the ground was too slippery. The football was given directly to the Borisov player next to him. How could Borisov let go of such a big gift? They immediately organized a counterattack and rushed into the Forest team’s penalty area after a series of quick passes. With a two-versus-one pass in front of the goal, they tricked van der Sar and easily pushed the ball into the empty goal.
The Dinamo stadium immediately erupted into thunderous cheers, vibrating and making everything groan in the stadium, as if the sky was about to collapse.
Looking at the dazzling white light in front of his eyes and listening to the roar in his ears, Twain only felt his chest tightened, as if a needle was stuck in it. He gritted his teeth and stood still.
The Borisov people reveled, while the Nottingham Forest players were dejected. Faced with such a weather, such an opponent, and such an away trip … they were somewhat powerless.
Just as everyone was their wits’ end, they heard Twain’s roar from the sidelines, “What did I say? We must win! We must win! I will absolutely not accept anything less than victory! Absolutely not! I don’t care what you do… Damn it!”
He suddenly turned around and summoned Žigić, “Five minutes!” He opened up five fingers on his left hand and said, “You only have five minutes to warm up. I want you to immediately come back after your warmup. Just go!” He pushed the big man.
Žigić stumbled and ran to warm up. Five minutes later, he stood in front of Twain again.
“We’re going to change tactics. The ground coordination and breakthroughs from the two wings obviously won’t work. I don’t mind making the game looked uglier. The traditional English style of play is suitable in the face of such a situation. Do you know what to do when you go on?” He stared at Žigić and asked.
The Serbian player performed averagely after scoring one goal against Manchester City. He did not live up to expectations, and his inability to adapt to the pace of the Premier League made many felt like Twain had made an error of judgment again after Grosso. He himself was under a lot of pressure. He was a substitute at Valencia and ended as a substitute again when he came here. He was desperate to be able to prove himself again that he had not passed into oblivion because he was on the bench at Valencia.
He nodded forcefully and said, “Batter them in the penalty area.”
“Make good use of your height and jump! Go up and tell them that when we have the ball, pass it to your head. Where you are, that’s where the ball goes!”
After he pushed Žigić onto the field, Twain continued to stand on the sidelines. Now that Borisov’s temperature at night had dropped below zero, Twain felt a little warm instead. He felt a layer of sweat on his forehead. He was perspiring on his chest and back, and his shirt was drenched. He had to open his black coat and unbutton the buttons on his shirt.
A cold wind flowed straight at his chest, and yet he felt more relaxed and comfortable.
If the team lost the away game to Borisov… Twain dared not even think that such a situation would happen to him. He must not let this come true.
Within minutes of bringing on Žigić, Twain replaced Lennon with Beckham. The situation was obvious. He wanted to use the side passes and headers in the middle to overcome the disadvantages in the field condition and weather.
Having done all this, he was basically out of moves. He had done all that was to be done. What was next? He did his best. Could he leave it up to fate?
Twain looked up at the dark sky.
He suddenly squinted his eyes. A chill passed over his face. This icy feeling spread from his face directly to the bottom of his heart—it was snowing.
After holding out for a day, the snow had finally fallen. The fluttering snow soon filled the air in the city and the sky above the stadium.
Could this be destiny?
Twain only felt the kind of needle-like pain in his heart became increasingly noticeable. He clenched his teeth and stared at the sky. White snowflakes were visible to the naked eye under the light.
In the area next to him came a smattering of cheers, the Borisov players and coaches saw the snow and knew the game was moving towards a situation that becoming advantageous to them. The Borisov’s head coach was already plotting how to compete with FC Kyiv Dynamo for the other spot for advancement in the group.
“Nottingham Forest looks like it’s going to be in trouble.” The ESPN commentator announced the Forest team’s impending doom in a very calm tone, “Once it starts to snow, the team’s performance will only be worse. I think their players must be freezing. The ground is completely wet and the drainage system at the Dinamo Stadium is terrible. But the Belarus team clearly doesn’t have these troubles. They are totally used to the grounds and playing in the snow is as common as breathing. What does Tony Twain have in mind? Maybe he wishes his team has a home ground that is at an altitude of three kilometers above sea level…”
※※※
“I don’t accept failure!” George Wood said to the two full backs while the opponent was slow-going in preparing for a free kick. He had a serious expression as if a fire was burning in his eyes. “All of you go up during the attack. Just leave the back to me!”
“Is it going to be okay?” Rafinha was a little worried. Borisov was strong in its counterattacks.
“We still have more than ten minutes to go. What difference does it make if we concede one goal or ten goals?”
Bale nodded first in reply, “Got it!”
Rafinha followed suit and said, “No problem!”
Borisov’s free kick was slightly above the crossbar, which still drew cheers from the stands.
“Those bastards! The Belarus team is getting the better of us!” Twain was hopping mad and raining curses on the sidelines. He yelled, “Get your spirits up! We’re the damn defending champion! We can’t lose to a team like this! You have to run even if you can’t! If you don’t run now, you may not get a chance to run again in the future!”
He was aware of the players’ physical condition and knew that it was more physically draining to play in a stadium like this in today’s game. However, in the present circumstances, he could only let the players grit their teeth and persist. If they conceded here, the season would be over.
They must advance from the group stage whatever it took!
The Forest team’s full backs began to provide frequent assists, which were stronger than ever. Sometimes Pepe would dribble the ball himself to rush ahead and get involved in the attack. George Wood stood alone in the backfield, waiting for Borisov’s counterattack himself.
Rafinha dribbled the ball ahead and when he saw the opponent wanted to intercept his ball, he hurriedly passed the ball to Beckham. He ran forward, hoping to do a one-two combination with Beckham.
David Beckham did not pass the football back to him. He stood in place and suddenly swung his leg for a shot, ten meters away from the penalty area. It was a diagonal pass at a forty-five-degree angle!
Žigić was entangled with the opposing defenders. When he saw Beckham swung his leg for the diagonal pass, he suddenly charged out, and leapt high after a sprint!
“He’s so tall—GOOOOAL!! Eightieth minute! Nottingham Forest equalized the score!!”
Twain turned and threw a punch at the underside of the awning in the technical area.
The snow was getting heavier, but he no longer cared about such minor details.
“It’s not over yet!” After he vented a little nervousness, he turned back and made threatening gestures toward the field as he shouted to remind the players to continue to work hard.
Žigić also knew the team’s current situation. He did not wildly celebrate his goal. Instead, he picked up the football from inside the net and was surrounded by a group of teammates as he ran back.
“Aerial shots! High passes! Blow open their goal!” Following which in the game, Twain leapt and jumped on the sidelines as if he was deranged. Foul language spewed continuously from his mouth. He was caught in a dead end. Just like he warned the players, if they did not go crazy now, perhaps there would be no chance…
Borisov also had to give up the idea of a home win over the Forest team. They needed to try to play well defensively first. The two center backs were used to keep an eye on Žigić, and Beckham was also given extra attention. Then the Borisov players began to try their best to waste the time in the game.
The slightest touch would send them falling painfully to the ground. In quick succession, they would hold their calves and fall to the ground with cramps. If they kicked the ball from the goal, the ball must be repeatedly placed twice. To throw in an out of bounds ball, they would definitely wait for the full backs to slowly walk up before they launched…
Every time he saw the Borisov players fall to the ground because of an “injury” and the Forest team kicked the football out of bounds on their own due to sportsmanship, Twain’s chest would violently heaved up and down off the field. Fury would rushed out and he could immediately exploded if a spark were to be lit.
It was not the first time he had witnessed such a “reasonable” use of the rules of the game to delay the game time. But he felt extremely unpleasant to personally experience it… he was so out of sorts that he almost blew up.
One of the Borisov players fell to the ground during a scuffle with the Forest players. Pepe did not see what happened behind him. He intercepted the ball and passed it to George Wood in front of him.
The Borisov player was still holding his wrist and lay motionless on the ground.
The Nottingham Forest players did not see it, but the Borisov players did. In fact, in the final stages of the game, they were basically watching their players at all times other than defending. Whenever someone fell to the ground, a series of hands were raised to signal that they were injured and asked the Forest players to kick the ball out. While the Forest players really carry forward the spirit of sportsmanship and politely kicked the football out.
But this time, when the players raised their arms to ask George Wood to kick the football out and let their player receive treatment, George Wood remained unmoved. He bypassed the opposing players easily, and the Borisov players could not believe what just happened in front of their eyes.
When George Wood bypassed another man, no matter how much the Borisov players on the opposite side gestured, and no matter how many people in the stands booed him, he continued to dribble the ball forward and attack as long as he did not hear the referee stop the game with his whistle.
When he bypassed the second man, the Borisov players finally understood. Nottingham Forest simply did not intend to carry out any sportsmanship this time!
One of the players charged up and wanted to use an aggressive foul to shovel Wood along with the ball to force a halt to the game.
Wood did not give the other side a chance to foul. He passed the ball to Bale in the wing, and then jumped up to dodge.
Bale also seemed to hesitate. The Borisov player across from him stepped back to defend while asking him to kick the ball out.
But George Wood yelled, “Keep attacking!”
He sent the football into the penalty area.
The Borisov players were bewildered by the Forest team’s attack. Some of them rushed to face the attack, which simply could not make up an effective defensive protection.
When the football flew toward their goal, no one cared about sportsmanship and how the Forest team acted shamelessly … the arrow on the bowstring was ready to be fired!
Žigić leapt high again and the two center backs jumped close to him, trying to squash him.
The Serbian player did not shoot his own goal, and he ferried the ball to the unmarked Arshavin behind.
Arshavin did not hold back. He swung his leg to kick right away and the football volleyed into the net!
“Arshavin! Arshavin—Nottingham Forest turns the game around! Now they’re ahead! Although the goal is somewhat controversial, the referee signaled that the goal was valid!”
Twain knelt with both knees on the ground and point two fingers at the sky. He opened his mouth wide and shouted in Mandarin, “If this is Heaven’s Will, then I will defy you wily God!”
The Borisov players angrily blocked the referee and tried to reason. The others came at George Wood in a rage, looking murderous.
The Forest players rushed over before they could celebrate the goal.
“This is so lacking in sportsmanship!” The young Borisov manager, Goncharenko, roared angrily at the fourth official on the sidelines. Sometimes, the fourth official was a pathetic character that the two teams’ coaches would vent at… and the fourth official could only treat it as one ear in and one ear out and not take it to heart.
“This is disgraceful! We want to appeal!” He yelled at the fourth official in broken English.
“Where are you going to appeal, Mr. Goncharenko?” Twain, who had finished giving vent to the sky, had a smirk on his face as he appeared on the other side of the fourth official. He looked at the somewhat hysterical opponent and said, “My players have the right to decide whether to kick the football out of bounds. As long as the referee doesn’t blow the whistle to stop the game and we don’t kick it out, what can you do? The FIFA rules do not state that if the opposing player falls to the ground, the player with the ball must suspend the attack. You won’t win if you appeal to FIFA!”
“You… No sportsmanship!” He pointed to Twain’s nose this time and scolded him.
Twain gave a shrug and said, “At least my players did not deliberately waste the game time. A manager, whose goalkeeper was shown a yellow card for procrastination, is unqualified to say that about me.”
After saying that, he turned around and walked away, letting the poor fourth official continue to suffer the venting from the already thunderous Goncharenko. The UEFA also did not want a team like Borisov, which had no market prospects, to advance to the final sixteen teams in the Champions League. Nottingham Forest at the top was easier to deal with. Borisov, which played in the Champions League for the first time, was really tender…
The situation on the pitch was a bit chaotic. There was physical contact on both sides and the referee had to show four yellow cards to four players in a row before the situation was brought under control.
George Wood stood at the heart of the struggle. No matter how angry the opposing players were, he just clenched his fists and celebrated the decisive winning goal with his teammates, completely ignoring the other side’s anger.
It was his blatant attitude that infuriated the Borisov players, making them want to punch him.
After the players on both sides squandered the game time, there was really little left. Once the experienced Nottingham Forest team overtook with a goal, it completely defeated Borisov’s fighting spirit. They felt ill at ease and were completely unable to concentrate on the game itself. Their minds were full of anger and unwillingness, grievance and regrets …
How could such a team pose a threat to Nottingham Forest?
The snow was still falling, but no one cared anymore if it would affect the Forest team.
Nottingham Forest had won because the game was over! Tony Twain won!
When the final whistle sounded, Borisov’s head coach immediately rushed to the pitch and got hold of the referee to demand him why he did not decisively whistle to suspend the game when his player had fallen to the ground and was injured. But due to his aggressive words, coupled with his pulling actions, he paid the price for his recklessness and youth as a result—he was directly sent off by the referee with a red card!
Twain was not in the mood to watch the young manager’s passionate performance. He did not even hug and celebrate with his players who had a narrow escape. He slumped in a chair and took a deep breath. A weight was lifted off his chest, but a heavier weight was hoisted up, hanging above his heart.
A life like a roller coaster was almost the entire trajectory of a professional manager.
Even if it was clamorous around him, he could still clearly hear the rapid throbbing of his heart as if it were echoing in his ears.
The game was over, and he won, but the sound did not slow down because of it. It kept beating at that pace, just like the speed in which Nottingham Forest had suddenly risen in the European continent for the last three seasons.
This was really worrying. He did not know when that taut string would break …
...
Chapter 709 - Eight Months!
On the flight back to Britain from Belarus, Twain would occasionally recall what happened, scene by scene, at the Dinamo Stadium in Minsk. Then he felt the lingering fears and his heart would beat faster.
By the time he brought on Žigić, he could have guessed how many media outlets would have been sharpening the knives in far-flung England, ready to take the defeated Nottingham Forest apart. If he did lose the game, he did not have to consider the pressure from the club’s senior management. Just the domestic public opinion could hang, draw, and quarter him.
Even if he had won the game now, the debate about the game would not stop there. The Belarusian media shouted unjust treatment, lashed out at Nottingham Forest for its lack of sportsmanship and said that Britain did revere fair play (the spirit of fair play), but as a Briton, Tony Twain had no concept of fair play at all. He stole three points from Borisov in the game with an unfair advantage.
Some of the British media also derided that it was a pity Twain had fallen to the point where he had to resort to the strategy of robbing with force to ensure that they advanced out of the group stage.
He could foresee that the pressure shrouding him would not diminish at all with the victory of the game in the near future. He was still in the middle of the maelstrom and was still unlikable.
In addition to thinking about how to deal with the enemies on the pitch, he had to rack his brains to cope with the media.
The immense pressure exhausted him. No matter how loud the noise was on the plane, he just went to sleep the moment he tilted his head and shut his eyes.
※※※
Twain recently felt that his sleep was not restful, and he was in a bad mood every morning when he got up. The moment he opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling, the troubles which he temporarily forgot while sleeping would surface thick and fast, which caused him to suddenly lose all interest in life—there were worries every day on top of more worries. His brows did not have a moment to smooth out at all.
He forgot from where he had heard the phrase “The mood of the day is decided by your mood when you wake up.” At the moment, he felt that this phrase was too appropriate. He was in a bad mood every day when he got up, so he was in a bad mood all day.
During this period, he headed more frequently to the Forest bar, where he downed one drink after another with a cigarette constantly in his hand. Everyone in the bar also knew that Twain had been under a lot of pressure lately and that the team’s results were daunting. Even playing against the weakest opponent in the Champions League group stage was a narrow escape. Carl Spicer continued to attack Twain in his column because he sent him ten thousand books to embarrass him in public. Furthermore, after his relationship with Shania came to light, numerous rumors swirled around him.
As a football manager, the pressure was already greater than it would be for a normal person, on top of so many things out of the football field to bother him. He could not find any other way to relieve his mental stress other than drinking and smoking.
John and the others were unable to help however much they wanted to. No one could help Twain share this kind of pressure.
No…
Actually, there was someone.
The fans in the bar were talking and laughing with drinks in hand. They discussed the latest interesting happenings. Football was not the only topic being talked about here. The fans who often gathered here knew each other well and could talk about anything.
Twain was still sitting alone in the corner, drinking and smoking.
John leaned over and propped his bent elbows on the bar. He looked at Twain in the corner and said to himself, “It’s really hard to see Tony like this. Unfortunately, we can’t help him… Can’t play football and help him win good results; can’t help him deal with the media, can’t help him raise money to buy players in January…”
“It’s hard behind the glitz…” Skinny Bill sighed too.
As one of the best in a new generation of managers, Tony Twain had a high-profile and many admirers and followers. What the people, who liked or hated him, saw was nothing more than Twain’s arrogance and domineering appearance plus his bright and dazzling achievements. Who could see the Tony Twain of the present moment?
Burns wiped the glasses and softly spoke, “Bone weary from the day, he returns home all the time to a dark and cold house. Even the smallest amount of pressure will slowly accumulate to become something bigger?”
John looked back at him.
Burns held up a glass and looked at it under the lights to see if there were any stains that had not yet been cleaned. “A forty-year-old man, still single and doing such a high-stress job. How many football coaches have you heard who are single?” He looked up at John and asked.
With a bang, Twain stood up and knocked over the glass placed on the table. He waved goodbye to Burns, John and Bill, as he wove out of the bar alone.
“Who can spend all his life in a bar?” Burns looked at the swaying door and said.
※※※
Every day after work, he would go to Burns’ Forest Bar to get drunk and then sleep in a drunken haze. The next day, he would get up and frowned as he thought for a while only to realize the new day held nothing that could make him feel better. The international financial situation was deteriorating every day and the club’s finances could only shrink further. He was worried that the next day Evan would find him to say that the club could no longer afford to pay the big star players their high salaries. The players’ exhausted stamina could not be fully recovered with a few days’ sleep. There were always a few names on the injury name list. Sometimes a person would leave, and another person would come on.
This was Twain’s “happy life” nearing the end of the year.
Although he could not think of any good news that would make him happy when he got up every morning and sat by the bed, he still had to drum up his spirit and forcibly put on a pleasant face to go work in Wilford.
He had to supervise the training, develop a week’s work plan, communicate with the physiotherapists and team doctors to know the recovery status of the injured players every day, communicate with the fitness coaches to keep up-to-date with the team’s latest fitness, observe the players’ condition during training, and occasionally pay some attention to the youth team and reserve players, listen to the latest reports from the football scouts from around the world. He also had to search for talent within the database of players specially crafted by Sports Interactive for the Forest team, hoping to rely on Sports Interactive’s vast network of scouts around the world to allow him to unearth one or two unknown wonder kids and young bosses. He continued to deal with the media’s various tricky questions at the regular press conferences, studied the next opponent’s latest intelligence, and worked with Dunn to develop a detailed campaign …
Since the pressure was too enormous to be solved, he simply worked harder and kept busy to make himself temporarily forget the pressure.
This was the “stress reduction” approach that Twain used to face the pressure.
It could be said that this method was effective at work. He was frantically busy and basically had no time to consider the amount of the pressure. It was only at the end of the day when work had ended, that the feeling would surge up like a tide coming ashore, and increasingly stronger than before.
When he returned home after he “relaxed” at the bar and saw the dark painted colossus from the outside, he had the urge to not go in and turn to leave.
It was cold outside. It was just as cold at home.
Standing on the dark doorway, he broke out in a cold sweat after drinking as a gust of icy wind blew at him.
※※※
On November 29th, the fifteenth round of the league tournament, Nottingham Forest defeated West Bromwich Albion at home by 3:1. In the other games played at the same time, Chelsea and Arsenal tied at 2:2 while Liverpool easily beat West Ham United by 2:0. Manchester United and Manchester City shook hands on a 1:1 draw at the Manchester Derby. Thus, Liverpool overtook Chelsea to take the top spot in the league table with thirty-eight points, followed by Chelsea with thirty-six points, and Nottingham Forest at the third place with thirty points. Manchester United, which originally had the same points as them, was in the fourth place with twenty-eight points. Arsenal was in the fifth place with twenty-seven points.
Nottingham Forest had finally pulled ahead of Manchester United in points and was no longer in third place in the league with the other teams. Chelsea’s winning streak was held back by Arsenal. At thirty-six points, they only a six points difference with the Forest team, once again giving the Forest team a glimmer of hope to catch up and overtake.
In the game against West Bromwich Albion, the team also put in a spirited performance rarely seen in recent games and easily won against the opponent at 3:1.
It was reasonable to say that these were all good things, but neither Tony Twain nor the media clearly thought that was the case.
Van Nistelrooy was replaced by Žigić after he was injured and fell to the ground in the 70th minute of the game against West Bromwich Albion.
According to a preliminary diagnosis after the game, he needed to take a break for the injury for two months.
The figure had made Twain’s already knitted brows creased even more.
Van Nistelrooy knew what troubled the boss. In an interview, he even smiled with ease that he was fine to lessen the pressure on Twain. He said, “It’s only for eight weeks. I’ll just have a good rest for two months. I’ll be back!”
As a result, when he flew to the United States for further examination, a staggering piece of bad news came out.
The previous estimation of two months of recuperation did not include the option of surgery. The team doctors did not think that there was any need for surgery and he just needed to recuperate. Of course, it was from the club’s point of view. After all, the team doctors knew the Forest team was currently short of players. Beckham and Eastwood had been injured, while Pepe’s injury was also further aggravated in the game against Borisov. He had to sit in the stands completely, and Sun Jihai was also injured for a month.
Under the circumstances of the team being strapped for players, they did not consider the surgical treatment option at all.
The doctor in the United States had no such concerns. The famous doctor, Richard Steadman who diagnosed van Nistelrooy, bluntly pointed out that the Dutch man should have surgery right away and…
[Eight months!!]
[The Sun] printed the big and somewhat shocking black headline.
Eight months was the estimated time for van Nistelrooy to recover from the surgery—eight to nine months.
When the news came from America to Nottingham, Tony Twain could hardly believe his ears. He thought the other side had mistaken “eight months” for “eight weeks.”
How could he be wrong?
※※※
“… At least eight to nine months and it’s only the time for recovery from the surgery. It’s at a year away from him being able to play again!”
How could Tony Twain’s most loyal opponent, Carl Spicer not be around during such a sensitive time? In an interview with a television station, he broke the news and pushed Tony Twain further into the heart of the struggle.
“The players normally have at least a month to undergo muscle training to regain their forms during the initial stages of recovery from a serious injury. Any intense exercise during the one-month period can cause the newly healed injury to flare up again. Van Nistelrooy’s injured knee meniscus is the most likely part of the body that can cause the old injury to recur from any collision. The most classic example is Ronaldo. Can any of you count the number of times the Brazilian O Fenômeno’s knee has been injured?”
“No, no. I won’t say the kind of foolish things like van Nistelrooy will definitely say goodbye to the season. I’m just saying that the Dutch will have a ninety-five percent chance of completely retiring! Is this alarmist talk? I’m not doing that. Well, I’ll pray for the Dutchman’s successful surgery and perfect recovery from the injury. Then he will be able to start a simple muscle strength training, and then gradually strengthen to participate in the team training with the whole team. And he can slowly … begin to compete again. There will be no twist and turn during the period, and a year will have passed.” On the television football program, he wrote and drew on the board. He spoke frankly with assurance about van Nistelrooy’s serious injury, “Remember, there will be no problem during this time. He will recover well, and he hasn’t had a relapse in his right knee. Then he will be thirty-four years old.”
Spicer spread his hands and said to the host with a smile, “Do you know what thirty-four years of age mean for a striker? In a fast-paced and fierce competition like the Premier League, what can a thirty-four-year-old striker, who has just suffered a serious knee injury…do? Will Nottingham Forest renew van Nistelrooy’s contract? I don’t believe Evan Doughty will be a philanthropist under such terrible financial climate. That’s why I said he had a ninety-five percent chance of retiring directly!”
“Well, I made myself clear about the unfortunate Dutchman. Now let us see who’s the cause of all this and who was responsible for van Nistelrooy’s tragic fate!” He saw the host’s mouth open and hurriedly stopped him with a gesture, so that he can continue to add, “That’s right, I’m referring to—Tony Twain!”
From the beginning of the new season, van Nistelrooy is already injured and has not been in good shape. He basically plays in a few games and takes a break during the first half of the league tournament. At the start of the season, van Nistelrooy already announced his retirement from the Netherlands national team and focused on playing for the Forest team. Twain overjoyed by this. After he drove Bendtner away, van Nistelrooy is the only center forward he can rely on. The Serbian simply couldn’t adapt to the Premier League football. The team’s performance is not good and the entire team’s condition was up and down. Coupled with the impact of the financial crisis, Tony Twain knew he has to obtain good results. Under immense pressure, he can only continue to rely on van Nistelrooy…”
Having said that, Carl Spicer leaned calmly against the back of the chair, with a mysterious smile on his face.
“I have inside information that just before the game against West Bromwich Albion, Nottingham Forest’s team doctor had warned Twain that it was best not to let van Nistelrooy play or he would risk an injury. But Tony Twain still forced to bring the Dutchman on and did not heed the team doctor’s warning for the sake of his manager position. And what did everyone see in the end? A manager who only cares for his own position regardless of the players’ health. Some people may say that he rules with an iron fist. But I scoff at this!”
※※※
While Carl Spicer’s talk show was on the television, Twain was drinking his troubles away in Burns’ bar. Van Nistelrooy’s serious injury was indeed a heavy blow to Twain. Žigić was still slowly adjusting to the Premier League, Eastwood was constantly suffering from minor injuries and Arshavin was more of a winger than a scoring center forward. The only one who could be trusted was the dedicated van Nistelrooy. As a result, he became injured and it was going to take eight months… He completely had no idea how to resolve the task of goalscoring within the team the rest of the season.
While he was troubled, he naturally came to the bar to drink and drown his sorrows.
He was surrounded by John and Bill, who were both trying to comfort him.
Then he heard the news of Carl Spicer looking smug on television and jabbering about the scoop.
At the time, his body swayed as he stood up, holding a thick beer glass in his hand, and was about to smash the television. Fortunately, John and Bill acted quickly. One of them held him and the other man reached to take the glass. But the beer in the glass drenched Twain.
“The bitch-faced bastard!” He punched and swore.
“Why do you care what that idiot do, Tony? Drink up, let’s drink!” John signaled to Burns to continue serving.
But Twain did not keep drinking. He sat in the chair in a daze and still looked back on what happened before the game.
Carl Spicer was right with one thing. Fleming did warn him that van Nistelrooy’s body was close to collapse and could not be used like this again. Therefore, Twain decided to rotate and rest van Nistelrooy to give Žigić, who had not adapted to the Premier League yet, to start in the game. Anyway, West Bromwich Albion was just a newly promoted team which they could cope with. Even if Beckham, Eastwood, Pepe and van der Vaart were injured, they could always cope.
But van Nistelrooy looked for him and insisted on playing. He was aware of the team’s current predicament and knew that the boss had no one available whom he could use.
Twain thought about it for a long time before he nodded and agreed.
He just did not think that what he feared would come into fruition. Van Nistelrooy really got hurt in the game and was seriously injured for eight months!
It was really unfortunate. He was out of luck…
※※※
The next day, a lot of reporters were at the gates of Wilford and they wanted to come here to confirm if what Carl Spicer said on television last night was true.
Twain’s hoarse voice in front of these reporters sounded a little soft. The troubles, which came one after another these days gave him a sense of powerlessness and he could not act tough even if he wanted to.
“Don’t make wild guesses…” He waved his hands and said, “It was my decision to let Ruud play, and I’m not going to shirk my responsibility for it. I feel sorry and shocked that the team has lost such an important striker, but my team will persevere. We are ranked third and in good condition. An injury is a normal occurrence. I don’t see what you call a crisis. That’s it, goodbye everyone.”
With that, he turned and walk inside.
A group of reporters rushed forward at the back and shouted, “Mr. Tony Twain! I have one more question!”
“Mr. Twain, I heard you forced van Nistelrooy to play injured with the use of local injections?”
Twain turned and glared at those reporters and coldly said, “I am in a bad mood, don’t bother me! If you’re curious, go ask Carl Spicer. Didn’t he claim to have inside information? Let him give you all the inside information he knows!”
After he marched ahead to shake off the reporters, only then Twain stopped to look up at the gloomy sky.
At least eight months…
When van Nistelrooy returns from the recovery of his injury, who knows what the situation will be like at that time?
Will the global economic crisis be over? Will we have any money? Can I wave my checkbook to buy people all over the world? What will happen to the team? Can we win the UEFA Champions League title for the third time in a row? Can we still defend the Premier League title? What kind of breakthrough can we made in the FA Cup?
What’s going to happen to Nottingham Forest and I… a year later?
...
Chapter 710 - Powerless to Stage a Comeback
Ruud van Nistelrooy had already left Nottingham, and was undergoing final preparations prior to his operation in America.
No one knew if he could return to the pitch after the operation. It was also unclear if Nottingham Forest would still want the 34-year-old at the club when he returns. His current salary is relatively high amongst all the players at the club, and his contract is due to expire by the time he recovers and makes it back to the team.
The uncertainties surrounding van Nistelrooy’s future left everyone feeling uneasy about his trip to America.
Twain was the only one who forced a smile and comforted him, “Come back alive and kicking, I am waiting for you!”
Van Nistelrooy’s injury had further aggravated the team’s woes at the front. There was now a complete lack of attacking options in the team.
However, that was only one of the many issues that his injury brought about. A bigger issue was how the team’s morale suffered a heavy blow as a result of his injury and departure.
The usual scenes of perpetual laughter were nowhere to be seen at the Wilford training grounds. Everyone would sigh collectively when the word ‘injury’ is mentioned in the dressing room and would say nothing else afterwards. Everyone prioritised their own safety and chose not to give their all during training.
It was safe to say that a fear of injury had spread and manifested itself throughout the entire team.
Twain was clueless as to how to deal with everything that was unfolding before him. He could not berate the players and tell them to give their all during training, because that would cause the players to slightly, or even completely, lose trust in him.
The players’ fear of picking up an injury was even more evident during a match. Their opponents seemed to have honed in on their fears as well, and they would all show their strong and aggressive side before the Forest players during the game and make use of boorish defending to control the flow of the match.
Most of the time, the Nottingham Forest players could only choose to give up the ball against such crude defending.
George Wood was the only player who remained unchanged and unaffected by any external influences. Sadly, he was not able to carry the entire team on his shoulders alone.
A low team morale. The players’ lack of stamina. The constant state of anxiety that the players were in due to their fear of injuries. All these factors led Forest to two consecutive defeats in the league.
On 6th December, Nottingham Forest lost 0-2 to Arsenal in an away game. On 13th December, they lost 0-1 to Blackburn at home.
Following their two consecutive defeats, Nottingham Forest slipped from third place to seventh in the table. Aston Villa and Everton were ranked above them, and Hull City was ranked eighth.
On 16th December, Forest travelled all the way to Japan to participate in the FIFA Club World Cup.
The exhausting plane flight coupled with Twain’s indifference towards a match of this level resulted in a loss for Forest against Fluminense Football Club, who was the champion of Copa Libertadores, in the finals of the FIFA Club World Cup. Forest missed out on bringing the trophy back home.
The only positive for the team came during the last round of the Champions League’s group stages. Nottingham Forest clinched a 4-1 victory over Kyiv Dynamo at home amongst the cheers from their 30,000 fans, and managed to secure the last spot into the knockout stages.
They were able to hold onto both their spot in the Champions League and the money that they can get by remaining in the competition.
At least they have funds going into the next season.
The team might have made their way into the knockout stages of the Champions League, but the media’s criticisms of Twain did not relent and had only increased instead. The reason for it was because they realized that Tony Twain would most likely be unable to make a comeback in a short period of time this time round, so they did not need to worry about getting slapped in their faces by Twain after he started to win games.
Many criticized how he only had his sights on victories and turned a blind eye on the players’ fitness levels, which led to the disaster that befell van Nistelrooy.
Others criticized his powerlessness to do something that would help bring his team out of the pinch that they were in.
Some derided him over how he spent most of his time squabbling with the media, but did not spend any to build up his team’s fitness levels.
A few believed that the reason behind why there are very few managers who get embroiled in a lot of off the pitch news is because those news would lead to the manager becoming distracted during his training and guidance of the team. Managers like that cannot be counted as incompetent, but have certainly failed as managers.
“… We can criticize a player if he performs badly when he gets overly caught up with affairs that have nothing to do with his job as a footballer. The manager can drop him to the bench or send him to the stands to let him reflect on his actions. But, what about a manager who gets so distracted that he is unable to give his all for the job? Are there any ways for us to punish him? Tony Twain thinks he is the king of Nottingham Forest. I have no intentions to debate over whether he is the king or not, but if a country’s king encounters a problem and makes a mistake, where should the country go from there?”
All sorts of criticisms besieged Twain. He would come across at least two columns lambasting him every single morning when he flips open the newspapers.
He eventually stopped reading newspapers all together. This was also how he got rid of his bad habit of reading the news while eating breakfast.
He was not scared in the slightest of how the media admonishes him. It was not the first time it happened to him anyway. The only difference was that the media seemed to be concentrating their attacks together this time round instead of the scattered, individual attacks in the past.
What made him feel growingly pressured was the intent from the higher-ups of the club.
It did not matter how good of a relationship he had with Evan on a daily basis. The fact was that the team was performing badly right now. He could not escape being summoned to the office by a grim-faced Evan to discuss about the situation for an hour.
Evan did not reproach him. He only talked about how the team was in a difficult position right now, and how he hoped that Twain would divert the attention away from the club’s financial issues and change the image that people have of Forest currently by winning matches.
As long as they won matches, all the problems would stop being problems.
As long as they won matches, the fickle media would start to cheer for Forest again…
The words that Evan said were what made Twain feel immense pressure.
Evan was an owner who only sat in the office the whole day. He never cared about the club. He has no idea how hard it is for the team to win matches with the situation that they are currently in, but Twain was different. He understood it best as the manager of the team.
Nonetheless, Evan was still his boss, and what he said was right as well. Nobody would wish to see their team lose matches. Losing matches was not the way for him to reduce the stress placed on him either.
What to do? Brace yourself, grit your teeth and face it head on, of course.
Twain agreed to do as Evan said.
They will win their next match. They had to win. The situation would definitely turn for the better. The issues that they have on their hands were only temporary…
But who was their opponent for the next match?
On 20th December, matchday 18, Nottingham Forest was up against Manchester United in an away game….
※※※
Ferguson might be Twain’s drinking and horse racing buddy, but it would be a pipe dream to expect him to let Twain off the hook because of the friendship that they share.
How could Ferguson pass on the chance to obliterate the arrogant Nottingham Forest who had tyrannized the Premier League for two seasons?
Even if he was willing to go easy on Forest, Manchester United’s players and fans would never assent to it either.
Think about it. Who was it that snatched the Premier League Champion’s trophy from them during the final game of the previous season?
The Nottingham Forest who did that to them is currently in a sorry state. Twain could not even gather 11 players to play for his starting team.
Manchester United was not a charity organisation. They have no obligation to help them get over their hurdles.
Rumors circulated before the match that if Twain were to lose again, he would likely get the boot.
A banner with the words “See Tony Twain off with a victory. Die, Nottingham Forest!” appeared at the Old Trafford stands during the match as a response to the rumors.
The Old Trafford stands were teeming with animosity towards Twain. Many of the fans were desperate to rush down and dismember him.
There were endless insults thrown Twain’s way from behind his manager’s seat.
The British were certainly creative. They came up with all kinds of ways to scold him so that he would not feel lonely for 90 minutes.
Van Nistelrooy has left the team indefinitely due to an injury. Van der Vaart is out with an injury for a month and so is Pepe, who is out of action for half a month. Similarly, Beckham is out for a week, Eastwood is out for two weeks, Petrov is out for 10 days, Tiago is out for a week and Sun Jihai is out for a month…
Who else do they have on the pitch right now?
How could they hope to win against Manchester United with such a team?
If Ferguson knew about the promise that Twain made with Evan prior to the match, he would definitely fly into a rage and say that Twain was looking down on him and his team.
All Twain could do was to force a smile. He knew how hard it was to win Manchester United as an away team. However, there was no way back for him now. The team’s morale would take a hit if he were to show his weak side at a time like this.
Twain stood by the side of the pitch and kept flailing his hands about agitatedly as the match progressed.
Seeing that, the Sky Television’s commentator joked, “Tony Twain probably longs to get on the pitch himself and help the team win the match personally.”
The team was in a slump. The players who had performed well in the past were unable to re-enact their past good performances.
Şahin, the Turkish gifted youth player who was playing as a replacement for van der Vaart, quickly became invisible in the game after being closed down in Manchester United’s midfield.
Rafinha was close to becoming disoriented after dealing with Cristiano Ronaldo’s repeated breakthroughs.
Kompany could not stop Rooney and Tevez’s interchanging attacks all by himself.
George Wood kept on running, but he was unable to defend both sides of the flanks at the same time.
Žigić was isolated at the front of the pitch and was unable to produce anything without support from the midfield.
Lennon tried to find a way to break through, but his attacks were too predictable and were easily stopped by his opponents…
Twain raised his head to the skies. There was nothing else he could do…
Everything had gone well for him during the past few seasons. There were a few occasional injuries, but those injuries did not affect the team as a whole.
Maybe lady luck was smiling at him back then?
Unlike the past few seasons however, every unlucky thing came at him at the same time this season. The way that they happened one after another in such a short span of time made Twain feel as though they were all pre-arranged.
God, are you trying to drive me to my grave?
He felt a sudden pang at his heart.
Twain gave up directing the match by the pitch. He turned around, languidly walked away, and languidly sat down on the manager’s seat.
His face was one of utter stupefaction.
The score for the match at that moment was 3-1. The home team’s score comes first, followed by the away team’s.
※※※
Nottingham Forest suffered their third consecutive defeat and they continued to slip down the ranking table. This time, they fell all the way to 11th place!
Amidst the state of chaos for the team, Real Madrid made a move once again to throw things into further disarray. They openly announced their interest in Forest’s Ribéry, and how they hoped to buy him during the winter transfer window.
This was not a joke published by the Spanish media outlets. It was also not that a screw came loose in the heads of the higher-ups in Real Madrid.
The reason behind why they wanted to spend big money to buy a player who participated in the Champions League before was simple.
Real Madrid and Nottingham Forest were both facing the same issues: injuries to players and a dreadfully incomplete team.
They had lost Robinho in the summer, and it weakened their already weak offense down the flanks. To make matters worse, Robben picked up a serious injury during the last match and was expected to be out for two to three months. This left Real Madrid in a situation where they have no wingers in the team that they can employ during games. Drenthe was too inexperienced and could not be played either. Schuster had made it clear that the Dutch was not a part of his plans as well.
Hence, it was imperative for Real Madrid to buy a winger in the winter transfer window.
Cristiano Ronaldo is still intent to leave Manchester United, but he will not agree to a transfer during the winter transfer window. The earliest he would agree to go would be during the summer next year.
After searching around, the only player Real Madrid could buy who would be risk-free, with a proven track record, and who would be able to get in the team and play straight away was Franck Ribéry.
Due to the fact that Nottingham Forest is currently going through a financial crisis, Real Madrid believes that the club would not play hardball and refuse an offer this time round.
After all, they are in desperate need of cash to turn their financial situation around, and Ribéry’s salary of 130,000 pounds per week was a heavy burden to the club as well.
Real Madrid put in a bid of 50 million euros for Ribéry after taking everything into account.
The reporters swarmed up to Twain, all wanting to obtain the latest information regarding the potential transfer from him.
Twain only shook his head and repeated his statement that he had not heard any details regarding the offer, and that Ribéry was happy at the club and would like to stay.
In contrast to Twain’s words however, Allan later came out and admitted that the club had indeed received an offer from Real Madrid during an interview with the press, but did not comment when asked about how the club intends to deal with the matter.
The media believes that Nottingham Forest would find Real Madrid’s offer in euros to be irresistible given the current economic downturn.
Twain was definitely aware of how tempting Real Madrid’s offer is. What he said to the media earlier were all lies.
Bruno Heiderscheid, Ribery’s manager, gave Twain another call to discuss about the matter, and he expressed his wishes for Tony Twain to let his player leave.
“It will help ease the club’s financial troubles and lower the wage structure. At the same time, Franck would be able to get what he wants. It’s the best of both worlds. I don’t think it is a bad offer.”
Everything he said made perfect sense, but Twain’s face was cold as ice and he just refused to nod his head.
※※※
Stress over the team’s results, stress from the difference in players’ thoughts, stress from the media, stress from the higher-ups and stress over finances…
Twain felt like he would only see a sea of black when he raised his head, even if the weather for the day was actually all sunny and bright.
It has been an exceptionally difficult winter for him.
What made things especially difficult for him was not the stress that continued to loom over him, but rather how he was completely clueless as to how to get rid of the stress that was weighing down on him.
He has no money to buy players and no time to make adjustments to the team and let the players rest. As long as the team continue to be depleted, there would be no chance of turning the results around, unless a miracle happened. The stress would only continue to accumulate if the terrible results keep coming one after another, until the day it gets so massive that he can’t endure it any longer and collapse.
When that happens, it did not matter how he, the Monkey King, struggled, he would just be crushed under the ‘The Mount of Five Fingers’ and not see the light for 500 years… [1]
It did not matter how tortuous the road was. As long as there was light before him, he could still get the entire team to grit their teeth and get through it by giving their all.
Sadly, the road that stretched out before him now was not only extremely tortuous, but without a glimmer of light as well.
If things were to go on as they have been, the team would likely face swift elimination despite qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League.
The multi-faceted problem that they have on their hands is not only shown in the club’s financial situation, but also in the various competitions that the team competes in.
Twain has to give up a goal or two and invest his all into ensuring that he can at least attain one of his goals.
The problem is, should they fight for a top four finish in the league, or should they fight to leave their name in history as the three-time champions of the Champions League?
If the team is unable to finish in the top four in the Premier League, then they will miss out on Champions League next season and can only watch as others get busy and celebrate.
The prospect of being crowned as the three-time champions of Champions League is certainly enticing…
Twain contemplated for a long time, and eventually decided to prioritize getting a top-four finish in the Premier League.
He felt that regardless of how tough a situation he is in now, there would come a day where his luck would turn for the better. Things might not be going his way right now, but who is to say that luck would not be on his side after the winter passes? Misfortune might just be a blessing in disguise.
Twain did not think that it was mission impossible to secure a top-four finish with the current Nottingham Forest team.
Now that he has set his goal, all he needed were results to help him make his goal a reality.
Christmas was around the corner, and Nottingham Forest was ranked 11th in the league table. This result was a far cry from where he wanted Nottingham Forest to be, which was to not be too far away from first place.
He needs to win games…
Twain wanted to pull his hair out at that thought.
When has winning a game ever been easy?
...
Chapter 711: The Imminent Passing of 2008
There are no matches between 21st December to 25th December. On Christmas, everyone can leave behind their woes for the year, kick back and enjoy the occasion.
The festive mood for Christmas was discernible in every nook and cranny in the city since the start of December. Christmas is akin to Chinese New Year in China, and is regarded as an important occasion in the West.
It did not matter if you are carrying a truck load of worries. You have to put them aside momentarily during Christmas and celebrate the day with everyone else. The same applied to Twain.
The atmosphere at the Christmas party organized by the club was insipid given how the team has been plagued by a run of poor results.
The Christmas tree was placed where it should be and each player received a small gift as well. However, the atmosphere was still much colder than before. Nobody was in the mood to celebrate the occasion given the bad results. No one knew what lies in store for them in the future, and they just could not bring themselves to celebrate.
Shania gave Twain a call to check on him and to remind him repeatedly to find a chance to sit back and relax so as to not ruin his health.
The two were quite in sync in how neither brought up the incident that happened between them previously. Shania seemed to have made up her mind that Twain has to be the one to speak about the matter first. She will not force him for an answer.
As for Twain, there was too much on his plate right now, and Shania was one of them. He has not found a way to deal with what is happening with the team, and certainly does not have a way to deal with his relationship issues either.
He just talked with Shania casually as he always had while being careful to avoid touching on the topic that will make him feel awkward.
It was only when he returned home in the middle of the night to a pitch black and chilly house that he realized how inconvenient it was to have one less person around him.
Twain spent the Christmas with Dunn at George Wood’s house. He thought Sophia’s face kept looking paler and paler every time he saw her.
It seems like the winter had not been easy for her either.
The only thing different about Sophia this time round was how she had a twinge of worry in her eyes when she looked at Twain.
Twain had forgotten to shave and he also did not cut his hair for a while, so his hair had grown long and only looked like it would grow longer. His eyes were bloodshot and looked a little clouded.
“Mr. Twain, please look after yourself…” She reminded as they were all having their meal.
Twain laughed. “I’m in fine fettle! Don’t worry, it’s just that I’ve been so busy that I’ve forgotten about my personal hygiene… It’s okay, I will shave and cut my hair when I get back…”
Sophia told him softly, “I don’t know much about what’s going on with the team, but George has been feeling down lately and keeps pulling a long face…”
Hearing her words reminded Twain of how George looked dispirited recently. His performance on the pitch so far has been solid, but could not be considered as particularly outstanding.
Is it because of the slump that the team is in, or is there another reason that he can’t speak about?
“Er… It’s nothing big. The winter will definitely pass, right? Shelley once said, ‘If winter comes, can spring be far behind?’… That was from Shelley, right?” Twain turned his head to ask Dunn.
Dunn nodded his head.
“It’s Christmas today. Let’s just celebrate the occasion and not bring up anything else!”
He did not want to hear about the things that have been troubling him for half a year, especially during a jovial occasion like Christmas.
Just let him forget everything!
He wanted to stop frowning just for tonight…
※※※
After leaving Sophia’s house, Twain located his white jeep amongst a row of cars by the road and got into the vehicle with Dunn.
Once inside, he started the ignition, but was not in a hurry to drive the car away.
He just sat on the driver’s seat and spaced out.
Dunn turned his head to look at the dazed Twain and asked, “What’s on your mind?”
“Many… Many things.”
“The team, or Shania?”
Dunn broke into a smile. “Both.”
“I know I probably shouldn’t say this… But, how long do you intend to stay this way with Shania? She has already confessed to you. Shouldn’t you give her some kind of response as a man?”
Twain placed both his hands over his face and kneaded it.
“I know that… But I don’t know how I should face her…”
“Do you love her?” Dunn asked without beating about the bush.
“I don’t know…”
“Why won’t you just shake your head and say ‘you don’t love her’?”
“I don’t know…”
“Are you still worried about the age gap between the two of you?”
Twain remained silent.
“If you were younger by 22 years and were the same age as her right now, will you like the girl?”
Bang.
Twain and Dunn both raised their heads to look into the distance at the same time, and they saw a cluster of red fireworks bloom in the night sky through the car’s windshield.
“I guess… I will probably like her.”
Dunn smiled and said nothing else. He looked out the window and seemed entranced as he admired the breathtaking fireworks that went off one after another in the night sky.
Twain turned the steering wheel and drove the car out of the parking lot.
“Do you want to see the fireworks?” Twain asked.
Dunn shook his head. “There’d be a crowd. Let’s just go home.”
Twain nodded his head in agreement. He was not interested in a fireworks display that highlighted all the good times of the past year.
2008 is about to be over. Should I reminisce it, or should I not?
※※※
Nottingham Forest’s first match after Christmas was a game at home against the northern powerhouse team Newcastle.
For non-football fans, the Christmas break has just started and they can choose to go all over the world for a vacation as long as they had the money.
For the football fans, being able to admire high standards of Premier League football is the best form of holiday to them.
The Nottingham Forest fans still vividly remember how the team lost to Newcastle at St James’ Park a month ago.
Now that they are on their home ground, they definitely have to make sure that Newcastle gets a taste of their own medicine!
To Twain however, getting revenge was only a complement. The most important thing was to win the match. They had to win no matter what.
His team had lost three times in a row in the Premier League. Their only win since the start of December was against Kyiv Dynamo in the group stages of the Champions League. This losing streak simply cannot go on!
They have to defeat Newcastle and put an end to these excruciatingly suffocating days!
There needs to be change in the new year. They must welcome the new year and pave the way to Nottingham Forest’s resurgence with a victory!
※※※
“If the Premier League conducted a poll on the most disappointing or worst football team for each month, then I would give my vote to Nottingham Forest for the month of December!” The experts were doing all sorts of analyses for the match on television.
“Three consecutive defeats and a shocking loss against Blackburn at home. There are absolutely no signs that this team is the two-time defending champion of the Premier League! It feels like the team is in complete disarray when all they have really lost is van Nistelrooy… Don’t tell me they won all those matches in the past because of van Nistelrooy?”
“We certainly cannot condemn the team based on one loss, but in the case of Nottingham Forest, it is not just one loss. They have been performing terribly for a long time. When they win, they do it unconvincingly, and when they lose, they make people wonder what just happened. Is this the Nottingham Forest that we know of? The Nottingham Forest that we know of under Tony Twain is a team that wins convincingly and was reputed as a consistently performing team, and even when they lost, they don’t leave people wondering why.”
“Nottingham Forest’s offense has seemingly lost its direction now that Van Nistelrooy is not in the team and van der Vaart and many other players are out injured. Their offense lacks a clear strategy… Look at the players, all they do is to run about blindly not knowing what to do. When the ball reaches a player’s feet, he can only fight alone by relying on his techniques. Even the team’s passing… The players only pass the ball around because there is a team mate next to them. They lack a clear strategy. Why do they pass the ball, and how they should pass the ball… None of those. They have none of those thoughts going through their heads. Nottingham Forest might be playing at home against Newcastle, but with the way they have been playing, I don’t expect them to win. The odds given by the various betting companies all suggest that they see Nottingham Forest as the underdogs going into the match. I don’t think their views are unwarranted…”
※※※
Twain did not feel like saying words like ‘we definitely have to win this match’ before his players anymore. He believes his players have grown sick of those words as well. Therefore, rather than straining his throat to say a bunch of useless, empty words, he decided to say something practical to them this time round.
“The fullbacks should move forward to attack in turns. Try to pass high balls more often and send the balls above Žigić’s head. We must make full use of Žigić’s height and physicality. Let’s use the simplest way to defeat them! Force them to follow our tempo in the game through our attacks. We must score a goal within the first 30 minutes! One goal won’t be not enough, we must score two before we think about switching over to defending! We must make sure we are leading them and have the upper hand before we revert to the playing style that we are more used to, then we can drag the game out with Newcastle…”
His voice sounded very solemn. He was not his usual self where he would banter with the players.
The players listened to him with grave expressions on their faces. They were fully aware of the situation that the team was in. They could not afford to lose… They could not afford to lose anymore.
Twain knew that this was a time where he should play in a more cautious manner, but he still decided to go for an all-out attack on Newcastle. This was an arrangement that suited him better as a gambler, or a gambler who was on a losing streak, because the stakes were high.
“Remember this! Minimize the mistakes that you make as much as you can. If they score one against us in the first half, don’t wait until you get back into our own half to defend. Snatch the ball from them wherever the ball is at! We are the home team. We must always act like one. If we can make them fear us then that’d be even better!”
※※※
Nottingham Forest started the match with explosive energy and displayed the air that one would expect of a defending champion football team.
With their backs to the wall, the team put in a performance that terrorized Newcastle for a while. Newcastle was sent into a frenzy and did not know how to react against them.
Nottingham Forest might not have been performing well lately, but they were still undoubtedly a strong team.
It had only been seven minutes into the match when Ribéry capitalized on a mistake by Newcastle’s defenders to slot in a goal into the bottom corner of the net.
The City Ground erupted into thunderous cheers. Tony Twain jumped high into the air and celebrated the goal by waving his arms in the air.
What a way to start the match!
Nicely done, Franck!
“Ribéry might have been troubled by the transfer speculations around him recently, but he continues to perform remarkably well for the Forest team. His goal is very crucial for the team! Look at how excited Tony Twain is by the side of the pitch. It’s almost as if he’s the one who scored the goal…”
Unfortunately, the good times did not last. Newcastle carried out a ferocious attack towards the end of the first half, and Owen managed to find an opening amidst the chaos before Forest’s goalpost. He shot for goal and scored the equalizer!
The City Ground went silent for a while. Twain did not know what kind of expression he should make as he stood by the side of the pitch.
The commentator made a joke after seeing Twain’s drastic change in emotions. “I think we should really give Tony Twain a heart rate monitor… His heart rate right now must be way above average!”
During halftime, Twain was livid and chastised the defenders for trying to carry the ball forward repeatedly and for being too apprehensive on the way they handled the ball.
“Why did you all try to carry the ball forward in our penalty box? For what? Did you all think we could carry it all the way over to the opposition’s penalty box? You must clear the ball away quickly! Clear the ball away quickly! Haven’t I told you guys that countless times? What’s the first thing a defender should do? It’s not to show off your superb techniques. It’s to get rid of the danger quickly! As long as the ball stays at your feet for one more second, we also stay in danger for one more second! The way you all handled the ball only gave the bastards from Newcastle more confidence! It’s like you were telling them ‘the ball’s at my feet, come and get it! As long as you get it you can shoot for goal straight away’!”
“If you can’t find someone suitable to pass the ball to, then just send the ball out of play! Don’t care about anything else!”
“Also, if you lot run out of stamina in the second half, then the full backs should stop moving forward to join in the attack… I’m going to say the same thing again. When the second half starts, fight to take the lead! The team that leads always gets to decide how the match goes! I don’t want the game to drag all the way till the 90th minute and still not be won by us. We can’t let that happen!”
※※※
Nottingham Forest was lively when the second half started and they actively went on the offense. On the other hand, Newcastle tightened their defense and did not give Forest any more chances at goal.
When a game reaches a stalemate, the importance of set pieces becomes accentuated.
17 minutes into the second half, Nottingham Forest wins a corner. Bale crosses the ball into the penalty box. Every single Newcastle player was focused on defending Žigić and they completely forgot about the short Ayala.
The short center back from Argentina jumped high into the air, and accurately located the spot where the ball fell without any players marking him. He then went on to do a beautiful header towards goal!
“They lead once again! Ayala’s thrilling header! Žigić provided the perfect cover for him! Nottingham Forest lead Newcastle by two goals to one!”
Twain hugged Dunn who was beside him tightly. His hug was so tight that one could almost hear Dunn’s bones cry out in pain. However, Twain was unaware of how tightly he was hugging Dunn, and only continued to exert more force.
Kerslake was the one who saved the pitiful Dunn by turning around to hug Twain. It was only then that Twain let go of a Dunn who was gasping for air.
※※※
“F*ck! F*ck them! F*ck those northern sons of b*tches! Nottingham Forest will win!” The fans at the stands went into hysteria.
Forest’s consecutive defeats have left many fans feeling all riled up. Everyone wanted to win against the opponent that defeated them previously now that they are on their home ground.
The face of Newcastle’s newly appointed manager, Alan Shearer, who is the club’s legend, was still as chiselled as ever. Just like how his face has a strong and clear bone structure, the Newcastle United under him is also a strong team. They will not give up easily.
Shearer will not give up, and neither will his team.
He led the team to a 2-1 victory by catching Twain off guard at their home ground. He intends to win the team that is led by his former temporary colleague at BBC, who commentated on the World Cup together with him, again.
Issues with Forest’s stamina started to occur once the match entered the later stages of the second half. Ayala suffered from a leg cramp and was substituted by Woodgate. Ribéry was worn out and could not continue playing and was substituted by Leighton Baines.
Bale was shifted up to the midfield following Ribéry’s substitution, and his main role was to defend.
Simply leading by a goal is the riskiest scenario that a team can find themselves in, but Twain was not in a position to think about things like that. He had to thank the gods for being able to lead by a goal.
He waved his hands and asked the players to retreat backwards to defend. Only Žigić was left at the front. All he had to do was to fight for headers and harass Newcastle’s defenders so as to keep them in check.
After that, the only thing left for Twain to do was to keep looking at his watch and count how much more time remained in the match…
Newcastle went on the offensive after seeing that Nottingham Forest had run out of energy to attack them. They wanted to level the score before the end of the match.
Twain’s heart throbbed wildly every time he saw Newcastle close in on van der Sar’s goalpost. He was terrified that the worst case scenario would happen in the next second.
Twain stood by the side of the pitch with his back straight. His waist was starting to feel sore from him keeping that posture for so long, but the pain went unnoticed to him.
All his attention was on the match and before his goalpost.
No matter what happens, we can’t let Newcastle score the equalizer!
That was the only thought in Twain’s mind.
※※※
On the 88th minute, Martins broke into Nottingham Forest’s penalty box with his pace.
None of the Forest players dared to tackle the ball away from his feet out of fear that a penalty would be awarded against them, especially with the end of the game drawing close.
It’s not guaranteed that Martins would score if he shot, anyway…
Martins chose not to shoot for goal given the tight angle. He pretended to shoot but had actually passed the ball away!
Alan Smith swept at the ball with his feet as he was brought down by Kompany.
Twain was on tenterhooks. He leant forward, his eyes wide open and his fists clenched tightly.
He watched as the ball went under van der Sar’s arm and into the goal…
“Alan Smith! Alan Smith! Unbelievable! Absolutely unbelievable! Newcastle has levelled the score in the dying minutes of the game! Their relentless attacks have finally paid off! Ah! Look at Newcastle’s bench area… Everyone’s going wild! It’s a narrow escape for them!”
The commentator was yelling hysterically. The Newcastle players and fans were equally hysterical as well. They were cheering feverishly.
But, none of that mattered in Twain’s eyes right now.
A wave of exhaustion hit him.
He felt really tired, really sleepy and really cold.
“… This goal is a devastating blow to Nottingham Forest! Their players are standing on the pitch at a complete loss… Four consecutive matches without a win! Four consecutive matches without a win… This entire month of December must feel as cold as the North Pole to Nottingham Forest! They’ve just lost 3 points again… Let’s take a look at Tony Twain’s expression. We doubt he’d be able to say anything about what just happened!”
No one could see the expression on Tony Twain’s face, because he had already fallen asleep.
...
Chapter 712: A Dream too Realistic
“Twain!” An enraged voice rang by his ear, shaking him from his thoughts.
He lifted his head and looked at the figure in front of him with dazed eyes. Stood in front of him was a bald man wearing black-framed spectacles, who looked a lot older than his actual age. This man looked familiar…
Wait, isn’t he that department head from Twain’s company? Right?
Twain looked to his left and right, a little space formed by a cluster of office desks appeared in front of him. Everyone lifted their heads to look over, but after seeing Twain, they lowered their heads to continue what they were doing.
Wasn’t this where he worked last time? Twain was no stranger to this place. After he graduated from university, he had looked for hundreds of jobs before he finally settled for an admin position.
“You stayed awake to watch soccer again? What kind of a place do you think this is, Twain? This is a company, not a bed in your house!” The department head realised that Twain was not even looking at him, which enraged him. He leaned down to stare at Twain angrily. This time, Twain turned his head towards him, but he still was not looking at him.
He was still in a daze. Why did he appear here? Shouldn’t he be on the coach’s bench in the city stadium orchestrating the contest? Dunn? Kerslake? And his soccer players, where were they? Did Newcastle even the score? At this point, his train of thought stopped abruptly. There was still hidden pain in his heart.
Oh, so everything was just a dream… The corners of his lips raised. It was a dream… Should he say ‘that’s great’ or should he be regretting?
George Wood, Sophia, Michael, Gavin, Dunn, Des Walker, Kenny Burns and Shania. They were all characters I imagined, characters who only appeared in my dreams. How was it possible that a small worker scrambling for a living in China became a super coach who led a team to promote and win two consecutive championships? How could a pretty and bubbly world-class supermodel, a superstar, fall for me, a useless homebody? What was it if not a daydream?
Nothing happened, so he lost nothing, yet that type of pain felt all the more palpable.. For some unknown reason, there was a hollowness filling his chest.
“I gave you a chance, little guy. But whether you could become the best soccer star in England depends on yourself. ”
“Hey, Tony! If we aren’t in the Premier League next season, I don’t mind showing you what a hardcore soccer fan looks like!”
“Wait till I have money in the future, I will definitely buy Nottingham Forest! Then ask you to be its head coach!”
“Here lies the beloved son of Michael Bernard and Fiona Bernard, Nottingham Forest’s most loyal fan and George Wood’s lifelong supporter Gavin Bernard.”
“Victory! I only want victory! I only want the championships! Other than that, I do not accept any other outcome! Let them be scared! Let them curse us! The worse they curse, the more it proves that we’re might!”
“From the second level league to European Champions, Tony Twain and his team took four years. It was as if we saw Brian Clough’s shadow… that glorious team reappeared in our vision. This isn’t an accident, this is a red storm! Nottingham Forest, a team who won the European champions in two consecutive years, and descending in Europe for the third time!”
“So sorry, Tony. The club is unable to take out money to satisfy your needs… economical crisis, we have no money. ”
“I can’t wait any more… I love you, Tony uncle, I love you.”
…
Just kidding!
All of these experiences that happened to me which made me laugh, cry, happy and sad, how could all of this have been a dream? What kind dream would have such realistic feelings? If dreams were really this realistic, then they would not be called dreams. That was reality, and this was a dream.
Twain jerked his head up violently and glared at his department head who was still scolding him.
“What kind of a place do you think this is? We could easily find a kid like you who’s fresh out of university! Don’t think that being here makes you amazing. Let me tell you this: if I fire you now, there are so many people who would kill to take your place! You think a thousand dollars is too little, but even if it were only $700 there would still be a lot of people trying their best to snatch your job! Why are you looking at me? Not convinced? If you’re not convinced, then leave! I’ve tolerated you for a long time. Your productivity is average and your temper is terrible. Young people these days are really getting worse…”
Twain took a look at that visage, contorted with rage and a hint of fear, and burst out laughing.. This was who he had been in his dreams. Here he had been, sucking up to his manager for a year. Because he could not fit in with his peers, they left him out of good things and he was discriminated even in work, while those who hit it off with this old fogey could draw a better income. After a year of hard work, he was still unable to save much, but the others who buttered up the boss could afford a car after just a year. They kept all their complaints to themselves for fear that, should they lose this one, it would be difficult to find another job. It was as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders and he was forced to trudge forward with his back hunched.
Now, he finally realised this place did not suit. He was totally different from the colleagues who had their heads ducked in fear. He did not belong here, he belonged in the battlefield for real men, a battlefield filled with passion and hot blood! One was one and two was two; a win was a win, a loss was a loss. Legitimacy belonged to the victor.
What was the point in nesting here, in this tight space? No matter how big his aspirations,, how bold his spirit, and all the dreams he had, all of that were trapped in this small space with no means of escape. Trapped, and then assimilated into the infinite space much like this one only to slowly disappear and vanish, as if they had never been a part of his life.
After working tirelessly for half his life, his earnings could not even buy a toilet in a new house. The rich changed their girlfriends daily; they only needed to reveal the goods in their wallet for gorgeous and sexy women to flock to them . But for Twain, he could only jack off to Japanese porn while fantasizing that God blessed him with a girl. He worked hard to butter up his boss, saying nothing but empty words to him, sacrificing his dignity and his values just to cling on to this job during such a tumultuous economic time.
The older generation resented Twain’s generation for always falling short of expectations, repeatedly emphasising in a sincere tone that theirs was a generation that had failed. The younger generation spoke in their Internet slang, in a way that subverted the mainstream, “You’ve been eliminated, this world is ours.” The best way to vent was to drink beer and eat grilled meat from the roadside stores while cursing at the state of China’s soccer.
The worst part about his life being reduced to this was having to live it, but what else could he do?Unsteady at thirty, lost at forty. As he looked back on his life now, he asked himself, “What have I been doing? What did I leave behind? In the next half of his life, what would he do?
The short ceiling that made it hard to breathe. The dividers that limited thoughts to a 1×1 meter space, where exceeding was overstepping. The white lights that cast a ghostly glow onto faces.
Twain really wanted to laugh out loud. This was a place he once worked in. This was a place he almost surrendered in.This was the dream, and a most ridiculous one!
He pushed away the department head who was blocking his path and walked straight outside. The department head who almost toppled growled furiously, “Where are you going! You’re still on the clock! Twain! You fool, if you take one step out this office, you’re fired. Fired, you hear me? Fired! You’ll be fired!!”
The office lobby was completely silent, save for the old man’s heavy breathing. Maybe he had never scolded someone so agitatedly to the point of aggression before. He was panting like an old man who had just gone at it with his wife who somehow had more stamina the more she aged.
From where Twain stood at the entrance, he turned around to look at the pitiful department head and mocked him, “It’s none of your business where I’m going, you old fogey.”
After saying that, he took a step and walked out without turning back.
※※※
“… I don’t know if this counts as good news for Nottingham Forest’s opponents. Even though I don’t think this news will make anyone happy… Tony Twain, while orchestrating the match between Nottingham Forest and Newcastle this afternoon, fainted suddenly and was sent to the hospital. Currently, he’s still unconscious…”
The newscaster reported the breaking news with a stern face. The screen then cut to the hospital entrance of the Royal College of Medicine in Nottingham University. Reporters were flocking to the hospital; rental cars were endlessly driving in to park nearby and, one after the other, reporters alighted from the cars.
A white-haired man wearing gold silk glasses was trapped in the middle of the crowd, like a canoe in the middle of the sea of roaring waves. He waved his arms, shouting, “We’re doing our best to save him, but his condition is still critical. I can’t guarantee anything! Could you all please make way and stop blocking the main entrance? I’m sorry, I can’t say anything because I don’t fully understand the situation. We will call a press conference just for this, but it won’t be here and it won’t be now.”
A group of people who were sitting in a coach, lifted their heads to watch television on the bus announcing all of these, and became speechless. They were the Nottingham Forest players who had just ended their match and were preparing to return home. The competition had not ended when Twain suddenly collapsed. Initially no one reacted. The Newcastle players were still celebrating their goal. Nottingham Forest’s players were taken aback and did not know what to do; the fans could only use their silence to express their discontent.
The commentator had still been teasing Tony Twain, and wanted to see his expression for the current situation. Once the screen changed, the person who was supposed to be standing could not be seen on the coach’s seat. Instead, captured on screen was the assistant coach, Dunn, who jumped out from the coach’s seats. Following Dunn’s actions, everyone then saw the main protagonist who were lying on the ground and was not moving.
Dunn shouted to attract the attention of the surrounding people, and everyone panicked. Even the Newcastle players who were initially celebrating their goal were helplessly looking over to Nottingham Forest’s coach seats. George Wood ran over to the side of the field; following him was the head referee who realised something was off.
Newcastle’s fans stopped singing. The city stadium fell silent in that moment.
The stretcher, meant for rescuing injured players, was brought over. The ambulance stopped right outside of the stadium also charged in. Even after Twain was carried onto the ambulance and sent to the hospital, the majority of the people in the stadium was still in shock.
The match ended, resulting in Nottingham Forest’s fourth loss in the league season. Their ranking continued to fall but at this current moment, did anyone still care about that?
Dunn jumped onto the ambulance and left with Twain. Kerslake took over all post-match matters by himself, and the press conference was also cancelled at the last minute. Concerned, Alan Shearer asked Kerslake what happened to Tony Twain.
After the match, the atmosphere in the changing room was lifeless. The players of Nottingham Forest were devastated not because they did not win, but because they were worried that something terrible had happened to Tony Twain.
Gareth Bale, who was sitting in the last row of the car, had his hands in his head and he started weeping softly. Although it had already been more than half an hour, but just thinking about Twain falling onto the ground suddenly and seizing scared Bale. It was as if his leader was dead.
His crying broke the silence within the cabin. Kerslake stood up and clapped. “Let’s go back… Don’t think much into this; this isn’t a problem for you guys to worry about. Let’s… continue training tomorrow.” His tone revealed his helplessness and fear.
Please, do not let anything happen to Tony!
※※※
When Twain woke from darkness and chaos, what he saw was, unsurprisingly, the whie ceiling. He heard some whirrs. Turning towards the source of the sound, he was shocked to see a familiar back view.
With her back turned, she lowered her head to blow on a steaming cup in an attempt to cool it down. She then took a spoon and dipped it in before bringing it to her mouth to test the temperature, only to be scalded and almost threw the stainless steel spoon.
“Ha,” Twain chuckled. His weak laughter shocked her, and this time she was so surprised she almost dropped the cup in her hand.
“Uncle Tony, you’re awake!” The person turned. There was a kind of indescribable joy in her voice. Who would it be if not Shania?
“What a conventional line.” Twain was a little weak, breathless after just a sentence.
However, Shania could not stop crying, tears ceaselessly flowing from her eyes and leaving two silver trails on her pretty cheeks.
“Why are… you crying?”
Shania was still crying and did not answer.
“I’m okay.”
At his words, Shania then wiped her tears and grabbed Twain’s hands, her voice filled with sorrow. “You were unconscious for exactly 24 hours. At some point, the doctors had wanted to give up. Dunn called me and I rushed here as quickly as I could, I was afraid —” Tears flowed down again. Shania could not bring herself to continue her sentence.
“I… I’m good…” Twain had to repeat what he said just now.
Shania continued to speak through her crying, “We were supposed to be in Tokyo for promotional activies, but I’m not going. It doesn’t matter if I’m not famous. I prayed to God, hoping you would wake up”
Twain heard her complain about how she pulled through in these 24 hours and felt a little guilty. He discovered that Shania’s phoenix eyes were bigger than usual and they were red, obviously swollen from crying. Within this 24 hours, how much had she cried? Twain would never know.
A warm glow filled his heart. He lifted his hand with much effort, trying to wipe the tears on Shania’s face. Instead, he discovered the needles inserted into his arms which restricted his movement. Thus, he could only lift the edges of his mouth to smile at her. “Don’t worry, I’m evil. God wouldn’t want me.”
Shania did not reply. She only lowered her head to weep continuously, as if she wanted to pour all her turmoil and fears in fromt of Twain. This was not right, how could he let this bubbly and cute little fairy be so devastated? Twain decided to change the subject. He shifted his view toward that cup that still seemed to be steaming hot. “Is it water inside the cup, Shania?”
Shania shook her head, “No, it’s not water. It’s the paste you fed me when I had a fever last time… Are you thirsty, Uncle Tony? Let me pour you some water.” After saying that, she made to get up.
Twain shifted his hand to stop her. “I’m hungry, Shania. Can you feed me?”
Flustered, Shania turned to grab the cup, almost knocking it over. Twain lied on the bed, taking all of this in. He was hungry. Being unconscious for 24 hours, that was a full day…
Shania carefully carried the cup. She scooped up a spoonful of black paste which smelled like sesame and blew on it before feeding it to Twain. This was the Chinese black sesame paste Twain had fed her where she had been running a fever. It was surprising she remembered.
After finishing half the cup, Twain signalled that he could not eat any more. He regained some of his energy after eating and continued to lie on the bed, quietly watching Shania who was red with agitation.
“Uncle Tony is evil, and all evil people live a long life, so I won’t die. Stop crying — look, your eye bags are gonna show. How will you promote your movie with your eyebags showing?” He made fun of her. Drawing a long face at this time was just not good at all.
“I put aside my work. I’ll be by your side this whole time!” Shania sternly said. “Don’t even think about ditching me and leaving!”
Twain did not say anything, but only continued to watch Shania. Seeing how she was pretty even when she cried made Twain recall the ridiculously devastating dream he had before. If he were still in the working class sitting around waiting for death, would he have a chance to have a life-and-death farewell with a world-class supermodel? If he were still a nobody in the working class, would Shania still say “I love you” to him? Even if this were a dream, he would rather live in this dreamland. The Twain from that other world, just let him die. Who cares!
His eyes were fixed on Shania and it made her feel a little embarrassed. Both of them had already known each other for five years, but this was the first time Uncle Tony looked at her so directly and overtly. Plus, the main reason she was shy was that there was something in his eyes that had not been there before.
“Shania, did you know? I just had a very interesting dream.”
“What? What dream?”
“I dreamt that I was going to die. Then I thought of going to heaven, but God chased me out, He said I was born evil, so I should die like a demon and shouldn’t go to a place like heaven,” Twain slowly explained, like a scholar. “At this moment, Satan appeared, he used his bewitching voice to tempt me to hang out with him…”
Shania widened her eyes and stared at Twain, she did not know whether Uncle Tony was speaking the truth at that moment. Plus, before this, Uncle Tony had never spouted nonsense in front of her.
“Then, I thought about it. He was right, I was indeed made to be evil. So I followed him. But I didn’t think that b*stard Satan would raise his arm to block me. He pointed at the black door in front and said,” Twain tried to mimic Satan’s voice by making his voice more hoarse. “Whether you’re going to heaven or hell, it means you’re willing to give up everything you have in the living realm. If you want to follow me, you’ll have to forget all your feelings you had when you were alive before you can walk through this door.”
After saying all that, Twain paused to take a breath and he sneaked a look at Shania. Even when Shania was bawling her eyes out, she was still pretty. There was a sort of beauty in her sorrow, like Lin Daiyu.
“Actually, I’m not afraid of dying. I don’t think dying is a big deal. If I have no ties to the world, I think dying isn’t that big a deal. Living is not that different from being dead. Honor, money, reputation… I can’t bring these to the grave, so what is there to miss? I was going to walk through that door, but then I suddenly remembered something that made me hesitate. Shania, do you know what that was?”
Shania frowned and shook her head. “I don’t know…”
Twain looked at her confused face, which was undeniably adorable. He chuckled. “I forgot I still owed somebody an answer.”
“Oh…” Shania raised her eyes and was shocked to see Twain beaming.
“I, Tony Twain, have never owed anyone anything. I didn’t want this person to stalk me until the depths of hell for this answer, I’m unable to bear that responsibility… So, I apologized to Satan and said, ‘Mr Satan, I’m terribly sorry but I can’t follow you and become a demon. Why? Because I discovered that living is beautiful, and I still have a lot of things I can’t let go of! I can’t follow you.’ Satan became depressed and reprimanded me being too greedy, saying that the good things can’t be kept, so the earlier I forgot about it, the better it’d be for me. I shook my head to object. I’m greedy. I like those good things, I want to keep them forever by my side, and I just can’t let go of a person…”
After saying so much, Twain paused to take another breather.
Shania did not respond either. She sat on a chair and quietly waited for Twain to continue.
“Is it too late now to say sorry?”
Shania pouted, her eyes glossy with tears, and frantically shook her head.
Twain stretched out his hand and gently held Shania’s soft hands. “I’m really sorry, I’m too stubborn. I almost brought my stubbornness and regrets to the grave. If something this serious had not happened, my stubbornness might really be incurable for the rest of my life. Luckily, I almost died, which made me understand a lot of things…” Twain’s voice felt weak, he recalled that he used too much effort after speaking so much.
“Can you continue to call me ‘Uncle Tony’?” he asked.
Shania nodded shyly. Twain gestured for her to lie by him. Then, he painstakingly shifted his head to whisper by Shania’s ear. “Shania, I love you too.”
Upon hearing this, Shania’s eyes widened. She was shocked and happy at the same time, and did not know what to say at that instant. That line seemed to zap all of Twain’s energy. After that confession, he lay back down on the bed to look at the ceiling and grumbled. “I’m tired, I want to sleep.”
Shania tensed up. Making such a confession at this time was not a good sign. She gripped Twain’s hand tightly and reached for the emergency button at the front of the bed. To her surprise, Twain raised his hand to stop her.
“Don’t worry, I’m just going to sleep.” He smiled to calm Shania who seemed panicky and lost. “I still have a lot of days to live, and a lot more things I can’t let go of. I just discovered that I fell in love with a person, how would I be willing to find Satan? Don’t worry, I guarantee… this time I won’t sleep for long…”
He slowly closed his eyes, and then his breath evened out. This time, he was really sound asleep. Maybe he was dreaming of something again, but it was probably a beautiful dream this time.
※※※
...
Chapter 713 - Relief
When Tony Twain fell asleep for the first time, several things occurred in this world.
The doctors knew this head coach had been in a coma for 24 hours before he woke up abruptly. He had also drunk a cup of paste-like food and chatted with Shania for a while. Then, he went back to sleep. This news made the doctors really happy. This indicated that treatment was successful, and Tony Twain’s life should be out of danger now.
Dunn, who had been constantly helping out in the hospital, knew about this news immediately as well. He was relieved and went home to rest so he could prepare to start work again. He then entrusted everything in the hospital to Shania.
The reporters surrounding the hospital also received this news. The hospital called a press conference to report on the latest situation, informing the general public through this. Those who had still been worried about Tony Twain’s safety could finally catch their breaths. The Nottingham Forest fan club website also immediately announced the news of Twain’s condition stabilising.
“After being unconscious for 24 hours, Tony Twain finally woke up for a short while. We are extremely happy about this occurrence.” The BBC newscaster announced this with a wide smile.
After the Nottingham Forest players found out that Twain would live, they were extremely relieved and could finally focus on their training and the competition.
There were also people who cared about more than just Twain’s health condition. Tony Twain’s sudden collapse brought back to attention an issue he had once denied, and had now become an irrefutable reality.
When the news of Twain’s collapse first broke out, Judy Shania Jordana, who was originally supposed to promote Cruise’s new film in Shanghai, China, suddenly disappeared from the namelist. After 14 hours, she quietly appeared at London Heathrow Airport and, after another hour, she was sitting by Tony Twain’s bed. This was spread by the doctors and nurses from the Royal College of Physicians, and some fans even took the time to use their phones to take a picture.
If both of them were simply friends, why would Shania be so affected by this incident? Others would, at most, make a call to ask about it. Only she would fly from such a faraway land and go to great lengths to take care of him, and the worry on her face was undeniable — she did not even try to hide it. On the road, she had still been trying to keep it low profile to avoid the pestering paparazzi, but once she was beside Tony Twain, she could not hide anything. She opened up to those busybodies to see clearly.
So finally, the answer was out and clear — Tony Twain and Shania were no ordinary friends. They were indeed a couple! It was unthinkable that Tony Twain’s collapse could reveal such a shocking truth…
After finding out that Twain was not in life-threatening danger for the time being, the media became active again. They immediately caused a clamour about the news regarding the loving relationship between Shania and Twain.
While the public was remorseful about the troubled fate Twain had these days, they were also commending how he could win the heart of a pretty 18-year-old supermodel. The Chinese media claimed that this was the modern soccer version of “blessing in disguise” .
Even BBC news, after they confirmed the truth behind Twain and Shania’s relationship, jokingly said, “Losing on the field, but gaining in the relationship field. No matter what happens, Tony Twain never loses.”
Shania did not make an appearance to clear things up either. She could not be bothered with what outsiders thought about the relationship between Twain and her. In this period of time, there was only Uncle Tony in her heart and nothing else.
What about work? She had already thrown it far away. Other than the promotional activities for her film with Tom Cruise coming to an end, she had already turned down all of the fashion shows during the Christmas season up till January of the following year. Through her agent, Mr Fascal, Shania had declared that she would not leave until Tony Twain got better. She did not care if she was throwing away her partnership with famous international brands. This was as good as publicly announcing her relationship with the 40-year-old man.
“Love makes people do crazy things, but a love as crazy as Jordana’s…this is my first time seeing something like this,” Some fashion magazine commented on this matter.
※※※
When Twain woke up again, he had already slept for 12 hours. He turned his head and laughed when he saw Shania, who was sitting by his side looking a little sallow. “See? Like I said, I didn’t sleep for too long this time.”
Although his body was still weak, his mental state was a lot better compared to the last time. Twain shifted his eyes, discovering he had a bed beside him. Obviously, it was for Shania to sleep on. Hence, he asked. “How much did you sleep in the past few days?”
“I don’t remember.” Shania’s hair was a little messy and her bare face seemed extremely haggard and devastated. If she walked out like this, even the most loyal and hardcore of her fans would not recognise her.
“Go sleep. I’m fine already.”
Shania stubbornly shook her head to decline Twain’s suggestion. “I’m not tired.”
Just as both of them were still talking, the door to the room was pushed open. Some doctors and young female nurses walked in. They all seemed surprised but happy upon seeing Twain lie sideways with his eyes opened.
“This is great! Thank God, Mr Twain, you’re awake!”
Twain smiled and thanked the doctors who saved his life, “I haven’t even thanked you all, my saviours.”
“Ha.” A middle-aged male doctor who seemed to be the leader, gleamed. “You can save those words of thanks; it’s our job to save lives. As for the person by your side, however…” He looked at Shania. “Ms Shania stayed beside you this whole time. You should thank her properly.”
Twain looked over at Shania but did not say anything. Despite that, they both knew what the other was thinking about. Of course he should thank her. He was prepared to spend the next half of his life to thank her…
Witnessing such a warm scene, even fools would know what was going on. The doctors and nurses were not surprised at this, but the middle-aged man still coughed to interrupt the two who were still looking at each other. “Sorry to disturb the both of you, but we actually have something for Ms Shania. However, since you are awake, Mr Twain, then it’s better that we tell you directly.”
“Is this regarding my body?” Twain asked.
The man nodded, then he stretched his hand towards Twain. “Hi, Mr Twain. I’m your head physician Stanley Meley, but you can call me Stanley.”
Twain also held out his hand. They exchanged a simple handshake.
“Have you had a flu recently?” Stanley Meley immediately went straight to the main topic after the self-introduction.
Twain nodded.
“Did you cough?”
“Initially I didn’t, then I did. I didn’t get any better, but I didn’t take any medicine either,” Twain recalled.
Stanley exchanged a look with his colleagues. Shania stood by the side, uninterrupting, looking at them in silence.
“Mr Twain,” Stanley looked at Twain and said, “You have pulmonary heart disease.”
Twain was not shocked to hear this. Instead, he chuckled. “Which head coach doesn’t have some sort of heart problem?”
Stanley also nodded to agree with his point. “You’re right. Being a head coach comes with tremendous psychological stress, so working in this stressful environment in a long time would easily induce various heart diseases. However, you’re barely 40 and you’ve already contracted this disease. It’s simply too premature. This is related to your incorrect living habits.”
After saying this, he looked at Shania for a brief moment.
“Alcoholism, smoking, unhealthy snacking, irregular work-rest cycles, plus the job which already comes with enormous amounts of stress… Truthfully speaking, Mr Twain, when I saw you collapse suddenly on television, I had already guessed it was a heart attack. That flu was a symptom, which induced minor bronchial asthma. The smoking caused great damage to your lungs. Nicotine causes accelerated heartbeat and increased blood pressure, but excessive smoking would cause your blood pressure to decline, an increased oxygen consumption of your heart, vasospasm, irregular blood flow and an increased platelet adhesion. Alcohol, which contains ethanol, also directly impacts the health of your heart. Alcoholism not only increases the pressure on your heart, but it might cause arrhythmia, which impacts fat metabolism and promotes the formation of arteriosclerosis. Lastly, it’s regarding your work.”
Stanley Meley pushed up his glasses. “You know, there are rules in life. Being in a good mood will prevent you from being over-emotional and over-exhausted, which are efficient means in preventing heart disease. But the unique requirements which your job entails clash with all these requirements. This is also why I agree with your point on head coaches being at high risk of contracting heart diseases.”
“Honestly speaking, Mr Twain, although you are conscious now, I don’t think you’re out of danger yet. Right now, your body is weak, your heart condition is still unstable and there might be danger any time. I am not here to scare people off, but I have a duty to tell you that you have to be extra careful this month. You cannot go anywhere else as we need to put you under 24-hour surveillance.”
After listening to all that, Twain laughed bitterly. “Is my body in such a poor state?”
“Heart disease is only one of the many issues. Your lungs and liver are in different degrees of danger. I seriously suggest you quit smoking and drinking, improve on your diet and having a regular work-rest cycle. This is if you want to live a few extra years.”
Initially he was still somewhat friendly, but once he started talking about Twain’s condition, his expression and tone immediately turned cold. As if he were reading off a script, hee was emotionless.
Twain looked at Shania who seemed a little nervous by the side, and then waved his hands. “What more can I say? You’re my god now, Stanley. I’ll listen to you and quit smoking and drinking immediately, but as for work…”
“Don’t tell me you still want to go back to lead the team for training and competition?” Stanley Meley frowned. “In this state of yours, even leaving the hospital will be too dangerous, let alone going back to the head coach seat! I suggest, for the sake of your health, that you disregard all types of soccer and sports news and don’t think about the condition of your team. That isn’t what you should think about. None of my colleagues and I are unable to guarantee that you wouldn’t faint by the side of the field again, and if you faint again…” He gave Shania a look. “You might not be as lucky.”
“Uncle Tony,” Shania chimed in, shaking her head furiously at Twain.
Twain sighed. “Ok, I’ll give in. I will cooperate with you, Dr. Stanley, just let me leave this place earlier.”
Stanley then started smiling again. “We also hope that day will come fast. After all, I am a Nottingham Forest fan as well.”
He smiled and left with the other doctors and nurses.
After they left, Twain then turned to look at Shania. Ever since the people came in, Shania had had his hand in a vice-like grip and his palms were now sweaty.
“Well, your Uncle Tony has become a pitiful being who can only lie on the bed and rely on others for help with everything he does…”
Shania bent over to use her lips to stop Twain from continuing talking. Twain could feel the lips, which used to be soft, were now dry and cracked. The past few days must have been really hard on her. He used his other hand to wrap around and pat her back.
While they were still focused on each other, someone coughed from where they stood at the door. Even then, neither of them backed off. It was only after a while that Shania, embarrassed, moved away from Twain and sat by his side to pour water for him. Twain turned to see Dunn and Fasal at the door.
“It’s really lively. A huge group just left and now another two have come. Hello guys.” He was not at all embarrassed that he and Shania were interrupted by them.
Fascal looked at Twain with a huge smile on his face, then at Shania who was busy, and said, “Seems like you’re recovering well, Mr Twain.”
“The doctor said I’m not completely out of danger yet,” Twain beamed while answering.
Dunn’s face became a little more stern. “I heard you woke up again, so I came over to see you.”
“Thanks.” To this “brother” he had known back in China, Twain need not say so much.
“Everything is fine with the team, you don’t have to worry about anything. The Chairman has already asked me to be the temporary head coach for the team. While you’re receiving treatment, I’ll be in charge of leading the team during the competition.” Twain trusted Dunn the most. Though Dunn was Chinese, he was naturally the best candidate to succeed Twain when the latter was not around. Evan Doughty did not care what country Dunn came from, or the soccer standards of that particular country, he only trusted Twain’s opinion.
“It’s been hard on you.” Twain nodded.
※※※
Twain thoroughly followed Stanley Meley’s suggestion and did not actively ask about the team’s state. Dunn obviously knew that Twain should not be stressed any further, so he did not mention it either. The trio then chit-chatted for a little longer before Dunn and Fasal both bade him farewell.
Before he left, Fasal asked Shania outside to talk for a few minutes. Shania came in afterwards to see Twain’s concerned look. She smiled and said, “It’s nothing much, just that I’ll lose a few contracts and earn a bit less. Anyway, I’ve already finished spending the money I’ve earned before.”
Twain did not say anything. After years of interaction, he understood Shania’s temper. If there were things she acknowledged as important, she would deal with those immediately with little care for the consequences. Even if there were any dire outcomes, she would only bother with those after she had dealt with the matter. As such, there was no point convincing her. Although, there was something he had to nag about.
“You should go rest. Even if it’s just for an hour, it’s still better than staying up like this.” Seeing how Shania was going to refute, he straightened his face. “If you don’t rest, how can you take care of me? I’m relying entirely on you and only you now, Shania. If you’re over-exhausted, what will I do?”
At this, Shania immediately lay on the bed with her clothes on. Before she fell asleep, she did not forget to tell Twain “good night”. Almost immediately after, he could hear soft snoring. A beauty snoring and being able to fall asleep so quickly… She must have really over-exerted herself. No matter how tired she was physically, her mind could not be at peace and she could not relax at all, which was what was really draining. Twain could relate to that feeling, because he was like this as well before his heart attack. The stress piled and piled until he could not take it any longer and collapsed.
Models might look like they are in good shape but that did not necessarily mean that they were in good physical condition. In fact, a lot of them are actually in worse states than the average person. Twain really hoped that nothing bad would happen to Shania.
The doctor did not allow him to think about the team, and he really was not planning to think as well. However, in this period of time, he was still wide awake and did not want to sleep. What should he do? He turned his head to look at Shania who was sound asleep and continued to watch her quietly.
Once he was sure about his intentions, his inner self calmed down and it was as if nothing else could shock him anymore. As long as Shania was by his side, he would be warm and there was nothing for him to think or worry about. He also did not care if Dunn would be able to take on the burden of leading a soccer team, or the rumours on the news, or the injury reports, the underperforming results, criticism from the media, the immense pressure and the expectations of the fans. He could disregard all of those. Let those who had to be busy go and be busy, he just wanted to enjoy this peace by himself.
The special treatment ward was completely silent, other than the low-pitched noises from the instruments. The sound of cruel battles from the fields and the days where he would be locked in constant strife with the media were slowly becoming further and further from him. This small ward was like a long-lasting village of oblivion which allowed people to forget all their troubles and go into slumber peacefully.
Twain settled his gaze, full of love and joy, on Shania’s face, staring until he felt drowsy as well.
※※※
...
Chapter 714 - The Core
Twain’s daily routine became normal at long last—it could be said to be normal because he could now sleep at night, wake up in the morning, and eat three regular meals a day.
He felt he had no problems anymore and could be discharged from the hospital at once. But Stanley Meyer strongly disagreed. He thought he should continue to be under observation, so Twain was still in the intensive care unit until now, where he was cared for in every aspect by Shania who never left his side.
During this period, Twain received a number of phone calls from people who cared about him, inquiring about his health. His answer was consistently, “I feel good, thank you!”
Most of his people who cared about were his friends and his friends in Nottingham made personal visits. They chatted together to help Twain relax his mood and ease his state of mind. The players of the team entrusted both George Wood and Eastwood to visit and present flowers and greetings. In order to prevent Twain from getting emotional again, they did not talk about the team’s situation, and Twain did not ask. It looked like he made up his mind to leave the work to the others.
The friends who were not in town, called in succession to inquire after him through phone calls and text messages. For example, Des Walker and Ian Bowyer, as well as the ex-Forest players from Brian Clough’s era had also expressed concern about the Forest team’s current manager.
Twain even received Michael Bernard’s regards through a call from as far away as the United States, which moved him so much that he became a complete mess.
The other people who send their regards to him were the managers of Premier League teams. No matter how hard they competed on the pitch and appeared like they were sworn enemies, those things were forgotten by people at this time.
Roy Keane and Alan Shearer called. Even Benítez, a manager whose team had been suppressed for three years in a row by the Forest team, also sent a text message to ask about him.
Evan and Allan also came to the hospital to visit him once and said what Dunn had said before to exhort him to take good care of his health and not think about anything else.
The Arsenal manager, Wenger and Manchester United manager, Alex Ferguson had specially traveled from London and Manchester to visit Twain. It put him in a very good mood for the two days.
He had previously thought that his bad mouth and character had caused him to offend all the people who could be offended in the industry, and now that he suffered this great difficulty, those enemies must be laughing up their sleeves endlessly. He did not expect these people to care about his health. He felt some sense of accomplishment in his heart—I, Tony Twain, am rather popular!
Once he felt good, his heart functioned more normally. Stanley Meyer’s smile gradually became wider. Shania was also not so afraid anymore—it was actually the thing Twain cared about the most.
These days, Shania did indeed look thin and pallid. If she had to do a runway show again, she probably did not have to control her weight.
In fact, the reason that those Premier League managers had expressed concern for Twain one by one, was perhaps because the sudden collapse of Tony Twain, a manager who had just turned forty this year, gave them the chills in the winter just after Christmas—everyone was the same and no one had less stress than anyone else. Seeing Twain lying in his hospital bed and unable to continue working now made them a little afraid—Could this be our future? When will I suddenly collapse on the sidelines of the field or on the training ground? Am I going to die because of it? Tony Twain’s life was saved after twenty-four hours in a coma. He is lucky, and it has a lot to do with the fact he is forty. What about us, the old men? When it’s suddenly our turn the next time, will we be ready? Will we be that lucky? Can our aging bodies survive this winter?
Wenger’s words in an interview after his visit to Twain represented almost all the Premier League managers’ common thoughts, “I hope Tony will still be as sharp, full of fighting spirit, able to withstand the pressure and conquer the heart. The last thing I want to see is his downfall. Seeing him in this position for years, I feel I might be next…”
Ferguson also added, “I had a pacemaker installed four years ago. I can understand Tony Twain’s feeling at the moment. He felt that he was in control of the world but was knocked down by the heart and pressure. Having personally experienced it, I can only tell him that it’s no big deal. I’m already sixty-eight years old, but I’m still doing a good job in this position. I receive at least ninety minutes of intense stimulation a week. I’m full of energy and don’t feel tired at all. If I can, I want to keep doing it.”
Roy Keane briefly remarked and expressed his hope for Twain, “I have fully felt the different feelings that this new job has brought to me. If he can get back to the technical area, I think he’ll be a hero to all of us. At that point, when our two teams meet, I’ll applaud him in respect.
No one wanted to be the second “Tony Twain” and no one wanted Twain to collapse due to this. Because that would make them feel a little despair—could this be where all the football managers end up in?
The greatest manager in the history of the Scottish Premiership was Stein, who died of a heart attack in a match; Liverpool’s former manager, Houllier, suffered a heart attack during a match against Leeds United and only came out of danger after fighting to stay alive for eleven hours; and Nottingham Forest’s legendary manager, Brian Clough even went so far as to say, “I’d rather shoot my grandmother if I had to, in exchange for three points”; Taylor resigned from Aston Villa because he could not bear the pressure; the former Newcastle United manager, Glenn Roeder was diagnosed with a cerebral thrombosis after a heart attack; in 2004, Ferguson had a pacemaker put in for his heart just in case…
These examples were sufficient.
Was it now the turn of the fearless “Forest King”, Tony Twain, who thought that no one in the world could subdue him?
※※※
The observation lasted a week, and Meyer came to him again one day. After examining his body’s indicators, he put on a consulting tone and said to Twain, “Mr. Twain, what do you think about installing a small device inside you?” He pointed to Twain’s heart.
Twain wondered, “You want to install what?”
“A lovely little thing called a pacemaker.”
The term gave Twain a scare.
“Isn’t that something an old man…”
“As long as there is arrhythmia, there’s a possibility to install it. It’s not necessarily an old man’s monopoly, Mr. Twain.” Meyer was exceptionally amiable today.
Twain began to feel apprehensive inside. Did Stanley not say that things are getting better day by day these days? Why is he suddenly going to install a pacemaker in me? Don’t tell me… that my condition is actually worse?
“Give it to me straight, Stanley. Is my heart giving way?” He frowned and asked gravely.
When he asked the question, Twain could feel Shania’s grip on his hand tightened.
He did not expect Stanley Meyer to laugh instead. “You’re recovering well, Mr. Twain. But it did break down once.” He said as he pointed to Twain’s heart, “We can’t guarantee that there’s not going to be a problem here in the future. Moreover, your own circumstances determine… Unless you plan to quit from Nottingham Forest and never work as a professional football manager again, maybe then you’ll probably be in control of your emotions. Are you willing to accept my suggestion? Mr. Twain.”
Twain did not expect to hear this. Telling me not to be a professional football coach?
Stop kidding!
What else can I do besides this? If I don’t be a manager, what am I going to do at home? Wait to die?
He suddenly thought of the dream he had in his coma.
I’m never going to live that kind of life again… What’s happening here now is my life. I may encounter failure, may be lying in a hospital bed like this, but I fought here before and will continue to fight.
“Eh, Stanley. I really don’t know what else I can do but this.” Twain said with a laugh.
Stanley Meyer also laughed and said, “Look, I knew you’d give that answer. So, I asked you directly if you wanted to install a pacemaker, and not asked first if you wanted to quit the manager’s position. Listen to me, Mr. Twain. Your career is a high-risk job for heart patients. The world’s most brilliant cardiologists and cardiac surgeons cannot guarantee that a manager who has had a heart attack will not relapse … And the probability of a relapse is frighteningly high. Have you ever heard of such a thing?” Meyer paused at this point.
Twain indicated with a look for him to continue.
“One year, ITV installed a special device for two Premier League managers to test their pulses and had them to carry it with them while they directed the games. In general, a normal person’s heart beats between sixty and a hundred beats per minute. But the figure shown on the device was twice as high as the standard! Generally speaking, it only happens to astronauts and people who are bankrupt from stock speculation…” Meyer spread his hands and said, “I can’t guarantee that your heart won’t have problems again when you are in such an environment for the heart rate for a long time.”
Twain found that Shania had tightened her grip on his hand more and more. He glanced at the anxious-looking Shania, then turned his head and smiled at Meyer, “I’m afraid I can’t answer you right now. Can I think about it?”
Meyer pushed up his glasses and replied, “Of course, as you should. After all, it’s a matter that is as common as going out to buy a pack of cigarettes.”
He turned and took his leave.
Twain glanced sideways at Shania. He knew that Shania had something to say, and he could probably guess what Shania was going to say.
But Shania did not say a word.
The two people looked at each other, and finally Twain spoke first, “I know what you’re going to say, Shania. You’re going to try to persuade me to quit, right?”
Shania nodded.
“But I can’t listen to you this time, Shania.”
Shania’s mouth was set in a grim line as she said, “Why? Isn’t your life important enough?”
“Of course, my life matters, especially for people like me who had died once. There’s nothing more important in the world than to be alive. But …” Twain’s tone quickly turned around, “But there is also an equally important thing as life, and that is to live.”
“Isn’t that the same meaning?” Shania said with a frown. She could not understand Twain’s words.
“Of course, it’s different. Living is not simply about being alive. Shania…” Twain looked at the little fairy in front of him, “Your Uncle Tony is a very incompetent man. I can’t do anything besides being a manager. If I quit this job, I wouldn’t be living even if I had a hundred years of life. You and football are proof that I live in this world, and I don’t want to give up either one of you.”
Yes, both of you make me feel like I’m not dreaming right now. I was not dreaming for the last five years. The time was actually not long, but I had left some traces in this world that belonged to me. If I abandon football, that trace will fade away with the passage of time and no one will remember me. There will be no evidence of my existence and the meaning to continue living. So, what if I’m alive?
To be a zombie, making a living and waiting to due, just getting by, drifting and living without purpose… These words should not appear in my life.
Who am I?
The young clerk in Chengdu, Tang En, died when he was twenty-six years old! Now I’m the 40-year-old Tony Twain, the manager of Nottingham Forest!
Shania’s sigh broke the silence in the room.
“I knew Uncle Tony would say that. That’s so you.” She shrugged and said, “If you’re not allowed to go near football, you’ll be worse off than dead… As long as there is football, you can even forget about me… To tell you the truth, Uncle Tony, I’ve always been jealous of football.”
Twain smiled and hugged Shania, “You don’t have to be from now on. You both hold the same places in my heart…”
Unexpectedly, Shania did not get mad and laughed instead, “Who comforts people in such a way? Shouldn’t the normal way of saying it is to look at me lovingly and say: ‘From now on, you are the first in my heart’? All right, I’ll grant you this. But please pay attention to your health. Don’t treat my words as in one ear and out the other this time.”
Twain nodded vigorously and said, “Don’t worry. I still have a long way to go in my life.”
People who were not afraid of death were often because they had lost all interest and attachment to the world. So, they could meet death without regrets. Tony Twain was not afraid of dying…
※※※
Stanley Meyer was a competent doctor who was good at understanding others. The method he prepared for Twain was the best of both worlds. He did not have to worry about sudden death or to give up football for it. Implanting a pacemaker in the chest cavity was a good idea.
Some people might think that it was somewhat an exaggeration for a forty-year-old man to install a pacemaker. But for Twain, who nearly died, the problem with a little dignity was out of his consideration.
Both he and Shania agreed to undergo the operation to implant a pacemaker.
Before the operation, Meyer offered a number of pacemakers for them to choose from. His top recommendation was certainly the improved r-wave inhibited pacemaker which Twain was keenest on this type of pacemaker because it was an on-demand artificial pacemaker.
The pacemaker would not function when the patient’s heart rate was normal or higher than the pacemaker’s fixed pulse frequency. And once the rhythm of his own heartbeat was lower than the set frequency of the pacemaker, that was, the ventricular electrode could not sense the R wave that occurred in his body’s own rhythm, the pacemaker would wait for a predetermined period of time and immediately act in accordance with the inherent pace frequency to release pulses to the heart to put it into a working state. This was currently the most commonly used and most convenient kind of pacemaker.
None of the other pacemakers were suitable for Twain’s condition.
In terms of power in the pacemaker, Twain expressed the hope for a battery that could be used for a long time and did not need to be replaced—he really did not like to come to the hospital. He found it unbearable to have to live here for half a month this time. Moreover, replacing the battery was a dangerous operation in itself. He wanted to lessen the risk as much as possible.
Stanley Meyer smiled when he heard Twain’s special request, because he thought of something and said, “Although most pacemaker batteries are said to function for ten years, in fact, they only last four or five years. But five years is not considered too short… Well, if you don’t want to have to replace the battery for a long, long time… there’s one power source that should meet your requirements.”
“What is it?”
Meyer snapped his fingers and said, “Nuclear battery.”
Hearing the word “nuclear”, Shania widened her eyes and turned pale. She was obviously startled. Everyone knew what “nuclear” was and its harms.
Twain clearly had the same concerns, but he obviously did not show it.
“The technology for nuclear batteries has been perfected. You don’t have to worry about radiation.” Meyer explained to them with a smile, “The maximum radiation dose is the same amount as what the phosphor emits on a watch at night. Within a year, the total dosage of radiation received by the body is equivalent to the dosage of one chest X-ray. The battery is very tightly sealed, and the nuclear substance inside is unlikely to leak. Moreover, even if there is a risk of leakage, then the installation of mercury batteries will not reduce this risk. Once there is a leak, whether it is mercury or nuclear battery, it will be hazardous to the body. So, the safety standards in this area are very, very strict.”
Having said that, Meyer stroked his chin and muttered, “I also think it’s necessary to require longer-life batteries… After all, there are huge risks to the battery replacement surgery, and very inconvenient to Mr. Twain’s job… It’s best not to frequently open up things that are implanted under the skin. Nuclear batteries are really a great choice!” He raised his voice, as if he agreed with the idea himself. “There are now one hundred and thirty-six patients in the UK with nuclear-powered pacemakers. The device of the patient with the longest record, has been working without problems for thirty-four years, and there is no sign of the battery running out at all. You know, most patients come to the hospital on an average of two to three years to have an operation to replace the pacemaker battery. From the looks of it, nuclear batteries are very cost-effective.”
Twain gave a whistle and said, “And it sounds pretty cool. So, it’s decided, nuclear-powered pacemaker it is!”
※※※
Five days later, Twain was pushed into the operating room with Dr. Stanley Meyer personally in charge of the operation to implant this extraordinary pacemaker for him.
Three hours later, the Royal Hospital held a press conference to announce to all the media that Tony Twain’s operation to implant a pacemaker was a great success. From now on, Twain had a nuclear-powered heart.
The “core” would be full of power in the days ahead, and there would be no problem. And as a result of this, people also termed Twain as “the nuclear-powered Twain” …
...
Chapter 715 - Determined to Hang on to You
When Tony Twain was pushed into the operating room to undergo the surgery to implant a pacemaker, Allan Adams was signing a contract in the Spanish capital, Madrid.
Next to him, glasses of champagne had been poured and placed quietly on the table.
When the person opposite also signed the contract, the two men picked up the glasses of wine and clinked their glasses as a toast. “This is a great collaboration, Mr. Allan Adams.”
“Yes, we each get what we need. Mr. Mijatović.”
“A toast to our cooperation.”
“Cheers.”
※※※
Meanwhile, in Nottingham, England.
Franck Ribéry looked at the two-story mansion in front of him, which he bought with the signing payout after he came to Nottingham Forest. He had already lived in it for four years and would be moving out today.
He would entrust his agent to sell the house on the United Kingdom housing market.
Thereafter, Nottingham would only have memories for him.
Today’s weather was no different from any previous day. The sky was gloomy with gusts of cold wind, as if it was going to rain at any time. The brick houses with their red roofs and white walls stood quietly in the woodlands where the trees only had bare branches left. The noisy birds called from the forest, accompanied by gusts of undulating wind. It was not calming to one’s mood.
He spent countless days and nights here. He had held a party on the lawn in front of the house to entertain his teammates. He also once pushed a child’s stroller and took a stroll together with his wife along the forest path and played with his child here. He also sunbathed alone on the grass, but it was seldom…
He did not return to Wilford to say goodbye to his teammates because he was afraid of facing those disgruntled looks. He knew that since he decided to move to Real Madrid, some people in the team despised him and thought that he wanted to run away when he saw Nottingham Forest fail.
He admitted that he did make up his mind to leave because the boss had collapsed, but he did not think he was running away. He just went to a place to pursue a better life. If the boss was around, he would not have left. He definitely would not have left even if he fired the chattering agent. He would not leave the boss. But now no one… knew whether the boss could return to Wilford or not. He did not have to continue to stay here.
Piqué was gone, Bendtner had left, and now it was his turn. What could still be left of the all-powerful and arrogant Nottingham Forest, which swept across Europe at the time…
The sound of a car horn tooted behind him.
“Franck! Time to go! You’re going to miss the plane if it gets later!” His agent, Bruno Heiderscheid shouted at him from inside the car. “The weather’s so cold. What are you doing standing outside?”
Ribéry pulled his collar tight and wrapped himself in his coat. He turned and walked to the car parked on the side of the road.
Behind him, the house underneath the dark clouds slowly blurred, as if to blend in with the woods behind. Then the house disappeared, and the City Ground stadium in the open space. Loud noises traveled from there.
“Forest, Forest! Nottingham Forest! We’re the champions! We’re invincible! Come on—Forest, Forest, Nottingham Forest…”
Amid such a song, Ribéry did not turn his head back as he got into the car and hurried away.
※※※
In the same afternoon, Ribéry arrived in Madrid, Spain. After a simple medical examination, he attended a grand press conference. At the press conference, he took a number 18 white jersey printed with his name on it from the hands of Real Madrid’s honorary president, Di Stefano.
Then he greeted the Spanish reporters present in Spanish, smilingly said that he liked the weather in Spain very much, causing them to laugh. Following which, he said he would help Real Madrid through the tough times, and he did not come here to taste defeat.
Next, he went to the stadium to show off his skills and won the applause of the fans present.
After the public event was done, he strolled with his wife and child through the empty Bernabéu stadium to get a feel of the international powerhouse’s home ground, which was astoundingly big.
The City Ground stadium was like a high school campus compared to the Bernabéu…
A higher salary, a bigger pitch, more attention… and more honors?
Ribéry embraced his wife with his left arm and his right held his daughter. The sunshine of the Iberian Peninsula was warmer and brighter than that of England. He even felt a little warm, with a fine layer of sweat on his forehead.
Although he was at Bernabéu now, he thought—would the boss fly into a rage since he did not say goodbye? Could his heart take it?
※※※
Sometime later, Nottingham Forest’s official website announced that Franck Ribéry had officially moved to Real Madrid for a fee of fifty-five million euros. The official online article was followed by a tribute to Ribéry for his contribution to the team over the four years, thanking him for the number of championship trophies he had brought to the team, and finally wishing him all the best in Madrid, Spain.
The Spanish media sang praises of Ribéry’s arrival. They claimed that he was the first man who could change Real Madrid’s weakness in the wings and that he was a world-class superstar. After the departure of Robinho and Robben’s injury, the admiral of the flanks which Real Madrid had long waited for was finally here. Schuster would be better off in the second half of the season.
But there was no hot topic mention of how Nottingham Forest, which was having a tough time, would survive the winter.
Twain, who was lying in a hospital bed at the Royal Hospital of Nottingham University and had not yet regained consciousness from the operation, was not aware of everything.
※※※
When Twain woke up again, he did not see Shania, but Stanley Meyer’s smiling face.
“That’s good, you’re awake. It’s pretty fast this time.” He said.
“How long have I slept?” asked Twain.
“Eight hours. The anesthetic had long worn off, but you went on sleeping for a while.”
Twain turned his head and saw Shania who was watching over next to him as expected. When Shania saw he was awake, she smiled at him.
Twain was relieved when he saw the smile. This showed that the operation went very well and there was nothing to worry about.
Sure enough, Mayer later confirmed his hypothesis and said, “The operation went very smoothly. You have nothing to worry about. Now you have a nuclear-powered device here, full of power!” He said, pointing to Twain’s heart.
“So, can I return to the team?”
Meyer shook his head and said, “No. You just had surgery and haven’t recovered from your heart attack. You need at least five months to recuperate.” He extended his five fingers.
Twain’s mouth gaped, “Isn’t that too long?”
“No, it’s not long at all. Heart patients need the recovery time. The heart is not a finger, which only take a few days to recover if there’s a problem. Your body is still weak and needs to recover slowly. I’m worried that if you immediately return to such a stimulating environment, even an antimatter-powered battery won’t save your heart, Mr. Twain.”
“But the team…” Twain still could not forget Nottingham Forest, which he had thrown all his energy into.
Stanley Meyer had a flash of an odd expression across his face and then he smiled to say, “Just take it that you gave yourself a half-year holiday, Mr. Twain. A chance that a lot of managers can’t get. Don’t pay any attention to anything about football. Let Miss Shania stay with you. In half a month’s time, you can be discharged from the hospital. However, you still need to return for frequent check-ups so that we have a grasp on your latest condition.”
Twain did not care about these matters. He still asked, “So roughly when can I start focusing on football again?”
Meyer thought for a while before he said, “Four months from now. You just finished the operation, and there are a few recommendations you ought to know: stay away from strong magnetic field. Do not open the hood to check the engine if the car breaks down. When using the cell phone, remember to use your right hand and also not to place the phone in the left chest pocket; do not let the pacemaker’s area to come into contact with hard objects. When driving, take care not to let the seat belt press against the pacemaker. You must stay in bed for three days after the operation. No intensive exercise within seven days, do not lift your left arm, and pay attention to not let this arm bear weight in the future…In addition, Mr. Twain, you mustn’t think that just because you’ve got a pacemaker, your heart has no more problems. You must complete all the treatments, carry the medicine with you at all times, and take as prescribed.”
Twain laughed bitterly as he laid in bed, “No matter what I hear, I feel like an eighty-year-old man.”
“It’s a necessary measure to protect your life.” Meyer consoled him with a smile, “Please be sure to follow them strictly. I have also told Miss Shania that it is necessary to pay attention to these things in your daily life. I know Miss Shania can’t always be with you to take care of your everyday life. Please hire a professional medical staff to take care of you later. Mr. Twain, I’m afraid from now on, you must say goodbye to your familiar old habits.”
Twain gently nodded and said, “I know, I know… Although it is sad, I can only follow the doctor’s orders strictly in order to live.”
“Just so long it’s clear, you’ll be fine, Mr. Twain. In that case, I won’t disturb your rest.” He left with the nurse.
Once again, only both Shania and Twain were left in the ward.
Twain looked at his lover and said, “It will take me at least five months to start work again. How about you? Shania, when are you going back to work?”
Shania seemed to already have a plan. She said with a grin, “Would you glare at me if I said I also have five months?”
As expected, Twain wanted to glare at her.
“So, when you’re in a better shape, I’ll hire a professional nurse for you to take care of your daily life. Then I’ll be able to leave with a peace of mind… Of course, we have to hire a male nurse!”
Twain rolled his eyes, “Ah, you know how to get jealous so soon.”
Shania held the Totoro soft toy she took from home to sleep with her and hid her face behind the toy. She then carefully stretched forward and said, “I belong only to Uncle Tony, and Uncle Tony only belongs to Shania.”
Hearing her said so, Twain suddenly thought of something, “Do your parents know that we are now… in a relationship?”
Shania shook her head and replied, “I did not tell them. But they are not blind, deaf or stupid. I’ve rejected so many jobs to run back to England to be with you. The media outside have hyped it up so much that they cannot not know. Once they know this matter, I don’t think I need to tell them specifically about our relationship.”
Twain remembered the dream he had in the car on the day Shania confessed her feelings. So, he asked carefully, “What would your parents think? After all, you and I… uh, have a twenty-two-year-age gap.”
Shania continued shaking her head, “I don’t know.”
“Don’t tell me they did not contact you?” Twain did not believe that with such a big thing, the irresponsible parents did not look for Shania. Otherwise he had to wonder whether Shania was their biological daughter.
“They called once. But they did not say anything about this matter. They just asked you about your condition.”
“You did not tell them?”
“Why should I tell them? This is my love life, my business, and nothing to do with them.” Shania found it strange.
Shania’s words rendered Twain speechless. Deep down, he still thought that this was a traditional Chinese love relationship which required both parties’ parents to agree before the two people could be considered …
Well then, I don’t have to think whether the irresponsible parents would think I have abducted their daughter. Anyway, they usually do not care how their daughter is. Even if she really was abducted, I reckon that they will not know as long as the kidnappers do not demand a ransom.
Shania burst out laughing, “But when your health is better, maybe we can make a trip back to Brazil together. I will re-introduce you to my parents!”
Twain wondered why Shania suddenly changed her mind when he saw the little fairy smiled at him with her eyes glittered with excitement and sneakiness.
She leaned over and moved closer to the front of Twain. As she exhaled her sweet and warm breath, Twain felt turned on—the tips of her chest intentionally or unintentionally rubbed against his body. Her hair hung down and draped his face. Her fragrant perfume continuously drifted into his nostrils. Once he opened up his heart to reveal the truth of his feelings, he found that he longed to possess this person.
It turned out that the little peach had matured long ago ah …
But then her words immediately startled Twain.
“Uncle Tony, let’s get married!”
“Huh?”
“What do you mean ‘huh?'” Shania pouted.
“Well…”
“What does ‘well’ mean?”
Twain tried to struggle, only to find himself firmly pressed to bed by Shania. “The doctor said that you must stay in bed three days after the operation, Uncle Tony.”
“It’s too sudden, isn’t it?”
“What’s too sudden?”
“I mean… about getting married. We haven’t started dating yet… How can we get married so soon?”
“But we’ve been in love for five years.”
Twain was completely baffled, “Why was I not aware of it? When did it start?”
“It started when you clumsily tried to make sesame paste for Shania, lying in the sick bed.” Shania’s lips curled up with her eyes curved like a crescent moon and laughed happily. “It was then she fell in love with this middle-aged uncle!”
He picked up a cute young girl with a cup of sesame paste. Twain lamented inside that Shania’s love values were actually equal to a cup of sesame paste.
“How could you know what love is at such a young age….” Twain retorted weakly.
“It doesn’t matter. Five years are enough to let Shania know what love is.” Shania was determined to force Twain to submit today.
“I’ve decided, Uncle Tony! I want to marry you. This is the final ruling. No rebuttals and appeals are allowed!”
“Wow, you’re acting shamelessly!”
“I don’t care if I am! I’m hanging onto you, Uncle Tony! I’ll hang on to you for the rest of my life!”
“That’s not fair, I protest … Well…”
Shania’s rosy lips had once again sealed Twain’s mouth.
“Your protest is invalid.” After the moist kiss, Shania licked her lips. Her face was flushed, and she was slightly breathless, but she still had a sly smile. Twain could even see a pair of pointed ears shaking smugly on top of her head, and a brown tail swaying behind her.
...
Chapter 716 - 45 Million Years of Love
Twain and Shania spent their new year’s day in the hospital ward. Twain was in a critical condition at that time, and neither of them had the mood to celebrate.
He stayed in the hospital for a month and finally received Stanley Meyer’s approval to be discharged at the end of January.
When news of his forthcoming discharge was made public, the entrance to the Royal College of Physicians’ hospital became jam-packed once again. Media outlets from all over the world rushed over for a shot of Tony Twain, as it was going to be his very first public appearance since his hospitalisation. The reporters had a month’s worth of questions for him. It was easy to imagine the scenes that would unfold at the entrance to the hospital.
To avoid bringing trouble to the hospital, disrupting their operations, being harassed by the reporters when he gets discharged, and because Twain enjoys going against the media even if he is suffering from a heart disease, he chose an unexpected timing for his discharge: 1 a.m. in the morning.
Needless to say, the timing that was released by the hospital to the public was that his discharge would happen slightly later in the day at 9 a.m.
The paperwork necessary for his discharge were finished a long time ago. When it was time for him to be discharged, he walked to the entrance under the accompaniment of Shania.
Everywhere around him, be it the front or side of the hospital or the streets, was deserted at 1 a.m. in the morning.
The frigid temperature outside was below zero degree Celsius and it could turn water into ice. There were no reporters who would wait outside the entrance to the hospital under such conditions just for a shot of Tony Twain.
They successfully evaded the reporters by choosing this time. They shook hands and thanked Stanley Meyer and the other hospital staff who had taken great care of Twain for the past month at the entrance to the hospital before leaving the premises quietly.
The two did not return to the house located at No.13 Branford Garden Lane. Instead, they drove straight to a fancy neighbourhood near the Lace Market, where Shania had previously bought a house at.
Unlike Twain’s old residence, this house was not as well-known to the media. Twain did not have to worry about reporters waiting to ambush him outside his door for a long time.
This change in residence had been pre-arranged by the doctor. Stanley Meyer wants Tony Twain to recuperate in peace during this period of time following his discharge. Twain should not do or care about anything else besides recuperating. This meant that he has to stay away from the media as much as possible. If the media really wanted to know about the latest news regarding Twain, they could give Pierce Brosnan a call, for he would be more than happy to play the role as ‘Tony Twain’s spokesperson’ on all things related to Twain.
There were no newspapers related to sports in the house. The television would never switch to the sports channels either.
Twain has to train for half an hour every day, quit drinking and smoking, as well as cultivate a regular daily routine by sleeping and rising early…
He has to start living a brand new life here.
The medical staff who was specially hired by Shania started work as well, and that was when Shania could finally take her hands from everything and rest.
In the blink of an eye, another month passed by.
Towards the end of February, Shania published a post on her official website thanking her fans for their concern, and she also revealed the date for her comeback, which was during Milan Fashion Week Spring.
The way in which she had stubbornly pushed aside a number of her jobs suddenly had caused her to lose most of her brand endorsements and some popularity. It did not matter what reason she may have for refusing the jobs. The modelling industry is very competitive and brutal, and she has to start from the bottom once again, even if she used to be a super model. She has to work hard on the runway and win back the endorsements and popularity that she had lost with her abilities.
Twain was a little worried as to whether Shania would be able to make her way back to the top, but Shania looked full of confidence and fight.
She has been in good spirits ever since her relationship with Twain had been thoroughly confirmed. None of the problems she ran into at work mattered to her anymore.
If not for the fact that Twain was not in good health currently, she most likely would have given her body to him a long time ago…
When March arrived, Shania began practising zealously for her upcoming runway show and became very busy with work. Twain’s care was generally left in the hands of the male nurse named Albert Douglas.
Speaking of Mr. Douglas, he was someone who was specially selected by Shania after going through numerous rounds of tests. He was a conscientious man who was very meticulous about his work. At the beginning, his conscientiousness tormented Twain, but Twain soon came to realize that his only option was to give up against an individual who was even more stubborn than him. Thus, he became obedient and listened to every word that Mr. Douglas said.
Forcing himself to quit smoking and drinking was something that pained Twain both mentally and physically. It was only after a month of perseverance that he realized he could sleep well without thinking about his cigarettes and alcohol.
In Twain’s eyes however, the best part about Mr. Douglas has nothing to do with his professional attitude towards work or his accomplishments as a nurse, but rather how he is able to cook authentic Spanish cuisines!
Twain has certainly been in for a treat all this while after his arrival.
Shania was forced to give up on her romantic ideas of feeding Twain her home-cooked food after tasting Mr. Douglas’s dishes.
The days went by peacefully. Twain would go for a check-up at the hospital every 10 days under the accompaniment of Douglas. His every visit was kept low-key, and he would not say much even if he was caught by the reporters. The way in which he wore sunglasses and pulled a long face made him look like a movie star who was putting on airs instead of a football manager.
The feedback he received from the hospital became better and better with each visit, and the time in between his check-ups lengthened as well.
Both his operations, one to cure his heart disease and the other to implant the pacemaker, were also a success.
On the last day of March, Twain visited the hospital for another check-up once again.
After the check-up, Meyer asked him, “Mr. Twain, why am I not hearing you rant about your life this time round? You’ve always talked about how your nurse is too strict on you, and how asking you to stop smoking and drinking was like asking for your life, right? Why have none of these come up this time round?”
Twain grinned, looking very proud of himself. “I have quit smoking and drinking a long time ago. Entirely.”
“That is definitely something worth congratulating you about, Mr. Twain. That’s right, are there any areas that you are not used to in your life right now?”
Twain hesitated slightly, then he touched his nose and said, “I’ve forced myself to stay away from football for three months, but I still have not gotten used to life without it.”
Stanley Meyer smiled as he nodded his head. “I didn’t think you’d get used to it either. Actually, I think it’s about time you start reverting back to your previous lifestyle.”
Twain did not comprehend what Meyer was saying at first, which was why he sat there unmoving for a moment. When the words finally registered in his mind, he was quite surprised. “You mean I can start working again?”
Meyer shook his head. “No, that’s not what I meant, Mr. Twain. What I wanted to say was… Your heart is pretty much fine now, so you can start getting yourself into the mood, but you still can’t get back to work just yet… Basically, I want you to start getting your heart ready for the future when you do return to work.”
Twain was left mildly dejected at his words, but was quick to regain his optimism. “This works as well. At least now I’d be able to know where Forest is ranked…”
Meyer was a little surprised. “You still don’t know?”
“I’ve not looked at a single thing related to football so far. How could I possibly know?”
Meyer sighed after hearing Twain’s words. “I thought maybe you’d still learn a thing or two about the current situation of your team. I didn’t think you would really completely shut ‘football’ out of your life.”
“If I said I will means I will.” Twain felt that it was only natural for a man to be true to his words.
“Well, I suppose it’s good that you are not in the know.” Meyer smiled again. “Finding out yourself is always better than finding out from someone else. Also, Mr. Twain, you can stop coming for check-ups so frequently from now on. You just need to come back once every half a year. As expected of a 40 year old. You have recovered a lot faster than I anticipated.”
Twain was very happy to hear his words. It is only when you fall sick that you come to realize how importance health is. Now that he has fallen ill, the well wishes that he wants to hear the most from others are not wishes for him to be successful in his work or to have a prosperous year ahead, but rather wishes that wish him the best of health.
They bade farewell to Meyer and exited the hospital soon after. Douglas went to the parking lot to get the car while Twain stood by the side of the road and looked at the newsstand across of him.
A colorful array of newspapers and magazines was put on display before the black newsstand. However, Twain did not cross the road to buy the newspapers in the time it took Douglas to drive the white Mercedes jeep before him.
He might have acted like he was really excited to learn about the news surrounding Nottingham Forest back when he was conversing with Meyer, but now that he truly had the chance to find out for himself, he was getting cold feet. He was quite worried about the news that he would learn, because he suspects that the team is not performing particularly well even if he has not heard anything so far.
The situation was disastrous enough when he was in charge, and he did not think that Dunn could do a better job than him and turn things around. If Dunn could, then surely he would not have not won a single match during that time when he took over when Twain was served a three match ban.
It was not hard to imagine the kind of predicament that Nottingham Forest would be in given how they have no money to buy players and had suddenly lost their manager.
Nottingham Forest was a team that Twain had personally built from scratch. He was very familiar with every area, every component and every person in the team. He could tell the team had not been performing well even with his eyes closed.
Still, he felt that his heart was not fully prepared for what was to come… He was afraid that the news that he would see the moment he bought a copy of newspapers would be news about the team that could not get any worse.
If that were to happen, Twain would probably have to be re-admitted into hospital. However, fainting right before the hospital does make things a lot easier, and he might also get the chance to witness the prowess of the nuclear-powered pacemaker that was implanted in him, and see if it is powerful enough to let him reach his climax.
Douglas pulled up the car by the side and stepped out of the car to open the door for Twain. He realized that Twain’s gaze was fixed on the newsstand across the street.
“Do you need me to buy a few copies of the newspapers for you, Mr. Twain?”
Twain shook his head and got into the car. “No, there’s no need for that. Now’s not the time yet.”
※※※
Shania returned with endorsements from three world-renowned brands after her work in Milan. Her abilities, popularity and Mr. Fasal’s means had allowed her trip to Milan to be a lucrative one.
When she learned that Twain’s heart was fine, she became so thrilled that she announced on the spot that she was going to bring Uncle Tony back to Brazil for a vacation!
Twain was taken aback. He understood that there was only one reason why they would go to Brazil for a vacation. How could they not meet Shania’s parents if they were in Brazil?
How should he handle the situation when he meets her parents? Even if Shania insists that she will not let her parents interfere with her love life, he still feels awkward…
He still remembers the scenes when he last met her parents. It was clear that Shania’s parents treated him as a friend who could take care of their daughter in Britain. Yet, during their next meeting, his status would have changed from ‘guardian’ to ‘your daughter’s future husband’…
That gap was not something that everyone could accept easily.
However, he could not find it in him to reject Shania’s proposal after seeing how excited she was. All he could do was to force himself to bring along a few pieces of summer wear as well as his male nurse Douglas, who was highly conscientious, could cook, could drive, was willing to do anything without complaints, never talked nonsense and was very subservient.
The three of them flew from Britain to Rio de Janeiro the following day.
※※※
Just like the last time he was at Brazil, Twain saw Shania’s parents waiting outside the airport the moment they stepped out.
Shania left Twain behind and pounced towards her parents the moment she saw them. Her actions were like that of a child’s.
On the other hand, Twain stood awkwardly behind their daughter, with Douglas standing next to him with a solemn look on his face.
How should he address her father?
Address him as “Bruce Tenório”, perhaps? Does that sound too distant? After all, I am their daughter’s boyfriend…
Or maybe address him as ‘Dad’?
Stop joking around! We are of the same age… What’s more, I haven’t gotten married to Shania yet, that’s just inappropriate!
Just call him ‘Bruce’? That was how he addressed him previously.
But… Should I really be addressing him in such a chummy way?
As Twain was lost in his thoughts, Bruce Tenório had already reached out a hand towards him. “It’s good to see that you have been doing well, Mr. Twain.”
And so, he reached out and gently shook Tenório’s hands. “Thank you for your concern, Mr. Tenório. It’s been a while…” The expression on his face and his tone as he spoke were a little unnatural.
However, Tenório did not seem to mind. He extended his hand to Douglas behind him next.
“Hello, this is the first time we meet, Mr. Douglas. I’m Shania’s father, Bruce Tenório.”
Douglas shook his hand back half-heartedly.
He was not the main cast over here and naturally did not care about what Tenório thought of him.
Twain looked at Shania who was babbling away endlessly in her mother’s embrace. It was the only moment that he felt that all three of them looked like a family. Shania was truly their daughter, and they were truly Shania’s parents.
All of them are usually busy with their own lives and only get to meet a few times in a year, which is why Twain has the tendency to forget about the existence of Shania’s parents.
The ones who are forgotten are the most troublesome…
Mr. Tenório’s lack of enthusiasm told Twain that this trip to Brazil was not going to be easy for him.
Sunshine. Waves. Palm trees. Beach. Beautiful women in bikini… As compared to having a holiday in such a country, I would rather be holed up in my damp and cold house in Britain watching a replay of a football match…
Tenório smiled at the sight of Shania in her mother’s arms. “All right, let’s save the talk for later, Jordie.”
It was only then that Shania let go of her mother and returned to Twain’s side. She then reached out and hooked her arm over Twain’s naturally.
Twain’s body was still a little stiff as he gingerly followed Shania into the car. He did not forget to observe her parents’ reactions, and he realized that neither Shania’s mother or father appeared to be upset by Shania’s gesture.
That was when Twain heaved a sigh of relief.
Shania nestled against him as they sat in the back seat of the car. Twain suddenly felt like he had been acting too cowardly this whole time. Why can’t he act like how he did the last time they met and be all smiles and jest? Why is he acting so reserved this time round, almost like how someone acts when they meet someone older than them?
In contrast, Shania has not been holding anything back and she clung onto Twain tightly like an octopus. She paid little heed to Douglas, who was seated next to them and was being a third-wheel.
It seemed like she was intent on showing her parents how far her relationship with Uncle Tony had developed.
※※※
On the way back home, both Tenório and his wife showed concern for Twain’s health. They asked him several questions about his heart problems, and the atmosphere in the car could still be considered as amicable.
Once they arrived at Shania’s house, they each began settling down in their respective rooms. Shania stayed in her own room, while Twain shared the guest room with Douglas so that it was easier for Douglas to take care of Twain.
After they had settled into their new rooms, Douglas sharp-wittedly went out to the balcony to gaze at the Copacabana beach, leaving behind the other four in the living room.
The red flags in Twain went off. He knew the crux was about to happen.
Shania’s mother, Giselle Tenório, looked at her daughter. “Jordie, isn’t there something you should tell your parents about?”
Shania pouted and intertwined her arm with Twain’s once again. “I thought I’ve already made things pretty clear.”
Twain felt like he could not utter a single word in a family’s talk like this. He was almost like a backdrop that one would see at theaters. The only thing he needed to do was to show how deeply in love they were with each other, and… keep his mouth shut unless asked to speak.
Shania’s father, Bruce Tenório, opened his mouth to speak. “To be honest, I’m not very surprised at this development.” He turned to speak to his wife as he placed his hand gently over hers. “Our Jordie has always been unique as a kid. She never played around with boys of her age. I still remember asking her why. Do you know what she said? She pouted and said ‘they are too childish’! Haha!”
Mr. Tenório could not restrain a laugh as he talked about Shania as a kid.
“I will never forget how Jordie looked like as a nine year old as she said those words. She had a look of seriousness and displeasure.” Bruno Tenório averted his gaze onto Shania. “We watched that interview that you did in Hollywood, Jordie. I don’t have anything else to say. This is an issue that concerns only you. Neither of us have really interfered with what you did growing up. We always gave you as much freedom as possible, and we intend to keep doing that. You have the right to choose who you love or do not love. Your mum and I will never get in your way.”
Twain heaved a sigh of relief after hearing his words, and his body that had been stiff all along relaxed as well.
Shania felt the change in tension in Twain’s body. She looked up at him and smiled at him, looking very pleased at how things had turned out.
“However, your mum is still very upset at the fact that you did not call to tell us that you have fallen in love with someone, Jordie.” Tenório went on to say.
Shania grinned. “But I brought him back for the two of you to see! Actually, I still have something else on my mind. I plan to get married to Uncle Tony this year!”
Looks of bewilderment were written over both her parents’ faces at what Shania just said.
One look was all Twain needed to know that her parents had not expected her words.
Looks like it’s still not the time to relax just yet…
“You cannot do that!” Giselle’s rejection came out of her mouth without much thought. The smile that would sporadically appear on her face was gone once and for all.
“Jordie, I hope you can reconsider that.” Her father, Mr. Tenório, had a solemn look on his face as well.
“I knew it…” Shania shrugged her shoulders and sighed. “The two of you only give me freedom to decide on trivial things. You will always do this whenever it concerns something important.”
“Jordana.” Her father’s voice became cold quickly. “We might agree to you being in a relationship with Mr. Twain, but that doesn’t mean we agree to your marriage. Marriage is a serious matter. How can you make a decision so easily?”
“Shania, if you were to get married so early, what is to happen with your modelling career? Or your career in Hollywood? Do you understand what a woman needs to sacrifice when she gets married?” These words came from Shania’s mother.
Twain recalled that Shania’s mother used to be a model in the past as well. However, she left the modelling world after getting married to Shania’s father, and has rarely made an appearance on the media since then.
Shania once said that Chinese blood runs in her mother’s lineage, and it looks to be true. There are certain traditional viewpoints that are just hard to rid of…
Shania stubbornly refused to relent. Her obstinate side was beginning to surface again. “If I have the freedom to fall in love with whoever I want, then why can’t I have the freedom to marry whoever I want? I want to get married to Uncle Tony within this year. I know full well what kind of consequences that might bring to my job. I’m not a kid who doesn’t know anything!”
Twain could not help but cough after noticing that the joyous mood they had earlier was about to dissipate. “I’m sorry… Do you mind if I said a few words? After all I did play a role in this…”
All three turned their gazes onto him.
Twain scratched his head, then said, “Where should I begin? To be honest, I only came to truly understand who it was that I loved about three months ago. I’m a little dense when it comes to these things… But Shania has loved me for five years, from the very first time we met. The love that we have between us is very special. At first I treated her as my junior, and I sometimes called myself her ‘surrogate guardian’ in Britain. After all, I’m older than her by 22 years… I can’t escape from that fact. I’m just…” he looked at Bruno Tenório, “Younger than you by a few years, Mr. Tenório. The fact that we are able to be together now is itself a miracle, especially after how I lived through my heart disease and experienced such a big happening in my life. Shania stayed by my side through it all, even at the expense of her endorsements. I am not a religious man, but I can only thank fate for that.”
“I think I can understand your worries and concern, but at the same time, I can understand Shania’s feelings as well. On 9th September this year, I celebrated my fortieth birthday. Half of my life is gone, and I’m a sick person. I have a nuclear-powered pacemaker implanted over here. I don’t know when I will suddenly… Fall asleep again. To Shania, I am someone who is living in constant danger. She doesn’t know when she will lose me forever, and likewise, I don’t know when I will lose her. Thus, to the both of us, every minute that we can spend with each other feels exceptionally precious. We can’t waste even a minute or a second. The reason why Shania so desperately wants to get married to me must be because she wishes to cherish the present.”
“Shania loves me, and I love Shania. There’s no problem with that. To someone like me who has died once before, there is nothing that fills me with more assurance than waking up and seeing that the person I love is still beside me. The two of you will not be able to imagine just how much I cherish everything that I have in my life right now… Maybe you might even be skeptical about the feelings that I have for your daughter as well. The truth is, I don’t know how many more years I have to live, but there’s one thing that I’m certain of… And that is that right till the moment I die, my feelings for Shania will never change.”
Shania looked on in shock as Twain conveyed his deepest feelings. Even when they were alone, Uncle Tony would always act like he’s the elder, and would rarely be so forthcoming with his words. She thought that the Uncle Tony whom she had fallen in love with was someone who was inarticulate, unromantic and did not know how to sweet-talk.
“So, out of consideration for our desire to cherish the present, I sincerely ask the two of you to agree to let me marry your daughter.” Twain straightened up on the sofa and said the words in a grave tone.
“Uncle Tony…”Shania did not expect Twain to be the one to bring up marriage. She thought that deep in his heart, he actually did not want to get married too quickly.
Shania’s mother looked like she was about to say something, but she was stopped by her husband. Bruno Tenório said with a smile, “As expected of the manager who is known for his eloquence. I don’t doubt the feelings that you have for my daughter, Mr. Twain, just like how I don’t doubt the feelings that my daughter has for you. It’s just that have you ever thought about this, and I’m not cursing you, but your health is truly a worry. If one day you were to suddenly… What will happen to our daughter?”
“Dad!” Shania jumped to her feet. She was very upset that her father had said such words.
Twain tugged on her hand and got her to sit down. Then, he faced Tenório and said, “I can’t promise anything about the future. That is why I only said my feelings for Shania would not change right until the day I die. But, Mr. Tenório, have you not thought about it this way? It does not matter how healthy a person can look, there will come a day when he or she has to die. Maybe they will suffer from a heart disease like me or some other incurable disease, or maybe they will get into a car accident or some other accident… I’m no different from them. Nobody knows when they will die, and nobody knows in what way they will die. Rather than worrying about what happens after death, why not live each day to the fullest? If a fear of what happens after death keeps us from getting married, then I think nobody will ever get married.” He shrugged. “But, please rest assured that I won’t die so easily, because I want to enjoy all the time that I can spend with Shania. This heart of mine…” he pointed at his left chest, and suddenly sounded valiant, “This heart of mine is nuclear-powered! The duration of its radioactive half-life would be the duration of my love for Shania.”
Shania hugged Twain from behind out of the blue, and buried her face in his shoulder. She suddenly remembered the words that Mr. Fasal told her that afternoon in America.
“The truth is, once you make your way into their hearts, you will receive the warmest reciprocation you can ever get. It’s just that pirates tend to be a little careless, so they don’t really pay attention to the people and things around them. But once they notice them… I need to start racking my brains over what is the best thing to get the two of you for your marriage.”
Hearing his words, Bruno Tenório held out his hands and smiled at his wife. “What more can we say? Even I’ve never said those words to you when I was young, Giselle. The duration of its radioactive half-life would be the duration of my love for you… It seems like our daughter has found the best possible partner for herself.”
He turned to face Twain with a smile on his face. “But Mr. Twain, are you truly prepared to call me ‘dad’?”
Twain had acted like a real man just now, but his words had stunned him.
To call a man a few years older than him ‘dad’…
Shania continued to lean against his shoulder. Her mind was still preoccupied with Twain’s confession earlier, and she was not aware of the predicament that Uncle Tony was in.
Twain could not count on Shania to help him. He was in a dilemma over what he should do for a while, but he eventually decided to make the right choice in that situation.
Forget it, it’s not like we meet each other every day! Let’s just pretend I’m still 26 years old right now!
“Dad!” Twain yelled, his voice sounding stiff.
He did not stop there. He turned to Giselle Tenório next and yelled in the same tone, “Mum!”
Bruce Tenório burst out laughing and he patted Twain’s rigid body. “You are a good man, Mr. Twain. I know I can definitely leave Jordie in your hands. Enjoy the time that you have together!”
Twain broke into a stiff smile.
“Are you hungry? Let’s go eat. We shall treat it as your engagement banquet!”
As he finished his words, he helped his wife to her feet, before the two walked outside together.
Twain got up after them, but realized that Shania was still leaning against him. He turned his head to the back, and saw Shania raise her head, her cheeks visibly flushed. She looked immensely bashful, but there was still a hint of slyness in her bright irises.
“It’s good that I’ve not forgotten this piece of chemistry knowledge… The half-life of uranium 238 is 45 billion years. Uncle Tony, you have to love me for 45 billion years!”
...
Chapter 717: Here Comes The Wolf
Dunn felt like he was reliving the days before Twain took over his body.
Besides getting busy training the team every single day, he also has to put in time and effort into analysing data regarding their opponents with his colleagues, come up with a thorough plan to help the team win, hold tactical meetings and devise the tactics that the team would employ during the match.
Afterwards, all that was left for him was to wait for the match to commence…
He came to the miserable realization that nothing had changed about him all this while. He still has not improved as a manager…
He was only capable of thinking about all the situations that could arise during the match and prepare for them in advance. Once the match started however, he would slowly lose control over the match. He could not compare to how Tony Twain was able to adapt and alter his tactics based on what was happening on the pitch. Not in a million years.
The team’s results were very, very terrible.
His only consolation was that the team did manage to get a win under him.
Both Nottingham Forest and Dunn lived through a dark and gloomy January when Twain was critically ill and his condition was at its worst.
The team kept up with their horrendous performance that they had put in throughout December and did not manage to secure a single win during the first 3 weeks of January. It was only on the very last day of January that they were able to attain a gruelling 2-1 win over Aston Villa in an away game.
That was also the day when Twain announced to the public that he was about to be discharged.
Due to their 10 consecutive losses during December and January, Nottingham Forest slipped further down the ranking table and was ranked 12th with just 36 points at the start of February.
Ribéry’s departure from the team had greatly impacted the team’s pre-existing tactics as well. When he was still a player for Forest, the left flank was pretty much his own personal passageway. Now that he has left to play for Real Madrid however, the Nottingham Forest whose forte was attacking down the flanks was akin to a bird that had lost half its wings.
Dunn was against the idea when Allan Adams insisted on selling Ribéry for money to help the team through its difficult times. But, who would listen to what an assistant managers says? Did he have a better relationship with the club’s owners than Allan?
Moreover, he was not someone who liked getting into a dispute with others. Since the higher-ups in the club had already decided to sell Ribéry, all he could do was to tweak the team’s tactics and have the team get used to playing without Ribéry on the left flank.
Perhaps no one in Forest wishes to admit it just yet, but everyone else all believe that it will be impossible for Nottingham Forest to be the champions in any competition for the remainder of this season. In fact, it will be extremely challenging for them to even qualify for Champions League football next year.
The team finally started playing better after Twain was discharged from the hospital.
Winter was also starting to pass by slowly. It did not matter how far away Spring was… It has to come one day.
The team went undefeated in the league for the whole of February under Dunn, attaining three wins and one draw.
They went up by two rankings as a result, and was ranked 10th with 43 points.
He was also crowned ‘Manager of the Month’ for February in the Premier League.
It was rare for a young man from China to receive such an honor and thus, it garnered a lot of attention in China. Numerous Chinese media outlets flew over to Britain to gain an interview with the man they dubbed as ‘The Rising Chinese Power Amongst International Football Managers’. Dunn’s popularity in China went through the roof for a short period of time.
Amidst all the buzz surrounding Dunn, the name Tang Jing shone the most. That was because she could get access to exclusive information that no other news outlets was able to lay their hands on. She considered herself to be Dunn’s sole spokesperson on many things related to Dunn.
There were many rumors involving her and Dunn in China. One particular rumor that was widely accepted by many ‘gossipers’ was that there was something going on between the beautiful reporter and Dunn. They believed that their relationship has gotten so intimate that it has crossed the boundaries of what is acceptable between a reporter and an interviewee. There were speculations that the two were actually a couple, and there were even posts online made by someone who claimed to be a student studying abroad in Nottingham that vividly described how he ran into Dunn and Tang Jing on the streets, and how they were hugging and kissing each other and being intimate.
Tang Jing never tried to defend herself against the speculations. She felt that it was actually beneficial to her job for the public to have such misunderstandings about her relationship with Dunn.
As for Dunn, he never cared about such baseless rumors. As long as there was nothing between him and Tang Jing, he would continue to accept Tang Jing’s exclusive interviews and provide her with the information she needs.
Additionally, it was actually a big plus for him to maintain a good relationship with Tang Jing. It was certainly not because of the fact that he would be able to have intimate interactions with a beautiful woman; everyone needs to get that straight, but rather, he could avoid spending time and effort on all the other random reporters from different news bureaus, magazine publishers, tv stations, radio stations and websites from China and focus on his work instead.
However, the enthusiasm and interest that the Chinese and the Chinese media had for Dunn quickly died down soon after. Nottingham Forest suffered a crushing defeat against Mourinho’s Inter Milan during the knockout stages of the Champions League.
Mourinho was finally able to clinch a victory against Nottingham Forest, but he did not look particularly pleased with the result during the press conference after the second leg of the match.
The discerning ones would definitely understand the reason behind his displeasure. The team that he won against was a Nottingham Forest led by Dunn, not a Nottingham Forest led by Twain. It was akin to the despair that one would feel after finding out that the person that they had just painstakingly defeated was not the bitter enemy they wanted to defeat.
To Mourinho, defeating Nottingham Forest was secondary. Defeating Tony Twain was his primary objective. It did not matter if Tony Twain were to manage a team that was not Nottingham Forest as long as he could defeat Twain.
※※※
March soon arrived, and Nottingham Forest was still performing poorly. The team have not lost, but had only managed to attain 2 draws and 1 win.
It seemed as though everyone lost confidence in the team following Twain’s departure. Ominous signs began to appear within the team as well. The players began to lose the fight and determination that they used to have. They would sink into a state of utter helplessness when the opposing team scores against them, even if the other team was a team that was weaker than them. They would typically give up trying to level the score if the other team continues to lead them by a goal with 10 minutes left in the match.
George Wood was infuriated at his team mates’ lack of tenacity. But, he was only the captain of the team, and could never emulate the kind of influence that Tony Twain has over all the players.
The media made the following evaluation of the current Nottingham Forest team:
“Tony Twain has an issue with his heart. Likewise, Nottingham Forest is also having an issue with their hearts. Without motivation and fight, the team is no different from a mid-table team in the Premier League. They absolutely don’t look like a team that was crowned two-time champions. The word going around is that Twain is still ‘shutting’ football out of his life as per his doctor’s instructions. I wonder if he would get so angry at the sight of Forest’s current state that he would relapse and be admitted into hospital once again?”
It did not matter how skilled Dunn was at training and formulating tactics for the team. Even an outstanding assistant manager like him was at his wits’ end about how to deal with the psychological issues of his players.
The bliss that he felt over the team’s successes in February had all been washed away to some faraway island. Now, he has to face a team suffering from a low morale every day, and his brows have never eased up.
In April, while Tony Twain and Shania were enjoying their vacation in Brazil after professing their love for each other and becoming engaged, Dunn was all the way in Britain mulling over how to help get the team out of their predicament.
The team’s results was akin to the performance of the Dow Jones Industrial Average during the financial crisis after entering April. It kept going on the decline and did not look like it would turn for the better.
On 4th April, Matchday 31, they lost to Everton in an away game 0:2.
On 11th April, Matchday 32, they lost to Wenger’s Arsenal 1:3 at home.
On 18th April, Matchday 33, they lost to Ferguson’s Manchester United 1:2 at home.
On 25th April, Matchday 34, they drew 1:1 with Blackburn in an away game.
To the British, the cold and damp winter had long passed. It was now spring, the season that signified the resurrection of life.
However, at the City Ground stadium in Wilford, the frigid winds of the winter continued to wreak havoc around every single person related to Nottingham Forest, and they did not look like they were going away anytime soon.
※※※
It was the afternoon of 2nd May, and a game for Premier League’s matchday 35 had just concluded.
The Forest Bar was silent despite being packed with people. The final score for the match appeared on the television screen, but no one seemed bothered by what they saw. They had all become apathetic to it. Nottingham Forest had just lost again at home to Bolton Wanderers 0-2.
In the past, the Forest fans would look down on teams like Bolton Wanderers. Forest would never lose against a team like that, even if they were the away team. But now, the tables have turned and they were getting bullied by a team they never thought highly of.
What made them feel even more disgruntled was how the players performed against Bolton Wanderers. They played as though they had no interest in the match at all. The consecutive defeats in the league have caused them to lose their fight completely.
The fans were enraged by what they saw in the players.
“This isn’t Nottingham Forest!” Someone broke the silence with a holler. “I won’t acknowledge such a team as one that is befitting of the name ‘Nottingham Forest’!”
No one echoed his sentiments, but his words did elicit many sighs.
“Tony… How much longer till Tony comes back?” Someone asked in a soft voice.
These words prompted interest from a number a people, unlike the previous comment.
“Don’t tell me they have already sacked him? It’s been five months…”
“How is that possible? Don’t talk nonsense! Dunn’s title is still clearly ‘assistant manager’.”
“What’s going on with Tony’s condition now? The media can’t seem to get hold of any precise information about the matter either…”
“Didn’t they say that his condition has turned for the better?”
“Then, if it has gotten better, why isn’t he back? Can he bear to watch his football team get bullied by an opponent like Bolton Wanderers?”
“Since it concerns the heart, who can say for sure what’s actually going on with him? I actually think it’s best if Tony doesn’t return to the team during this season. If not he’d probably be so upset that he has to be re-admitted into the intensive care unit.”
“You are right, with how the team is performing right now, we definitely won’t qualify for Champions League next season! Maybe we won’t even qualify for the Europa League too!”
All the discussions ended with a sigh.
Kenny Burns quietly listened to the discussions among his customers as he wiped the glasses in his bar.
The current Nottingham Forest is actually not performing that terribly right now. He has seen worse.
Few would agree with his view, but he did not mind. He believed that Twain would find a way. As a spectator all he could do was to keep waiting and see what transpires next.
※※※
The players had finished showering and changing their clothes, and they all returned to the bus in groups of three or four.
Dunn reclined wearily against the seat in the changing room and refused to get to his feet.
He suddenly understood what Twain was feeling during the final moments of the match against Newcastle.
He must have been exhausted.
Or, to be more precise, mentally exhausted.
Kerslake returned to the changing room to see Dunn sitting in there all by himself.
“What’s wrong, Dunn?” He took a look at his complexion. “Don’t tell me you are suffering from a heart disease as well.”
Dunn forced a smile. “Close to suffering from one.”
Kerslake was well aware of the team’s current situation. There was nothing he could say to comfort Dunn after seeing the state that he was in.
“I feel like I’ve let everyone else down. If Tony was here… He would have told the players off at half-time, ‘You guys actually let a team like Bolton Wanderers take the lead?’ And after that he would have tweaked his tactics and try to get the team to do a comeback in the second half… We might be able to come up with very precise tactics for the team, but we can’t get the players to execute our tactics with zeal.” Dunn shook his head and threw his hands out as he finished his words.
“Dunn, that is not something that you are responsible for. Honestly, you are already doing a great job…” Kerslake could not find the words to console his colleague.
It was inevitable that he would be compared to Tony Twain from the very first second that he took over the job as caretaker manager. The criticisms against the man from China have never ceased now that the team is not performing well. The acerbic British media seemed to be exceptionally harsh with their criticisms of the Chinese.
Be it charisma or his track record as a manager, Dunn could not hold a candle to Tony Twain.
“I’ve suddenly come to a complete understanding of what Grant must have felt when he was at Chelsea.” Dunn said out of the blue.
That’s right, every manager before him were ‘the special ones’. Their successor was nothing more than an average Joe.
Kerslake found their conversation to be utterly pointless. After all, the problems with the team did not lie solely on the manager, but on the entire team itself.
One particular thought had begun to manifest itself within the team, and that is that since they are not going to be able to win anything this season, why should they work so hard for? All they need to do is to avoid relegation and wait for the boss to return next season and then start all over again under him.
Additionally, rumors about how the team is going to go through a major overhaul after the season ends, and how the club intends to use the money earned from the sale of players into resuming their construction works of the new stadium have never stopped either.
Nobody knew what lies in store for them in a year that is fraught with so many issues.
The issues with the team right now are not just about how they are playing on the pitch. There are also issues with the management of the club.
He did not want to continue discussing about such a depressing topic anymore, so he decided to ask something else for a change. “Has Twain contacted you?”
Dunn nodded.
“How is his health condition right now?”
“According to him, there are no issues whatsoever.”
“Then… Does he know about the current situation of the team?”
“I think he does.”
“Did he say when he intends to come back to the team?”
Dunn shook his head. “No. I think he’d only return after the season has ended. With the team as it is now… It’s pointless for him to come back, right?”
Kerslake fell silent again. Dunn had just brought up a crucial point. Even if he was Tony Twain the ‘King’, he would only get bogged down after he returns, given how the team is in complete shambles currently. He risks tarnishing his prestige and reputation if he returns. A smart way of handling the situation would be to stay away from all the mess and come back when this disastrous season is over. He can then build a new team from scratch and display the control that he has over the team as well.
Kerslake had no doubts that the sly and intelligent man would do just that.
※※※
Twain switched off the television, and shook his head profusely.
Shania looked at Twain nervously from the side, fearful that he would suddenly collapse to the ground as he shook his head.
Douglas was nervous as well. He was on standby as he sat near Twain.
Twain slowly sat down, and did not say a word for a while. It was as though the air in the room had solidified. The room went completely quiet, and the atmosphere felt oppressive and uncomfortable.
Shania asked cautiously after some time had passed, “Uncle Tony?”
Twain looked at her and smiled. “I’ve realized it, Shania.”
“Huh?”
“My heart is truly fine now!”
“Huh?” Both Shania and Douglas were stupefied. What is going on?
“I was able to watch that infuriating match from start to finish. And I still feel well after it!” Twain stood out and started moving his arms and legs about to show that he was feeling well.
Shania led out a long sigh. “Can you not scare others like that, Uncle Tony?”
Twain grinned. “But I was truly very mad earlier. I was thinking that if I was on the manager’s seat then, I would have given them a dressing down at halftime, and the words that would come out of my mouth would be as ugly as they can possibly get. I even thought about what I would scold them about as I sat there. I imagined myself to be extremely angry and I kept putting myself in that emotional state because I wanted to see just how far my heart could take it. From how I see it, I think my heart’s ready for my comeback.”
Seeing that Twain was fine, Douglas used the excuse that he wanted to rest earlier to leave the living room and return to his room. He then closed the door behind him and provided a space for Tony and Shania to speak to each other.
“Uncle Tony, do you really intend to do that?” It was rare for Shania to have such a serious and grave expression on her face as she spoke to Twain.
Twain just smiled as he nodded his head. “Yes. I’ve thought about it for a while and I feel like I can’t escape from it any longer.”
“But what difference does it make for you to go back now, Uncle Tony? The team is already in shambles, and there’s only a few matches left in the league. Do you think you can lead the team back to the top of the table and become champions again by going back?”
“Ha!” Twain led out a laugh. “Don’t even think about becoming champions of the league, Shania. I think it’s impossible for the team to even qualify for the Europa League.”
“Then why do you…”
Twain reached out and held a slightly discontented Shania in his arms. His hand caressed her lustrous brown hair while his nose sniffed at her hair. The scent of a young woman wafted into his nostrils and left him feeling bewitched.
“It’s not about what kind of results I’d obtain after going back, Shania.” Twain murmured as he closed his eyes. “It’s just that I only truly feel alive when I return to the team. It’s great to live a life with you and Douglas taking care of me, but that’s not the kind of life I want to live. Haven’t you already noticed it? That I seem like a man who has lost all his energy these few months.”
Shania buried her face in Twain’s chest and began to recall the scenes from the past few months. She then realized that what Uncle Tony said was completely right. The Uncle Tony who had left football and his managerial position did not seem like the Uncle Tony from before. She could not understand the reason behind the difference before this, but now she can.
For the past few months, Uncle Tony has been behaving like any other middle-aged man, but the Uncle Tony from before these past few months was not like any other middle-aged man.
He was unique, he was the ‘one and only’, and he was someone who ‘cannot be replaced’. Men like that possessed a distinctive charm. It felt as though blinding lights would burst out from his body at any time. It was completely different, or even the polar opposite of the Uncle Tony who would smile the whole day and listen to everything that the doctor told him, or the submissive and obedient Uncle Tony who would let himself be watched over by a nurse.
One was a fearless wolf who could roam about the wilderness freely and howl at the skies, while the other was a tame sheep who was watched by the sheepdog in the farm.
I wonder which Uncle Tony it was that made me fall so deeply in love with him, regardless of what happened to me?
I am afraid it is not the Uncle Tony that I have seen over the past few months.
She placed her ear against Twain’s left breast. “I can hear your heartbeat… And it sounds a little fast?”
Twain laughed and embraced her tightly. “That’s because I can’t help but feel excited at the thought of the life that I’m about to start living again.”
He raised his head. He felt as though he could already hear the cacophony inside the City Ground stadium: the cheers and songs for Forest, the boos against their opponents, the ear-splitting sound of the whistle going off, and the dull sounds of the football being kicked and bodies colliding with one another…
Those sounds came at him like the waves of the Atlantic Ocean and they stirred him from within. His nuclear-powered heart was starting to get restless inside his chest.
If anyone thinks that I, Tony Twain, would turn into a tame sheep after suffering from a heart disease and lying low for five months, then they are utterly mistaken!
Ladies and gentlemen! Have you all heard of the story ‘The Boy Who Cried Wolf’?
I have never lied. This time, the wolf has really come!
...
Chapter 718 - Tony Twain’s Tactical Class
“… The doctor’s advice for Tony Twain was for him to wait till the season is over before considering returning to his managerial position. However, word has been going around recently that he wishes to return to the team straight away. Could it be that Nottingham Forest’s terrible results have become too much for him to bear?”
“… Quite frankly, I don’t think there’s much truth behind that hearsay. If Tony Twain is a man of intellect, he will not choose such an awkward time for his return. There are only 3 matches remaining in the league, and the team is destined to finish the season empty-handed. He can’t change anything even if he returns. In fact, he could even be made the scapegoat for the team’s failures. Is Tony Twain a man of intellect? Surely he is…”
“What I find the strangest is not that he intends to return to his managerial position in advance. Rather, it’s that he actually intends to return to the position. Honestly, I don’t think he is suited to be a manager any longer given his health condition. He might be a manager who has achieved brilliant things with his team in the past, but I think it would be better for him if he were to end his career here. Given his fiery temper and personality, I’m very worried that his heart would not be able to handle it…”
Most people did not view the news of Twain’s premature return to Nottingham Forest favorably when they began to surface in the media.
Carl Spicer, the leading figure when it comes to making anti-Twain comments, wrote the following in his column:
“Tony Twain is done for! His heart will never be able to tolerate the ups and downs of the Premier League! His heart disease has taken away most of his spirit! I heard that he was actually docile when he was watched over by a nurse! That is the most hilarious thing I’ve heard this year! Look at the results that Gérard Houllier attained when he returned as Liverpool’s manager after his hospitalisation… I think the best thing Tony Twain should do right now is to announce his retirement, then work on developing a career at Hollywood with his supermodel girlfriend. It’s fine if he can’t make a lot money from it, his young girlfriend is very rich after all… Do you all think I’m making these comments because I’m anti-Twain? That’s a shame, because I’m truly concerned about him this time round. To be honest, every single comment I’ve made so far has been for his own good. I think no matter how much a person might hate him, they wouldn’t wish to see him die on the manager’s seat right?”
Unlike the other Premier League managers who hope that Twain can make a comeback and triumph over his heart disease, the media did not think Tony Twain would be successful if he were to return to Nottingham Forest.
There were some who felt that he had chosen the wrong timing, and there were others who believed that his heart would not be able to tolerate the stimulations of professional football. Others simply joined in the criticisms against Twain because they felt that the Twain right now was a pushover.
Twain did not publish a single article in any of the newspaper columns for the past five months, and he never accepted an interview as well. There were occasional news about Twain published by Pierce Brosnan about how ‘Tony Twain is making a good recovery’, or ‘Tony Twain is actively training his body’, or ‘Tony Twain is in good spirits’, or ‘Tony Twain and his girlfriend Shania are having a vacation in Brazil’, but other than those ‘small news’, there was nothing about what Twain said in response to the criticisms. He did make any form of rebuttal at all. It was very unlike Twain’s personality…
His odd behavior inevitably led people to think that he must have lost his temper as a result of being tormented by his heart disease.
There were even smaller publications that spun a yarn about his treatment process. They wrote that he was forced to undergo a heart transplant, and how he could not let his heart experience the slightest stimulation, or it would result in a relapse of his heart disease…
They were all lies that those media outlets fabricated, but there were people who believed in them. One cannot help but lament at how anything is possible in this world, and how there will always be people who keep breaking the record of possessing the lowest I.Q in the world.
The news that Twain was about to return sent some of the media outlets into a frenzy…
※※※
Today’s weather was good by Britain’s standards. It was clear throughout the country.
The sun was shining brightly and the sky was cloudless.
The yells of the coaches and the sounds of the whistle going off could be picked up incessantly as the players practised on the training grounds.
The most hardcore Forest fans from all over the world had turned up to watch the team’s practice. They continued to show support for the team despite the bad run of results lately. However, they were not just here to watch and support the team. They were also hoping to be able to obtain signatures from the players after the practice was over. It would be even better if they could get a photo with them as well.
There was nothing different about this day in Wilford from any other.
Evan Doughty and Allan Adams were seated in an office that was located within the administrative building at the training grounds. They were looking at a man standing across of them.
The three of them exchanged greetings. The atmosphere felt as though it was about to freeze up afterwards.
The man smiled first. “Why are the two of you being so serious? Allan, did you think I was back to denounce you?”
Allan Adams had made the decision to sell Ribéry when Twain was not around. Twain only learned of the news months later. He was a little mad when he first learned that Ribéry had been sold, but he tried his best to calm himself down, thanks to the doctor’s instructions.
He then thought about it once more after he was calm, and he realized that Allan Adams did the right thing. The club needs money and Ribéry was the only player who would fetch a high price in the team. Moreover, Ribéry has made it clear for a while that he wanted to leave. Nothing good happens when you use force…
Truth be told, ever since the day Twain personally went to persuade Ribéry to join Nottingham Forest during the summer, he has always been mentally prepared that there will come a day when he leaves him and the club.
You can’t keep Ribéry without money. That guy is afraid to be poor.
What has happened has happened. Let bygones be bygones. There was no need to jeopardise his relationship with his colleague over a player who has left. This was why he did not grab Allan Adams by the collar, and let him see for himself why he is sometimes called ‘the hairdryer’.
Evan smiled. “Tony, there you go again with your jokes.”
The first thing Twain did upon his return to the club was not to meet with his colleagues and players immediately. He made his way to the Chairman’s office instead.
“I just dropped by to tell the two of you that I’m back for work.”
“You could have just called if it was for something like that.”
Twain raised an eyebrow. “How could I possibly? It’s better to say it face-to-face.”
“Is your health… Really fine? I’ve also only just learned of your return from the newspapers recently. I thought it was just a rumor.” Evan asked out of concern.
Deep in his heart, Evan longed for Twain to return to the club as soon as possible, but out of considerations for Twain’s safety, he never made a call to ask Twain about the date of his return.
It was great that Twain was back… But he still had to say the words that he did out of courtesy.
Twain felt his left breast. “Now I have something extra over here. I can actually feel it with my hands, but most of the time I can’t feel its existence. As for my health… I watched the last match that we competed in.”
Evan had a slightly awkward expression on his face when Twain brought up the match in which the team lost to Bolton Wanderers at home. It was certainly an utterly humiliating match.
Never mind the fact that the team lost the game. The way that they played without a twinge of fighting spirit was intolerable, even to a chairman of the club who knew nothing about football like him. He could not bear to watch the team play in such a way any longer, and he even discussed with Allan Adams about the players they needed to get rid of in the summer as they sat in their private room.
“I was very mad after watching it, but nothing happened to my heart!” Twain started to laugh. “I think I can start working again. I actually can’t wait to start!” He rubbed his hands together excitedly.
He was similar to George Patton who got dismissed after slapping his soldiers in Sicily, in that they both felt deprived of something when they are not working. One would feel dead if you did not let him fight in the war, while the other would not feel alive if you did not let him command a team in a match.
Allan Adams, who had remained silent the entire time, stood to his feet and retrieved a letter off the table before handing it to Twain.
Twain did not understand the meaning behind his actions. Allan pointed at the letter and explained, “Franck Ribéry passed it to me before he left. He told me to pass it to you, if you came back.”
Twain looked down at the words ‘To: Boss’ written on the envelope. He then pinched the envelope lightly. There was only a thin sheet of paper inside.
He slid the envelope into his shirt’s pocket.
“You are not going to read it?” Allan was a little surprised.
“Not now.” Twain shrugged. “I should get started with my work.”
Evan held him back. “Does the team know you are coming back today?”
Twain shook his head and smiled proudly. “They don’t. I didn’t tell anyone. I want to give them a big ‘surprise’!”
※※※
The sun was bright. The grass on the training grounds emitted a musky scent under the sun.
Dunn did not feel warm despite being basked in the sunlight. It was still winter around him.
The assistant manager was distracted and so were the players, who seemed as if they had their heads in their clouds as well.
The season was approaching its end. There has been word going around that the club is in need of funds and would undergo a major overhaul after the season has drawn to a close. Many of the players themselves are also seeking better opportunities elsewhere.
Who would have thought that a team that lifted numerous trophies together last season would be falling apart soon?
Nottingham Forest was destined to become the most dazzling shooting star in the history of British football. Its blinding light lit up half the night sky when it flashed by twice, but it vanished without a trace after making those two appearances.
The season has yet to end, but many of the first team players have received offers from other teams.
As the captain of the team, George Wood was also a player that many big clubs thought highly of. However, his manager, Billy Woox, was clearly not as fast at dealing with these transfer offers as opposed to clinching endorsements for him. Wood has not given a response to any club that wishes to buy him during the summer transfer window.
It felt as though there was a centrifugal force within the team that was tearing everyone apart. It was sad to see such things happen to the team simply because they had lost their manager.
Kerslake blew the whistle in his mouth. “This concludes our outdoor training. Go for tactical class next!”
A group of people slowly made their way over to the their tactical classroom with their heads hung low.
Their ‘tactical class’ on the day after a match day would always involve watching a video of the match that they had just played in.
A match like yesterday’s… Is there really a need to watch it? Everyone mumbled in their hearts.
Two thick curtains were pulled over the windows in the tactical classroom. It was pitch black inside, almost like the interior of a cinema. The environment was just right for everyone to watch what was being shown on the big screen.
A crowd thronged the classroom after the door was opened. Sounds of people bumping into chairs and crying out in pain ensued. It was only then that someone remembered to switch on the lights.
As the lights lit up the room, a voice rang out by all the players’ ears. “Have you all lost your souls? Why wasn’t the first thing that you guys did upon entering such a dark room to switch on the lights? To swarm in straight away… What is on your minds?”
When everyone finally snapped to their senses, they realised that there was already a man sitting in the room.
The man, who was seated on the chair next to the computer, had a strong presence about him. His brows were furrowed and he looked a little impatient.
Who else could that be besides their boss, Tony Twain?
The room went muted in an instant…
Dunn noticed that the people before him had stopped moving.
He found it odd. Did they see a ghost?
He froze as well after squeezing his way into the room.
“Hey! Everyone at the front! What are you all doing? Why aren’t you moving? Why are you blocking the entrance?” Kerslake’s characteristic booming voice rang out from the back of the crowd. He could not squeeze his way through like Dunn, and could only jump about at the back and shout.
Twain did not stand to his feet. He just waved his hands and gestured for the people at the front to enter the room. It was only then that they began to swarm into the room and made way for those behind them.
Only Dunn stood unmoving by the side and did not join the rest in moving forward. Kerslake behaved in the same way as Dunn did after stepping into the room and seeing Twain inside.
A group of people stood wordlessly in the room. Twain was the only one seated.
Twain did not open his mouth to speak. All he did was to scan through the room and look at everyone.
This is his football team…
He stood to his feet shortly after. “I’m here to conduct today’s tactical class. Sit down, everyone.”
The players took a seat obediently.
Upon hearing Twain’s words, Kerslake went forward and intended to put the disc containing the footage from yesterday’s match into the computer, but he was stopped by Twain.
“I don’t need this. I still remember everything about that match. I also believe that none of you has forgotten about it so quickly right?”
Everyone’s hearts fell to the pits of their stomachs after hearing Twain’s words. It looks like the boss is very upset and is about to give everyone a dressing down. But, can his heart handle such intense emotional changes?
Dunn wanted to stop Twain from continuing. “Tony, you…”
Twain looked at him. “I watched the entire match from start to finish on the tv and my heart was fine throughout. I decided to come back earlier after ascertaining that it was able to rise up to the challenge. Do you want to know why?” He turned his head to face the players.
“Because I did not want to watch an even poorer and more infuriating match than yesterday’s for the rest of my life!”
He raised his voice suddenly, and everyone had their hearts in their mouths.
David Beckham looked at Twain worriedly. He was afraid that Twain would not catch his breath after yelling, and would faint to the ground once again.
To his relief, his fears did not materialise. Twain continued to stand firmly on his two legs and had a solemn look on him.
“Look at what you guys just did… You actually lost at home to Bolton Wanderers! Bolton Wanderers, everyone! You dare to lose against a team like that? What else can you lot not do in this world? Take over Mars or land on the moon?”
It has been five months. All the unhappiness, resentment and passions that he had suppressed within him began to gush out. That meek little lamb who obediently listened to everything that the nurse Douglas said had transformed into a savage wolf who had opened its ferocious mouth that smelled of death and bared its sharp fangs.
“I know the team’s results are poor, and I know how difficult it has been. I have nothing to say about our elimination from the Champions League. It is only natural for us to give up on one of the competitions given our current situation. Do you all know this? During December of last year, when the team was going through our toughest times, I prepared myself for the worst, but even then I thought we would only throw away the Champions League. I thought we would be able to stay within the top four… But look at where we are now! 12th in the league! All the media out there has been saying that ‘Nottingham Forest can’t play football anymore after they lost Tony Twain’. Do you all think I should be happy and proud to hear those comments? Bullsh*t! I feel utterly humiliated! You guys are the f*cking ‘Nottingham Forest football team’, not some son of a b*tch ‘Tony Twain football team’!”
His emotions had run high, and everyone were expecting him to raise his voice once again. However, Twain suddenly stopped and began deeply inhaling a few times. He felt the pressure on his heart after chastising the players. He had no choice but to rest for the moment.
Kerslake hurriedly went in front to support Twain after seeing him in that state, but he was pushed away by Twain. Twain pressed a hand on the table for support instead. “This is nothing. Yours truly has a nuclear-powered heart right here!” He pointed at his chest and told Kerslake in a fierce tone.
“I’ve always looked down on Grant and Chelsea. We’ve always won over them, which was why I always said that we had the psychological advantage over their team. But, in these five months, I’ve been very impressed with Grant’s Chelsea team. Do you guys know why? That’s because just like us, they changed managers mid-season, but they managed to make their way into the Champions League finals! What about you guys?”
“No Champions League’s trophy, no Premier League’s trophy, we are going into next season with nothing! It’s like we are a team that just got promoted into the Premier League! Have any of you gotten sick of being champions? That’s good, we can start all over again next season as a team that has not been crowned champions before! But, I’m not going to hide anything from all of you. Our poor results will lead to financial difficulties. We will need pay for our mistakes this season! Yes, all of us here, including me. Why did I choose this time to come back? It’s because I want to show that I’m a part of the mess that this team is currently in. I have to bear responsibility for what has happened. But!” He raised his voice and pointed at the players before him.
“You guys are not going anywhere next season! You have to atone for what you did! I don’t expect any of you to suddenly go into overdrive and bring the team to the sixth spot. None of our opponents are idiots. But, I don’t wish to see any more of that revolting performance against Bolton Wanderers anymore! How do you think Nottingham Forest managed to reign as champions in Europe for the past two years? If it’s just strength, there are many teams that are stronger than us. What made us champions was our spirit and vigor! Those were what separated us from the other teams. It was something uniquely Nottingham Forest! There are so many teams in Europe, but we are the only team that ‘never gives up’! We can lose, but we cannot surrender! That is a trait of our team that I’m proud about, and it is just like our team’s unique flag. I don’t want any of you to throw that flag away. If you have thrown it away, you better go and retrieve it from now on and stick it right here!” He pointed at the sole of his foot.
Twain became very tired and could not hold on much longer after scolding so much at one go. However, he still straightened his back and waved his hands. “The tactical class ends here. You are all dismissed!”
No one moved. He walked straight out the door.
Dunn chased after him. He was scared that Twain would collapse to the ground once he was out of the door. The scenes of what happened at the end of the match against Newcastle still lingered in his mind, and they would surface from time to time. When he knelt by Twain’s side and watched as his body went into a spasm, he truly believed that the fearless man was going to die that day. It did not matter how much time has passed since then. The fear was still there every time he recalled the scenes.
※※※
“Tony!”
Twain was walking very fast and Dunn had no choice but to jog to catch up with him. When he finally caught up, he was already panting slightly.
Twain stopped and turned his head to look at Dunn. He then smiled at him. “You look even more tired than my heart is. It’s been tough on you for the past five months.”
Dunn shook his head.
“When are you planning to move back into the house?” For the past five months, Twain has been living at Shania’s luxury residence near the Lace Market, and that was also how he evaded most of the reporters. Dunn was the one who looked over and took care of his house at No. 13 Branford Garden Lane for the past few months.
“I guess I will go back tomorrow… Why, did you miss me?” Twain grinned as he teased Dunn.
Dunn was emotionless and made no reaction to his words. Twain’s tease had fallen on deaf ears. Twain pouted in response and said, “I’d go back with Shania tomorrow. If you are free tonight, let’s have a meal together at the house. I need to introduce Shania to you once again.”
“When are the two of you getting married?” Dunn asked. He already knew about Twain and Shania’s engagement in Brazil.
“The summer of this year.”
“So early!” Dunn was taken aback.
“I’m already 40, is it still early?” Twain smiled. “Be my best man for my wedding, Dunn. The wedding ceremony will be held in Brazil. Call dad and mum over. As their… son, I still have not given them anything good so far. This will count as an overseas trip.”
The two chatted as they continued to walk away from the classroom. Neither of them brought up the team’s troubles. All they talked about were the trifles that happened in the five months that they were separated from each other, such as how the house would be cleaned twice every day or how Toto was about to become Dunn’s pet…
They walked all the way to the office. Right before Twain pushed open the door to walk inside, Dunn suddenly remembered something. “That’s right, Chen Jian visited me once during March. He wanted to thank you, but was afraid to meet you, so he only came to find me when he was about to leave. He wants to thank you for scolding him that day. He said your words have allowed him to persevere…”
Twain interrupted him. “I almost forgot about him… You said he persevered?”
Dunn nodded his head. “Greenwood followed your words and picked on his problems every day. He amplified every single problem of his, and used Wood’s training plan to train him meticulously. He corrected every mistake that Chen Jian made, and was even stricter on him than before. But Chen Jian managed to persevere till the end.” Dunn’s face suddenly turned solemn. “But, since the club had to deal with a load of problems, from your illness to the team’s poor results, nobody had time to spare for the youth player who was selected from a talent show. So he returned to China after his one year’s contract was up.”
Twain fell silent for a while after hearing Dunn’s words.
Then, he let go of the handle on the door and turned around to face Dunn before saying, “Let’s go. Follow me over to North Wilford.”
...
Chapter 719 - Little Red Riding Hood and Her Uncle Wolf
Twain and Dunn sat in Greenwood’s office, looking at what was in front of them. Both men had very serious expressions.
Greenwood pointed to what they were looking at and said, “This is his training log. Records are made every day as per your instruction.”
They were two thick B5 sized notebooks made out of photocopier paper.
Twain certainly could not finish reading the contents of these two books here. He turned to the beginning, then flipped over to the middle, and finally flicked to the back. It was enough for him to draw a conclusion.
“He persisted and completed George Wood’s training program at the youth team. To tell you the truth, I’m very surprised by it.” Greenwood said beside him, “I could tell George was very strong just by his physique but Chen … where did the strength come from such a thin figure?”
Twain did not make a sound and continued to look down to flip through the training log.
Greenwood looked to Dunn, who was Chinese, and Dunn answered with a smile, “I don’t know. Maybe it was the power of his dreams.”
“Dreams?” Greenwood stroked his chin and smacked his lips, “Wasn’t it his dream to become a professional footballer? But in the end it didn’t come true. And I think he should have known long ago that this was impossible. No club wanted a young man who had only trained for one year, not to mention he was already eighteen years old. Why was he insistent on doing so? Where did his strength come from?”
Dunn pointed his finger at Twain reading the log next to him, “Isn’t there a guy here who accepted a seventeen-year-old who only just started his formal football training and developed him to become the youngest captain in Nottingham Forest’s history?”
“Stuart Pearce also only started playing professional football at the age of twenty-one.” Twain said without looking up. “This kid did a good job… he completed everything well. I thought you lied to me at first.”
Greenwood cleared his throat, “Why would I lie to you? To be honest, Chen’s drive was amazing. If he had started training here from the age of ten, he would have been able to become a qualified professional football player. But as for now…” He gave a shrug.
Twain closed the notebook and said to Greenwood, “Can I take these back to read?”
“They were prepared for you, Tony. If it wasn’t for your illness… You should have read them in February.”
“Well…” Twain put away the thick books and said, “It looks like I’ve missed a lot of wonderful things in the last five months…”
“Is your health all right, Tony?” Greenwood asked.
“You’ve already asked, Ian. Of course, there’s no problem. Otherwise I wouldn’t have come back to work… You know how many beautiful Brazilian women there are, heh heh.”
Both Dunn and Greenwood ignored his joke.
Twain glanced at the two training logs again and said, “He even gave himself additional training? Dribbled the ball back and forth between here and home every day to participate in the training?”
Greenwood nodded, “Yes, he even did it when he went to the University of Nottingham for his cultural studies classes. John also told me that he saw Chen ran in the street with the football when he got home. His classmates also said he was a ‘weirdo.’ You know, the sidewalks were uneven, and the football always bounced around…”
Twain interrupted his account to ask, “How long did he do it for?”
“Until the last day of his training here.”
Twain stared at the cover of the training log and did not say a thing.
He thought of that muddy face in the wind and rain, the miserable appearance and how it was somewhat in line with the image of the football of that country…
With the terrible defeat of China Olympic team at the Olympic Games, “football” was already a word that almost everyone abhorred in China. The mention of football would inevitably provoke a burst of ridicule, which was almost always the case in both popular and state media. Nowadays if someone announced that he wanted to be a professional footballer, he would be jeered at. As long as a person was playing football, some people would think that he was related to the Chinese Football Association. As long as he did not hate Chinese football, he would be looked down upon … The wave of fanatical antipathy currently remained in China and was not expected to cool down for years to come.
Twain did not have any special views on this. The Chinese Football Association did this to itself and cannot escape. It’s better to let them die early. Maybe there will be another new lease of life.
But Chen Jian has nothing to do with the Chinese Football Association and it’s not his fault that Chinese football was so dire. He’s not even a product of the system. He’s just a stubborn kid with a head full of dreams.
He gave his best and was exhausted. Had he broken down the wall?
What was his mood like when he left Wilford? Did he regret it? Disappointed? Unwilling to resign to his fate?
I really want to see his face with my own eyes.
When I laid in the hospital bed, I really missed out on a lot.
“Tony?” Dunn saw Twain in a daze for a little too long and called out to rouse him.
“Ah… Ian. I’ll ask you one more thing. How did he perform in the internal game after that incident?” Twain looked up at Greenwood.
“He was a lot better than before, and in the end I could hardly pick out any faults … If I had to pick on something, it would be an innate factor, such as the gap between his level and that of his teammates who had been training here for a decade. But I couldn’t say that his ability was terrible. For example, in terms of progress, he was the fastest in the team. But after all, he was nearly a decade behind the average player.”
Twain smiled, “Yeah, he thought it was just a wall blocking the way to his dream. But what is blocking in front of him is not a wall, but a mountain…. Ah, the fool.”
He stood up and said goodbye to Greenwood before he left North Wilford with Dunn.
“What do you have in mind, Tony?” Dunn asked after they left.
“Nothing. I’m going to go back and take a good look at these…” Twain waved the two training logs and said, “I’ll leave the afternoon training to you, David and the others.”
Dunn nodded and said nothing. Twain could not tire himself on the first day back to work. No one would want him to stay here and endure. He needed to resume his work day by day. Anyway, the team’s terrible situation could not worsen anymore. No one would urge Twain to get back to work quickly and guide the team to get back on track.
※※※
Twain had been sitting at the desk since he got home from noon. He carefully finished reading the two training logs. Other than grabbing a meal in the middle, he had not moved from the spot and did not even play provocative little games with Shania. Shania also found that Twain looked serious and focused. She knew it must be an important matter, so she did not go up to him and bother him. She only persuaded Twain to go to bed when it was time to rest. Douglas’ contract expired the day Twain decided to return to the team. Now Shania needed to take care of her beloved Uncle Tony herself. But it was nothing for she had learned a lot of professional medical knowledge and skills from Douglas. She could take care of Uncle Tony alone.
She did not have a job for the time being these days. As Uncle Tony had to be in England, she did not go to Hollywood. Her Hollywood career also seemed to become insignificant. She did not care about what celebrity parties to go, which famous stars to get to know and meet, and all kinds of necessary social interactions.
Twain once asked her the question, and her answer was fairly simple—“Movies have always been my passion. It’s good if it can become my work. But if I have to choose between my passion and Uncle Tony, I certainly won’t choose to go to America.”
“Don’t tell me you have given up on your situation after a year-long struggle in the United States?” Twain felt sorry in his heart for Shania. He knew that once she was far away from Hollywood, she could only get farther and farther away from the land of her dream, even if she had many friends to support her.
“Although I have let Mr. Cruise down a little, for me, nothing is more important than you, Uncle Tony.”
Hearing Shania say so, Twain gave a long sigh, “You’re going to make me feel guilty, Shania. Because I deprive you of the right to pursue your dreams…”
“Come on, Uncle Tony.” Shania pouted, “Don’t forget, four and a half billion years. I already feel that it’s a bargain for four and a half billion years of love in exchange for a movie career.”
What else could Twain say? He could only tightly embraced his young girlfriend.
※※※
Before helping Twain to bed, Shania casually asked, “What were you engrossed in reading? I’ve never seen you so focused on a… book?”
“A dream journal.” Twain rubbed his temples. Although his eyes and mind were a little tired, he was in a good mood. “I was very pleased reading it. I wanted to stop but couldn’t. I just wanted to finish reading in one breath …Unfortunately, it was cut off before the writing was done. The author was just horrible…”
“A dream journal? Is it a novel?”
“No, a reality TV show.”
Shania shrugged. Her Uncle Tony sometimes liked to say inexplicable things. She was used to it, but it was safe to say that it was something to do with his job. Because that kind of focus only appeared when Uncle Tony was working. It was charming just to look at his silhouette.
After she covered the thin blanket over Twain and kissed him on the lips, Shania got up and turned to walk away.
Although the two people were engaged, they tacitly maintained their way of living at No. 13 Branford Garden Lane—they slept in separate bedrooms. It was such an arrangement even while they were on holiday in Brazil. It started out because Uncle Tony was physically weak, and his heart could not withstand the stimulation. Making love, getting orgasm which would lead to his heart beating overly fast and putting his heart in extreme danger were naturally forbidden. Later on, because the lifestyle became a habit… Shania would not take off her clothes and come onto Twain to initiate sex. As for Twain….. he was accustomed to a bachelor’s life and neglected this area. Coupled with the hope to start work as soon as possible, he had not been in the mood.
But today, after he returned to the team and read Chen Jian’s training logs, he suddenly felt he was in a good mood.
Twain grabbed hold of Shania.
He laid in bed and looked at Shania, who was still dressed like a little girl. The dim bedside lamp shone and penetrated the layer of gauze-like material, fully showed off her fine body curves as a model. Except for a pair of panties, she did not seem to be wearing any underwear. Her youthful naked body exuded a seductive fragrance through the thin top. It suddenly stirred his appetites and he was feeling amorous …
Shania did not move and leave. But she did not turn her face around and look down at Twain with a smile to say, “What’s the matter, Uncle Tony?” She just stood on the spot with her back to Twain.
“Would you like to hear a story, Shania?” Twain’s hoarse voice came from behind.
“Okay, Uncle Tony. But what’s the story?” Shania still had not turned her head back.
Twain’s hands suddenly exerted force and pulled Shania down in his arms, “Little Red Riding Hood and Uncle Wolf.”
Shania did not play along with him and make a whining sound to act coquettishly as she pounced on Twain’s arms. Instead, she screamed, “The pacemaker…” She was afraid that she would fall down and hit the pacemaker in Twain’s chest.
Twain made a face and said, “Don’t need to worry about that little thing…You’re not playing along, Shania. The mood is gone!”
Shania laid on Twain’s chest and glanced sideways at Uncle Tony, who had a straight face. Her lips slowly curled up at the corners as she said, “Isn’t it supposed to Little Red Riding Hood and Granny Wolf?”
“Now it’s Little Red Riding Hood and Uncle Wolf!” Twain tried hard to look serious and widened his eyes to act as the fiendish Uncle Wolf.
“Is Uncle Wolf hungry?”
“Yes, hungry!” Twain said gruffly. In fact, even if he did not intentionally do so, his voice was hoarse enough …
“Then in that case, Little Red Riding Hood will go make you a late-night snack!”
Twain did not let go and said, “No, you will run out to call the huntsman. I am not stupid!”
“Oh, what should I do…” Shania said in distress with her head cocked to the side, “Uncle Wolf is hungry and won’t let me go…” She thought about it. “There’s only one way!”
She suddenly unbuttoned her shirt with one hand and winked at Twain, “Feed Little Red Riding Hood to Uncle Wolf!”
Twain did not stop her too. He just let go of her other hand and put both his hands behind his head. He quietly watched Shania lowered her head as she carefully undid each button and gently unfastened. As her top was peeled off, that flawless milky white alluring body unveiled in front of Twain’s eyes bit by bit.
He watched her in a daze, and suddenly there was a surreal feeling that he was dreaming.
The beauty standing undressed in front of him, was she really the long-legged Lolita who had annoyed him so much that he wanted to call the police? When he carried and rushed her to the hospital because she was unconscious from a fever, and disturbed Constantine’s happy occasion, did he think that there would be a day like this between him and her? When the young cute girl constantly addressed him as “Uncle Tony”, was he ever moved to love her from the deepest corners of his heart and wish that she would become his wife?
These past events and his feelings of the time were slowly blurring. Only the bashful body was clear in the dim light.
She opened her arms and leaned down slowly. With her cheeks flushed, rosy lips slightly parted, sweet-smelling breath, her voice spoke from the depths of her throat, as if through a layer of hazy water vapor, “Dear Uncle Wolf, please … don’t hold back…”
An abundance of love flowed within the bedroom as if the two people’s intense passion could not be melted.
...
Chapter 720 - The Original Dream
After a night in the throes of passion, he was spent. Twain expended all the energy that he had bottled up for more than half a year. He and Shania did not know how many times they did it. Anyway, it was wild. For a forty-year-old middle-aged uncle who had a heart disease, it could be rated as amazing to have this kind of performance.
Until the mid-morning sun shone through the small crack in the curtains into the room, Shania still laid supine on the bed and was unwilling to get up. When Twain patted her small buttocks and called her a lazy worm, she pouted and groaned, “Who was the one who turned Little Red Riding Hood into a lazy worm?”
After she finally got up and lifted the blanket, Twain found some red spots on the bedsheets. He also understood why Shania lazed in bed and did not get up.
But he was not surprised.
It was not because he thought that Shania should remained chaste and innocent. He was not surprised because he simply did not care if Shania was a virgin or not. He was clear-eyed about the world today and he also knew how the girls of the world were mostly like.
But it had nothing to do with his love. If he loved a woman, he would just love her. It could be he loved her beauty, character, heart, or even her talent, voice, eyes, lips, breasts … But he would never love a woman for the thin membrane inside her vagina.
Even if he were to get married, he wanted to marry this woman, and not with a “cling wrap.”
Therefore, it was fine that Shania was a virgin and it did not matter if she was not a virgin. It would not affect his feelings for this girl. He also never cared about such a meaningless as to whether Shania had tasted the forbidden fruit with another boy before him.
At the thought of how he finally had his fill of the Little Red Riding Hood last night, he felt fantastic. He even could not help licking and smacking his lips as he wanted to say, “Very good, very good, the taste is really good!”
Shania wore only a pair of lace-edged white panties. She came out of the bathroom with her upper body completely naked. Seeing Twain’s expression, she wondered and asked, “What are you doing, Uncle Tony?”
Twain laughed mischievously when he saw her perfect body curves and seductive breasts, as well as the faintly discernible scenery behind her lace panties, “Little Red Riding Hood is delicious…”
When Shania heard him said so, she walked directly over and straddled between Twain’s legs on the bed. Her waist sank slowly as she looked at Twain with her dark eyes, “Do you want to have breakfast, Uncle Tony? Look, it’s hungry again…” She gently held Twain’s naughty little brother with one hand.
Twain remembered that he still had to go to work today. If he really let Shania sit down like this, he was not certain if he had the willpower to make sure he would not spend the whole morning in the bed.
“Eh… better forget it. I still have to go to Wilford…” He raised his hands in surrender, “And you to have to get ready for the move… Another thing, is it really okay to move over and be seen by the media?”
Little Red Riding Hood leaned down to give her Uncle Wolf a good morning kiss and let him go.
“You and I are both public figures, Uncle Tony. We are long used to the media’s attention on us. As long as they don’t rush into the bedroom and film our lovemaking, they can pay follow whatever they want.” Shania was more at ease than Twain in her attitude toward the media. “And…” At this point, she smiled slyly, “I’m kind of looking forward to the media’s reactions when they find out about our engagement… That must be fun!”
Twain gave a light affectionate pat on her smooth back. Shania sensibly let go to allow him to slowly sit up from the bed and get dressed. Being together with such a lively and lovely girl, he would not find his days boring. He could not ask for more in love.
※※※
After breakfast, Shania drove Twain to Wilford and returned to prepare for the move—in fact, there was nothing to prepare for. There were just two suitcases of clothes, which could be just put in the trunk of the car for the move.
Twain walked alone into the still-empty training ground. The team would start the training at ten o’clock and he came slightly early.
The three standard football stadium-sized training grounds were connected together. At a glance, it was an unobstructed view of green, which made him feel carefree and relaxed. He could not help but take a deep breath as he avidly sniffed the familiar smells of this place.
It was only when he came back here that he felt that his body strength had not vanished. A voice beckoned to him, telling him that this was the home of his soul.
Stepping on the turf carefully cared for by the workers, Twain did a little warm-up exercise and then put his hands into his pants’ pockets. He touched on a piece of paper—an envelope, to be exact.
He then recalled that Allan Adams gave him a letter yesterday and said that Ribéry had given it to him to pass it over to him when he left.
Although he had already left and yesterday’s time was gone, they had interacted with each other for four years after all. Twain was still curious about the lad who left in pursuit of money and what he wrote in the letter.
He pulled it out and opened it.
A thin piece of paper was shaken out.
“Dear Boss,
I’m really sorry to have chosen to leave Nottingham Forest at this time. I don’t care that they reproached me as a deserter. It also doesn’t matter to me what others think of me. I just want to apologize to you… You may despise my actions. I can only say that for the sake of my family, Spain is more suitable than here.
Of course, I write so much not to justify what I’ve done. Has any player ever written to the manager to explain the reasons he left a team? So, this is not an explanation. I just want to thank you. Franck Ribéry is not a fool. Who gave him the chance at the lowest ebb of his life? I remember very well. I’ve learned a lot and gained a lot in the four and a half seasons at Nottingham Forest. It will be a valuable asset in my life experience. Now I have to say sorry to say that I’m embarking on a new journey. I don’t know if I’ll have a chance to play under you, boss. But it had been a fantastic four-and-a-half years.
I’ve always been reluctant to say this. But objectively, my departure has helped the team solve a little bit of the financial problem—fifty-five million euros. If it wasn’t for the economic crisis, I might have fetched a better price. Sixty million, eighty million? I do not know. We all knew what the second offer entailed before Piqué left. Perhaps in your mind, a person like me is different from Piqué. But in fact, it was the last goal I could bring to the Forest team. If you still watch La Liga, take a good look at our performance in El Clásico. I hope it doesn’t disappoint you.
Finally, after I finish writing this letter, I will completely be a Real Madrid player. In the future, if we do meet on the pitch, I may very well do my best with the goal of beating your team like Bendtner. Don’t get me wrong—I know you can be a little paranoid—I just want to prove that the players who come out of Nottingham Forest are the best anywhere! If I say I am going to score two goals against the Forest team by myself, will you say, ‘I believe he will, because he has that ability.’?
Yours Sincerely, Franck Ribéry, whom you picked up from Ligue 2.”
Twain stood on the training ground in a daze and let the cool breeze blowing in from the Trent River to sweep past him, fluttering the letter in his hand.
After a long time, he gave a sigh and came out of his reverie. He wanted to take out a lighter to burn the letter. But when he reached into an empty pocket, he recalled that he had long quit smoking, so he naturally did not have to carry a lighter.
He folded the letter back into the envelope and slowly tore it into two halves, four pieces, eight pieces…until it finally became countless pieces of debris. With a toss from his hand, it was swept away by the wind.
Score two goals alone?
If you dare say that, I’ll teach you the same lesson as I gave Bendtner, Franck!
You want to run away like this? Not so easy. The next time we meet, be prepared to take my anger! You bastard!
※※※
Twain stood on the sidelines with his sunglasses on for the morning training again, just like he did before he fell ill. The team’s morale also seemed to recover all of a sudden like it was before. George Wood was even more energetic. The team was slowly improving, and Twain thought of another thing. People here might have heard about the matter, but they were more likely to treat it as meaningless speculation from the media.
Just before the training began, Allan Adams came looking for him and told him that because of the team’s poor results in the season, their revenue had plummeted after they ended up empty-handed. The budget was tight in all areas for next season. Therefore, the team had to sell some players in the summer in exchange for money. Twain could go to the transfer market to buy new players, but there was a severe restriction on the price.
Allan hoped Twain could draw up a purge list for him to help him determine the budget estimates for the new season.
Currently, the players who could stay or go in the team in front of his eyes could all fit on an A4-sized sheet.
This time, Twain did not make a big scene with Allan in the office and vehemently against the club selling people. He just nodded and agreed. He did not say anything else.
He understood that this was the reality.
What was the reality? It was that people had to eat, live their lives, survive, and to live on. The same went for the club…
Who among these people could eventually stay in Wilford?
Twain began to plan in his mind.
※※※
After the training ended, Twain took Dunn and went to North Wilford. Dunn was not surprised by it—him thought Twain was going to dig up talent himself for next season.
But what Twain’s actions firmly took him by surprise.
“Ian, I’ve finished reading these two records.” Twain was in Greenwood’s office, putting two thick training logs on the table and said, “I went through them in one shot and I’m still not satisfied yet.”
“It’s nice that you like it, Tony.” Greenwood took this as Twain’s affirmation of his work. He replied with a chuckle. But Twain’s next words stopped his laughter.
“Why are there not a third and fourth book? His story is not over, and I haven’t seen the ending yet. I’ve made up mind.” Twain’s finger stabbed at the training log, “You’re going to take him back to training soon, Ian.”
The other two men in the room were baffled and did not understand what Twain said.
Looking at their puzzled expressions, Twain continued to say, “I mean, I’m going to give this kid an apprenticeship. The club will handle the transfer procedures and apply for a student visa for him to register with the Chinese Football Association as a player … Then let him come here and write an ending!”
“Tony!” Dunn exclaimed. His behavior could be considered a gaffe based on his usual conduct. But he did not care about these details. “Do you know what you’re doing?”
“I’m very clear, Dunn. I want him to come and train under me.”
“Tony… Why would you do that? He has already left. Surely there’s no need to get him back, is there? Although I also admire Chen’s efforts and spirit, he is not an amazing young talent for us… I don’t think we will reap any rewards from putting our energies on him.” Even Greenwood, who had watched Chen Jian trained all year, disagreed.
“It’s up to him to get something in return, and it’s our business whether to give him the chance or not. I think I found a piece of rough stone in those two thick logs, a rough stone in which a brilliant diamond might be enclosed within.”
“Maybe there’s nothing, and it’s a just stone.” Dunn finally calmed down.
“There has never been a one hundred per cent talent in the world. A genius may become mediocre, and a good-for-nothing may become a talent. I believe my foresight, Dunn. I believe more in this boy’s efforts. Maybe it’s going to take longer, but I think we’ll always get something out of it. For a lad who could persist for a year based on George Wood’s training standards without giving up and done a good job, I think he can succeed.” At this point, he looked at the two men and said seriously, “This is the final decision, Ian, Dunn. I’m going to give him a chance. Just like when I gave George Wood a chance outside the ghetto.”
Dunn frowned and said, “Do you know what kind of media attacks you’re going to provoke by doing this? They’ll say you must be crazy to actually have high hopes for a Chinese kid chosen from a talent show. Others will also think that you’re just keen on the market of the country he represents…”
Twain interrupted him, “I don’t need the media’s validation in order to do what I want to do. They can admonish all they want. I’ll just do what I need to do. They have no right to interfere with my freedom. That’s it, Ian. When the boy comes, please give him George’s training plan and let him continue to do so. Let’s see what he can do for us as he perseveres.”
※※※
In Tianjin, China.
At the Tianjin Justice Jingguan School.
Chen Jian had just come out of the school building, holding a pile of books and wearing a navy-blue uniform, which looked no different from the standardized Type 99 police uniform, except that he did not have a collar badge, police rank and shoulder emblem.
His companion greeted him, “Ah Jian, let’s play football later! You’re the core, you must be there!”
“Okay, I’ll come after I go to the dorm and put my stuff.” Chen Jian did not refuse.
In fact, he had things on his mind just now.
Having been back for more than three months from England, he found himself completely unable to forget every single day and night he spent there, and even felt that it was no longer important to continue to study here.
Even though the name of the school was flashy, in fact, the standards was rather average and a vocational academy. Everyone would either go out to earn a living after graduation, or they would continue their studies at a university. If anyone thought that he could be police officer of the People’s Republic of China once he entered, then the reality might disappoint him.
He had not found where his future laid in reality at the moment.
As for his dream future…
Had it already bade him farewell?
Although he still tenaciously carried out his personal training with whatever available time he had every day, a habit which he had developed in Nottingham, he was willing to admit that it was nothing more than a habit. A year of training life bore too deep an impression on him, that it was almost imprinted in his bones. It was rather difficult to forget in a few months.
What’s the point of this foolish behavior? Knowing that I’m not destined to realize the dream, what’s the use of such persistence? What else can I do if I can’t be a professional player? Apply to become a security guard after graduation? Or to rely on connections and use money to enter by the back door and get an assignment? Or continue to sit for the examinations to enter the university, go for tests in the academies directly under the Ministry of Public Security, and become a real policeman after graduation…
But with my own academic performance, plus the delay for this due to my trip to Britain, will I still have a chance if I sit for the test from that kind of university?
Chen Jian felt very lost.
When he went to England, it was the three of them, and it was still three people when he returned to China. Unsurprisingly, no one received the “reward” of staying on the professional team. Even so, Chen Jian was quite popular among the students who liked football in the school. His good friends always liked to pester him, hoping to hear him talk about what real professional football was really like.
He did not turn down these curious classmates. But whenever he talked about the past events, the floodgates of his memory could not be shut. He felt unwilling to resign to his fate.
He recalled again the scene where it was raining that day when Tony Twain yelled at him. Every remark and each single word rang in his ears and he was unable to forget.
“… When you return to China, are you honestly going to go back to your studies, graduate and look for a job? And then will you be satisfied with occasionally playing amateur football with a pot belly? When you’re old, you’re going to brag to your grandson and tell him about how his grandfather once trained for a year in the UEFA Champions League champion’s youth team, Nottingham Forest! What if your grandson asks you what happened after that year? What are you going to say? You say— ah, your grandfather was so bad at a team game that he gave up and left crying back to China….”
I did not give up. I also did not cry and run back to China. But that doesn’t change anything, Manager Twain. I am still me, in this vocational academy, feeling lost about my own future.
Do you understand, Manager Twain? Can you understand my situation and mood?
I fully appreciated the cruelty of professional football, experienced my own gap between them. But it’s only a year … One year was not enough for anything! I had worked very hard. I wished I could be doing header shot drills instead of sleeping. Why did you only give me a year? Why couldn’t I have started regular training from the age of ten like the players in the youth team…
Ah, I want to play professional football, I want to be those star players who can only be seen on the television. I even believe that given a few years, I will be just as good as them. I can stick it out no matter how hard, exhausting, and brutal the training can be. This time, I promise absolutely not to give up. I’ll persevere and be strong, like my name.
But why was it only one year…
I had just stepped on the threshold and the door was closed. What can I do? If I had a lot of money, I would have emptied my pockets to buy Nottingham Forest and changed nothing. It would be just to give me a chance and give me more time…
A year ago, I thought a year was enough, and many people could have dreamed and would not necessarily have the time and opportunity of a year. But a year later, I now realized that a year was only enough for me to get superficial knowledge.
What’s the use of understanding this?
Chen Jian laughed at himself and entered the dormitory.
“Ah Jian, are you back? Just in time!” His dormitory roommate jumped out of the bed and said, “Someone called you just now. I said you were out and hadn’t returned from your class. He said he would call again later.”
Chen Jian was surprised. Who would call him? “Did he say who he was?”
“He did not say, and I forgot to ask too… Do you still want to play football? Or are you going to wait here for the call?” His roommate picked up the grubby football and headed the ball in the dormitory. “Hey, catch the ball!”
He headed the football toward Chen Jian’s head. Chen Jian lifted his leg instead and firmly stopped the falling football at his feet. The entire routine was deftly executed at will, as if it was unintentional.
“Well done, Ah Jian! You’ve gained a lot in a year in Britain!” His roommate complimented him, and yet it upset Chen Jian. “I’ll say, real professional football is definitely different! I guess if their youth team were to play directly in the Chinese Super League, they would definitely be a Double Winner? But if Arsenal’s youth team were to come, I think they can still be the runner-up! Well, well, I want to go to England too… Although it’s only one year, I will die without regrets if I were to be able to experience the world’s leading level!”
Chen Jian returned the football to him and said, “Aren’t we playing football? Let’s go.”
“You’re not waiting for the call?” His roommate pointed to the telephone.
“Not going to wait. It’s probably to ask me to play football.” Chen Jian put his books on his bed and began to take off his school uniform to change into his sports gear.
“Hey, you’re popular since you came back from your studies in England… Then I’ll go first!” His roommate called out and rushed out the door with the football.
While Chen Jian was wearing his boots, the telephone on the table suddenly rang.
Chen Jian stared blankly for a moment before he went over to answer the phone. “Hello, 705, who are you looking for?”
“Is Chen Jian here?” A man’s voice came on.
“This is he. May I ask who you are?” It was probably the person who called him just now.
“I’m Dunn. Hello, Chen Jian. Fortunately, when you signed up for that event, you left your dormitory phone number. Otherwise we really don’t know how to contact you …”
When the man gave his name, Chen Jian thought something was wrong with his ears.
“Someone here wants to talk to you…” Dunn did not wait for Chen Jian to say anything, and just handed the phone to another man.
“Chen Jian, I’m Tony Twain!” A man with a voice full of energy sounded in the earpiece, and he spoke in Mandarin.
Chen Jian was jolted into awareness by the voice, but still could not accept the reality for a while—why did Nottingham Forest’s manager and assistant manager called him?
“I have a question for you now, Chen Jian.” Twain spoke as if he was talking to himself on the phone and completely ignored how Chen Jian would feel after hearing his name. “Do you still remember… your original dream?”
The original dream? How can I forget? To play football! To play professional football, like the star footballers on TV!
“To play football and play professional football.” Chen Jian stood straight and replied.
“Very good.” Twain smiled and said, “Remember what I said to you? Professional football is definitely not as simple as you think, and a dream is not…”
“… something that can be achieved just by talking.” Chen Jian and Twain said the latter half of the sentence together.
“Ha, it looks like you haven’t forgotten. That’s good. I don’t want to get back a good-for-nothing loser that have long since given up and can’t remember that year.”
“I haven’t forgotten every single day of that year, Mr. Twain.”
“Well, Chen Jian. Then listen carefully next… To you, the road to your dream had come to a dead end. What do you think is blocking in front of you? A wall? No, no, no, I want to tell you now that it is not a wall, but a mountain that is blocking your way forward! If you have to realize that original dream, what are you going to do, Chen Jian? Answer me.”
Chen Jian thought about it, and then replied in the tone reserved for answering the instructor, “Dig through it, sir!”
He heard a burst of laughter from the receiver, in which Twain’s voice came on intermittently amid the laughter, “Dunn, did you hear what he said? Dig through it! Dig through it! Hahaha! Do you still doubt my vision? Have you heard how many people would answer this question? Dig through it, dig through it… That’s the best answer I’ve ever heard!”
Then Twain’s voice became clear again, “Very well, student of The Foolish Old Man Who Removes the Mountains. I’m giving you the chance to dig through the mountain! I don’t care how long you’re going to take. In short, I want you to dig through the mountain! Do you understand? It’s to dig through, not go around it… You can’t get around it at all. The mountain props up the sky and is grounded. It stretches continuously from left to right around the earth. You can’t get around it. It’s either you turn and walk back, or you’ll dig through it for me! This is the last chance given to you to choose, A, you can continue to stay in that school and accept the facts; B, leave the place and come here to be the foolish old man who removes the mountains! I must remind you that once you choose B, there is no turning back. You cannot go back to the school to continue your studies. Your life may change dramatically. Please carefully consider before you give me an answer. I’ll leave you the contact details…”
Before Twain could finish, he was interrupted by Chen Jian’s determined voice.
“B. I choose B,Mr. Twain.”
Twain did not expect Chen Jian to give the answer so soon. He was somewhat taken aback and asked in return, “You don’t to think things over? Are you really not going to think about it? Is it okay? This concerns a big turning point in your life. Are you really not going to seriously think it over or discuss it with your parents?”
Chen Jian raised his fist on the other end of the line and said, “Mr Twain. This is the only path for me. In order to realize my original dream, I am willing to pay the price.”
All of a sudden, he was not lost. The problem that had perplexed him while he walked all the way from the school building just now was easily resolved!
The reality of his future of and the future of his dream were at a confluence here, and then merged into one road, where it was paved under his feet. When he looked up ahead, it was the dark and black mountain which stretched from the sky to the ground and spanned for thousands of miles till he could not see the edges. It coldly overlooked him.
Was there not a way?
No. Once he dug through the mountain, the road would be waiting for him on the other side.
At that time, he would see a whole new world, which was completely different from the prospects here. There would be nothing to stop him. Even if the path was dangerous and difficult with high mountains to climb and rivers and oceans to cross, he would not let them stop the pace of him running forward.
With the original dream tightly grasped in his hands, how could he give up halfway on the road to the place where he wanted to go the most?
He would definitely arrive at his original dream. He! Would! Absolutely! Arrive!
“Very good! Twain’s voice became serious too, “I’ll remind you for the last time. You’re not an official Nottingham Forest player even when you come here. You’re just an apprentice. I will not give you any guarantees. I make no promises that you will certainly become a professional player and definitely achieve your original dream. Don’t even get any ideas now about the opportunity to represent the First Team to play! The club can’t promise you anything. Wages, package, contract guarantees… nothing cannot be promised. We’ll give you nothing except this chance. Maybe you’ll train till you’re twenty-six years old and can only be in the reserve team, or simply be eliminated and can only go to those semi-professional teams to get by. Feel free to imagine worse scenarios … so, do you still want to come?”
“Yes!”
“Do you want to come even if you bet on the future and destiny of your life?” Twain raised his voice for the question.
And Chen Jian almost roared to him,
“Yes!!”
“Very well, kid! I’ll be waiting for you, in Wilford, Nottingham, I’ll wait for you!”
※※※
Twain was suddenly stirred by Chen Jian’s tone. He felt his body burning with fervor, and even used force when he hung up the phone.
Dunn was a little surprised, “You just hung up like that? I wanted to talk to him about some specific things…”
“You can just call back again.” Twain waved his hands, “It takes little effort. Ah, Dunn, I’m suddenly not interested in Chen Jian’s dream… I just want to see his performance on this road. As far as the goal is concerned… it has become complimentary.”
“Do you really believe he can do it? I’m afraid more people will just laugh at him for overestimating his capabilities.”
Twain gave a snort, and returned to the cold manner from before, “Everyone in this world who feels “more clear-headed” than others, has reached the point where the so-called wise man is dime a dozen, and wise men are everywhere. But I think it’s better to have more foolish old men. Because whatever difficulties the wise men encounter, they will always shake their heads and say that it is impossible, that it will not work. But the foolish men will be willing to do the hard work to try till the end. Taking the road into the dark can perhaps lead to the dawn? If he, Chen Jian dares to bet on the future of his life to come here to dig through the mountains, I’ll dare to accompany him to the end! If someone wants to mock, then let them ridicule and see who has the last laugh!”
...
Chapter 721 - The Purge List
In fact, Chen Jian’s matter did not cause any sensation, not even the slightest ripple. A week later, after someone from the Nottingham Forest Football Club came in to help Chen Jian take care of all the procedures, he left the Tianjin Justice Jingguan School under the envious gazes of his classmates and embarked on the journey to his dream in Nottingham.
There was no domestic media coverage of the matter, as the Nottingham Forest Football Club was very low-key in the handling and did not inform any media outlet. Allan Adams had wanted to hype it up in China, so that the club could open up the Chinese market further. But Twain discouraged him and said it would not be too late to publicize when Chen Jian really made something of himself. It would not produce any effects even if it was publicized now. China’s market was vast, but it would not be opened to a young player whose future was unknown at the moment.
In actual fact, Twain did not want to put any heavy weight on Chen Jian’s shoulders. The pressure on him was already big and heavy enough.
Once he arrived in Nottingham, there was no special treatment other than a small family welcome dinner prepared for him by his landlord, Fat John. He still lived at John’s house and would take time out every week to attend a cultural class at the University of Nottingham. He was the same as the other young players in the youth team. Twain only met him once when he arrived in Nottingham and went to busy himself with the work for the First Team after he reiterated the reality that he had no way back. Twain did not say much and just wanted him to persevere. There was no press conference, welcoming crowd, and reporters in pursuit… Everything indicated that he was just an apprentice.
Greenwood made a small joke, “Chen, did you dribble the ball back from China?!”
“Yes, Manager Greenwood.” Chen Jian replied proudly.
Everything was business as usual.
At present, Chen Jian was no longer the youth who arrived here more than a year ago, filled with endless expectations and visions for the future. He understood the cruel reality and was also well aware of the gap between him and his dream. Instead of fantasizing and dreaming of achieving the day when he would be impressive all the time, it was better for him to be down-to-earth and diligently train. He did not think about whether he would realize the dream. He firmly believed that as long as he worked hard every day and stuck to it, one day he would dig through the mountain and open the path between the reality and the dream. No matter how long it took, no matter how high the price he had to pay, even if it was in blood, he would continue to dig forward!
※※※
The matter of recruiting Chen Jian as an apprentice was settled. But for Chen Jian, his story had only just begun. It might take a long time before Twain could see the third and fourth volumes, as well as the ending of the dream journal. However, he was not in a hurry. He had patience and would slowly wait to accompany the strong and tenacious kid to the end.
Now he had to shift his focus to the First Team.
During the interlude of Chen Jian’s pursuit of his dream, Nottingham Forest had already played another league game.
Nottingham Forest faced West Bromwich Albion on May 9th in the thirty-sixth round of the league tournament. Although Twain had officially begun to join the team’s day-to-day management work, the game was still directed by Dunn on the sidelines. Twain sat in the box and watched the game.
Perhaps knowing that the real boss was watching them high in the stands, the Nottingham Forest players did their utmost. They beat West Bromwich Albion by 3:0 in the away game to kick the opponent back to the EFL Championship two rounds ahead.
During the match, the television footage repeatedly swept to Tony Twain, who sat upright and still in the box. The commentator mentioned more than once that today’s Forest team was completely different from the last round of the league tournament for the simple reason that their king was coming back.
Nottingham Forest, which won the game, rose two spots to rank at the tenth spot in the league table with fifty-two points. With two rounds remaining before the season ended, they were seven points away from the sixth-placed Aston Villa and were inevitably unable to qualify for next season’s UEFA Europa League.
Could the season be declared as over in advance for them at this point?
Twain did not see it that way.
When they were back in Nottingham’s tactical session, Twain told his players, “… This is a great opportunity. You have the opportunity to prove that you are still men with balls with your own actions! Even if we came up empty-handed this season, we still have to end the season with three consecutive wins. It will be the most insignificant compensation we can make for our previous poor results! Let those home fans be comforted in the final round! Tell them that even if we don’t get anything this season, we’re not broken! Tell the opponents who are waiting to see us fail that Nottingham Forest will be back in the new season and no one will be able to stop us! Let the new season officially begin from this game!”
On May 16th, the thirty-seventh round of the league tournament, Nottingham Forest took on Stoke City.
Before the game, Nottingham Forest’s official website officially announced their “king” Tony Twain had returned to the team. Dunn handed over the command and Twain would personally sit in the technical area to direct the game. The team once again decisively won against Stoke City by 3:0 under his command in the away game.
After the game, this was what the BBC’s sports news said about the game—-
“The other managers in the Premier League need to be careful. That guy is back!”
※※※
Before the final round of the league tournament, the battle for the league title became clearer. Arsenal had to pay the price for trying to gain supremacy with a young squad. They were firmly positioned in the fourth place, with no danger of losing. However, they could not go any higher. Chelsea also slowly fell behind after their boundless prospects in the first half of the league tournament to finish third.
Instead, the two teams vying for the league title were Liverpool, which was previously thought to be unable to play in the league and the shrewd and ruthless Manchester United.
Both teams had the same points, but Manchester United was temporarily behind in the second place due to the goal difference. If they wanted to win the title, they must score at least three goals in their last game against Hull City and pray that Liverpool cannot win by a wide margin. In terms of the opponents, Manchester United’s was slightly more favorable. Hull City was ranked in the middle level and had no desire for more. Whereas Liverpool’s opponent, Tottenham Hotspur had to fight to stay in the league.
Such a form inevitably reminded people of last season’s final round of the battle for the title, when Manchester United was one of the main players for two seasons in a row. But their opponent was replaced. Nottingham Forest, which wiped out Manchester United to take the crown at Old Trafford last season, was ranked in the middle and bound to get nothing which was a shame.
Twain did not have the time to care about how people lamented for his team. He was just as busy even though Nottingham Forest did not have any specific goals at the moment.
The team’s training was all handed over to the coaching staff led by Dunn and Kerslake. He was busy talking to individual players to find out their inclination to determine the candidates on the purge list.
The first person he looked for was the team captain, George Wood.
Because when he had not yet returned to the team, the transfer rumors about this person had been flying around. Many clubs were interested in the midfielder who was rare in the world of football. He was willing to do the grunt work, did not ask for high wages, and was not emotional. AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus, Bayern Munich, Werder Bremen, FC Schalke 04, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Arsenal to name a few…
They were all the big boys club. Any one of them was a fatal temptation.
But Wood’s agent, Billy Woox remained unmoved.
After Nottingham Forest announced the official return of Twain, Billy Woox immediately announced that his player had never thought of leaving Nottingham Forest, that it was Nottingham Forest who had nurtured him and gave him his current achievements. He was willing to stay at Nottingham Forest unless the club chased him away.
Twain was unable to make sense of the old man’s intention, so he simply looked for George Wood to hear his own player’s thoughts.
“What Woox said is the truth.” Wood answered him, “I’ve never thought of leaving. Even if he wanted me to leave, I wouldn’t. Don’t I have to sign the contract myself in the end?”
Wood’s words reassured Twain. He was well-prepared to face the transfer crisis that would follow the summer. But George Wood absolutely could not leave because he was the real core of the team. If he wanted the Forest team to regain its glory, he could not be short of this person.
Not only that, George Wood also said something that greatly moved Twain, “I know the state of the team’s economic situation. If it really can’t manage, I’m willing to re-sign a contract with the club to reduce my current salary and some bonuses. Anyway, I think no matter how much more money I have, I’m fine as long as I have enough to use. Mr. Woox had made me a lot of money in other areas. I don’t even know how to use it…”
Twain almost laughed out. This silly boy actually grumbles about more money?
“Ah, your words are going to infuriate Woox. Your revenue also directly affects his income.”
Wood’s expression remained unchanged, and spoke with a straight face, “He has so much ‘money that he simply does not need me to help him make money. I’d fired him if he does not agree.”
Twain finally did not hold back this time, and guffawed. This boy’s heart is still with him ah… He was happy.
“You don’t need to take a pay cut, George. You just focus on playing with a peace of mind and hold the team together for me. Just set an example on the pitch and it will do. You don’t have to consider the financial side of things.”
After he sent George Wood away, Twain was calmer by half. Without taking a break, he began to talk to each player one by one. Under the pretense of “being gone for five months, everyone should deepen our connections and communicate with each other”, he observed and deliberated the players he could give up and need to let go with the right prices, and the ones he simply could not discard, and whom he was not willing to drop but the other parties might be determined to leave…
Van Nistelrooy was still recovering from his injury after he underwent the surgery. If he returned to play after he recovered from his injury, Twain would give him a contract of one year minimum no matter what. He did not want the veteran who had helped him rise to be bitterly disappointed. If he did not have a heart attack, he could have urged the club to offer a new contract in the first half of the year to the Dutchman, when van Nistelrooy was still undergoing his surgery.
Despite his body would not be as before, van Nistelrooy’s experience and role in the locker room were evident.
It went without saying that Eastwood must stay. The Romani himself also did not want to leave here.
As for Arshavin… he might leave or might not leave. He himself did not have a particularly strong desire. If Twain wanted him to stay, then he would most likely stay. Because Barcelona, where he wanted to go the most, clearly did not need him now.
Žigić’s performance at the Forest team had been average this season, with the occasional flashes of brilliance. But these brilliant flashes were too few as a player who was taken as Bendtner’s successor and number one center forward during van Nistelrooy’s injury. He was even once rated by the British media as the most “subpar foreign import” of the season. But Twain did not intend to give him up, because Twain knew that Žigić’s poor performance was not his problem, but the team as a whole. He still wanted to give Žigić a chance to prove himself again. In addition, he had the selfish motive of not wanting to readily admit that he had failed. Twain would not sell Nikola. Not to mention selling Žigić at this time could only be a loss-making deal. Only a fool would do it.
Van der Vaart’s situation was somewhat special. Real Madrid midfielder’s emergency was more than just the flanks. The middle was also short of players. Van der Vaart had long proven his talent and ability at Nottingham Forest. Real Madrid was interested in attracting him. Van der Vaart himself also wanted to play football in Spain. He did not care whether it was for Real Madrid or Barça. The Forest team might have to pay a high price if they wanted to keep him. Allan Adams was inclined to sell him quickly while he could still fetch a high price, but Twain was hesitant. Şahin’s performance was getting better, but he could take charge of the area alone. He needed van der Vaart to oversee and organize the offense.
Twain struck a question mark next to van der Vaart’s name,. He himself did not know if the Dutchman would still be on his squad list when the next season came.
He naturally wanted Şahin to stay in the team, and the man himself did not want to leave too.
Beckham would definitely leave the team. After the expiration of the two-year contract, it would be according to the original agreement and Twain would not urge him to stay. He was going to the United States with his wife to join the Major League Soccer’s LA Galaxy. Twain and he both knew, so they did not say anything to each other.
Aaron Lennon would not go as well. Twain would not relinquish, and he himself did not wish to leave. When Beckham was gone, he would be the main player on the right side of the field as expected—the Forest team certainly did not have the money to buy a lot of players to rotate this season, and they did not need to rotate because there were not too many games.
Martin Petrov was also like him. Ribéry had pressed on top of his head for the past few years, With Ribéry gone now, he could make it too. But Twain had not ruled out the possibility of selling Petrov to cash out. For in his view, Petrov’s position was not high, at the very least he was not comparable to Lennon, who was a promising young player. If a club were to offer the right price, he might consider letting him go and buying younger wingers from the transfer market without spending too much money.
Twain would also not drop Tiago Mendes. On the one hand, he was an all-rounder in the midfield and was able to play as a defensive midfielder. He could also play as a playmaker in the midfield. He was better at defense than van der Vaart and a little better at offense than George Wood. While he was not top-notch in any aspect, the team now needed a player with well-balanced abilities.
He would not give up Kris Commons either. Although he was very popular in the lower leagues, Twain wanted to be better prepared for the future “4+7”, “5+6” and “6+5” combinations. Such a local player was especially important since it was the player they had trained in their youth training system. There were opportunities to play in the EFL Cup and FA Cup. He could even receive appearances in some inconsequential league games and also help the team smoothly qualify for the Champions League.
Wes Morgan was like him. As the team’s third captain, Twain would not drop Morgan.
Roberto Ayala would not renew the contract with the club once his contract expired. He wanted to return to Argentina and Twain did not intend to keep him. Ayala was no longer in his plan anyway, and he would have to spend for one more player’s salary if he continue to stay.
Rafinha had attracted a few club’s interest for his outstanding performances at the Forest team and could be presented with offers from a number of clubs in the summer. At that time, Twain would carefully consider as to whether he would rebuff every one of the clubs or choose to accept some of the offers. However, if he was exchanged for money, there would be another vacancy for the right back position, and he would have to continue to have a headache in search of a right back.
With regards to Chimbonda… as he got older, fewer and fewer teams were interested in him, and it could be predicted that there would be few offers which could satisfy Twain this summer. Twain would have to keep Chimbonda for at least another season.
Surprisingly, when he had the fight with Bendtner, Twain wanted to drive out Chimbonda and keep Bendtner. In the end, Bendtner, whom Twain was reluctant to give up, was actually the one to leave, leaving behind Chimbonda, whom he did not want to keep. It was really a case of the people who should have come did not come, but the people who should go did not leave…
Sun Jihai wanted to continue to stay in Nottingham Forest until he retired. It was not hard to understand his thinking—he had entered the twilight of his career and there was nothing else he could ask for. What more could he ask for other than to be able to play in a team that had won the UEFA Champions League title for two seasons in a row until he retired? He had been glorious before and made enough money too. Anyway, if the Forest team did not want him, he would never go back to China. Twain was now hesitating whether to purge Sun Jihai. Because his contribution to the team was lessening. But Sun Jihai had not been popular in the Premier League. If a team wanted to buy him, it could only be the EFL Championship level team. How much could they pay?
Like him, there were mid-to-lower level teams interested in Leighton Baines. But Twain would not sell. The player was one of the safeguards to stabilize the team’s rear defensive line. He was not as good on offense as Bale but had done very well defensively. Where would Twain go and find a second one if he gave up such a stable player?
The three players, Gareth Bale, Vincent Kompany and Pepe had all received a number of transfer offers. But Twain was not going to let go of any one of them. There was no room for discussion. These three men, George Wood plus Eastwood were treated like the same—not for sale.
Woodgate had only been with the team for a year. He did not want to leave, and Twain was happy to oblige.
Van der Sar intended to retire at the Forest team, but he would give up his place as the main goalkeeper next season. Starting with the friendly matches, Twain planned to promote Akinfeev. After two seasons with the Forest team, he was finally going to become the team’s main goalkeeper.
Dale Roberts would also be the team’s third goalkeeper. But if he wanted to leave and there was a team which wanted him, Twain would release him, and then draw up a goalkeeper from the youth team or reserve to team.
Going through the names, Twain discovered that the so-called purge actually did not have many people … He hated to part with these guys who had fought with him for years…
Everyone had prospered all together and partook in the successes as one. They competed across the world without limits. Why did they have to go on their separate ways in the face of the imminent catastrophe?
If there was a team to pay Bale, Pepe, Kompany tens of millions of dollars in price, would he be able to ward them off and keep them from leaving? Would those loyal players who simply did not want to leave the team in the first place be forced to leave because they had to pay for the club’s poor financial management?
He did not want his team to turn out like Lazio. He also did not want his players to be the second, third, fourth… “Nesta.”
They were the seedlings of Nottingham Forest’s resurgence. He would safeguard them no matter what!
...
Chapter 722 - His Majesty Has Returned
24th May 2009 was a special day to the Nottingham Forest fans. They started getting excited in the days leading up to it, and the tickets to watch the final home game of the season were completely sold out. There were countless fans who were waiting for others to sell their extra tickets despite the fact that the team was destined to finish the season empty-handed.
The reason for the overwhelming response was not because the team was going to go top of the table after the match, and neither was it because they were going to get relegated.
The reason behind their excitement was simple: that man was coming back.
Even though it has been three weeks since Tony Twain returned to his managerial position at the team, this was his first time directing a home game after his comeback.
Additionally, there was also someone who was going to bid farewell to Nottingham and Nottingham Forest.
That person was David Beckham, whose contract with the club has expired.
The past few days have seen numerous Forest fans swarm up to Wilford to watch the team train, and they would surround Beckham asking for his signature and a photo. His popularity had become even higher than before.
A faint sense of sorrow over Beckham’s imminent departure pervaded the team. These feelings were actually no stranger to the team. However, due to the fact that they had performed exceptionally well during the past few seasons, every one focused their attention on celebrating the team’s successes instead, and these feelings of sorrow became diluted amidst the joyous atmosphere.
Since the team had performed poorly this season however, there was nothing for them to celebrate about, and these feelings only became even more accentuated than before.
Beckham’s departure from the club was inevitable. There were also players who continued to ponder over whether they should stay at or leave the club…
The pleasant surprise that came with their boss’s return did not last for long.
※※※
Beckham was a player who was good at maintaining friendly relationships with his team mates. He was on good terms with everyone in the team despite how he enjoyed far greater popularity than them. The light around him could cast the entire team into his shadow, but the reason why he still managed to get along with his team mates was because he knew how to treat others well.
Before the last Premier League match of the season, everyone in the Forest team received a gift from Beckham, much to their astonishment.
Twain was no exception. His gift was specially delivered to him by Beckham.
“After tomorrow’s match, this season will be officially over. This is a gift that I specially prepared to thank you, Tony.” Beckham did not address Twain as ‘boss’ in private. Instead, he would call him by his name, which showed how close the two were.
“Thank me?” Twain felt ashamed to receive a gift from him. “I gave Albertini the best possible parting gift when he left. But now that you are leaving, I don’t have anything to give you.” He opened his hands and patted his pockets. “There’s nothing that you should thank me for.”
“Ha.” Beckham laughed. “When I decided to join Nottingham Forest, all I wanted was to prove that I wasn’t a just a pretty ‘vase’ in a place that was closest to the British football fans. I never thought that I would be able to win trophies in the Champions League and the Premier League. Is that not something I should thank you for, Tony?”
Twain smiled and said nothing.
“Two years’ not a long time, but everything that I have experienced here has left a lasting impression on me. Nottingham Forest is a good club. It’s a shame I can only stay for two years.” Beckham suddenly sighed.
“It’s enough for me to hear you say that, David.” Twain felt that Beckham’s words were the highest form of recognition for all the work that he has done at Nottingham Forest.
“You are going to America?”
Beckham nodded his head. “I have lifted trophies for the UEFA Super Cup, FA Community Shield, Fifa Club World Cup, Champions League and Premier League under you…There’s nothing more that I ask for in my footballing career. I have already signed a contract with LA Galaxy, and I will play for two more years with them. But going over there means I’m not going to play football, I’m just going to put on a show.” He shrugged.
The media were all bragging about how his trip to America would have a profound impact on American football, how it would bring life to America’s ‘barren’ state of football, how he would be a pivotal character in bringing about change in America’s footballing scene and how he would let more Americans fall in love with football… Everything was just a bunch of nonsense.
Beckham knew in his heart that he did not have that much influence as a person to bring about all those changes that they said he would. Even a legend like Pelé was not able to change the footballing scene in America by much. How could he change a country’s interest in something all by himself? The truth is he is merely going over to America to accompany his wife…
Speaking of Beckham’s wife, Twain has to thank Victoria for not giving him any trouble during these past two seasons that Beckham played for Nottingham Forest. She was well-known to be a woman who would get into disputes with managers in the past, but it looks like Beckham must have spent a considerable amount of effort to convince her before he signed for them. Beckham leaving to play in America for two years is also likely to be something that the couple agreed upon back then as well.
Another possible reason as to why she did not get in his face could be because of her relationship with Shania. She does help Shania with her work quite often, and probably did not want to make things awkward for everyone.
At that moment, a thought suddenly crossed Twain’s mind. He asked, “Are you going to sell your villa in Nottingham?”
Beckham nodded. “I won’t be coming back to England much after this. I already have houses in Manchester and London as well. Victoria doesn’t think we should keep our house in Nottingham.”
Twain clapped his hands. “Just nice, sell it to me!”
Beckham smiled. “Have you come to dislike your current house, Tony?”
Twain touched his nose. “Heh. Actually, if I was just living by myself, then anywhere is fine. But from now on, there’d be someone else living with me, so I need a better house to live in. Now’s not the time to say goodbye yet, David. During the holidays after the season has ended, make a trip to Brazil!”
Beckham was taken aback. “Brazil?”
“Huh? You don’t know about it?” Twain found it odd.
“Know about what?”
“I’m getting married to Shania. Our wedding will be held during the summer holidays…”
Beckham widened his eyes, almost as if he could not believe what he just heard.
“Hey, you don’t need to look that surprised.” Twain pouted.
“This is really the first time I’ve heard anything about you getting married this summer…” Beckham felt a little crestfallen. His good friend was getting married soon, but this was the very first time he heard about it. Can he still prepare a gift in time?
“Huh? Shania didn’t tell Victoria?”
Beckham shook his head.
“The paparazzi didn’t publish anything about it?”
Beckham continued to shake his head.
Twain laughed happily. “That little girl’s pretty good at keeping it a secret!”
He reckons that the reason why Shania is being so secretive about their marriage is so that she can give the media a big surprise. She wants to see their reactions when they learn of this shocking news, because, as she once said before, ‘it would be very fun’ to do that.
“All right, David. You should be feeling happy right now. You are the only person in this world, besides Shania and I and her parents to know about this news. I was thinking of handing out invitations to all the players after we finished playing tomorrow’s match.”
Beckham smiled. “I have to congratulate you, Tony. You and Shania are a great match for each other. Victoria and I have discussed about the relationship between the two of you numerous times before. It must have been very tough for you to get to where you are now… What was it that propelled you to reach this decision?”
Twain recalled the image of someone mixing a bowl of black sesame soup for him in the hospital ward. “David, if there came a day when you thought you were going to die, and then after a struggle, you opened your eyes to see a person taking care of you attentively… How would you feel?”
Beckham did not answer the question. He knew that Twain was not even asking him a question.
“I have to thank my heart disease for that. It caused the team’s results to slip, but we can still start over next season. I have to thank my heart disease simply because it helped me find the person that I truly love.” Twain shrugged. He has no qualms about saying such mushy words now.
He also has to thank a female reporter named Lisa Aria for her words. It was just like she said, it was not embarrassing to admit that they were in love.
Beckham saw the happiness written all over his manager’s face. He felt his chin and said, “Oh no, what should I get you for your wedding, Tony?”
“You can stop thinking about it. Just lower the price for your house a little and sell it to me.”
“No problem, Tony. It’s a deal!”
The two shook hands.
Before he left, Twain told Beckham about his arrangement for tomorrow’s match. “David, you are in the starting team. This is your farewell match in the Forest team… You have nothing else you need to prove. Just enjoy the cheers from the fans as we play on our home grounds.”
Beckham nodded his head, then turned and left.
Twain’s eyes trailed behind Beckham as he made his way out of the office. He then led out a soft sigh.
There are more and more people close to him who were leaving his side.
There would come a day when he is standing before the manager’s seat in the City Ground stadium, and every single person in his line of sight would be people who could only give him 30 years’ worth of memories.
Can he still be friends with those players like he did with Beckham?
※※※
All the news in Nottingham for the past few days had revolved around two people and two things.
Tony Twain’s return and David Beckham’s departure.
Nottingham Evening Post did a feature on David Beckham, and it recounted Beckham’s two seasons in Forest, such as that glorious moment when he stopped Manchester United from becoming champions in the Premier League. It also mentioned his disappointment as the team went into a slump due to numerous injuries to their players.
However, none of those things mattered anymore. He was about to leave. The ‘heartthrob’ would never belong to Nottingham Forest again from now on.
It is said that Manchester United has been making plans to get Beckham to take over the role as global ambassador from Bobby Charlton after he has retired. In the end, he will always be a part of Manchester United.
There have also been numerous outstanding football stars who played for Nottingham Forest in the past. However, the club itself has failed to leave behind a legacy over the years, and this makes it difficult to foster a sense of lasting loyalty towards the club in the players. They are not able to get any of those star players to become their ‘global ambassadors’ after they have retired, and this is something regretful for the club.
Alessandro Del Piero might have been a player for Forest before, but he only feels attached to Real Madrid. Similarly, Albertini used to be the captain of the team, but after he retired, he had insisted on returning to Italy and to Milan. Now, it was David Beckham’s turn to leave. Twain could foresee several other players who would do the same in the near future, such as van Nistelrooy and van der Sar.
When will we be able to have legendary players that belong only to our club? Many of the players who used to play under the previous boss Brian Clough have all gone on to become reputable managers, but they are all scattered across the world, and do not come into contact with Nottingham Forest much.
Will Nottingham Forest still be able to produce their own Albertini, Del Piero or Beckham in a world where commercialization and money have made footballers increasingly fickle?
This problem could be associated with Tony Twain. The Forest fans firmly believe that as long as Tony Twain is around, Forest will not go down.
But now that there are problems with Tony Twain’s heart, who can guarantee how much longer he can stay as the manager of the team?
One year? Two years? Three years? Or five? Can he emulate the team’s previous boss Brian Clough, and stay in the position for 18 years?
If praying was all that was needed to ensure that a person can stay healthy, then every single Nottingham Forest fan would have prayed before their every meal for Tony Twain to be healthy, for his heart to be rid of problems, and for him to live for a 100 years.
※※※
On the day of the match, the weather was good and there were clear skies.
Hordes of fans began swarming into the stadium since the early afternoon, and all of them were seated before the match kicked off. The City Ground stadium that had a seating capacity of 30,000 was fully occupied, and there were no empty seats in the stadium.
This match was especially significant to the Forest fans because they had to welcome the return of their King, Tony Twain, and also send off Beckham.
Twain gave his players his last team talk for the season in the locker room.
“Our first match for this season was played against Portsmouth in the FA Community Shield. Our last opponent for this Premier League season is also Portsmouth. What a coincidence, isn’t it? This is great. This terrible season needs a good finish. We beat Portsmouth in the FA Community Shield game, and I hope all of you can beat Portsmouth again as our way of bidding farewell to this season and to send David off. All of you should have received a small gift from him. He did not give you all gifts for nothing!”
All the players burst out laughing.
The team’s final position in the Premier League table might not be good, but ever since their boss has returned, the team has regained its life, and all the problems did not feel like problems anymore, because their boss is able to handle even the biggest of problems.
“Right now, we are in a situation whereby we have nothing to gain or lose. However, Portsmouth is fighting to get a Europa League spot for next season. What a good chance this is…” Twain grinned. “Ruining other people’s chances have almost become our team’s tradition. We are not doing it deliberately, but the chance to do it is right before us… Last time it was Liverpool, and this time it’s Portsmouth. Nottingham Forest has never been a team that would sacrifice itself to help another team! Those people who think they can step over our dead bodies and climb to the top have to pay a steep price for looking down on us! Liverpool’s not the first, and Portsmouth will not be the last either! Let’s use action to tell Portsmouth how stupid it is for them to think that they can gain anything off of us! They think that we are tigers who are on the brink of dying from starvation, but we have to let them know that tigers are the most dangerous when they are in that state! Who do those Portsmouth bastards think we are? We are Nottingham Forest! We are the Nottingham Forest that is big enough to blot out the sun!” [1]
※※※
Ear-splitting cheers went off in the stadium when Tony Twain walked out onto the pitch towards the tactical area with his colleagues and substitutes, and they gave him a shock.
It took him a while to realize that everyone was yelling his name.
“Tony! Tony! Tony!”
“Let us welcome His Majesty!” The commentator roared at the top of his voice amidst the thundering cheers that was present in the stadium.
“Welcome back, Tony!” Fat John and his companions hollered.
“His Majesty! His Majesty! His Majesty!”
“Tony! Take care of your health!”
“We love you! Tony!” This was from a group of beautiful female fans who had gone crazy. They were wearing bikini-like clothing, and they each had one word ‘We’, ‘Love’ and ‘Tony’ painted over their chests.
All the voices in the stadium blended into one, and it was so deafening that the Gods above might be able to pick up on the sound.
Dunn and Kerslake walked past him as though they did not notice what was going on. The substitutes had their hands over their mouths to hide their smiles as they walked towards their seats.
Twain was the only one standing by the pitch. He raised his head and looked at the packed stands before him.
Everyone at the stands stood to their feet. They raised both their hands and began to act as though they were worshipping him. He was receiving the same treatment as the one that was given to him after the conclusion of the previous season.
This is an honor that belonged only to him.
This is the life that he wanted.
He raised his arm and punched the air.
The roars got even louder.
Shania pouted as she watched the scenes before her in her private room. “I’m going to get jealous…”
※※※
As players from both teams waited in the tunnel for the referee to lead them out onto the pitch, they suddenly heard deafening roars. Everyone was startled initially, but when the Nottingham Forest players finally made out what the roars were about, they started to laugh. On the other hand, the Portsmouth players’ faces were ashen.
The Portsmouth manager, Alain Perrin, who had taken his seat in the technical area, was also shocked by the crazy atmosphere in the City Ground stadium.
Last season, when Twain won the Double, there was an extravagant celebration party held here in this stadium. Twain was crowned as the King that night. He dressed in a robe and held a crown high up into the air. Those scenes were ridiculed by numerous media outlets and other football managers, who thought that his ego had become so big that it had reached a level of perversion.
But now, he was seeing and hearing how the fans are reacting to Tony Twain before him. Right here, in this City Ground stadium, in every Nottingham Forest fans’ hearts, Tony Twain was truly their king…
Perrin, who had initially hoped to win all 3 points from this game and secure a spot in the Europa League, suddenly felt a chill down his spine.
The atmosphere in the stadium also influenced John Motson, the commentator for the match. “Look at this scene before us! It’s not hard to understand why Nottingham Forest plays with shocking power every time Tony Twain is in charge. He truly is the King over here! I think Portsmouth’s in for a hard time!”
※※※
Portsmouth was indeed in for a hard time.
Just like Twain, Beckham received a thundering ovation from the spectators when he made his way onto the pitch. However, the cheers for him did feel a little softer when compared to what Twain received earlier.
Every single time Twain stepped out of the technical area and stood by the side of the pitch to give directions to his players during the match, the stands would erupt into cheers, regardless of how the team was playing at that point in the match.
Twain had suppressed his feelings for football for five months. Similarly, the fans have also held back their enthusiasm for five months.
When the team had hit a brick wall and were losing to almost every single team they faced, how the fans wished that the person standing by the side of the pitch was the animated Tony Twain. Even if he ended doing nothing other than to stand there, his presence alone was enough to give everyone the belief that everything will be fine, and that he will find a way.
If he scolds someone by the side of the pitch, we will scold with him!
If he is overjoyed, we will dance in glee!
If he faints once again… We will support him from behind!
Tony, as long as you are around, we have nothing to fear! Not winning anything in a season is nothing! We will start all over again next season, and seize everything that we lost back!
We do not need to be nice to our opponents! Nottingham is the home of Robin Hood, which makes us all descendants of a thief. Seizing things from others is what we are good at!
Seize them all! Seize them all! Seize the fortunes and the women of the rich and drive them out from their castles!
Seize them all! Seize them all! Let us seize the whole world!
※※※
“This match was supposed to be David Beckham’s last match in Britain, but somehow the main character became Tony Twain.” John Motson said with a smile. “But I don’t think David will feel jealous at that.”
On the 88th minute, Twain finally took Beckham off the pitch, and that was also when Beckham finally reclaimed the role as the main character from Twain. He hugged the team mates who stood nearest to him, and slowly made his way to the side. He held up both his hands into the air and applauded the fans as he walked.
There were no Portsmouth players who were complaining about how he was deliberately dragging the game on. That was because it did not matter either way to them. They were not just trailing by a goal or two…
The Nottingham Forest fans all stood to their feet to send Beckham off. Unlike the wild feelings that they felt for Twain earlier, the feelings that they had for the ex-Manchester United player were very different and were more of gratitude.
Beckham’s heart might not be with Nottingham Forest, but the Forest fans are not ingrates. They are thankful for every assist and every goal that Beckham had contributed to the team over the past two seasons. Without this ‘heartthrob’, the game that decided the Premier League champions last season could very well have been anybody’s game.
Motson was a little moved by what he saw as well. “When David Beckham was still a kid, I was there at the scene to witness his goal from the halfway line. When he became a ‘heartthrob’, I was commentating the games he played in as a Manchester United player. Now, he’s already 34 years old, and he has decided to leave Britain and head to the opposite end of the Atlantic Ocean. I am still commentating Premier League matches. All I can do is to wish him all the best, and I hope he would have the best of luck in that country.”
“He has two assists in this game and it is the perfect way to end off his time here in Nottingham Forest. Forest’s slump in this season has nothing to do with him. He can leave without any regrets and he can accept all the applause that has been given to him without shame. Goodbye, David!”
Beckham finally made his way off the pitch. He then hugged Twain, who had been waiting by the side.
“Goodbye, David. I wish you all the best in America.”
“Goodbye, Tony. I also wish you all the best.”
Twain suddenly felt tears well up in his eyes. He quickly snapped himself out of it. “That’s not right! Now’s not the time to say goodbye. Don’t forget to fly over to Brazil during your holidays. I’d be waiting for you at my wedding. You have to come!”
Beckham smiled. “Of course. I’d be there, Tony. Both you and Shania are my good friends. How can I not go?”
The two separated themselves from each other. Beckham walked over to the other managers and substitutes behind Twain and gave each of them a farewell hug.
The match ended a while later.
The final score was 4:1. Nottingham Forest was able to end their chaotic season with a victory at home. It was also the perfect way to send Beckham off and welcome the King, Tony Twain’s return.
Portsmouth lost the match and also lost their chances of clinching a spot in the Europa League next season.
But, they were in the City Ground stadium and in Nottingham Forest’s territory. Who would care about what their opponents would feel?
The 2008-09 season went by just like that.
How many people would still reminisce it many years later?
...
Chapter 723 - Wedding Invitation
Twain had his arm around Shania’s slim waist as they stood before their new house. Neither of them said a word as they quietly admired the three storey mansion that they will call their home henceforth.
The house had white walls and a red roof. The exterior of it looked asymmetrical, but there was something charming about its asymmetry. It looked vibrant under the sunlight, as though the house had a life of its own.
Shania fell in love with the color of the house at first sight. It looked pure and clean.
The place they were currently at is known as Mapperley Park, which is located in north-eastern Nottingham. It sits on a small hill, and there was a road that gently led up to their neighbourhood and stretches all the way to the northern part of Nottingham.
Mapperley Park is a well-known luxury neighborhood in Nottingham, and it is also the place that many rich middle-class choose to live in.
The end of May is a time where the color green becomes the most prominent in Mapperley Park. Greeneries will encompass the neighbourhood, and the residents will also get to wake up each morning to the twittering of birds and the fragrance of flowers. The mansions, each with its own distinctive appearances and colors, look like villas surrounded by a vast garden.
Their house faced the street, and behind them was a garden that connected them to the Mapperley Golf Club.
All they could see around the house was a sea of green. The view was pleasant and made them feel invigorated.
Not too far away from the front of the house was a sports club. It had a standard-sized football pitch that people could use to play football matches.
Twain could not help but be amazed. The Beckhams really know how to enjoy their lives.
Their new living environment could not get any better. The only downside of the house was how it was located a considerable distance away from the club’s training grounds.
However, the long distance does not put Twain off. He has a car after all.
The Beckhams bought this three storey mansion for 2,700,000 pounds, but Beckham sold it to Twain and Shania for only 1,000,000 pounds after living in it for a year. The economic crisis had certainly influenced the price of the house, but offering the house at a low price was intended as Beckham’s wedding gift to the couple as well.
Beckham generously indicated that they were free to keep the furnishing of the house if they liked it. If not, they could change it as they pleased.
There was nothing that needed to be changed about the furnishing, however. Beckham’s taste suited Twain perfectly. The house had everything they needed and there were only a few minor arrangements that they needed to tweak for the furniture. Nothing major had to be done to the house. It was a house that Twain and Shania could start living in straight away.
Twain accepted Beckham’s magnanimity without feeling ashamed. After all, he was the one who gifted Beckham his final glorious moments at the end of his footballing career.
Beckham’s commercial value has gone on the rise due to his good performance in Nottingham Forest and the fact that he won the Double with the team. He has nothing to worry about financially even if he has to face the economic crisis.
“Do you like it?” Twain lowered his head to ask Shania who was cradled in his arms.
Shania nodded her head. “Yes!”
Twain raised his head again to look at the mansion before him and then lost himself in his thoughts. He started to think about the dream that he made when he was unconscious, and also thought about the kind of person he was in the past.
He could not afford a decent house in the past, much less a mansion like this.
What do the Chinese pursue throughout their lives? To settle down, to start a family, and to have a successful career. But, the irony is, how can you start a family without a house to live in?
It is very difficult to purchase a house that you can call your own in China. His biggest desire back then was just to have enough money to buy a one-room apartment in Chengdu. He never would have dreamed that there would come a day where he could live in a mansion with a 100 square meter garden, with a golf club to the back and a football pitch to the front.
My destiny… Has changed.
I have gained a lot of things that I could never gain in that world, but I also lost some things as a result. Do I regret?
No.
This is my road. This is my life. This is my story.
“Uncle Tony?” Shania shook Twain’s arm after seeing that he was in a daze.
“Hmm?”
“Aren’t you supposed to go to Wilford? Why aren’t you leaving?”
“Oh… Ah! I almost forgot! I got carried away after seeing the house… Haha!” Twain laughed as he scratched the back of his head.
Shania had just reminded him of something important. He was indeed supposed to make a trip down to Wilford. Today is the last training session for this season. The players would be enjoying their holidays all over the world so as to rest up for the next season after the training ends.
He has an important thing to announce today before they depart.
※※※
“Lads, have you all thought about how you are going to spend your holidays?”
All the players, including Beckham who was on his way out of the team, were seated on the pitch in their training grounds at Wilford. They looked at Twain who stood in the center.
“Regardless if you have or not, I hope you can cancel or delay your plans.”
Beckham smiled after hearing what Twain said.
“I’m inviting all of you over to Brazil for a holiday!” Twain waved his hands. “I’m paying for all your plane tickets, accommodation and food!”
An uproar ensued.
“Brazil’s a good destination but… Why, boss?” Eastwood asked loudly. “Sabina and I had made plans to go to Spain for a holiday! We even bought our plane tickets…”
“Cancel your flight. I will reimburse the money that you spent for them, Freddy. You have to come over to Brazil!”
His comments made everyone even more curious. They had to ask Twain what was going on.
Twain waited till the clamor died down before he flashed a mischievous grin, “I’m inviting every single one of you to my wedding!”
A rowdy commotion broke out on the pitch.
“Wedding?!”
“Boss… You mean you and Miss Shania? That’s way too fast!”
“What’s with this surprise attack, Boss? How do you expect me to prepare a gift for you now?”
“Wedding? Wedding? Ah… Boss, so you weren’t gay… Er, no, so you were just single all along…”
“Quiet down! Quiet down! Just tell me if you are going or not! I’m telling all of you, it’s very common for a player to invite his team mates to his wedding, but it’s not every day that your manager will invite you to his wedding. This might be the only chance in your life to attend one!” Twain cocked his head upwards and said proudly.
What he said made sense. Football managers who have not gotten married in the world are probably even rarer than the Tibetan Antelopes. 99.99% of football managers are married and have their own families. After all, it takes time for them to make their way up to the managerial position and lead a team.
There might be a few of these managers who only get married after they have taken up the role as a manager, but even then, they would definitely not invite their own players to their wedding, due to reasons such as wanting to maintain his authoritativeness and mystique.
Twain did not care about those things. He felt that this was the biggest and happiest occasion that will happen in his life, and he definitely had to share his joy with the people around him, which is why he has invited almost every single person that he could think of.
Besides these players of his, Twain had also invited renowned actor and film producer Tom Cruise, as well as well-known fashion designer Giorgio Armani to his wedding. Twain’s tuxedo and Shania’s wedding dress would both be designed by Armani himself.
How great it is to have such celebrities as my friends. I don’t need to pay for the tuxedo and wedding dress…
“I’m going! The Boss is getting married, of course we are going!” Eastwood’s voice was the loudest amongst the players. He began gesturing about animatedly and had completely forgotten about how he said he wanted to accompany his wife to Spain for a holiday earlier.
The other players followed suit and began shouting that they will attend his wedding as well.
Twain smiled at the sight of his players getting so excited.
Initially, he did not wish for his wedding to be too complex. He wanted to be like other celebrities and just hold a simple wedding at a secluded and quiet location. However, after seeing how well he got along with Shania, he changed his mind.
This is the biggest occasion of my life, why should I hold it secretly? Am I scared of the media taking photos of us? You must be kidding, I’m just getting married, there’s nothing I should feel ashamed of! It’s not like I’m having an affair!
I have to publicise my wedding with Shania and let the whole world know that we are getting married.
Twain was not scared of getting criticised for ‘robbing the cradle’ once news of their marriage begins to spread. His relationship with Shania has already met with much censure ever since they publicly confirmed it. He was not concerned about breaking the hearts of Shania’s numerous male fans either.
Who cares about whether or not they are upset at the fact that we are getting married?
I am the one who should be upset over how they constantly have sexual fantasies about Shania…
Twain shared his sentiments with Shania, and told her, “I want to openly let the whole world know that I, Tony Twain, love you, Shania, and that I want you to be my wife.”
Shania was so touched that she almost cried, and that was how they came to the decision to hold a high-profile wedding ceremony instead.
※※※
After the team dispersed, Dunn flew back to China to help Twain invite his parents over to the wedding.
Before he left, Twain repeatedly exhorted Dunn to get both his parents over to the wedding either by hook or by crook.
Twain knew his parents well. When he was working at Chengdu in the past, he had hoped to bring his parents over to live in Chengdu as well, but his parents were unwilling to leave their little town in the South Sichuan countryside. They told him that there was no place better than home, and also complained about the traffic congestion and high cost of living in the big city. They said that it was more comfortable to continue staying in their little town in comparison.
Dunn just smiled and reassured Twain, “Their son is getting married. It doesn’t matter how far it is, they’d definitely be there.”
Twain patted him on the shoulder and said nothing.
※※※
Lisa Aria was still working for a small news agency that primarily published gossip news in Nottingham. She was the one who first found out and took photos regarding the love relationship between Twain and Shania, and was also the reason behind why Twain decided to publicly acknowledge his relationship with Shania.
Twain suffered a heart disease but gained a lover as a result. There was a positive change in his life. Unlike him however, nothing about Lisa’s life has changed.
She was still working as the chief editor for the entertainment news section. Her future looked bleak with no prospects in sight.
Revealing Twain’s love relationship with Shania did not lead to any significant financial gains for her.
She had hoped to be able to obtain more sensational stories about Tony and Shania’s relationship that would help draw readers in to read their newspapers. However, Twain has been evading reporters ever since he has been diagnosed with a heart disease. They managed to locate Shania’s house that was situated near the Lace Market, but the windows there were shut 24/7.
The only news and photos they were able to take were of the couple leaving and entering their house. But, there are no readers who would be interested in news and photos of Twain and Shania going in and out of their house.
And so, everything about her life is still the same. Nothing has changed.
That is, until today.
She suddenly received a call from Twain.
“Hello, Miss Aria. Can you guess who I am?”
“Mr. Twain, please do not use such dumb questions to irritate me when I’m working, okay?” Lisa Aria was not in the mood to entertain Twain given how she was going through a rough time at work and had a bleak future ahead of her.
Twain coughed twice on the other end of the phone. “I have good news for you, but if you don’t want to hear it then forget it. I, Tony Twain, never begs anyone to do anything for me.”
“If you have something to say then get on with it. If it’s an exclusive scoop I am interested.” Aria’s fingers never stopped typing away even though she was on the phone with Twain.
“This is indeed an exclusive scoop, and a big one to boot. Hmm… Where should I start though? There might have been some misunderstandings between us, Miss Aria, but I intend to give you this scoop for free as a form of sincere apology to you, and also to thank you for what you did.”
Aria scoffed, “Looks like your relationship with Shania has been going very well! Who was it who said that I knew nothing in the first place?”
“… Let’s let bygones be bygones… The reason why I called you today is to give you the exclusive rights to publish stories about my wedding. I’m getting married to Shania. Note, I’m giving it just to you…”
Aria’s fingers stopped moving. She thought she had misheard him, and quickly interrupted Twain, “I’m sorry, Mr. Twain… I just heard that you want to give me the exclusive rights to publish stories about your wedding?”
“Yes, that’s what I said. And I’m not providing the rights to the news agency that you work for, just you. As for how you want to report on the wedding, or which media outlet you get to report on it, that’s entirely up to you and is none of my business.” Twain laughed after saying those words.
“I hope you understood everything that I told you, Miss Aria?”
Aria did not display her excitement straight away, even though the joints on her fingers had already gone white from her clenching her hands too tightly.
She asked in a steady voice, “Why are you giving it to me?”
“Huh? Didn’t I tell you earlier? It’s a gift to thank you and to apologise for the misunderstanding between us from before. I have to thank you because if it weren’t for the constant news stories that you published about us, then I wouldn’t have been able to get close to Shania as quickly as I did… Also, I have really benefitted from the words that you said to me previously. You said ‘It’s not a shameful thing to admit that you are in love’, and so I have not only admitted my love for Shania, I want the whole world to witness our wedding. That’s all I want, and it is also why I am handing the job of generating publicity to you, Miss Aria. After all, you are the one who brought us together. How can you not be there to witness the moment when I put the ring on Shania?”
Aria went into a daze. She did not know what to say. She already knew, based on rumors and her personal experience dealing with Tony Twain, that the man is an unreasonable monster. How is he capable of saying such words?
She might have a lot of doubts about what was going on, but there was one thing she was certain of.
She could quit this meaningless job right after she gets off from work.
No… Perhaps she could do so right away.
Before she did that however, she asked him one other thing that was on her mind. “Should I thank you, Mr. Twain? I do hope that this isn’t the last time I’m working with you however…”
“As long as you don’t barge into my house and take photos of us before our bed, everything else is up to you.”
Aria smiled. “That does sound like something you would say, Mr. Twain. I gladly accept this gift of yours.”
Twain and Shania’s lives both changed when they became an item. It is only natural for change to happen for Lisa Aria as well, given how her fate is intertwined with theirs.
When Aria first published stories exposing Twain and Shania’s relationship, neither she nor Twain would have foreseen what was in store for them in the future.
A blissful marriage for one, and a successful career for the other.
A win-win situation for both.
...
Chapter 724 - Call Me Uncle
Since Twain told many people about his marriage to Shania, he certainly did not think about hiding it from the news media. He did not specifically inform the press about it because he knew that the reporters had their own means and channels to learn about it.
As expected, the next day, the news of Twain sending invitation cards everywhere appeared in a number of British newspapers and media.
The press was somewhat caught off guard by the sudden announcement of their marriage, just as Shania had hoped.
The media knew that Twain and Shania were in love, but they did not expect the two people to make known their relationship at the beginning of the year, and announced their marriage in the middle of the year…
“It looks like Tony Twain plans to walk hand in hand with Shania into the church. It is said that they have invited a lot of famous people to the wedding. For a manager’s wedding to be set like a star player’s wedding, I guess Tony Twain is probably the only one, right?” The BBC television said in the news.
“… I was surprised at the news. I can’t believe it….” An actress, who was eager to have a one-night stand with Twain, covered her mouth and said on the show.
The gay magazines announced that even Tony Twain’s marriage would not hinder his status in the eyes of the homosexuals.
Shania’s official website was deliberately attacked by unidentified hackers after the news broke. The home page of the website was modified with the color changed to black, and a line of words ran repeatedly across: “You have become the bride, but the groom is not me.”
After the site was restored, heartbroken and inconsolable fans around the world confessed their love for Shania and their own grief on the message board. Some fans even lambasted Tony Twain, the old bastard, for snatching their sweetheart. Among them, there was no shortage of malicious speculation and slander. There were also people who indulged in histrionics and lamented that for them to still be able to become a pair of husband and wife despite the twenty-two years of age difference, public morals were degenerating with each passing day and people’s hearts were not what is used to be…
The fashion magazines also expressed concern about Shania’s wedding. Most people were puzzled by Shania’s decision—for models, eighteen years old was the rising period and maturity of the career. Choosing to get married at this time would affect her work. These magazine editors could not understand why Shania would rather lose her career to care about love.
Only her friend, Mr. Armani, came forward to support Shania’s move. He said, “She’s not like the average model, so she considers things differently. Perhaps in Shania’s view, the glamor of being model is far less important than enjoying her time with Tony…”
…
In short, no matter what the outside world thought of these two people’s May-December love and marriage, Twain and Shania were simply immersed in their sweet twosome world.
They openly walked down the street hand in hand, kissing in the streets, and acted as if they were alone. They did not pay any mind to the reporters who followed them around. As Nottingham was a small city, people were extremely tolerant of Tony Twain who brought numerous honors to the city and wished him well. So, Twain and Shania did not have to worry about being harassed on the streets by anyone but the reporters.
When they were back at their villa in Mapperley Park with the curtains pulled, no one would know what they did inside.
What was even more heartbreaking and sad for Shania’s fans was the thought of their idol and sweetheart being crushed under an old man’s body, gasping and moaning?
Therefore, there was a new rumor—Although Tony Twain was already forty years old and had a heart attack, he was still a man with a strong libido. They would make love many times a day and never use protection. Some media began to speculate about when Shania would become pregnant. Once she became pregnant, no matter how thriving her career was, she would be set aside for the time being. Some of the press even thought the reason Shania and Twain were getting married so soon was because Shania was already pregnant…
“For a forty-year-old man to still have such a vigor, the nuclear-powered pacemaker is really brilliant. With a healthy sex life, the beautiful young girl, Shania will have no other desires, even at the expense of her own modeling career. It really makes one think of what is love and how it grips one in the throes of passion … … Of course, disregard Shania’s cool expressions on the runways. In fact, deep down, she’s a young lady with a longing for a man’s caresses and emerging stirrings of love… It can even be said: a forty-year-old man is like a tiger, and a young girl who yearns for love, seduces; spring in its full bloom cannot be inhibited, with a spray of blossom bursting forth….”
A certain unknown gossip editor wrote in the sports section of a well-known web portal in China.
※※※
After a day’s rest in Nottingham, Twain flew with Shania to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Shania’s parents had prepared everything to do with the wedding. Their big day was set for May 31st. The league tournament only ended on May 24th, so time was a bit tight, but there was no other way. According to Brazilian tradition, May was the season for marriages and to hold weddings. It was known as “Bride’s Month.” Hence, the wedding was set on the last day of the month, which meant they could catch the tail end of the “Bride’s Month.”
After meeting Shania’s parents again in Brazil, Twain had lost the discomfiture and restraint of their last meeting. This time he was here to openly and honorably marry Shania and did not have to be self-conscious.
The wedding had not yet begun, and Twain’s invited guests and friends had arrived in succession. The crowd from Nottingham Forest naturally needed no introduction. Giorgio Armani came personally and attracted a lot of media attention. In addition, there were Tom Cruise and some of the celebrity friends Shania met during her time in Hollywood. The couple, Beckham and Victoria, also came. The other people who did not come also sent their gifts. For example, Ferguson, Wenger, Keane and Twain’s other friends in the coaching world, as well as John Motson, Martin Tayler, Gary Lineker… and other famous people of the television world.
The eyes of the reporters who gathered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, were momentarily dazzled.
Just as Twain hoped, his wedding to Shania caught the world’s attention. Before the wedding, everyone knew that Twain was going to marry Shania. The age difference of twenty-two years was no longer an issue. There were many cases of older husbands with much younger wives in the modeling world, not to mention the love story of Shania and Twain had already been exposed by the media to the point of being a household story. Everyone knew that when Shania was not yet a model, when Tony Twain was still just an unknown small-time manager, the two people already knew each other. It was gratifying to people that they were able to get to this stage.
※※※
George Wood came to Brazil with his mother. He said that they were here to attend Twain’s wedding but in fact, there was another reason. He wanted to take his mother on trips everywhere in the world and have a good time while her health was still well enough to do so. Brazil was a good place.
Despite Twain’s promise to cover for the return air tickets and arrange accommodations for the players who came to Brazil, the players had money and did not want to trouble Twain. They wanted the excuse to travel to Brazil, so they all came one by one.
Wood was the same too.
When Twain saw Sophia again, the frail and sickly woman looked worse than she had been. He could even see through the body and the faint fire of life teetering in the wind. A thought suddenly came to his mind—this admirable mother was running out of time…
Was George mentally prepared? Twain glanced at Wood, who was holding his mother.
“Mr. Twain, you’re so busy. You don’t really have to come pick us up.” Sophia smiled and whispered, “It’s fine with George around.”
Twain shook his head and said as he opened the door for her, “That won’t do. You are the guests I invited; I can’t leave you at the airport.” He motioned to Wood to let go of his hand, and he came up to help Sophia get into the car.
The two people’s skin touched, and their movements were natural, as if they had a kind of tacit understanding with each other’s heart.
Twain always knew Sophia was interested in him, but he could not accept her affection. It was not due to George Wood. He might be confused about the feelings between him and Shania. But he was clear on his feelings between him and Sophia—he did not love this woman.
He did not love her, not because Sophia was once a prostitute, and thus it gave rise to disdain or even contempt. On the contrary, the result was he developed a kind of respect from the heart, an indelible admiration and tenderness. Twain was certain he also had a deep affection for Sophia. If time were to be turned back and the circumstances were right, he would be even delighted to have a physical relationship with Sophia.
But that would not be love.
Although he knew that the woman was pitiful, sympathy could not make up for love.
While he held Sophia, Twain could touch the woman’s petite and thin body through the thin clothing. Her condition had never really improved…Had this poor woman ever gotten a love of her own during her lifetime?
George got into the car from the other side, and Sophia reached out to sweep his hair out of his forehead, revealing his bright eyes. When Twain saw this scene from the rearview mirror, he thought that this mother might have already poured all her love into her child.
Suddenly he felt that the atmosphere inside the car was a little depressed, so Twain decided to find some topics to chat about to distract everyone. He said, “George, you’d better find a girlfriend… Look, I’m getting married.”
“I’m not interested.” Wood made a face.
“Don’t be so headstrong. Your mother must also want to see you have your own love. Don’t you think so, ma’am?”
Sophia smiled and looked at her son, “I’ve urged him many times, he just won’t agree…”
Wood did not speak. He just looked out the window at the Brazilian street view.
The atmosphere became cold again. Twain felt that with George next to him, there would be no need for air conditioning even in the hot summer. This kid… I don’t know what’s on his mind!
Sophia also seemed to find the atmosphere a little depressing, so she took the initiative to ask, “Mr. Twain. Where’s Miss Shania?”
“Ah, she’s staying at her parents’ house. She said that she will only see me at the wedding.”
“So, during this period, you…”
“I have been staying in a hotel, ha!”
Sophia lightly chuckled, “You poor groom…”
※※※
After sending Wood and Sophia to the hotel they booked, Twain received a call from Dunn. He was delighted to hear the message that his parents had also arrived.
When he rushed over to Dunn’s hotel, he found his parents in the lobby at a glance.
He strode over and held the two elders’ hands. He called out to them intimately with the hometown accent, “Papa, Mama, you’re here!” Although a foreigner calling the old Chinese people “Papa and Mama” would make people feel preposterous, it was a lot more natural than making him called Shania’s parents “mom and dad” in Twain’s mind.
Because the two old people in front of him were his authentic birth parents.
“I was still worried that you wouldn’t come.” He smiled till his eyes became narrow slits because he was really happy. The wish he did not complete in his previous life was completed in this life.
“He he, my own child is getting married, of course we must come.” His father said in Sichuanese as he held and patted Twain’s hand. Twain and Dunn had always been together and had a good relationship like they were brothers all these years. His parents also naturally regarded Twain as their own child.
Dunn stood at the side and said to Twain, “I did say. When their own child gets married, they will come no matter how far it is.”
Twain looked around and did not find any luggage. He asked, “Did you just arrive? Was the journey tiring? Are you finding everything okay here?”
“Ah, he’s never seen so many foreigners… So delighted and excited, how can he be tired?” His mother rebuked her husband beside her. “You ain’t seen the world before?”
It seemed like they had adjusted pretty well. With a digital camera in hand and dressed trendily, they even specially dyed their original white hair to black for this time abroad. Overall, they looked much younger than their actual ages. In the recent years, his parents had also changed and were no longer “old-fashioned” as what he remembered. This was very good. His parents had worked hard for decades. Now that their son had grown up and could earn money to support his family, they should also put their minds at ease, travel around, and enjoy life in comfort. There should be nothing in the world that required them to worry about…
Well, maybe there was one more matter. Twain glanced at Dunn.
That would Dunn’s marriage. He did not know how he was going along in his relationship with Tang Jing, the beautiful reporter. Had their relationship improve during these five months?
He must grill him well when he had the chance to grab hold of him.
After he enquired solicitously about his parents’ well-being, Twain brought the two elders and Dunn for a Brazilian dinner. He had wanted to accompany the elders on a sightseeing tour, but the old people’s energy was not up to it. On top of the tiring journey, the day had just turned to dusk, so they were exhausted. He could only send them back to the hotel to rest. Twain and Dunn chatted for a while in Dunn’s room before he left for day and went back.
In the days that followed, Twain’s time was spent in hosting various guests who came to attend the wedding and sightseeing with his parents, as well as taking time out to have long chats with Shania on the phone.
Until the wedding day.
※※※
Although a lot of people were invited, the wedding process was very simple and did not cost much. It was also impossible for the expenses to look as scary as the list of guests invited for the wedding. After all, Shania was just a model, not considered the world’s most popular model. And not to mention, Tony Twain had little status in the upper society. The people who could come to the wedding were really good friends. Nor were they owners with huge amount of assets to splurge. Every pound was earned by their own hard work. Twain was the first to refuse wasting money on a large scale. In today’s depressed global economic environment, they had no right to be extravagant and ostentatious to put up a front. Although according to traditional Brazilian customs, all the expenses and preparations of the wedding were taken care of by the bride’s family. The groom’s side was the most relaxed and only needed to bring the wedding rings and attend the wedding. Wealthy bride’s families would often give new houses as gifts. But for Twain, Shania’s family was his own. He would still feel the pinch for the money spent.
The wedding ceremony was held in a one-hundred-year-old church near Shania’s home.
A hundred guests gathered to celebrate and were tightly packed in the small church. Many media waited outside could only capture the arrival of the guests in the limousines. But they could not shoot inside. The right to shoot report inside had been given Lisa Aria.
When Miss Aria pushed her way through with her BBC television crew carrying the film equipment, she was enormously proud of her success as she feasted her eyes on the scene. Incidentally, she took the opportunity given by Twain as “proof of allegiance” and officially joined BBC.
As the groom, Twain had to receive the guests. The hardest for Twain was his cheeks and lips—the Brazilians were used to greeting each other close on the cheeks, with one kiss each the left and right cheeks. After he greeted all the bride’s relatives and friends, he felt his cheeks were swollen …
After the guests were seated, the main event began.
Twain wore a dark blue suit designed by Mr. Giorgio Armani himself, a snow-white shirt and a dark red tie as he stood erect in front of the priest. Behind him seated the many guests who came. It was quiet in the cavernous church. Even the live band, which had been playing music before, had stopped.
He suddenly felt a little nervous.
Dunn, who stood next to him, smiled and observed with interest the change in Twain’s expression.
Twain looked back sideways at the church door as he anxiously anticipated the familiar figure to appear at the door, come in from the light, and gradually enter his field of vision.
When Shania finally appeared at the door wearing her white wedding gown, accompanied by her bridesmaid Clarice Gloria and holding onto her father, there was the sound of a small commotion from that starting point. Thereupon, the live band also played [The Wedding March]. Everyone gasped in admiration at the bride’s youth and beauty. The wedding dress, also from Armani, was worn by Shania, who had a model figure, and was the object of envy and admiration in the eyes of the female guests present.
Shania held a bouquet of flowers. Against the light, Twain was finally able to see her face clearly. The little fairy gazed at her husband with a smile on her face as she slowly made her way over.
This is my wife… Twain sighed in his heart. But he did not think he was dreaming anymore.
He stepped forward and held out his hand. Shania also reached her hand out and tightly intertwined with Twain.
Mr. Bruce Tenório looked at the happy couple and said to Twain with a smile, “Tony. I’m giving your daughter to you. Please make her happy.”
Twain gazed fondly at the bashful Shania and softly said, “I’ll make her happy for the rest of my life.”
Hearing the answer, Tenório felt reassured enough to let go of his daughter’s hand and retreat.
After they vowed and promised to love each other for the rest of their lives in front of the priest, it was time to exchange the rings.
Dunn handed over the ring box, and Twain took the wedding ring out of it to carefully put it on for Shania. Holding Shania’s soft little hand for her to wear the ring, he only felt full of joy: from this moment on, the little fairy belongs to me! No one can take her away!
Although there might be things to spoil the joy ahead, he really thought so at this moment…
After exchanging the rings, it was time for the bride and groom to exchange a deep kiss.
They were both accustomed to kissing. But kissing at a wedding held another layer of meaning.
Shania slightly looked up and gazed at the face that she was infatuated and in love with for six years. Her cheeks flushed and her lips slight parted as she breathed, “Tony…”
Twain lowered his head and said, “Call me Uncle!”
Shania rolled her eyes, but she still listened and called out in a low voice, “Uncle Tony…”
Tony Twain looked at the dainty and still young face. When he heard her called out in a low moan, he suddenly felt aroused … … Eh, no, he felt an enormous swelling of love. Reaching over Shania’s slender waist, he held her to his front, closely snuggled up, leaned down, and kissed down hard.
They kissed as if no one else was around and only the two of them were left in the world, ignoring the applause and cheers of the guests, and ignoring the band’s performance. They continued to kiss. For how long? Who knew? Nobody cared! They only felt that they were the happiest people in the world.
It was a kiss, full of deep love.
...
Chapter 725 - The New Season After the Honeymoon
The photograph of the forty-year-old groom holding his eighteen-year-old bride in his arms and deeply kissing her, made the news on the BBC television the next day. The news soon spread all over the world. No matter how sad Shania’s male fans were, it did not change the fait accompli—their idol, coolly elegant and haughty on the runway, but lively and lovely in life, Judy Shania Jordana only belonged to Tony Twain, the old man alone henceforth.
The BBC’s newscaster concluded, “Yesterday Tony Twain became the happiest man on the planet. Although the season that had just ended was a failure for both him and Nottingham Forest, he personally won on another competition arena. We wish them all the best.”
But it was not known how many fanboys cried on the inside as they cursed him…
※※※
The morning sun came through the window and shone on two naked bodies lying in bed.
Twain and Shania had just finished their “morning workout.” Shania laid beside him and curled up like a sleepy kitten. The perspiration had not yet dried on the two of them, but no one got up to go shower in the bathroom.
Twain had not stopped “procreation” since he became one with Shania that night. He knew he was not getting younger and afraid that if he did not procreate, he might be willing in mind, but his body would not be able to in the future. Shania also did not show any antipathy in this aspect. After all, being pregnant would impact a model’s career. But she also wanted a baby.
On the wedding night, the two people made frenzied love the entire night and started another sweat-dripping session when they woke up early in the morning. This somewhat surprised Shania.
“Uncle Tony…” She was still snuggled up in Twain’s arms, softly calling.
“Hmmm?” Although he had moved uninhibited on top of Shania’s body just now, Twain’s hand still misbehaved and gently caressed across her smooth skin, bit by bit as if to titillate his loveable wife.
“You’re simply not like a forty-year-old… Hee hee!” Twain tickled her sensitive area, and she laughed and twisted her body.
Twain did not know why he was like this. But every time he saw Shania’s young and full of vitality body, her slightly young and tender beautiful face, bright and lively eyes, he felt that his body had an irrepressible fervor flow surging forth. He would not be able to sleep if he did not vent it out.
The young girl has an irresistible force temptation on me. Why did I not realize it in the first five years? Lisa Aria was right. I don’t know the people around me, I don’t know myself too.
Twain patted Shania’s smooth and pert buttocks and said, “Go take a shower. With such good weather, don’t tell we’re going to lie in bed for all day?”
Shania sat up and turned her head toward Twain to make a very tempting request to Twain, “Want to shower together, Uncle Tony?”
Twain gave her a look and said, “I don’t want to.”
Shania shrugged and jumped out of bed. She sashayed past the bed with the model’s strut as she twisted her buttocks to walk toward the bathroom. After entering, she did not forget to poke her head out to ask, “You really don’t want to?”
“No.” Twain looked at the television ahead and said without turning his glance.
“I left the door unlock, Uncle Tony.”
“Are you inviting me in a sense?”
“No, maybe I just forget to lock the door.” Shania giggled as she went in. Then there was the sound of flowing water.
The sound seemed to flow into Twain’s heart, scratching at his heart and making it hard for him to resist.
He looked left and right and muttered, “Take a shower together? Well, that does sound like a good idea…” And he jumped out of bed.
※※※
This morning’s story was just one of many little stories about Twain and Shania’s honeymoon.
The day after the wedding, the reporters captured shots of Shania in a bikini, frolicking by the sea with Twain at Copacabana Beach. The following week, the happy figures of the two of them could be found in practically every corner of Rio de Janeiro.
Twain had never experienced such days the past twenty-six years of his life. He felt infinitely happy. In the streets, when the mood struck him, he would embrace Shania and French kissed her as if they were alone. He did not care even if he knew that there were reporters hiding in secrets places to secretly shoot.
“It looks like their relationship is really good…” In the beginning, the media could promote the two people kissing in the streets. Later, they discovered that Twain treated this kind of thing as a common thing, so they could only say so.
※※※
Good times were always brief. As an English Premier League manager, he did not have a whole month to be intimate with his new wife, make love every day, sometimes three times, sometimes twice.
To say it was a honeymoon, it was really just “a honey week.”
During this week, Twain reintroduced Shania to his parents. He had hoped that Shania would regard the pair of elders as her parents. Shania’s behavior made Twain very satisfied. She used her recently learnt Mandarin to address them as “Papa” and “Mama” when they met, which made the two old people laughed in delight and as happy as can be—they just gained a beautiful Brazilian daughter.
Having the time of his life, he did not think about anything else and just spent a wonderful week alone with Shania, which soon passed very quickly.
Although there was still time, Twain did not stay on in Brazil to play. He took Shania on a “tour of Latin America.” Even though they were on a holiday, Twain was in fact inspecting the excellent young successors around, to see if there was any chance of spending very little money to unearth a talented teenager who could become a big star player. But the biggest problem with selecting talents in South America was that these young players might not be able to obtain work permits from the English Football Association and the Department of Labor.
They traveled through Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay… and all the way up to Mexico which was Twain’s last stop.
He wanted to go take a look at the development of Martín Galván, who was bought by the Forest team two seasons ago.
He was overjoyed with the result.
Although he was not yet seventeen years old, Martín had made several appearances in the Mexican league tournament on behalf of Cruz Azul. Furthermore, he scored five goals and had seven assists. He was also the midfield core of the Mexican under-17 team, wearing the number 10 jersey.
Over time, the kid would surely grow up to be the talent Tony Twain needed. The worry now was not to let him suffer injuries during the most crucial stage of his development. Therefore, Twain did not want the Cruz Azul to let Martín compete too much.
He was afraid that to spoil him through excessive enthusiasm and cause Martín to become like the fable of [Decline of Zhongyong]. Out of concern, Twain and Martín talked alone once. Twain had a amiability and affinity with the young players—of course, it was before the youngster became his First Team player—even though this was Martín Galván’s first face-to-face chat with Twain, he did not feel the force from the manager, who had won the UEFA Champions League title for two years in a row. They talked about everything, and Twain asked Martín what was fun to do in Mexico City so that he could bring his model wife to go sightseeing.
From the conversation, Twain knew what Martín’s attitude to the Forest team was—the boy was keen to leave his home country and play in the higher level of football league in England. He also had a sense of belonging to Nottingham Forest.
Twain told Martín not to worry, and that he would have a chance when he was at the age of eighteen—provided he maintained a high level and continued his progress over time. He would not give a mediocre eighteen-year-old a chance to play. He was extremely tough on this point.
Twain did not make an empty promise to Martín. Considering the increasingly severe economic environment, and the stadium’s botched project, Twain anticipated that in the next two to three years, he would not have much transfer market funds to chase the world-class and already famous star players. Giving a lot of opportunities to young people was not a new idea. Leeds United and Arsenal had been setting off a rage of invincible youths in England and European football. So why could Nottingham Forest not do the same?
Before the start of the new season, he had already heard a lot of doubts about him and Nottingham Forest. He did not want to argue with the other party in the media because he believed that facts spoke louder than words. After he really set off the rage, then he could settle the scores.
In addition, there was another purpose in his trip to Cruz Azul. That was to promise Cruz Azul on behalf of the Nottingham Forest Football Club that, even though the current financial situation for the Forest Club was not good, the money to be given to Cruz Azul would still be fully transferred into their accounts.
It must be said that selling Ribéry solved a big problem for Twain and the Forest team. Fifty-five million euros could be used in a lot of areas with meticulous planning. When Wenger used half of the thirty million euros he got for the sale of Anelka to build the modernized London Colney training base, it benefited Arsenal’s countless of players.
Nottingham Forest did not need to build a new training base for the time being. The fifty-five million euros in revenue was divided into two parts. One portion was to maintain the day-to-day operations of the club, including the expenses for various purposes. The balance was to be used as Twain’s funds for the new season’s transfer market to buy the players he wanted.
As for the new stadium, the construction plan would continue to be put on hold until Allan could pull in the money again for the stadium. He heard that he had gone to the Arabian Peninsula this time to raise enough money for the new stadium for the price of selling the stadium’s naming rights, copying what Arsenal did for the construction of the Emirates Stadium at that time.
※※※
After ending the visit to Mexico, Twain made a brief stop in Los Angeles with his young wife and met up with Clarice Gloria and Tom Cruise—the two people “hooked up” due to their connections with Twain and Shania—Not to get the wrong idea, it was a work relationship. Now they had a partnership. Introduced by these two people, Twain also met some of the big stars he had heard and knew of in Hollywood. They spent three happy days and nights there.
Then he flew back to England with Shania.
The honeymoon had officially ended. They did not come from a wealthy family clan, and Shania’s parents were just considered an up-and-coming middle class in Brazil. Therefore, both husband and wife must work hard to earn money to support their families. If they had a baby, they would need more money.
When Shania returned to Nottingham, she started to get busy with the runway shows, film production for commercials and promotional activities for the brands she endorsed.
While Twain met with Evan Doughty and resumed work for the new season.
After more than five months of rest, Twain was starting to get restless and could not wait to start his career again.
But to put it bluntly, what was in front of him now was a big mess. If comparisons were to be made, it was probably better than the team Twain faced after he was knocked to the ground on the back of his head.
Real Madrid really seemed to treat Nottingham Forest as a newly opened supermarket for new players that was still offering discounts. After they poached Ribéry, they set their sights again on Lennon, the right back. They hoped to spend fifteen million euros to buy Aaron Lennon and take him to Bernabéu.
In addition, they had their eyes on van der Vaart for two seasons. This summer, Mijatović thought it was time to make a move. They offered eighteen million euros to buy van der Vaart.
AC Milan hoped to get Arshavin who could play as the forward, winger and midfielder. For this reason, they were willing to offer twenty million euros.
Whereas Juventus had its eye on Nottingham Forest captain, George Wood. The Old Lady was ready to come up with thirty million euros to bring in the steely midfielder whose form was constant even as the team declined. Ranieri wanted George Wood to come and take over from Nedvěd.
But Juventus was up against aggressive rivals.
Inter Milan, Barcelona and Bayern Munich were all interested in George Wood’s defensive ability and the level of attacking capability he was gradually showing. Several years of offensive training had brought Wood’s offense skills to another level every year. One of the simplest, most specific and easy-to-understand examples to illustrate:
When George Wood made his debut at Nottingham Forest during which the famous Football Manager game created by Sports Interactive had the real player data that they were proud of, listed his passes, crosses, shots and dribble, skills, and long shots as 9, 5, 4, 8, 10, 6.
In the latest FM 2009 which still referred to the 07-08 and first half of the 08-09 seasons, the points of these various technical attributes became—passing 14, crosses 9, shots 11, dribble 12, skills 14 and long shots 13.
He was only twenty-one years old and had the potential to continue to develop. And FM had also set his potential at 9, which was a very high number. But Twain believed that after a period of time, Wood’s potential would be set at 200. He had that confidence.
Although Wood’s quality was excellent, it was almost impossible to get him. The more pragmatic approach was to find someone else in the Forest team.
Pepe had been lured by Chelsea and Scolari hoped that the player whom he was proud of in the national team could partner with Terry to become the Premier League’s best center back, pushing Vidic and Rio Ferdinand. As a result, the media speculated that Abramovich might make a bid of thirty million euros for Pepe. Scolari’s rivals were certainly still Real Madrid. After a failed season, Real Madrid had decided to come up with more transfer money to fill in their flawed positions on all fronts.
Eastwood had also been favored by a number of teams. Tottenham Hotspur hope to bring in the “lucky striker” who had always brought victory and championship titles to the club at crucial moments.
Gareth Bale was also lured by Tottenham Hotspur. They promised Bale a higher salary for and more signing fees for Bale’s father and agent. They hoped that the youngster with his outstanding attacking abilities, who could play as a left back and left midfielder, could be taken away from the City Ground stadium at a price of fifteen million euros.
Kompany was favored by AC Milan. With Nesta constantly injured and did not play all season, they were in desperate need of a good center back. The Italian media expected Galliani to bid nineteen million euros for Kompany.
…
Twain suddenly found that his players were so popular… If he sold all these players, let alone the economic crisis, the new stadium could start construction right away.
But could he do that?
If he really did this, he would be the biggest idiot in the world. Similarly, Evan and Allan would not really accept all of these offers.
Nevertheless, the departure of some players were already inevitable…
...
Chapter 726 - Self-reliance
The first thing Twain did when he started his work was turn down the other clubs’ bids for George Wood, Gareth Bale, Pepe, Kompany and the others. Real Madrid’s offer for van der Vaart had also been rejected. But unlike the rejections for the few other players, the reason for this time was not that Rafael was not for sale, but that Real Madrid’s offer was not high enough.
Twain decided to sell van der Vaart after considering it over and over again, based on the following points: Firstly, van der Vaart himself did not necessarily have the desire to stay at Nottingham Forest; Secondly, he could fetched a good price; Thirdly, Twain had already prepared an alternative course of action.
There was still Şahin with van der Vaart gone. Even if Şahin was too young, there was still Tiago. Moreover, George Wood was no longer the midfielder who only knew how to defend.
Although the global economic crisis had affected the financial situation of the football clubs, the Spanish teams were different from the English Premier League teams. They were membership clubs and never had to worry about how to make money—they could not make money as they were non-profit organizations—they only needed to think about how to spend money. For the rich and imposing Real Madrid, that was hardly a problem.
Since Real Madrid saw Nottingham Forest as a supermarket for players, Twain did not mind jacking up the price.
His reply was that they need not bother to talk to him with less than thirty million euros.
He was not afraid to scare off Real Madrid. Anyway, he would not lose out if van der Vaart did not leave. He might be glad to see it happen in his mind.
Real Madrid had yet to react to the new quoted price for a short time. They just knew that Twain would not block van der Vaart’s departure. Then in that case, the next thing was about the money, which was easy to handle.
※※※
The seventeen-year-old John Bostock and seventeen-year-old Nicolás Millán separately received a call from the First Team assistant manager, David Kerslake. He informed them that they did not have to return to the youth team once the team started training in the new season and, but to report directly to the First Team.
The news made the two young guys wild with joy. They had trained in the youth team for a year and finally got the chance to play for the First Team. It might not be good news for the club during the current crisis of not having the money for the team to buy new players, but for the young players, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. As long as they grabbed hold of the opportunity, they could rise rapidly all the way. Success and recognition would be a cinch.
Although Millán was Chilean, he did not have the problem of not being able to play because he could not obtain a work permit. In the past year, Nicolás Millán acquired Italian citizenship and now had dual citizenship for Chile and Italy. He did not need a work permit to be able to play.
In Twain’s new plan, Bostock would team up with Şahin to take on the heavy responsibility of establishing the links in the midfield, while Millán would become the team’s striker to attack and score for the Forest team.
Bostock was already selected for England’s under-18 squad. He had represented the Forest team to play in the FA Youth Cup on several occasions last year. He performed outstandingly and was named one of England’s top ten most promising and hopeful under-eighteen star players by the English media. Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere was number one and John Bostock was in the seventh spot. Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United once battered each other in the contest for him, but in the end it was Tony Twain who profited from the fight. After Twain put him in the youth team for a season, the future member of the England national team finally had the opportunity to prove himself in a higher level of competition.
With Nuri Şahin, who was about to turn twenty-one, the twenty-two-year-old George Wood, the nineteen-year-old Aaron Lennon, as well as the seventeen-year-old John Bostock, the Forest team’s midfield lineup for the new season was arguably the youngest in England.
This could somehow demonstrate Twain’s determination to set off a storm of youthfulness.
Nicolás Millán had already made a splash in Chilean football in Chile. He set the record for being the youngest player to make an appearance for Chile’s Colo-Colo when he played for the Colo-Colo’s First Team at fourteen years and nine months old. His subsequent performance attracted the attention of many teams in Europe. But in the end, Tony Twain struck first and brought Millán to England.
Millán’s technical features had a lot of similarities with Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo. He liked to use the wing to attack the opponent’s defensive line and made use of speed and skill to bypass the defenders. Then he directly threatened the goal. At the same time, he liked to scissor like Robinho.
For more than a year at the Forest youth team, Greenwood successfully made Millán aware of one thing—that being on the wings did not imply that he should limit himself to the sides. He needed to be more comprehensive or he would not survive in the brutal European professional leagues.
Now he was beginning to consciously move to the middle. After all, Twain needed a striker, not a mere winger. But it would take time for this change to happen slowly. It also took five seasons for Cristiano Ronaldo to go from being a winger who could only delight the spectators with fancy techniques in the wing to a killer who scored more than forty goals in a single season.
Twain also did not expect Millán to burst into a dazzling brilliance this season and make a name for himself immediately. Since he had determined to mainly use more young people, he had to be ready to bear the side effects brought on by the young people. Rebuilding the team required time.
In addition, the right midfielder Adriano Moke, who had been on loan for two seasons, was also included in the plan for the First Team this time as Lennon’s substitute. Greenwood was not bothered by it. Originally in the group of players, Moke’s standard was outstanding. Greenwood believed that if he was utilized properly, Moke would surprise Twain. The only problem was Moke’s injury-prone form. He was injured for two months after being loaned out last season.
Along with Moke, the left midfielder, Chris Cohen was also called to the First Team during the pre-season warm-up training camp. Cohen was already twenty-two years old. He did not have any outstanding performance since he moved from the youth team to the reserves. He was loaned out to Sheffield Wednesday last season and suddenly broke out instead. He often played well with thirty-one appearances in the EFL Championship. So much so that when he returned to Nottingham Forest after his loan expired at the end of the season, Sheffield Wednesday’s fax came hot on the heels of Cohen’s ass, asking if Nottingham Forest could sell him. Such a move attracted Twain’s interest. He intended to put Cohen by his side to observe carefully what had happened to the previously unobtrusive player and what were his advantages that he could use.
Compared to the more talented Moke who was more prominent in terms of speed, Cohen was even across the board for the skills indicators and was less prone to injury.
In previous seasons, Twain had rarely drawn so many players from the youth team to the First Team in one go. He was still more confident in those players who had proven their abilities. Even Lennon and Bale were chosen because they had proven themselves in the world before Twain’s transmigration.
This time, Twain completely put aside the so-called super-consciousness—in fact, he did not have foresight. Ignorance of the future actually made him excited. How many of these people would eventually succeed to become the future star players of the football world? Twain looked forward to it when he thought about the possibilities of the future. He felt a greater sense of accomplishment about it than signing Lennon and Bale through cheating.
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The transfer of four players from the youth team to the First Team at a time did not mean that Twain would not make any moves in the transfer market.
Real Madrid’s second bid to purchase van der Vaart was thirty million euros. This time Twain gave a big wave—agreed! Real Madrid’s people then went to discuss individual terms with van der Vaart’s agent. As for whether it could be successfully negotiated, Twain did not care. He only cared about how many players he could buy with the twenty-five million euros.
Arshavin was also tempted by Italy. Juventus hoped to bring in the new Russian tsar for eighteen million euros. In an interview with the Italian media, Arshavin also revealed his desire to leave and seek success in a new league tournament. Even though Nottingham Forest had won two UEFA Champions League titles, it was still considered a small player for him. A traditional powerhouse club such as Juventus was more attractive.
After Twain learnt of Arshavin’s stance, he turned down Juventus’s offer—it was not that he was not for sale, but he thought that the money was too little—and quoted a price which he could accept: twenty-six million euros. It was up to them to accept or not.
Juventus backed down…
Although Juventus refused to engage at the key moment, Bayern Munich stepped up. They made an offer of twenty-five million euros to the Forest team and hoped to bring in Arshavin. Twain stuck to his guns and insisted on a minimum of twenty-six million. Either we seal the deal, or the deal is off.
Bayern Munich hesitated for a while and finally agreed to the price.
Although he did not manage to go the long-established Serie A powerhouse team, Juventus, to be able to go to the Bundesliga traditional powerhouse, Bayern Munich, was also good for Arshavin.
On the same day that van der Vaart signed a personal contract with Real Madrid, Arshavin also struck a deal with Bayern Munich.
The three clubs made the announcements at the same time. Van der Vaart had joined the La Liga powerhouse, Real Madrid for a fee of thirty million euros and signed for four years. He would wear the number 23 jersey. Arshavin had signed a four-year deal with the Bundesliga giant, Bayern Munich for a transfer fee of twenty-six million euros.
The media had mixed reviews about the two transfers. Arshavin’s departure was understandable and acceptable. After all, he was not the core of Nottingham Forest’s offense. But van der Vaart’s departure was thought to be Tony Twain’s muddled move. How would Nottingham Forest play next season now that it had lost the playmaker in the midfield? Was he going to use Žigić and play long balls? Or would he completely just attack from the sides?
Nuri Şahin was not a player on the same level as van der Vaart at all in the eyes of the people. It was a pipe dream if he wanted to replace van der Vaart and play the role of the Dutchman. As for Bostock? He was too young…
In that case, what did Twain had in mind for selling van der Vaart so easily for thirty million?
In fact, Twain did not think much. He did intend to put Şahin in place, with Bostock to assist. But if it turned out that Şahin was too young to take on such an important role, Twain had a back-up. The back-up plan would require him to take a greater risk, and certainly invite the media’s harsh rebuke. But for Twain, the sense of accomplishment would also be the greatest.
The back-up plan was simple and nothing new. It was also not necessarily clever—he would let George Wood be in charge of organizing the attacks.
It was exciting, wasn’t it? To let a blue-collar worker become a white-collar worker and a gold collar worker. This was Albertini’s highest expectation of George Wood when he was still in the team. Twain believed that after so many years of training, it was time to give Wood a chance.
If Wood succeeded, then he would have a defensive midfielder who was an all-rounder in the midfielder, good in defense and offense, could run endlessly and be able to counter-press in the front field to launch an attack. If he practice his goal scoring well … he felt like this was fantastical just thinking about it.
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Arshavin’s departure compelled Twain to continue adding players to the forward line.
Nicolás Millán had talent, but he was too young and lacked experience to play in the European football arena. Therefore, he must not expect too much from him. Van Nistelrooy was still in recovery and was not expected to return to the pitch until the end of the year. It was not clear how much of a role he would play even when he returned. He naturally had to focus on training Žigić. But having only Žigić alone was clearly not enough. Eastwood was the most stable force in the team’s forward line at the moment. Although he suffered from minor injuries, it did not affect his goalscoring rate. He was the type of striker who always saved the team with goals at key moments.
He was Twain’s most reassuring striker.
In addition, he needed a fast and impactful striker.
Twain set his sights on Aston Villa. He was interested in Gabriel Agbonlahor who performed outstandingly last season and made thirty appearances for Aston Villa. He scored ten goals and made six assists.
Agbonlahor was very fast in speed, especially with his lauching speed. He could easily shake off the defenders marking him in parallel positions, and play both center forward and winger, which was very much in line with Twain’s desire for the players to be versatile.
For such a player, Aston Villa certainly would not let go easily. Twain decided to throw money at them.
Anyway, Evan said that since the stadium’s new construction was temporarily suspended, the club would naturally fully support Twain’s moves in the transfer market.
No matter how much money, as long as the club could afford, they would try their best to support.
Twain was grateful to Evan for this. He knew that Evan was counting on the club to make money, and he was thankful that Evan was a smart businessman with a long-term vision. Otherwise he might have sold the club during the economic crisis—although no one could know for certain if there would be still many people who were interested in buying a football club at this time.
Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa were at an impasse over Agbonlahor.
Aston Villa was determined not to sell. Their attitude was as tough as when they turned down Liverpool’s bid to buy the team captain, Barry last summer. However, Tony Twain tirelessly praised Agbonlahor’s outstanding performance during last season in the media and was generous in expressing his appreciation for the player. He was actually waiting for his own men to settle Agbonlahor’s agent. As long as Agbonlahor came forward to state his desire to leave, then Aston Villa would have to seriously consider whether to let go of the speedy player.
Just as the Forest team was engaged in a covert battle with Aston Villa, the future of Sun Jihai was also place on the desk for Twain.
The player’s fate was not as easy as what Twain had previously thought.
Imperceptibly, there was a line linking him to the future and fortunes of the club.
...
Chapter 727 - The Setting China Sun
With regards to Sun Jihai, Twain’s attitude towards him was very complicated. He personally persuaded him to come to Nottingham Forest in the first place. There was no denying that Sun Jihai was originally here because he was Richards’ replacement. It might not be fair to Sun Jihai himself to put it this way, but it was the case. But Twain was well aware of Sun Jihai’s performance after he came to the Forest team. He was a dedicated professional player. His attitude made up for the lack in his level. Overall, Twain was relatively satisfied. There was no incident other than some Chinese media which complained that Twain had not given Sun the main position.
But as his age increased and the frequent occurrence of injuries, it was indisputable that he gradually lost his place in the team. Now Sun Jihai could not even play as the substitute defender. More often than not, he could only be with the reserve team to participate in the games. Even if the Forest team was extremely short of people, Twain did not give him any chance.
During the period, the Chinese media attacked Tony Twain for being unkind to the Chinese player.
But Nottingham Forest was not a charitable organization. The players who did not have the ability and could not keep up with the team’s needs would naturally be eliminated. Sun Jihai was not a direct line of descent of the team and was not an indispensable player. Even if he highly motivated… he was not the only one with a high drive in Nottingham Forest.
Sun Jihai’s contract with the team officially expired next summer. Twain had no plans to give Sun Jihai a new contract. Not only that, he decided to sell Sun Jihai this summer. Now there were two EFL Championship teams which had expressed interest in Sun Jihai. They would not lose too much if the deal was managed well.
Both Sheffield United and Crystal Palace wanted to get the Chinese all-rounded defender.
But they had only expressed their intention to buy and had not yet made an official offer.
Just as Twain decided to wait and see for a period of time, Evan approached him in the hope that he would reconsider the contract renewal with Sun Jihai.
Twain was surprised when he heard the request.
“What’s the matter, Evan? I remember that we previously had a common view of Sun Jihai’s future.”
Evan smiled and did not immediately answer Twain’s question. Instead, he brought up Allan’s matter. “Didn’t you always tell me that plans can’t keep up with changes? You know Allan’s been out there looking for sponsorship for the new stadium project. He first found the Arabs. Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium was built with the backing of the Emirati people, at the cost of a decade’s naming rights. I think this is a very suitable price. But…” He spread his hands.
“The Arabs have agreed to fund the project, but they asked for a spokesman for the clubs to nominally monitor whether their funds are used appropriately. As a matter of fact, … I don’t have to spell it out and you understand, don’t you?”
Twain nodded.
“I don’t want to add a senior manager in the club that I’m not familiar with, no matter how much money he represents behind him.” Evan Doughty said with a laugh. But it let Twain understand that the man actually had a big appetite for power.
“Furthermore, China has done quite well in the worldwide financial crisis. So, Allan set his sights there…”
At this point, Twain finally interjected, “Have you found the moneybags from China?”
“Not yet.” Evan shook his head.
It was odd but Twain was somewhat sorry.
“In other words, rethinking the contract with Sun Jihai . . . Is it because we want to send out some hints to potential investors in China?” Twain was not stupid. He quickly straightened out the relationship between the two.
“Dunn told me that people in China are very disappointed with their own football. Under such circumstances, the only thing that can make the Chinese fans feel a little proud, besides Dunn himself, is the Chinese player, Sun Jihai still playing for the Forest team. He is now the only player from China who still plays in Europe’s top leagues.”
Shao Jiayi, who originally played for Cottbus, had been put up for sale by the team and sold to 2. Bundesliga. Zheng Zhi was also struggling in the English Football League Championship. Every time there were rumors that a certain Premier League team interested in him, it was ultimately just wishful thinking on the Chinese people’s part.
As for those young players whom high hopes had been placed…. they were currently not doing well.
Against such a backdrop, Sun Jihai and Dunn were the only solace for those Chinese fans.
Dunn was the hope of the Chinese coaches, while Sun Jihai… was obviously not the players’ hope, but he could long been considered the most successful out of all the Chinese players abroad. And it was estimated that for a very long time, there would not be a successor who could surpass his current position—the first Chinese player to go abroad, the first Chinese player to make his appearance in the European arena, the first Chinese player to score in the European arena, the first Chinese player in the UEFA Champions League, the first Chinese player in the English Premier League, the first Chinese player to win The Double… the countless “firsts” that were tagged on him by the enthusiastic Chinese media and fans.
Looking at these achievements, he really deserved the title of “The first successful Chinese player.”
Even if he was old, his form had declined and he made few appearances, as long as he was still on the Forest’ First Team squad list every year at the start of the new season, it was the biggest consolation for the Chinese fans who had no other demands.
Twain felt very sad. The greatest consolation in for the country’s football could only play as the second team substitute and was already on the verge of being abandoned by the team.
“I see.” Twain nodded and said, “I will reconsider giving Sun Jihai a new contract. But he must accept a pay cut. You know, he’s not in my plans for the new season.”
Sadly, the greatest consolation was already of little competitive value for the Forest team. The only reason he could stay was simply because the club wanted to use him as a cover to drum up funds from China. He went from a professional player to a flag hanging in front of the door to attract the bankrollers.
Evan left with a satisfied smile, and Twain looked at the two clubs’ faxed requests for quotes on the table in a daze.
If he wanted the two clubs to make their offers, how much would Sun be worth?
A million? Or a million and a half? Maybe… not even a million?
Sun Jihai’s presence in the team was minimal, perhaps because he was Chinese and relatively low-key. His lifestyle habits were not the same as the other European teammates. He never attended those parties with a lot of sexy girls to set the mood. He also did not go to nightclubs to relax. After each day’s training, he drove home alone to spend time with his wife and children. He would play with their children in their grassy backyard. Twain had once accompanied Dunn to Sun Jihai’s house for a small Spring Festival celebration in the previous year’s Spring Festival. While Dunn and Sun Jihai chatted in Mandarin, Sun Jihai mentioned his desires—“in fact, I don’t have many desires for life. I’m here alone to make money, to feed my wife and children. How can I not work hard? My wish is to work hard and make money. Make more money while I still can. I can live a better life after retirement. I don’t think about anything else… My teammates are really good to me, but I can’t hang out with them. After all, we are not from the same world.”
His life was so simple that it was boring, but he was long used to it. Playing in Nottingham was a job for him. His children had gone to school in Nottingham and were educated in England. But when he retired, Twain believed the family would return to China immediately. With the savings from the years he had worked hard in the United Kingdom, he could live like any ordinary Chinese.
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Sun Jihai did not know the connection between the club and China that surrounded him. He also did not know if his fate and future had changed somewhat due to these things.
His agent had previously informed him that two English Football League Championship teams wanted him to join. Sun Jihai wanted to see what the Forest team had to say first. Anyway, there was still one year left in the contract. He was not in a hurry to sell himself. If he were to join those teams in a year’s time on a free transfer basis, he could perhaps attract more buyers.
On top of that, after the team’s vacation ended, he only came to the training ground on time every day to train, and then drove home after the training. He would occasionally receive several media reporters from China, sign autographs for the Chinese students outside the training ground or somewhere else and take photos with them. He spent his days the same way as any previous season.
Until one day, Tony Twain called his agent, wanting to discuss the contract renewal negotiations with him.
The news surprised Sun Jihai—he was not an idiot, nor a hot-blooded teenager who liked to let his imagination run wild. He was aware of his place in the team. If the Nottingham Forest club was smart enough, the best option would be to sell him this summer. In that way, they could still receive a little money. Otherwise, after a year, they would get nothing. He thought so because he was certain that the team would not renew his contract.
He did not expect Twain to want to talk to his agent about renewing his contract.
His agent was not surprised by it. He vaguely heard that the club’s marketing manager, Allan Adams was campaigning in China.
He felt he could secure a good contract extension for both Sun Jihai and himself.
Twain gave Sun Jihai a new contract for a two-year extension starting from the summer, but Sun Jihai must accept a fifty percent pay cut.
Sun Jihai’s Chinese agent rejected Twain’s contract. He thought it was totally unacceptable to reduce the pay by fifty per cent. Because this contract was not based on the original contract to renew two years. Originally in the new season, Sun Jihai could still take one hundred percent of his salary. Once the contract was signed, he would lose half of his income. This was the main reason why he disagreed.
They could completely turned down the contract and had no qualms taking one hundred percent salary for a year until the contract expired next year before they moved to another team on a free transfer.
However, Twain would never agree to the other party’s proposed condition that the salary level remained the same. The team was now racking its brains to cut costs and control spending. If Sun Jihai left this summer, it would benefit everyone. As it happened, Allan wanted to seek provincial moneybags in China who were willing to foot the bill for his new plan, so Sun Jihai had become an important player. Even so, Twain would not have allowed a contract for a second team substitute to be offered the same salary as before.
He laid his card on the table to the other party that Sun Jihai’s level was no longer worth his original salary—he certainly did not put it in those exact terms as it would be too hurtful to say so. He spoke tactfully. He only gave the Chinese agent an example that no club in the world would offer such a contract for a player who was soon retiring. Even if AC Milan’s Maldini had to accept a pay cut, what more a Chinese player?
The agent also made it clear—since the club thinks that Sun Jihai still has his uses, then you should meet our requirements.
Twain said it was not possible. He could meet reasonable requirements, not the sky-high asking price. So, in order to show good faith, they should simply meet each other halfway—a twenty-five percent pay cut.
The proposal was approved by the other party. Then it was simple. Everyone would meet together, sign the papers, and have a glass of champagne to celebrate.
Sun Jihai would continue to belong to Nottingham Forest for the next two years. He would be thirty-four years old when his contract expired. At that time, whether he intended to continue to make a living in England or return to China to play for Dalian Shide, it was not something Twain had to worry about. Moreover, maybe next summer there could be a few inquiries and faxes on how much Sun Jihai could be sold, would appear in his desk again.
If Allan could really attract money from China, then who would worry about whether Sun Jihai would still be able to stay in the team?
Twain was not a philanthropist for Chinese football. He had no time to cultivate a savior for Chinese football, or to establish a flag-bearer.
After Sun Jihai’s affair had been settled, there was good news on the other side.
Agbonlahor laid the cards on the table with the Aston Villa club. In a private discussion with Martin O’Neill, he told the manager that he wanted to play for Nottingham Forest. The reason was simple: he had confidence for Tony Twain. He believed that going to Nottingham Forest could satisfy his desire to win honors. Tony Twain was a manager who could lead him to victory and glory, even if he had just recovered from a heart attack.
Martin O’Neill could not convince Agbonlahor. The boy was apparently captivated by Tony. Twain’s charisma.
Aston Villa began to seriously consider how much of a price tag would be enough for Agbonlahor…
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Three days later, Nottingham Forest announced that they were signing the nimble striker, Gabriel Agbonlahor from Aston Villa for a transfer fee of sixteen million pounds.
In the new season, Agbonlahor would wear the number 18 jersey left by Arshavin. He would run unhindered through the Forest team’s front field and crush each of their opponents with speed.
After Anelka, Twain finally had a fast striker of true significance.
If it was previously said that van Nistelrooy and Žigić were more like a heavy hammer, Agbonlahor was like a sharp dagger. With hammers and daggers, Twain could easily face all styles of enemies …
...
Chapter 728 - The Young Guard
The transfer fee of 16 million pounds had used up almost half of Nottingham Forest’s budget for the season. Twain had to come to a decision over whether he should spend the remaining money on a top-class player or on several cheaper, average players who could each play at different positions in the team next.
However, it was not a hard decision for Twain to make.
In his heart, he knows that Nottingham Forest is a team that will rise from the ashes and emerge as a force to be reckoned with once again. Therefore, there is no need to spend money acquiring average players. He decided that he should assemble the ‘best army’ and bring in everything that is needed for the team’s rebuild in one fell swoop.
He had his eyes set on Valencia CF’s David Silva.
Unfortunately, he faced a huge obstacle in his pursuit of David Silva’s signature, because Nottingham Forest was not the only club who had their eyes on Silva. Big clubs such as Real Madrid, Barcelona, Liverpool and AC Milan were also looking at him. Nottingham Forest was not a club that stood out when compared against these other clubs.
Twain decided to use 30 million pounds of his transfer budget to purchase Silva, but he was only going to pay in instalments. This payment method was not accepted by Valencia CF, however.
Valencia CF had performed well for the first-half of last season. However, the team gradually slipped down the table as the season progressed. The club’s financial problems had not been solved, and was only made worse with the arrival of the economic crisis, which forced them to consider selling David Villa and David Silva for money despite being adamant initially that neither player was up for sale.
When news that both Villa and Silva were available broke out, the big clubs pounced on the opportunity like a pack of wolves who had rushed in at the scent of blood.
Real Madrid led the race for David Villa’s signature, whereas competition was fierce for David Silva.
In the end, Nottingham Forest proved to be no match against the other big, wealthy and successful football clubs.
After his plan to acquire Silva ended in a failure, Twain came to realize that he needed to change his mindset. Rather than pin his hopes on being able to buy established and famous players like Silva, he should look at getting younger players into the team instead.
Hence, he decided to shift his attention onto acquiring Britain’s gifted young players.
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Right as Twain was wondering over how he should build up his team, his friend, ‘Crazy’ Stuart Pearce, gave him a call and recommended a player to him.
“I’m not recommending him to you because I have anything to gain from this transfer, Tony.” Pearce said. “I just don’t want his future to become bleak. His contract with his club expires in summer, but he doesn’t want to continue staying in that League One side. He is looking for a bigger stage to perform on. I also think that he would not be able to improve as a player if he were to keep playing in League One. There are a few clubs after him right now, but I believe in you, Tony, which is why I recommended you to him when he approached me for suggestions.”
Twain had been listening to Pearce go on and on without mentioning the player’s name. Therefore, he had to ask, “Who is he and who does he play for?”
“Joe Mattock. Leicester City’s left back.”
Twain realized after hearing the name that it was a name that he has heard numerous times before. The British media had hailed him as one of the top 10 youth players in Britain. He is only 18 years of age and has already been given a place in Britain’s national U21 team by Pearce. He has amassed a lot of experience as a first team player in League One. He is physically strong and good at defending and going forward to attack.
There are several clubs who are interested in getting his signature. Twain could not believe that Pearce had actually recommended him to a player of this caliber.
“No problem, no problem at all, Stuart. I promise you I will help you groom him into a much better player than he is now.” Twain naturally agreed to take the player into his team. How could he possibly say no to such a good deal?
They might have Leighton Baines and Gareth Bale in the team right now, but considering how Bale has to play as the left midfielder from time to time, it was a good idea to get another left back to fill in the gap during those occasions.
Additionally, Joe Mattock is very young and will be a good investment for the future.
All in all, it was a good deal for the club.
Pearce had not lied to Twain. Just two days after he gave Twain a phone call, Mattock’s agent turned up at the club to negotiate a deal.
What both parties had to do next was simple. They agreed on personal terms for Mattock and put pen to paper straight away. Nottingham Forest acquired one of Britain’s most promising left backs without spending a single penny.
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The Forest team made progress on trying to bolster their strength on other positions as well.
Even though Nottingham Forest was a team that did not appeal to foreign football stars and was also a team that did not have the finances to compete with bigger clubs like Real Madrid, Chelsea and Manchester City for those players, but in the eyes of the local British youth players, they are a team who is known for their abilities to groom young players, and they also have a charismatic and unique manager in charge. Nottingham Forest was an appealing team for those youth players to consider joining.
At the end of June, Charlton officially announced that their up and coming youth player, Jonjo Shelvey, was sold to Nottingham Forest for 2 million pounds.
The fee paid by Forest was quite high given that Shelvey was still a player who had yet to reach 18 years of age. However, Shelvey was worth 6 million pounds last summer. If it was not for the ongoing economic crisis that forced many other clubs to become even more careful with their expenditures, it would have been impossible for Twain to obtain the captain for Britain’s national U16 team for only 2 million pounds.
Shelvey might only be 17 years of age, but he was already quite famous in Britain. He made his debut for Charlton when he was only 16 years and 55 days old. He came on a substitute for the captain of the Chinese national team Zheng Zhi in that game.
However, Shelvey had already attracted the attention of numerous football clubs prior to that as well. In 2007, he captained Britain’s U16 national team that was crowned champions in the Victory Shield. He played as a midfielder in that game and scored 3 goals. He was already a goal scoring machine when he was playing games for Charlton’s youth and reserve team.
However, Twain does not expect Shelvey to be able to make an instant impact in the team and score lots of goals for them. The reason why he bought Shelvey is because he saw potential in him to become a great player in the future. This is in line with what everything that Twain has been doing during this summer so far, which is to lay the foundation needed for the future of the club.
Other teams such as Sunderland and West Ham United were also in the race to sign Shelvey, but what allowed Twain to triumph over them in the end was because he was Tony Twain.
Twain has made a name for himself these few years, and there are many people who like him as there are many who dislike him. He is called the ‘Arsene Wenger of Britain’ because of how he shows a preference to playing youth players in his team, and this makes him an attractive destination in the eyes of numerous youth players.
This advantage that he has over other rival teams is not only shown through his acquisitions of Joe Mattock and Jonjo Shelvey.
Victor Moses was also another player that became a part of Nottingham Forest this summer. He was an 18 year old forward who played for Crystal Palace. He was born in Nigeria, but his family emigrated to Britain when he was five. He signed a four year contract with Crystal Palace when he turned 16.
Just like any other football player from Africa, he was physically strong and possessed exceptional pace. His football techniques were remarkable as well. His only flaw was that his heading ability was average at best despite being 185 cm tall and having a strong body.
Twain wished to use Moses primarily during squad rotations. Moses would play for the first team, reserve team or youth team when needed.
Besides those three players, Twain also had his eyes on Sunderland’s all-rounded midfielder Jordan Henderson. Henderson could play in numerous positions such as the right midfielder, central defensive midfielder and striker. He once led the Sunderland youth team into the finals of the FA Youth Cup.
Twain wanted to buy Henderson and groom him further, but Roy Keane did not budge even though they were friends. He was adamant that Henderson was not for sale.
Despite his failure to purchase Henderson, Twain was content with his summer signings. He had focused more on getting British players this season due to the upcoming implementation of the 6+5 rule in 2012.
Twain believes that the youth players would all become great players in the future as long as they can groom them properly and the players put in effort on their side. Of course, injuries also need to not pay them a visit that often.
The potential that those youth players have is right there waiting to be properly utilized.
※※※
Contrary to their aggressive style of buying loads of players in the past years, Nottingham Forest announced during the start of July that the club would not be buying any other players for the rest of transfer window, and that the player list for next season has been confirmed.
This piece of news shocked the British media.
Who exactly did Forest bring in during the summer?
They have promoted John Bostock, Nicolás Millán, Adriano Moke and Chris Cohen from the youth team to the first team, but this does not count as bringing in new players into the team. All they have done is look inwards for new players.
They got ex-Leicester City left back Joe Mattock on a free transfer, paid 2 million pounds to get the current captain of Britain’s U16 national team Jonjo Shelvey from Charlton, and paid 3 million pounds to bring in Crystal Palace’s gifted forward Victor Moses.
Gabriel Agbonlahor was Nottingham Forest’s biggest expenditure for the summer at 16 million pounds. He was also the only established player that Nottingham Forest bought this summer that the media thought would perform well in the Premier League.
Agbonlahor has already proven himself after his stint at Aston Villa, and there was nothing else that he needed to prove at Nottingham Forest. He was a player who could be used in games straight away.
The resolute ‘anti-Twain’ Carl Spicer sarcastically mocked Tony Twain for his joke of a transfer window in his column:
“When he got married to his supermodel girlfriend, he was all gung-ho and went to great lengths to make sure the whole world could witness the scene as he kissed Shania. But, when it comes to bringing in new players for the Forest team, he acts as though he has his hands and feet bound and has done little but save money for the club. Look at the players he bought… The only player that I approve of is Agbonlahor. As for the rest of them… If Mr. Tony Twain’s main intention for buying those players is so that he can sell them for a higher price in the future, then I must applaud Mr. Tony Twain for having an excellent business sense. Everyone knows that Nottingham Forest Football Club is going through a hard time. Their new stadium got discarded in Clifton right after the workers finished laying out the foundation needed for its construction, as though it is mocking its American owners for being overly ambitious. The club is in dire need for money currently, and what should they do to solve this issue? The only thing they can do is to sell players, obviously. So, they find numerous young players from all over the country who have the potential to go on to become football stars, and they groom them for a few seasons before selling them for a high price… That is a good business strategy.
However, if Mr. Twain intends to rely on those players to bring Nottingham Forest back to the top, or if he thinks buying those players is all he needs to have decent results in the league, then I’m sorry, allow me to laugh for three minutes. Is Nottingham Forest really in such dire straits that they are choosing to rely on a bunch of kids who are probably still feeding on their mother’s milk? Or is it that all Mr. Tony Twain is aiming for is to avoid relegation next season? And then get the team to make occasional appearances in the Europa League… Oh, that reminds me, he has yet to clinch a Europa League trophy! This lends credence to my earlier speculation. But, allow me to be blunt, Mr. Twain. With your current squad, it would be a challenge to even get into the Europa League…”
The article was full of sarcasm, mockery and distrust towards Twain, and some of the words used were of a derogatory nature. The article led to a buzz after it was published in The Daily Telegraph.
Everyone knows that Carl Spicer has a long-standing agenda against Twain. However, if you take away the strong words that he used in the article, everything he said has actually hit the nail on the head.
The current Nottingham Forest without Piqué, Bendtner, Ribéry, van der Vaart and Arshavin was a team that consisted mainly of young, inexperienced players and it lacked competitiveness.
George Wood was definitely still a player that everyone could trust, and other players such as Gareth Bale and Pepe have both proven themselves to be good players as well.
As for Tiago, it remains to be seen if he is truly suitable for Nottingham Forest.
Twain’s insistence on giving Žigić a chance to prove himself next season was also worrying. After all, it was not as though Twain has not misjudged players in the past.
Eastwood’s ankle and knee are both quite fragile. No one knows when is the next time he has to lie on the operating table.
Şahin? That kid has yet to prove whether he is able to regain that form that he showed before he got injured. His performance so far has been largely inconsistent. Of course, from a neutral standpoint, his inconsistent performance has been influenced by the team’s poor performance as a whole.
Petrov? He is getting on with his age and has lost a lot of pace. His attacks are also a little too one-dimensional.
Kris Commons? All right, let’s be frank. We have nearly forgotten about him…
Tony Twain might be called ‘Britain’s Arsene Wenger’, but he is still immensely different from Wenger, and Nottingham Forest is not Arsenal either.
Even Arsenal did not manage to attain any notable results with their exceedingly talented youth team. They failed to become champions in the Premier League, did not win the Champions League, was eliminated in the quarter finals of the EFL Cup and did not progress beyond the semifinals for the FA Cup…
It goes to show that it is not beneficial to have a team that is made up of very young players if the team wants to become champions of a particular competition. It is impossible even if you have a team like Arsenal’s with 23 young players who are overflowing with talent.
What you need to become champions is not talent or an exceptional gift that excites people. Rather, what you need is an abundance of experience and the ability to perform consistently. Of course, you need luck on your side as well.
If Tony Twain truly intends to rely on a bunch of kids to stage a comeback, he must certainly be building castles in the air!
We would not mind mocking him when he fails. After all, he has a nuclear-powered heart right now. Even if his heart stops all of a sudden, he would be revived on the spot.
He will not die.
Tony Twain is a scourge. Scourges typically have long lives…
Of course, we would be more than happy to watch him ridicule himself if he uses his heart problem as an excuse for his failures.
...
Chapter 729 - The Future Belongs to the Young
Carl Spicer criticised Twain’s recruitment strategy for the summer in his column. He believes that Twain is living in a fantasy if he intends to employ a team made up of young players next season.
His views were met with approval from numerous media outlets and led to the successive arrival of various other criticisms.
Some of those criticisms were against Twain, some were against the club, and some pointed their fingers at the players.
“I don’t believe Tony Twain will be able to achieve any notable results this season.”
“The club spent money buying all these young players, and it will be quickly proven that they have invested wrongly.”
“Nicolás Millán? I’m sorry, I haven’t even heard of the name before…”
“Tony Twain must be dreaming if he thinks he can make the team powerful just by bringing in all these young players with potential. Is he trying to replicate Manchester United’s Class of ’92? This is nothing more than a complete farce in my eyes!”
Even Pierce Brosnan, a journalist for Nottingham Evening Post who has always supported Twain, published an article expressing his concern at how Twain had mostly bought young players over the summer.
He opined that it was worrying that Twain has pinned his hopes on a team of young players between the ages of 17 and 18. He did not doubt that Twain had brought in talented youths, but he felt that grooming these youths is a process that takes time. They might turn out to be great players in a few years’ time, but is Forest going to rely solely on them right now?
He tried his best to be as tactful as he could, and tried to phrase his words nicely as much as possible in the article.
However, his article still angered the King.
He received a call from Twain, and a flood of admonishments came his way the moment he picked up.
“What the hell are you writing about in your article, Mr. Reporter? Are you trying to denounce me? Thank goodness I didn’t plan on publishing an article in a column in your newspaper! If not I’d have become a big f*cking joke! An article written by me scolding the media and the article from you casting doubt over me would have been published at the same time in the newspaper… Mm hmm?”
“But… But, Mr. Twain, I only wrote what I wrote out of concern as a Forest fan…”
“Forest fan? Have you gone onto the streets to interview people? Are those fans worried? Can you represent their opinion?”
“Based on what I understand so far… Yes, they are worried, Mr. Twain. They are all worried about the overly young team that you have right now…”
“They have their reasons to be worried! But you don’t have the right to publish them! Do you know what I’ve been doing every single day besides training the players? I’ve been inculcating the footballing spirit of Nottingham Forest in these youngsters! I’ve been telling them that whatever the media says is bullsh*t, and that they are actually much better than what the media makes them out to be! I’ve been trying to instill confidence in them all this while… And here you are trying to wreck my plans? You have to understand where you are coming from, Mr. Reporter! You are the local newspaper for Nottingham, you represent the voice of Nottingham! You can’t get in my way like this! If we start fighting amongst ourselves, then aren’t we just going to end up becoming the laughingstock of others?”
“But what I’m saying is the truth…”
“Screw your f*cking truth! I’m the only one who needs to know about the truth! What you need to do is to give the youngsters confidence, confidence and more confidence! The reason why I gave you access to the club’s exclusive information is not for you to be loggerheads with me! Are you a Nottingham Forest fan or not? Do you wish for Nottingham Forest to become better, Mr. Reporter?”
“Of… Of course I wish for that…”
“Then you go out there and write a story about how these youngers are the best in the world! The best! It doesn’t matter if you praise them to the skies. Don’t worry about them letting your words go to their heads. It’s my job to make sure that doesn’t happen, Mr. Reporter.”
Pierce felt wronged and was reluctant to do as Twain said, but he could not continue squabbling with Twain over the phone. He was worried that he would send Twain back into the hospital after remembering that he was someone with a heart disease.
“All right… I will accept this suggestion of yours, Mr. Twain.”
Twain’s voice softened a little after hearing his words. “Remember this, Mr. Reporter. You represent Nottingham and you are the voice of Nottingham Forest. No matter what happens, you have to always stand on our side. I need voices of support from you. When the other media outlets out there are questioning my team, you have to step out and defend us. Do you know what it means by the ‘atmosphere at our home grounds’? Don’t think that you only get that kind of atmosphere when you are at the stands of the City Ground stadium. What the youngsters need is not the media’s disapproval towards them. It’s praise! Don’t care about anything else. You are only getting in my way if you do.”
Two days later, an article was published on Nottingham Evening Post by Pierce Brosnan. In it, he interviewed the young players playing for Nottingham Forest. The article wrote about how the young players had a lot of fight and resolve going into the next season, and displayed a tightly-knit and optimistic team to the public.
Of course, the article had been published at Twain’s behest. Twain could not care less about Pierce Brosnan and his ‘position as a journalist’. All he cared about are the things that benefit him, and those that do not.
※※※
Twain’s anger towards Brosnan’s earlier article was well grounded.
The truth was that Twain was actually happy that the other media outlets out there were chastising his players. He had only been feigning fury at their words. This was because he could make use of the opportunity to unite the youngsters as one.
It was also the chance for him to bring out the fight in the young players and build up their confidence by telling them ‘Look, the media does not think highly of you lot’. The youngsters are all at the age whereby they can get rebellious, so it is a good way to direct those fiery emotions of theirs towards the media instead. Then, he can tell them that he, Tony Twain, will always stand with them. He will believe in them forever and that they are the best!
Those words would get the young players fired up and itching to prove their abilities on the pitch.
Afterwards, it was up to Twain’s ability to train and discipline the players.
He did not worry about the youths breaking free of his control over them, regardless if the team lost or won.
It was also then that Brosnan came out and showed the world that he was more aware of the situation at Nottingham Forest than others.
All along, the Nottingham Evening Post has been Twain’s spokesperson. It has been admonished by others as a newspaper that was devoid of the principles of good journalism when it comes to issues surrounding Nottingham Forest. However, the Nottingham Forest fans did not share their sentiments. They enjoyed reading articles that praised the Forest team. They would pay attention to the articles published in the Nottingham Evening Post. Nobody likes to read about criticisms against the team they support.
A media outlet that has always supported him suddenly questioned him. That definitely made him feel uncomfortable.
※※※
Nottingham Forest did not make a trip to Asia for money during their pre-season days. Neither did they go to North America. The team did not even step out of Nottingham and visit other areas in Britain. They simply stayed in their training grounds and had practice matches with a few other British football teams.
Twain had arranged for more practice matches this year because he hoped to bring the team together by playing more matches. This would help the young players get used to the way the team plays quicker.
It was also a good chance for him to observe and pick out the players who would be a part of his plans for the coming season. There are things that one cannot discern during training. The best way to judge a player’s abilities is always through actual matches.
Twain found Adriano Moke, the player who Greenwood rated very highly, to be very disappointing after observing his performances over a few practice matches.
His physique, which was prone to injuries, constantly gave him the disadvantage when he was engaged in physical battles with his opponents. He might be good at dribbling and getting past his opponents, but those things mean naught if he cannot get into physical battles with other players. There is no soccer match in this world that does not involve physical contact between players.
If a player is not good with physical battles, then it does not matter how good his techniques might be. He was not a player that Twain wanted.
On the other hand, the player who had not stood out for a few years in the reserve team, Chris Cohen, impressed Twain. His performance on the left flank was noteworthy. His pace and technique did not rival Moke’s, but he performed better on the whole than Moke.
Additionally, what really set Cohen apart from Moke was how he preferred working with the team, unlike Moke who preferred working on his own. Perhaps this has something to do with how he lacks pace and power and is unable to create much chances for the team on his own.
During the practice matches, he managed to make several good passes and was a threat going down the middle from the left flank as well.
Twain decided to focus his efforts on grooming Cohen for the coming season.
As for Moke… He would either get him out on a loan or sell him.
Bostock and Millán’s performaces lived up to Twain’s expectations. Neither of them lacked experience after having already played in plenty of youth team matches. Millán has even played in a first team match before when he was just 14 years of age. Therefore, playing first team matches was not something new for both of them.
Similarly, Şahin’s performance was worthy of praise as well. At the very least, he had displayed a higher level of abilities than other players during the practice matches. His techniques are regarded to be outstanding by the British players, and Twain’s decision to bring him back to the first team also seemed to have strengthened his confidence.
Meanwhile, the left back Joe Mattock’s performance was average at best. He had moments of brilliance, but did not perform better than Leighton Baines and Gareth Bale most of the time. Twain believes that the Premier League might still be a little challenging for a player like him who has only played in the League One so far. Mattock might have a lot of potential in him, but he has to be groomed over a period of time first.
Victor Moses performed well thus far. His physicality and speed allowed him to gain the upper hand during the matches. He was good at breaking through the defense with his speed and also managed to shoot for goal while holding back the defenders. He was a player who could be used during squad rotations.
If everything goes to plan, then as of now, Nottingham Forest’s list of strikers for next season includes Žigić, Eastwood, Agbonlahor, Nicolás Millán and Victor Moses. The first three are players that Twain intends to rely upon heavily throughout the season. The other two players would play games for both the reserve and first teams so as to gain experience and improve themselves through game time. As for what kind of position those two will end up playing in the first team, that will be dependent on the kind of performances they make from now on.
Twain’s most expensive signing of this summer, Agbonlahor, has not let him down so far. The kid’s pace and power turn him into a razor-edged dagger on the pitch. He started in all four practice matches and played till the end for each match. He scored a total of six goals across the matches.
Twain also tried to play him as a winger, and he put in a performance that was to Twain’s satisfaction. Regardless if it was breaking through into the penalty box, or crossing from the byline or shooting, he was good at each and every of them.
The best part of Agbonlahor was how he had publicly declared time and time again about his trust in Tony Twain’s abilities. He expressed that he has never regretted making the switch from Aston Villa to Nottingham Forest, because he believed that he would stand at the top with Twain one day.
His words made Twain overjoyed.
The players who choose to stick with the team through their toughest times are the players who deserve his respect and attention, and a player who specially transferred to the club when it is going through its toughest times is a player he must value.
※※※
This summer feels like a summer that belongs to the young in Wilford.
North Wilford welcomed a new batch of U18 players around the time when Twain was preparing for the new season with the first team.
Every summer, a group of players who has been specially hand-picked throughout the globe would be sent to North Wilford. These players are here to receive the most formal training, and they are all here with the goal of either becoming a professional footballer, or a first team member of Nottingham Forest.
Some of the players are average, but there are also a few talented ones amongst them. Those with talent might get a few more glances their ways by the coaches, but their talent would have little to no impact on their futures. What determines if a player can succeed in the future is not the player’s talent or gift, but rather how much hard work he puts into training and improving himself.
Every year, the head of the youth team would provide the first team manager with a new list of youth players. Talented players who the manager should focus on would also get marked out on that list.
However, how many players on that list can make their way into the first team?
Fewer than few.
There are very few players who went through training at Nottingham Forest’s youth team who eventually ended up playing for the team. This is also why Twain’s promotion of 4 young players into the first team became a topic of debate everywhere in North Wilford.
The young players who were training at North Wilford saw hope through Twain’s actions.
Greenwood looked at the group of fresh faces on the training grounds. Some of the players standing before him have grown up in Nottingham and have managed to rise above the rest after going through numerous trainings that were tailored for different age groups. Others are players with potential who have been brought over by their scouts from other countries. They have all agreed to join Nottingham Forest’s youth team and receive training in Nottingham.
For the young players who grew up in Nottingham, George Wood was their exemplar and someone they should aspire to become.
For the players who came to Nottingham Forest from other parts of the world, Gareth Bale would be the role model for them.
The last batch of youth team players have mostly left the team. Some joined the reserve team while some lucky ones managed to make their way into the first team. As for the rest… They have either been sold to other football clubs in a different tier to theirs, or they have had their contracts terminated with the club and are left to figure out what to do next on their own.
“Firstly, I’d like to welcome all of you to North Wilford.” Greenwood stood before the bunch of kids with his other youth team coaches.
“Next, I’d like all of you to know that your goal is not to stay here forever. Your goal lies in the south…” He pointed in the southern direction. “That’s the training grounds of Nottingham Forest’s first team. A team that has won the Champions League four times is waiting for all of you there! Still, I hope all of you can understand, that the door over there is not open to everyone. Every year we will eliminate many players, and even if you make it into the reserve team, it doesn’t mean you will have a chance to play for the first team. Besides training your hardest here, I also want all of you to put in your best performance before us and the first team manager. Don’t think about doing anything else other than those!”
“I’ve looked at your résumés, and I understand a lot about where you lads have come from and what you have done so far. I truly believe that you are cream of the crop. But you need to prove that you are indeed more outstanding than those who are of the same age as you through your actions and performances! You are not here because you want to play amateur football, right? I don’t want to tell you the success story of George Wood. That is a story that has been reported endless times by the media. All I hope you can understand is that he put in a lot of hard work to become as successful as he is now! From today onwards, each and every of you will be lucky enough to experience what he had to go through! It’s not an experience that will make any of you happy, but I can guarantee you that when the day comes and you are able to shine on the pitch, you will realise that everything you have gone through here is not for nothing!” Greenwood flailed his arms about forcefully.
Chen Jian stood amongst this group of newcomers. He might have trained as a part of the youth team from last season, but he was still allowed to join as a newcomer for this year’s youth team.
Henceforth, he would be an official member of this youth team. This time round, he has come from China and not from a talent show anymore. He was no longer just a ‘guest’ who could only participate in the training and could not represent the team in any competitions. He has a concrete goal that he could work towards. His every good performance would mean something now, unlike in the past when it did not matter whether he performed well or badly.
He wants to become a professional footballer!
It did not matter how much sweat he has to put in for it, or how tough the journey would be for him. It did not matter how the road beneath him would twist and turn.
His goal would never change.
He was willing to gamble everything that he has and give his all for it. He wants to become a professional footballer no matter what.
He was like a soldier who had wandered into the opponent’s territory. There was no way back now. He cannot even turn around. All he can do is to keep walking forward.
And finally, at the end of the road… Checkmate!
※※※
Twain received the new list of youth players from Greenwood. There were 30 names on the list, and some were circled in red.
The ones circled in red are the players that Greenwood thought highly of. They have the potential to make it into the first team and are the ones that they should keep their eyes on and see how he develops from here on out.
Those players were Lee Alexander from Nottingham, Darren Williams from Bishop’s Cleeve, Andrew McLeod from Glasgow, Scotland, and Chen Jian from the distant, far-away country of China.
...
Chapter 730: The Death of an Idealist
As July was about to end, they wrapped up a month’s worth of training and warm-up matches, and Twain had basically confirmed the roster for the first team in the new season.
※※※
Adriano Moke had been suffering recently. When he received a call from the first team, he was very excited as he thought his efforts for the past 10 years has finally been recognised, until the cruel reality still struck him.
The head who always liked to wear shades and rarely smiled did not really give him any approving looks. He could feel that, compared to the players who were drawn from the youth team, his was very clearly treated differently from the rest. Of course, his performance was not exactly stellar…
He realised that the head preferred those who were not afraid of physical confrontation in the competition, who would actively initiate body contacts. Players like him who preferred to avoid body contact were not popular.
Since his promotion to team U16, he suffered a total of three major injuries, the worst one while he had been on loan to Sunderland in the previous season. He admitted that he was afraid of having physical confrontation with stronger opponents, but he also thought that he was not wrong if he could reasonably use his tactics to avoid physical confrontation. Why was there a need for physical confrontation? If he could train to be so technically competent that the defenders were unable to touch him, then there was no need to directly confront them.
Ever since that first injury, he had already been trying to turn these plans into a reality. As such, his techniques improved a lot and he became the best technical player in the team. When he went up against his peers, he excelled in feinting and deceiving , or using his incredible speed to dribble past the defenders. Such methods allowed him to be outstanding in the youth team and impressed the audience easily. Hence, he was determined by Greenwood to be the most promising youth in this season’s youth team.
However, none of this worked all his advantages did not work in South Wilford.
During his debut for Nottingham’s first team in the warm-up match, he faced fierce defenders in the League One team. As much as he wanted to use his techniques to break through the defense, he looked more like he was evading the opponents instead.
He could still remember it clearly. He had hoarded the ball so excessively that, when he lost it to a pair of full backs, he caught a glimpse of the captains shaking their heads from off the field.
During that match, he was substituted out in the middle of the match and sat quietly on the reserves bench. He knew he blew it with his performance, but it was only his first match. Besides, everyone would screw up one match anyways. He continued to comfort himself with this mindset.
However, in the matches that followed, he continued to be substituted out halfway through the match, or swapped in right before the match ended.
On the other hand, there was this this 22-year-old who was still mixing around in the reserve team. He was someone Moke had always been making fun of, the person everyone said had no future because his skills were average. And yet, Chris Cohen performed so well on the first team that he shocked Moke. He was obedient and brave. His performance on the field was outstanding; it was as if he had already played for the first team for several seasons.
Cohen constantly attacked the left lane and actively participated in defending. Whenever he ran back from the offensive half and forced his opponent to run near the corner flag, Moke, who was on the reserves, would sneakily squint to find the head nodding with approval. Why?!
Up till now, he still did not think that he was inferior to Cohen. Whether in terms of talent or technique, he was way better than Cohen. Cohen’s techniques was limited to stopping the ball before passing it, was he even able to lob the ball from the back over his defenders? Could he continuously do step-overs without tripping over the ball? Could he constantly protect the ball while speeding past defenders? Could he lob the ball sufficiently to dodge the opponent’s slide tackles at top dribbling speed? Was he able to spin past his defenders with the ball?
Watching him kick the ball only made Moke frown. Cohen was basically a miner kicking the ball; there was not elegance at all! But seeing Cohen play, Moke thought Cohen had a bigger chance of staying in first team than he did. Moke felt unjust.
※※※
“There are 15 daysto the start of the new season. The big roster will be confirmed by then,” Twain told Dunn and Kerslake in the office. “You guys can settle these matters which would heavily offend people,” He laughed slyly.
“Let me do it.” Kerslake took the initiative to take over this task.
Actually the main aim was to notify the players drawn from the youth team and the second-rate team, and also those youths who recently joined the league teams this summer. Just like how they drew the previous first-team, Kerslake called the players one by one, informing them if they were to stay on the first team to train or temporarily return back to either their youth team or the second-rate team. This was definitely a tough job. Of course, if the players were smart enough, they would understand that these choices were made by their head, Tony Twain.
“Besides, there are three English Football League teams and one League One team who are interested in Kris Commons. If the price is suitable, just sell him.” Twain waved his hands.
Twain was only selling him now, but Commons’ level had been very far off the team’s for a very long time. Twain only decided to sell him now. On one hand it was because of the team’s financial situation, as selling those who could not bring much contribution to the team, would clear up the pay that the club gives to them. On the other hand, it was to prevent Commons from being a bench-warmer forever on the team. Even playing as a starter in the English Football League was far better than wasting his golden years in the Premier League. Although Commons was extremely loyal and did not complain when he was appointed to play as a reserve, Twain still had to make the harsh decision to sell him.
The third reason was because he found a replacement for Commons — Chris Cohen.
In this month, Cohen’s performance was all observed and remembered by Twain. He thought that Cohen’s performance and capabilities was all superior compared to Commons. The fact that he had no complaints about playing for the reserve team for several years was testament that he was the type of player who was willing to accept the fate of being a reserve. Twain loved these types of players the most, those who had potential but no opinions. They would not become the unstable element in the changing room.
※※※
After a day’s training, Kerslake announced in front of the players that some young people would receive his call tonight to know if they would be registered for the Premier League in the next season. For these youths, their most critical moment has come.
Moke returned home, uneasy, then continued to wait for the assistant coach’s call. His heart was filled with lucky fantasies that he still had hope in entering the first team. His basis of thinking came from the previous two warm-up matches. His time on the field was a lot longer as compared to the past. He believed that his outstanding techniques and his fast breakthroughs in the right lane would move the captain.
After a month, he was not as ambitious. He no longer wished to be the most promising young superstar in his team but only to be able to play for the first team in the contest, even if he was only a reserve player. The youth who was initially filled with hopes and dreams had no choice but to throw his unrealistic dreams aside today.
At 9.30pm at night, he received the call which determined his fate.
※※※
David Kerslake held up the contact list of the players and found the name of “Adriano Moke.”This was his last call for today, and the only one that was different.
The previous calls he made had been filled with laughter, but he had to be sterner when he dialed this number. This was no laughing matter.
Kerslake did many things which offended people. Dunn and him were Twain’s closest assistants. Most of the time, when he interacted with the players, Twain had to be likeable to establish rapport with them As such, these smaller matters that would upset the players would be left for Dunn and him to handle. Of course, Twain also did things to upset the players on a larger scale, like scolding people in the changing room.
“Hi, is this Adriano Moke?” The call went through.
“Yes, sir, it’s me!” One could not tell if the voice on the other side was excited or nervous, just that it was different from usual. Kerslake almost thought he called the wrong number.
“Yes…” Kerslake paused. “You really worked hard in the trainings in the team. Frankly speaking, your techniques really impressed me, and your breakthroughs in the right lane were extremely clean as well.” He was not saying any congratulations nor comforting words, it was purely stating Moke’s strengths without beating around the bush. “There was nothing I could do but clap and cheer.”
After the praises…
“However.” Kerslake took the phone away to cough softly. “I’m sorry to inform you that you are not in the plans of the first team. Yes, I’m talking about the current league’s plans. You still have a lot of flaws but we hope you will continue to accumulate experience in the reserve team’s competitions to overcome those flaws. At the same time, you could choose to be loaned out to train as well…”
※※※
Everything that the assistant coach said after was nothing to Moke. He only heard the part where he said “Sorry to inform you that you aren’t in the plans of the first team in the current season.” Everything else was just noise ringing in his ears.
Was it over? That was the only thought in his mind.
He did not even know when he thanked the assistant coach and hung up.He felt unjust.
In the youth team, he had been the most outstanding one. Before he even turned 17, he had already received several invitations from other soccer teams. Those scouts all begged him to sign on to their teams but he rejected all of them. He was a Nottingham citizen, his family had been Nottingham Forest fans for many generations, so he only wanted to play for Nottingham Forest.
Whether it was David Kerslake, Dunn or Greenwood, the successive youth training director back then, were all expecting him to do well. They promised he would have a bright future in Nottingham Forest.
He would become a player as outstanding as George Eastwood, wearing the Nottingham Forest uniform every week to showcase his breakthroughs and dribbling techniques to his supportive fans and also score continuously.
His room had been filled with the greatest soccer superstars in the history of Nottingham Forest team. When he first joined the youth team of Nottingham Forest, he had the same dream over and over again. There would be a day he would retire from Nottingham Forest team and the whole city stadium would be filled with standing soccer fans who would chant his name.
But now, all of these were gone. He could not even get into the first team!
※※※
On the second day of training, Twain and his coaches were all shocked to see Adriano Moke doing his warm-up in the team.Twain gave a glance towards Kerslake
Kerslake quickly explained. “I called him and explicitly told him he was cut.”
“Maybe he just felt unjust,” Dunn commented from the side.
“I…” Just when Twain was about to speak, Kerslake ran out. “Let me talk to him again.”
※※※
“Moke!” Kerslake’s face was blank as he strode to Adriano Moke, gripping his arm with a hand. “What are you doing here?”
“To participate in the training, sir.” Moke’s arm was restricted so he started working on his legs.
“Was I not clear enough on the phone yesterday?I told you that you should join the reserve team for training and competitions.”
“You were clear enough, sir. But I don’t think I’ll improve much on the reserve team.” Moke stopped and stared at the assistant coach of the first team.
Their scuffle attracted the attention of everyone else on the training grounds. The other players who were also doing their warm-ups also stopped doing what they were doing and turned to look at Kerslake and Moke who were huddled together.
“Then you can opt to be on loan to gain experience from competitions. Just like the previous two seasons!”
“Is it for a Premier League team?” Moke responded with a question.
“Then you would need to see if there are any Premier League teams who are interested in you,” Tony Twain’s voice echoed from beside the pair. He glanced at Moke, then turned to Kerslake and said, “Looks like you’re in trouble, David.”
“Very sorry, Tony, ut I—”
Twain interrupted him and interrogated Moke directly, “Did Coach Kerslake not tell you on the phone yesterday? Your capabilities are not up to the team’s standard, But you could use the reserve team competitions or the experience you would accumulate upon loaning out to correct your flaws.”
“But I don’t think I’m that bad. The reserve team and the English League are of no use in improving my standards, captain.” Even when it was Twain he was confronting, Moke did not shy away from his stare. “My techniques are the best in the youth team in the same league and my speed is also very good. You’ve seen me play. Did my breakthroughs by the side lanes not leave any deep impressions on you?”
Twain stared at him for a while, thinking where Moke got his courage from.Then he turned to look at Kerslake.
“He was indeed outstanding in the youth team…” Kerslake awkwardly shrugged. “No one could defend him one-on-one without fouling.”
“I wouldn’t let my players play an official match without fouling,” Twain commented.
“Do you know what your issue is, Moke?” He turned again to ask.
“Physical confrontation. But I have my ways in avoiding these confrontations. I have good techniques and I’m fast. Even if I’m surrounded by three people, I can immediately get out of the situation. I am smart, I know how to leverage my strengths to compensate for my flaws,” Moke spoke like a promoter frantically trying to explain his strengths of his product in his hands. He did not care ho, he just wanted to stay on the first team of Nottingham Forest.
Twain then stared at him again, almost seemingly wanting to see through him.
※※※
When Twain intervened in the scuffle between Moke and Kerslake, the players present no longer cared about the commands of the coach and gathered together to watch what was actually going on.Now they all understood that Moke was excluded from the plans of the new season and felt unjust, which was why he was here to ask for an explanation. This kid was so daring! You all should know this had never happened in the Nottingham Forest under Twain’s coaching.
“Want to bet?” Eastwood asked the bunch of players. “On whether the kid will get to stay? I’ll be the banker. 1 to 20 odds for him staying, 7 to 1 for him leaving”
“Two hundred pounds on him leaving. I don’t like that kid.” Pepe also joined. It was no surprise Pepe disliked Moke. Every time there was training within the team, Moke always picked on defenders like Pepe, who were recognised by the Premier League and European Football, to have a one-to-one confrontation. If Moke could successfully dribble pass them, he would obviously be very excited. This really humiliated Pepe. If their head coach allowed this sort of internal conflict, Pepe could not guarantee he would not sock Moke.
After Pepe placed his bet, more and more players participated. The bets increased by the fifties and hundreds, but not a single person thought Moke would be able to stay on the team.
“Hey! Hey!” The Gypsy suddenly screamed. “At times like these you should be betting on the unpopular option.” If everyone bet on Moke leaving, then after this betting session he would not be able to earn anything… According to the odds, if Moke really stayed, then betting 100 pounds would earn him 2000 pounds. If the bet did not land, then all the money would be given to Eastwood. If he bet on Moke leaving Moke did end up leaving then, aside from his 100 pounds Eastwood would still have to pay him another14 pounds. As such, unless everyone bet on Moke leaving and Moke left, he would just be setting himself up for failure.
“We’ll definitely lose if we bet on the unpopular option. We’re not idiots, Freddy. With these odds, who would bet on him winning?” Everyone laughed. It was not because everyone hated this bubbly kid like Pepe did, but because they knew what would become of people who opposed their captain.
“A thousand on him staying,” George Wood said from outside the group. Everyone turned to look at him, stunned.
“Reason being?” Pepe questioned.
“Someone has to let him earn,” He pointed at Eastwood and said.
“Hey!” Eastwood suddenly frowned, and gave an ungrateful look. Although George Wood shoving his leg was a thing in the past, his opinion towards Wood had not changed. “Don’t worry. If you somehow win, I won’t go back on my word.”
If Wood really won, Eastwood would have to pay him twenty times of a thousand — 20,000 pounds. Even though he was a professional soccer player, this was no small sum.
Someone finally placed a bet on Moke staying, even if it was George Wood, but the others were still betting on Moke leaving. The youths who had just joined this team hesitated for a while but they also joined eventually.
“Don’t you want to go and play as well, Colin?” Bostock, upon placing his bet, was squeezed out of the crowd, and found Colin Cogen rooted at the same spot. “This small bet wouldn’t. The coaches don’t care anyway.”
Colin shook his head. “I don’t gamble.” He looked at Moke who was still confronting the two coaches.
“Moke… this will turn out very unfortunate for him.” Bostock commented as he sat beside Colin. Actually everyone knew Moke looked down on Colin. Perhaps it was because both of them took up positions that were on opposite sides and were therefore often compared to each other. Also, coach was obviously more biased towards Colin, something Moke’s ego could not tolerate.
“He’s a stubborn and pitiful brat.”
Bostock looked at Colin with shock. This was the first time Colin expressed negative views on Moke. Before this, whenever Moke picked on Colin during training, Colin always stayed silent.
“He’s always thought that he was the best in his age group and that he’d have a bright future after leaving the youth team. Hallucinating that he could be the hero who saved a critical match from from the brink of defeat and rise to fame from that. Thinking that, just because he could dribble past five players, he could become a global superstar and represent England to clinch the Europe Cup and World Cup. Thinking that his teammates should work hard to not hold him back, and should strive to make space for him to perform.
“He should be the face of the team, the star player, and the media should flock to him like flies. There would be different girls visiting him everyday and fans would paint him out to be the greatest talent this team has ever seen. Every major soccer club would be at his door waving big cheques and begging him to join their club. Head coaches would threaten the club with suicide if they even thought of selling him.
“When he retired, millions would send him off. A bronze statue would be built outside even before he passed. The most popular fan base will be named after him, the best player award from England will be named after him as well…”
After Colin finish saying all of these in one breath, he turned to look at the surprised Bostock and grinned. “These daydreams, I’ve had them too.”
※※※
Twain took back what he said. “Very well, kid. I’m giving you this last chance to prove your capabilities. Prove to me with your capabilities that I made the wrong call. If you do this, I’ll let you stay. Otherwise, go to where you’re supposed to be.”
“Yes, sir!” Moke nodded excitedly.
Twain turned to walk away, signalling the workers to move a mini-goal into the penalty area. “Place it here.” He pointed at the penalty line on the right side.After that, he stepped on the football and signalled Moke over.
“Two-on-two in the penalty area. I don’t care what method you use to escape the defender and how you shoot or pass to your teammate. If you’re shooting, you need to score. If you’re passing, you need to make sure your partner scores with your pass. This is how you’ll win. Any questions?”
“Is there a goalkeeper?”
“What is the use of the goalkeeper with a goalmouth this small?”
“Can I pick my partner myself?”
“Of course, you can pick who you think is the best shooter.”
Moke looked at the small goalmouth, then pointed at Eastwood who was still busy with calculating the bettings. “Freddy Eastwood. I want Eastwood as my partner.”
Twain nodded. “Very well.” Kerslake then turned to shout. “Freddy! Come over here!”
Eastwood ran over with a face of confusion. “What’s the matter, captain?”
“2 versus 2, you are partners with him.” Twain pointed at Moke. “Both of you from there.” He pointed at the penalty line opposite the goalmouth. “Start attacking from there and up till there. He will lead the attack and you will support him to open up the space. He could also choose not to pass you the ball and score on his own. Just like an actual match.”
Eastwood was stunned for a moment, then chuckled. “No problem, captain.”
“Alright, your team is complete. Let me find opponents for you.” Twain turned to scan the group who gathered to watch the show. Then, he told Kerslake, “Call George and Pepe over.”
Kerslake was confused and did not move at all. “You’re joking, Tony.”
“I’m definitely not.”
“But the both of them…”
Twain looked at Moke who was beaming with confidence. “If he wants to stand firm in Nottingham Forest’s first team, naturally he would need to challenge the best opponents. We are not a team who fights to stay in the league. If he can’t win George and Pepe, he can forget about winning the strongest opponents in the world. Am I right, Moke?”
Moke nodded. “Yes, captain. Competing with weak opponents, I may as well participate in the reserve team matches or choose to be loaned to the English League.”
Twain raised his thumb. “I like this character. Call them over.”
Eastwood, upon hearing this exchange, looked uneasy.
※※※
Kerslake marched over to the players’ front and waved. “George, Pepe, come out!”
After this, everyone knew what the head wanted to do. The crowd was in an uproar.
“Hey, George! You wouldn’t purposely go easy just to win money right?”
“Pepe! Teach that kid some lessons! Stick closely to Freddy and not give him any chances to shoot at all!”
Kerslake did not know whether to cry or laugh after looking at this crowd. Did they start betting on this matter on their own?
Pepe and George stepped out. Pepe looked at the team captain by his side, “I’m going all out, captain.”
“Do you think I’m the type to go easy?” George questioned back.
Both of them followed Kerslake towards the few who were waiting on the other side.
Twain repeated the rules for Pepe and George. At the end, he emphasized, “This is not like training or a show. This is an official competition which determines if we are able to enter the champions cup in the next season! I hope both of you will bring out your fullest potential and attitude. If I were to see someone not putting in effort, you will know what will happen to you.”
Then, he exited the penalty area, making Kerslake the referee for this match.
“Come on, guys. Five rounds, three to win.”
The group surrounded the match to watch this special contest.
※※※
Just like in an actual match, Eastwood started the ball from the “middle circle”, then passed it to Moke. He advanced on his own to assist Moke in distracting Pepe.
However, Moke met George Wood upon advancing with the ball.When both of them were still three meters apart, Moke’s torso suddenly jerked. = The ball then appeared behind his head and flew behind George Wood.It was a heel pick to dribble pass his opponent!
“Wow!” Some were whistling off field. This move was indeed elegant. But for the practical effects…
Wood turned on the spot and stretched both his arms, blocking Moke who was trying to run past him, then he calmly passed the ball to Pepe who received it from behind.
Kerslake’s whistle rang out. “End of round one. George’s team wins.”
There was an uproar by the side of the field. They were definitely not celebrating over Moke’s defeat but actually for their small winnings.
Moke bit his teeth while starting at the calm team captain.Eastwood was crossing his arms by the side.
In the second round, Eastwood passed the ball to Moke as expected, then Moke did his thing.This time, he decided to use his sudden start to change his direction to shake off George Wood who was standing firmly on his spot. He was confident of his speed, even if the team captain was as fast, turning would be a lot slower than breaking through on a straight line right?
After he shook off a tackle, he successfully dribbled past Wood, the defender who needed to turn would definitely lose out. However, just when he was excitedly thinking to continuing to dribble pass Pepe, he was knocked by someone from behind, staggering the ball.
He was trying his best to hold his balance while protecting the ball. But taking a hit from such fierceful body proved his efforts to be futile. He stumbled with the ball as he brought it out of the area. Pepe did not move at all from his initial spot.
“Foul!” He shouted with unjust.
“A reasonable tackle.” Kerslake told him. “This is the end of round two. George and Pepe win this round.”
“Your body is too weak, little kid!” Pepe mocked him.Eastwood gently shook his head.
In the third round, the Romani passed to Moke yet again, and ran forward. But he wasn’t looking forward to this player to pass the ball to him. Pepe clearly thought the same way, he left Eastwood alone and stayed behind George, waiting to attack with George from both front and back.
This time, one could tell Moke was furious from his eyes, he glared at Wood. There was no change in his dribbling speed.
Stepping onto the right, and over the ball.
Wood did not react.
Stepping onto the left, and over the ball.
Wood did not react.
Feigning with his right leg.
Wood did not react.
Right leg back.
Wood still did not react. He was only following Moke’s speed whilst retreating.
Moke then lifted his right leg and continued feigning with the ball. Just as his foot landed, his heel hit the ball. The ball did not roll left, just straight between George’s legs!
The crowd by the side screamed. “This kid did a nutmeg on Wood!”
Wood was stunned for a moment — he did not expect himself to be nutmeg-ed by his opponent — and then he saw his opponent speeding past him.
Pepe was panicking. He had to go forward to defend, but then he saw Wood fiercely turned and chased with giant steps, and just when he was about to be able to hold Moke, he used a hand to hold the kid’s shoulder, and sank his body while pulling his hand, both legs sliding towards the ball under Moke. It was a sliding tackle from behind!
Moke had no time to celebrate. He fell immediately and rolled a couple of rounds with the ball before stopping.
The crowd immediately turned silent. Everyone was thinking, “The captain really did it huh…”
Moke was on fours, and turned to see how George Wood was still in his slide tackle stance. He could not believe what had just happened. Kerslake’s whistle rang as he ran towards both of them, showing a yellow card towards Wood. “It is a foul! This is the end of the third round, George and Pepe won!”
Moke reacted furiously, he jumped from the ground and pointed at Wood while shouting. “Why! He fouled! It was him who fouled! But why did he still win!”
“Because your attack ended.” Kerslake explained.
“But he had to foul to stop me! Aren’t fouls actions which aren’t allowed by the rules?” Moke didn’t want to accept this result, because he knew it was a best of five, losing this round meant he was about to be eliminated.
Looking at Moke’s angry face, Kerslake couldn’t link between him and the person who was delighted most of the time.
“Have you seen a soccer match with 0 fouls throughout its 90 minutes?” The coach who used to coach Moke back in the youth team asked coldly.
“This is unfair!” Moke hesitated for a moment and continued shouting, “Using fouls to stop attacks is unfair! If he didn’t foul, I would have broken through for sure!”
“Nonsense!” Kerslake started shouting as well. “After Wood, there was still Pepe in front. If you had used your time to dribble past Wood to dribble past Pepe, Wood would have rushed back! You continue to dribble pass! Are you able to dribble past 11 people on the field!”
“I only needed to enter the penalty area…”
“Don’t worry, they would have tackled you down before you enter the penalty area, just like what Wood did to you before!”
“That was a foul!”
“Have you seen a soccer match without fouls? What did Tony say just now? Regard this as an official match! In an official match, your opponents would not be unmovable sticks for you to pass through! They are not robots without self-reflections!”
Moke was utterly stunned.
“The rule was to win three out five, Moke, and you lost. Return to the reserve team now!” Kerslake coldly commanded while pointing to the western side of the field.
The players who were watching felt bad. It was undeniable that the stunt he pulled on George was beautiful and awe-inspiring.
“David.” Twain walked over and stopped his assistant. “Let him finish the last two rounds.” Then he turned to tell Moke. “I’ll give you another chance, seeing how you almost succeeded in dribbling past George. I can give you another chance. You can stay if you win just one round. Right now, you are left with two rounds.” He raised two fingers.
Kerslake turned to look at Twain. He did not, in the least, think this was Twain giving Moke a second chance. Rather, it seemed to him that Twain wanted to utterly destroy Moke’s faith because, based on Moke’s performance, there was almost no chance of him winning the next round.
Moke quietly picked up the soccer ball and walked back to the starting point. Eastwood, who was essentially a spectator, sighed and shook his head as he followed.
In the fourth run, Moke decided to charge forward past Wood. But this time, Wood did not even have to turn to determine the position of Moke to hold him in place. Moke then fell over as the ball was intercepted.
There were no discussion or whispers. All the players were stunned. Honestly, everyone knew that Moke was average and he had no chance of winning against Wood, but what stunned them was that Moke was still charging forward to face Wood who did not give any chances even against a weaker opponent. A lot of them thought that, if they were in Moke’s shoes, all they would feel was despair…
Pepe, upon looking at Wood competing with Moke, shrugged by the back and turned to make a wry face to his teammates who were spectating. What kind of a 2 versus 2 match was this? This was just George Wood challenging Adriano Moke on his own. Eastwood and him were just unlucky spectators…
※※※
The fifth round.
Moke continued to challenge Wood on his own. Pepe came over to prepare for the opportunity for him to charge forward once Wood had his back turned on him. Although he knew the odds were small, but he could not let Wood always be the main lead. As for Eastwood? Just let him have his way.
This time, Moke did not charge from the front, but instead dribbled the ball on the side lane, keeping Wood within the inner line and the ball running on the outside, using his body as a wall to block Wood’s tackles and the possibility of a slide tackle. Hence, even if Wood slid, he could preemptively dodge it with a flick of the ball.
After running for a while, he made a feign for a sudden cut. Wood bought it and lost his footing as Moke dribbled forward.
However, how could it be so easy to shake off Wood? Moke was not as naive as before. He dribbled a distance from Wood and adjusted his footing, then he lifted his foot to pass!
Seeing how the ball was going to cross over, he instead lifted a foot from behind and tapped the ball with his heel, causing the ball to change direction and fly out of the area. The group of spectators finally let out the breath they had been holding.
George Wood rushed back at the most critical moment. In the five encounters, he did not allow his opponent to escape his defending area once. Regardless of his measures, he still won.
Upon seeing how the soccer suddenly changed direction and flew out, Moke’s legs became wobbly as he knelt onto the ground. His partner, Eastwood, ran over and told him, “Want to hear my thoughts, kid? The last ball was unfortunate.” He shrugged while walking away.
Wood stood up, wiped the grass on his butt and walked away as well, without exchanging words with Moke at all. Two silhouettes then appeared in front of him, Moke raised his head to see Kerslake and Twain.
“Moke, you lost.” Kerslake commented without any expression.
“Yes, I know, coach…” Moke softly spoke while holding his head low.
“You know you lost, or do you know how you lost?” Twain questioned.
“I shouldn’t have done this alone…”
“What kind of reason is that?” Twain snorted.
“Sorry, boss. I’m not sure…”
Twain lifted his leg and stomped onto the firm ground. “Be realistic, kid. This way, you’ll be able to walk walk further.” Afterwards, he raised his arm to pat Moke. “Your skills are not bad, maintain them. Now, report to the reserve team. If you want to be loaned out for competitions, then go and apply.”
After saying his piece, he also turned to walk away.
“Go back and carefully reflect, Moke. Hopefully, these five rounds today will help you in your road in the future.” Kerslake finally smiled. “You have talent, but soccer is not a sport you can play with just talent.”
Moke opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but he was interrupted by Twain’s voice. Both parties were distracted by what happened on the other side.
“Why are you all in a daze? Go and start training! The show has ended, all of you go back! We have wasted too much time… Freddy! What are you doing!”
“Oh— Boss!”
※※※
By the time Moke looked away, Kerslake had already left. He was standing on the field alone, looking at that bunch of first team players starting their training.
Chris Cohen, who he had always looked down on, was running slowly among the team with his head down. Before this summer, he was only a small shrimp in the reserve team who seemed to have no future.From today onwards, he was a player in the first team, and Moke would have to take his place in the reserve team…
※※※
...
Chapter 731 - Before the Start of the New Season
Nottingham Forest was quiet this summer. There were no news about them that was exciting enough for the media to spread. The China Media discovered that Tony Twain really liked closed trainings. Twain’s “closed training” was not the same as China’s version. It was just the media that he barred from recording the team training. In the whole world, only the official Nottingham Forest’s website had pictures of the training. Even theNottingham Evening Post who had the rights to enter the field to film was stripped of its privilege after offending Twain with its article by Brosnan.
Nobody knew how Nottingham Forest’s conducted their pre-season training. They also did not know the potential of Nottingham Forest in this new season. Would these brats really be useful? Did Tony Twain still have power over this soccer team? Would the club continue to sell or buy players? There was no information at all. Twain even aggressively cancelled the routine press conference on every Wednesday afternoon because there was just nothing to talk about!
The newest information that the media could obtain about this club was from the warm-up match open to outside viewing. However, Twain mixed up the number and sequence of the players in the roster and, after the first half, brought in a massive number of reserves to play. With this, the match results were of no value to the spectators.
Everything Twain did was to reduce pressure placed on the new players on the team, creating a less tense environment for them. But the media did not view it this way, they all think that Twain was trying to go against them as per usual. If Twain wanted to treat the media like this, then he could forget about them having anything good to say!
Although Twain did not reveal any message to the media, this did not prevent the media from fabricating any messages. Hence, articles criticizing Tony Twain, and questioning the current state of Nottingham Forest’s new season were piling up.
The English Media had to acknowledge this much: they could look down on Twain all they wanted, but they had no choice but to rely on talking bad about Twain for the audience to pay attention to them.
Regarding Twain’s methods to have a younger soccer team, doubts originating from the Carl Spicer’s press conference, had not stopped. Following the incoming new season, these voices became louder.
Some experts predict the results of the new seasons had Nottingham Forest as the “middle of the league”, and this was being respectful as well. Some immediately clamoured that even avoiding relegation this season would be a miracle for the team.
Just because Twain allowed the team closed training did not mean he was ignorant to what was happening outside the stadium. He knew what the outside world was commenting about him and his team, but he did not want to argue with the media. This was the first time he did not comment any hopes on his own column regarding the new season — all of these was just to avoid creating stress on the many youths on his team.
There was a great difference between the current team as compared to the previous. Twain also understood this point, he could no longer use the same attitude he used on the previous team, some times his managing methods needed change and adjustment.
He did not want to create too much pressure for these people, but this did not mean that zero pressure would be given. He just needed a suitable time to tell his players what being in the professional league meant. He actually needed to thank the media who had been constantly thinking of adding troubles on him, because they helped Twain to complete the outside environment of Nottingham Forest.
Frankly speaking, Tony Twain was a sly, innately disgusting person who liked to go against the norm. Hence, the team he led would be contaminated by such atmosphere. If the outside world was not as optimal, then Twain would gladly grab the collars of those people, and slap them with his might. The slapping sounds would be music to his ears.
※※※
In the final moments before the start of the new season, the team was doing its final preparations for the new season. Twain and Dunn recreate the new tactics and attacking methods. They could no longer rely on counter attacking as their only method of winning, Twain insisted on having an organizational midfield, because he viewed that the battlefield was a problem he could never avoid.
Van der Vaart’s departure dealt a heavy blow to Nottingham Forest’s new tactics. Şahin was still unable to replace van der Vaart’s position and potential immediately so the team needed to readapt to the new playstyle after changing its core.
In the warmup match, Twain rotated Şahin and Bostock to try out this position, while occasionally allowing George Wood and Tiago to be the ones in the organizational attack. After observing for a few matches, Tiago was eliminated first. Maybe Tiago used to excel in the midfield in the attack last time, but after many years of sharpening, he became the second-rate version of George Wood. But George Wood was performing phenomenally.
Bostock was still a little young. Şahin displayed great potential to be utilized but the warm up match and actual competition had a huge difference. Twain had seen his fair share of players performing brilliantly in warm-up matches only to underperform in the actual matches.Şahin still needed to be reevaluated in the actual competition to truly determine his capabilities. With the mindset of not placing all hopes on one person, Twain decided to focus on the new role by Wood in the attack.
In the new season, George Wood, other than continuing his job as the defensive midfielder, needed to bear several offensive duties as well. Because by then, Nottingham Forest initiated almost all its attacks from this position. — Starting the attack from the back would be from him as he was in charge of passing the ball forward. Upon being pressurized by the opposing forwards, he was required to open up space by running to support his full backs via receiving the ball and controlling it, waiting for his other teammates to support. While his forwards were restricted, he was required to run forward to alleviate the pressure via receiving and passing the ball.
The defensive midfielder is the most important position in modern soccer, it is the central position in the team. If Wood were able to perform a little better, he could become Nottingham Forest’s Fàbregas, Gerald, and then Twain could loosen down a lot more. By that time, he could even try using the more offensive 4-3-3.
Aside from that, Wood did not slack during shooting practice for even a day. Now his shooting was a lot better than it used to be. At the very least, only half his shoots from 10 feet outside the penalty area would be off its mark.
A defensive midfielder who excelled in defending was very capable in his running, and also able to pass in an organizational attack, while when all else fails is able to send a screamer into the opposing goal mouth. Just the thought of such a player would scare most people.
※※※
The newly married Shania had no reason to slack off. The whole world was facing an economic crisis so she also needed to work hard to earn money. But she was no longer a single who could feed herself easily. After getting married, there was suddenly a lot more things on her plates. Aside from making money, there was a very crucial matter, and that was the love between her and Uncle Tony.
If possible, she would rush back home to Nottingham after her work, then fall in love back on bed with Uncle Tony, relishing in the world only the two of them shared. They would make love without stopping, sometimes going two or three rounds, going at it again after changing positions. Aside from their sexual desire from their love of each other, this was also because they wanted to have a child soon.
Tony Twain was about to turn 41. For a man, having children at this time was considered late. Also, considering the dormant dangers in Twain’s body, having children sooner would make them feel more secure. Since their wedding two months ago, they had been making love everyday, other than the days where Shania was out working, and yet there was no reaction from Shania’s body.
“Alright…, you can’t rush these things.” After another time of lingering, Twain lied on the bed, holding Shania by his side, and said to himself. It seemed like he was comforting Shania and himself at the same time.
“Also, frankly speaking, Shania, I feel like getting pregnant this early won’t be good for your career.”
Shania crawled onto Twain’s naked chest, carefully searching for the position of his cardiac pacemaker. “Are you worried my figure would change after giving birth, Uncle Tony?”
“No, that isn’t it…”
“Frankly speaking, Uncle Tony, if I really lose my figure after giving birth and become an ugly woman who is obese and dull, would you still love me?” Shania suddenly raised her head to look at Twain.
Twain flipped and looked at the ceiling. He was thinking how that woman would look like.
“Ah! You hesitated, you’re wavering!” Shania sat up from the bed, raising her voice while pointing at Twain.
“Nonsense! I am seriously thinking about it! If I gave you a reply easily, then you should really worry!” Twain pulled Shania over to lean onto his chest. “Listen to the sound from here!”
Shania seriously listened to it for a while. She was worried Tony’s heart disease would act up again. “It sounds normal…”
“This means I’m not guilty! You shouldn’t think that being fat will turn you ugly. Some women become cuter after gaining weight!” Twain stared at Shania and sternly said. “Besides, I won’t allow you to think about what I would think if something ridiculous should happen to you.”
“For example?”
“Like how I don’t go thinking about what would happen to you if I di—” Shania covered Twain’s mouth with her own.
After a long kiss, Shania straddled Twain’s waist, staring at him while saying, “If you dare to say ‘dead’ again, see how I would handle you, Uncle Tony! Ah…”
Shania suddenly felt something poking her butt. She did not turn because she knew what it was without looking.She squinted at Twain who was on the bed and screamed surprisingly. “Wow! Are you really 40 years old, Uncle Tony?”
Twain was not embarrassed at all, he pointed at his left chest. “I have a nuclear powered heart with a long lasting power and a stronger effect. I have five batteries to last after one goes down, then I can battle with you for another 300 rounds without panting!”
“You are lying! Are you a machine,uncle?” Shania puffed out her cheeks, pouting in disbelief at his lies, but she started gyrating.
Twain could feel his thing being grinded by Shania’s soft and round butt, being a little indecent. He looked at Shania’s beautiful face; she looked spellbound. Her vibrant eyes were glossed over and her wet lips were slightly parted. The dim, yellow light by the bedside cast a glow over her lips and it made them look like delicate cherries.
“Then… want to try?” Twain naughtily placed his hands onto her slim waist, they then started a new round of “human production exercise” with the guy on top of the woman.
The last moments before the season then passed by like this…
※※※
The week before the start of the new season, on new Wembley stadium, the previous league champion Manchester United and FA cup champions Liverpool reenacted their last encounter in the previous season. However, this was a more direct challenge. In the last round the last season, Liverpool could not perform as they usually did against Totterham due to the overwhelming pressure of needing to remain in the league. As such, it was Totterham that performed outstandingly.
In the end, Liverpool drew against Totterham on their home court, allowing Totterham to avoid relegation. However, Liverpool lost their league championships. On the other field, Manchester United completely dominated Hull City with a three goal lead, snatching back the league championships and continuing the legacy of Mr Ferguson.
With this backstory, the Community Shield Cup was very exciting and intense. Liverpool was trying their hardest to find Manchester United for revenge and they finally got their chance.克里斯蒂亚诺.罗纳尔多 wait what ?????
In their 90 minute contest, the head referee issued a total of 6 yellow cards and 1 red card, Manchester United not only lost to Liverpool, and lost the Community Shield Cup. Cristiano Ronaldo, who had just had knee surgery, suffered from another violation by his opponent, re-opening his injury on his knee and forcing him to leave the field. And the player who fouled him was Liverpool’s midfielder Mascherano Zebel who was directly given a red card to leave the stadium.
The match results did not do justice to how exciting the match seemed, 1:0 with Liverpool winning.
After the match, pictures showing Ferguson raging on Benítez was on the headlines of several newspapers. When he was interviewed, he angrily called Liverpool, regardless of coaches or players, being a bunch of bandits, saying that a player like Mascherano who had no sportsmanship should be sent to the gallows. His comments blew up in the English media. He was also then fined by England for a hundred thousand pounds.
Benítez and Liverpool were not the best people either. Benítez thought that Ferguson lacked the basic respect towards others, and he felt sorry for Ronaldo but he did not think that Mascherano should be accepting such denouncement from the Manchester United media. Who allowed his innocent player to face such tremendous pressure? Those people who wanted to send Mascherano into the gallows should be sent to the gallows instead.Hence, Benítez was fined fifty thousand pounds by the England Football Association.
Mascherano was then suspended for four matches after that game. During his interviews, he had already answered that he had called Ronaldo to claim that it was an accident caused by exaggerated defending. He also claimed that Ronaldo had accepted his apology.But because of this injury, Christiano Ronaldo missed almost two months’ worth of the new season, hence whether he really accepted his apology was really questionable.
The English Premier League from 2009 till 2010 then opened with such a chaotic background. And Tony Twain, with his team, was outside of such chaos for the first time.
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...
Chapter 732 - The Juvenile Footballers
“Four rounds had been completed in the league tournament, and the next round will only resume on September 12th. Now we can summarize what Tony Twain and his Boy Scouts have achieved in these four rounds of the league tournament…..” Spicer continued his promising job to “vilify Twain” on a football talk show he hosted.
It was indeed “very promising”, because he had been mocking and jeering at Twain in the column. His incisive words left an indelible impression on people. As a result, Sky TV came knocking on his door to ask him to host a talk show dedicated to commentary on football celebrities on the Premier League channel. It was called [Football Matters]. One to a few guests were invited to open up discussion on the interesting matters that had recently taken place in English football every week. As long as they did not directly burst into obscenities or make personal threats, they could say whatever they wanted. Relying on his glib talking skills, Spicer quickly made the new show soar all the way on Sky TV’s ratings charts, almost trending to become a new highly rated show…
When the show first aired, some people predicted that it was actually a show directed against Tony Twain. Because whichever matter that touched on Twain would grab everyone’s attention—it could not be helped since many stories always swirled around him.
But with the start of the new Premier League season and the show had been on for four episodes, this was the first time Tony Twain was brought up as a topic.
“With two losses and two draws plus two points accumulated, they ranked second to last! Awesome!” Spicer clapped his hands hard and said, “The Juvenile Footballers delivered a satisfying and unsurprising result. What do you think, Andy?”
The show’s invited guests this episode were the retired former Manchester United legendary striker, Andy Cole, who was currently the second highest goalscorer in Premier League history. He was also from Nottingham, where Nottingham Forest was his hometown’s team. He was a Forest fan before he became a Manchester United striker. Since it was time to talk about Nottingham Forest, it was natural to invite a celebrity guest connected to the Forest team.
“Well, you said it was unsurprising, and I also think the result was to be expected… To tell you the truth, I have great respect for Manager Tony Twain. He’s very capable. But at the moment, the team is too weak in any tournament. Four rounds had already started in the league tournament and their opponents were not weak: the first round was an away draw with Middlesbrough, the second round was a home loss to Chelsea, the third round was an away loss to Everton, and the fourth was a draw at home with Everton… The lads played outstandingly on the pitch, but overall they aren’t strong enough.”
Spicer laughed, “Yes, that’s it! What did I say before the league tournament started? Mr. Twain, it may not be a problem if you want to stay in the middle level in the league tournament with the current squad. But if you want to win back the league title or get back into the Champions League with these players? I really can’t find a reason to be optimistic… Now I’m going to correct my statement. By relying on these juvenile footballers now, not to mention the middle level of the league tournament, he should be happy if they are still in the Premier League by the end of the season!”
“The only good news is that after the fourth round of the league, his team finally scored. Eastwood scored his first goal of the season against Everton. It’s not easy!”
“It reinforces my conviction that I’m not optimistic about Nottingham Forest. Watching their game was like watching a bunch of headless flies bumping on the pitch. It was really hard to watch with my own eyes.” Spicer made a face to show that he really could not bear to see it. “The young people lack experience. George Wood’s form is as stable as ever, but he can’t bring stability and experience to the team. How should I put it with regards to experience? It’s not something that the veteran players in the team can bring out. They also need to go through the baptism of the competition … At least before Christmas, we won’t see the once-familiar Nottingham Forest.”
“Does Tony Twain have any regrets? The devil knows!”
※※※
Did Tony Twain have regrets?
How could it be possible!
He did not have the free time.
He obviously knew that the team had not done well lately, but it was within his expectations. A team that was almost half made up of young players with a lot of key players gone, their tactical play must change. How could they achieve good results?
Therefore, no matter how the outside press criticized him and his team, he would not have the slightest doubt about his choice because of this. Instead, he wanted more criticism—he needed to use these things to motivate the players.
Just going into September, the players on the team who had their national team assignments were drawn away. Even the young people had their own national youth teams to play for. These two weeks were valuable for Nottingham Forest. It was not good to not win in a row for whatever reason. They could use these two weeks to recalibrate, tactically or mentally…
In Twain’s mind, the goal this season was not to win any title, but to return to the European arena next season, whether it was the UEFA Europa League or the UEFA Champions League… As long as they could return to Europe, the club’s financial situation could improve, and the team would be able to return to the top group.
While the club’s players headed off one by one to play for the national teams, Twain spent his first birthday with Shania after they got married.
They held a small party in the back garden and invited some of his colleagues from the club. They had a simple dinner and then left after. During the dinner, they chatted about the current state of the team and how to fix it. Even though it was a birthday party, it was probably more like a work dinner. A middle-aged person’s party was not like those of the young players, where after they ate and drank copious amounts, they then called for female escorts to have orgies.
After he sent away his colleagues, Twain hugged Shania as he stood at the entrance of the yard and sighed.
“Having a lousy birthday? Is it because of the team’s recent results?” Shania looked at him.
“How could that matter make me sigh?” Twain turned to look at Shania, who nestled against him. “I’m just lamenting that I’m a year older… You know something, Shania, when I was still your age, my daily wish was to grow up quickly, become independent, and be an ‘adult.’ Now I regret it… My days with you were short of twenty-two years without a reason.”
Shania tightly embraced Uncle Tony and said nothing.
“Don’t have to celebrate my birthdays anymore, Shania. Just take it that… I’m forever forty.”
If it was possible, he really wanted to say, “take it that I am eighteen forever” or “forever twenty years old,” But he could only say “forever forty years old”, which was really helpless.
“Then you are not allowed to celebrate my birthdays. Just take it that I am forever eighteen!”
Twain smiled and said, “All right, we are immortal and stayed young forever.” With Shania in his arms, he walked back to the house and was about to start their new round of “making a human being.”
※※※
After she celebrated Twain’s birthday, Shania flew to Los Angeles again. Tom Cruise was kind enough to give Shania a role in his new film. This time the role was more important than the previous minor role of a pretty face. There were a lot of lines, and even a scene with the main character.
Shania was eager to get into action and prepared to show her acting chops in the film. At this time, the “making a human being” project also naturally had to be postponed.
And the team’s players were also coming back in succession. Two days before the start of the league tournament, all of them were back in the team. Whether it was Rafinha in faraway Brazil and Sun Jihai, who was back in China to compete, both had returned on time. After a brief day of practice together, Nottingham Forest headed off to London to take on Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane. They would continue their away tour in London on the 15th, this time the opponent was Fulham.
The media was generally down on Nottingham Forest’s trip to London. In addition to the level shown by the team in the first four rounds of the league tournament, they naturally took into account that after the national team games, they would play two games in a week one after another. Given the team’s stamina distribution and the players’ inconsistent form, these two games pointed to disaster for the Forest team.
On the way to London, the television in the bus showed an entertainment program to pass the time, which Twain had thoughtfully prepared for the players—the recording of the television program in which Carl Spicer mocked the Nottingham Forest’s “juvenile footballers.”
“What can a bunch of kids who are still at their mothers’ teats do? Ha ha! There’s nothing they can do! Look at how they played in the games. If I were Tony Twain, I would tell them all to go home. Some people don’t have the chops to establish a foothold at Nottingham Forest at all. Did Tony Twain receive kickbacks when he bought these players?”
“… Yes, yes but Andy, I think you’re still too kind. If I were Tony Twain, I would swear even harder, they’re basically good-for-nothings… I believe that chap, Tony Twain would agree with my view.”
“That’s the way it is—Tony Twain is counting on a group of juvenile footballers to conquer Europe. I’m going to pick this as one of the ten funniest things to laugh about this year. It can even hit the top spot. You can just imagine the scene and you’ll see how funny it is—Adolf Hitler yelled at a group of babies with their pacifiers still in their mouths: ‘You (Bleep—) will flatten France, then stand on the edge of the English Channel, pull out your things from the pants, and urinate on that bunch of Englishmen! Let the whole of Europe tremble under our iron hoofs and beg for mercy!'”
Carl Spicer could not help but laugh and slapped the table when he came to the last bit.
It was silent in the bus, except for the laughter coming from the television.
At first, everyone did not take it seriously, and were busy with their own things. Later, they found that it was not that simple. So, one by one, they opened their sleeping eyes, took off their headphones, and took their eyes off their phone screens or PSP screens.
“Who’s that idiot?” Someone eventually called out.
“Carl Spicer! He is always targeting the boss and us. Did the boss cuckold him?” Someone whispered.
“What kind of crap is he spouting?”
Even though Carl Spicer talked about the young Forest players, the others felt as if it happened to them too as they were a collective and their teammates were scolded by other people. Not to mention the Forest team was really very young …
“Such a person can also host a TV show? I’m getting more and more confident in my life plans after I retire…” Eastwood muttered as he stroked his chin.
“It’s too early to consider retirement, Freddy.” Twain stood up and leaned against the back of his seat, to face Eastwood, sitting in the back.
“This is the latest episode of [Football Matters]. I’m afraid some of you haven’t watched it, so I specially recorded it and brought it to play for you on the road. You want to know why I’m doing this? Guys, it’s because these are the voices and talk outside. I think you all must have heard them and don’t want to pay attention to it. But…” He raised his voice and stood in the middle of the aisle to address the players. “It’s not our style to ignore it. Do you know why I did not write in my own column to fight back against those who questioned us? Because football is not shown by glib talk. If we want to fight back against those idiotic remarks, the best way is not to burst into foul language in interviews, but with victory! Use victory to give them all a slap! Slap them to the point where their own mothers cannot recognize them!”
“I’ve never told you I’m angry that we only have two points and are in the bottom two because I don’t want to put too much pressure on you. But now I have to let you know how I really feel—that is, I’m really f **king angry!” He waved his fists hard. Like what Carl Spicer said, he did look a little the madman warmonger, Adolf Hitler.
“I’m telling you that being young and inexperienced are definitely not your excuses. I don’t want anyone to use the media’s rhetoric as a reason for failure. There is only one reason for failure, and that is that you are not doing well enough! I’ll give you a month to get used to this damn new season and I think you should get used to it and be ready to win. Are you ready?”
“That’s right, boss! We’re ready!” The people in the compartment followed suit and roared.
“Yes, you must be prepared. Those who are not ready, I’ll let him out of the bus and run back to Nottingham! I need a madman who believes in Nottingham Forest’s victory at any time, and not a coward who thinks we might lose! You have to remember, the opponent for the game is definitely not Tottenham Hotspur, but those media which look down on us, mock us as juvenile footballers, say you haven’t weaned!”
“Prove to them with victory that … who are the ones who did not wean!”
※※※
“I don’t think Nottingham Forest is as vulnerable as the media have described. My team is ready. I believe Tony Twain must be ready too. I will shake his hand before the game and congratulate him on his fight against the heart attack and his return to the field. But when it comes to the game, he’d better forget my well wishes. It’s going to be a very intense competition…”
Redknapp spoke these words in a pre-match interview.
It was indeed a tough game.
Twain deployed two defensive midfielders for the game. George Wood and Tiago formed a wall in front of the center backs and used their tireless running and interception skills to stifle Tottenham Hotspur’s offense in the midfield. Then they made use of the characteristics of their ability to pass the ball to launch the attack and immediately counterattack after they intercepted the ball. It caught Tottenham Hotspur by surprise.
Şahin sat on the substitutes’ bench and watched his teammates attack from the backfield time and time again, threatening the opponent’s defensive lines with long passes.
Petrov and Lennon impeded the opponent’s defenders in the wings and forced Tottenham Hotspur’s defensive line to stretch horizontally to expose a lot of gaps. If Tottenham Hotspur’s defenders shrank the middle, then they turned the attack toward the sidelines. All the changes were entirely controlled by the two defensive midfielders.
Agbonlahor’s speed allowed him to raid Tottenham Hotspur’s defensive line in the middle after he received the long pass from the backfield, while Žigić, who was tall, good at headers and physically strong, was in charge of support and cover. His presence ensured that the Forest team’s long-pass attacks would not be easily ended by the opponent. Once the midfielder or striker took the ball in the front field and controlled the situation, the Forest team would start to press forward. The two full backs, Gareth Bale and Rafinha gave their best side assists to put pressure on Tottenham Hotspur on the sides.
Redknapp also had a counter measure. He saw the features of Twain’s attacks on the sides. Whenever Bale and Rafinha pressed up, Tottenham Hotspur would put the direction of their attack firmly on the Forest team’s two sides—the striker, Darren Bent who stayed in the front, was not in the middle, but would pull to the sides to receive the ball and then break through the Forest team’s defenses from the sideline to pose a threat to Akinfeev’s goal. In addition, Modrić and dos Santos would follow closely and be in charge of receiving or covering Darren Bent.
Both sides had a very fast pace of switching between the offense and defense. But in general, it was Tottenham Hotspur which could not slow down due to the Forest team’s fast pace. Bale, Rafinha, Petrov, Lennon and Agbonlahor were speedy players. Every time the Forest team launched an attack, they did not pass the ball back and forth in the midfield. Instead, they directly made the long passes. These players competed with the football in speed. Tottenham Hotspur could only follow suit to rush if they don’t want their defensive lines to collapse.
Over time, Tottenham Hotspur’s stamina dropped dramatically, not to mention they had not been able to keep pace with Nottingham Forest. The exhausted defensive line was pulled apart by the Forest team, and the cracks were getting bigger and bigger…
At the end of the first half, Žigić received a sideline pass from Agbonlahor. Marked by Ledley King, he headed the ball to the goal and smashed the ball into the goal guarded by the England national goalkeeper, Robinson.
The new season’s aerial overlord made a show of strength for the first time and Ledley King was weak and thin in front of him like a bamboo pole!
In the second half, Tottenham Hotspur took advantage of a chance for a place kick with Darren Bent equalized the score with a goal.
However, the game was already completely in the rhythm of Nottingham Forest. Twain fully made use of the team’s many young players with their fit and fast characteristics to drag Tottenham Hotspur into a fight using their fast-paced attack and defense. The television commentator said more than once that “it’s only a matter of time before Nottingham Forest scores again.”
Nottingham Forest scored their second goal in the 21st minute of the second half.
Tiago had a physical head-on confrontation with Modrić near the midfield, with both of them almost falling to the ground at the same time. Nonetheless, it was Modrić who was fouled when he tackled after his ball was intercepted, knocking down Tiago. But George Wood shot out diagonally and grabbed the out-of-control football. The referee, who initially intended to blow the whistle to suspend the game, immediately raised his hands parallel at this time and pointed forward—the offensive was valid and the game continued!
Wood did not dribbled the ball for long as he saw Agbonlahor cruising diagonally in front of him and decided to kick a straight pass.
Agbonlahor used his speed to shake off the defender in an instant and cut to insert himself behind the Tottenham Hotspur defender. He was not offside! He then dribbled the ball into the penalty area and fired at an angle into the net in front of the attacking Robinson.
“Agbonlahor’s dribbling speed to break through is simply amazing … George Wood’s speed at which he rushed up from five meters out to grab the ball was also unexpected for the Tottenham Hotspur players… The goal, as well as the game, fully interpreted what Tony Twain always says about ‘speed.'” The commentator exclaimed at the lightning-fast goal. From Modrić’s fall after his ball was tackled to Agbonlahor’s goal, the entire process only lasted fifteen seconds.
The goal scoring Agbonlahor ran back to hug his captain, George Wood who assisted him. He looked very excited because it was his first official goal scored since he joined Nottingham Forest.
Twain, who saw the scene off the field, stroked his chin as he contemplated. George Wood is showing more and more traces of Albertini in his early days… The timing, power, and accuracy of the pass as well as the pre-judgement of Agbonlahor’s running direction were impeccable. If he can keep playing like this, rather than showing the occasional brilliance, then I do not have to tire and worry over the candidate of the team’s playmaker…
※※※
The game eventually ended with Nottingham Forest’s 2:1 win over Tottenham Hotspur. Twain’s team won for the first time in the new season. While Carl Spicer insisted on his show that the outcome of a game did not represent anything and that it was normal for young people to perform well occasionally. The league tournament was a long season with thirty-eight rounds. Who would know how long could these juvenile footballers hold on?
Hence, he continued to insist that he was not optimistic about Nottingham Forest’s position and always ready to criticize.
Twain did not respond to Spicer’s criticisms in any way, but he knew the Nottingham Forest team were fired up due to the man’s mocking. He was well aware that as long as his team won one game after another until the end of the season, the dear Mr. Spicer would have to eat the crap he spouted in person.
He very much looked forward to that day. Then he would not mind ridiculing the dear Mr. Spicer with the most vicious and ruthless words.
...
Chapter 733 - Newborn Calves
Nottingham Forest continued their London tour after they defeated Tottenham Hotspur. In the sixth round of the league tournament, they scored an away goal and won against Fulham to win two straight games of the new season.
The criticisms of the group of “juvenile footballers” waned in the outside press.
With the exception of a few diehard elements determined to “vilify Twain”, everyone else slowly embraced the team.
“After all, they’re young, and being young means there are more possibilities… Isn’t it?” That was what a pundit said in the newspaper.
However, they faced another impending test next.
“… I think one of the benefits that a young team has is they are very motivated. But in the face of an experienced opponent, it will show the inexperience and tenderness of the youth. Tony Twain and the rest of the team don’t have that problem, but there are others who are the team’s indefinite time bombs. Up against a team like Manchester United, I’ll do my best to deploy the ‘veterans’ and contend with Ferguson if I were Tony Twain.”
Indeed, Nottingham Forest’s seventh-round opponent was the defending champion, Manchester United.
Nottingham Forest faced Manchester United at home on September 20th, 2009.
※※※
At the Wilford training ground, Dunn announced the eighteen-player squad list for tomorrow’s game against Manchester United (the Premier League began to implement a “seven substitutes system” since the start of last season) and the starting list.
Having just finished the eighteen-players roster, Twain stood up before Dunn could continue to read the starting list.
“I have a question to ask you before the starting list is released. What are your views on pressure among you?”
A group of people looked at each other and could not understand why the boss asked the question out of the blue.
Twain called out by name, “Millán, let’s hear your thoughts on it. What do you think of pressure? Did you feel the pressure when you played for the club’s First Team when you were only fourteen?”
Nicolás Millán hesitated for a moment before he replied, “A little… But I felt fine, boss.”
“Why did you only feel fine?”
“I said to myself that I was just playing against players older than me and that it was no big deal. Even if I played badly, no one would say anything to me, because I was only fourteen years old, which was very normal.”
Twain nodded, and he turned his gaze to Bostock, “How about you, John?”
“Me?” Bostock smiled and shook his head, “I didn’t feel much, boss. I am a professional player. Since I’m a professional player, I will certainly face all kinds of pressure. I’m used to it.” He told the truth. As one of England’s highly anticipated and most talented players, John Bostock was followed with interest by the clubs and media when he was not yet sixteen years old and had made international appearances to compete for the England national teams of all ages. As a result, the pressure on him from professional football was not a big deal.
Twain asked one by one, but he picked all the young players who had recently been transferred to the First Team this season.
He was satisfied with the results he received.
He certainly was unable to know if the answers were genuine or just to please him as a manager. But he had a way to verify the veracity.
He nodded to Dunn to indicate that he could continue to announce the starting list.
“The goalkeeper, Akinfeev.” After the new season, van der Sar gradually withdrew from the starting lineup. Any fool could tell Twain’s intention to promote Akinfeev the main position. Van der Sar was also mentally prepared for his future as he withdrew from the starting lineup. After all, he was almost thirty-nine years old. The Dutch goalkeeper’s contract would expire next summer, just four months before his fortieth birthday. He had long decided not to renew his contract with Nottingham Forest. He certainly would not go anywhere else. He would announce his retirement directly after the expiry of his contract.
“The full backs are Gareth Bale, Pepe, Kompany and Rafinha.” This setup of defensive line was the absolute main defensive line for the Forest team this season. Cooperated together for many years, they had long developed enough rapport. Woodgate, who only came last season, was currently limited to be a rotating player. The only problem with the defensive line was that it was somewhat heavy on offense and light on defense.
“The midfielders are George Wood, John Bostock, Chris Cohen and Lennon.”
When their names were called, Bostock and Cohen looked at each other in surprise. They thought the starting lineup should be George Wood, Şahin, Petrov and Lennon. It was also the same configuration in the midfield for the Forest’s away win over Fulham the last time.
“The strikers are Agbonlahor and Nicolás Millán.”
Twain looked the bewildered players and said with a laugh, “Prove to me with your actions how you play under pressure, guys.”
※※※
“Nottingham Forest’s expected starting lineup should be the goalkeeper, Akinfeev, the left back, Gareth Bale, the center backs, Pepe and Kompany, the right back must be Rafinha. George Wood will definitely start as the midfielder. As for his partner… it should be Şahin. If the Forest team were to play defense, it could be Tiago. On the forward line…”
Ferguson was in a hotel room with his aides to determine Tony Twain’s starting lineup for tomorrow’s game. That would make it easier for them to review the countermeasures.
The door was pushed open and the assistant manager, Mike Phelan came in with a piece of paper.
“Boss, Nottingham Forest had announced their starting list for tomorrow’s game.” The expression on his face was a little odd when he spoke.
Ferguson looked up at his assistant, who only took over last season.
“This is the list.” He handed the paper to Ferguson.
Ferguson’s expression on his face was the same as Phelan when he glanced through it.
“Is Tony crazy?”
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“I’m not crazy. I’m just trying to get the young players to get into the competition as quickly as possible. Losing? I’m not afraid. Anyway, we don’t count on any championship titles this season. We can use one season to train the young players, which I think is a good deal.” Twain answered in this manner to Kerslake’s question about the starting list. This obviously took place before they announced the starting list.
Twain convinced the other coaches that he would try to use the inexperienced young players as much as possible in the heavyweight game against Manchester United. He put aside the outcome of the game. Training these young players was the goal of the game. As long as he could achieve the purpose of training the new players, he would not lose his temper even if they really lost the game.
For him, to be able to compete against those strong team was a hard to come by actual combat practice…
Whether it was Ferguson’s Manchester United, Wenger’s Arsenal, Benítez’s Liverpool or Scolari’s Chelsea, they were just NPCs for his players to gain experience, upgrade and become stronger.
He did not care how many games he would lose as long as those young players could learn something useful in the process. Failure was the mother of success. No matter how many games they would lose this season, they could win them all back one by one next season.
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The day of the match.
“Tony Twain announced their starting lineup for the game a day early. This list is really startling. In the face of a strong team like Manchester United, Twain actually sent the veritable ‘juvenile footballers.’ Agbonlahor has been doing well lately, but Nicolás Millán… has only played a total of one hundred and ten minutes so far this season and his performance has been average. And as for Bostock and Cohen, there’s nothing much to say for their performances at all. I don’t understand why Manager Tony Twain suddenly wants to put these young players in the important positions in the game against Manchester United. Petrov, Eastwood and Žigić are fine and not troubled by injuries. The team doesn’t have to store up its physical strength for competing in multiple tournaments…” The commentator, Motson remained perplexed by Twain’s lineup despite much thought.
Like him, the Manchester United manager, Alex Ferguson also did not understand what Tony Twain wanted to do.
He would not understand what was going on in the smiling man’s mind until the game began. He could only get Manchester United to play the way they were accustomed to and take control of the pace in their own hands.
The rest… was up to the players themselves.
At the beginning of the game, the situation was nothing more than what most people had expected. Manchester United dominated the game with their seasoned experience and excellent skills, as well as the tacit cooperation between the players.
Even though Nottingham Forest also had George Wood, Bale, Pepe and the other proven “battlefield veterans”, they were all defensive players. They could only guarantee that their goal would not be easily breached by Manchester United, but they could not pose any threat to Manchester United’s goal.
Agbonlahor played as well as ever, but it was hard to difficult to achieve anything alone.
He lacked effective support from his teammates and, more often than not, he had to run back to the backfield to help with the defense.
On the away side, Manchester United completely played like it was its home ground, bombarding the Forest team in its half of the field.
Motson said with concern, “If this continues, Ferguson will get the results he wants…”
Instead, Ferguson was worried—He was well-acquainted with Nottingham Forest’s stance and had studied the opponent for four years. He was so familiar with them that he knew what kind of dump they were going to take the moment they lifted their butts. This was the preparation for the defensive counterattacks.
Agbonlahor and Lennon were fast in speed. Millán was not bad either. Cohen was probably the only one who was slower.
He thought about how this team’s first win of the season came about…
Should the formation withdraw now? Slowly deal with the Forest team?
No!
Up against such a Nottingham Forest lineup, it was really embarrassing for Ferguson himself that Manchester United should only aim to equalize the game. The best method was to keep strengthening the offense and score early to put the game in its own orbit.
Ferguson did not have to wait long for Manchester United to score.
Berbatov cleverly blocked Kompany behind after he received a pass from Nani in the penalty area. He immediately swung his leg for the shot and the football passed between the legs of Pepe who had rushed over to defend. It then bypassed Akinfeev’s fingers and drilled into the goal.
The visiting Manchester United fans celebrated the goal with thunderous cheers at the City Ground stadium.
Ferguson also stood up and clapped, expressing his delight.
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But Manchester United’s excitement did not last long. The Forest team took advantage of the kickoff soon after. Bostock dribbled the ball and broke through to the front of the penalty area before he was tackled and fell by Hargreaves. The referee whistled to give Nottingham Forest a free kick.
When Bale stood in front of the football, the City Ground stadium rang out with a song for Bale. They sang, “Young Monkey Bale, he’s our number one free-kick master! With the football at his feet, it’s as precise as controlled by hand! It draws an arc, bypasses the human wall, no matter how far, it will hit the bullseye … Tenth circle! You’re already dead!”
The home ground would ring out with the song every time Bale was going to execute the free kick. Even if Beckham were the one to do it, the lyrics would not change. Bale was once asked about the song in an interview. He replied modestly, “I’m actually not that good…” when he incessantly delighted on the inside.
Ben Foster nervously directed the positions of the human wall. Bale stood in front of the ball and coolly observed everything. Only at this time, his focused look made people forget his actual age.
The human wall was set up and the referee whistled for it to start.
Bale ran up to kick!
The football streaked past the human wall, swept past the penalty area at a low altitude, and got into the top left corner of the goal!
Ben Foster was still standing in the same place, staring blankly at the football that rolled up the net behind him…
“They equalized the scores half a minute later!” Motson shouted and the City Ground stadium cheered and sang thunderously cheers in response to him.
“Tenth ring! Tenth ring! You’re already dead!”
This time it was Twain’s turn to rejoice. He high-fived everyone around him off the field.
“It’s the key goal!” He said with a laugh as he high-fived with Dunn.
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Indeed, it was the key goal. The Forest team’s young players were encouraged by the goal and their morale was boosted. Bale used his free kick to tell his newly recruited teammates— that there was nothing to fear even from the defending champion, Manchester United!
Manchester United’s leading goal did not bring them any benefit. Instead, it inspired the Forest players’ determination and fighting spirit to win in another way.
The benefits of being a young player were evident here—everyone was full of energy fighting against the Manchester United players. They had to use all their strength in every desperate fight. Their vigor to counter press in the front field surprised the Manchester United players.
In terms of experience, this Forest team was slightly inferior to Manchester United. But in terms of fighting spirit, Manchester United was not as good as the Forest team.
The two sides were tied at 1:1 in the first half. During the halftime interval, Twain repeatedly encouraged. He fully acknowledged the performances of several young players in the first half—even though not everyone deserved praise for his performance.
He then asked the team to continue in this mode and unleash high pressing on Manchester United in the second half. Start to grab from the other side’s goal line to force the opponent to mess up, while creating opportunities for their own offense.
After the start of the second half, the two sides continued to tangle with each other in every corner of the pitch. Nottingham Forest’s physical display surprised many Manchester United fans. But the Nottingham Forest fans knew that this was a normal condition for Nottingham Forest—Tony Twain always emphasized and valued the team’s physical development. Last season’s situation was a special case compelled by circumstances and could not be used as a reference.
Nottingham Forest’s high pressing paid off and they scored another goal in the 27th minute of the second half. Nicolás Millán dribbled and broke through with the ball. Then he helped Agbonlahor to score.
The City Ground stadium was almost in a frenzy. The defending champion was about to be beaten by them!
Some Forest fans even yelled at the Manchester United fans in the other stands, “Last season we weren’t there, so you won the championship! It’s no big deal. Now we’re back!”
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Unfortunately, they ultimately did not take the defending champion’s glory at the City Ground stadium. Ferguson deployed his team on a mission and finally equalized the score before the end of the game to retreat with pride.
While the Nottingham Forest fans might be disappointed with the outcome, the Nottingham Forest players would surely be disappointed with the score. But only Twain was happy. The first-year students fought valiantly against the defending champion team. It was a more valuable gain than three points.
It was also the first time the new Forest team did not lose a game against a strong team this season.
It was the Forest team he was familiar with—no matter what kind of opponent they faced, they would not be cowed or in awe. Newborn calves were not afraid of tigers, youth was the wealth of unbridled arrogance…
It does not matter that they did not win today. There’s still a lot of time and we’ve got plenty of opportunities to be arrogant.
The media were more concerned about—
“The defending champion almost lost to Tony Twain’s juvenile footballers!”
...
Chapter 734 - The Final Moments of 2009
After coming away with a draw against Manchester United at their home grounds, Nottingham Forest’s ‘juvenile footballers’ received an overwhelming ovation from the supporters. They also slapped their critics in the face through their actions and performances.
On 27th September, Matchday 8, they won 1:0 against Newcastle in an away game.
On 3rd October, Matchday 9, they won 2:0 against Hull City, who performed unexpectedly well last season.
On 17th October, Matchday 10, they won 2:1 at home against Portsmouth.
On 25th October, Matchday 11, they drew 3:3 with Manchester City in an away game.
Tony Twain’s ‘juvenile footballers’ went undefeated for 8 matches since Matchday 4 on 30th August. Their ranking in the league shot up from the second last to seventh.
All the criticisms against them were silenced.
Carl Spicer was the only one who continued to have doubts over Nottingham Forest’s performances, as he always had. Every other media outlet had gone quiet.
The young players’ performances have also earned the approval of the masses.
Chris Cohen might not be a player who stood out, but his numerous crucial performances have helped the team earn at least seven points in the league this season.
He was the type of the player that others would typically overlook or not pay attention to, but he was a very useful asset to the team. He might not be blessed with outstanding talent like Moke, who has been demoted to the reserve team, and he might not be quick and is also not good at getting past his opponents. But, he was an all-rounded player. He could play as the left midfielder or the central midfielder and was skilled at both passing and crossing from the byline. He was also a straightforward individual who did whatever Twain told him to do without a single complaint.
Kris Commons had been sold for 2 million pounds by Twain. The only two left midfielders on the team were Petrov and Cohen. With Petrov getting on with his age, Cohen will undoubtedly be playing games for Forest consistently in the coming years.
He has more luck than Commons did since Forest will most likely not be able to fork out too much money to bring in established football stars from here on out. This means he would be able to get more game time, unlike Commons who was only able to make an appearance in the EFL Cup, FA Cup, and during garbage time for some matches.
Cohen’s performance attracted the attention of some other clubs as well. The season had only barely started for a few months, and there were already rumors going around that certain clubs were showing an interest in acquiring Cohen. A winger like him who was willing to track back and defend and could also put in accurate crosses definitely appealed to several other clubs.
Victor Moses’ performance was noteworthy as well. He has played a total of 340 minutes throughout all the matches so far, and he has found the back of the net twice and provided three assists. Such results were considered to be passable for a player like him who was only 18 years of age.
Additionally, he managed to achieve those results when the season has yet to pass its halfway mark. Twain was certain that Moses would continue to repay the trust he has placed on him as long as he continued to give him a chance to play.
Moses displayed all the attributes that should be found in an African football player. His only problem was inconsistency. His two goals and three assists were all attained over 3 matches. However, inconsistency cannot truly be regarded as an issue for young players. It was actually normal and within expectation. What Twain has to do is to give him patience and encouragement.
On the other hand, Nicolás Millán, who also played the role as a forward in the team like Moses, was able to get a lot more game time than him because he could also play as a midfielder. He finely exhibited all the attributes that could be found in South American players. He possessed exquisite footballing technique that could not be found in the Premier League. His speed and technique ensured that he could work his way around big and burly defenders. They also allow him to help the team earn set pieces and penalties, and give Gareth Bale a stage to shine on.
Of course, by helping the team win free kicks and penalties, he also attracted negative attention onto himself, and got labelled with names such as ‘The Chilean Who Is Good At Falling Down’ or ‘The Lad Who Dives’.
Every time an opponent or the media make such criticisms against Millán, Twain would always publish an article rebutting them in his column, or he would openly scold those critics during an interview, “If the referee says it’s a foul means it’s a foul. If you are upset about his decision, please question the referee’s decision. Don’t take your anger out on my player!”
Millán might have only scored once so far, but his techniques have definitely enriched Forest’s attacking abilities in the final third.
His biggest flaw at the moment was his weak physique. He might be able to earn free kicks for the team, but there is no manager in the world who wishes for their forward to only be able to earn free kicks and penalties.
If Millán hopes to develop further, he has to enhance his physicality. It does not matter how good your techniques are. You cannot survive in the Premier League if your body is not strong enough to stand up against your opponents during physical battles.
Nonetheless, Nicolás Millán’s performance so far has been worthy of his title as the ‘Genius Youngster’.
His reputation in Chile continued to soar with each passing day. Many Chileans became Nottingham Forest fans because of him. Every time Nottingham Forest had a match, they all hoped that Tony Twain would send their ‘gem’ onto the pitch and let him play.
Amongst all the ‘new blood’ in the team, Joe Mattock received the least game time.
This is definitely not Twain being biased and giving preferential treatment. It is simply because the back line is very important to the team and should not be changed easily. He would only think about giving young players game time when the team lacks defenders and has no one else to choose from.
Twain was worried that his actions would upset Mattock, so he went up to speak with him on numerous occasions. He told him that he needs the back line to be sturdy and stable, and that there is little room for error for defenders, unlike the front line whereby the players get to be more free and can do as they like. Hence, as a left back, Joe Mattock would get lesser game time than the other ‘new blood’ in the team.
However, Twain promised Mattock that he was still a part of his plans. He also hoped that Mattock would try playing in other positions such as center back and right back as well.
In Forest, a player who is able to play multiple positions has an advantage over players who are only good at one position when it comes to game time.
Joe Mattock accepted Twain’s suggestion and has been working hard to get used to playing as a right back.
The reason why he has been working hard is because everything he has seen in Nottingham Forest so far has convinced him that Tony Twain is the manager that he should entrust his future to. Pearce had not lied to him. Nottingham Forest is indeed the team that suits him the most right now.
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They might have achieved an excellent run of results of going undefeated for eight matches, but that does not mean that things will be smooth-sailing for them in the league from now on.
For Matchday 12, Nottingham Forest faced Arsenal in an away game.
In the end, Arsenal came out on top with a 3:2 win over Nottingham Forest with their home advantage, and they successfully put an end to Nottingham Forest’s unbeaten run.
Jack Wilshere was named man of the match after scoring once and providing two assists. The light surrounding the 17 year old genius was so blinding that it made the entire Nottingham Forest team disappear in its shine. The commentator could not stop roaring his name throughout the match, as though he was a fan of Wilshere, and the Emirates Stadium erupted into thunderous cheers every single time he touched the ball.
He even managed to steal the spotlight from the captain Fàbregas during the match.
Neither Şahin, John Bostock, Nicolás Millán, Cohen nor Victor Moses, who came on as a substitute later in the match, could hold a candle to him.
“He’s a true genius!”
“Jack has come out of nowhere and is really making himself known! Capello is sitting in a private room in the Emirates Stadium, and he must have taken note of his performance today! Perhaps we will see the name of this 17 year old in the player list for the next training session for the England national team…”
“He is another gem that Arsenal has unearthed for us!”
“The day we see Walcott still seated on the bench is when we can start looking forward to Wilshere becoming a leading figure in the Premier League!”
After the match, all sorts of praises were heaped on Jack Wilshere. It might not be his first season in the league, but this match against Nottingham Forest made him stand out from the crowd and become noticed, especially since he was also awarded the man of the match.
In the hearts of the Arsenal fans, the match was the best possible stage for Wilshere to shine on. Nottingham Forest was a team that was becoming too full of themselves in recent years, and a team like that became a backdrop for Wilshere in today’s match. That was a scene that all the fans wanted to see.
However, Twain had a different opinion on the matter.
During his post-match interview the day after the match, a reporter wanted him to comment on Wilshere’s remarkable performance from yesterday.
He smiled and said, “I believe that Jack Wilshere is an undisputed genius footballer. I had my eyes on him since last year. Back then I even wanted to take him on loan from Wenger. But too bad, he refused me. He is a gifted player and definitely has the skills. I don’t doubt that he would be able to achieve great things in the future. But…” Twain paused and shrugged. “It’s not surprising for me to see a player like Wilshere rise to fame after performing well in a match. Unfortunately, in my eyes, he was lucky that his opponent was us. I want all of you to remember something… George did not play in the game yesterday.”
What Twain was getting at was, ‘If George Wood had played, can Wilshere still perform as well as he did?’
His words undoubtedly upset the Arsenal fans, but what he said was the truth.
George Wood was unable to play in the Arsenal game after picking up five yellow cards in previous games. His defensive abilities were already well-known in the Premier League and did not require Twain to do any further explanations.
If so, then had George Wood not been left out of the match because he had picked up all those yellow cards, then can Wilshere, who would definitely play in a position where he would be marked by Wood, still be able to put in such a good performance?
During the match, it was as if Wilshere had wandered into an uninhabited territory. He met little to no resistance on the pitch and was free to do as he liked because Tiago could not keep up with his pace. It seemed as though the young was bullying the old throughout the match…
However, quite a number of people believe that if it had been George Wood playing instead of Tiago, then Wilshere would not have been able to act as freely as he did in the first 15 minutes of the match due to Wood’s constant assaults on him.
The truth was that Wenger only started Wilshere and gave him the onus of creating chances for the team at the front of the pitch because he knew that George Wood would not be playing due to his one match ban.
Wenger won the gamble. Arsenal and Wilshere both attained success in the game.
On the other hand, Twain was a little depressed. He had to console his ‘new blood’ after the match and tell them that losing is part and parcel of life. Losing to Arsenal was also not an unacceptable outcome.
During training, he even took an aim at George Wood, “Look at what happened, George. You missed one match and an underage kid rose to fame just like that.”
George Wood replied him in his usual, serious tone, “I hope that the next time we meet, that lad will still start in the game.”
Twain laughed as he stood by the side. They might have lost, but he was not angry with the result. He has learned to loosen up and not view each loss so seriously, unlike his past self who had the mentality that they could not lose even one match.
It was true that he was leading a team whose average ages did not exceed 25, and there were several ‘new blood’ in the team that the others did not think favorably of. It was also true that the club was experiencing financial difficulties and they were going through rough times. However, he did not feel stressed despite being in a tough situation.
Those days from the previous season where he had to bite the bullet and pull through each and every day felt like a distant memory.
Right now, it was normal for them to be losing matches. It takes time for a team to mature. It was not possible for his ‘new blood’ to play like experienced players in a short period of time.
Additionally, Twain also did not want to burden his heart too much, primarily because he was worried that Shania would not be able to handle it if he did. He personally did not really care if his heart was burdened or not.
His main source of stress-relief has been going shopping with Shania ever since he quit smoking and drinking. Many shops have been giving discounts on their items due to the economically tense situation that they were in. It was a good time to be shopping.
Besides shopping with Shania, he would also visit the Forest Bar, order a glass of fruit juice and chat with his friends. If not, he would wage a war with Carl Spicer on various media outlets. It is good for the health to scold someone or something every day.
Life has been comfortable and good for him thus far.
Allan has to fly around every day to clinch new sponsors for the construction of the new stadium. Just doing this one job was enough to leave him overwrought. In contrast, Twain did not have to care about any of these annoying issues and could just leave them all in the hands of Allan and Evan.
All he had to care about was leading the team out to matches. He had also stopped pondering over what players he should buy for now as well. There was nothing he had to worry about as long as the club was still able to pay everyone’s salaries.
The team continued to win and lose games under his guidance for the next few matches. Their performance was unstable and had its ups and downs, but it was slowly improving as they approached the new year.
Half the season was about to be over, and it was time for Christmas once again.
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Shania spent her first Christmas after getting married strutting down different runways across the world just like she always have. Similarly, Twain also spent his Christmas with Dunn at Wood’s house where they had a Thanksgiving dinner together, just like he did in previous years.
Sophia’s face would turn extremely pale every time winter comes. Twain knew how tough living through the winter was for the sick. Her body would start to feel better once Spring comes, at least that was what he believed.
He spent almost half of 2009 living in the shadows of his heart disease, but he also gained a love that will last a lifetime. His career might be down in the pits right now, but things aren’t too bad for him. He could still stage a comeback.
He wondered if the sea of red before his eyes would turn even deeper in color the next time he appeared in Europe…
...
Chapter 735 - Wolf
Tony Twain’s ‘juvenile footballers’ made their way into the semifinals of the EFL Cup, but they missed out on progressing to the finals and were unable to top their previous performance in the competition.
Despite their loss however, Twain expressed satisfaction at the results his team had attained. He had treated the EFL Cup as nothing more than a training ground to hone the skills of his ‘troop’ from the start. Therefore, being able to progress into the semifinals was already a feat and his players had performed above his expectations.
The FA Cup kicked off after the start of the new year. The team successfully made their way past the first two rounds of the competition.
His ‘juvenile footballers’ also performed consistently in the league and were generally ranked between fifth to seventh place.
Forest was not playing the lead role in the current Premier League season. After the novelty of them being a young team went away, the media began to produce significantly fewer articles about Forest as compared to previous seasons. To the media, only the teams who were vying for the champion’s spot in the league deserved a great amount of attention. The usual top four teams like Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea were all in a heated battle to become Premier League champions, and it was much better to report about those teams than Nottingham Forest’s ‘juvenile footballers’.
When the Champions League kicked off in February, everyone started paying attention to how those four representatives of the Premier League were performing in the Champions League. Who would care about Forest?
It was in this environment of being looked down on and being disregarded by others that Twain’s football team was able to gain the atmosphere they were looking for all this while. They could finally be rid of the media’s disturbance and slowly develop themselves based on their own ideas.
There might not be immense pressure from majority of the media outlets, but the ‘juvenile footballers’ were still aware of how well they performed after each win or loss they obtained. They were improving with each and every match they played in.
The season passed by in a flash of the eye to Twain. That was because they competed in 25 percent less matches than last season.
When the media, fans and managers of other football teams snapped back to their senses however, they came to the sudden realization that Nottingham Forest was only two points away from becoming fourth-placed in the Premier League.
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“Four consecutive wins, three consecutive wins, seven matches undefeated… Nottingham Forest has silently finished their mission of catching up with their opponents. At a time when the top four are all in terrible shape after being tormented by the games they had to play in both the EFL Cup and the Champions League, Nottingham Forest, who had lost both the EFL Cup and FA Cup, has made their way right behind those top teams and is ready to pounce.”
“There are still 8 matches left in the Premier League. Everything is possible for Tony Twain.”
“Let us take a look at who is ranked fourth right now… Chelsea! Haha…”
“… Scolari must be feeling the heat. He will definitely suffer a headache over whether he should play his first team in the quarter finals of the Champions League or in the Premier League, because their next opponent in the Premier League is Nottingham Forest!”
“Actually… What I want to say is that it is actually not impossible for Forest to become Premier League champions this season…”
The media got thrilled after seeing Nottingham Forest creep its way up the ranking table.
“Nottingham Forest has yet to face any of the top four sides other than Arsenal in this latter half of the season. This could lead to two possibilities. A, Nottingham Forest will lose all their games against strong opponents and slip down the ranking table once again or b, Tony Twain will lead his team of ‘juvenile footballers’ to victory over his three direct rivals and then subsequently change his goal into becoming champions of the Premier League!”
※※※
Premier League champions?
Twain was definitely not thinking that far ahead. Having ambition and being baselessly arrogant were two completely different things.
All that was on his mind right now was how to defeat Chelsea in the Premier League. He was going to pull down Scolari and his men and take over their spot.
The good news to Twain was that there have been numerous signs that suggested that Scolari was going to play his first team in the Champions League instead.
It has been 7 years since Abramovich bought over Chelsea. In this time, the team has been crowned champions in the EFL Cup, FA Cup and Premier League. Only the Champions League trophy remain out of their reach.
Chelsea’s best performance in the Champions League came during the 2007-08 season when Grant was in charge as a caretaker manager. However, they suffered bitter defeat at the hands of Twain’s Nottingham Forest in the finals that year and failed to lay their hands on that coveted trophy yet again.
Scolari has managed Chelsea for two seasons so far and he has always prioritised Champions League over other competitions every season. Sadly, things never worked out the way he wanted them to, and he missed out on becoming champions in the Champions League every single time.
This season was no exception. Abramovich brought up how he hoped to win the Champions League numerous times before Scolari.
As for the Premier League… It was still Matchday 38 after all. It was not a big deal to lose one match in the Premier League, but the team cannot afford to lose even one match after making their way into the knockout stages of the Champions League.
Thus, Scolari did not play most of his first team players in the Premier League game before their Champions League quarter finals match against Bayern Munich, just as Twain has expected.
Scolari thought it would not be hard for his team to go away with at least a draw even if they were playing without most of their first team players, considering that they were playing at their home grounds.
Unfortunately, he was wrong.
Unlike Chelsea who had a lot to think about going into the match, Nottingham Forest only had their eyes set on winning the match the whole time. They displayed enormous energy the moment the match kicked off and managed to turn the momentum in their favor through their vigor. It was as though they were playing on their own home grounds. They went on the attack aggressively and was also organised at the back. There was nothing that Chelsea could exploit.
During the 11th minute of the match, Eastwood sent Žigić’s header into the back of the net and scored the opening goal for Nottingham Forest. The goal was also Eastwood’s 19th goal of the season. He was the top scorer in the team at the moment, and had also scored the fourth most number of goals in the league.
The Romanichal has not been down with much injuries this season and was able to display his impressive skills before the goalpost. His ability to score goals consistently in games was what landed him a spot in the top scorers’ list for the Premier League.
Eastwood’s goal completely shattered Scolari’s dream of getting at least a draw without playing his first team. It told him that it was impossible to get a point against Nottingham Forest even if they were playing on their own home grounds.
Twain made some slight tweaks to his game plan after they had taken the lead. Forest switched to the playing style they were best at, which was to defend and counter-attack.
Scolari stood up from his seat and started instructing the team to attack Nottingham Forest from all sides, but he never saw a goal up till the end of the first half.
The score remained 0:1. The away team, Nottingham Forest, was still leading by a goal.
Scolari continued to be torn at half time. Should he throw away the match at hand and prioritise the quarter finals of the Champions League, or should he play three of his first team players and get his team to give their all and battle it out with Nottingham Forest, so as to maintain a top four position in the Premier League?
In the end, he chose the former. Even if they lost this match, they still had seven more matches to play in the Premier League. He did not believe that Tony Twain’s team of ‘juvenile footballers’ would not slip up and commit mistakes, and he also did not believe that he has no chance of reclaiming fourth place later on.
The most pressing issue at hand was the second leg of the Champions League quarter finals match next week. It was a match that directly concerned his fate.
Meanwhile, in Forest’s locker room, Twain was analyzing Scolari’s mentality for his players.
“Scolari will definitely choose to throw this match away, because there are still seven more matches left in the league. However, if they were to give their all in this match and then lose the Champions League match next week, then he would probably be fired by Abramovich before he even gets to see through those seven Premier League matches. His boss is not someone with a lot of patience. However, things are different for us. We don’t need to worry about any life-or-death battles next week. Maybe in the future we would encounter a similar situation just like them, but right now those troubles belong solely to Chelsea, and that is the advantage that we have over them. So I want all of you to keep piling the pressure on Chelsea in the second half and fight to score one more goal. This would cause Chelsea to give up on the match entirely. If we were to only lead by one goal, the Chelsea players might suddenly have a change of heart and think it’s possible to draw the game… To us, just taking one point is unacceptable! If you guys want to play on the European stage next season, then you better win this match!”
Both teams were on completely different levels when it came to vigor and fight from the start of the second half. Chelsea players might be playing a game with Forest at the moment, but all they were thinking about was the Champions League quarter finals second leg match against Bayern Munich.
On the other hand, Nottingham Forest’s players were not thinking about anything besides winning the match before them. They were not even thinking about what would happen 10 minutes after the end of the match.
Different mindsets lead to different outcomes.
Nottingham Forest put in a performance that exceeded Twain’s expectations in the second half. They gave their all and played in a manner that suggested they definitely did not want to lose no matter what.
From the 70th to 80th minute of the match, in the span of just 10 minutes, the team managed to score two goals. The goals were scored by Žigić and Şahin, and they completely obliterated Chelsea’s fight and desire to continue playing in the match.
After seeing that there was no chance of them winning the match anymore, Chelsea’s players began playing as though they were doing warm-ups on the pitch.
Scolari remained speechless as he sat on the manager’s seat, which was a rare sight considering that he was known to have a bad temper.
Evidently, he had already shifted his attention over to the ‘finals’ that the team would play three days later against Bayern Munich. They were the away team and were up against the ‘overlord’ of the Bundesliga. It was going to be a very difficult match for them.
※※※
Winning the match against Chelsea fulfilled Nottingham Forest’s wish of being in the top four of the Premier League.
Twain indicated amicably in the post-match interview that he was happy to be able to win Chelsea. He also wished for Chelsea to progress as far as they could in the Champions League.
Additionally, he hoped that the other two Premier League teams, namely Manchester United and Liverpool, who had also made their way into the quarter finals of the Champions League, would also be able to progress far in the Champions League as well.
“It would be for the best if they could face each other in the semifinals, and then we would have two teams from England in the finals! I am British myself, and I would love to witness such a scene.”
Some media outlets believed that Twain’s words highlighted his generosity and tolerance. He was not as narrow-minded as others said he was. He was able to show support to teams who are also playing in the same league as he was, and his words demonstrated his ‘sense of belonging to the country’.
Only Carl Spicer wrote the following in his column, “Why would he wish for the three teams to be able to make their way into the semifinals of the Champions League so sincerely? In my opinion, if Arsenal had not faced Forest earlier in the league, then he would have made the same wish for Arsenal as well! Look at the match that he had with Chelsea… I know exactly what Tony Twain is plotting. The top three teams in the league need to be careful! There’s a sly wolf that’s right on your trails!”
Spicer was once again labelled by others as someone who ‘just wanted to go against Twain no matter what’ after his article was published.
Unfortunately for him, he got it all right this time round!
※※※
Chelsea managed to eliminate Bayern Munich and make their way into the top four of the Champions League after a tough battle. Abramovich could not hide his big smiles after the match. Scolari could also take a short breather before he turned his attention; not back to the Premier League of course, but back onto the Champions League once again.
Since they have already made their way into the semifinals, why would they not force themselves to pull through and make their way into the finals by eliminating Juventus from the competition? Of course, it would not be easy to eliminate Juventus considering they are the team who kicked the defending champion Inter Milan out of the Champions League.
And if they make their way into the finals, then they must of course continue to endure all the hardships, defeat their opponents, and become champions of the Champions League.
One other team who also managed to make their way into the top four of the Champions League was Manchester United. Their match against Nottingham Forest in the Premier League was also imminent.
Before the match against Manchester United however, Nottingham Forest had to face Liverpool, who got eliminated from the Champions League, first.
Against Twain’s wishes, Liverpool was not able to progress further in the Champions League. They still have to play in the FA Cup, but that game will only take place several days after their match against Forest, so it would not have any sort of impact on their performance when they face Forest.
Hence, this match between Forest and Liverpool was going to be very tough. It would be useless for either side to play any sort of tricks during the match. The only things that would determine the winner of such a match would be skill and… a little bit of luck.
Twain played his first team for the match, contrary to how he mostly played his ‘new blood’ during the match against Manchester United in the first half of the season. At that time, there was still room for errors and it was all right for them to lose, but now was definitely not the time for him to be using the fate of his team next season as a training grounds for his ‘new blood’.
Most of the players he had sent on the pitch were ‘veterans’ who had fought in numerous battles before. They were going to defeat Liverpool at their home grounds and ensure they are able to play in the Champions League next season.
In the end, Nottingham Forest, with their home advantage, managed a narrow win of 1:0 over Liverpool through a late penalty. They were able to get three precious points from the match and continued to maintain a one point lead over Chelsea on the league points table.
There were four more matches to the end of the current Premier League season. At this point, Tony Twain’s ambition for the season was very conspicuous. Premier League champions might be a far-fetched dream, but he was definitely going to qualify for the Champions League next season!
There are only four teams that would be able to qualify for the Champions League. In the years before Nottingham Forest became a force to be reckoned with, it was a ‘tradition’ for the four big teams in the Premier League to dominate the four spots that would get them a place in the Champions League.
However, now that Nottingham Forest is staging a comeback, there would definitely be one unlucky team who would lose that precious spot. Which team would become the sacrifice for Forest’s comeback?
As of now, it would seem that Chelsea was the likeliest to become that very sacrifice. Scolari definitely had some thinking to do. Even if he is able to lift the Champions League trophy this season, but if the team is only able to play in the Europa League next season despite being the defending champion… How would that feel?
A top four finish was a must for him, but sadly, his fate was out of his hands now.
The strongest opponent that stood in Forest’s way in the four remaining Premier League matches was Manchester United.
Will Ferguson become Scolari’s savior?
※※※
Matchday 36. Nottingham Forest faced Manchester United in an away game.
Chelsea faced Liverpool at home.
Two battles between top teams. Those two matches definitely attracted everyone’s attention.
The bookmaker, William Hill, leaned in favor of Manchester United and Chelsea. They believed those two teams would be able to win because they would be playing at their home grounds. Nottingham Forest was the team that they thought had the lowest chance to win out of the four.
However, no one would have guessed that the four teams would draw at the same time…
Indeed, Nottingham Forest drew with Manchester United 1:1 by defending and counter-attacking. On the other hand, a lot more goals were scored in the match between Liverpool and Chelsea. The final score was 3:3!
The very last goal in that match came during added time. Liverpool managed to draw with Chelsea and also retained their third placed ranking in the league.
There was still only one point that separated Nottingham Forest from Chelsea. Nottingham Forest was ranked fourth while Chelsea was fifth.
There were two matches left in the Premier League.
...
Chapter 736 - He’s back
“There are still two rounds left in the league, but these two rounds are the most important rounds for Nottingham Forest and Chelsea. Scolari’s team has been eliminated. Aside from the Champion’s Cup, they did not enter the finals at all. Scolari would probably still do well even if they are unable to participate in the Champion’s Cup next season. Abramovich once said that Scolari would never be dismissed regardless of the results of the league, but who would believe his words?”
The television in the bar was playing Soccer’s 90 Minutes on Sky Television . Although its main host had been replaced several times, this programme still had an important position in the hearts of the British audience.
This programme was different from Match of the Day on BBC channel which aired after the matches on the weekends. It was the prospect of the matches following the programme.
In the previous season, the away team Nottingham Forest tied with Manchester United. Because the match had not ended yet, this scoreline made several Nottingham Forest fans’ hearts quicken as all of them thought this meant the end of the season. But surprisingly Chelsea, too, had a draw before the end of the season.
During that night, this Nottingham bar saw two extremes in the emotions of Nottingham Forest fans. Kenny Burns sold all his alcohol on that day.
“Nottingham Forest rose from the dead. In the remaining two league matches, both teams have weak opponents. If Nottingham Forest can maintain and win both matches, then they will be able to return to the Champion’s league in the following league season. This has to be the happiest moment to a Nottingham Forest fan…
In the bar, a customer shouted, “To be honest even just the league cup is fine… I don’t want to stress them too much…”
Then, someone rebutted immediately, “Don’t get it wrong. It’s not the kids that are stressed. It’s that guy, Tony!”
“Let’s hope everything is fine with his heart…”
“Hey, just a small piece of news… Shania sneakily returned back to Nottingham again…”
“Wow! Tony definitely won’t be stressed!”
“Hahaha!”
The group of guys laughed raucously with their mugs in their hands. Though Tony had not been here often in his bid to quit smoking and drinking, his presence still lingered in the bar. The long-term fans who gathered in this Nottingham Bar still stayed here as “Tony Twain’s supporters”.
※※※
On the last night before the second league, Tony Twain spent it with his wife.
As these two matches concerned the future of the team and their financial status, the news reported that Tony Twain did not have it easy. Hence, Shania flew back specially for him in her break, in hopes of helping him tide over these two weeks.
Although Twain did not feel like his heart was that weak as he had met with such stressful situations many times, it does not seem like it was stressful at all this time. But he was glad that Shania, who was staying in the States, could come back and accompany him. They were a married couple that lived separately For someone who lived in a villa that spanned several hundred square metres, it was extremely lonely and cold.
To welcome Shania home, he personally cooked up a feast. — British food really could not be considered a “delicacy”, so he only cooked Chinese food.
“Uncle Tony, aren’t you afraid I’ll grow fat?” Shania asked with her hands on her hips as she took in the spread of food on the huge table.
Twain indecently held Shania’s waist and said, “I think there is no need to worry at the moment.”
“Hey!” Shania slapped Twain’s hand, pulled a chair and sat down. She was not rushing to start, but instead looked at Twain sitting opposite her. “It’s been three months since we last saw each other. Did you miss me, Uncle Tony?”
“You’ve asked me this question 10 times today, are you aware? There’s a Chinese saying: Absence makes the heart fonder. Our reunion after the short separation feels like our honeymoon… That is what I’m feeling now.”
“There’s such a saying, huh. Absence…” Shania looked up while deep in thought. “Then in the future when I travel everywhere, wouldn’t we always be in our honeymoon period? If you say it like this, then separation will become a very romantic matter!” She applauded as she beamed, being proud of her discovery.
“I don’t see it this way though.” Twain pouted. “If possible, I hope you’ll always be by my side.”
Shania smiled as she looked at Tony who looked slightly bummed “Did you know, Uncle Tony? While I was in Los Angeles, I went back to school.”
“Eh?” Twain, upon hearing what she said, was a little surprised. He did not know about this matter, and Shania did not mention this before. He thought Shania had only been entertaining other superstars and improving her own acting skills in preparation of the new film in Los Angeles. “You’re still going to school? What are you studying?”
“Costume design.” Shania winked.
Twain thought about it and understood why. Shania, being a model, would naturally be more sensitive to fashion trends, and naturally would have her own insights. If it is about costume design, Twain believed she would excel in this more than acting in movies. But why did Shania suddenly think of learning costume design?
“Hey, Uncle Tony. Let’s discuss something?”
“Yeah?”
“If I got pregnant, I’ll quit modelling and acting.”
Twain was so shocked he dropped his spoon. He looked at Shania who had a serious look on her face. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Why would I be kidding? I can’t possibly act and walk down the runway with a huge belly, right?” Shania giggled, but her tone was still firm.
“You could wait till after you gave birth…”
“Uncle Tony, the competition in this industry is cut-throat. Who knows what the world would be like after I lost my pregnancy weight?? Now you know why I want to start learning about costume design?”
“You’ve thought that far, huh…”
“Far? Pregnancy is actually a simple matter.” Shania gleamed at Twain. “Let’s start tonight, Uncle Tony!”
※※※
Twain and Shania lingered in their home for a night, then went to the stadium with high spirits to prepare for competition.
Every time he saw the young and beautiful Shania pliant and moaning under him, he was filled with a desire to conquer, one that raged strongly in his chest. This feeling did not fade after they made love, and he rode on this high the next day during work.
Twain was kind of chauvinistic. Whether it was women or his opponents, conquering them brought him immense satisfaction.
From this perspective, it was a perfect timing for Shania to return….
Hence, in the city stadium’s changing room for the home team on an afternoon, Twain passionately made a calling for the European Champions Cup:
“…Although I’ve never won the league championships before, why should we still compete for some league cup if the league championships exist? There is only a one-point difference between Chelsea and us. They can turn the tides if we aren’t careful. I don’t want something like this to happen right before the end of the league season. All of you must know this well: I only want the Champion League Cup!”
“An opponent like Middlesbrough should not even be a concern. You guys just need to perform as per normal, and the victory of this match will belong to us… Remember, do not give chances to our opponents, whether they are our opponents in this match or in the ones in the back waiting for us to make a mistake!”
The end result was Nottingham Forest winning on home ground 2 : 0 against Middlesbrough. Chelsea also won Hull City on their home field.
While there was still a match left to the league, Nottingham Forest still led Chelsea by a point.
※※※
“A match is what separates us and Europe!” After the match, Nottingham Evening Post ran this headline.
Pierce Brosnan voiced what the Nottingham Forest fans were thinking.
Nottingham Forest’s last match in the league was Stoke City!
Checking out this name, their luck could not have been better.
It was no wonder Nottingham’s local media was hurrying to announce that Nottingham Forest team had obtained the participation rights into the European Champions league in the next season.
There were some who were worried that Nottingham Forest, who was basking in the praises, would become complacent and then mess up in the last match. Anything could happen in this world.
But Twain turned down all of these worries. Rather, their “expectations”,
He repeatedly emphasized during team training to treat the opponents in the last match seriously. And he set the roster for this match solely based on the players’ attitude and emotional state during training.
Twain was obviously aware there was the possibility of an upset during the match, which was why he was trying his best to avoid that. Twain was definitely not the type of person who only regretted after the problem reach him. He wanted to destroy even the last bit of hope Chelsea had.
Making his opponents feel despair… That was indeed too great!
※※※
The last match of the league season started at three on a Saturday afternoon after a week.
Nottingham Forest challenged Stoke City as the away team while Chelsea was on home ground waiting for Portsmouth’s challenge.
Everyone who was spectating these two matches knew Chelsea was definitely not losing to Portsmouth on home field, hence the focus was on Nottingham Forest who was playing on away ground.
Scolari was already adding pressure onto Nottingham Forest team on his interview before the match, waging a psychological war.
He said, “My players have never given up the tickets in entering the European Champions League next season. Although, Nottingham Forest isn’t a bad team. They’re very, very young; some on their team are even first-timers. Being able to achieve the results they have today is already quite the feat. Youths have passion, but they’re also very unstable and unable to withstand much stress.”
It was obvious what Scolari was trying to say.
And London’s local media were even more obvious with their propaganda. “If Nottingham Forest can only go as far as the League Cup, it’s not too big a loss for them in terms of competition. Their greatest loss would be their financial one. Participating in the League Cup and the Champions League are two completely different things. Participating in the Champions League would mean a lot more income.
“Everyone knows their financial situation isn’t ideal. Allan Adams hasn’t been able to find a sponsor for their new stadium, hence that lousy piece of architecture only fixed its base and left it as it is. For a team which won four European Champions league, that piece of lousy soccer field is just like the scars on their fresh appearance. Evan Doughty must be under a lot of stress, which would transfer onto the team. If they are unable to get the rights to participate in that European Champions League next season, this stadium might continue to rot…”
Look, how clever. They drew a connection between the club’s financial status and the results of the team to accurately tell the players without errors, “If you guys can’t win, you’ll feel the stress.” Who does not want to play in the Champions League? Who does not want to improve their future days?
As such, the youths in this team would constantly fret before the competition, thinking that they absolutely cannot lose. The stress would accumulate, until it popped like,, just like a balloon being pierced.
That was what the Londoners were hoping.
But it was quite a sorry sight, because the team they were rooting for only stood a chance if their opponent slipped up. No matter how they spun it, this was some form of charity.
Regarding this, Twain did not start any wars against the opponent through media. That would only intensify the situation, making it more complicated. This would not be great news to Nottingham Forest which was preparing for war. He emphasized again and again that the only rebuttal method is using their match results after the war.
※※※
Stoke City did not want to be the calefare of another person’s celebration. Their head coach Tony Pulis was accepting the interview with some discontent, saying, “I know we have no trouble avoiding relegation, and I also know you are concerned about the four teams representing England in the European Champions League next season. But, ladies and gentlemen, what I want to say is that this is our home ground. I won’t let the away team be the main character on our field.”
Just like what Pulis said, from the start of the match, Stoke City’s players were charging with all their might. They focused on securing their defense instead of rushing to attack but instead securing their defense, using their strength in numbers to hold down Nottingham Forest’s attack. This tactic made it seem like Nottingham Forest was a wolf going up against seem like a wolf going against a porcupine — they did not know where to strike.
As for the match on Stamford Bridge, Portsmouth had already surrendered from the start. Before the first half ended, Chelsea had already scored two goals and, according to the commentators of the match on television, “Looking at Chelsea’s stance, they might still score in the second half…”
The match between Nottingham Forest and Stoke City was still at 0:0 when the first half ended. When the whistle blew mid-match, Sky Television was airing the scores of both matches real-time.
According to the current results, Chelsea is ahead of Nottingham Forest, with a two point difference to be placed at fourth, while Nottingham Forest has fallen to fifth,
During the mid-match break, Twain did not arrange any changes to the tactics. He felt that the tactics had no issues, the problem of the match not playing well was no
※※※
During the mid-match break, Twain did not arrange any changes to the tactics. He thought that there were no issues with the strategy. They were not playing a good game, but it was not because of the team. On the other hand, if he did not say anything, the players might feel like the problem was them.
Hence, he said, “My friends, this is the last match of the current league season. Think back to the summer a year ago and then today. What did we work hard for a full season for? Maybe some of you would think playing for the league cup would be good, maybe some would feel that all of these efforts was just for competing rights for the Champions League to reduce the financial burden of the club, but now I want to rightfully tell you guys that all of the talk above are bullsh*t! My Nottingham Forest is a team with a tradition to win championships, even though we faced some issues last year which pulled us away from Europe for a year! But now, we are coming back.
“In our absence, those of Europe’s greats have had a very comfortable life. They ate well since no one could threaten to take their spot. Every year, the favourites for the titles are always the same few teams. I’m sick of that! Things are different now, because we’re coming back. Robin Hood is back! Their honor and their wealth, it won’t be theirs for long, which is why they’re panicking. What are we going to do next? ”
Twain laughed. “Use this match to remind them: That’s right, we’re back! ”
※※※
In the second half, Chelsea’s momentum did not slow and they continued to score. Two goals in ten minutes locked their score at 4:0. Portsmouth had no will to fight; they were just waiting for the game to end. Chelsea fans at Stamford Bridge had long been unconcerned about the game under their noses; they were all wearing headphones and listening to the latest news from another stadium on the radio.
Even in Scolari’s chair, someone was listening to the latest developments on the radio.Just as the media had predicted before the match, the deciding factor in the last Champions League spot was not Chelsea’s match, but the match between Nottingham Forest and Stoke City. At the very least, and to the relief of Chelsea fans, the score line was 0:0 right up till the end of the eighty minutes.
After a brief exhilaration, everyone began to wait anxiously for the last ten minutes to end. Nobody thought ten minutes could last that long, as if it would take up all the time they had in their life.
At the eighty-seventh minute, a voice came on the radio:
“… Žigić’s header! It’s been pounced on! Shoot again! This time it was the goalposts that helped Stoke City! Ah…And it’s there! Nottingham Forest still has a chance…Freddy Eastwood- GOAL! GOOOAL! GOOOOOOAL! They finally broke the deadlock! Nottingham Forest lead on away 1:0!”
Stamford Bridge was dead silent. Scolari and his aides looked at each other, as if refusing to believe what they just heard.
※※※
Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest’s coaching and bench are already in a frenzy at Stoke City’s home stadium, Britannia. Everyone hugged and cheered and roared. For this late goal.
Twain was not as crazy. He just patted his chest, to the side of Dunn smiled, “I almost thought the goal is going to be cool…”
Twain shook his head and said, “Shania can rest assured. ”
The TV narrator was shouting, “Freddy Eastwood! The Key of Nottingham Forest! He saved the team’s effort scored a season three minutes before the end and Tony Twain’s heart! Tony Twain really should have a hard kiss on his shoes! It was the Gypsies’ 23rd league goal of the season! He ranks third in the league! This season, he’s been in great form and that had a lot to do with not having frequent injuries…”
※※※
Stamford Bridge spent the final days of the game in a strange silence. There was no love on the pitch on either side. When the referee blew the final whistle, the Chelsea players on the pitch ran to the bench to ask for information about the game at Nottingham Forest.
They were greeted by a dejected face from their teammates.
※※※
As soon as the game was over, Twain did not even have time to run to celebrate the victory with the players before he was surrounded at the coach’s chair by reporters .
“Ninth place last season and fourth place this time. Coach Tony Twain, as someone with a heart condition, you have achieved something very brilliant. Congratulations! What do you have to say?”
“Tell the guys in Europe that your old friends are back!” He said, laughing, pointing at the camera lens. Mourinho, we’ll repay the debt from when you kicked my team out last season!”
Gary Lineker turned around to see Tony being interviewed on the big screen. On the screen, the English footballer said to the camera, “Tony Twain challenges the whole of Europe. Yes, he’s back. ”
...
Chapter 737 - Plans for the New League Season
Following the previous match where they defeated Stoke City, successfully held down Chelsea and became the final team participating in the Champions League, Tony Twain became person the media was most concerned with. His delightful smile appeared on several media platforms, his line “tell the buddies in Europe that your old friend is coming back” had even become a quotation that several Nottingham Forest fans loved to mimic.
Some were happy, but others were disappointed.
On the second day after the league, Chelsea had officially announced that Scolari had lost his job as the head coach. On paper they had thanked Scolari for his contributions to the team and acknowledged his results, not that there was much to acknowledged. During the two league seasons that Scolari led the team, they did not win any championships at all. Despite that, Chelsea had to maintain a courteous facade. On paper, they did not state their reason for dismissing Scolari, and Scolari, did not accept any interviews after he left the club, turning down any means of him expressing his opinion.
But everyone knew. They were stuck at fourth place in the current league season, and they even lost the right to qualify for the Champions League. Losing their rights to the Champions League next season was the main reason why Scolari was dismissed. The focus should not be on Abramovich, who was wealthy enough to purchase several players for Chelsea, but on Chelsea’s head coach who was arguably under more stress than their Manchester United and Arsenal counterparts.
Man City’s previous general Mark Hughes faced the same plight as Scolari. Hughes definitely understood what Scolari was feeling at the moment. He had been dismissed by the boss of Man City who could not tolerate any more because Man City did not achieve any glorious results despite the heavy investments; participating in Europa League had been the height of their achievements. Mark Hughes’ final words before his dismissal garnered much pity. He said, “I can finally get a good sleep.”
As for his successor Kevin Keegan, he was still tormented in that position, and Keegan’s main reason for not resigning because he hoped they would terminate their contract with him so he could receive a hefty compensation fee. Today, the position of the Man City’s head coach has become a hot potato.
In comparison, Chelsea’s situation was slightly better. After Hoddle’s start, they moved on to Gullit, Viali, Ranieri, and then up till the current Mourinho., Chelsea had already become a strong team in the Premier League, so they became more attractive to elite players and coaches.
Hence, after dismissing Scolari, Chelsea then announced his successor.
“… We have already agreed with Mr Frank Rijkaard. He is very willing to take on the head coach position for Chelsea. Mr Abramovich looks forward to Mr Rijikaard bringing delightful soccer for the Chelsea’s fans…”
People who knew Abramovich would not be surprised at this. Rijkaard, who had been idling at home, was indeed the most suitable candidate to suit Abramovich’s wants. Bearing in mind the beauty of the soccer he played back in Barcelona, Rijkaard would be the best candidate at the moment if you wanted to watch a beautiful soccer.
And Rijkaard responded quickly. He accepted Chelsea’s invite Chelsea and made it a whole new challenge for himself.
The rumours stating Rijkaard replacing Ancelotti as AC Milan’s head coach collapsed by itself.
On the second day of the news announcement, Rijkaard then appeared in London to take on the role officially. The media, while interviewing Twain, had mentioned this matter, hoping to hear his thoughts on Chelsea’s new head coach.
Twain thought it was strange. “Why would you all ask for my thoughts for Chelsea’s switches in manpower? I’m not their head of human resource…”
The reporter chuckled, “But didn’t you incite this change in their manpower, Mr Twain?”
Twain was stunned by this question. He thought carefully — that was true. Had he not pushed Chelsea down a slot to the fifth position, maybe Scolari might not have been dismissed. A premature termination of a contract like this required a huge withdrawal for the dismissed head coach, which meant it was a loss for Chelsea as well. Had the results not been too much for Abramovich to bear, would he have dismissed Scolari so easily?
“Alright…” Twain sighed. “I really admire Rijkaard for his achievements back in Barcelona. However…” He thought of his personal grudges with that head coach back in Barcelona. “You must know such things for it to be another hot topic for you all to talk about in the Premier League season. For me, there isn’t much change. My aim is championships and victory. I am only concerned with both of these things so I don’t really care about other matters.”
※※※
Although he gave such a magnificent response to the reporter, but Twain’s haters thought he was talking too big. For the current conditions of Nottingham Forest, to be able to guarantee the top four positions in the league every league was impressive enough. Twain actually had the audacity to think about winning the championships altogether…
To fulfil the lofty ambitions in the new league seasons, it was definitely not sufficient to rely on these people. Nottingham Forest definitely needed to search for players on the transfer market to enhance the capabilities of the team.
But this required money.
Twain knew the team would not be able to fork out enough money for him to spend. Even then, he still stubbornly went to find Evan, hoping that he could give Twain a little more money.
He initially thought this matter would be difficult, but the results made him gasp.
“I have decided that before the financial situation takes a turn for the better, we would postpone the repairing of the new stadium indefinitely.” Evan Doughty smiled upon facing the shocked Twain in the club main office. “Thus there are funds for you to buy players now.”
“Does Allan… know about this?” Twain’s first reaction was not to happy but to ask what Allan would think about this.
“This was his suggestion.” Evan beamed. “Also, our plans for that humongous stadium also needs some tweaking. Anyway, we’ll leave that matter to him. Tony, you just need to lead the team to achieve results. I watched the interviews that included you; I hope you aren’t just making empty talk.” He walked forward to pat Twain’s shoulders.
“Yes, championships… I don’t make empty promises, they do nothing to help me win championships. How much are you setting aside for me to spend in the new league season, Evan?” He asked the most crucial question.
“How much do you need, Tony?”
Tony thought for a while.
Every summer, other teams would be interested in his players, but it had always been the same people that he would never consider selling, such as George Wood, Gareth Bale and Pepe.
If Tony wanted to replenish his capabilities, then he should not sell the main columns in the team. But Twain knew that the players he was willing to sell would not fetch much money, so relying on selling players to get transfer fees was not realistic. Currently the team’s weakest points were the forwards and midfielders. Van Nistelrooy had returned to the team with a new 2-year contract and a salary much lower than was stipulated in his previous contract. This was some kind of price to pay, huh.
His body was recovering adequately well, allowing him to represent the team in the new league season. But his condition was still unpredictable.
Nicolás Millán and Victor Moses were still young and needed more training. The team required a two-line operation in the new league season hence requiring a practical rotation. Their chances in competing were not worrying. The only worry was whether their abilities could meet what the European matches would demand from them. Currently, there were not many issues with Millán but Moses still needed more polishing.
Žigić playing as a center forward would allow Nottingham Forest to secure a place. Though his performance was not outstanding, he was very practical.
Agbonlahor’s speed was Twain’s new weapon; his presence allowed the team more unique and ever-changing tactics.
There is nothing much to say about Eastwood. The previous season was his best season thus far. If he did not get injured, he would definitely be the prime shooter in the team. Also, Nistelrooy and him had the most experience playing for the Champion League on the front line.
But this type of front line potential was not sufficient. They still needed strikers to raise their standards.
For the midfielders… George Wood and Lennon were dependable players, but Lennon only had himself in the right lane. In the previous league they only had to focus on the league games within the country, so this was not an issue. But now that they required a two-line operation, a player going solo was definitely not sustainable through the season.
Şahin’s performance was actually decent, having improved after a league’s worth of breaking in and training. Perhaps being recalled to Turkey’s national team was proof of that. Tiago Mendes was another player on rotation. As for John Bostock, Twain wanted to loan him out for a year because he still needed more training. Likewise Adriano Moke also needed to be loaned out.
Chris Cohen’s performance was average, a great supplement to the midfielder. He definitely should stay since he would have plenty of opportunities to play in the two-line operation.
Twain decided to sell Petrov. One reason was that the Bulgarian was getting older. He was not as fast as he used to be, and his condition had been on the decline as well. Another factor was to take advantage of people who still wanted to get him. It was said that the black horse two leagues ago, Hoffenheim, had been interested in him, wanting him to go to France to showcase his skills. Petrov was considering this as well as he did get famous back in Brigade, hence it was not foreign for him to return.
Counting these people, the two lanes in the midfield required strong players to supplement.
There were not many worries on the final defensive line. Leighton Baines and Gareth Bale performed steadily. In the past league season Baines had few chances to appear, but his chances would only increase following the new season.
The right full back Rafinha had already fully grown. He had efficient attacks and persistent fell back to defend, securing his right full back position in the team. There were several teams which are interested in him outside, but Twain would not consider selling him at all.
Chimbonda was a special case. He had already turned 31 so Twain wanted to find someone suitable to replace him easily, but up till now he still stayed on the team with a steady performance. Whenever he entered the field, he would go all out. He did not even complain when he was benched. His contributions were relevant to them being able to obtain the rights to Champions League last season. He might be a lot more outstanding than Rafinha in the right full back position. When Twain needed the team to defend, Chimbonda was a lot more reliable than the Brazlilian. Twain also rediscovered the value of this French — he was not a soccer superstar but he was undeniable a key player essential in any team. All of them had their own role and responsibilities, the base of a team. Twain needed such players. This summer, the club was discussing a new contract with his manager which would last four years. Signing this would almost mean a life-long contract. Chimbonda would turn 35 in four years, after which he could basically consider retirement.
And for the plans for repairing the new stadium and the activity to go China to search for sponsor, both were unsuccessful. As such, Twain decided to place Sun Jihai on the transfer market. Whether it was a Chinese club or one in the English league, he would sell Sun Jihai for a suitable price. Although selling him now would not fetch a high price and there would be a huge difference between the transfer fee obtaining him and selling him, waiting another year would cost them the profit since Sun Jihai would transfer out on his own.
For the center backs, Pepe was the unmovable main force. Unless he gots injured, he would definitely play well. Kompany and Woodgate would then belong to the rotational center backs in the new season. Woodgate’s body would not be as strong as Kompany’s, where he would be filled with minor injuries and diseases. Wes Morgan would be a great replacement. But for the contest in Europe, Morgan was not reliable.
Five center backs would be sufficient. Any more would be a waste.
The young left full back Joe Mattock has been working hard to adapt to his new position as a center full back since last season. In the new season he would be loaned out to accept the test of the practical grinding.
“I’m thinking… around fifty million pounds.” Twain quickly did a mental calculation, then reported an estimate.
Evan frowned, “This isn’t a small amount, but I’ll think of something” Evan frowned, but it was quickly replaced by a smile. “Go and have a happy vacation with Shania and don’t think of anything else. Once the money issue is settled, I’ll notify you, Tony. Where are you two thinking of going to play?”
“China.” Twain shrugged. “To visit Dunn’s parents, who are also my parents.” Besides, I have an endorsement contract to discuss there as well.”
Twain mentioning China made Evan recall his trip to China in the summer of 2008. During that time, Nottingham Forest won the Champions League, getting the dual championships in that season. It was delightful and wonderful in that moment. There were celebrations everywhere. Seeing the East Asian fans and companies pay homage to himself was a pleasant feeling, but it was a pity that all of that was gone now. Allan Adams ran around China for almost half a year. Those enterprises, upon hearing that they need to invest money in the stadium, would shake their heads and complain about the economical crisis, limited time and funds. Those wealthy overlords were state-owned enterprises, so even if there were people wanting to invest in the Briitsh’s property market, it would hinder their identities to not dare to act rashly.
But then for United Arab Emirates people suggested it was possible to invest in them, not into the construction of the stadium but into the club, which was tantamount to a disguised acquisition. Evan rejected them consistently — even if they were to sell Nottingham Forest, now was not the time. The other party would unscrupulously lower the price; only a fool would sell.
Evan Doughty zoned out for a while, then discovered Twain was still in front of him. He chuckled, “Hope you enjoy yourself, Tony. If possible, bring back some Chinese souvenirs for Allan and I…”
Twain nodded. “Then I should really spend some effort to think of what presents to bring back to satisfy you two.”
“Haha, don’t think much of it! Anything is fine. We are not kids who still wait till Christmas to find presents in our stockings.”
...
Chapter 738 - What Is Chinese Football?
What was the difference between China in the summer of 2010 and the summer of 2007 in Twain’s memory? In Twain’s view, it was no different. The impact of the economic crisis on China was not as great and obvious as the European, American and Japanese world. From the looks of it, the country was full of vitality and contained countless opportunities. Despite the global economic crisis of the past two years, the country had maintained an eight percent economic growth rate.
Although he was a British citizen, Twain did not forget that he was in fact white on the outside and yellow on the inside salted egg yolk custard steamed bun. Therefore, no matter how many times he went to China, he would always have the warm feeling in his heart.
Despite claiming to be of one-eighth Chinese origin, Shania clearly had less feelings for this country than a thoroughly Englishman like Twain. For her, China was a tourist country with many fun spots and a lot of delicious food. Of course, it was a place to make money too—A Chinese company had already approached her to be a brand ambassador because her profile said she had one-eighth of Chinese ancestry. Putting in this inconsequential detail did not rule out the possibility that Fasal wanted to use it to pull in Shania’s relationship with the Chinese market. Even more so, being an internationally famous model and a slightly famous actress in Hollywood excited the fans in China.
As a result when Twain and Shania married in Brazil last summer, the Chinese media smugly stated that Tony Twain and family had an inexplicable relationship with China—Twain’s good friend and assistant was the Chinese man, Dunn; Twain himself claimed to be extremely fond of the Chinese culture, proficient in Mandarin, and appeared to know China better than a Chinese; there is a Chinese player in Nottingham Forest; he was said that he had acknowledged Dunn’s parents as his godfather and godmother… Now he had a wife of one-eighth Chinese descent.
This summer, Tony Twain, who was closely linked with China, was on holiday in China again.
When he and Shania, as well as Dunn, appeared at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport, he was startled by a group of interviewers that blocked outside the terminal.
About twenty reporters from various media outlets gathered outside the pick-up point, a marked difference between the ordinary people around them who came to pick up their relatives and friends. Before Twain’s arrival, they attracted a lot of people’s attention, all of whom were guessing which star was coming to Chengdu today.
They also caught the attention of the airport security, and soon a team of security guards, responsible for maintaining the order, appeared around them. They did not know who was coming but knew that it must be a star. They had seen a lot of such instances as the airport employees.
When Twain led Shania by hand and pushed the luggage cart around accompanied by Dunn to appear at the pick-up point, the group of people pressed the camera shutters in their hands as if they had received the signal. For a time, the flashes went off endlessly and the waiting hall was bright white.
“I thought we were secretive enough…” He glanced at Dunn next to him, because he immediately spied Tang Jing in the crowd when the flashlights momentarily stopped.
“You two are public figures. How can it be kept a secret?” Dunn did not deny that he told Tang Jing the news, but he did not admit it either. He just obliquely expressed that the combination of Twain and Shania was like a firefly in the night sky, so eye-grabbing and striking. No matter where they hid, they would be found …
Shania did not bicker with them. She displayed the true qualities of a star— she immediately put on her best pose with the most appropriate smile on her face and waved to the reporters.
Consequently, Twain could only plaster a smile on his face and waved to greet these people, “Hello everyone.” He said in fluent Mandarin.
Dunn obviously did not have to pretend. He pushed the cart behind the two big stars and turned a blind eye to the Chinese reporters.
Tang Jing moved up closer and reached out to Twain across the temporary human wall lined up by the airport security, wanting to shake hands. “Mr. Twain, Mr. Twain! How long are you going to stay in China? Can you accept an exclusive interview with me before you leave? You and your wife, Miss Jordana…”
Twain turned to look at Dunn, who pretended not to see anything, and glanced at Shania, who smiled at him. So, he extended his hand and shook it with Tang Jing before he said, “I’d love to. You make an appointment, Miss Tang Jing.”
“Let’s make it tonight… Are you going back to Dunn’s hometown?”
Twain nodded, “Okay. You know Dunn’s contact details, so you must know where we are staying. Give Dunn a call early before you come.” He used words to mock the current relationship between Dunn and Tang Jing.
Dunn did not say a word whereas Tang Jing did not mind. Having settled the interview with Twain and Shania, she looked excited, “I have a car. Would you like to take my car?”
Twain shook his head and refused, “Thank you for your kindness, but we also have a car.”
Twain and the others pushed their luggage and walked outside. The reporters followed behind with incessant questions, hoping to get answers from the three people. In fact, these reporters were not here for Twain. Some of the media wanted to interview Shania, while some of the media were more interested in Dunn …
They walked out of the hall, being surrounded in this manner.
“All right, all right, my friends.” Twain thought it was too much trouble to bring along a large group of people, so he stopped and turned around to speak loudly to the reporters, “I’m here for a holiday in China, and I hope I can enjoy a quiet holiday. Thank you for coming specially to welcome me. Please go back now!”
Having said that, they walked straight to the outside car lane to queue up for a taxi, waiting for passengers.
Tang Jing asked in surprise at the back, “This is your car?”
Twain turned to her and smiled, “A taxi is a car too, Miss Tang Jing.”
※※※
“A quiet holiday is extravagant hope for me.” In the car, Twain complained in English about everything that happened at the airport.
Shania sat next to him and held his hand. She smiled and said, “I’m used to it for a long time. I never thought I could go visit somewhere in peace and quiet.”
Dunn sat in the front passenger seat in silence.
Twain saw him like this and remembered the matter he was very concerned about. He then asked, “I say, mate… at what stage have your relationship with Tang Jing developed to?”
“Huh?” Dunn did not hear it clearly.
“Are you and Tang Jing dating?” Twain changed his tack.
“How … How can it be?” Dunn flatly denied.
“Okay. Look, I’m bringing Shania back to see our parents. If they ask about your plans for marriage, what are you going to say?”
“I’m still young…”
“Is twenty-nine years old still young?” In fact, Dunn’s actual age should be forty-one years old, which was Twain’s current age.
Dunn did not speak because he did not know how to answer the question.
“You know… regardless, they’d rather see you settled down and get married so that they can carry your kids early…” Twain muttered, a little lost in his thoughts.
In any case, he was not the biological son of his parents. There was always a difference between close and distant relatives, which was human nature. Although he felt a little uncomfortable, he could only accept the reality. He got the fame, fortune and love he had yearned for, so he had to pay for them in return. Hence, he lost his biological parents.
※※※
In the evening, Tang Jing suggested that she would play host and invited the three people to dinner. Twain thought Tang Jing’s excuse was very interesting. She was not Sichuanese. How would that make her the “host?”
But they still gladly made the appointment—surely they would have to give face to Dunn, wouldn’t they?
After dinner, they returned to the hotel. In the room, Twain and Shania accepted an interview with Tang Jing together. In fact, it was mainly an interview with Twain. After all, Tang Jing was a sports journalist, and not a freelance writer for a fashion magazine.
Tang Jing was concerned about Nottingham Forest’s prospects for next season and wanted to hear about Twain’s plans. So, Twain selectively revealed some details. Following which, they looked back at last season. Twain was generally satisfied with the team’s performance last season. To be able to successfully squeeze Chelsea out and advance to next season’s UEFA Champions League were in line with his expectations.
The next step was to talk about his married life with Shania, which was naturally very loving and happy. On the football field, Twain’s goal was to pursue victory and championship titles whereas in the couple’s life, it was to have a child.
Then Tang Jing took a look at Twain’s physical condition and asked him to talk about his experiences of more than five months of resting at home due to his heart disease. Twain did not think there was much to talk about. An illness was not a good thing, let alone a heart attack. So, he directly stated his attitude to the question—He was not going to answer it.
The atmosphere was considered harmonious enough that Tang Jing momentarily forgot that she was interviewing Tony Twain, who was said to be “the most difficult interviewee by the reporters.” But on the issue of Twain’s health, she finally experienced the man’s unreasonable side again.
She could only move on to the last part—as the manager of Nottingham Forest, the most successful young manager in Europe in recent years, and a public figure who understood the Chinese football world well, what were Tony Twain’s views on Chinese football?
As opposed to his previous succinct answers, Twain seemed to have a lot to say when it came to Chinese football.
“I heard you’re going to change football back into the national system? I don’t know how to evaluate. If it was to only let the national football team produce results, it was understandable. Just like your country’s table tennis, diving, gymnastics, it is very effective. The whole world knows that China is the strongest in table tennis and the best in diving. Gymnastics is also traditionally China’s dominant event.”
“But I don’t think the significance in football is just about getting the national team to get the top spots in the international competitions. Football is a competition of skills, and also a game, where anyone can get involved and play the game. At the same time, it’s even a lifestyle. I’m a manager of a club. For my club fans, going to the stadium once a week to watch the hometown team play is a lifestyle. This way of life has been passed down from the fathers to the sons and then to the grandchildren. It has been going on for hundreds of years. Do you understand the difference between this and yours now?”
“It seems to me that although China was the original birthplace of football, there is still a long way to go in China based on what I called ‘a lifestyle.’ How many years has it been since professional football was introduced to China? And how many years has Britain been doing it? I believe that professional football is promising in China, because the Chinese people are very smart, know how to do a thing well and will definitely do it well. The key is whether you want to do it well or not. Having done professional football for more than ten years, the thing in China is still like water without a source and a tree without roots. I think it’s an abysmal failure! It’s a shame to the clever Chinese people!”
Twain suddenly got a little worked up as if he were the Chinese man who was ashamed of it.
“Because of the failures in the Olympic Games and World Cup qualifiers, your General Administration of Sport of China has decided to let football revert to its former national system. I do not deny that doing so will help your country develop a team that has a corresponding place in the football world. At that time, playing in the World Cup or the Olympics will lead to results that your fans will feel acceptable. But if I were a regular football fan, I would be sad to live in such an environment. You want to know why?”
“I’d like to hear the details.” Tang Jing was unknowingly captivated by Twain’s loud arrogant talk. She even forgot that this part was just a routine “add-on” and that it would not take up too much space when writing the article. But now, she had a strong idea deep down—to make this part the highest priority for the interview to promote to all readers.
“How many games can a strong national team play, counting all kinds of invitation tournaments and commercial competitions? And how many high-level games does a mature club team play in a year? As an ordinary fan, he will certainly support his country’s team and wave the flag to cheer for his country on the national team game day. It’s all very good. So, how about the other times other than the national team match days? How does he find an outlet for his love and desire for football? Where can he find a target to entrust such an ardent conviction? Foreign teams?”
Twain snorted with a laugh, “AC Milan? Inter Milan? Real Madrid? Barcelona? Juventus? Manchester United? Arsenal? Liverpool? Chelsea? Bayern Munich? Or Nottingham Forest? Or the German national team, the Italian national team, the England team, the Spanish national team, the French national team, the Portuguese national team, the Czech Republic national team, the Brazilian national team, the Argentine national team, the Japanese national team, the Korean national team … Anyway, it will not be the Chinese national team.”
“Of course, they can like the above-mentioned teams, which is not a problem. No one has the right to interfere with other people’s interests and choices. But they are Chinese people and Chinese football fans. The above-mentioned teams will not play every weekend at their doorsteps. They cannot cheer in the stadium for their favorite teams. They can only argue with the opposing fans online. They also can’t get up close and personal with these stars outside the training grounds, ask for autographs, or even buy genuine team memorabilia…To be honest, this kind of love makes me feel very sad.” He shrugged and said, “I think the Chinese people pay particular attention to a sense of belonging, but this kind of love has no sense of belonging. You love those teams, but those teams don’t necessarily love you. Ah, I’m not denigrating the European teams. I just think you’re too far away from them that they basically don’t care about your love. What is the position of the Chinese fans who carry posters to the airport to greet their idolized teams in the eyes of the European clubs?” Twain thought of the gold rush trip to China he did with his team.
What did the Chinese fans who were so enthusiastic to the point that they almost bow down look like to Allan Adams and Evan Doughty? They only represented “the China market”, the exchange rate between the Chinese Yuan, the British pound, and the euro.
What was the case for the Forest players? They were just ordinary supporters who were far away. They were at a different level from the Nottingham fans in the minds of these people. They had a duty to use victory and their own skills to please the Nottingham fans who would go to the City Ground stadium every week to support them, but they would not please those fans who were far away in China, even though they were as enthusiastic as the former.
The Nottingham Forest club received letters from fans all over the world every day. Due to the presence of Assistant Manager Dunn and Sun Jihai, there had been many letters from the Chinese fans. Most of those letters were of several templates, of which the vast majority were postcards and souvenirs. Some of them were just professional “autograph collectors” in the country, and some of them really liked the Forest team. However, in either case, the date of the postmark of the letters and the date on which the letter was received were almost one month apart.
Was the cost of this kind of love a little too high?
“I’ve said so much. Can you understand my meaning, Miss Tang Jing?”
Tang Jing nodded mechanically—in fact, she had not digested Twain’s words.
“The purpose of football for the General Administration of Sport of China and Chinese Football Association is absolutely not to give your country’s fans a way of life in football culture—it does not fall within their concern and consideration. To put it nicely, their aim is in hope that the national team’s performance will improve. To put it bluntly, it is only for the achievements of these leaders currently in office. What kind of position does the Chinese fans hold in their hearts? That’s an interesting question…”
Perhaps it was “the mob of people” that had gathered outside the stadium chanting “The Football Association is a stupid c**t”, “Disband the China national team”, “Xie X Long, f**k your mother”, and such slogans. Or it could be the figures in the statistics of each Chinese Super League match…Anyway, it was an indistinct community with a repulsive image and not living, breathing, flesh and blood “people” with feelings. Therefore, they naturally did not need to care about their feelings, listen to their voices, and what “football” meant to these ordinary people.
“… The focus of their work is only the national team. As long as the national team does well, they will be good officials with achievements. As for the football culture and way of life… What is that? Can it guarantee that they will be promoted and make a fortune? Can it guarantee that they will have a political track record? To have football imperceptibly influence people’s lives, what is needed is not merely the efforts of several leadership teams. How many leaders are willing to let the fruits of their labor be taken advantage of by future generations? I have worked hard for four years and not achieve any political accomplishments just so that the next generation can salvage the political achievements? On what basis! Why should I suffer just to let others profit from it!”
Twain suddenly got up from his chair, and paced around the room in an emotional state, completely forgetting that he was being interviewed now. He just had a lot of things on his mind that he wanted to say, not caring who the audience was, and where he was at.
Once he started talking about Chinese football, Twain began to use Mandarin to communicate with Tang Jing because he might not be able to convey certain context in English. Therefore, Shania could not understand what her Uncle Tony said. When she saw Twain suddenly got agitated and stood up to pace around the room muttering nonstop, she was a little worried and said, “Uncle Tony…”
Tang Jing also did not expect that Twain would have such a fierce reaction. She initially asked the question because she wanted to listen to what Tony Twain, an outsider, thought of Chinese football, which now had a bad reputation. She wanted to let the readers know what a foreigner thought of Chinese football. She did not expect that although Twain did discuss the matter from an outside perspective, his emotional state … did not appear to be that of an outsider.
She also followed suit to stand up, with her heart full of contradictions. Should she exhort Twain to calm down, or hope that he continued to speak and let her hear more hot news items…
“Yes, that’s what they think!” Twain turned around and stood while he waved his fists and said, “You really did encounter some detours and diversions in the process of developing the professional football path, but that doesn’t mean you have to deny everything about professional football and go back to the national professional system. Is your football problem a professional problem? Is it a matter of the star players making too much money and the club throwing away too much money? Which of the European teams and star players make too little money? Which club doesn’t invest money? Are the players of countries with high-level football, fine examples of high moral standing and drink milk that is squeezed from grass? Are all European clubs so squeaky clean and transparent like air? People in the system certainly don’t admit that the institutional problems are the causes of it all, because acknowledging it will be to break their livelihood, smash their rice bowls, and destroy their own interests. So, the push to professionalism, to those professional players with low-quality skills but can still make a lot of money and in fact have no right to speak of, make use of society’s ‘hate the rich’ mentality, shift everyone’s anger of the Chinese Football Association to the professional league. They are saying ‘with the professionalization over the years, the players are making more and more money, but the level of football is getting worse’, so the fault lies with ‘the professionalization of football.’ But if it were not for professionalization, how would you know how incompetent and inflexible the organization that had managed Chinese football for fifty-five years was!!”
“Once many years, many years have passed, maybe your national team will be great in international football, like the Soviet Union before its collapse. But your football level won’t improve for a hundred years… No, there will never be progress. What does football mean to your masses? It is an Olympic event that strives for the nation’s glory but locked away from the world in a high-walled compound. It is definitely not a game for young children to play and have fun together in the school playground. Nor is it something that the fans gather once a week for in the stadium stands and in front of the television. It is not the kind of belief, entertainment, way of life that they will be happy about, cry for it, be proud of it, be angry about, be deeply concerned about. It is not a living life that exists among the people and originates from the people that will continue to germinate, blossom, bear fruit and continuously grow and strengthen uninterrupted for a hundred years and not decline. It is definitely not a culture that is full of vitality and has a reasonable cycle mechanism which can regenerate and radiate far-reaching influence that will make the politicians down to the civilians to…love it!”
“Do you know what that feels like, Miss Tang Jing?” After saying this in one breath, Twain looked back at the reporter, Tang Jing, who was stupefied.
“When Nottingham Forest was unfortunately relegated, half the people of Nottingham city cried. When Notts County was once on the brink of bankruptcy, the other half of Nottingham city’s people generously contributed money and did not expect anything in return. They donated pound by pound, hoping to save the team. Because that’s their team, it’s their hometown team! Even if it’s just a nobody team in Football League Third Division North which almost never has the hope to win the Champions League.”
“But in China today, ninety percent of people half surprised and half sneered at you and say, ‘Yo, you still watch Chinese Super League? You still watch Chinese football! You shouldn’t self-abuse in this way, you stupid c**t!'” After he uttered the obscenity, Twain spread his hands and his tone finally eased. “You see, that’s the difference between the two situations. Miss Tang Jing. What’s wrong with Chinese football? It’s okay, because it’s a big problem in itself, a big problem that breeds a large host of mid-sized problems, and the mid-sized problems involved countless of small problems… Ah, it’s wonderful, it’s a family reunion for a group photo.”
Twain laughed and said, “But what’s the solution to the problem? To be honest, I don’t think you can hope to solve it in the current situation of the sports system in China. I sympathize with you, really, I’m not kidding. I do indeed have a lot of sympathy for you all… Also, don’t fantasize about one or two talented players who can help you get to the path of glory. In the future, try not to pay attention to Chen Jian. I know you are trying to introduce him to the Chinese fans and shape him into a new hopeful overseas Chinese player. But I want to warn you, Miss Tang Jing.”
Twain extended his index finger and wagged it in front of Tang Jing. “He’s absolutely not the savior of Chinese football. He’s just an ordinary young man who wants to make a living from football and is a bit silly but has pretty good luck. If my player is ruined by your meaningless delusions, today will be the last time I’ll accept your interview.”
※※※
When Tang Jing was about to leave, it was clear from her appearance that she was still in a daze from Twain’s speech. Apparently the interview impacted her far more than any of Twain’s previous conversations in front of the media. She really needed to get back and digest it. Fortunately, although she was still in a daze, the interview machine in her hands still worked faithfully and completely recorded Twain’s every word.
But one thing was very clear when she left—if this story was published, the impact that it would give rise to could be by no means merely compared to “the most successful young manager—into Tony Twain’s world” interview.
To publish this piece in the papers, she might even have to take some risks…
※※※
Shania did not care about the impact Twain’s words would have on the country’s football community. She wondered about Twain’s vehemence at the last moments.
What would agitate Uncle Tony so much that he could not even help himself?
Twain hugged her, shook his head and smiled to explain, “She asked a question that I could not explain clearly in one or two sentences and the question was easy for people to lose their cool and calm… I’m really sorry to have scared you, Shania. But it’s all right now, at least I don’t have to continue to worry about that problem. Let’s have some fun!” He suddenly grabbed Shania and threw her onto the bed.
Shania’s screams soon turned into gentle moans…
※※※
Tang Jing came out of the elevator, and found Dunn sitting in the couch facing the direction of the elevator in the lobby.
“The interview took longer than expected.” He said as he saw Tang Jing come straight over.
“Sorry, the last question caused the interview plan to spin out of control.” Tang Jing shook her head and said, “He got very worked up and said a lot.”
Dunn was somewhat interested and said, “What was the question?”
“I asked him what he thought of Chinese football. I originally wanted to hear what a foreigner thought of something that we ourselves thought of as rotten… The result came as a surprise to me.” Tang Jing said in a low voice as she frowned and recalled the scene. “He said a lot, some stuff we did not know, some stuff we never thought about and some we knew and thought about but did not dare say…”
“I’ve decided! I’ll take out his answer on its own and published the full text without a single change in his words!”
“I can imagine what Tony said. Aren’t you afraid that publishing it will bring trouble?” Dunn asked.
Tang Jing smiled sweetly and ran her fingers through the hair dangled in front of her. “What could be the trouble? If there’s blame from the top, I’ll shoulder it. At the most, I’ll quit. Losing a job is not a big deal.”
Dunn looked at the determined woman in front of him, opened his mouth, and said nothing in the end.
Tang Jing lifted her wrist to look at the watch. It was already ten o’clock at night.
“Ah, it’s so late! I have to get back.” She waved to Dunn and said, “Goodbye, Dunn!”
“Goodbye.” Dunn stood at the entrance and waved goodbye to Tang Jing.
When Tang Jing got into the taxi and left, he muttered, “I wish you good luck…”
...
Chapter 739 - A Lame Joke
Tang Jing sat upright in front of her father, who sat behind a large office desk and wore reading glasses to carefully read through the new draft that his daughter just handed in.
He had been reading the three-thousand-word manuscript for a full fifteen minutes and did not plan to put it down yet. It was very quiet in the editor-in-chief’s office.
It was a long time before the editor-in-chief, Tang Yuanan took off his reading glasses and massaged the inner corners of his eyes.
“Xiao Jing, I’m going to retire in a few years…”
“I know, Papa. You can put the blame on me if there’s any problem.”
Tang Yuanan put down his hands and glared at his daughter, sitting on the opposite. “Nonsense! How can your own father be such a person?”
Tang Jing did not speak, but continued to look at her father, the president and editor-in-chief of the sports newspaper with the widest circulation in China.
“I almost built the newspaper up with my bare hands. It has been twenty-two years … I’m just worried that once you publish the article, there’s going to be a lot of pressure on the papers…”
Tang Jing pulled her lips and said, “Then I will resign now and transfer to another sports newspaper. Let them take the blame.”
“Hey, you…” Tang Yuanan really could not do anything about his own daughter. He stared at Tang Jing for a moment and then slightly softened his tone, “Actually, Tony Twain’s words are not new. The General Administration of Sport of China intends to put the national system into effect and return football to the professional sports school era. Many people have privately discussed this issue. But no one dares to speak out publicly. Even if they said it in front of the media, the press will not print such comments … Do you know why, Xiao Jing?”
“The pressure from the Chinese Football Association.”
“No.” Tang Yuanan shook his head and said, “The Football Association has long been a target of scorn. After the Olympics, Xinhua News Agency and People’s Daily continuously published articles critical of the Chinese Football Association. Someone must take the blame for the failures in the Olympics and World Cup qualifiers, and the Chinese Football Association is a good candidate. The real pressure comes from… General Administration of Sport of China. The FA is a subordinate body of the General Administration of Sport of China. The one calling the shots is in fact the General Administration of Sport of China and the FA only follows in accordance with the path given by the General Administration of Sport. So, which exactly was Twain rebuking? It’s not the Football Association, it’s the General Administration of Sport.”
Tang Jing’s face slightly changed color. She was well aware of the difference between the Chinese Football Association and the General Administration of Sport of China, and she knew which organization had more power.
After thinking for a moment in her seat, she got up and walked toward her father’s desk. She reached for the manuscript and said, “No, Papa. I won’t make things difficult for you.”
Tang Yuanan wanted to reach out to take it back. But he had just lifted his hand when he put it back again, allowing his daughter to pick up the manuscript, which was filled with Twain’s furious words, and walked out of the office.
Back in the press room, Tang Jing began to pack up her desk—her favorite Garfield hanging pendant, her own water glasses, folders, books…
Her colleagues looked strangely at her as she packed up the things in silence. There were fewer and fewer things on the table as everything was swept into the box.
“Tang Jing, what are you doing?” Finally, a colleague who had a better relationship with her rushed over and asked in surprise.
“I quit my job.” Tang Jing took a folded piece of paper out of her pocket, opened it and pressed it on the table. Then she pick up the box and smiled at her concerned colleague.
“Quit…” The colleagues were too stunned to respond and stared dumbfounded at her as she left the office.
The paper that was pressed on the table was a “resignation letter” written earlier.
※※※
When Tang Jing drove her car on the way back to her house, she received a call from her father.
“Tang Jing!!” Tang Yuanan roared angrily on the phone, “What do you think you’re doing!”
“I quit, Papa.” Tang Jing looked calm and said, “You don’t have to care about what I want to do now.”
“I don’t agree to your resignation!”
“Then we’ll go to the court for labor arbitration, Papa.”
“…” Tang Jing could even hear the creaking sound of her father’s teeth gnashing.
“Fine!” He spat out in frustration, “Even if you quit, you’re still my daughter. I won’t allow it!”
“Your daughter is already an adult. I have also moved out a long time ago to live on my own. Even if you are my Papa, you have no right to interfere in your daughter’s life.”
“You…..”
What else could Tang Yuanan say? Tang Jing had heartlessly refused to talk with him. “Okay, Papa. Your daughter now has the steering wheel in her left hand and the cell phone in her right hand. I’m driving on the beltway now. If you don’t want to get a bereavement call from the traffic police later, I’m going to hang up now, Papa.”
“Hey, Tang Jing you… Hello? Hello!”
He could only hear the busy signal.
※※※
That evening, Tang Jing updated her blog post in Sina blog and announced that she had officially resigned from [Titan Sports]. She was now independent and unemployed. Then she recalled some of her life working in the newspaper and thanked some people.
Tang Jing’s blog had always been popular because she was a well-known “beautiful reporter” who followed and covered Nottingham Forest in Nottingham and was rumored to be linked with Dunn. Consequently, her article was quickly reprinted. All the people who knew her were surprised by her resignation because there was no indication that she was unhappy with the newspaper. She even received orders to fly to Chengdu two days before she resigned to interview Twain. Many journalists in China had hoped to do an exclusive interview with Twain but only Tang Jing had the opportunity. Nor did they hear of any contradiction between her and the management—everyone knew she was the daughter of the president and editor-in-chief. No matter how big the contradiction was, it should not result in her resignation…
The advantages and disadvantages of the Internet age were that information spread quickly. So, within one night, the piece of news on “a well-known sports newspaper in China’s well-known beautiful reporter mysteriously resigned out of the blue” appeared on several portals’ landing pages. Many netizens expressed their views on the matter and made all kinds of statements.
The most sensational was someone said that because the woman and Coach Dunn were caught together and exposed, she was forced to resign due to the pressure from all sides. She had said that she was in Chengdu to interview Twain but in actual fact, she was on a date with Dunn. Twain unexpectedly caught the couple in the act and there was no way to dispute it. Nottingham Forest Football Club made a strong protest to the newspaper and she had to resign to quell the error of judgment, even though she was the daughter of the president. Otherwise it would be bad for everyone if the matter was leaked…
Although this version was sensational, not many people bought it. Because how could a foreign football club be angry because one of its assistant coaches had sex with a woman in his native country while on vacation? It was too trifling.
Therefore, the real reason for Tang Jing’s resignation was still widely debated.
There were also reporters who called Tang Jing, wanting to hear what she had to say. As a result, Tang Jing’s cell phone was turned off and could not be contacted at all.
Her window of contact with the outside world only left with the Sina blog.
The next night, just as everyone was still speculating about why the beautiful reporter, Tang Jing who had a smooth career and whose fame was on the rise in the recent years, suddenly resigned, she updated an article in her blog.
“This was the last question I asked when I went to Chengdu to interview Manager Tony Twain two days ago. I had asked a routine question, but I did not expect to receive a surprising response. It is well known that Manager Twain is fluent in Mandarin. We communicated directly in Mandarin from start to finish with regards to the question. Therefore, you do not have to suspect that I’ll use the translator machine to tamper with his answer. This is the original text, and tomorrow I will consider releasing a recording of the conversation.” This was the introduction that Tang Jing wrote, which was naturally followed by the article she had showed her father.
[Chinese Football in the Eyes of a Successful English Football Manager]
In the three thousand-word article, Twain’s style of statements could be found everywhere. The unruly English manager berated Chinese football, and hit the nail on the head, which made most people who read it, nodded their heads in approval.
At the end of the article, Tang Jing wrote the following words: Everyone is welcome to reprint the work, but please do not change a single word.
Tang Jing succeeded. She made use of the resignation incident to rouse everyone’s interest, and then threw out the long-planned article after the attention was focused on her blog. She caused an earthquake on the Internet in the shortest possible time.
Sina, Sohu, NetEase, Tencent, Tianya Club…and all the large and small, well-known and little known, professional and amateur, football-related and unrelated websites as well as forums all reprinted the article immediately. As the original source, the number of clicks on her blog surged overnight with the comments refreshing every minute.
Some people agreed, some people scolded, some people contemplated, and some people questioned.
The people who agreed naturally said that the article hit the nail on the head, so that it suddenly dawned on some people.
Those people who scolded were more interesting—they certainly did not scold Twain and Tang Jing because they supported such lousy Chinese football. The reason they scolded was: No matter how bad Chinese football is and how terrible the Chinese Football Association is, that’s our own affairs as Chinese people. Since when do we allow our own affairs to be dictated by an English barbarian? Your words were so harsh. Who do you think you are? No matter how successful you are and how many championship titles you have taken, what gives you the right to be so cocky in China? Not to mention that you appeared to be down and out in the last two years…
Those people who questioned it queried if Tang Jing used a fake article to create sensationalism, which was basically self-hyped. Anyway, now was the era of hype and speculation of others was not unusual. To create self-hype, one just had to take a look at those star bloggers and online celebrities which were the product of self-hype. Therefore, nowadays belonged to the era of “even one is ugly, one must also dare to show and tell.” Their reasons were well founded—an Englishman, no matter how much he claimed to know and love China, could not say such a thing that drew blood on the first prick about the current state of Chinese football. These words could only be written by people who had been immersed in Chinese football for years, or only if they were Chinese who really understood and cared about Chinese football. What was an Englishman doing by joining in on the action? Did he know who the current full-time vice-president of the Chinese Football Association was before he bawled the system out here? Moreover, looking at the pervasive “resentment and impatience towards the system for failing to meet expectations” and “pity your misfortune; condemn your submission” emotional state, how could a British who has nothing to do with our country, have such a sentiment? Therefore, to summarize the above-mentioned points, one could only draw the conclusion that Tang Jing’s level of fraud was too low, or she was simply hawking such a big gap in the story to complete the self-promotion.
“The questioning theory” was very popular in the mainstream media because they represented the voice of “calm thinking.” Although these people were indeed very calm, seriously considered, and did not blindly follow the words of other people, it was a shame…that their proper analysis was really wrong this time.
Some people had called on Tang Jing to upload the recording that she had stated, online as the proof.
But the next day, Tang Jing’s blog was quiet and there was no “emergence of Tony Twain’s original recording.”
All of a sudden, the tide of those who questioned that she made up the news for her self-promotion became even more intense. It also gave rise to another faction—those who agreed with the article and also affirmed Tang Jing’s original intention to do so. But they still thought that the article was made up by Tang Jing herself.
There were also rumors that the Chinese Football Association was also paying a lot of attention to the article. Even if it was made up by Tang Jing, they did not rule out that she would be brought to court.
Tang Jing later wrote in a blog post, “I have given it some thought. Nowadays technology is so developed, even if I release the recording, I’m sure the disbelieving people will think that it is a fake using some kind of sound-change software. It’s like the fans of the stars whose nude photographs were exposed, they all thought that the photos were created from Photoshop. Just like photographs can be PS, videos can also be faked. In that case, how difficult can it be to doctor a mere audio file? The people who don’t believe, will not believe with whatever evidence you come up with. Sometimes I feel that it’s quite sad to be suspicious of everything, to doubt everything and to refute everything… So, I decided not to release it for the time being. If you have any questions, you can ask Tony Twain yourselves. He is in Sichuan, China, isn’t he?”
※※※
Twain suddenly found his and Shania’s vacation plans in this small town, south of Sichuan with his parents and Dunn completely destroyed.
Because a lot of reporters with the different Mandarin accents from all over the country suddenly came to the surrounding home area of Dunn’s parents…
Every day, someone would come knocking on the door and asked politely and humbly, “Can I please ask if Mr. Tony Twain stays here?”
Since Tang Jing’s blog called for the people who were in doubt to ask Tony Twain themselves, those reporters really all rushed over. Anyway, they knew Dunn’s home address when they interviewed Dunn before. One by one came looking in hope to hear Twain confirm that the words really came out of his mouth.
In order not to disturb the two elders, Twain and Shania had to move to stay in a hotel in the city and finally lured the swarm of reporters away from Dunn’s home.
But they did not come here for a scenic tour. They just wanted to stay with the two old people. What was the point of going back to Sichuan after all these torments?
“What’s going on?” Twain was so surprised as he could not figure out why he would suddenly turn into a cream cake that attracted flies.
“The words you said to Tang Jing were put on her blog.” Only Dunn and Tang Jing still had a connection, so he was aware of the whole story. “But I didn’t expect them to come to you so soon. It looks like …” He did not finish the rest. It looked like Tang Jing could not hold up any longer.
“F**k, are you serious?” Twain swore, “I only scolded the current state of Chinese football and these people come looking for me like mad men. Conservatively, it is estimated that ten thousand of people are scolding Chinese football every day in China, right? Why don’t they go find them?”
“The head is not concerned with ordinary people’s admonishments. You’re different, you’re a public figure, a famous coach. Even if you fart, there are people watching.”
Twain covered his nose and said, “You’d find a better metaphor in the future. I have a mouth in my head, not an asshole. No, why should I bear the sin for your secret lover? I can’t even have a good time… I’ll just lay my cards on the table, let them know the answer, and then tell them to go f**k off!”
“Aren’t you worried?”
“What am I supposed to worry about?” Twain looked strangely at Dunn and said, “Since I have already said those words, why would I not dare to admit. It is not a disgrace. Then again… I’m an Englishman, what can I not say? Even if I scold them, what can the FA boss do to me? Shut me out? Not let me attend the CCTV New Year’s Gala? Cancel the ads for my endorsement products? Completely cut off my chances of coaching the China national team? Oh, thank heavens… If I were to gain knowledge of the correct path in the morning, I would be able to die at sunset..”
※※※
Therefore, in the next day, through the hotel he stayed at, Twain informed the reporters who had followed him to the small town in the south of Sichuan that he would hold a last-minute press conference tomorrow. They could ask their questions at the press conference.
The hotel where Twain stayed at was the best in the city, but rarely ushered in such a lively scene. They made an all-out effort to hold the grandest event. They handled the publicity well. All the reporters who heard the news was aware of Twain’s press conference, so more people flocked here.
On the day of the last-minute press conference, the conference room which the hotel specially allocated simply did not have enough room for people to stand. The head of the hotel was so anxious that he sweated profusely. Finally, it was Twain who stepped forward and let everyone simply move to the lobby, which solved the problem.
Because it was a last-minute press conference, there was no time to prepare any advertising sponsorship boards in the background. The curtain behind Twain had the hotel’s huge logo and name printed on it, which gave them a one-time free advertisement.
“I know what you want to ask. I went online yesterday to have a look at it.” As soon as Twain sat down, he did not wait for the reporters to raise their hands and ask questions. He immediately spoke in Mandarin, “The matter is funny. I’m not saying that the article was funny. I’m saying that everything that came out of it was funny.”
“I’m not going to deny what I’ve done. I’ve carefully read Miss Tang Jing’s blog post. I am now here to officially announce—that article had sections of what I said and not a word has been changed. It was indeed what I personally said to Miss Tang Jing.” Twain looked at the stunned reporters with a straight face.
“Well, that’s all I have to say, good day.” He got up and left when he was done.
That was when the reporters roused themselves and did not care about the order to raise their hands to ask the questions. One by one crowded forward, blocked Twain, and threw their questions at him.
“Mr. Twain! I don’t understand why you said all those things!”
“Tang Jing asked, of course I had to answer. What’s not easy to understand?”
“No, no, I mean… Your answer is somewhat out of proportion to your identity…”
“What’s so disproportionate? Because I am the manager of Nottingham Forest, so I can’t comment on Chinese football? Don’t you reporters particularly like to ask the foreigners when you interview them—what do you think of the Chinese players, Chinese football teams… and so on?”
“Mr. Twain, your knowledge of Chinese football can’t be that in-depth. Could it be Miss Tang Jing made some suggestions and then you said it? Or did she write the answer in advance for you to read it?”
“Sir, you’re joking. Not only you insult my IQ, you have also insulted my character. Those words came out of my own comprehension. No one gave me any suggestions, and I was not fed any lines in advance.”
“But you’re British…”
“So what? I remember saying I know China very well… Understand everything about this country, and of course football. Does it not make sense that I understand your football? Everyone in the world knows how bad your football is. Is it wrong for an Englishman who love China like myself to understand it well? Your football had already made you a disgrace in the world during the Beijing Olympics. What’s so inconceivable about this matter? have already made your football a disgrace to the world? You think you can’t see the fact just because you put your head in the ass? Furthermore, how many of the full-time vice-presidents of the Chinese Football Association are engaged in football understand football? For them to be able to occupy the top positions, how is it that no one loudly ask them if it was reasonable or not, eh? You are not qualified to question whether it is reasonable for me to say such a thing!”
As Twain squeezed his way toward outside, he hit back at the reporters’ questions with his razor-sharp wit. The hotel security also wanted to come up to help, but they lost the decisive opportunity to do so and had been squeezed to the outermost edge. They could only look on and worry helplessly at the thick layers of heavy siege.
“But Mr. Twain, don’t you think that as a foreigner, it’s excessive of you to judge Chinese football in this way?”
“What’s too much? It’s rotten to the core, that’s what it is. It’s rotten and you still don’t allow to speak. No wonder your football has not improved for decades. What’s this about don’t wash your dirty linen in public? I think you should take the initiative to air it in public. The more people know, the better. You don’t want to clean up the pus in the wound and yet you want to cover it up… Are you trying to get rich by breeding maggots?”
“What do you as a foreigner get out of criticizing Chinese football like this?”
“I don’t get anything. You ask, I answer, that’s the point. If you have other stories to cover, then don’t come here from thousands of miles away and ask me questions.” Speaking of this, Twain became furious—damn it, my vacation was spoilt by this swarm of flies and face in front you still dare to ask this idiotic question to my face!”
The scene was becoming explosive and more intense.
After the press conference, the media said that Tony Twain had a fierce dispute with a group of reporters at the press conference, but he did not speak off the cuff…
“Mr. Twain, is it appropriate that you criticize a country’s official body that governs football?”
“What’s inappropriate about it? The British prime minister would be criticized if he did wrong. What cannot be said if a football association has a problem? Perhaps you all think that the Chinese Football Association has no problem at all. That they are hardworking, serious, have the correct attitude and are responsible?” Twain could not hold back his laughter, “I have nothing to say if you really think so. I have already berated and criticized it. Is the Chinese Football Association not happy? Angry? What does it have to do with me?! I’ll tell you this, if they were standing in front of me today, I would say the same thing! But for a dog that is kept by the General Administration, they really think of themselves as influential? That’s the funniest thing in the world… Ridiculous! Sad! Pathetic! Shameful!”
With that, Twain pulled the crowd apart with force and squeezed out.
Halfway through, he turned around to the group of reporters and said, “I suddenly thought of a joke. Ah, I say it’s a joke, but it’s actually a true story that happened around me…the atmosphere was too tense just now. Do you want me to tell it to ease everyone’s mood a little?”
With that, he went right ahead and recounted without waiting for the reporters to say yes, “My team’s right back, Rafinha, is a member of the Brazilian Olympic team. As one of the few players on my team who had the honor to participate in the Beijing Olympic Games, he came bragging to me that he had learnt Mandarin while he was in China when he returned to Nottingham. One day, during training, he smugly said to me, ‘Boss! I know how to shout the Chinese word to cheer on the Brazilian team!’ So, I let him shout to see what it’s all about, and then I heard him shout, ‘Fire Xie X Long!'”
All the reporters present looked at each other, rendered speechless.
Twain looked at them and laughed, “Is it lame? But I think it’s very funny! I laughed till I almost died, ah ha ha-ha ha-ha—–”
He left the last-minute press conference hall with chortles of “ha-ha ha-ha”, leaving behind a group of stunned people.
...
Chapter 740: World Cup in South Africa
Twain’s fight with the reporters in the hotel did not cause his holidays to return to him. Instead, it only caused his holidays to leave him further behind.
News about how he berated the Chinese Football Association and got into a ‘duel of words’ with the reporters during the press conference surfaced on numerous media platforms. No matter where he walked, he would always run into reporters or football fans. Some of them were friendly towards him while others longed for him to die.
It is said that the Chinese Football Association was so enraged by Tony Twain’s comments that they specially phoned Nottingham Forest Football Club to protest. However, Nottingham Forest Football Club’s reply to them was, “Mr. Tony Twain does not represent our football club when he is out on holiday. The comments he makes during his personal time have nothing to do with our football club.”
And that was how they dismissed the Chinese Football Association’s fury.
However, the Chinese Football Association still had other ways to express their discontent. They made it clear that they would not allow Nottingham Forest to play any matches in China in the future. Essentially, they blacklisted the entire Nottingham Forest team.
What a display of might!
If they could, they also wanted to ban Tony Twain from entry into China.
Of course, their actions only caused the netizens and the media to bombard them with admonitions.
In Chinese, there is a term that is used to express humility in which the speaker downgrades himself or herself by claiming that he or she is ‘presenting something unpleasant’ to the other person. However, what the Chinese Football Association is doing at the moment was not to ‘present’ something unpleasant, but rather, they are ‘showing off’ their unpleasantries. They are making all their imperfections known to the public, as though they are bragging about it. It is as if they think the world is as stupid as them.
The Chinese media in China has been unusually busy during this period of time. Some were busy scolding the Chinese Football Association, some were applauding Twain for his words, some just wanted to be at loggerheads with both parties involved, and some were just trying to hype up the whole incident. There were all kinds of people making an appearance.
All the reports left the Chinese football fans stimulated, as though they had taken stimulants. It was one adrenaline rush after another.
As for Twain, he left after stirring up numerous disturbances and dumping a massive grenade into an originally calm lake.
He definitely could not continue to enjoy his holidays in China any longer. All he could do was to make his way over to Hong Kong and attend a press conference about a business endorsement there. Similarly, Shania had to shoot an advertisement for a makeup brand that she had signed a contract with earlier, and she also needed to attend a press conference for a product launch in Hong Kong.
The organisers of the event had also prepared a small dinner party to entertain both Twain and Shania.
There were less of those annoying and trivial issues that would bother Twain in Hong Kong. Things might be getting out of control in China, but all those things had nothing to do with Twain while he was in Hong Kong.
He stayed in Hong Kong for a couple of days, before flying back to England with Shania.
He certainly did not forget to bring back a present for Evan and Allan from China. However, the present was not something tangible. It was a request for a business collaboration.
During his short stay in Hong Kong, Twain met Li Ka-shing’s elder son, Victor Li, who was the CEO of Cheung Kong Holdings Limited.
It was just supposed to be a simple dinner party, but Victor Li clearly came prepared.
He mentioned how he was very interested in the real estate development plan that had been put aside by Nottingham Forest during his chat with Twain.
He did not say much, but the intelligent Twain already knew what the man was getting at.
The British real estate market has taken a huge blow as a result of the economic crisis that has been going on for two years. Property and land prices have gone on a steep decline and have almost hit rock bottom.
However, to a successful businessman, it is precisely during times like this that an opportunity to make a fortune arises. Since the British real estate market is currently experiencing winter, doesn’t that mean that spring is not too far away?
If not for the arrival of the economic crisis, Nottingham Forest would have been able to complete their development plans in Clifton without a hitch. And, given how the British real estate market has prospered over the past few years, the football club would have been able to generate a profit and suffer no losses.
However, if that were to happen, then it would be very difficult for the Li family, who mainly did business in Hong Kong, to participate in the British real estate development market.
To Victor Li’s Cheung Kong Holdings Limited, the economic crisis has provided them with a golden opportunity to expand their business overseas.
Clifton was just a part of a brick wall that Victor Li had to tear down in order to bring his business into England.
However, Twain did not care about what these businessmen had on their minds. He was just going to relay the news to Allan Adams and Evan Doughty. Everything else was up to Allan.
If this business collaboration was possible however, it would be good news for him as well, because he would no longer have to worry about not having the funds to buy players. He could also stop selling star players in his team to generate the funds needed to fill the bottomless pit caused by the club’s constant financial troubles…
※※※
Evan was very interested in the ‘gift’ that Twain had brought back from China. It would certainly greatly reduce the club’s financial burdens if they are able to convince the Hong Kong firm to invest in their development plans.
He did not think about having all of the profits to himself at a time like this when the economy was not doing well. The cake was too big for him to finish alone.
Allan was optimistic towards the news that Twain had brought back, but also exercised caution. He had approached Victor Li in the past for a business collaboration as well. Back then, Victor Li had considered his proposition for a while, but still ended up refusing his proposal. Why did he change his mind in just a year?
In contrast, Evan did not find it odd that Victor Li had a change of heart. A year ago the property and land prices had not reached rock bottom. It is only natural for him to wait until the prices hit rock bottom before making a move since it would lower the overall costs for him. He is a businessman after all. He needs to be a little crafty.
As Twain was having a headache over which players he should buy and sell for the new season, Allan Adams flew over to Hong Kong personally to discuss the details about their potential business collaboration.
None of them would have known that this business deal would take a year before an agreement would finally be reached. Both parties only signed a contract in September of 2011.
The new football stadium finally welcomed the arrival of the ‘God of Wealth’ from the East. The construction works that had been stalled for three years could finally resume once again.
Of course, these information are just ‘postscripts’ right now, and will be discussed at a later time.
※※※
Half of June had already passed by when Dunn returned to Nottingham by himself. To both Twain and Dunn however, the summer for 2010 had only just started.
Travelling to China and helping the club earn a chance to work with the Li family this summer were trifles to Twain.
The main event for this summer was definitely not his squabble with the Chinese media. It was going to take place in South Africa.
The World Cup had commenced.
Numerous highly sought-after football stars have all emerged from the previous World Cup competitions. The World Cup was the perfect chance for all managers to scrutinize the conditions and performances of their own players as well as potential players.
After hearing that Cheung Kong Holdings Limited was interested in working with the club in the development of Clifton, Evan Doughty set aside 50 million pounds as Twain’s summer transfer budget from the company’s finances.
With that money in hand, Twain dragged Dunn along with him and they boarded the plane to the capital of South Africa: Johannesburg.
The treasure hunt starts again!
※※※
“I was still worried that we would see nothing but sceneries of falling snow when we alight from the plane. It seems like I know too little about the world.”
The host South Africa was situated in the Southern Hemisphere. It was currently winter in South Africa, unlike other countries in the Northern Hemisphere that were already experiencing midsummer.
It might be winter here in South Africa, but the weather was not ‘wintry’. The average temperature at Johannesburg, which was one of the several venues for the World Cup, was 18 degree Celsius. Such a temperature was very suitable for outdoor sports.
The main reason behind Twain’s trip to South Africa was none other than to take on the role as a guest commentator for the World Cup on BBC5. He has already established his own unique style of commenting on the matches following his commentaries during the World Cup in Germany and the Euro 2008 held in Austria and Switzerland. There are numerous people who like listening to his commentaries.
He also has his own fan site online. His fans would collect and post the various comments he made on air in the past on the net. They would also post his writings, videos and recordings; basically anything they can find, for others to browse and download, so as to spread his influence.
In China, he also has his own fan base, and those fans of his call all these materials that have been posted on the net as ‘Tony Twain’s Quotations’.
There were even Chinese netizens who suggested that the China Central Television should hire Twain as a commentator after he chastised the Chinese Football Association. He was very fluent in Chinese after all.
Of course, those were nothing more than the netizens’ wishful thinking. They never came true.
However, what it all demonstrated was that even if there came a day where Twain does not want to be a football manager anymore, he would still be able to find a job as a pundit with the reputation that he has right now.
On the other hand, Dunn was going to join Kerslake and the other scouts who have all arrived in Johannesburg much earlier than them in their work of observing the players who were participating in the World Cup, so as to provide Twain with the first-hand information with regards to what sort of players he should go for during the transfer window. They would also scrutinize the players who are already on Twain’s transfer wish list and make sure that those players are truly eligible to be a player for Forest.
Additionally, as the assistant manager, Dunn also has to constantly meet up with the football agents who have turned up at the World Cup. Some of those agents approached him to recommend their players to Nottingham Forest since they are a team who has made their return to the European stage, while others required Dunn to take the initiative and approach them himself instead.
After parting ways at the airport, Twain followed the BBC staff over to the hotel which he would be staying at, while Dunn got in contact with the scouts who were scattered all over the city and began doing his work as well.
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The World Cup in South Africa was not spared from the impact of the global economic crisis, but the South African government hope to use the World Cup as an opportunity to boost their country’s economy. Hence, much effort was put into making the World Cup a lively one.
Twain did not care about that, however. Besides providing live commentaries and writing articles for the four British and one Chinese media outlets that had signed a contract with him, he was going to allocate all his remaining time and energy into his search for a few interesting players amongst all the players who were participating in the World Cup.
The commentators who were in charge of providing commentary for the England match were able to provide a more in-depth analysis due to their familiarity with the players.
Twain has also started focusing on the homegrown British players a lot more since two seasons ago, due to the imminent implementation of a rule that will enforce a fixed ratio of homegrown players to foreign players in all football clubs.
This rule proposed by Sepp Blatter that will restrict the number of foreign players in all football clubs across the world will be enforced in the 2010-11 season. The rule was to be carried out slowly over three stages.
Firstly, all clubs have to comply with a ‘4+7’ rule. Every club is allowed to have four homegrown players and seven foreign players in their starting line-up of 11 players.
Secondly, during the 2011-12 season, all clubs have to comply with a ‘5+6’ rule. The number of foreign players allowed in the starting line-up would be reduced to six, while the number of homegrown players would be increased to five. The number of homegrown players would still be slightly lesser than the number of foreign players.
Thirdly, during the 2012-13 season, all clubs have to comply with the ‘6+5′ rule. The number of homegrown players in the starting line-up will be higher than that of the foreign players’.
This rule is meant to combat how numerous football clubs are becoming increasingly ‘international teams’. It is a rule that hopes to provide more opportunities for the homegrown players and thereby boost the standards of football in the various countries.
However, the moment this rule was proposed, it was met with fierce protests from the European Union. The European Union believed that this rule by FIFA was an impediment to the free movement of talent from one country to another, and saw it as a rule that contravened human rights.
Up till now, both parties have yet to see eye to eye, and neither side has relented. The European Union might not have agreed to the implementation of the rule, but the ‘6+5’ rule looks set to be implemented in the new season.
The Premier League will be the league that is the most deeply affected by the implementation of the rule. The Premier League’s unique system of giving out work permits to foreign players has led to several Premier League teams possessing a relatively high number of foreign players in their teams.
A foreign player playing in the Premier League only needs to pass the Home Office’s audit to obtain a work permit. It did not matter what the player’s nationality was. All foreign players are allowed to play in the Premier League without restrictions. This system is very different from La Liga, whereby every football team is only allowed to have three non-European Union players, and it allows the Premier League to gather top players from many countries.
To obtain a work permit, a foreign player is required to appear in at least 75 per cent of his national team’s competitive ‘A-ranked’ matches in a year, and his national team also needs to be ranked within the top 68 teams on the FIFA World Rankings.
The implementation of such a system has ensured the quantity and quality of the foreign players who play in the Premier League. This is how the Premier League became one of the most successful leagues in the world. It also explains how the Premier League is able to replace Serie A, which was once reputed as a ‘mini World Cup’ in the early 90s, as the top league in Europe.
However, there was also a dire consequence that arose as a result of the implementation of such a system. The standard of football was high in the Premier League, but conversely, the standard of football of the England national team was beyond terrible…
One contributing factor to the terrible standard of football was how the British media would only brag about how talented their youths were. Another contributing factor was how the various big football clubs were unwilling to give their homegrown youth players more playing time. They would rather spend money bringing in established foreign talents. Doing so deprives the youth players of the opportunities to gain experience, and ultimately leads to their downfall. The youth players all become ‘Fang Zhong-Yong’ in the story of ‘The Pity of Zhong-Yong’ [1].
The FIFA’s regulations left Wenger feeling extremely annoyed and helpless, but all he could do was to accept the rules. Unlike Wenger, Twain was not as worried about the implementation of the new rules. He had already started gathering talented homegrown players and youths two years ago, and has been waiting for the day where the rule would be implemented all along.
It was not hard for him to comply with the ‘4+7’ rule based on how his team is set up currently. However, considering how the rule mainly restricts the 11 players who are going to play on the pitch, he still needs to continue scouting homegrown British players.
For this season, Twain was definitely going to go after Tottenham Hotspur’s right winger David Bentley. Ever since Beckham’s departure from the team, Forest has lacked attacking options going down the right, and relying on Lennon alone was not viable. Thus, he has his eyes set on the player who shares the same name as the world-renowned luxury car brand ‘Bentley’.
Beckham’s departure from the England’s national team has also led to a fierce competition for the right-winger position. Aaron Lennon and Theo Walcott are both players who have been called the ‘successors’ of David Beckham, but it was David Bentley from Tottenham Hotspur who came out on top and became the starting right winger for Capello’s England national team.
Like Capello, Twain also thought highly of this midfielder who could play on the flanks. He was a player who could pass, shoot and break through the defense. Twain decided to pay the most attention to Bentley’s performance during this World Cup.
There was also another player who Twain wanted to focus on as well. However, he was paying attention to that player not because he wants to bring him into the team, because he is already a member of the Nottingham Forest team.
George Wood is a player that Twain personally picked up from the slum. The attention that Twain has placed on George Wood all this while has already surpassed the kind of attention that a manager is expected to place on his players.
George Wood was not able to receive a single minute of game time during the World Cup in Germany. From 2006 to 2010 however, George Wood underwent a drastic transformation. He was the captain during both seasons when his team won the Champions League. He would also be present in the midfield positions for the Professional Footballers’ Association Premier League Team of the Year every season. His performance has garnered attention from teams all over the world. Twain would find heaps of faxes hoping to buy George Wood on his desk every summer. Players of the Football Manager game also splash the cash in the game to buy the solid midfielder for their teams.
Will George Wood, who has had a fantastic footballing career in his club so far, be able to gain his first experience playing for his national team at such a big tournament during the summer of 2010?
Twain intends to wait and see how everything transpires.
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Chapter 741: George’s Maiden Appearance
Till this very day, George Wood still vividly remembers the words his mother told him when he was first chosen to be a member of the England national team that was going to compete in the World Cup.
It feels like he had only just heard those words yesterday, but in truth, four years had already gone by since then.
Four years ago, he could only watch as others competed on the pitch. He sat on the bench for 5 matches, and did not even get a single minute of game time.
Four years later, he is well aware of the fact that there are many media outlets that have expressed their desire to see him start in the World Cup matches.
Wood was once a player whom the previous manager did not think highly of, but ever since Capello took over, he has managed to earn the favor of the tough Italian manager through his professionalism and willingness to work hard without complaints.
England’s midfield defense would become significantly better whenever Wood plays on the pitch. The opponents would only run into an iron plate if they tried to go down the middle.
What Capello has to consider now was not whether or not Wood should play, but rather who Wood should play with.
George Wood might have improved his chances of becoming a regular starting player for the England national team, but he certainly did not improve his relationship with his team mates due to his reticent personality.
He was like a drop of oil in a glass of water.
There were not many people in the England national team whom he could have a chat with besides Leighton Baines and Aaron Lennon, who were both from Nottingham Forest just like him.
Just like Capello, he always puts on a long face, which makes it hard for others to approach him.
During the last few days of training for the World Cup in South Africa, Wood could not think of what else to do other than to train. Everyone else besides him had all gone out together to do shopping.
Their entire shopping trip had been zealously photographed by the paparazzi who were constantly on their trail. However, you would never find a shot of George Wood in any of those photographs.
That was because he would rather make an overseas call to chat with his mother.
Some of his team mates secretly gave him the nickname ‘Mama’s Boy’. His nickname certainly contrasted his tough personality on the pitch.
The George Wood off the pitch was definitely not someone who captured the interest of others, and neither was he someone who would get on the news. Every single time his name is mentioned in the media, it would only have something to do with tactics or the match. He is never involved in any gossips.
He would make an appearance during training and practice matches, but besides those, it was as if he had vanished from the eyes of the public.
However, those days where Wood went unnoticed would not continue for much longer, because the World Cup was about to commence, and when it does, it would be the time for George Wood to shine on the stage.
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The opening match for the World Cup was between the host South Africa and Uruguay. There were not a lot of well-known football stars playing in the match. South Africa held the home advantage, whereas Uruguay was slightly stronger in terms of abilities as compared to South Africa. In the end, both teams were evenly matched, and the game finished with a score of 1:1.
The match could be considered to be an exciting one, but there were no specific scenes that lingered in the spectators’ memories.
It might be the opening match, but to the British fans, it was not a match that they particularly cared about.
Everyone was waiting for the D group match between England and Costa Rica.
England, being a Pot 2 team, got very lucky during the allocation of groups, and was put in the same group as Costa Rica from North America, Korea from Asia, and Brazil from South America.
Brazil was a strong team, but as for the other two teams in the group…
The media from all over the world believed that it would be Brazil and England who were going to progress onto the next stage. They did not think that either Costa Rica or Korea would pose a threat to those two teams.
The Koreans and the Korean media were still living in the 2002 dream where they managed to make their way to the semifinals of the World Cup. They began fantasizing about the numerous ways they would be able to make their way into the knockout stages.
One of the ways was that they would draw with Brazil, marginally win over England and completely triumph over Costa Rica.
Another way was to lose to Brazil and draw with England. They would then progress onto the next stage by scoring numerous goals in the match against Costa Rica and beat England to second place on goal difference.
They could also win against Brazil, England and Costa Rica, and progress onto the next stage by winning in all three of the group stage matches.
However, no one else besides the Koreans believed that Korea would be able to make their way onto the next stage of the World Cup.
The day before the match against Costa Rica, news about England’s starting line-up were already widely reported.
During his pre-match show, Tony Twain talked about his predicted line-up for England for tomorrow’s match. George Wood was the player he believed would start as a midfielder for the England national team.
Everyone believed that George Wood will make his maiden appearance in the World Cup tomorrow.
However…
Wood was informed that he was not in the starting line-up for tomorrow’s match at lunchtime.
Capello, the manager who ruled with an iron fist, did not explain the details of his decision to Wood. All he told him was that he was going to start Lampard and Gerrard in the midfield due to tactical needs.
After he made his announcement, Capello specially looked at Wood. He realized that the lad remained emotionless and simply nodded his head to acknowledge his decision. It was only then that he was able to leave feeling relieved.
Capello was more detailed in his explanation to the media than to Wood. He told them that Costa Rica was not a particularly strong team, hence he needed a team that could score more goals against such a team. Wood was a player that does not contribute much to the offense. There was no need for him to waste a spot in the team just to bolster the team’s defense, when that same spot could be used to boost the team’s offense. Hence, the decision was to let Wood rest for the upcoming match.
His explanation made sense, but that still did not stop Wood’s supporters from being disappointed that they were not going to see him wear the England’s national jersey in his maiden appearance for the World Cup the next day.
The England national team without George Wood was pressurized by Costa Rica in the starting 20 minutes of the match that took place the next day, but beyond that, England was generally able to control the flow of the match, and they did not give Costa Rica any other opportunities to score a goal.
As per Capello’s wishes, England was able to clinch a 3:1 victory over the Pot 4 team.
Lampard, who took over George Wood’s position in the match, scored one goal and provided one assist, and he was named man of the match.
Twain was slightly concerned at the fact that Lampard had been named man of the match. There was not a single manager who would drop his best player in the next match. Moreover, the next match was against Korea, who was not a strong side. Capello had even less reason to put Wood on the pitch.
Before the World Cup commenced, Twain had published an article writing about how George Wood would become one of the leading ‘actors’ on the World Cup stage.
Now, it seemed like Wood had merely become a ‘substitute player’.
Even if he featured in the match against Brazil, it would just give people the impression that he was a player that played only because England had already progressed onto the next stage of the World Cup, and they needed to rest their starting players and preserve their energy against Brazil.
During his commentary, Twain made some veiled criticisms of Capello’s decision to not play Wood. At the same time, he suddenly hoped that the Koreans would be able to create a little trouble for the England side and force the England team to make some changes…
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Just as Twain expected, Lampard, who performed brilliantly in the previous match, continued to start in the match against Korea, while George Wood continued to sit on the bench.
The British were all looking forward to the match. They were all hoping to see Capello’s team triumph over Korea and make their way onto the next stage of the World Cup in advance with two wins under their belt.
However, Twain did not think it would be an easy match to win for England. “The Koreans have already lost to Brazil. This match is critical in deciding whether or not they have a chance to progress onto the next stage of the World Cup. I don’t think that this match will be as easy as some people might think. If anyone in the England side looks down on their opponents, then they might be in for a tough time, even if they are only up against the Koreans!”
Twain did not like the Koreans, but he still approves of their strong willpower. If the Koreans were to really go crazy during the game, and should the England team show arrogance and belittle their opponents, then there really was a possibility for England to meet with unexpected failure and potentially lose the game.
Twain had hit the nail on the head once again.
England met fierce resistance from the Korean side right from the outset of the match.
The strategy employed by the Korean team in the match was an ‘all-out offense and defense’. They utilized their outstanding stamina to run all over the pitch, and began snatching the balls from the England players’ feet during the first half of the match. Their actions forced England to commit more errors as a result of their frenzy. The number of unforced errors made by England kept going on the rise as the game progressed.
The England players were clearly unprepared to deal with the Koreans’ treacherous playing style. They went into a panic every time the Koreans snatched the ball from them, and were unable to play at even half of their usual standard.
Lampard’s remarkable performance from the last match turned out to be a ‘disaster in disguise’. His outstanding performance had caused the Koreans to ‘take really good care of him’. It was normal for Lampard to find himself in situations where he is marked by two players. He would also get kicked at the ankle, get hit on the thigh or get his shirt pulled among many other gestures.
The referee would constantly blow on his whistle every time the Koreans did that, but his whistles did little to deter the crazy Koreans. What were fouls compared to the possibility of missing out on entering the next stage of the World Cup?
Lampard would fall to the ground time after time, and he would raise both his arms helplessly. His gesture almost looked like he was surrendering to the Koreans, but in actuality, he was protesting against them. However, it was useless for him to protest.
The Koreans were clever with the way they are committing the fouls. They rarely make fouls from behind, because those are offences that the referee will definitely give a card for. Sometimes, a red card might even be given in those situations.
Additionally, they also do not only let only one or two players commit fouls.
At halftime when all the commentators began to discuss about the match, John Motson angrily commented that the Koreans were too shameless.
Twain only smiled in response. He actually longed for the Koreans to be even more shameless than they are now…
Capello was definitely not a fool like Steve McClaren. The current situation was that Lampard had been so tightly marked by the Koreans that he had almost vanished from the game in the latter part of the first half and had no chance of scoring. He also made very little contribution to the team’s defense as well.
If Twain was Capello, he would definitely take Lampard off the pitch without hesitation and put George Wood onto the pitch. He would make use of Wood’s ability to fight and snatch the ball to help the England team regain control in the midfield.
Of course, Wood’s offensive abilities did not rival Lampard’s, but a team’s defense often changes its offense.
Putting four attacking players on the pitch would not lead to the team’s offensive abilities multiplying by four, and neither would it improve an originally bad offense.
The key to winning the match was to solidify the midfield defense and use an even tougher approach than your opponents to regain control of the midfield.
Twain expressed his views to the other commentators in the broadcast room. Everyone nodded their heads in approval.
Motson even joked that the Football Association should get Twain to become the manager of the England national team once Capello’s time was up.
Twain grinned. “If they did, the officials at the Football Association will suffer from a bad headache every day.”
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The second half had barely started, but there were no changes at all to the situation on the pitch. The Koreans continued to stop England’s offense by running tirelessly around the pitch and committing fouls during their defense. At the same time, they were also waiting for an opportunity to launch a surprise attack against the England side.
The Koreans could accept a draw as a result for this game, because their final game was against Costa Rica, and they were confident of winning that match.
However, England could not settle for a draw, because their final match in the group stage was against the powerful Brazil. Capello’s plan was to win against both Costa Rica and Korea and then play half-heartedly against Brazil so as to preserve the team’s energy before they faced their opponent in the knockout stages.
The Koreans were trying their hardest to drag England down. They were going to draw with England, win against Costa Rica and then compete with England for the spot into the next stage based on goal difference. They were able to only let Brazil score two goals by going all out in their defense in the previous game.
Capello knew that he could not continue the match in this manner against the Koreans any longer. He waved his hand and decided to get Lampard off the pitch.
An individual who was standing by the side of the pitch removed his outer jacket and revealed his jersey within. It was England’s No. 13 player George Wood!
“Ohhh… It’s George Wood’s maiden appearance for the World Cup!” Motson looked at Twain with a smile.
Twain noticed Motson’s gaze on him. He shrugged and said, “I think this substitution was only done because things have reached a critical stage… England did not think that they will meet with such fierce retaliation from the Koreans. But I still believe in George’s abilities. He has always been entrusted with helping the team find a way to win during critical times in Nottingham Forest as well.”
As Twain said those words, Capello had pulled Wood over to him by the side of the pitch, and was relaying his intentions to the player who was about to make his way onto the pitch through his interpreter.
“I need you to help me reestablish order in the midfield and stop the Koreans’ momentum. Do you know what you need to do, George?”
Wood nodded his head. “Defend.”
Capello smiled. “That’s right, that’s what you need to do. We are losing the ball too much in the midfield and we’ve allowed the Koreans to go on the counterattack several times. Things will get risky if we keep letting them do that. I hope you can protect the midfield. If the Koreans snatch our ball then you go and snatch it back… Don’t be afraid of committing fouls. This referee does not blow the whistle often and also does not show a card easily as well. Let’s show the Koreans what we are made of!”
He pushed Wood onto the pitch.
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“George Wood. Sotonian. Plays as the captain for Nottingham Forest. He has lifted the Champions League trophy twice, the EFL Cup trophy once, and the Premier League trophy once. He has almost earned all the glory that he should earn as a professional footballer. However, his record as a national player remains as blank as a piece of paper. He is not a player that gets utilized much because he only plays as a defensive midfielder. This is the first big match that he has played for his national team. Capello clearly has high hopes for Wood to be putting him on at such a time in the match. Let’s see what kind of changes he can bring to the current situation on the pitch.”
Motson introduced George Wood in great detail. He actually felt a little uncomfortable when doing the introduction. As a commentator for the Premier League, there was no need for him to introduce George Wood as though he were a newcomer. However, he needed to do that for Wood when he plays for the national team.
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Wood ran onto the pitch and gestured for the team to shift their positions forward.
He had clearly done that at Capello’s request. England needed to go forward and attack and they needed to score goals.
As for the midfield defense… They could just leave everything to Wood!
Manchester United’s star player, Park Ji-sung, had intended to cut into the penalty box after bringing the ball forward down the flank, but this time he met a powerful obstruction. He had kicked the ball forward a little too hard, and the ball got tackled away by George wood who had sprinted up front.
Gerrard lost the ball in the midfield?
No problem!
George Wood tackled the ball away while the opponent was still trying to readjust the ball on his feet.
The Koreans’ tenacity and their ability to run all over the pitch that they were so proud of had no effect against George Wood.
If they tried to be rough, George Wood was even rougher than them! Wood showed no mercy against the Koreans. He tackled the ball every time he was supposed to, and also fouled them every time he was supposed to. He did not hesitate in the slightest. He was just like a robot who had been programmed before the match, and he carried out all his orders that had been inputted into him.
Park Ji-sung was once again sent crashing to the ground by George Wood. This time the referee finally blew his whistle to signal that George Wood had just committed a foul. However, he only issued Wood a warning. He did not show a card.
Wood’s actions caused unhappiness in the Korean players. They surrounded the referee and hoped that the African referee would show Wood a yellow card.
The Korean players’ actions angered the British fans at the stands. They started booing them.
Why don’t you ask for a yellow or red card from the referee when you are kicking our players?
Now that George is giving you a taste of your own medicine, what right do you lot have to be upset?
Well done, George!
Kick those Korean monkeys to their deaths!
In an instant, cheers directed at Wood burst out at the stands and began getting louder.
George Wood used his usual tough playing style and fierce expressions to intimidate the Korean players, and allowed the England team to regain their control on the pitch. The results were very conspicuous when the England team finally toughened up, and that was also when the gap in abilities between the two teams finally surfaced.
Only Park Ji-sung in the Korean side had the ability to battle it out with the England players, but sadly, he was already on the list of players that Wood was going to ‘take really good care of’.
Now, every single time Park got the ball, he has to run forward while avoiding Wood. He was fearful that he would get sent off the pitch by Wood. He had not seen Wood’s playing style before in the Premier League. If Capello had really sent Wood on the pitch to incapacitate him, then he might really be incapacitated by the end of the match…
The advantage that the Koreans gained over England by running all over the pitch slowly disappeared as their stamina depleted.
On the other hand, the England team relied on George Wood’s tenacity in the midfield to give themselves the upper hand in the game.
On the 77th minute of the match, Gerrard provided an assist for Darren Bent to score the only goal of the match. The England team was able to ensure their qualification into the next stage of the World Cup, and at the same time, they sent the Korean team packing.
The Koreans stood rooted at the stands. They could not believe the truth that had just unfolded before their eyes. They had intended to at least make their way to the top 8 teams of the competition…
The Korean team has not been able to make their way past the group stages in the next two World Cups after they managed to attain considerable success in the 2002 World Cup.
To the Korean fans, they believe that they were unable to progress past the group stages in the World Cup in Germany due to how the Europeans ‘ganged up on them for revenge’. As for this World Cup in Africa, they could not progress further because ‘they had bad luck’ and was assigned to the ‘group of death’ (what they themselves defined to be the ‘group of death’).
However, the whole world knew. The Koreans lost simply because they are not good enough, and that was their true standard of football. They might have a player who plays for a big football club like Manchester United, but it did not mean that their entire team was made up of players who could play for Manchester United. Park Ji-sung is not their savior, and modern football is not invented by the Koreans.
Their current standard of football can only ensure that they can make their way into every World Cup in the future. They might not even be as strong as their closest neighbor Japan.
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Twain was very happy. He was happy that the Korean side that he hated got eliminated from the World Cup in advance, and he was also happy that George Wood had put in a brilliant performance earlier.
“If I were to rate the England players’ performance for this match, I’d give Wood the highest score out of all of them. His appearance on the pitch was key in changing the game in England’s favor. Capello would also be praised by the British football fans for his decision to send Wood on the pitch for a long while. His decisive action of changing players led to a victory for his team, and also contributed to the formation of a brand new midfield for England!” Twain could not stop praising George Wood’s performance during his post-match commentary. He was not even scared that others would say he was being biased.
“I believe Capello has also found the best starting line-up to play in the games from here on out. Also, I’d like to remind him of something. Their next match is up against Brazil. There might be a few players on that team who needs to rest, but George Wood does not need to rest! It does not matter how many consecutive matches he needs to play. He does not need to rest. He is truly nuclear-powered, he does not tire ever! Please do not put him on the bench because you want him to rest for the game. He should be a starting player for the England team as long as he is not injured! If England can make their way to the finals then he can play in all the games including the finals. There’s no need for squad rotation and there’s also no need to get him off the pitch earlier. He’s a monster, but what the England team needs the most right now is a monster!”
...
Chapter 742 - St. George’s Protection on England
Even though Twain told Capello not to worry about George Wood’s fitness problem, Capello still kept Wood benched in their third game against Brazil.
He really did not have to worry about Wood’s fitness. He was worried about Wood’s yellow card. Wood received a yellow card for his defensive tough work against South Korea. In the match against Brazil, Capello was concerned that Wood had been shown another yellow card, leading to a suspension. That would have been a big loss for England.
Bearing this in mind, Capello’s view of Wood was already completely different even though he was benched as he had always been.
Both sides tacitly sent off non-main players and eventually England lost to Brazil in second place in the group.
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Unlike George Wood who had a tortuous World Cup tour, David Bentley, who was his team-mate and Twain’s focus on the trip, had a much smoother trip. At the moment in this national team, he had no opponents on the right and was a player Capello relied heavily on.
The games for all three groups started. Their performance left much to be desired.
This strengthened Twain’s confidence in buying him. But with Bentley doing well, Twain was ready to compete with other teams.
Twain was a side-friendly coach, and the new season’s guidance was all from the midfielders, almost all of whom were offensive players. The left and right forwards needed to be added, and there had to be a strong new aid in the forward line.
Žigić and Agbonlahor are both specialised players — they were particularly outstanding in one area but not exactly impressive. Žigić’s height and header, as well as Ken’s good sense of passing for his team-mates, were the bridgeheads of the team’s attack. Abangraho’s speed was a sharp weapon in a quick counter-attack. But Twain still needed someone who specialised in shooting, just like Van Nistelrooy.
Right now, France’s leading scorer, Benzema, was absolutely in line with the requirements, but Twain knew he wanted to buy a hand almost all the time. There were also the numerous big names who were contending. Satisfying the appetite of Olath’s shameless greed was not something Forest can do right now.
As for Huntelaar, he had been bought by Real Madrid …
Twain felt that deciding who to buy was a headache for him, much more than studying tactics and thinking about how to beat his opponent were.After all, this was something that could not be undone once the transaction was made. The pressure brought about by the prospect of splurging on someone only to buy back a useless player was not small.
Twain decided to continue observing.
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England’s team was back up against the United States, the second time the two sides had met since the 1950 World Cup where England lost 1-0 to the United States. After the first match between the two teams 60 years ago where the United States’ beat England, England’s editors could not believe the match. Therefore, after a very prudent review, they came up with a “perfect” solution. They believed it was the front-line reporters who got it wrong and omitted a ‘1’ before England’s score. And so, with great flourish, England trumped America 10:1. The news of the great victory over the United States was published in the newspapers, and it became a running joke in the history of the World Cup.
Sixty years on, England was still arrogant but they will not make the same mistakes as they did 60 years ago. Mistakes on live broadcasts make were almost impossible to repeat.
Wood was back on the bench and given the chance to make his debut. Capello gave him a clear mandate — to defend in midfield and cut the link between the American midfielder and the forward line.
George Wood did a good job. The whole game was under his control, and the U.S. team had to rely on long comings to attack.
England scored one goal in each half and eventually eliminated the United States 2-0 to reach the top eight.
George Wood made his debut, played 90 minutes, shoveled the ball 20 times in the game, made 16 attempts, tackled 11 times, successfully made nine, committed five fouls, was violated six times, passed 51 times, made 40, shot once but none on target, assisted a goal.
That was his technical statistics, and after the game he was second in the team in scoring, behind Gerrard, who had scored two goals.
Commentators around the world mentioned his name again and again during matches, calling him England’s midfield pillar. With him, England’s midfield was rock solid. England’s ability to beat the United States so easily was inseparable from his play. Had Gerrard not scored two goals, the best of the game would have been given to George Wood..
In fact, the World Cup for most players, was a perfect stage to get themselves to the world. Although George Wood had long been a world-class player in England and an impeccable performer at the club, he had been considered a world-class player because of a lack of national team results. There was also this idea that Wood could only perform well at the club where there was a man who trusted him to be at the heart of the team, namely their coach, Tony. When he was on the national team, he was just a side dish; he was just not as good a player. Just like the Italian “Golden Boy” Del Piero. No matter how well the club played, he would not be recognised if he could not play well on the national team.
The club and the national team were the two legs of a professional footballer. Without either, a player would be crippled.
At this World Cup, although the team was on the bench, but in the knockout stages, he became Capello’s most reliable player.
After the game against the United States, Capello publicly praised George Wood at a press conference,: ” He reassured me that he knew what to do. Having him in our midfield is very orderly.”
Many pundits said after the game that although the star-studded England midfielder, George Wood, was a “bright” midfielder, Wood looked the least humble, but he was definitely the last one to replace. Whether it was Gerrard, Lampard, Bentley, Joe Cole, or anyone else, they could all be replaced. In terms of both character and role, George Wood was irreplaceable..
If England wanted to go further in this World Cup, such a diligent midfield tie is definitely the key to the manager’s tactical intent.
To win the title during the big cup want to win the title, it was clear they had to rely on defense. George Wood was the make-or-break when it came to England’s midfield defence. Capello was not a fool; he knew as much. George Wood was the very definition of “defense”.
Despite England’s next match against European champions Spain, Downey boldly predicted in his column that England could reach at least the top four. They might even get to the finals for the second time since 1966 for all they knew. His confidence came from Capello’s reuse of George Wood, and that he was a defensive coach. .
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Before the game against England, Fàbregas, a longtime Premier League midfielder who knew English football best, was interviewed by reporters. They asked, “Who is the most dangerous man in England?” He replied with no hesitation, “George Wood. ”
Till this day, the Arsenal captain and the Spanish national team’s midfield core still could not forget the youth FA Cup he played in England. George Wood seemed to kill the spirit of this young genius. Until now, Fàbregas has struggled to face Wood in the English Premier League.
Spain’s coach Jose Bosque agreed with his men. He said, “Unless we’re going to play England’s traditional long pass, we’re not going to get around George Wood.
Yes, Spanish football was very much about midfield control. Look at Spain’s starting midfielders in the group stage — Fàbregas, Xavi, Xabi Alonso and David Silva. They were all technically skilled, good at attacking as well as intercepting the ball and controlling the tempo of the game. This set of midfield line-up in the group stage, Spain’s three-match winning line-out from the group, scored 11 goals, fully demonstrating their attacking prowess. All 11 goals were launched by the midfield; the four midfield starters directly assisted seven of the goals.
After just two rounds, Spain’s midfield combination garnered a lot of attention. Almost everyone wearing “art football” hats over their heads. The Spanish team played a football that was pleasing to the eye, one that was very ornamental with a smooth and natural attack. Fans love to watch them keep the football under their feet, play between their hands by passing back and forth and running around before unknowingly seeing the goal, which was really an art.
So with these three group games, Spain became the top candidate for the title. The media’s assessment of the power of the European champions was still there: an opponent that no team dared to look down on.
But for England coach Fabio Capello, he saw a chance to win. Spain scored 13 goals in four games so far, second only to Argentina who had Messi, Aguero and Tevez. But they lost seven balls. Casillas’s ability was indisputable, and the reason for losing so many balls was simply that they did not value defense, or that their own level of defense was limited.
For a team so focused on the midfield control layer, with frequent assists from the wing-backs and a very good level of attack, what could be worse than going up against an aggressive middlefield striker?
Against Spain, Capello put on a defensive display, replacing Bentley with defensive midfielder Hargreaves, and in midfield he put on a jaw-dropping three-back line: George Wood in the center flanked by Gareth Barry and Hargreaves. Gerrard was left on attack in the centre.
“Obviously, I’m going to defend,” Capello explained his squad in his pre-match press conference. “Against Spain, trying not to lose the ball first is the key to winning the game.”
Twain agreed, “I want to do the same! Defense is the basis for winning, and the side that loses the ball first in such an important game can easily lose focus and give the opponent a chance. I don’t need 7:6 to win the race, I just need 1:0!”
The Spanish media regarded Capello’s decision as a gesture of mercy and weakness, and they proudly declared, “The Spanish team’s attack is not even good, the gold medal coach Capello is rather afraid.”
“Three backs can’t stop us from scoring goals!
The arrangement of the three backs was simply outrageous! This was the regression of football, the detox of utilitarian football! This World Cup was destined to belong to Spain and aesthetic football!
But they all forget that a very important reason why Spain won the Euro 2008 was that there was a full-time defensive midfielder in good form, Senna. It was his tireless running and interceptions at the back that allowed Xavi and Iniesta and Fàbregas to attack as they wanted to.
At this World Cup, Senna did not even make the final list because of the fact that he was getting older and slipped so fast. Bosque didn’t even bring a defensive midfielder to South Africa. No, it’s just the nature of the Spanish nation, who worships aggression and art from the heart, and they despise defence and utility from the heart.
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The match was held in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The direct collision of art football and utilitarian football, the strong dialogue between the title favourites Spain and England attracted the attention of the world. any reporters gathered on the scene and hundreds of television media around the world broadcast live; the seats were full, and the grandstand had long been crowded. Everyone was looking forward to this quarter-final between Mars and Earth.
“Who are you rooting for, Tony?” Newcastle coach Alan Shearer who was also invited as a guest of honour prior to the game asked his colleagues. At this time both men temporarily set aside their obligations as head coaches and formed an easy alliance.
“England.” If Capello was to play Spain in the group stage, I would bet on Spain.”
“Three backs. I really didn’t think of that. “Alan Shearer once played as a striker and even as a coach he was known for his attacking approach.
Twain was very happy, and now he saw Capello as a fellow.”I heard the Spaniards’ reaction before the game, and I bet that after half a game the arrogant Spaniards would have broken their glasses. Three backs, Harvey they don’t want to have anymore to play. Ha ha!” He’s looking forward to the game for a while now.
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After the game officially began, everything was as Dunn said. With less than half a game to play, the Spaniard was already looking very anxious.
George Wood, Hargreaves, Gareth. Three of Barry’s midfielders piled up in front of the line-up, leaving the passing of Xavi, Iniesta and Fàbregas. Later, possession of the ball would become a luxury, let alone actually managing a pass.
Capello’s task for the three backs was simple and clear — no matter the method, do not let the Spanish midfielder comfortably get the ball to organize the attack. As such, the Spanish players suffered a lot with the many fouls, small movements, reasonable use of the body of the collision. At the group stage, the elegant artists in the face of England’s tough rush looked miserable.
Xavi and Iniesta were largely submerged in England’s muscular forest, only for Fàbregas, who had been in the Premier League for a long time, to be slightly better off physically. By then, the Spanish team had essentially given the ball to Fàbregas, who had been placed on the right, and slowly moved himself to the centre, resulting in Harvey’s power, in the middle and old rival George Wood spun around.
The ensuing game was deadlocked. England’s whole-hearted defence was powerless to fight back, while Spain’s attack was goalless.
The first half was a 1:1 battle between the two sides.
In the second half Bosque made adjustments, replacing with Diego Capel, moving Fàbregas to the centre, and Xavi forming the centre-forward, the side hand silva and Cazorla to break through, with the intention of opening the gap from the side .
This change brought about some effect, but Capello adjusted quickly enough]. Let the defensive area of the three backs increase. The middle road was mainly left to George Wood, leaving Gerrard to help cope with Cesc Fàbregas and Xavi’s shock.
Capello had no intention of fighting back at all.
The game was so dull that viewers around the world waited in front of the television. Spain’s most proud and popular offensive football, art football was thrown out of rhythm because of the opponent’s three-back midfield configuration. England drew back as well, as if they lost the desire to attack. What was the point of watching such a game?
But Twain looked so fond of watching Spanish attack blocked by the three-back configuration. Each time he saw George Wood defend again he cheered silently.
The score was 0:0 until the end of the ninety minutes. The two sides went into overtime after a short break. This was the first extra-time game of the World Cup.
Commentators had been critical of Capello’s conservatism, but Capello could not hear the criticism, and even if he heard it, he would continue to do what he did. There was no point in pleasing the audience instead of winning the game.
In the first half of extra-time England suddenly made a big difference on the attack, narrowly breaking Casillas’ goal in three successive attacks, making the Spanish fans sweat. Tony Twain’s solution was that it must have been Capello’s own instructions, because if the game was dragged into a penalty shoot-out, it would be no good for England.
The impact of Germany’s World Cup penalty elimination by Portugal must have sustained until now, not to mention in the goalkeeper’s ring, Joe Hart missed Casillas by more than one grade.
So Capello was hoping to take advantage of the Spanish player’s physical decline in extra-time to let England, who had endured a 90-minute strike, take the game. They came close to succeeding –if not for “St. Igor” to show spirit again.
In the second half of extra-time, England’s attack faded and Spain regained the initiative, seizing the last time they were hoping to decide the outcome of the regular season, even if the man standing behind them was Casillas, and no one wanted a penalty shootout. Bosque, on the other hand, was already thinking about the order of the players in the penalty shootout.
The singing in the stands faded. The Spanish fans were so worried that they would not expect the highly-anticipated team to play so badly, and England’s fans were worried because Capello’s three backs gave them no hope of winning.
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The game went to 118 minutes with two minutes left in overtime.
In the backfield after breaking Fàbregas’ pace, George chose to take the ball forward instead handing it to Gerrard, Barry or anyone else as usual.
His sudden movement caught the Spanish midfielder off guard and everyone but Fàbregas was always with him, who forgot to defend the England No.13 with the ball.
Fàbregas knew nothing more about what the boy was going to do. When Nottingham Forest was in trouble, Tony occasionally let George Wood step in at the last minute to organize the attack, which often ended curiously.
“Go, George, go!” Twain said on the live broadcast.
” George Wood himself took the ball forward and the Spanish midfielder had no interceptions at all. …No, Fàbregas followed him, But he was not fast enough! Mortensen raised his fist and shouted.
This was England’s last attack …
Capello rose from his seat, pursed his lips and looked motionlessly at the pitch, as if he were a statue.
“Gerrard is picking him up …Puyol’s up! Passing the ball? No! Force a break! Well done, George!! ”
Wood relied on Puyol’s combination of body and speed to force a pass past the Barcelona captain.
“Into the 30-meter area! ”
Twain seemed to have forgotten that he was now a commentator, not the Nottingham Forest manager. He got up from his seat and raised his fist and yelled at the field, “Shoot! George! Shoot! ”
“But the shot’s a little …” Shearer disagrees. He thought the pass was better.
Before he could finish speaking, Wood abruptly got up about thirty metres from the goal, and even Fàbregas didn’t expect him to be so decisive.
The football rose from the sky, did not spin, flew straight to the goal, with a gust of wind.
It was too late for Casillas to adjust the position, and he had to rise up, stretching his arms and trying to pounce on the corner. At this moment, “Saint-Igor” is the only Spaniard the Spaniard can rely on, all defenders can do nothing about Wood’s foot.
“George_WOOOOOOOOOOO——GOOOOOOOOAL!!!”
With Motson’s long whistling, Casillas fell from the air and he did not touch the ball. The football pierced the “St. Igor” defense boundary and turned into a meteor crash into the net!
The deadlock of nearly a hundred and twenty minutes was broken …
“A shocking move!” Mortensen, who had been repressed for a hundred and twenty minutes, also broke out, and he stood up and waved his arm and shouted, “GOAL! GOOAL! GOOOOAL!! A kill right before the end! There’s no better killing than this! Casillas lost to George Wood! George..St. George. St. George defeated St.Igor! He is the patron saint of England! Four we go, goodbye Spain!” St George, who scored the kill, was pushed to the bottom by his frantic teammates, and the escaped Capello and his colleagues hugged each other tightly, swearing in Italian and venting their feelings of being repressed for 120 minutes. The England FA’s goal for Capello before the World Cup was to finish in the top four, and now he has done it.
The Spanish side was dead, and no one could believe that England’s goalkeeper, George W. Bush, could not score. Wood kicked the ball out of the world and kicked them back home in Spain at the last minute.
“Yes! He’s bad at shooting! But it’s not the first time in his career that he’s hit such a wonderful world wave! Manchester United and Chelsea have both lost to his footy.The Spaniards should have learned their lesson! You have St Igor and we have St George! ”
“Four hundred and twenty-two years ago, the British Navy hung the flag of St. George in the Red Triangle in the Atlantic Ocean, fought to the end, and never backed down, defeating Spain’s invincible fleet! Now we see the flag full of glory, it is flying over Johannesburg, South Africa! Once again, we have defeated Spain’s Invincible Fleet ! ”
“St. George for England!”
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Chapter 743 - St. George's World Cup
Apologies for not updating it on time…
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A day had passed since the game, and it was possible that the Spanish fans were unwilling to accept the fact that the predicted champions Spain were knocked out by England’s most incapable shooter.
This game boosted George Wood’s fame in world football, and even most pseudo-fans now knew George Wood.
After the game against Spain, George Wood passed the urine test without any problems. He was then named the most valuable player on the spot. FIFA’s official website comments on him were, “Impeccable defence and game attitude, last-minute elimination of the favourites Spain, embodying the full value of a central midfielder.”
Motson’s new nickname for Wood was also widely spread along with the goal, and now England fans had a new moniker for George Wood: St. George. After the game, on England’s streets, public squares, echoes a sound – “St. George protects England!”
The English media said that George Wood’s stunning shot was perfectly comparable to , David Pratt’s last-minute shot against Belgium in the quarter-finals of the 1990 World Cup in Italy. Pratt’s goal 20 years ago saved England and helped the team to reach the top eight, and two decades later George Wood’s screamer helped the team reach the Top Four.
Fàbregas looked frustrated after the game, but in the interview he still praised George Wood’s performance, “I tried to intercept the ball, but he was too fast. Maybe I should have fouled earlier…That’s football, a second of hesitation costs us the game. He did well and deserved to win the game, and I wish him good luck.”
Capello rarely praises a player individually, but this “rule” did not apply to George Wood. He was very emotional after the game and he took the initiative to mention Wood to the media, “He’s a great player and I’m happy to have one of those players in the team. Yes, he played beautifully but what I valued most was his performance in the 119th minute before the goal — it was perfect. He completely contained Xavi and Fàbregas , and not losing the ball was the best affirmation of his efforts.”
Bosque was calm after the World Cup loss. When he was asked about George Wood, he replied, ” Capello’s three full backs were successful, but without George Wood, the three full backs are not as strong as people think. He is the core of the midfield defence…Yes, I think he is the best defensive midfielder in world football in recent years. But maybe in a few years I’ll have to get rid of the ‘defensive’ aspect. That was a beautiful goal. I have nothing to say after being beaten by a goal like this.”
Twain, who trained George Wood, was also the subject of media pursuit after the game. He was not surprised at Wood’s success. “Because I knew he would succeed. If Eriksson had been as clever as Capello, England might have gone further in Germany. If McClaren had a clearer head, England wouldn’t have had to be spectators in the summer of 2008. You see, anyone who looked down on Wood had a miserable ending. Do you think Nottingham Forest’s two European Champions Cups and one league title in two years were due to luck? What is there we can’t achieve with St. George?” At this point, Twain laughed with pride. He liked Motson’s new nickname for Wood in the live stream, it was a lot better than “monster”, “artificial man” and “future soldier”.
So many people complimented George Wood, but what did he think of himself?
“I’m happy to get into the top four. I’m just playing as I usually do. ” He said he was glad, but there was no obvious smile on his face.
“He’s just playing normally, and I really want to see how his extraordinary play looks like…” The reporter who interviewed him said in the report.
In short, George Wood had established himself as a god in the football world.
From before the World Cup began, all the way to the group stage. The English media was still trying to debate whether Lampard and Gerrard or George Wood and Gerrard should start. There are people who supported Lampard but there are people who supported George Wood. Capello’s arrival did little to solve England’s “double German”; on the contrary the issue exacerbated.
Now, all the arguments disappeared overnight. Some media even said this, “Capello should not think about whether George Wood or Lampard should start, but instead who should start with George Wood?”
It seems like “St George’s” World Cup journey was just beginning but he still had time to write his own legend. Thanks to Wood’s excellent display, England’s fans were even starting to look forward to the finals and him lifting the Champions Cup.
“… Since 1966, we never got close to that trophy. Every World Cup, we say we’re the strongest English team in history, but in reality? But this World Cup may have a different ending. Capello is a coach who prioritises defense and, in the World Series, defending meant champion and victory. Now with ‘St. George’, we have the power to dream big! ”
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But St.George’s World Cup trip ended.
In the semi-finals, they encountered the Italian team led by “Silver Fox” Lippi.
It was a contest between the two Italian coaches and a direct conflict between aconservative person and another who was even more conservative. In the end, Italy’s reinforced concrete chain-link defence beat England. In the face of Italy’s shrinking defence, England lacked the means to break the deadlock. Revealing their weakness in the lack of a deciding midfielder, Gerrard and Lampard acted both more like scoring midfielders and were slightly inferior in passing.
On the Italian side, Pirlo sorted the team’s midfield in a well-organized way. Threatening England’s goal with a defensive counter-attack kept England from full-out attacking.
In the end, the game was dragged into a penalty shootout.In fact, England was exhausted by the time they entered the overtime period. Playing 120 minutes against Spain consumed too much energy, and now they played another 120 minutes against Italy. With that in mind, the mindsets of England’s players began to collapse.
Only George Wood and Gerrard were exceptions, both of whom were still running tirelessly in the hope of breaking the deadlock for the team. Wood wanted to repeat history, by scoring from the back. In fact, in the last minute of the game, England’s fans and the media all wanted that.But their opponent this time was not Spain, who did not guard its midfield, but the defending footballer’s forerunner, Italy.
George Wood was focused on the defence and the Italian players were more willing to foul early and would not have given Wood a chance to step in. There were times when Wood rushed to shoot but it was way off. Despite England fans shouting, “May St. George bless England”, St.George had no energy left and he could no longer watch over England.
The game was dragged into a penalty shoot-out and England had completely lost their confidence, even though it was not the first time they had fallen in penalty. During a penalty-shootout, almost everyone would have an inexplicable psychological shadow.
George Wood was not put on Capello’s penalty list. Although his psychological state was good, but his shooting skills was really not reassuring.
The result was indisputable. The world’s best goalkeeper, Buffon, who dived and blocked a penalty shot, “frightened” away another penalty shot. The Italian side made four penalties and England’s fifth man did not even play before the game was over.
Twain was not sad about the result. On the one hand, he was not a real Englishman, so his emotions will not be affected by the fate of this team. On the other hand, when the game was dragged into overtime, he had seen England’s fate. They could not keep up on a physical level. Not being eliminated by Italy in overtime would only be because they were lucky, but now they were out of luck after the two overtime games and could not afford to return in the penalty shoot-out.
George Wood stood side by side with his teammates in the middle circle, watching his teammates step up one by one to the main penalty, whether they would be happy or frustrated. However, he could only watch his World Cup journey come to an end.
He did not get a minute off at the World Cup in Germany, and even if England was knocked out by Portugal, he had no special emotion other than to experience Beckham’s sadness. Four years later, South Africa was different, he had been a major player since the knockout stages and he really felt he was part of the team. England could finish in the top four but he deserved more than just stopping at the top four …
He felt sad, but he did not cry. He could not remember ever crying in his lifetime. He just stood in place with his back straight, not even wavering in the slightest even to vent his frustration. He could not move because a man was leaning on his back.
Lampard, who came on as a substitute in overtime, was the fifth to play, but the game was finished before his turn and he cried behind Wood. It was not because he was not strong enough, but because he knew this could be his last World Cup. He would turn 32 in 2010, then 36 four years later, making it almost impossible to play for his country again.
Nobody, no matter how strong they were, could withstand such a blow.
Beckham was initially criticised for not being seen at the time when he was substituted for the match against Portugal and sitting on the sidelines and sobbing. Those people were just trash talking, because nobody could understand how sad they were if they had never been in their position.
When the fourth Italian player, Grosso, kicked the ball into Joe Hart’s goal post, the Italian players next to him buzzed him immediately and half of the crowd in the stands cheered.
Wood looked at his opponents’ ecstatic expressions and raised his fists. He now regretted that he could not make a little more contribution to the team on offense. Had his shooting been better, had he taken one of three chances in overtime, he would not see the Italian’s expression right now. .
He hated to see his opponent laugh, and he liked to see people who were fighting against himself cry.
Shoot a little better! Attack a little better! I’m not going to be a midfielder who would only defend! I do not want others to take control of the direction of the game! I want to take destiny in my own hands!
I’m going to be the real “St. George” !
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Mortensen kept silent for a long time, as if he were dead. Alan Shearer shook his head helplessly. Twain sighed. The first two were really sad for England to finish only as the top four again, but Twain just felt sorry for George Wood.
“Regardless… being in the top four was part of their pre-World Cup goals. But after watching the last game against Spain, I’m sure all the English people are looking forward to more, but…” Mortensen had finally recovered a bit of anger. “This is football. It does not bend to our will. England’s lads are good…24-year-old George Wood, 23-year-old Alan Lennon, 18-year-old Jack Wilshere, 19-year-old Jack Rodwell, 22-year-old Micah Richards, 21-year-old Walcott, 23-year-old Joe Hart, 24-year-old Wayne Rooney, 25-year-old Ashley Young, 26-year-old Bentley, 26-year-old Stewart Downing. Look at these young people, I think we can continue to look forward for another four years. ”
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In the third-fourth placing finals on the day before the final, George Wood continued to play as a starter in the match with Lampard as his partner.In the third-fourth placing finals, England’s opponents were Brazil who were in the group stage.Losing the semi-finals did not affect Wood negatively. Conversely, he had become more competitive.
Capello handed Kaka over to him, and he was on the pitch faithful to the manager’s tactical demands. He did not let Kaka receive the ball easily, did not give him the space to start a breakthrough, did not let him easily pass the football, even if it were at the expense of a yellow card. He was out to completely freeze the core of the Brazilian team completely.
George Wood and Kaka’s duel was wonderful and became a beautiful scene in the game. Neither side was on top, both had their wins and losses.
In the end, England, who was not as good as Brazil overall, and with two 120 minutes matches in a row which exhausted their entire stamina, lost to Brazil 1:2 to finish fourth in the World Cup.
The final match was between Italy and Argentina, for a fierce 90-minute battle. Argentina beat Italy 2-0 with two flashy plays from Messi and Aguero, winning the World Cup for the third time in history. After this battle, Messi was labelled “God”, and the media and fans called him the king of the new generation of football. For a moment, “Mesidona” was shouted all over the world.
“2010 is Messi’s year!” At the club, he wore the No.10 shirt to lead Barcelona in the league and The Champions League! In the national team, wearing the No. 10, he finally became the king of the world! We have the honour to witness the birth of a new king in the soccer generation in South Africa! ”
In the midst of such praise, only one person thought the opposite.
Tony, who had a me-against-the-world mindset and despised people who blindly followed the majority, wrote in his column after the finals, ” I’ll admit that Messi has won three championships, but it’s still too early to call him the new Soccer King. Argentina only won the World Cup because they didn’t encounter England. Barcelona only won the Champions League because Nottingham Forest was not there! ”
Some people called Twain a sore loser.
Twain rebutted, saying his team would return to Europe to play next season and he would let everyone know who was right and who was wrong.
“I don’t mind UEFA pitting my team up against Barcelona, I would even hope for it. Come on, use your ‘unspoken rules’ on me! ”
He was later fined 20,000 euros and given a severe warning for his speech convincing people that there was a covert operation inside UEFA.The tension between him and Barcelona was exacerbating.Losing money and fame, and creating a deeper feud with his opponents. In the eyes of outsiders, Tony Twain was an idiot who behaved in an unacceptable manner.But Twain thought he was just calling a spade a spade.
If George Wood had gone up against Messi, all Messi had to do was pray he would not be injured and ejected in 90 minutes and nothing else. As long as Twain was still the manager of Nottingham Forest, he would do it. Why did Italy lose? They lost because they had been too civilised when marking Messi. Unfortunately, as he aged, Gattuso’s standards slipped as well. If Gattuso were in his prime, it would be hard to say what the outcome of this final could have been. In the game, Gattuso clearly could not keep up with Messi’s pace and was always easily left behind by Messi’s speed. He could not even foul quick enough.
The new ball king? Messi was still far from dominating everyone. He still had a long way to go before he could be king.At the very least, let St George test his mettle first.
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Chapter 744 - A Pair of Forest Wingers
The World Cup was over. The matter of other people’s reactions was not something Twain should care about. He had to think about how to maximize the club’s transfer budget of fifty million pounds.
Bentley’s performance at the World Cup was far less brilliant than that of George Wood but Twain was basically positive about his strength and form. He had already commissioned the club to ask Tottenham Hotspur for a price while the World Cup was still going on.
Tottenham Hotspur initially did not agree to sell the England starting right back, so Twain took time out during the World Cup to go meet Bentley’s agent and got in touch with Bentley through the agent. Bentley has told Twain that he wanted to join Nottingham Forest because the Forest team could play in next season’s UEFA Champions League while Tottenham Hotspur was only qualified for the UEFA Europa League.
Consequently, Twain wanted Bentley to put pressure on Tottenham Hotspur himself and lay his card on the table for Levy.
Bentley promised to do it after the World Cup. Now he just wanted to play well in the World Cup.
After the World Cup, he once again urged Bentley to lay his cards on the table with Tottenham Hotspur through his agent.
Firstly, Tony Twain publicly declared his appreciation for Bentley—he used his work to build momentum for the matter during the World Cup broadcast.
Then Bentley went along with the flow to respond. In an interview with the reporters, he said he was delighted with Manager Tony Twain’s appreciation of him. He thought Tony Twain was the best English manager now because he could lead the team to the championship title. Pierce Brosnan who interviewed him, went along and said, “What if you play for him?” Bentley smiled in reply, “I think it must be great!”
Well, now that both parties were willing, it was up to Tottenham Hotspur’s say-so.
After the World Cup, Bentley had a private discussion with the Tottenham Hotspur manager, Redknapp. During the meeting, Bentley made it clear to Redknapp that he wanted to leave Tottenham Hotspur and go to Nottingham Forest in pursuit of his desire for championship titles and honors. He hoped the team could support his personal pursuits, which had nothing to do with his salary.
In fact, after the incident with Berbatov, Tottenham Hotspur should have made one thing clear—that as long as the player himself wanted to leave, it would not help to force to detain.
If Levy was smart, he should not have continued to rebuff Nottingham Forest’s “good faith.” Instead, he should seriously consider how much money Bentley can be sold for.
Tottenham Hotspur agreed to Bentley’s departure after two days of consideration. The rest of the matter was simple. It was just a question of how much money was appropriate.
Tottenham bought Bentley for fifteen million pounds. With the onset of the world financial crisis, the clubs spent more wisely in the transfer market, and the value of the players generally fell. Bentley was no exception. It was considered good to be able to sell fifteen million. In fact, Tottenham Hotspur had quoted the Forest team a price of fifteen million pounds. They hoped to at least not sustain a loss.
Whereas Allan Adams insisted that the Forest team could only offer eleven million pounds.
The talks were deadlocked for a week, and the two sides eventually met each other halfway. The deal was made for thirteen and a half million pounds. The Forest team made a down payment of eleven million pounds. When Bentley made a full thirty appearances for the Forest team, they would give Tottenham Hotspur another two and a half million pounds.
The individual package contract was long negotiated.
Less than two weeks after the World Cup, Nottingham Forest and Tottenham Hotspur jointly announced that England’s “new Beckham”, David Bentley had officially transferred to the Forest from Tottenham Hotspur for a transfer fee of thirteen and a half million pounds.
※※※
After Twain handed over the negotiations to Allan, he was busy looking for the left winger for the team.
After a repeated screening process, he set his sights on La Liga’s Villarreal’s left midfielder, Matías Fernández.
On the one hand, Fernández had the desire to leave The Yellow Submarine. While Villarreal could safely guarantee that they could participate in the Champions League in recent seasons, to win the title was amount to nothing more than a pipe dream. Whereas, Nottingham Forest had just defended the championship title for the tournament two seasons ago. A discerning eye could tell the difference between Villarreal and Nottingham Forest at a glance.
On the other hand, Villarreal also needed money. As a small club, its budget had always been tight. They could only make money by selling their star players. If Forest wanted to buy Fernández, the club would not be a barrier.
When Twain purchased players, he still employed a two-step strategy—one step was to the contact the club and the other step was to approach the player. Before he contacted the club, he would approach the player in private to see what he had to say. If he wanted to come, then he would tackle the club. If he did not want to come, he would take care of the player first. He would change the target if he could not manage it.
This time, Fernández did want to leave. He longed for a bigger arena and a new challenge. He could not do that in Villarreal. In fact, if Real Madrid, Barça and other clubs were interested in him, that would be the best result. But these big clubs were currently not that interested in him. Only a few mid-tier clubs were. The examples included Italy’s Roma and Fiorentina, Bundesliga’s Schalke 04 and Werder Bremen, English Premier League’s Everton and Aston Villa, and La Liga’s Deportivo de La Coruña and Valencia.
By comparison, he thought it would be more worthwhile to choose Nottingham Forest. No matter what, the Forest team was also a team that had just won the UEFA Champions League for two years in a row. Despite some setbacks over the past two seasons, as long as their manager, who pursued victories and championship titles was still around, the team’s confidence would still be there.
Matías Fernández comprehended this: the pillar of a Premier League team was the manager, so as long as the manager was still there, the team was not finished.
His understanding was very much in line with the current situation of the vast majority of Premier League teams.
Twain assured him that playing for the Forest team would be more promising than playing for Villarreal—“because we are a team with a tradition for championship titles.”
Fernández had assured Twain that if Nottingham Forest could meet Villarreal’s transfer fee and conditions, he would consider signing for the Forest team first.
Following which, Nottingham Forest made a bid to Villarreal for twelve million euros for Fernández.
Villarreal did not rebuff the Forest team right off the bat but gave another quote: the amount was still twelve million, but for them to change from the euro to “pounds.”
Twain did not hesitate and nodded in agreement to the other side’s quote.
The following procedure was to compete with several other clubs to see who could get the “rose” that Matías Fernández threw.”
Since an agreement had been reached in private, Fernández eventually opted for a contract with Nottingham Forest.
In this way, Tony Twain spent a total cost of twenty-five and a half million pounds and got the left and right wingers he wanted. Bentley was on the right, and Fernández was on the left.
With half of the transfer budget left, how should he spend it?
※※※
“What do you think of Adriano?” Twain suddenly said to the busy Dunn around him as they prepared for the upcoming training at the Wilford training base.
“If you’re interested in him, I’m going to say nothing great about him.” Dunn replied Twain without looking up and continued to do his work.
“Well…” Twain did not refute. He just rubbed his chin and pondered.
“You’re right, there’s really nothing great about him” Twain spoke up after a moment of contemplation, “I’m just thinking about it casually…”
The two new wingers were just introduced to their teammates, the fans and the media a day ago, and the Nottingham Forest king was worrying about the candidate for the striker.
Žigić’s performance in the second season was much better than his first season and his contribution to the team’s tactics was remarkable. However, it seemed that because he always needed to be a bridgehead in the tactics, his scoring rate was on the decline. His assists went up and he was very helpful in the forward line, but his own goal scoring numbers could not go up. Twain had decided to give up the idea of purely using Žigić as a striker. He found that Žigić did a good job in the tactical center forward position. He could hardly pick out any faults except that he scored fewer goals.
Agbonlahor was very fast, extremely fast. But his shooting skills was a bit rougher, and he preferred to be active on the sides—because there was enough room for him to break through there. He was more useful than anyone during counterattacks, but the Forest team could not always counterattack. This set of routine had long been thoroughly studied by their opponents.
Eastwood’s form was stable provided that he was not injured. The Forest team would have to play in at least two tournaments this season, and Twain could not expect Eastwood to play all the games in the season alone.
Millán and Moses were too young to be counted on to take on the big responsibility.
Therefore, the Forest team still needed to strengthen the force of the forward line.
To make room for a new striker, Twain decided to put Moses and Millán out on loan to train them. These two young guys were in high demand due to their excellent performances last season. Twain did not need to worry about their positions.
So, the only question now was—which striker should he buy?
Twain’s current transfer fund was still worth up to thirty million pounds—after he bought Bentley and Fernández, Allan Adams added in another five million pounds to the transfer budget for Twain. It looked like the Forest team really wanted to make a big splash in the new season.
Who could he buy with thirty million? The players he could actually buy were a lot, but in fact they were also very few players whom he could buy.
The financial crisis had led to a decline in the value of the players. The star players who used to readily have sky-high prices were now down to ordinary levels. In a classic example, Real Madrid announced the acquisition of Benzema this summer. The haggling over prices went on for the entire World Cup, which eventually ended with a total of thirty million euros. What did Aulas say two years ago? “Benzema is worth one hundred million euros!” At that time, the actual price would not be less than fifty million.
Ibrahimović, Eto’o, Villa, Tevez, Berbatov…..These men were currently available for a transfer fee of thirty million pounds, but not one of them could be bought by the Forest team.
On the one hand, the Forest team was a lot worse as compared to those real powerhouse names. On the other hand, even if they could buy these superstars, they might not be able to afford to pay their salaries. One must know that Ibrahimović enjoyed an annual salary of twelve million euros after tax at Inter Milan. Italy imposed a one hundred per cent tax on football. An annual salary of twelve million after tax implied that Inter Milan pay twenty-four million euros a year for just Ibrahimović’s salary alone…
Even if England did not impose such a heavy tax on the football industry, the figure of twelve million was beyond what Nottingham Forest could afford.
As a result, Twain could only look at two categories of players: one category was a world-class striker who had long proved his place in the football world but was currently in poor form. The other was the less famous, capable and about to become a first-class striker.
The former’s best candidate was in fact Adriano, who was soured by the loss of his hopes at Inter Milan.
Twain had seriously considered the possibility of the Brazilian joining the team before. First of all, although he and Mourinho were at loggerheads, he believed that Mourinho would not be difficult in the matter of Adriano’s transfer. Inter Milan also wanted to get rid of the burden, Adriano as soon as possible. Moreover, they would never allow Adriano to be sold to an Italian team, so the foreign teams were the Brazilian’s only option. Meanwhile, Adriano and his agent would not agree to return to Brazil, so an English team was the best option.
But the core issue that left Twain indecisive was Adriano himself. This was a player who was technically fine but questionable attitude-wise. Late to the training, the absences, the late-night jaunts to the nightclubs that lasted to the next morning, the prostitutes, his self-confessed big-shot attitude that he was not willing to correct, face-to-face confrontation with the team’s manager, questioning authority …
None of these problems was something Twain did not hate.
He had a similar temper as Mourinho. If Mourinho could not tolerate Adriano, then Twain most likely could not.
Maybe he could keep Adriano honest for a season by all means, but Twain was well aware that it was not going to be easy to turn around a character like Adriano. Once he was flushed with success again, it would the endless off-field scandals that awaited Twain. Could he change such a self-sabotaging genius?
Twain and Dunn had discussed it several times. Dunn’s conclusion was always the same—perhaps he would do before his father’s passing but after his father died, he was completely hopeless.
He also advised Twain, “If the club thinks you’ve spent tens of millions of pounds on him to only play well for the team for one season, I’m not sure what the chairman will do to you. Adriano is too risky, and we have many ways to avoid the risk. I don’t think bringing in Adriano is a good deal.”
Twain agonized for days. After studying Adriano’s performance in the recent years and his off-field gossip, he officially announced that he had given up on him this morning.
The Brazilian was a hopeless case, and Tony Twain was not an omnipotent God. Although he felt deep down that it was a shame for this once talented striker, the reality was very cruel. He did not have to use tens of millions to do charity and save a young man who was neither a relative nor a friend and had taken a wrong turn in life.
So, the problem was here again.
“Hey, Dunn. Can you recommend a few more to me? The ones whom you previously recommended always had some areas that I was not satisfied with. You know I’m a perfectionist…”
...
Chapter 745 - Super Ibi’s Troubles
The only light source in the dim video screening room came from the big screen in front. The drawn heavy curtains made the room appeared to be night. The German language that sounded in the room was completely incomprehensible to Twain, but it did not matter. He could understand what the commentators were jabbering about by filling the gaps in his mind. The key was that he could repeatedly hear a word popping up among the German spoken:
“Ibišević!”
Every time the commentators, full of enthusiasm, called out the person’s name, the birth of a goal would be shown on the screen.
Sometimes the commentators did not shout in this way. They yelled out, “Super Ibi!”
But no matter what the tall player on the screen was called, he always scored goals.
He shot hard, he jumped for the header, he leaned on the opposing defender and then turned to shoot…
“Even though while watching the best of the highlights, any player will look like an awesome player like Pelé and Maradona. But at the very least we can know what the other party’s strengths are and he’s very good at scoring goals.” Once they finished watching the video, the screen faded to black, and the room was dark, Twain opened his mouth to speak in the dark, “Also I want to ask, isn’t anyone sitting next to the switch?”
“There are only three of us here, Tony. Dunn and I are next to you.” Kerslake’s voice sounded in the dark, “In addition, the data indicates that his assists are also very good.”
“All right, I’ll go…” Twain had just gotten up and knocked down the chair next to him. He gave an ouch, and then scolded, “Damn chair!”
Dunn thoughtfully took out his cell phone to illuminate for Twain, but the light was too weak.
Twain did not grope about. He directly kicked over everything blocking in front of himself. Amid the crashing objects, he went to where the switch was and turned on the lights in the room. All three men squinted their eyes when the bright white light came on.
The room was in a mess. Several chairs laid scattered about in the room.
Twain then picked them up to put them upright again.
“Back to the topic just now. What do you think of this man?”
Dunn did not say a word while Kerslake shook his head and said, “We’re looking at a video of him a season ago. His performance that season was amazing. But Tony, Bundesliga regularly produces ‘ordinary strikers’ who only hit the big time for one season. Look at his performance last season, it was as if he was a different player in the video. I don’t think highly of him.”
Twain did not make any comments yet. He just turned to Dunn.
“It’s a risk, Tony.” Dunn’s words were simple, but he did not explicitly object. To tell the truth, he also could not make up his mind.
Twain nodded and said, “I can understand your concerns. He scored thirty-seven goals in the 08-09 season and almost broke Gerd Müller’s record of forty goals in a single season. It was absolutely a miraculous performance. Based on the performance of that season alone, we can’t even buy him with thirty million. But in the 09-10 season, his performance was completely incomprehensible to people. He only scored ten goals in the season… It was a far cry from previous season’s performance.”
“Since you know all these, why did we still have to watch his video?” Kerslake asked.
“Because I don’t think the man’s success was accidental. Instead, his strange performance last season was accidental.” Twain said with a chuckle, “I like his background story and his character. I think his success is definitely not down to luck. There are many reasons why he played poorly last season—Firstly, the tactics that Rangnick devised for Hoffenheim had been studied by the Bundesliga teams. Hoffenheim was not a newly promoted team, but a participating team the Champions League. Obviously, no one looked down on them; Secondly, as the Bundesliga’s best goalscorer and Europe’s best striker for the 08-09 season, Ibišević was the focus of his opponents’ marking, which somewhat limited his play; Thirdly, competing in multiple tournaments had left Hoffenheim’s team exhausted and in poor form. This affected Ibišević’s goalscoring; Fourthly, there were injuries. He suffered an injury last season and had not been able to get back into his form after a two-month break. It’s a little strange, but understandable. A player’s form is not something we can fully grasp. So, I don’t think his decline in goals last season has anything to do with his individual ability… You want to hear why I’m optimistic about him?”
Kerslake nodded.
“Psychological quality.” Twain retracted three of his fingers he had extended just now, leaving only one. “Why did I say his success was not accidental? Look at his experience for the lower level leagues and as a substitute, those are valuable assets for a striker. He has a good mindset and has never given up on his efforts to be a good striker. This is very important. Bayern Munich’s leading striker, Luca Toni did not do well in Fiorentina before he became famous, but he eventually broke out. I believe Ibišević can be the second Luca Toni. He just needs a bigger stage, and Hoffenheim is no longer suitable for him. The boss there would never have more money than the UAE royal family. They spent so much money and yet Manchester City did not win a single title, nor did Hoffenheim. I think Nottingham Forest is an entirely new stage suitable for him to play to his full potential.”
“Also, thanks to his poor performance last season, we shouldn’t have to spend too much money on him now. Moreover, as a Bosnian who had lived in the United States, he also speaks fluent English. To play in England without any linguistic problems, it will help him fit into the team better and faster. The striker is the one who needs to adapt to the style of the team as quickly as possible. It is beneficial for him and for us.”
Kerslake looked at Twain and said, “So in actual fact, you’ve made up your mind, haven’t you?”
“Don’t say that, David.” Twain laughed, “I always listen to both your opinions.”
“Since you’ve said what you’re supposed to say, what other opinions can we have? Isn’t that right, Dunn?” Kerslake turned to ask Dunn, who sat next to him.
“Tony believes that a player’s psychological quality can determine his achievements.” Dunn answered, “I reserve my opinions on it. But as an assistant manager, I support the manager.”
“That’s it!” Twain gave a clap and exclaimed, “Tomorrow, let our guy sound out Hoffenheim!”
※※※
Including the transient population, the small village of Hoffenheim only had three thousand and three hundred people and belonged to the German city of Sinsheim in Baden-Württemberg. But in fact, Sinsheim was not considered a big city. Albeit labeled as a city, it was most like a “town.” The train that passed through the Sinsheim station was a single track, which made it a veritable small station.
But such a humble little place caused a whirlwind in Bundesliga and European football in the 2008-09 season. They did well and ended up the runner-up in the league tournament as a newly promoted team as well as their first ever appearance in Bundesliga. The team’s top striker, Vedad Ibišević became Bundesliga’s top striker that season and was awarded the European Golden Shoe.
It was truly a crazy season. At the end of the season, all of the Hoffenheim players had attracted looting by teams in Germany and Europe.
But the owner of the club and European software giant, SAP, Dietmar Hopp was ambitious and had money. So, not only did he not sell a single player, he also signed a number of well-known players to supplement the team’s strength and got ready to play in the new season in the Europe arena.
Unfortunately, a football was round…
The team’s results in competing in two tournaments in the new season went down the tubes.
The Golden Boot, Ibišević, who did well last season, also appeared to lose his goalscoring ability overnight. He scored only ten goals in the league tournament and scored only three goals in the UEFA Champions League, which was a far cry from what people expected of him.
Even the team’s manager, Rangnick, was baffled by his sudden breakout and dormancy once again. “Why was he able to score thirty-seven goals in one season and only ten goals in another season? It’s the same thing when he scored five goals in a single season in 2. Bundesliga. I don’t understand.”
He was not the only one. Ibišević himself could not understand. He believed he had made great progress as compared to his previous self. At least after a successful Bundesliga season, his confidence was greatly reinforced and strengthened. He definitely did not take a step back in his skills. So, what made him suddenly lose his state?
Perhaps this would become a famous unsolved mystery in German football…
※※※
It was only a slightly more than ten-minute drive from Sinsheim to Hoffenheim, and the distance between the two places were actually short enough.
After Vedad Ibišević drove his cherished car into Hoffenheim, he would often be greeted by the oncoming Hoffenheim villagers. It was a quiet little village… even if the people here had their first ever foray into the Champions League last season.
But Ibišević was not in the mood to greet the fans who liked him one by one. He had his own troubles.
Just before driving to Dietmar-Hopp-Stadion, he received a call from his agent’s firm, Stars & Friends International Holding.
The agency’s person asked him over the phone if he was interested in playing for another club.
He received a lot of such calls last summer. Manchester United, Inter Milan, Bayern Munich, Barcelona… the European powerhouses practically came everywhere for one purpose—to take him away from the small village of Hoffenheim.
At that time, he only had one year left on his contract with the club, but he refused them all and opted to renew his contract with the club until 2013. He achieved success in Hoffenheim and had a good time. He could not think of a reason to leave. Just because Hoffenheim is a small place? But I love life in the quiet countryside. Sinsheim sells everything I need, and I don’t think big cities have any advantages over Sinsheim.
But a year later, it was not known if he would have regretted the choice he made at that time.
He did not see what he wanted to see in the new season. His form and the team’s form slipped and Hoffenheim’s great plans had not gone down well. Hopp’s ambitions had suffered setbacks. He was also labeled as the “brightest shooting star in the history of the Bundesliga.”
The powerhouse teams that were once interested in him, had all withdrew without exception. As the number of football scouts dwindled in the stands at the Rhein-Neckar-Arena, everyone shook their heads and sighed that he was just another Mintál—“scored a lifetime’s worth of goals in one season.”
The biggest problem was not that he scored fewer goals, but that he did not know why it became that way.
There was nothing wrong with his body before the injury. The team doctors smacked their lips and proclaimed that he was as strong as an ox before the start of the season.
In the middle of the season, there were reports in the German press that Ibišević was in a state of flux—he wanted to be paid and treated according as the team’s number one while the off-field scandals also interfered with his normal training. He sneered at those things. Only he knew the state of his mind in the world. He had never relaxed the demands on himself because of his successes last season. Because the wandering years of playing in Europe’s lower leagues had taught him one thing: there was no pie in the sky in the world. A euro’s worth of success would cost him eleven million euros’ worth of efforts.
Maybe the injuries could explain some things? But it was not the type of injury that could threaten his career and not something that a professional player was immune from while playing. If an injury would completely sink him, then he was not fit to be a professional player. Ibišević did not think of himself as that kind of person.
After he recovered and returned from the injury, he still gave himself half an hour of shooting after training every day and had no complaints about Manager Rangnick’s arrangements. But he and Rangnick were caught up in an inexplicable crisis—at the end of the season, he was no longer the “Super Ibi” that made the Bundesliga strong teams trembled with fear. More often than not, he was just wandering between the wasted opportunities and the search for chances. The team lost the qualification to play in the UEFA Europa League. At one point during the season, Rangnick was also rumored to be fired early by Hopp.
Another summer came, and the transfer market was in full swing. Ibišević, whom the entire Europe went crazy for last summer, was suddenly at the “bottom of the heap.” There were still teams interested in him, but they were all the second-tier teams. It would have been better to stay in Hoffenheim and looked for a chance to prove himself again than to go to those teams.
But a completely different name was mentioned in the call from the agency today—Nottingham Forest.
He knew the team. The history from last century’s late 1970s and early 1980s was too far away for him but the red team that won the UEFA Champions League titles for two years in a row in 2007 and 2008 to become the first team to defend the Champions League title since the reform, was world famous and without parallel for a moment. During that time, Hoffenheim was still working hard to be promoted to Bundesliga from the 3. Liga and 2. Bundesliga tournaments. The club’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Rotthaus, always used Tony Twain’s team to inspire the young blue-and-white team—“One day, we will be like the Nottingham Forest team! This is by no means an impossible dream!”
They almost succeeded…
Later with Manager Tony Twain’s sudden heart attack, the team, known to create miracles, suddenly lost its miraculous halo and, at one point, even lost the chance to play in the European competition. It was not until they squeezed out Chelsea in that thrilling final stage of last season that they were able to qualify for next season’s UEFA Champions League.
He thought the team’s experience was very similar to his at that time, but he did not think he’d receive an offer from Nottingham Forest.
He told the agency that he had to think it over. Now he was not confident enough to say, “I just want to finish my current contract with the club.”
Maybe a change of place can bring about new changes? There was such a voice in the deepest part of him.
...
Chapter 746 - The Drifter
Rotthaus was the Chief Executive Officer of the TSG 1899 Hoffenheim club and the man who gave the club an injection of funds to determine the direction was the owner, Dietmar Hopp. But the man in charge of all the specific affairs was this middle-aged man.
He used to be the head of marketing at the Bundesliga elite squad, VfB Stuttgart. He resigned from Stuttgart in 2005 and accepted Hopp’s offer to move to a small team that was still in the 3. Liga tournament at the time. It actually took some courage to make such a choice. After all, Rotthaus did well in Stuttgart and had a satisfactory income. There did not seem to be a need to change places and start from scratch. He could get stuck in a quagmire going to a small team in 3. Liga if he was not careful. But after months of deliberation, he decided to come to Hoffenheim to make something out of it.
If it were to be compared to the Hoffenheim team when he first came, he had already succeeded.
They finished second in the Bundesliga in the first season they were promoted to Bundesliga and even cultivated two Germany national footballers and the best striker in the Bundesliga and Europe. Their results in the second season were not as good as the previous season but they were situated securely in the Bundesliga. At least they had no worries about relegation. Their original plan was to secure a place in the Bundesliga in two years’ time.
Neither Hopp nor he was in a hurry to forge Hoffenheim into a team that could win the title. Hopp had invested heavily to first build the new training base and stadium, as well as to look for young players. They did not buy the big-name star players.
From this point of view, they were equally a miracle maker, but they were a far cry from Nottingham Forest.
Last season, news of Rangnick’s impending dismissal from the club circulated so much that Hopp immediately instructed Rotthaus to offer Rangnick a new five-year contract. News of the manager’s contract renewal quickly appeared in the major news media, and the rumors were discredited.
Rotthaus was not disappointed with what happened to the team last season as it was within his expectations. The ones who were disappointed were only total strangers who had high Hopps for Hoffenheim.
Rotthaus had a big dream, probably bigger than that of his boss, Hopp. He wanted to make Hoffenheim a club that could survive without relying on Hopp’s investment and be kept afloat. Like the famous football clubs that already existed in the world, the investors could be changed many times over, but the team would always exist. He and Hopp would grow old and die one day. Hoffenheim could not fall to the seventh-tier tournament because of Hopp’s departure. They should have the ability to continue to stay in the Bundesliga. He must let the team gradually move away from Hopp’s investment and influence and become independent step by step.
Now there might be a chance to start the first step.
Just this morning, he received a fax from England.
Nottingham Forest had made an inquiry to him about whether the team’s striker, Vedad Ibišević was for sale. The miracle of England and the miracle of Germany finally had its first formal contact.
He received numerous faxes like this last summer. At that time, he rejected them all without asking Hopp for advice. No ambitious club would sell its leading striker in its own team. Not to mention Hoffenheim was not short of money and would be competing in next season’s Champions League. He did not think Ibišević would choose to leave.
There were much fewer such faxes this summer. The teams that were interested in “Super Ibi” had stated one by one that they would not sign the once-famous super striker. The teams that were still interested in Ibišević were only the second-rate teams in the top leagues, or second-tier leagues.
At the end of last season, the German press once quipped sarcastically, “Ibišević has always been a drifter mixing in in the lower level leagues in Europe. He has no problem adapting to that level of football. He may perhaps be successful starting from a different place again. To be honest, he’s not a striker who can play in the top leagues…”
These remarks might be harsh, but many people truly thought that in their minds and thought that Ibišević’s wild performance in Hoffenheim’s debut in Bundesliga was just an accidental breakout. He was actually better suited to play in the lower league tournaments. Was it not evident that he showed his true level for the second season?
In fact, there was also debate within Hoffenheim about Ibišević’s true level. Some people thought that he indeed had what it took to be the top striker, while others thought he was just lucky. It seemed reasonable on either side. The manager, Rangnick did not belong to either side, but he was also worried about Ibišević’s sudden erratic performance.
When he first joined Hoffenheim while Hoffenheim still played in 2. Bundesliga, he made thirty-one appearances, mostly as a substitute and scored only just five goals. This figure was simply terrible for a striker. At that time, the local media believed that Hoffenheim had bought the wrong player, and Ibišević’s experience from a long time had proved that he could not meet Hoffenheim’s requirements. Everyone was not clear why Hoffenheim would be interested in Ibišević, who had not shown any abilities while he was still at Alemannia Aachen.
If it was not for the Beijing Olympics, perhaps Ibišević would have continued to sit on Hoffenheim’s bench until his contract expired, or he would be dumped and sold by Hoffenheim to any club and be abandoned. But fate was often so wonderful, unpredictable, full of all kinds of changes and surprises.
His rise was not due to the fact that Rangnick had the foresight to recognize talent, but purely a coincidence. You know, just before the 08-09 season, he was only a substitute striker in the manager’s mind. But the team’s main striker, Obasi, would miss most of the team’s preparations and the first few rounds of the season as he had to participate in the Beijing Olympics.
Ibišević was then able to make his mark in the first round of the league tournament.
It was Hoffenheim’s debut in Bundesliga against Cottbus that became a legendary beginning. Never been thought highly of, acknowledged and noticed by others, the nobody, Vedad Ibišević scored twice in the game! He helped the team scored a major victory of 3:0 over Cottbus. Then he scored in every game and even scored twice in many games. Even if Obasi returned to the squad after he ended his run in the Olympics, Rangnick found that he could not let Ibišević who was in excellent form, play as a substitute at that time. But Obasi was also a very capable striker, he also could not bear to let the striker be on the bench. So, he simply modified his tactics and allowed Obasi, Wellington and Ibišević to play at the same time, using the more aggressive 4-3-3 formation! It produced a wonderous effect as a result and for a time, they were unstoppable in Bundesliga.
Ibišević became the best striker and Rangnick even added, “To me, he’s like a player we’ve just brought in this season.”
In the second season, Ibišević was bizarrely in a state of doldrums and Rangnick said again, “To me, he’s like a player we’ve just brought in this season…”
The Bundesliga manager was also at a loss with regards to Ibišević.
Perhaps he should sell him?
The idea flashed through Rotthaus’ mind.
But still he rebuffed Nottingham Forest and said they would not sell Ibišević for he was a big part of their team.
He did not receive Nottingham Forest’s second fax. He thought the team must have given up. Perhaps they just asked casually…
He did not expect to receive the Nottingham Forest manager, Tony Twain and his German translator.
※※※
“Hoffenheim is really a tranquil little village. I like it here… I would choose this kind of place to live.” Dressed like a tourist in a pair of sunglasses, Tony Twain and his German translator stood on the sidelines of the training ground and watched a person trained alone on the pitch across a barbed wire fence.
The time for normal training was over. The fans who had surrounded earlier had long since dispersed. Not many people stayed behind.
They were all fans of the man on the pitch.
Vedad Ibišević was giving himself extra shooting drill on the training ground. It was a rigidly adhered procedure—half an hour extra practice after training every day. He was a striker and there was nothing more important than shooting.
Twain looked on from the sidelines. His shooting skill was very good. Perhaps it was due to his long-term persistence in training.
Half an hour passed quickly. Instead of going straight to the locker room, Ibišević came over to sign autographs for the fans waiting outside.
With a height of 1.89 meters tall and a weight of eighty kilograms, he was sturdy but not heavy. He stood behind the barbed wire fence and signed autographs for the fans. Then he walked up to Tony Twain.
Twain passed the blue Hoffenheim jersey with Ibišević’s name and number that he had just bought in the souvenir shop outside through the fence, along with a marker pen as well as a business card.
No fans would hand over their business cards when they asked him for autographs. Ibišević looked up somewhat strangely at the middle-aged man in sunglasses.
“Tony Twain. It’s very nice to meet you, Ibišević.” The man outside made the first move to introduce himself.
The name sounds familiar… Wait a minute!
Ibišević widened his eyes and asked directly in English, “Are you the Nottingham Forest manager? What are you doing here?”
“Because Nottingham Forest is interested in you.” Twain grinned.
Three days had passed since he received the call from his agent’s company. He had not yet given a reply to his agent’s company. Because he did not know whether he should leave here and whether he should go to Nottingham Forest. There was more than one team interested in him besides Nottingham Forest.
“I had watched the videos of you playing football. But I thought it was better to see it with my own eyes when it came to matters such as this, so I’m here. Do you have extra practice every time you finish training?”
Ibišević nodded.
“No wonder your success was no accident. So, what do you think? Do you want to go to England with me? I’ll help you find your form again and get it back in the Champions League.” Twain laughed like a demon who was seducing the mortals.
Ibišević was silent for a moment and then shrugged, “I don’t know how to answer you, Mr. Twain. Maybe a change of place will bring new experiences, but I still have a contract with the club. If the club doesn’t let me go, then it’s no use saying anything.”
“Well, you just have to show the club that you’re thinking of changing to a different environment and leave the rest to us.” Twain patted his chest.
“I know Nottingham Forest is a team that is going to play in the Champions League the new season, but I don’t understand why you come to me.” There was another question that Ibišević did not understand. In his view, a team that was capable to compete for the title should go after those well-known star players. Anyway, the financial crisis was still in progress, those big-name star players were not expensive.
“I only buy players who meet my requirements and never care if they are famous or not, whether they are big names or not. You’re the one I need, Ibi. Come to my team and I’ll give you a bigger stage.”
Ibišević was silent for a moment and then nodded, “Okay, Mr. Twain. If you can convince my club, I will give priority to the Forest team for the signing of a contract.”
With that, he was going to leave but he did not expect Twain to stop him and said, “An autograph.” He pointed to the jersey still in Ibišević’s hand, “I’m your fan. Give me an autograph.”
Ibišević signed his jersey somewhat reluctantly and handed it back. But he kept the business card.
He felt that it was indeed time to change places. Anyway, he was always changing teams, from America to France, from France to Germany, and now it would just be from Germany to England. It was no big deal. He changed teams almost every year. Hoffenheim was the team he had ever been with the longest. What did the European media call him?
The Drifter.
※※※
On the same afternoon, Twain brought his German translator and met with the Hoffenheim club’s Chief Executive Officer, Rotthaus.
The two sides held a secret meeting.
No one knew what they discussed. The outside world did not even know about Tony Twain’s sudden trip to this small village, south of Frankfurt, Germany, to meet Rotthaus.
A day later, Nottingham Forest and the Hoffenheim club officials announced at the same time that the former European Golden Shoe winner, Vedad Ibišević would transfer to Nottingham Forest for a transfer fee of ten million euros plus an exchange of players. The two parties signed a four-year contract with an undisclosed annual salary.
The German media only met Tony Twain returning to Nottingham with Ibišević at the airport in Frankfurt.
“He’s the player I need.” After being surrounded by the reporters at the airport, Twain did not care about the doubtful voices. “I’m not concerned about what you think of him. I bought him for me, not for you. Inferior foreign imports? If you are so sure of a player’s future development, why don’t you quit to become an agent? I promise you’ll have more money prospects than wracking your brains to make up stories in the papers!”
“What are you unhappy about? From now on, Ibi is my man and a Nottingham Forest player. He’s someone who is going to be a registered player in the English Premier League. The German media has no say in it.”
“I believe in his ability, and I’d like to give him a chance to prove himself again…I have a problem with my judgment, you say? Sure, but for me to be able win the championship titles, it’s precisely because of those ‘foreign imports’ that I had chosen.”
“Am I wasting the club’s money? It’s my prerogative. Why do you care?”
…
Amid the noise and doubts, Ibišević was pulled by Twain on a flight from Germany to the United Kingdom.
Eleven years ago, at the age of fifteen, Ibišević left his war-torn homeland and briefly stayed in Switzerland. Because he did not have legal residency due to visa problems, he moved again and traveled across the ocean to St. Louis in America to rely on help from his relatives. He stuck to his professional football dream in the United States, a country that was a barren land for football. He relied on his outstanding performances in the local team for the manager of the France Ligue 1 powerhouse club, Paris Saint-Germain to take an interest in him. Following which, he returned to Europe again. He was only nineteen at that time. He was then loaned out to the small Ligue 2 team, Dijon FCO. He grew up quickly there, received chances to play, even scored some goals and learnt a lot of new experiences. Then he was released by Paris Saint-Germain from his contract. He faced a situation like that of a young man without any prospects. Fortunately, his last two games in Dijon were watched by a German agent who recommended him to two German teams. He chose to join Alemannia Aachen, which was still in the Bundesliga at the time. He only played for Aachen for a year when Aachen was unfortunately relegated. Wearing the number 9 jersey, he did not make any great contribution to the team. This time he chose to leave Aachen and moved to another German team, Hoffenheim in 2. Bundesliga.
He made thirty-one appearances in his first season and scored only five goals. In the second season, he was Bundesliga’s top striker and the European Golden Shoe winner. During his third season, he was said to have “scored all the goals in his lifetime in one season.” Just like a shooting star, he rose rapidly from the horizon, and quickly vanished in the vast sky.
He had been unknown before and had been red-hot popular. He had succeeded before and failed as well. He had experienced big things and had also once persist in his ideals in a plight that others could not imagine. He believed that one day he would succeed. Eleven years on, he was no longer the kid who had fled with his parents. He became a professional footballer, lived in a spacious house, had his own car and enjoyed the cheers of the fans. He had changed a lot.
But one thing had never changed—he was always drifting, from one place to another.
This time, the drifter, Ibi embarked on an entirely new journey.
He might continue to drift and live out the label of “The Drifter.” Perhaps he would stop his wandering and choose a place as his last stop.
Would it be the forest that the heroic robber, Robin Hood once settled his debts of gratitude and hatred?
...
Chapter 747 - Let’s Make a Wager!
Twain’s swift decision to sign Vedad Ibišević shocked the British media.
The media was well aware that Twain intended to buy a ‘quality’ forward from before, and they had linked numerous players to Nottingham Forest all this while. Nobody would have guessed that Twain would end up buying Ibišević, who was an ordinary player that no one thought highly of!
Some media outlets commented that if Twain’s signing of Ibišević was not to go against the media, then there must be something wrong with his brain. Other outlets expressed a different opinion, they believed that if Twain’s sole intention behind the signing was to go against the media, then his brain was definitely out of whack.
“Twain has actually placed his hopes on a player who so far has only played well for one season. Ibišević has spent 90% of his footballing career playing against lower-ranked leagues, and even then, his performance has been terrible. What did Twain say a while back? ‘Our goal is to win the Champions League’. Now, would you allow me to laugh for three minutes…”
Carl Spicer was very excited on a TV show, because he had just found a reason to attack Twain. He smiled gleefully in the show ‘Football Matters’.
Ever since Twain had really led his team to fourth place in the Premier League and successfully earned the spot to play in next season’s Champions League, Carl Spicer has been in for a rough time. Twain chastised Spicer in his own column, and Spicer was not able to do a single rebuttal against his words.
Before the Premier League started, Spicer had gone on and on about how he did not think highly of Forest. He was confident that they would not perform well in the league, but who knew, at the end of the league, Twain’s team had really accomplished what he thought was impossible for them. His ‘juvenile footballers’ had won. Carl Spicer got slapped in the face and he could do nothing but swallow the pain. After all, he could not be a ‘crazy dog’ like Twain and scold everything regardless of the reason. If he wants to criticize Twain, then he could not become just like the person he criticized. He had always asserted that he was ‘impartial’ and he needed to maintain that image of him before the masses.
This was the chance he has been waiting for after feeling aggrieved for the past few months. He finally has a reason to admonish Twain openly. He definitely had to scorn and ridicule Twain to his heart’s content in the show.
“I don’t deny the miracle that Hoffenheim had created in the 2008-09 season. I also felt excited to see them achieve the things that they did. But clearly, Tony Twain is merely acting based on his emotions this time. He must also really like Hoffenheim just like me, because their performance probably reminds him of Nottingham Forest when they first made their return to the Premier League. However, you can’t buy a player based on your emotions alone. If he had cooled his head and analyzed Ibišević’s abilities as a player, then even a fool would have been able to tell that Ibišević is not a player who can attain success. I think the German media was spot on with one of their descriptions of Ibišević. He is a player who has scored his entire career’s worth of goals in that one season where he performed well! Look at his stats for the 2009-10 season! It’s beyond terrible…” Carl Spicer covered his face with his hand. “It is a waste to even spend 1.5 pounds on a player like him, let alone 10 million pounds and Petrov as a part of the deal. Rumor has it that Tony Twain personally made a trip over to Hoffenheim, and he had a secret meeting with Rotthaus. No one knows if there was some kind of secret deal made between them…”
Spicer claimed that ‘no one knows’ anything about Twain’s secret meeting with Rotthaus, but he deliberately kept trying to direct everyone’s attention towards it.
“I don’t think we need to wait till the arrival of September the 1st. I can already award Ibišević with the titles of ‘worst summer signing’ and ‘the biggest flop of the new Premier League season’. He is more than deserving of those awards! I’ve already prepared my popcorn and drinks and I’m ready to watch Tony Twain and Ibišević make a fool of themselves after the new season starts. Twain thinks Ibišević is going to end up becoming a superstar? He should thank the gods if Ibišević doesn’t end up becoming a ‘super big joke’!”
※※※
Carl Spicer has never been alone and unsupported in his every criticism of Twain, because there were quite a few people in the media who questioned and disliked Twain.
It is also why he was able to land a job as a host for a new Sky TV show just by lambasting Twain.
The reason why he was seen as the leading figure for ‘anti-Twain’ sentiments was because he was always the first to criticize Twain, and has always used sharp expressions and words to attack him. Out of all the critics of Twain, he was the most famous and resolute one. Others might change their opinions towards Twain on certain issues, but not Carl Spicer.
With this information as the context, it is not difficult to understand why the press conference where Twain introduced Ibišević to the media and the fans became yet another battlefield.
Carl Spicer personally made a trip to Nottingham as a reporter for Sky TV, and looked set for a showdown with Twain.
The press conference was scheduled to take place at 3 p.m. in the afternoon at City Ground stadium’s press room.
A total of 30 reporters turned up for the press conference. Carl Spicer sat amongst them and had a pleasant chat with these individuals who were all of the same profession as him.
He never concealed his hostility towards Twain in the slightest during his conversations. He treated it as his trademark and went around bragging about it to others. He mentioned more than once during his chats with the other reporters that there was likely to be some inside story behind the transfer.
When Twain walked into the press room alongside Ibišević and the press officer, the entire room instantly quietened down. The reporters returned to their seats and silently waited for the segment where they could raise their hands and ask questions.
The moment Twain sat down, he saw a beaming Carl Spicer who was seated at the front rows. He was well aware of what Carl Spicer has been saying for the past two days, but he remained unaffected and began his introduction of Ibišević.
The introduction was nothing special. All the reporters present at the scene already knew Ibišević very well. What they wanted was to raise their hands and ask questions.
Ibišević also did a self-introduction after Twain finished speaking. He did not boast about his remarkable performance in the 2008-09 season, and neither did he mention his terrible performance last season. All he did was to praise the glorious past that Nottingham Forest possessed as a football club, and then humbly commented that he hoped to be able to contribute a little to the club.
When they had both finished talking, the press officer signaled that the floor was open and the reporters could ask questions freely.
Carl Spicer was the first to raise his hand. His arm shot straight up towards the ceiling. It was as though he was afraid that Tony Twain could not see him even though he was seated right in front of Twain.
The press officer, Sandy Albert, who has already established a good rapport with Twain, deliberately ignored Carl Spicer and directed his gaze towards a reporter at the back.
However, the reporter asked a question that was similar in nature to Carp Spicer’s. “I am a reporter who works for The Times. I’d like to ask Mr. Twain this, Ibišević has not proven he possesses the abilities to play for a top team in a top football league besides his good performance in 2008-09 season. Do you think this transfer carries too much risk?”
“Every signing has its risks. I am not a clairvoyant. I only buy players whom I deem fit for my football team.”
The second reporter who stood up works for England’s ‘FourFourTwo’ football magazine. He was also concerned about whether Ibišević would be able to adapt to the Premier League and live up to the team’s expectations.
Twain’s reply was, “I believe he can adapt to the Premier League and can also live up to the team’s expectations.”
The reporter followed up with a question asking for a reason.
“He is physically strong and is an all-rounded striker. He is able to score goals on his own, and is also able to create chances for his team mates. He is able to put pressure on the defenders in the penalty box, and can also control the ball well. He also plays in a composed manner during games. These are all points that I can see from him through his past games. I cannot find any flaws to him.”
“But he does not score goals consistently.” The third reporter to ask questions was Carl Spicer. He kept his hand high throughout, and kept waving it before the press officer. Twain signaled to the press officer that it was all right to pick him.
Carl Spicer stood up and did not even bother doing a self-introduction. His very first comment was, “He only scored a lot of goals in that one season alone. His performance in the other seasons have proved that he is nothing more than a European player on the decline!”
Twain sneered. “You don’t have the right to decide if a player is on a decline or not, Mr. Spicer.”
He then glanced at Ibišević, who looked awkward but was trying his best to maintain his smile.
“How about this, Mr. Spicer. Why don’t the two of us make a wager? If Ibišević scores a total of at least 20 goals in all the various competitions this season, then you’d have to shave your head. If he is unable to do that, then I’d shave my head. What do you think?”
Commotion broke out in the press room. Even Ibišević turned around to look at his manager in shock.
Twain just smiled confidently as he looked at Spicer.
Carl Spicer smiled as well. “Very well. I will make a wager. If I lose, I will shave my head in my show. If you lose, you have to specially hold a press conference and let everyone watch as you shave your head.”
“Deal!”
This was a situation that nobody had expected to see. Both parties looked glad to see how things would unfold in the future.
The small commotion that arose as a result of the wager gradually vanished following Spicer’s silence.
Everyone focused their attention back on Ibišević.
All the questions they directed at the Bosnian were still ones of skepticism.
Ibišević forced a smile as he dealt with the England media’s acrimonious words.
In the end, Twain signaled for the press officer to end the press conference, and he brought Ibišević towards the stadium to meet with approximately three hundred fans.
The previous fan meeting involved both David Bentley and Matías Fernández. At that time, around 1500 fans had turned up. Majority of them had turned up to see England’s starting right back David Bentley.
However, this time round, there were only around 300 fans who turned up for Ibišević’s fan meeting. Most of them were related to Fat John, and they had all turned up for Twain.
There are numerous Nottingham Forest fans who did not think favorably of Ibišević’s future at Nottingham Forest. They liked Twain, but they simply could not harbor high hopes for this new signing of his.
He was a player who has scored 37 goals in one season and had no particularly notable performances in the other seasons. His total number of goals scored in all those seasons combined might not even exceed 37…
A player like this was going to be a part of the Nottingham Forest during a time when their goal is to climb back to the top.
Such a player and such a situation seemed like something that will only appear in one of Hollywood’s motivational movies.
They would not openly oppose to the club signing Ibišević, but this deserted stadium was a way of making their feelings known.
The good thing was that Ibišević has a good mentality. He never thought of himself to be a superstar, and never thought that he had to receive the cheers of tens of thousands of people.
Even if only 300 fans had turned up for him, or even if 99% of the 30 reporters were there to question him, he would still earnestly wear a smile on his face and show his skills in front of everyone. He would still hold up the club’s jersey and scarf for the reporters to take photos, and he would still kick his signed football into the stands.
Truth be told, this was the biggest turnout he had seen in his career having joined numerous other football clubs before. What’s more, all these people have all turned up just for him. He knew that most of them have turned up because he once scored 37 goals in a single season and nearly broke Gerd Müller’s record, and also because he was lucky enough to get awarded the Golden Boot back then as well.
He could not ask for too much.
After the relatively quiet and unenthusiastic fan meeting ended, the staff carried the board that had Nottingham Forest’s name and sponsors printed on it. The reporters and fans also left the stadium.
Before long, there were only two people left in the empty stadium.
Tony Twain and Ibišević.
The two of them stood at the spot where he tossed the signed football towards the fans.
Tony Twain was explaining how England’s media is typically like to Ibišević.
“They are always like this. Every single one of them only follows where the wind blows, and they have no mind of their own. When you are good they will praise you, and when you are bad they will scold you. You don’t need to take their words to heart. For me, I am always on loggerheads with them. It doesn’t matter whether they praise or scold me. My opinion towards them never changes. As humans, we all ought to have things that we never waver on and persist with. The reporters are always changing their minds about something, but we don’t need to be like them.”
“The media’s the same wherever you go, manager…”
“Call me ‘boss’.”
“All right, boss.”
Ibišević was a down-to-earth man. His experiences from before have forced him to be so. Any unrealistic fantasies of his have long been sent to Mars. Knowing how to keep a low profile was something he picked up when he left his home country at 15 years of age.
“Do you have anything to say about how I had a bet with that reporter without your consent?”
“Me? I will try my best to help you win your bet…” Ibišević was still being low-key as usual.
“No no.” Twain shook his head like a rattle-drum. “That’s not what you are supposed to say at a time like this. You have to say ‘No problem, boss! I will personally shave that bastard’s head!’.’
Twain laughed after seeing Ibišević’s puzzled expression. “This is how we do things at Nottingham Forest. And also… This is not just to help me, it’s to help you, Ibi. The one who has it worse when you don’t perform is not me, it’s you. I will put you on the bench or in the reserve team when you don’t perform well, and I won’t show you any mercy. It doesn’t matter how much money I spent to acquire you. I might be smiling to you today, but my face might go dark tomorrow and I might chase you out of the team. I’m sure you have experienced many of such situations in the past. You don’t need me to elaborate further right?”
Ibišević nodded his solemnly.
Twain slapped his broad back hard.
“You can lose games but never your face. You must never let others get you down. You must go against them when they question you. You must never admit defeat. I don’t care what you think in your heart. You must keep your lips sealed till the end.”
“But… If I really lost…”
“I never think about things that have not happened. I’d only say it when I’ve already lost the bet and have to shave my head.”
Twain called for Ibišević to leave.
“I promise you, you will fall in love with this place. This place has the best fans, the best team mates, and the best manager.” Twain broke into a radiant smile.
The two walked side by side and disappeared down the tunnel.
...
Chapter 748 - Players Come and Go
Since Ibišević was only a target late to join, and because of his poor performance last season, his transfer fee plummeted, for the striker position that was supposed to be the most expensive, the Forest team spent only fifteen million euros, or about fourteen million pounds. Taking into account the costs of Bentley and Fernández and the further injection of five million pounds, the fifty-five-million-pound transfer budget was left with sixteen million.
What was sixteen million enough for?
Twain decided to bolster the right back positions. The right back position had become a common headache in the world. A good right back was currently hard to find. Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos, Barcelona’s Dani Alves, Inter Milan’s Maicon, Arsenal’s Sagna, … were all among the best in the world. However, Nottingham Forest definitely could not buy such a player.
Twain could only start with a younger player who was less famous than them.
After a selection, he set the target for AS Monaco’s full back, Nicolas Nkoulou.
The twenty-year-old Cameroonian young player had been playing as the main force in Monaco for a season. In the 07-08 season, he went to the France Ligue 1 team, AS Monaco for a trial and received recognition from the Monaco team, which signed a contract with him. He played in the Monaco First Team in the second season. Following which, he was the mainstay in the 09-10 season.
Nkoulou could handle both the right back and center back positions. As a center back, his height of slightly less than 1.8 meters was like the fly in the ointment, but he did a good job in the right back position. He even also guest starred as the goalkeeper once when he played for the Cameroon national team. He was a “multi-faceted player.”
In fact, Nkoulou was noticed by the Nottingham Forest scouts two years ago, and the Forest team had asked him to come to England for a trial. But at that time, he chose to go to the France Ligue 1 to try his luck, instead of accepting the Forest team’s invitation.
It was not just Nottingham Forest that was optimistic about his future. Wenger’s Arsenal had been at the forefront in search of young talent from around the world and had long been interested in Nkoulou.
The two clubs made their moves at the time this summer. Nottingham Forest had a slight edge due to its previous contact with Nkoulou.
Monaco knew that they would not be able to keep a player like Nkoulou in the small team. Therefore, rather than force him to stay, it was better to sell for a good price early. Nkoulou had also expressed his desire to play in Europe’s top leagues and the France Ligue 1 was on longer able to satisfy him.
They compared Nottingham Forest’s offer to Arsenal’s and decided to raise the price of Nkoulou to twelve million pounds.
Arsenal turned down their return asking price. It was crazy that a player who was only twenty years old and had not proved himself in a European major competition to be able to sell for twelve million pounds in Wenger’s view. After all, Nkoulou was not the kind of player with a special talent like Messi, Bojan, and Wilshere. It was absolutely not worth twelve million for such a player.
Tony Twain also rejected the offer. But he sent another offer over—eight million pounds.
Monaco thought it was too low and they asked for eleven million pounds in return.
In return, the Forest team made a bid of nine million. This time, it was Allan Adams who personally flew to Monaco with the offer.
After a round of negotiations, Monaco agreed to sell Nkoulou for nine and half million pounds.
It was not known how Arsenal heard the news. They also put in an offer of nine and a half million to steal Nkoulou away.
Twain was furious about the news, which he thought Monaco had deliberately leaked out in order to keep the price higher. But unexpectedly Arsenal was also very clever and offered nine and a half million, not a cent more.
Twain’s fear was that Nkoulou would choose Arsenal over himself. Since Nottingham Forest’s promotion to the Premier League, he had competed against Arsenal on a number of occasions in the transfer market and spoilt things for Wenger. But Wenger had also robbed a lot of players he had his eye on.
But this time, he beat Wenger.
Nkoulou was more familiar with and knew Nottingham Forest better. Not to mention it was not the first time Nottingham Forest had come to him. He almost became a member of the Forest team at the time. Emotionally, he preferred Nottingham Forest and not Arsenal, which was known throughout the world for placing young players in important positions.
Nkoulou was a sentimental man, and Tony Twain heavily played the emotional card. He eventually managed to get Nkoulou to sign the contract.
The club then announced that the twenty-year-old right back, Nicolas Nkoulou had transferred to Nottingham Forest for a fee of nine and a half million pounds and signed a five-year deal.
※※※
While signing new players, Nottingham Forest also sold their players to other teams. After all, one way to control costs was to control the salary budget. If there were too many First Team players, paying salaries alone was a big burden for the club.
Sun Jihai was the first to leave the team. Twain had had already given him a heads up before the end of the season that the Forest team would not renew his contract even when his contract expired. He wanted to hurry up and find his next team before his one-year contract expired.
Sun Jihai was an understanding person. He also knew that he did not have the strength to stay on in such a championship title-oriented team. He would love to stay in the English Premier League, but the reality was brutal. Until July, all the Premier League clubs rumored to be interested in him were still stuck at the rumor stage.
The agent told him that there were now two paths ahead for him. One was to return to China to play football and enjoy life in retirement for the last two years. The second was to lower his expectations, go to the English Football League Championship to play for two more seasons, and then retire.
Sun Jihai did not intend to return to China. He even refused the invitation from his former owner, Dalian which trained and developed him. He chose to go to the English Football League Championship and signed a two-year deal with Sheffield United. He would turn thirty-five when his contract with Sheffield United expired. He would be offered a one-year contract extension if he remained in a good form and ensured a steady number of appearances.
Sheffield United paid the Forest team a transfer fee of one million pounds in order to get Sun Jihai. Although Sun Jihai was already thirty-two years old, he was still a “championship level player” who had been with the team to win two UEFA Champions League titles and one league championship title. He was the Asian player with the most top European honors in Asia. Park Ji-sung at Manchester United was second.
Chimbonda had thought that Nkoulou’s arrival would lead to his departure. Although he had just renewed his contract with the Forest team, it was only one way to prevent the players from leaving on a free transfer of players after their contracts expired. Twain came to him first one day after training to talk with him alone and dispelled the doubts in his mind.
Twain told Chimbonda that regardless, he was a member of Nottingham Forest during the contract period and that the team needed his experience and defensive ability. Nkoulou was still young in any case and just a rotating player.
The shift in Twain’s attitude toward Chimbonda stemmed from last season. The team had been in poor form, but Chimbonda’s performance was impressive. His steady play as a right back was the team’s guarantee of a fourth-place finish in the league tournament. With Rafinha having some injuries last season and low attendance, they depended on Chimbonda alone most of the time. The older Chimbonda’s level had fallen not as fast as Twain thought, and he remained at a high-level last season.
Perhaps because of the right mentality, Chimbonda made Twain sit up and take notice again.
People said a friend in need was a friend indeed. During the team’s most difficult 07-08 and 08-09 seasons, Chimbonda helped the team with his steady play. Now it was time for the team to repay Chimbonda. The team offered him a new contract last winter, and this summer, Twain told him he could play here with confidence till his retirement—when that contract expired, Chimbonda could no longer physically play even if he wanted to.
Twain was planning a long-term goal—he wanted to develop as much as possible the players’ sense of belonging and loyalty to the team. Unless it was someone he wanted to get rid of, he wanted these players to still have feelings for the team even when they were older. Like the other big teams, they had a unique culture to retain their own players.
Twain hoped that in a few years’ time, Nottingham Forest would produce a Paulo Maldini, Ryan Giggs, Gerrard…
In addition to Sun Jihai, Martin Petrov was the second Forest player to leave in the summer.
Twain paid ten million euros plus an exchange of players to bring in Ibišević, and the player who was traded was Martin Petrov.
Hoffenheim was interested in Petrov and Nottingham Forest was interested in Ibišević. The two sides found common ground in this regard. In fact, this was the main content of the talks during the meeting between Twain and Rotthaus.
Martin Petrov was mentally prepared to leave the Forest team and going to Hoffenheim was not bad for him. Hoffenheim had now shed their “newly promoted team” label and become a mid-level team in the Bundesliga. Playing for that kind of team was not insulting for him. Moreover, the Hoffenheim boss had the money to meet his demands in terms of pay package.
After the agreement between the clubs was reached and the player had also reached an agreement with the team, the deal was successfully settled.
As precisely stated before, Nicolás Millán and Victor Moses were loaned out by the club to two newly promoted Premier League teams, Southampton and Norwich City.
Twain hoped they could rely on their strength to work hard, gain valuable experience and receive training in unfamiliar teams to grow into the players he needed.
Like them, there was also Adriano Moke. He was loaned out by the club to another Premier League club, Blackburn Rovers. Since selling Bentley, Blackburn Rovers had been looking for another player on the right wing. They were interested in the technically excellent Moke. On the principle that Twain wanted the young man to receive more training and experience more competitions, so he agreed to Blackburn Rovers’ request to loan Moke.
Whereas Moke himself was no longer that proud and arrogant youth who was disgusted that he was loaned out and had to play in the reserve team. He also believed that a loan to play in tournaments at the moment was the best move to improve his level. He agreed to play for Blackburn Rovers for a season.
This was basically what happened this summer. Twain did not carry out a purge on the lineup because there was no need. His players did a great job last season. Otherwise he would not have the chance to return to Europe in a year’s time. The players brought in were just to complement a few positions which were slightly lacking in strength such as the two wingers and a striker. The preservation of the overall structure of the team was the main reason why Twain was filled with confidence for the new season. He was most familiar with this group of players. He understood the characteristics of each of them and knew how to use them well.
※※※
Another good news that was no less happy than the signing of the new players was that van Nistelrooy was finally back on the pitch after a long recovery from surgery!
In the 15th round of the league tournament on November 29th, 2008, the Dutchman was injured in the Nottingham Forest’s home game victory of 3:1 over West Bromwich Albion. He took a full year to recover from the surgery, rather than the eight months previously reported in the media. He did not return to the team until January 2010 but spent most of his time struggling with a knee injury and was not nimble throughout. Twain did not dare to send him back on the field, not even in the reserves. He was afraid that his body could no longer stand up to the strain.
Born on July 1st, 1976, he just turned thirty-four years old.
A year and seven months after he left the team with an injury, he was finally ready to play again. He made an appearance as a substitute in the Forest team’s friendly match against the Scottish Premiership elite team, Celtic.
Twain gave him thirty minutes to play. Although he did not score, Twain and all the coaching staff were not concerned about van Nistelrooy ‘s performance, but his knee. After the game, Fleming did a medical examination of van Nistelrooy and found that there was nothing wrong with the operated knee, so everyone slightly put their minds at ease.
In a rather good mood, Twain even joked with the reporters who interviewed him the day after the game, “Our fourth signing of the summer has been confirmed!”
When the reporters asked in surprise about who the fourth Forest player was, Twain laughed and solved the mystery, “Ruud van Nistelrooy!”
Van Nistelrooy was in the starting lineup in a subsequent match against the League One team, Walsall and scored a penalty shot, which made the Forest fans cheered and celebrated.
From the looks of it, things were developing in the right direction.
Twain often joked with van Nistelrooy during training, as if it was not a relationship between a manager and a player.
The newly joined Forest players were a little surprised, but the old players would laugh and tell them, “It’s normal since Boss is that kind of guy.”
But in fact, they only got half of it right.
Twain was so close to van Nistelrooy because half of it was he had a better relationship with van Nistelrooy than the other players. The Forest team now had a lot of players, but for Tony Twain, there were not many players he could recall from his memories in his two lives.
Hierro, Albertini, Beckham, van der Sar, Ayala whom he considered were gone. Only van Nistelrooy was still in the team now.
It was as if his old friends around him had originally planned to travel together, but after traveling on the road for some time, he was focused on enjoying the scenery along the way. When he thought of the friends around him, he turned to look back but instead found that there was only one person left next to him.
It was an emotion that was hard to explain to others. It was not that a relationship which was on I paid for you, so you came to play for me.
Van Nistelrooy had two years left on his contract with Nottingham Forest and Twain hoped that van Nistelrooy would be offered another year extension after his contract expired. He would be thirty-seven years old by then.
Then when he retired at Nottingham Forest, Twain must offer van Nistelrooy the best farewell match, just as he had promised Albertini at that time.
He did not want that day to come, but he looked forward to its arrival as well.
...
Chapter 749 - Leaving the Life of Football
After the training session, Van Nistelrooy did not go to the parking lot after showering in the changing room, as there might be hardcore fans waiting for his signature. He went straight to the head coach’s office and knocked on the door.
After training, the players could take a bath, change their clothes and go home, but the coaches often gathered and handed over the report of today’s training to Twain so he could understand the situation of the team firsthand.
Now, as Twain was looking at the reports, he heard a knock at the door and thought it was Dunn. He said without looking up, “The door isn’t locked, just come in.”
Van Nistelrooy pushed the door and said, “Sir.”
Twain looked up and found it was van Nistelrooy, and he was a little surprised: “What’s the matter, Ruud?”
Van Nistelrooy nodded, “Well, there is something I’ve been thinking about for a long time. I think it’s better to tell it to you, sir. ”
Twain put down his training report.”My contract with the club doesn’t expire until June 30 , 2012, right?”
Twain nodded. ” Yes. If your performance is stable, I’m going to extend your contract for another year…”
Van Nistelrooy shook his head, “No, sir. I have decided to retire after this season.”
Twain startled in his seat. He thought he misheardTwain, sitting in a chair, could feel his body moved on its own as he thought he had misheard: “Sorry? ”
“I said, I’m going to retire after this season, sir.” Van Nistelrooy had no choice but to repeat himself.
Twain felt like he would like to ask loudly once again, not because he misheard but out of a mix of disappointment, anger and shock which induced his impulse.But he abandoned the idea and stood up.
“Today isn’t April Fool’s Day, Ruud.” He smiled with a little reluctance.
“I’m not kidding, sir.”
“Your body is recovering well and I can’t figure out why you’d want to resign in advance.
“It only looks good on the surface, sir. And retiring at thirty-five isn’t early. ”
“If your injury hasn’t healed, I can continue to let you heal. I’m not in a hurry, you do not have to worry…”
Van Nistelrooy laughed, “This is exactly what I’m worried about, sir. I’m a professional footballer, not a guy sitting on the bench or in the stands, on the injury list, drawing a salary without playing any games. I’ve been out for a whole season and a half, and if I were to continue to be absent, it’s better for me to announce my retirement now. ”
“Hey, Ruud.” Twain’s tone was a little harsher. “We’re allowing you to miss more than a season of games now so you can play longer in the future. ”
“Sir, why would a 34-year-old striker want to play longer?” ”
Van Nistelrooy’s rebuttal stunned Twain.
Yes, at thirty-four, it was basically a season-by-season situation where you could either get injured or retire at any time. Why would he want to ask van Nistelrooyto play till he was thirty-six or thirty-seven?
“Hey, Ruud. If I say I don’t want you to retire and that I wanted you to keep kicking, would you believe it? ”
Van Nistelrooy smiled and didn’t answer, obviously he did not believe it. It was just not something a head coach would say.
Twain laughed too, treating it as a joke.
“I think your experience can aid the team. ”
Van Nistelrooy believed this explanation, but he shook his head. “I’m not the only one who has experience. The Gypsies are good. Before moving to Nottingham Forest, I just wanted to prove to Ferguson how bad it was to let me go, but I never thought we would be champions in the future. Now I don’t want to prove anything to anyone, I’ve got everything I needed to,; my career is perfect. To be honest, sir, I don’t have the motivation to keep playing. And you hate people who don’t have the motivation to play, right? ”
Van Nistelrooy stood in front of TonyTwain with a crooked smile under the afternoon sun.Twain opened his mouth as if there was something he wanted to say.
“I don’t need to use honor to push myself. I don’t think it’s wise to stay with NottinghamForest without a sense of honor. It’s better to retire and give up the opportunity and my position to the younger players. ”
“Did you make this decision because I bought Ibišević?” ”
“No. I thought it over as I was lying in my hospital bed in the United States. Don’t you think it’s a way to help the club ease its financial burden?” He laughed.
Twain could not smile as he looked at Van Nistelrooy with a serious face.
“Anyway, I’ve decided, sir. I’m not going to play another season. I want to spend more time with my family in the future. Sir, you’re also married, can’t you understand where I’m coming from? Whether it’s football or not, the point of doing anything is all about making money, and the point of making all that money is so I can spend time with my family family. I felt like I’ve reached this last stage. ”
Van Nistelrooy had a smile on his face throughout.
Twain knew he couldn’t convince the Dutchman. Retiring was one of the most important decisions of a professional footballer’s life, and his ability to say it out meant he had thought about it for a long time. This consideration was not easily influenced by others.He sighed, a little disheartened..
“I think I’m a failure, Rudd. Whether it’s you, or Demi, or David, I’ve tried persuading all of you but I’ve never succeeded. You never let me do what I want.”
Van Nistelrooy smiled and did not respond to Twain’s words. He knew that Twain had already agreed, but this stubborn man did not want to accept so easily.
“Can I ask you what do you plan to do after you retire?” ”
“Go home, back to Holland to spend time with my wife and children. ”
When Twain heard him say so, he suddenly had a feeling of being a “landowner”. He laughed, ” If the weather is good then, you would lie in the yard under the sun? ”
“Maybe I’ll plant some flowers, teach my children to play football, go shopping with my wife, travel around…” Van Nistelrooy laughed as well. Life as a retiree seemed very attractive to him=. He could finally stop thinking about training, playing matches, how to stay in shape every day, thinking about the game, thinking about how to stay in shape, thinking about ruthlessly fighting with someone for ninety minutes… about the premier league’s current record of the most goals and the second-most goals in Champions League history, these auras will be away from him, and he would not care.
” It’s an enviable life…”
Twain sighed, put away the report on the table, and walked up to Van, “Let’s go home. ”
※※※
Watching Van Nistelrooy driving out of Wilford, Twain was still leaning on the Mercedes Jeep that Shania had given him. Today’s weather is good, the Nottingham’s vicinity was vibrant, although it was still hot, but it is better than constant raining day till night.
He suddenly wanted to bask in the blazing sun.
He never thought about what he would do after leaving football. Not to think about training and the opponent of the next round as the first thing to do every day, most of the day just sitting in the sun doing sunbathing and playing with the kids till the evening.
He felt that he would be very old when that day comes.
The phone in his pocket rang.
“Hey, Uncle Tony!” Shania’s voice popped up just as Twain received a call on his phone.
“Ha, Shania. ”
“Is it two training sessions today? ”
“Well, no. What’s wrong? ”
“I was waiting for you until the lunch got cold!” Shania was very angry.
Twain then raised his wrist to look at the watch, discovering that it was already one.
“Ah, I’m sorry, Shania! I was dealing with things and being so busy I’ve forgotten, I’ll come out right away…” Twain said, while he was holding the phone and hurriedly driving towards the door.
Van was right, he is also a man with a family, he could understand this want to be with his family.
“I am hanging up, Shania. I promise…”
Shania interrupted him: “Slow down, don’t be hastily until you run into something bad. I’m just a little worried that you haven’t come back yet. Now, I’m okay, you drive slowly. ”
Twain opened his mouth but said nothing.
See you later, Uncle Tony. ” Shania was visibly in a better mood, as she gave a little kiss on the phone and hung up.
Twain was still holding his cell phone and keeps his same stance as he got onto the car.
Why play football?
In order to make money.
Then why make money?
In order to be able to have time with family.
But in order to make money, there is no time to spend with family.
Then…
Players can play until the age of thirty-four or five and choose to retire, and they have most of their lives to spend with their loved ones. What about a head coach? Ferguson is 70 years old and still in his position as Manchester United manager…
Former Liverpool manager John Houlier was only home twice a year, once on his wife’s birthday and once on Christmas during his busiest period. He stayed at the hotel most of his time with the team.
England’s head coach is the world’s highest-paid coaching position and also the “perfume” in the eyes of many but in fact many England’s head coaches have been avoiding this position. Aside from the extraordinary pressure, it is the fact that being england’s head coach is more busy than a club manager – an England manager is almost as busy as a head of state. As a club manager every day there will be some time of his own, if this person is good at time management. But as England manager, he must stick to his job 24 hours a day.
Twain thought he was lucky, and he had helpers like Dunn and Kerslake to help him with matters, so he could share some private moments with Shania. If he is the head coach who must handle everything, there might not even be time to flirt with Shania. But even so, when he’s busy, Shania will retreat to a small corner of his life. Even so, he knew that he would sometimes neglect Shania. Especially when taking the team to play away from home, or a week with two matches, in order to conveniently facilitate the management of the team, and study tactics with his colleagues and work, he would stay in a hotel. Even if he was in Nottingham.
It would be good if Shania was busy outside as well. If Shania returns to Nottingham, waiting for her would be only a big house in black paint and desertedness.
These times he will be full of guilt, but only guilt. He could not leave his job to spend time with his wife, and he could not even make additional phone calls. The players only needed to think about matters on the training ground and in the game, the manager needs to consider ten times more, as long as Twain was free he would be always thinking about things like this, like a machine which functioned forever.
Sometimes even with Shania, he would be absent-minded. It was not rare for Shania to be angry with him about this.
It is impossible for no conflicts in the life of a married couple, Shania and Tony are both very rigid people. But in every quarrel, Twain always gave in to Shania, once Shanai got mad, he would immediately soften down, anyway he just needed to be hard in bed just like during that call.
Because he knew that Shania was a very sensible girl, and she was unhappy because he gave insufficient concern usually — his mind was always on football, and it has been like this since they just met until now. Before their relationship was uncertain, she would be jealous quietly, but now it was openly envy.
Of course he can’t leave the job, so he could only take the initiative to admit that he was wrong every time Shania is unhappy. As a gentleman, one should be able to have an open mind, what is the big deal!
Van Nistelrooy’s reason for retiring gave him a push today, making him want to have that kind of days as well. Not needing to think or worry about anything, just needing to be with his family, he could even be content under the blazing sun of summer.
He began to think very carefully – when would he choose to retire?
※※※
Shania waited at home Twain to come, and she was going to turn around and take the cold meals into the microwave to heat up. But she was hugged by Twain from behind instead.
“Hey, Uncle Tony?” Shania was able to feel Twain’s nose coming and going around in her back, and she was a little surprised by Twain’s sudden gesture of affection.
“Do you have any plans for the afternoon?” Twain buried his face on Shania’s shoulder and asked.
“No, I do not.”
“Do you have anywhere you want to play at? ”
“What’s wrong with you, Uncle Tony? I’m not angry about what happened just now…” Shania struggled gently, but she felt Twain hugged with greater strength.
“Ruud was retiring, and I advised him to stay but did not succeed. He said he wanted to spend more time with his family. I suddenly felt a little envious of him…” Twain lay behind Shania, sniffing her hair and muttering.
“Where do you want to go?” He asked again.
Shania let him lie on his shoulder and said, “Don’t want to go anywhere.”
Twain rolled his eyes. “You still said you weren’t angry.”
“If you continue to hold me and not let me go and heat up the food then I’ll really get angry! ”
Twain hurriedly loosened his hands, but still sniffed with a little affection. “There’s an idiom in China which meant looking at beautiful women would allow one to forget about hunger… actually I’m not hungry.”
“Gynophagia?” Shania frowned.
Twain was in a state of shock.
The word can also be translated literally in English as “beauty dining”, but it is represented in the Chinese idiom “beauty dining” as a whole different scenario.
Chinese idioms say “beauty dining” to praise women or beautiful scenery. But in English the word “Gynophagia” literally means – “eat a woman”, which is not romantic at all, it simply meant eating. This is a kind of fetishism, which often leads to sexual fantasies with violent and rape fantasies.
” Ah! Uncle Tony, you’re a pervert!” Shania cried.
“Nonsense! I’m talking about ‘xiusekecan’ of Oriental culture, not ‘Gynophagia’! They mean two things! Twain was in a hurry to defend. Even when he was married, he sometimes had an unstoppable sexual fantasy about Shania, but in all the fantasies he never fancied that he was going to cut Xenia’s head and then dismember her. . .That’s disgusting!
Shania looked at Uncle Tony, whose face had changed, and laughed slyingly: “Uncle Grey Wolf is hungry. She set the food aside and began to unbutton her shirt.
Halfway through, Twain could already see the seductive rounded chest behind a thin shirt, with the sunlight coming in from behind the window and reflecting it in a hazy. It was like two jelly cakes wrapped in a layer of cream, and a gentle touch would cause it to wobble…Shania isn’t wearing a bra today.
He unwittingly swallowed a gasp.
Shania laughs even more when she sees him like this. She put her hands down, like walking on a Cat-shaped stage, walking cat-walking to Twain, who was standing at the kitchen door. She had a sexy and seductive smile which meant trouble as well.
When she walked up to Twain, she relaxed her arms around the neck of Twain and put her face onto him. Her eyes were covered with a layer of water vapor, which was blue, voice being like the honey sprinkled onto the butter cake, being excessively sweet.
“How does the Uncle Grey Wolf who is excessively hungry want to eat me?”
As Twain buried his face, his three last clear thoughts were,
“This type of life, on an afternoon, was too dirty!”
But if I retire now, there would be a lot of such afternoons …
Oh my God! It is really delicious…
...
Chapter 750 - Integration
After he was finished busy with the sales and purchases, Twain’s work was finally a little easier. The training that followed would mainly be taken care of by the whole coaching unit. He did not have to attend to everything personally.
When he had more free time, he would notice some things he had not noticed before.
For example:
“Strange, the preparations before the start of the season is in full swing and the media from around the world are gathering in Nottingham … How come I don’t see your secret lover?” Twain asked Dunn the question in a joking manner.
Dunn did not refute this point. He was not that kind of person. He simply said, “She has resigned from the newspapers, so she won’t be here.”
Twain was a little surprised and said, “I thought that was just one of her tricks—she always likes to pull this…”
“It’s for real this time.” Dunn said casually, “Do you know what would happen if those remarks that you made were to appear intact in any of China’s regular media?”
Twain nodded reply, “I am also an authentic Chinese man.”
“In order to be able to publish smoothly, and not to get her father in trouble, she chose to resign, and then published alone. You saw…the consequences.”
“I more than saw it, and I had even experienced it firsthand…” muttered Twain.
In fact, Tang Jing’s actions somewhat threw him under the bus. But both of them were well aware that the effects and impact on Twain could be completely ignored. As an “Englishman”, he could speak freely without any scruples for the consequences, because he did not live in that circle and did not have to rely on that circle to survive.
Tang Jing did this only in hopes to get Twain to help her share the enormous pressure at the time. He succeeded in doing so and bawled the Chinese media out at the press conference. Almost no one paid attention to the instigator, Tang Jing. Then there was the World Cup. Now that the World Cup was over, it was time to settle the scores.
Tang Jing and Twain were completely different. Although she resigned, she still wanted to continue to be in that line of work. It would perhaps be somewhat difficult…it was expected that she would shut out.
He touched his nose and said, “Hey, I kind of miss her all of a sudden…Uhm, you’d better not get me wrong. I just feel that it’s too quiet without that noisy woman around …”
Dunn did not respond to him. He just quietly finished his own business, and then walked away.
Twain pulled a face at him in the back.
As for Tang Jing’s matter, he really did not think she would actually resign. Now that he thought of it, he felt that it was a shame for the woman who would put on a tough stance at any time in order to make it in the men’s world…
※※※
With less than half a month to go until the start of the new season, Twain had announced the end of Nottingham Forest’s transfer campaign this season.
“I’m happy with every pound that I’ve spent this summer and I think the four players are worth it. They have met my requirements and I personally decided to buy them. I’m optimistic about everything they have here. I made some requests to the club before the season on the transfer funds and I am delighted to have those requests satisfied. I have no other requests after spending the money. Now I’m just waiting for the new season to start. I can assure you that Nottingham Forest will remain a force to be reckoned with in the new season. Of course, given that the media always describe me as an untrustworthy rascal, so you can disbelieve my words. We’ll just have to see when the time comes.”
He wrote these words in his column,. The hint of hubris was utterly obvious—and he did not want to hide anything.
The whole world knew what Tony Twain wanted.
※※※
Since betting with Twain at the press conference, Carl Spicer always kept the bet on the lips. Now all of England knew he and Tony Twain had a bet with his own hair as the wager.
Spicer was confident that Ibišević was incapable on the one hand and unable to adapt to the style of the English Premier League and Nottingham Forest on the other hand.
One must know that to score twenty goals a season was not a target that could be achieved easily.
Conversely, Tony Twain did not mention the bet again after he determined the wager. But he could tell that his bet with Spicer, and what he said to Ibišević afterwards, was indeed effective.
Ibišević was trying his best to integrate with the new environment. He was not at all as reticent as the Bundesliga player everyone thought. On the contrary, he was very lively.
He would use his fluent American English and joke with his British teammates. He could also chat in French with the Frenchman, Chimbonda, Nkoulou and the Belgian, Kompany. At the same time, he also used his fluent German and chatted with Şahin who used to play in Dortmund, lived in Germany for many years, and had a German passport, about life in Germany. In addition, Bosnia and Serbia were once part of the former Yugoslavia, so he was able to communicate with Žigić in his native language.
Besides, he was a real linguistic genius, and it did not take long for him to say hello in the still unfamiliar Portuguese language to his teammates from Brazil and Portugal.
Having no problems in terms of languages, he was very quick to integrate into the team. The best thing about coming to Nottingham Forest was that no one here was interested in his poor figures last season and did not make things awkward for him as the reporters did.
Tony Twain trusted him and had the intention of developing him to be the main force during training. He paid back with his good performance in the friendly matches. He scored two goals in three friendlies and had a selfless assist.
But it did not prove anything no matter how well he performed in the friendlies. To get England’s harsh media to change their minds about him, he must score goals in the official tournament, and a lot of goals at that.
He learnt a lesson from the mistakes of his predecessor, Žigić. Although Twain highly regarded this tall man and he played a big role on-field whenever the team needed to attack by storm and cling fast to defense, he was always termed by the media readily as “inferior parallel import.”
The only measure of a striker’s qualification was his goalscoring rate. Žigić had eleven assists last season. Once he played, the Forest team’s creation of header shots in the front field would not be sidelined, but they only resulted in nine goals, which were naturally not enough for the picky media. There were also media which protested unfairness for Žigić and thought that Twain had used the tall man wrongly. But as long as the tall man did not object, Twain would continue to use him in this way.
Ibišević desperately tried to fit into the team. He was aware that no position needed more support from his teammates than the striker. Moreover, he was not the kind of striker who could dribble the ball across more than half the pitch alone and then bypass the opposing goalkeeper to take the ball into the empty goal.
Bentley’s integration into the team was the fastest. First of all, he was English, and had no problems with the food, weather or language. Secondly, he was the player that Twain brought in based on the tactical needs of the team. Such a player often did not have any adaptation period in terms of the tactics. Twain understood Bentley’s characteristics. Since he decided to buy him, he was certainly in line with the team’s tactical needs.
The only thing that worried Twain was the “World Cup Syndrome.” Bentley had done well since his transfer to the Forest team. But Twain believed he was only carrying on his performance in South Africa from this summer. The better he played in the friendlies; the more worried Twain was about his form after the league tournament officially began.
As the fourth player the team had signed this summer, Nkoulou conformed with the norms of the team. In the right back position, he would face competition from Rafinha and Chimbonda. Although Chimbonda was old, he was experienced and defensively stable. His defense on the right was reassuring as long as he was not required to plug in to assist. Rafinha’s strength was plugging in from the back to attack on the side. In Twain’s tactics of the two wingers in full strength, a full back who could assist, had always been heavily used by him. Rafinha was on the right and Gareth Bale was on the left.
The young Nkoulou might still have to work his way up from the substitutes’ bench. Twain had promised the Cameroonian youngster him that he would have a great future if he continued to persist and integrate with the team.
Fernández was now the slowest to integrate out of the four players signed to the team this summer. As a South American player, the differences in languages and the totally different styles in the Spanish football and English football were still considered fine. The most painful things for him were the weather and food in England.
Most of the time, the skies would be as gloomy as it was in today’s training, and then it would start to drizzle. He finally understood why the opening line of the English conversation was always about the weather. Then there was the terrible local cuisine, which he was not used to eating.
These two points affected his performance on the training field and the friendly matches. He was still staying in a hotel room since he had not found a suitable place to live in. How could he focus on playing football, living like this? Unfortunately, his compatriot, Nicolás Millán had been loaned out. Otherwise he could have helped his senior from Colo-Colo adjust to life in England. As the only Chilean in the team right now, Fernández was indeed a little lonely…
The fans might have to wait a while to see Fernández, who was once awarded the South American Footballer of the Year.
※※※
Whether or not these players managed to fit in with the team, time was passing day by day and getting closer to the start of the new season.
Nottingham Forest, who finished fourth in the league tournament last season before the start of the new season, had a life-and-death battle to cope with even though they did not have a FA Community Shield game to play.
It was the Champions League qualifier.
Nottingham Forest was not eligible to go straight into the official competition since they finished fourth in the league tournament. They must play in the Champions League qualifying round first and pass the test to be one of the official thirty-two teams in the Champions League.
Nottingham Forest’s qualifying opponent had been confirmed as the Red Star Belgrade team from Serbia.
There were two games, home and away. Only by eliminating Red Star Belgrade, would Tony Twain be qualified to say his team was really back in Europe.
On August 11th, the Champions League qualifying rounds kicked off.
Nottingham Forest would play Red Star at home.
Despite being a qualifying event, the City Ground stadium, which could only hold up to thirty thousand spectators was full. As the rare team in English football’s history that had fewer league titles than the Champions League championship titles, the Forest fans seemed to have a tradition of thinking that the Champions League was the most important title. The tradition was similar to that of Real Madrid. Between the league tournament and the Champions League, both teams would simultaneously choose the Champions League.
But Real Madrid’s reason for this choice was probably because the league title was so common for them. Whereas the Nottingham Forest fans made this choice only because they thought they had a tradition of winning the Champions League title as compared to the league tournament…
The City Ground stadium was small, but the fervent fans caused a lot of trouble for the Red Star team here.
The Forest fans found an emotional outlet after bottling it up for a year. They gave vent to their frustrations suppressed for a year. There was the constant singing and shouting in the stands. They did not stop at all from the start to the end of the game.
The Red Star team was very unaccustomed to the away atmosphere and Tony Twain’s team was like a fish back in the water here.
Nine minutes into the game that just started, Eastwood, who was in the starting lineup, helped the team scored an opening record with a long shot from outside the penalty area.
Following which, in the 32nd minute, Žigić’s header sent the City Ground stadium into a frenzy.
The first half was entirely controlled by Nottingham Forest and the Red Star team was powerless.
In the second half, Twain began to give the new players who joined the team in the summer a chance to make their debuts.
In the 55th minute, he brought Matías Fernández on to replace Chris Cohen. Fernández won the applause of the fans with a beautiful bypass as soon as he made his appearance.
But it was only one of the few flashpoints for him in the game.
Then, in the 69th minute, Twain replaced Lennon with Bentley.
Less than four minutes into Bentley’s play, he used a pass from the side and accurately sent the ball to the feet of Şahin, who plugged in from the back.
The Turkish talented midfielder faced the Red Star goalkeeper and fired calmly into the top corner. The football flew into the Red Star goal for the third time.
The goal completely snuffed out the Red Star players’ desire to win.
Next, amid the home fans’ thunderous singing, Gareth Bale locked in the score at 4:0 with a free kick!
Nottingham Forest won big at home. After the game, the English media stated that Tony Twain had set foot in Europe about three-quarters of the way.
“Just like the Invasion of Normandy sixty-six years ago. Tony Twain’s troops successfully seized the beachhead as they aimed for Berlin (this season’s UEFA Champions League final was held in Berlin)!”
※※※
Appendix:
Nottingham Forest First Team squad list for the 2010-2011 season (26 players):
Goalkeepers: Igor Akinfeev (1), Dale Roberts (12), Shane Redmond (25).
Defenders: Leighton Baines (22), Gareth Bale (2), Pascal Chimbonda (3), Jonathan Woodgate (5), Vincent Kompany (4), Pepe (6), Wes Morgan (30), Rafinha (14), Joe Mattock (33), Nicolas Nkoulou (21).
Midfielders: George Wood (13), John Bostock (23), Aaron Lennon (17), Tiago Mendes (31), Nuri Şahin (15), Chris Cohen (20), David Bentley (7), Matías Fernández (8).
Strikers: Freddy Eastwood (11), Nikola Žigić (9), Ruud van Nistelrooy (10), Gabriel Agbonlahor (18), Vedad Ibišević (19).
...
Chapter 751: A Temptation from Italy
The big-screen television was broadcasting the best of Nottingham Forest games from over the past few seasons, with only one leading character.
“George Wood! He’s really the linchpin of Nottingham Forest! The beautiful tackle from the oblique rear, no foul and clean!”
“It’s George again! Where did he run out from? He snuck up next to Riquelme and put his leg out! And cut off the ball!”
“He’s giving chase… His speed is very fast! What an amazing explosive force! Studs-up! He has fouled! But he stopped a quick counterattack from Manchester United, and even getting a yellow card was worth it!”
“Sidwell had a head-on collision with him. I’d say Sidwell must have thought he had hit a wall! George Wood did not moved at all and the ball was intercepted by him. His defensive stance is very good!”
“He completely froze Kaka, and the Brazilian seemingly vanished under his close marking…”
“Fàbregas! Oh… He couldn’t pass the football because he was pushed to ground by Wood. It’s so unfriendly… Fàbregas protested to the referee on the ground, while George Wood just turned and ran away.”
“Cristiano Ronaldo! This is a counterattack by Manchester United. He sprints and dribbles the ball on the sideline! No one can stop him… No! George Wood rushes up to stick close and Ronaldo tries to get rid of him, but the feint is ineffective against him! A beautiful defense!”
“A shot to the goal!! The ball’s in! George Wood—a world-class ball! He saved England, he saved Capello! Saint George blesses England!!”
The commentator’s passionate voice echoed in the darkened room, but everyone in the room took their eyes off from the television screen.
“Our new target.” A bald-headed man in the center said to the people here, “He’s incomparable. Cesare told me after following him for two years. I believe in his insight.”
An old man known as “Cesare” stood up. He was AC Milan’s chief football scout in charge of bringing in defensive players, the former AC Milan team captain and the legendary Paulo Maldini’s father, Cesare Maldini.
“I’ve carefully edited all the videos of his games that I’ve shown you. You can see from the video the standard of his defense. He mainly benefits from his physical fitness. He has many nicknames in England, almost all of which are aimed at his abnormal body. He almost never gets hurt… No, he has actually never been injured. He’s in a stable shape and got a solid basic skill. He’s got a good attitude, and there has never been a rumor about any conflicts with his teammates and coaches. I think he is a man who meets AC Milan’s requirements in terms of technique, tactics and even his temperament.”
However, the team’s manager, Carlo Ancelotti sitting opposite did not think so.
“I don’t think Tony Twain will let their team captain go, and George Wood is a very loyal player. It will be too difficult to manage the transfer.”
The baldheaded Galliani laughed, “That’s not something you need to worry about, Carlo. We just have to make sure one thing now and that is Gattuso’s condition no longer meets our requirements. We just need a ‘new Gattuso.’”
Ancelotti hesitated for a moment and then nodded, “We do need a defensive midfielder, but I think trying to sign on George Wood will be too difficult…”
Galliani was a little unhappy and said, “In that case, do you have any good candidates to recommend, Carlo?”
“Blasi, Mariga or Sammarco is a good choice too…” Ancelotti had just reported the three names when he was interrupted by the old man next to him, Braida.
“Napoli’s asking price is too high, and we’ve been negotiating the Blasi deal for about a whole year, and there has been no progress. If we satisfy Napoli’s demands, I think the money is pretty much the same if we buy George Wood. As for Mariga, I think he’s just got a lot of potential. What we need is a player who can come in and play as the main force in the midfield. Mariga is not good enough. As for Sammarco, he doesn’t want to come back. What can we do?”
Braida was the official in charge of AC Milan’s transfers, and his words held more authority than Galliani’s.
Ancelotti was not willing to be persuaded just like that. He retorted, “George Wood’s problem is not the transfer fee. Thirty million or fifty million is the same. The key is his own attitude and Tony Twain… Do you think Tony Twain is someone who’s easy to talk to?”
Galliani did not expect to end up in a situation similar to the quarrel. He waved his hands impatiently to signal to Braida to shut his just-opened mouth.
“I told you, Carlo. That’s not something you should worry about. You just focus on leading the team in training for the games. Leave the purchase of the players to me and Braida.”
Braida was the “king of transfers” for AC Milan. At the age of sixty-three, he had brought in many classic transfers for AC Milan, such as bringing Rijkaard to AC Milan and took Shevchenko, who also played in Eastern Europe, to San Siro. He was a senior football scout and expert negotiator.
But he had already stepped down as AC Milan’s Chief Executive Officer a year ago, and this time Galliani re-hired him for the sake of George Wood.
His intention was clear—I obviously know that it will be very difficult to buy George Wood, so I brought Braida here.
Ancelotti looked at the three men who were obviously standing together on the same side, pursed his lips and did not speak anymore.
Everyone unanimously decided at the final meeting that they would specialize in George Wood alone for the remaining time and sign on the world’s currently hottest defensive midfielder at all costs.
Since Gattuso suffered that terrible injury in the winter of 2008, his form had declined rapidly. Now the AC Milan midfielder could only play as a substitute. His willpower was as before, but he was not physically and technically as good as before. More often than not, his spirit was willing, but the body was weak. His full beard which used to be a symbol of courage and boldness, now appeared to be a sign of the vicissitudes.
AC Milan youth team had a Nigerian young player, Wilfred Chinoye Osuji, once labeled as the “new Makelele.” He had also been lured by Manchester United. At the time, Ancelotti strongly advocated to keep Chinoye in the squad and used him as Makelele’s successor. But the reality was failure. Chinoye did not become the second Makelele. He was lost in the people’s expectations and disappointed AC Milan’s top brass. The matter also led to Galliani’s growing distrust of Ancelotti. Therefore, this time he decided to force his way in to sign George Wood.
He certainly knew that it would not be easy to sign George Wood, not to mention from trying to “extract a tooth from the tiger’s mouth” like Tony Twain.
This time he decided to let Braida step in and make a breakthrough with George Wood’s agent.
A former celebrity in the fashion world, Billy Woox’s sudden career switch to become a sports agent had shocked people. But he still had his former connections in Milan. Galliani and Woox had several opportunities to meet and were considered “friends.” He believed it was right for him and Braida to work on Billy Woox. Whether George Wood would be able to join AC Milan, his agent was the key.
※※※
“Hey, George! Guess where I am?” Wood’s cell phone rang out with his agent, Billy Woox’s always sly voice.
Wood was not one to play such a meaningless game with others. He simply asked, “What’s up, Woox?”
“I just had coffee with a friend in Milan. We talked about you. Guess who that person was?”
“Who?”
“Galliani, AC Milan’s second most important figure.”
“Oh.” George Wood gave a grunt and did not continue to ask questions.
Woox had long been used to Wood’s way of thinking. He added, “He’s very interested in you and wants to hear if you will be willing to play for Milan.”
“AC Milan?” George Wood’s impression and feelings toward most of the world’s powerhouse clubs might displeased these clubs because he would not even show surprise when he heard their names. In his mind, all the teams were the same. “Why should I go play there?”
“They promised you a higher salary than what you get at Nottingham Forest and will give up all your portrait rights.”
At Nottingham Forest, after a number of contract renewals, George Wood, whose current weekly salary was around one hundred thousand pounds a week, had become the highest-paid player in the squad after Beckham and Ribéry left the squad one after another and the older van Nistelrooy accepted a new contract. At the same time, half of his portrait rights were owned by Nottingham Forest—if not for Billy Woox, he would not even get the half.
George Wood was not a fool and could tell which side would give more money. But…
“I think I make enough money now, Woox.”
As if he had expected Wood to say that, Woox laughed at the other end of the line, “There’s one more condition. Do you want to hear it?”
“What?”
“They promised to use the power of AC Milan to treat your mother. It will be a more detailed and professional treatment than what Nottingham Forest did.”
Wood was silent.
After he hung up, Wood went to the kitchen to help his mother. Sophia asked the call just now, “Mr. Woox called?”
“Yeah. He told me that several other clubs are interested in me.”
“Did you promise him?” Sophia coughed and asked.
“No.” Wood’s lips quivered as he replied.
Sophia did not say anything. She just reached and rubbed Wood’s messy hair.
※※※
Twain was as amazed as if he had found the New World. He discovered that George Wood was distracted during training these few days. There was even a rare decline in his form!
He was not worried about anything at first. Instead, he was pleased with the discovery. Because George Wood was finally getting closer to becoming human. At least his form would fluctuate, rather than being so tediously and despairingly steady.
So, he joked about Wood during training and excitedly announced it to people around him.
“Hey, George! Are you in love? Which girl has taken your fancy? Introduce her to me.”
Wood gave a cold expression in return.
“All right, I respect your privacy. When you feel the time is right, you can introduce me then.”
After the ruckus from him, the people in the team all thought George Wood was really in love. Otherwise, it was hard to explain his recent absent-mindedness. It was known that he had always been the most serious and toughest on himself during training in the past.
This situation continued for several days until one early morning, while Tony Twain was still getting cozy in bed with Shania, he received a call.
When their lovemaking was interrupted, Twain naturally did not have a good temper. He shouted, “I don’t care who you are. If you can’t give me a reasonable explanation… It’s only half past six!”
He heard Pierce Brosnan’s voice spoke up, “I just heard the news, Tony. I think I need to tell you. Have you heard?”
“What?” Twain was completely confused by the man’s random remarks.
“The news that AC Milan is very interested in George Wood…”
Twain gave a sigh and said, “I thought it was some big news. Aren’t there always rumors like that every summer? To be honest, Mr. Reporter, if George Wood wasn’t loved and sought after by the flies, he wouldn’t be George Wood.”
Brosnan hurried to explain, “No, I mean they’re for real.”
“They need to find a successor to Gattuso, so I understand…” Twain still did not take it seriously. He lied back on the bed while his fingers circled back and forth on Shania’s smooth and flat lower abdomen.
“They got in touch with George’s agent Billy Woox in private.”
“I knew that sneaky old man can’t keep still. But his word is useless. George Wood has to agree first.”
Shania watched as Twain hand circled downwards bit by bit and moved to the edge of her white panties. She seemed to regard Twain’s hand as a little bug crawling around on her body, and she observed it very carefully.
“Ah, that’s what I wanted to tell you…” It took a long time for Brosnan to remember what the subject was. “I heard from my media friends in Italy that AC Milan worked hard to get the player’s own consent and prepare for George Wood’s mother to undergo surgery and treatment. The club will bear all the costs!”
Twain’s hand was about to pry open the panties and enter a hidden utopia, but he suddenly retracted his hand.
“What did you say?” He sat up on the bed.
No one knew better than he did what Sophia meant to George Wood. When the Forest team and Wood signed their first professional contract, the club paid for Sophia’s operation and to undergo treatment, which led to Wood’s unswerving allegiance to Nottingham Forest. He then gradually grew into a standard-bearer at Nottingham Forest in later years.
But he never thought there would be another club doing the same thing for Wood.
He knew that Sophia’s illness was actually incurable. The long-term accumulation of all kinds of illnesses had long hollowed out this delicate but strong woman. The only reason supporting her was perhaps because she hated to part with her son. So, the club did not continue the medical treatments for Sophia. Anyway, George Wood made enough money to buy the medicine to continue the treatment.
But it did not rule out the possibility that George still had illusions deep inside. If there were more money, more advanced professional equipment, superior doctors and medicines, finer hospitals, he could save his mother’s life.
In that case, would it matter where he play football?
It suddenly dawned on him why George Wood did not seem right these days.
“I’m so stupid…” muttered Twain.
“Uncle Tony?” Shania raised her head beside him, looking strangely at Twain.
“Tony?” Brosnan asked on the phone.
There was only one person in the world who could make Wood upset. It was absolutely not a beautiful girlfriend, and a big salary contract. He only cared about his mother. There were only two people in his world, him and his mother. It was something he had known for a long time. If he had detected it earlier…
“Well, thank you for telling me this, Brosnan! I’ll allow you to go onto the training ground for an exclusive interview!” After he promised Brosnan the relevant repayment, he hung up and intended to give George Wood a call.
But halfway through dialing the number, he put down his cell phone again.
“It’s not even seven o’clock now…” He turned his head to look at the clock. “What happened so far has already happened, makes no difference if it’s earlier or later…” With that, he laid down again. But his hand no longer strayed toward Shania’s body.
“If you’re in a hurry to find George, why don’t you drive to his house to pick him up before training? Then you’ll have a lot of time to talk in private on the way.” Shania said suddenly.
Twain turned to look at his wife and said, “That’s a good idea! And to thank you, Shania…”
Shania glanced at him and said, “Ah, here you go again … I really suspect that you’re twenty, Uncle Tony…”
Twain laughed mischievously and held Shania in his arms, “Your Uncle Tony has heart that never tires!”
Shania’s young, healthy, energetic body snuggled in the crook of his arm, making him feel like he was on his honeymoon every day.
He already had a plan in his mind about George’s matter. For now, he had to make time for Shania.
...
Chapter 752 - Robin Hood and The Forest
After George Wood said goodbye to his mother at the door, he discovered that there was something different from the norm outside his house today when he opened the door—a white jeep was parked on the side of the road, with a man standing at the front of it.
When the man saw him come out, he greeted him with a smile, “Good morning, George.”
“Boss?” Wood was a little surprised. It was the first time he had seen the team’s manager when he walked out the door to head for training. And it was obvious he waited here specially. He looked back at the house and asked, “Why didn’t you come in since you were here?”
“I’ve just arrived.” Twain told an obvious lie.
“Do you need me for something?”
“I was just passing through here. Shall we go to Wilford together?” Twain patted the Mercedes Jeep behind him.
As the highest-paid player in Nottingham Forest, George Wood currently did not even have a car and ran to the training ground every day. Maybe it could explain why he was so fit from this aspect…
Wood looked back at his house again, then marched over, opened the car door and entered.
Twain drove slowly. It was still early, and he was in no hurry to get to Wilford. Because there were some words that were more appropriate to say at this time than when they reached there.
“George, you have been distracted lately. Have you met with any trouble?”
Wood certainly knew that for the boss to break precedence and pick him up for training, he was definitely not “passing by.” But he still had to retort back at Twain, “Didn’t you say I was looking for a girlfriend?”
Twain cleared his throat and said, “It… was just a joke. I received a call early this morning. My friend told me that AC Milan has privately contacted you?”
“They didn’t get in touch with me. They just talked to my agent, Woox.”
Twain smiled, “Getting in touch with him the same as contacting you. He’s your agent. A lot of times, he can make decisions on your behalf. I heard AC Milan promises you a lot of favorable terms. Can you tell me about them?”
“The weekly salary is higher. They will give me all my portrait rights. And….”
At this point, Wood hesitated.
“What else?” Twain asked.
“They promised to pay for my mother’s medical treatment.”
Twain sneered in his heart. In order to get the world’s number one defensive midfielder, AC Milan really spared no efforts and knew to start with George’s mother…
But then again, it made sense. They were not fools and would obviously uncover George Wood’s weaknesses.
But Twain had something to say, “George, I’m going to say something that you might not want to hear— Is your mother… Is your mother’s illness a problem can be solved by money?”
With his palms at the steering wheel, Twain turned his head to George Wood, who sat in the front passenger seat.
Wood did not answer the question. He just reminded and said, “Eyes ahead, boss. You’re still driving.”
Twain did not turn his head. He continued to look at Wood and asked, “Do you really think having a lot of money will cure your mother’s illness?”
Wood pursed his lips and did not answer. But the expression on his face was already a little ugly.
“George if you want to make more money, want to play football in a real powerhouse club and become more famous, I understand when you say you want to go to AC Milan. But if you’re doing it for your mother… I can’t agree. Can you cure your mother’s illness by going to Italy? You’re with her every day. You probably know more about the condition of her health than those Italian experts…”
“Stop the car!” Wood suddenly said.
Twain obediently applied the brakes.
Wood twisted around to open the car door.
Twain did not try to stop him either. He just raised his voice at the back and shouted, “George Wood! You know better than anyone else, don’t you?!”
Wood wordlessly opened the car door and jumped out of the car.
“When are you going to stop fantasizing? Can’t you be more realistic?”
The answer to his question was the loud bang of Wood slamming the car door.
Then Twain saw him turn and run in the direction of his house.
Twain did not get out of the car to give chase. He just threw a punch at the steering wheel.
Once he vented a little, he took out his cell phone and gave George Wood’s agent, Billy Woox a call.
“You rarely take the initiative to call me, Mr. Tony Twain.” Came Woox’s sneaky and slick voice on the phone.
But Twain had no time to quibble with him today. He went straight to the point and asked, “Did the people at AC Milan looked for you?”
“You’re very well informed, Mr. Twain.” Woox did not deny it.
“Do you believe their nonsense that they are going to cure Sophia?”
“They are very sincere.”
“Do you think Sophia’s illness can be cured by spending more money?” Twain suppressed his anger.
“It does not matter what I think. What is important is what George thinks.”
“You’d better turn them down.”
“I’m really sorry, Mr. Twain. You are not my employer.”
Twain heard Woox’s leisurely voice and was so angry that he almost threw his phone. But he finally managed to restrain himself. Then his tone softened, “Well, I hope you can persuade George, Mr. Billy Woox. I don’t think his move to AC Milan is a good choice, let alone for that reason…”
Woox did not say yes. He just asked in return, “Did you just talk to George, Mr. Twain?”
“Yeah.”
“It looks like you did not succeed.” Woox lightly chuckled, “Mr. Twain, I think there’s something you’ve never figured out.”
“What is it?”
“When it comes to George, my words are not as effective as yours. How can I persuade him if you can’t even convince him?”
Twain was stunned. He really did not think about this. He always thought that George must listen to what Woox said.
But…
“You’re not lying to me, are you?”
“Why would I lie to you, Mr. Twain? You haven’t even observe this after knowing George for so long?”
Twain was speechless.
“All right, thank you, Mr. Woox.” Twain was completely out of his anger. He hung up, sat dazedly in the car for a while, and drove it to Wilford.
※※※
George Wood did not show up in the morning training. The incident caused a stir within the team—for this was the first time George Wood was absent from the training since he became a member of Nottingham Forest.
Relating to his unusual behavior over the past few days, everyone was speculating if anything had happened to George Wood.
Kerslake came to Twain, because everyone knew that Twain and Wood had the best bond like “a father and son.”
“He had some trouble.” Twain did not tell his assistant manager the truth, “I granted him leave to deal with it.”
“Oh…” Kerslake suddenly realized, “I’ll say. George is not the kind of person who is absent from training for no reason.”
He shook his head and left, while Twain gave a shrug at the back.
After Kerslake relayed the message to the team, everyone’s suspicions subsided slightly, but a new speculation came up—what kind of trouble did George have? That he would need a special leave to deal with it.
Twain glanced at the media who were filming outside the training ground and called Kerslake over. Then he pointed to the reporters and said, “Inform them that the public filming is over and tell them to leave.”
Kerslake nodded and began to send the reporters out.
But the reporters disagreed.
“The fifteen minutes are not up yet. We can continue filming!”
“Mr. Kerslake, I would like to ask why we did not see George Wood among the team?”
“I heard that he recently had been in touch with AC Milan privately. Does his absence from the training this time have anything to do with that?”
“How much money does AC Milan need to offer for George Wood in order for Nottingham Forest to release him?”
“Will selling the team captain cause the fans to complain? Are you worried about this?”
…
They buzzed like a flock of flies and made a din in the corner of the training ground, causing everyone to look over.
Twain finally walked over himself.
“Now is not the time to answer questions, ladies and gentlemen.” His cold look scared some reporters. “Time’s up. Please leave.”
“Mr. Twain, please answer some questions about George Wood’s transfer rumors…”
“That’s all fucking nonsense!” Twain burst out with a cuss word, causing a commotion among the reporters.
“Before my mood turns for the worse, you’d better leave, or I’ll cancel the regular press conference this afternoon.” Having said that, Twain took another look at Pierce Brosnan.
Brosnan understood what he meant. It looked like the exchange between him and George Wood did not go well at all…
He nodded and was the first one to leave.
Other reporters followed him behind and began to disperse one by one.
The last person to leave was Carl Spicer, who deliberately trailed at that back with his Sky TV interview crew. He even smiled brilliantly at Twain when he left.
Twain’s black face had been imprinted in his eyes.
Twain knew that the new installment of [Football Matters…] must have some stuff about him and George Wood. But he did not care about this minutia.
※※※
Sophia was surprised to see her son open the house door and walk in again.
“Forgot to take something?”
George shook his head and sat gasping for breath on the living room couch as soon as he came in. Sophia only then noticed her son’s flushed face and breathlessness.
“What’s the matter, George?” His mother put aside her chore, wiped her hands clean, came to sit down next to Wood and looked at her son with her head tilted.
“Mom, how about we live in a different city for a change?” Wood looked up at his mother.
Sophia was a little surprised, “Why change to another city? We are going well in Nottingham and there’s your job… You want to transfer?” She suddenly understood.
“There’s a club in Italy who wants me to go, and they promise to treat you…”
Sophia looked at Wood seriously and asked, “Why do you play football, George?”
“For your treatment…”
“But I’ll die eventually. Even if I’m no sick, I’ll still die. What are you going to do when I’m gone? Are you going to stop playing football and follow me to death?”
In the face of an increasingly serious-looking Sophia, George Wood was speechless.
“George, it’s your job to play football. You’re playing for yourself, not for me. If you say you want to play in Italy because of your own pay package, I don’t have a problem. But don’t say it’s for me. Do you really want to play in Italy?”
Wood continued to remain silent.
Sophia looked at her son’s pigheadedness and sighed, “To be honest, George… I know my health very well. Spending more money will not cure me. So much of your salary has been used on my health for so many years. And what is the result?” She smiled but looked a little sad.
“Your mom hasn’t thought about that matter for a long time. I just want to see you healthy and happy while I’m still alive. Find a girl, George. You are always single, and that worries me …”
Wood tried to shake his head, but his mother used her hands to hold him still. Wood stopped shaking the moment he felt his mother’s cool hands on his cheeks.
“Don’t shake your head. If you really have my best interests, then stop being willful, George.”
Wood nodded as he listened to his mother’s gentle but slightly weak voice.
“George, remember. There’s no son in the world who’s always with his mother. People will look at that kind of thing in a different light. You have to have your own life, a life that is completely your own and nothing to do with your mother. Do you understand?”
Wood continued to nod.
Sophia looked at her son and smiled tenderly. She kissed Wood on the cheek and said, “Go to your training, George. Don’t let Mr. Twain wait too long.”
“Mom…” Wood looked at his increasingly frail mother, as if he was worried that he would never see her again when he turned around and went out. “Can I stay with you for half a day? I’ll go to the afternoon training…”
“No, George.” Sophia wagged her finger and said, “You can’t look for an excuse to good off. What makes you succeed, George? What are you worrying about? Go to training, that’s your job.”
Sophia stood up and looked at Wood.
Wood could not bear the look in her eyes, so he stood up and said, “Okay, I’m leaving. Goodbye, Mom.”
Sophia waved at him, “Oh, if you’ve a fight with Mr. Twain, remember to apologize to him. You shouldn’t contradict him.”
“Mom?” Wood was surprised.
“Don’t think I did not see the jeep parked in front of our door.” Sophia winked. “Think about who gave you the chance at that time? He really has your best interests, George.”
Wood nodded again. It was time to say goodbye to his mother and get back out of the door again.
When the door was closed, the smile on Sophia’s face disappeared, and the shining light in her eyes faded, replaced by a low sigh.
※※※
George Wood arrived at the training ground while the training was nearly halfway through. At the moment, no media was around.
His teammates looked curiously at him and Twain.
“I want to apologize to you, boss.” George Wood stood in front of Twain and said with his head bowed, “I shouldn’t…”
Twain interrupted him, “You don’t have to apologize to me. The people who need to accept your apology are all the players on the team. You are the captain and their role model. Everyone’s eyes are on you. What you need to get late for training is the understanding from them, and not from me.” Twain waved his hands and said, “Go and apologize to them.”
So, George Wood obediently walked up to his teammates who were training. Twain signaled to Kerslake to stop the training and gather everyone to listen to Wood apologize.
“I would like to apologize for my lateness to training to everyone. I’m sorry that I’m late for training as the captain…” Wood spoke slowly to make sure everyone could hear what he said.
His teammates opposite him all had different expressions on their faces. Some of them had a sudden realization, some looked confused and some looked expressionless.
After Wood’s apology, Twain stepped forward to announce the rule for George Wood’s penalty—he would be on the substitutes’ bench for the first round of the league tournament because he was late for training. At the same time, he would be fined ten thousand pounds. In addition, the training program had been delayed due to his lateness which must be supplemented by additional training.
No one disagreed. Not even George Wood would ask for privileges because he was captain. The discipline that Twain had always emphasized was fully reflected at this moment.
※※※
At the regular press conference in the afternoon, the media, which was scolded by Twain in the morning, intended to collectively give him a show of strength—after the press officer walked into the conference with Twain to announce the official start of the press conference, these reporters left their seats in succession. Within a very short period of time, they all left the venue! In the instant, there was only Pierce Brosnan left in the press room…
The press officer’s face looked extremely embarrassed. Even Pierce Brosnan did not expect his peers to actually do such a thing… He turned around and looked back at the two men on the stage.
The surprised expression appeared only on Twain’s face at first, and he soon masked it.
Now he was smiling at the empty press conference.
“Mr. Reporter, do you have any questions to ask?” He said to Brosnan, who sat in the middle.
“Ah… Oh, uh…” Brosnan still had not recovered from the shock that this scene had caused him.
Twain whispered to the press officer, who strode to the door. He did not want to let what he was about to say be heard by the ears outside the door. Since they wanted to play this game, then they should not expect to receive any news!
The door was closed with a heavy sound and the reporters waiting at the door, retreated as if startled by the sound of gunfire.
“Well, Mr. Brosnan. You don’t have to be nervous. There are only the two of us here now. You can ask any questions you want. I’ll tell you all that I know and hold nothing back. This is to thank you for giving me special preferential treatment by tipping me off!” Twain sat on the stage and smilingly looked at Pierce Brosnan.
“Well, okay. George Wood and AC Milan…”
“He’ll stay at Nottingham Forest and not go anywhere.” Twain interrupted Brosnan’s question and said, “He’s the red flag of Nottingham Forest. Have you ever seen an army that lost its flag? You can tell the Forest fans to put their minds at ease. Their captain has never considered abandoning them. Whether it was before, now or in the future, he will be here. You might as well give him the ‘Robin Hood’ label. Anyway, he has plenty of labels, this will only be just one more. Have you ever seen Robin Hood leave Sherwood Forest? No? Me neither. Robin Hood is the only one. Sherwood Forest has meaning because of Robin Hood, but a Robin Hood who leaves Sherwood Forest will not be Robin Hood.”
...
Chapter 753: A Sigh
During the press conference, Twain promised Pierce Brosnan that George Wood was definitely staying at the club. However, he only said so to placate the team and the fans. He did not know if Wood was going to stay at the club either. He was not foolish enough to think that Wood had a change of heart simply because he came back to practice.
This whole issue between him and Wood was yet to be over.
Tony Twain has to speak to Wood. This time, they need to speak in an environment that was peaceful, and they both need to be frank and open with their thoughts so as to be able to solve what was going on between them.
Twain was definitely not going to tell Wood that his mother was doomed to die, and that he should give up on treatment for his mother. He just wanted to tell Wood that he has to be more realistic. Nottingham Forest had tried their best to provide Sophia with treatment in the past, and they even sent her to America where the treatment methods were the most advanced.
But what was the result of it all?
She experienced terminal lucidity for a while, and that was it.
Of course, Twain needs to be more tactful with his words this time round unlike how he spoke during the rushed conversation that they had on the car previously.
All he wanted to tell Wood was that he could not take AC Milan’s promise seriously. He can’t grow up if he keeps on living in his fantasies. They are both well aware of Sophia’s current condition. All they have not done is to turn their thoughts into words and openly express them.
AC Milan might offer more money to find better doctors and a better hospital, but what George Wood feel if Sophia were to go to Italy and still not recover?
The bigger your hopes, the bigger your disappointment.
Twain was worried that Wood would not be able to get over it afterwards. He knew what Wood was like. He might act like a grown-up most of the time, but he was still like a child on certain things. Without his mother and Twain beside him, Twain felt like Wood might sink into depression if he were to face the greatest setback of his life alone.
George Wood is the only driving force that keeps Sophia alive. Who is to say that Sophia isn’t the only driving force that keeps Wood alive?
However, the situation could not go on like this any longer. It might be brutal of him to say it like this, but all humans have to grow up eventually. Since no one wishes to be the ‘bad guy’, then Twain, who is ‘rotten to the bone’, will take up the role. It was also why he said those hurtful words to Wood in the car.
Now was the time for the two of them to have a calm and deep conversation. The topic might be brutal, but everyone has to face the brutality of life someday.
We have to learn to face life’s brutality head on, and not hide ourselves in the fantasies that we have constructed forever.
Whose life isn’t brutal?
I transmigrated all the way to England for no particular reason and I lost my father and mother as a result. Is this not brutal? If all I did was to escape from this brutal life of mine, then how can I live on? I might as well tie a rock to myself and then jump into the English Channel.
In the 24 years of George Wood’s life, he never lacked motherly love. The only thing he did not even get to enjoy a second of was fatherly love. The notion of ‘father’ was something that was distant and foreign to him. In his life, he has never experienced the impact that a ‘father’ brings.
Twain did not mind being his ‘father’. He was a character who was so strict it could be considered a little too demanding, and a character who was brutal.
“I need to apologize to you, George.” Twain did not beat around the bush the moment they met.
Wood looked at him and said nothing. He listened to his mother’s words and apologized to Twain, but he still felt a little queasy inside.
“You are still angry about the words I told you that day right?”
“I thought you understood the relationship I have with my mother.”
“Of course I do. Actually, I understand it better than you think…” Twain threw out his hands. “I know that my words will make you feel uncomfortable. But don’t misinterpret me. I also hope that your mother can live on healthily. I don’t doubt that there is a possibility that this might happen. Every single year, you spend millions of pounds from your yearly salary on her and that acts as the economic base for this whole issue.”
Twain observed Wood’s reaction after saying those words. He realized that Wood did not exhibit feelings of repulsion, so he went on to say, “Do you believe in miracles, George?”
“Miracle?” Wood thought about it. Before he went to bed each night, he would wish that he would be able to wake up the next day and see his mother sitting by the side of his bed with a smile. She would tell him, ‘George, my body has recovered!’
Does this count as a ‘miracle’?
If this counts as a miracle, then he has believed in it since the day he became sensible, for close to 20 years.
But it never came true even once.
Should he believe in it? Should he not believe in it?
“I still remember that time when we sent your mother to America for treatment. The doctor who diagnosed her was very surprised and indicated your mother should not have been able to live till then based on her condition…” Twain slowly recounted the story that Wood has never heard of before.
Twain still vividly remembers the look of consternation on the doctor’s face, because he too, was very surprised after hearing his words. The doctor told everyone present at the scene that Sophia should have died after giving birth to Wood. She lost a lot of blood while trying to give birth to Wood, and she did not have any nutrients in her body after giving birth. This caused her face and lips to appear pale and devoid of color. Almost every single incident in her life since then was like a ‘poison’ that could lead to her sudden death.
Evan was also very surprised. He asked Twain, who was closest to Sophia, if it was true.
The first thing that came to Twain’s mind was George Wood. He nodded his head. “She has something that works better than any doctor or medicine… And it is supporting her life.”
“It’s you, George.” Twain told Wood who was sitting in front of him. “Your mother believes in miracles. But her miracle isn’t any of those medical equipment, doctors or medicine. It’s you, her son. You are the essence of her life and you allow her life to continue on. You are her miracle. Do you know why your mother never had a religion despite being in such a difficult situation? It’s because you are her God, George.”
Wood had lowered his head without Twain realizing, and said nothing in response. Twain could not see his expression and he could only guess what Wood must be feeling based on his gut feeling.
“This joke is not funny…” Wood’s voice was a little low.
“Unfortunately, George. Those are all words that your mother told me personally.” Twain looked at Wood, who had his head lowered, with an utterly serious expression.
Before she was pushed into the operating room, Sophia suddenly grabbed hold of Twain’s hand. There was a dim light that shimmered in her irises as she looked at him with her raven black eyes.
Her voice sounded a little weak, and so Twain had to bend over his body and place his ear beside her lips to listen to her murmurs.
“Other than George… I actually don’t have anything else that I worry about, Mr. Twain… He’s my baby and I just can’t help but worry about him. If I…”
Twain squeezed her icy cold hand. “You will be fine, Sophia. You are just going to sleep for a while. Don’t entrust such an important to me. I’m not a careful person. I’m always forgetting things. I will mess a lot of things up… You have to be the one to care of the thing that you cherish the most. You have to live on no matter what for George.”
Two streaks of tears rolled down from the corners of Sophia’s moist eyes.
Twain smiled at her and said, “Whenever I lead my team, I will always tell my players, including your son, that I don’t want them to choose to give up on attaining success, no matter how tough a situation they might find themselves in. ‘Never admit defeat’ and ‘can’t lose’ are all words that people use to scold me, but I think those words are the best forms of compliment towards me. I take pride in being what they scold me for. Now, I’m going to say those same words to you, Sophia. No matter what happens, don’t admit defeat and don’t give up. You have to keep living on no matter how tough it might be. Isn’t that how you managed to pull through for the past 18 years? Now that your son has become a professional footballer and is making a lot of money, your life has also become much better than before. What other reason do you have to give up on the thing that you cherish the most? You have to live on, not for anyone else, but for George and for yourself.”
Sophia nodded her head as tears continued to roll down her face.
She released her grip on Twain’s hand and was wheeled into the operating room.
Twain noticed that Wood’s head had been lowered further.
“The operation was very dangerous. It lasted for 12 hours.”
After going quiet for a moment, Twain continued, “I am not opposed to you letting your mother undergo treatment. A huge chunk of your yearly salary is spent on it after all. You have visited many countries in the past to try and treat your mother. Maybe Italy is a choice that you can consider as well? I don’t know. The only reason why I am stopping you from leaving is because I don’t believe that AC Milan would be able to deliver their promise. Of course…” He looked at Wood. “I admit I’m much more realistic than you when it comes to such things. I might even be too realistic that I become a little too callous… But if you still insist on trying things out at Italy after our conversation today, you can put in a transfer request and I’d let you go. I’m just giving you a suggestion. Whether or not you take it up is up to you. Think about it, when your ex-team mates all wanted to leave the club, who did I manage to keep?”
Twain threw out his hands and laughed self-derisively.
That’s right, it all started from Michael Dawson to the recent Bendtner. When has he ever succeeded in keeping a player that he wanted to keep?
I’m just a f*cking cat’s-paw from head to toe.
They call me the ‘King’ who dictates who lives and dies? What a joke. Those are nothing more than the media’s antics in trying to hype things up. You guys actually believe in it?
That’s strange, wasn’t I supposed to be persuading Wood to stay in the club? Why am I persuading him to leave now?
This isn’t right…
“Uhh… No… I actually don’t wish for you to go, George. We should use another method to solve this. You want to find the best doctor, the best hospital and the best medicine and equipment to treat your mother, right? What makes you think Nottingham Forest can’t fork out the same amount of money that AC Milan has promised you? Their laboratory at Milan is a place that only treats sports injuries. It is not a place that treats the illness that your mother is suffering from. Why must you go to Italy? Isn’t it the same no matter where you go?”
After making one big round, Twain had finally found his ‘main idea’.
He was almost duped by AC Milan. AC Milan promised to provide treatment for Wood’s mother regardless of the costs involved, but they never said that the treatment would be performed in Italy. They were just hoping to attract George Wood’s attraction and make themselves look more favorable in his eyes by showing him kindness. They can then reach a personal agreement with the player, which would aid in their all-out attack on the club…
Isn’t that a method that he uses all the time?
AC Milan’s offer was not something decisive. As long as Nottingham Forest Football Club puts an identical offer on the table, then George Wood is the one who gets to have the final say on the matter.
Can Nottingham Forest present the same offer as AC Milan?
Without a doubt.
In truth, after the previous surgery, the surgeon had told them that Sophia’s body was extremely weak, and if they wanted to let her live for a longer period of time, then she should not undergo anymore surgeries in the future. She should instead take expensive medicine to sustain her life. The money needed for those medicine is peanuts to Nottingham Forest.
What a calm conversation this turned out to be…
Actually, the one who calmed down was him. Twain realized that once he had calmed down, he was able to see that AC Milan actually posed no threat to him. He was the one who had almost messed things up in his anxiety.
The hell!
Did you think that the whole world was against you? You almost lost yourself there!
Twain stopped talking and looked quietly at Wood as he waited for a reply from him.
After a while, Wood’s gloomy voice rang out once again. “I never said I wanted to go to Italy.”
“Huh?” Twain thought he had misheard things.
“I’ve never said I wanted to go to Italy all this while.” Wood finally raised his head. His eyes were red, but there were no tear streaks on his face.
Twain opened his mouth wide and stared blankly at Wood. He thought he was looking at an alien.
The confrontation went on for a while before Twain suddenly burst out, “You bastard!” He was not angry. He had only yelled because he just realized that Wood had not told him or the media the he wished to go to Italy…
The truth was that he was actually the bastard here, but Twain was a man of pride. He could never bear to tell Wood that.
“All right, looks like I jumped the gun and was too full of myself…” The man of pride still lowered his head. “I’ll apologize to you. Will you accept it?”
Wood shook his head. “It’s not like whatever you said didn’t make sense…”
There was another man of pride right here.
Now that they have gotten most of what they wanted to discuss about out of the way, it was time to discuss some other personal issues…
“George, I’m telling you this seriously. It’s really time for you to start thinking about your love life. Your mother really hopes to be able to see you stop being single. How much longer do you want her to wait?”
Wood went quiet for a moment and then said, “I haven’t found one yet…”
“What kind of girl are you looking for? I can get Shania to introduce a few girls to you. It’s not a problem if you happen to be looking for supermodels or movie stars.” Twain said jokingly.
“Someone like my mum.”
George Wood’s honest answer nearly caused Twain to puke blood.
He inhaled deeply to calm himself down, then he exhaled sharply.
This lad’s love life…
Let’s just leave it all to fate!
※※※
To Twain, the ‘triangle story’ between him, George Wood and AC Milan had concluded. However, to the reporters who would only wish for the world to be in chaos, the story had only just begun.
Twain kept them outside the door, but actually, they were the ones who had run out. Nonetheless, being kept outside the door did not hamper them from making up a news story.
Why would George Wood miss out on training? He might have turned up afterwards, but it remains a fact that he was late for training. There must be a hidden reason behind Twain suddenly throwing a temper. He must be pissed off that AC Milan was courting George Wood. One cannot help but let their imagination roam wild after connecting Twain’s loss of self-control and George Wood’s lateness to the training session together.
Could the man known as Nottingham Forest’s most loyal warrior also face a day where he cannot resist temptation and would end up betraying his country?
This is definitely groundbreaking news!
The next day, reports about how George Wood was definitely on his way out of the team began surfacing in all the various media outlets. The reporters were all positive that Wood would transfer to AC Milan, and they gave life to all sorts of inside stories regarding the potential transfer. It was as though the reporters were invisible and had followed George Wood and Adriano Galliani 24/7. There was no room for doubt from the readers.
“… Why would George Wood be late for training for the very first time in his career? We have to remember that he is the model player in the team when it comes to discipline. It must be because he is upset with Twain’s decision in not letting him transfer over to AC Milan, and so him not turning up for training on time is actually a form of protest against Twain. Back then when the Malinese player Mahamadou Diarra wanted to transfer from Lyon to Real Madrid, Jean-Michel Aulas refused to let him go. Diarra refused to turn up for training and also threatened that he would retire if they did not let him go to Real Madrid. Looks like George Wood might have learned a thing or two from him…”
“It is easy to see why Tony Twain would be so furious. His most trusted star player was going to betray him. Every single person in this world would be furious. Word has it that AC Milan had offered an astronomical price for George Wood. Coupled with the fact that Wood’s manager Billy Woox is also coaxing him to make the switch over… It must be hard for George Wood to not feel tempted…”
“Yesterday, Tony Twain lost self-control by the side of the pitch. The reason for that clearly has something to do with the troubles that he has faced lately. George Wood is being seduced by AC Milan’s high salary and he cannot find a good way to deal with it. To make matters worse, Wood deliberately turns up to training late as a way of expressing his stand. So…”
The next day, Nottingham Forest faced Fulham in the first match of the new season.
The media was ‘surprised’ to find that George Wood sitting on the bench!
The entire scene felt as though it had been set up to allow the media to include a footnote in their news articles.
“George Wood did not pick up an injury recently. Additionally, the Premier League had only just begun, surely he has no issues with his stamina either… No, even if the Premier League had progressed to Christmas, Wood would not have stamina issues. As for his form? Have we ever heard of a time when this monster was not in form? Then why has George Wood been put on the bench? The answer is clear as day!”
The commentator was speculating excitedly. If George Wood, who had put in sublime performance during the World Cup, left Nottingham Forest for AC Milan, it would undoubtedly become the most sensational transfer of this summer.
A banner calling for the club to keep George Wood had been hung up at the stands of the City Ground stadium. The whole scene gave off the impression that the player was really on his way out.
On Forest fans’ forums, there were extreme fans who chastised Wood for becoming Judas who would betray everything for money, and there were also loyal fans of Wood who came out to defend their idol. Both parties had a heated debate online over Wood.
Honestly, if they wanted to understand the truth behind the matter, all they had to do was to listen to what Twain or Wood had to say.
Unfortunately, Twain’s relationship with the media had soured a few days ago, and he had rejected all media interviews, barring Nottingham Evening Post. At the same time, he did not allow the media to get close to his players either. Even when he answered Brosnan’s questions, he refused to bring up anything related to George Wood. His actions puzzled others.
As for George Wood?
Even if the media managed to get a hold of him through other means, he would not answer any questions regarding his transfer to AC Milan. He made use of the two things that he was good at, that being silence and his poker face, to answer all of those questions.
After the match commenced, the screen cut multiple times to the face of George Wood who say on the bench. His expressionless face was interpreted by the commentators to be a face that showed ‘discontent towards Tony Twain’.
The commentator mentioned numerous times during the match, “If George Wood has already reached an agreement with AC Milan, then Twain would not even give him a minute of game time before he leaves. This might be the very last time we get to see him in the City Ground stadium.”
“In the past, both Tony Twain and George Wood were people that others discussed about enthusiastically. The relationship that they had between them was like that of a father and a son, and was akin to the one that Ferguson shared with Beckham back then. Twain transformed Wood from a porter living in a slum into a superstar living in a mansion, whereas Wood helped Twain earn the glory of becoming a champion that he so ardently coveted. The two of them were like the best partners in the Premier League. But this best partnership between them is able to meet its end. Loyalty and glory are no match against the temptation of money… I suddenly feel a little sorry for Tony Twain…”
The Twain who was being sympathized with was currently standing by the side of the pitch with a solemn expression on his face as he instructed the team. His team was caught in a deadlock with Fulham at the moment. The score was 1:1, and based on the situation on the pitch right now, no one knows who would win the match just yet.
The commentator went back to his job after sympathizing with Twain.
“Without George Wood, Nottingham Forest lacks some toughness in the midfield and their ability to control the midfield has also gone down. Tiago is not on the same level as George Wood. Moreover, he is getting on with his age and his condition is going on the decline every single day. If I were Twain, I would see him this summer. Şahin lacks protection up front while he keeps giving the ball away. How can Forest put together an attack?”
“Ibišević has yet to fully blend in with the team and as the striker, he lacks a bit of assistance up front. Cohen is putting in an average performance, but he might be a little too honest as someone who should be assisting in the offense… Nottingham Forest needs some kind of inspiration or some kind of spark. Maybe Twain should put the Chilean on?”
The first half ended with the score of 1:1.
In the second half, Twain did not make any changes and continued using his current team and set-up.
On the 67th minute, Nottingham Forest went into the lead just three minutes before the time that the commentator conjectured that Twain would make a substitution.
Eastwood abruptly kicked the ball from outside the penalty box, and caught Fulham’s goalkeeper Diego Pani off guard. The goalkeeper did not expect Eastwood to do a long shot from where he was without making a run. It was already too late when he made the dive to the side, and he could only watch as the ball flew into the net behind him.
The City Ground stadium burst out into cheers for the second time of the day, as the fans celebrated Eastwood’s goal.
“A brilliant goal! Eastwood has maintained his excellent form from last season! Twain has been looking for a forward this whole summer, but I must say that he already has a talented forward right by his side!”
“The Romani Rooney has helped put Nottingham Forest in the lead with his brace!”
Twain, who had his face scrunched up all along, finally found a reason to vent his emotions. He flung his arms out as he dashed out of the technical area, and hugged the people around him.
The screen cut to Wood once again. They wanted to see how the Nottingham Forest captain, who appeared to be a part of the team but has his heart elsewhere, would react to the goal.
Wood stood by the side of the pitch, and were applauding the goal alongside the other substitutes.
The scene looked harmonious, but to those with a hidden agenda, the scene looked like one of ‘feigned harmony’ instead…
※※※
After Eastwood helped the team regain their lead, Twain finally brought on Matías Fernández for Cohen, and also took Şahin off for Bostock. There were no changes to the team formation and tactics, however.
Towards the end of the match, Twain took off Ibišević, who had put in an average performance for the match, and brought on van Nistelrooy in his stead. Van Nistelrooy had been out of action for the past year and a half, and he received a standing ovation from the fans the moment he made an appearance.
In truth, Twain had not taken Ibišević off because he was upset with his performance, because he himself did not know what kind of performance van Nistelrooy would put in either. Rather, he only put van Nistelrooy on the pitch to allow him to make a public appearance at their home grounds. Nottingham Forest’s next two matches were all away games.
Ibišević’s head was drooped and he looked crestfallen when he went off the pitch. He had tried his hardest to score a goal on his debut for Nottingham Forest because he wanted to prove his abilities, and he also wanted to prove that Tony Twain was right to buy him for the team. However, it seemed like the Premier League was truly very different from the Bundesliga.
Twain shook his hands and told him, “Well done, Ibi.”
Ibišević looked a little disenchanted and said nothing. He just shook Twain’s hands and panted as he sat on the bench.
The boss has a bet with someone regarding how I would score 20 goals this season. I’ve played 88 minutes for my first match of the season and I’ve scored none, but he still looks relaxed. I really don’t know what’s on his mind.
Twain used up his last possible substitution by bringing on van Nistelrooy. This also meant that George Wood would definitely not be making an appearance in the match.
The commentator could not stop talking on and on while on air, “It looks like the conflict between Twain and Wood has been utterly publicized. Twain has not even let Wood get up to warm up throughout this match. It seems like he never had the intention of letting Wood get on the pitch from the start! This brings me back to the 2008-09 season, when Bendtner kicked up a fuss with Twain when he was adamant about going to Manchester City. Twain dropped Bendtner from the players’ list, and sent him home to watch TV while the team competed on their home grounds. Based on what we have seen so far, perhaps tomorrow is the day we will get to know the final outcome of this transfer rumor?”
The reporters sitting at the press box had already started coming up with different kinds of sensational titles that would attract readers after watching the match.
‘The Steel Soldier Lands in Milan!’
‘St George Blesses Milan!”
‘The Seven-year Itch! Tony Twain and George Wood Officially Part Ways!’
‘Father and Son Turned Rivals. The Warmth in Their Relationship Has Dissipated…’
One cannot help but admit that a person needs to be imaginative to be able to work in the news industry. If not, the person cannot last in the job.
In the end, Nottingham Forest got a narrow 2:1 win over Fulham on their first match of the new season, owing to Eastwood’s goals in the first and second halves.
※※※
The City Ground stadium’s press room was teeming with people. Numerous reporters from different media outlets had all gathered under one roof for the post-match press conference.
What they cared about was not the outcome of the match. Roy Hodgson, the manager of Fulham who went against Forest earlier, was just like air in the reporters’ eyes.
All the reporters had their arms raised during the segment where they could freely ask questions. They were all eager to ask Twain if his act of leaving George Wood on the bench meant that the two had officially fallen out with each other, and that George Wood would soon be on a flight over to Milan.
However, an unexpected scene happened, that no one, not even the press officer present at the scene, saw it coming.
Twain looked at the outstretched hands that seemed to form a forest beneath him. He then snatched the job of the press officer for himself. He picked up the microphone and told the reporters with a smile, “There is something I need to declare before you ask your questions. I will not accept any questions from any media outlet besides Nottingham Evening Post. If you do not want to tire your arms out, then I suggest that you put them all down now. If not, even if you do get picked by the press officer, I will just pretend that I didn’t hear them. Have I made myself clear? With that being said, Mr. Pierce, do you have any questions?”
Pierce Brosnan did not stand up to ask questions, however. He was shocked by Twain’s decision, just like the rest of the reporters.
Tony Twain intends to shut out almost all the media outlets in Britain. Does he know what it means to go against the all the media outlets in the country?
After Twain had finished those words of his, the reporters sitting below went into a frenzy. Chaos broke out at the scene as the reporters clamored.
Twain stood up and shrugged his shoulders. “Looks like no one has any questions. If that’s the case, then goodbye.” Before he left, he did not forget to shake the hand of the unlucky Roy Hodgson who had been dragged into the conflict between Twain and the reporters. Hogson looked at Twain with bulged eyes when he did, and clearly did not understand what was going on.
Afterwards, Twain spun around, looking confident and at ease. It was his turn to play the reporters, just like how they had played him two days ago.
One of the reporters shook their heads as they watched him disappear out the door.
“This Tony Twain… He’s back!”
“Who does he think he is?” Someone yelled out in anger. “What right does he have to treat us like this?”
“Don’t be foolish, young one.” An older reporter told off the reporter who had just complained. “He doesn’t need us to put money in his pockets. Of course he can treat us in that way. As long as the board of the club trusts him, then he will have the guts to do that. On the contrary, we are the pitiful ones. We have to rely on him for our money…”
His words elicited sighs from all those around him.
Tony Twain was an out-and-out ‘newsmaker’. He is always able to play the media in the palm of his hand. The media hates him to the core, but they are unable to leave his side for even a moment. Twain carried controversy with him wherever he went, but that did not seem to diminish his charisma in the slightest.
It was grievous for the British reporters, who have gotten used to being arrogant all this while, to meet a person like Twain.
They were ‘kings without a crown’, whereas Tony Twain was a ‘king’ who had been officially crowned in the City Ground stadium.
※※※
Even though the press conference ended on a bad note, the reporters were not worried that they would have nothing to write about. Besides hyping up the whole incident whereby Twain was rude to the reporters during the press conference, the reporters also focused on publicizing the ‘rift’ between George Wood and Twain.
If a reader only read the articles about Nottingham Forest for the past two days, then it was likely that they would think that George Wood harbored a deep hatred for Twain. The word ‘vendetta’ could be aptly used to describe the situation between the both of them at the moment.
As for the Italian media, La Gazzetta dello Sport was unable to contain their excitement for the transfer and they had impatiently ‘photoshopped’ an image of George Wood wearing AC Milan’s red and black-striped jersey. They indicated that George Wood was already in Adriano Galliani’s bag in their article.
Galliani, the old fox, exhibited caution and optimism despite the obvious advantage that he had in the situation.
He told the media, “We admit that we are interested in buying George Wood, but as for whether or not he’d be able to join our club, the decision lies not with us but with Tony Twain and Nottingham Forest Football Club. It’d be best if he is able to come. He is a great player. I believe he’d be able to attain the same level of success… No, even greater levels of success at San Siro.”
In comparison to the ‘caution’ displayed by Galliani, which was nothing more than a botched attempt at covering up the truth, the ‘caution’ that was displayed by Carlo Ancelotti was definitely him being cautious with the transfer.
“I don’t know, I am not responsible for handling his transfer. If the club is really able to sign him as a player, then I’d certainly welcome him with all my heart. His arrival at our club would definitely help us go one level higher… I hope he can come, but before he is here at our club, I can’t say anything else.”
Kaka, who was a representative for the players at the club, represented the San Siro’s locker room and welcomed George Wood to the club, “Milan’s locker room is just like a big family. Everyone gets along well, and we are all happy, like how a family should be. I believe George would come to love this place. It’s okay if he doesn’t know how to speak Italian. I can speak to him in Portuguese, and I can even be his interpreter for free.” Kaka smiled as he finished saying those words. “I really admire him as a player. George is the most outstanding defensive midfielder in the world right now, and we need a player like him at our club. To be honest, I think the same way as Fàbregas. The opponent whom I do not wish to encounter the most in a match is George Wood.”
Rumor has it that George Wood really likes his number 13. However, this number currently belongs to AC Milan’s senior full back, Alessandro Nesta.
Nesta would definitely not give up on his own number, but he mentioned during a interview, “I like the number 13. But I’m already 34 this year. I think I’d be very happy to see George Wood wear my number 13 shirt after I have retired.”
Therefore, as long as George Wood bears with a non-number 13 shirt for two seasons, then he would definitely be able to get the number 13 shirt that he liked.
There have been loads of high-sounding words that have been said in reference to George Wood. It seemed as though the entire AC Milan, from the board to the players, are all prepared and ready to welcome George Wood’s arrival at the club.
However, the truth was that all that had happened at that point of time was that Billy Woox had agreed to help Galliani convince Wood to join AC Milan, and he had told the club to wait for further news.
A few days went by since then, and neither Wood or Woox gave Galliani a reply, not even an ambiguous one.
※※※
Another day passed by after Forest’s last match, and the rumors surrounding George Wood’s transfer continued to escalate, despite how Brosnan had published an article as the ‘spokesperson of Nottingham Forest’, which claimed that George Wood was not going anywhere in an interview with Tony Twain.
The article had been interpreted by many to be one of ‘Tony Twain living in denial’.
All he is doing is nothing more than a final struggle before death. Didn’t he also publicly announce that Bendtner wasn’t going anywhere when the latter wanted to go to Manchester City?
His behavior is just like that of a girl who is about to sleep with a guy, and she acts all shy and embarrassed during foreplay and keeps going ‘no’ or ‘you can’t’ or ‘don’t’, but in the end she still gives in and just pants away underneath the man…
We have already seen through him!
When George Wood’s open letter got published in the Nottingham Evening Post however, all these media outlets that have been hyping up his transfer went silent.
“I would like to offer my apologies to all the Nottingham Forest fans and my team mates for the events that have happened in this period of time. I would like to reiterate my loyalty to the club to all of Nottingham Forest’s fans through the Nottingham Evening Post. I will not be going anywhere besides Nottingham Forest. I am a player that has been groomed by Forest, and this is where I belong. I am the captain, and I am not going anywhere.
Your Captain, George Wood.”
That was all that was written in the letter.
There were no criticisms against the media for adding fuel to the fire, and he also did not use any words to describe how deep a relationship he had with Tony Twain. Wood also did not mention AC Milan’s name in his letter, despite how they are the other party involved in his transfer saga.
If it was any other player, he would most likely have included a few words to express his gratitude and happiness that a big club like AC Milan was interested in him. However, Wood only focused on issues involving him and only conveyed his own thoughts.
The way the letter was written was just like how George Wood usually speaks and thinks.
Nottingham Evening Post’s editors did a great job. They published Tony Twain’s article right beneath George Wood’s open letter.
Twain mocked the media without restraint for assuring their readers that ‘George Wood had already transferred to AC Milan’, that ‘the transfer was just pending confirmation from both clubs’, and that ‘the relationship between Tony Twain and George Wood had reached its end and the two will remain foes from now on out’.
“… George has reached a total agreement with me over how he would continue to stay at Nottingham Forest. He has never thought of leaving the club, and it was just pending confirmation from the both of us. You lot just want to see me break up with George Wood right? I know what you lot are thinking. But I’m sorry everyone… You have all been played by me! Ahahahaha!”
Twain’s words slapped almost all the British media outlets on their faces. The sounds of the slaps were so crisp and loud that they were able to travel from the English Channel all the way to Italy.
Galliani had to thank himself for always being cautious, while Ancelotti did not dare to act like ‘he knew a long time ago’ in the club. Nesta did not worry about having to retire when he was 36 either, and there was a possibility that he might be able to keep playing in the club for a bit more time. The one who was in the most awkward position was Kaka.
“… This is what football is like. We never know what’s going to happen in the next second until the end. However, I am a little disappointed that I am not able to play football with him…” Kaka replied a little resentfully during his interview with the Italian media.
Perhaps it is not AC Milan that Kaka should complain about, but the Brazilian Football Confederation instead.
Back when George Wood was just an up and coming star, there was actually a fight between Brazil, Jamaica and England over which team he should represent as his national team.
Jamaica was the most zealous and warmhearted of the three. Sophia’s parents might not acknowledge her as their daughter, but the Jamaica Football Federation was willing to acknowledge her son as one of them. However, George Wood flatly told the country that had no future in World Football ‘no’ after consulting Twain.
His final choice was England, not only because he was born in England, but because he had the deepest understanding about England, and it was only natural for him to want to play football for England.
Additionally, there was also another important reason that led to his decision to play for England. It was that the Brazilian Football Confederation responded very coldly to the entire issue.
There are a lot of Brazilian football players playing football throughout the world. You might not get selected to play for the Brazilian national team even if you are a football player born and raised in Brazil. Didn’t Aílton Gonçalves da Silva keep on demanding that he wanted to switch nationalities and play for Qatar instead? Did anyone actually cared about him?
What’s so good about some up and rising star from the Premier League? We have our hands full just with picking all the players that we have at our disposal. Who cares about a lad like you who only carries a little Brazilian blood in you? Also, your skills are so poor. There’s no use for players like you other than the fact that you have a bit of physiciality…
Brazil doesn’t want a player like that.
Several years later at the 2010 World Cup, the Brazilian team led by Dunga was eliminated in the semifinals, and they lost to their bitter rivals Argentine. Dunga blamed the loss on how they failed to find that defensive midfielder that would help the team solidify their defense. Neither Anderson, Lucas Leiva nor Renato could live up to what he wanted in a defensive midfielder, whereas Argentine had Javier Mascherano in that position.
It was only during the match against England for the third and fourth place in the World Cup that he noticed the player wearing the number 13 shirt. George Wood, whose defending had caused Kaka to disappear from the game, was exactly the ‘Dunga Jr.’ that he was looking for.
Sadly, the man who had Brazilian blood in him and could even speak Portuguese was already a British through and through.
After the match, when Dunga was summarizing the World Cup, he said, with a little bit of grievance and mostly regret, “If we had George Wood on our team, then we would have had 6 stars on our chest!”
There were media outlets in Brazil that berated the Brazilian Football Confederation’s president, Ricardo Teixeira, for his decisions during the time when George Wood was still deciding the national team he would play for.
But what good does it do to say such words now?
Kaka softly sighed at the end of his interview.
...
Chapter 754 - Football at Nottingham Forest
Galliani sincerely wanted to persuade George Wood to join AC Milan but did not think for Twain to spoil things in the end and turn it into a farce.
George Wood did not come, and even wasted half a month of AC Milan’s precious time. Now that the summer transfer window was closing, Gattuso’s successor had yet to be found.
Ancelotti’s gloomy face was now even gloomier. If Galliani and Braida failed to find him a new defensive midfielder, then AC Milan’s plans for the league title in the new season would definitely be dashed.
Galliani also knew what kind of players the team needed and that was what made him better than the former Real Madrid’s director of football, Mijatović.
The candidate, Blasi that Ancelotti had brought up earlier could also be considered but Galliani did not put all his eggs in a basket this time. He looked for two other players while the team contacted Blasi’s agent.
The first was a defensive midfielder who shone at Sporting Lisbon and closely watched by a number of powerhouse clubs— Miguel Veloso.
The second was Liverpool’s steadfast mainstay player and defensive midfielder, Mascherano who was instrumental in Argentina’s World Cup title win this summer.
In terms of actual value, Mascherano was a step ahead of Veloso and much more than George Wood because he won the World Cup title. The prevailing saying in the football world now was that Veloso was still a little young while Mascherano and George Wood were already excellent and seasoned defensive midfielders. Both of whom were arguably the best defensive midfielders in the world.
Galliani’s intention was that while it was difficult to buy Mascherano, the Argentine was not the captain of Anfield in any case and was unlikely to be not for sale. Then as long as there was money, it could be easily dealt with. He did not want George Wood as Wood’s position in the Forest team determined that the deal would be difficult regardless of how much money AC Milan had.
Galliani leaned toward Mascherano.
But Liverpool vowed not to let the Argentine go to AC Milan, even though they already had Lucas, the Brazilian defensive midfielder.
Time was running out and the deal with Mascherano was in a deadlock due to Liverpool’s lack of cooperation. However, things were progressing well in Portugal. Veloso had long wanted to leave Sporting Lisbon but did not leave last summer because his agent and the club agreed that his value should rise after he played in the UEFA European Championship, so he was advised to stay on in Portugal. The just ended World Cup was a good time to move to a big club.
Sporting Lisbon also believed that the sale of Veloso at this time might result in a high transfer fee, so there was no entanglement of the issue in not letting him go. The negotiation went straight into talking about the transfer fee. Veloso himself was delighted to join a world-class club like AC Milan, where there were more fans, more attention and more honors. Joining AC Milan was an important step for him toward becoming a world-class star player.
Eventually Galliani and Braida had to abandon their pursuit of Mascherano and sign Veloso.
On August 25th, AC Milan announced that they had signed the Portuguese national team’s main defensive midfielder, Miguel Veloso.
The curtain finally dropped on the series of dramatic transfers that began from George Wood.
※※※
Ever since Wood’s statement was published in the papers, Twain was no longer concerned with the fact that AC Milan had bought George Wood’s substitute. It was all the same to him whether Galliani bought Veloso or Mascherano. He was going to lead the team to the second leg of the Champions League qualifying campaign and the second round of the league tournament.
In the first leg of the Champions League qualifying round, Nottingham Forest’s 4:0 home win over Red Star Belgrade almost guaranteed them a place in the official Champions League tournament. Consequently, Twain used a rotation system in the away game.
Akinfeev’s starting position was given to Dale Roberts. The left back went from Gareth Bale to Joe Mattock. The center backs were Woodgate and Morgan. Nkoulou, who had joined the team this season, was the right back. In the midfield, George Wood continued to rest. Tiago continued to be in the starting lineup and Şahin was replaced by Bostock. Fernández was the left midfielder and Bentley was the right midfielder. On the forward line, Ibišević did not sit on the bench for his flat performance in the first round of the league tournament. Twain gave him full confidence and continued to let him start. His partner was the “speedy horse” Agbonlahor.
If the Serbians thought that this was the reserve lineup from Nottingham Forest and they could do whatever they wanted at home, then they would suffer big time.
The rotated lineup did not mean that it was a substitutes’ lineup. Solely looking at this lineup, the strength was not that different from what they thought of as the “main lineup.”
Such a lineup was played at the Red Star Stadium, Red Star Belgrade’s stadium, and the score against the home team was 3:2.
The Red Star team was quite crazy the moment the game started. If they wanted to enter the official tournament, they had to score at least four goals at home and not let the other side score at the same time. It was too difficult, but they have no other way than to attack.
The opening goal was set by the Red Star team, which scored the first goal in the fourteenth minute of the game and the Red Star Stadium was in full jubilation. Unfortunately, the home fans’ good mood did not last long. Seven minutes later, Nottingham Forest relied on a corner kick from Morgan to score a goal.
Following which, Nottingham Forest went on to score when Agbonlahor picked up Ibišević’s pass, he sent it straight at the goalkeeper and scored successfully to reverse the score.
In the second half, the Red Star team continued their frenzied counterattack, but its backfield had too many loopholes and big gaps, which were seized by Nottingham Forest to counterattack and Agbonlahor scored again.
The goal completely destroyed the Red Star’s fighting spirit, and they played the game feebly after. They only managed to catch the Forest team’s negligence in its defense in the last minute to score a face-saving goal. It did not help with the outcome.
Nottingham Forest advanced to the official tournament with a total score of 7:2.
It was a bit of a pity that Ibišević still did not score against such an opponent…
Carl Spicer and some of the media must have some things to say after the game.
Was Ibišević really just a shining meteor?
Ibišević was a little depressed after the game. But his mood overall was not too affected.
Twain still comforted him with those words, “You did a good job, Ibi. Integrating with the team bit by bit.”
He was not the kind of person who made a decision and immediately denied his men. Even if he really misjudged, he still wanted to give the other party a period of time to prove himself.
※※※
Therefore, in the second round of the league tournament, Nottingham Forest still let Ibišević be in the starting lineup in the away challenge against Newcastle United.
Regrettably, he still did not score.
In the 75th minute, he was replaced by van Nistelrooy.
The commentator’s assessment was “Tony Twain doesn’t seem very satisfied with the Bosnian player.”
Twain’s real intention was simply not to put too much pressure on Ibišević.
Nottingham Forest ended up in a tie with Newcastle United in the away game. Neither side scored.
After the game, some media thought that if Nottingham Forest was more capable and better at seizing the opportunities, it could actually win the away game against Newcastle United to take all three points. But Ibišević was a disappointment and wasted at least three chances.
Carl Spicer ridiculed Twain and thought that he should reconsider the wager on his show after the match. “Of course, if Mr. Twain wants to shave his head, I’d be happy to fulfill his wish.”
There was dissonance coming from the local media in Nottingham. They thought Tony Twain had misjudged again. Ibišević was not as good as everyone had thought. His performances in the 08-09 season were a flash in the pan, and he was in fact a substitute-level striker in a third-tier league in Europe.
※※※
Ibišević had already integrated into the team in terms of life and language, but he had been slow to score on the pitch. Matías Fernández had to thank Ibišević, because if it were not for the bet between Twain and Carl Spicer on the Bosnian’s goalscoring rate, then the player whom the media would be criticizing should be him by now because he had not been able to integrate with the team himself.
Twain felt that the first problem to solve was not to study the opponent and how to win. It was to let these two men quickly get used to the team because they were not bought to be substitutes.
Ibišević’s reasons for not scoring were manifold. Firstly, he had not yet fully adapted to the style of play in the Premier League; secondly, he cared too much about the wager between Twain and Spicer and placed the burden on himself; thirdly, it was a tactical issue.
During Hoffenheim’s wildest season, Ibišević’s thrilling goalscoring was related to their frenzied attacking tactics. The 4-3-3 offensive plays allowed them to score big with the two wingers constantly raiding the sides and feeding the ball to Ibišević in the middle. The three midfielders moved as precisely like clockwork, with the four full backs pushing forward with a maddening accuracy in creating offside.
They had pursued simple, quick and direct tactics, somewhat similar to Nottingham Forest in the previous years. But Nottingham Forest rarely, almost never created offside. Twain did not believe creating offside as a tactic, especially in the Premier League, which favored straight play. And he liked his opponent to create offside, and then let his fast players repeatedly be onside. An opportunity seized was a fatal blow to the opponent!
A tactic like this was simply a typical newly promoted team’s tactic. But now that Nottingham Forest was no longer a newly promoted team, Twain insisted that they controlled the ball in the midfield. The tactic of pressing ahead quickly was not always used in the midfield. He had to make his team’s tactics more abundant and varied. Otherwise it would be easy to be studied by the opponents, like Hoffenheim in the second season of the Bundesliga…
Ibišević was used to having two wingers deliver the balls to him and played with fast passes and runs. He had to adapt to another way—keeping the ball under his feet, consolidating at every step and pushing on slowly. While Nottingham Forest also had fast wingers, the midfielder and winger could not be compared.
Twain believed Ibišević’s ability in this area was fine but there was a process of adaptation which required time.
So, he decided to talk to Ibišević and not put too much pressure on him.
A player who had just suffered defeat came to a completely unfamiliar environment, might not appear to be under pressure but the psychological pressure was very great.
He prepared a number of arguments in advance and planned to help Ibišević reduce pressure from multiple angles.
But Ibišević was surprised that the manager suddenly wanted to talk to him alone.
“I have no problems in life, boss. I can just about stomach the good…” He thought Twain was concerned about his life.
“Of course, I know your life is fine.” Twain felt his enthusiasm was dampened by Ibišević just like that. He said impatiently, “I’m not here to talk to you about this. I am….” He wondered in his mind what words to use so he would not agitate the striker.
The position of a striker was different from the other positions. Sometimes the skill or awareness was not the most important. The important thing was actually self-confidence. And the source of self-confidence was very simple—goals and scoring consecutive goals.
He hoped to restore Ibišević’s self-confidence as much as possible without compromising his self-esteem.
“I know. Is it because I haven’t scored in a few games?”
Twain nodded vigorously. It was so easy to talk to smart people… But why were these words spoken by Ibišević? Isn’t that my line?
Ibišević was silent for a moment, and just as Twain was about to open his mouth to comfort him, he said again, “Boss, are you worried…that you can’t defeat that reporter?”
Twain laughed, “What are you talking about? I almost forgot about this matter if you haven’t brought it up. Didn’t I say? I never worry about what hasn’t happened yet. I won’t start thinking seriously about shaving my head unless you still haven’t scored a goal until the last round of the league tournament. But that’s never going to happen, right?”
Ibišević did not answer his question. He asked instead, “Do you regret brining me to the Forest team, boss?”
Twain looked at Ibišević, “To be honest… No regrets.” He smiled and said, “Why should I regret it? How many games have you played? I’m not an impatient person. We still have time. I know how you performed last season and yet I still bought you. I do not plan to have regrets. You have to know I am not a person who has nothing better to do than to give myself a slap in the face. I usually do that to other people. Ha!”
“I came to you to talk and just wanted to make sure of a question—are you beginning to doubt your abilities and choice?”
This time, under the watchful eye of Tony Twain, Ibišević fell into a long silence.
Twain did not rush him either. He got up to pour Ibišević a glass of water and then sat back down. He quietly looked at the tall center forward sitting opposite.
It took a long time for Ibišević to speak again, “I’ve always been like this throughout my career, boss. Always one choice after another. I don’t know if I’m doing it right until I choose, so after a long time, I stopped thinking about it. If I do make the wrong choice, the solution is simple—I’ll make another choice.”
“Now I know why the European media call you ‘The Drifter.'” Twain said with a smile, “But I don’t want the player I bought for more than ten million euros to play for a season and then make another choice.”
“If it were possible, I wouldn’t want that either.” Ibišević answered him that way, “I don’t like that label.”
Twain put his hands together and said, “Looks like we have a consensus, Ibi. That’s good. You have lived through more miserable years than you do now. I don’t think the current situation is too tough for you, is it?”
Ibišević nodded, “I’m really frustrated that I haven’t scored a goal. But I’m not at the point of losing my confidence, boss.”
“That’s good. It’s nothing, I just want to make sure of that. You know, I’m happy to give new players a chance, but I have to know if they’re willing to take advantage of those opportunities to prove themselves again. I don’t do useless work, and I’m not a philanthropist. If the other person doesn’t have this idea, I naturally don’t waste my time and energy on them. But as long as you refuse to concede defeat, I will do whatever it takes to make you successful. You know what I mean? Ibi, football at Nottingham Forest is not the same as any football you’ve ever experience before.” At this point, Twain took a moment and a smile appeared on his face. “The motto ‘We never admit defeat and never give up’ is our best lover.”
“If you can accept this football philosophy, then I’ll welcome you again.”
Twain extended a hand to him.
Ibišević was silent and just reached out with his hand.
“I take your silence as consent then, Ibi. Welcome to Nottingham Forest! This time, you joined for real.” He winked at Ibišević and grinned.
...
Chapter 755 - I feel really satisfied!
Twain was immensely relieved after confirming that Ibišević’s mentality was ok, but Matías Fernández’s problem was not as simple. He faced a language barrier so he needed a club-hired translator to communicate the coach’s will to him at any given time in training and, when it came to the game, he was basically guessing hand gestures. He currently spent two nights a week learning English, progress was slow because of time constraints. Twain feared that Fernandez might not learn enough in time.
Ibišević’s poor form became popular in the media, which aided him to block a lot of media slurs. Had Ibišević been in good shape and scored a goal, it would have been the Chilean’s turn to be the hapless man.
Twain decided not to care about Fernandez for the time being, believing in the former South American footballer’s IQ. Even if he was not proficient in the language and unaccustomed to the living habits of this land, there would always be a common language on the football field. T state of recovery, though slow, was certain.
※※※
On August 27, the third round of the league, Nottingham Forest continued their away tour, with an away challenge against Manovic who had promoted. This was a weak team. In the first two rounds of the league, they suffered two consecutive defeats and their opponents were only of the middle standards of the Premier League.
Playing an opponent like this did not require the full strength of Nottingham Forest, so Twain’s big rotation was not surprising. After George Wood’s second-round league debut, he continued to show in this game and the rest of the roster was changed. But no matter how much rotation there was, on the day before the game Forest announced the starting list, Ibišević’s name was still on the list.
Now, Carl Spicer had something to say, ” Twain is bent on fighting us. Even a fool can see what state Ibišević is in, so why should he take a starting position? Van Nistelrooy, Eastwood, Abonrahho, Zikic, which of these are no better than this Bosnian refugee? Is Bosnia Persia? Ha ha! ”
His last words gave him a minor problem.
Nottingham Forest formally protested against Carl Spicer’s insult of their players on the show to Sky TV. Carl Spicer also went on the news programs of other channels.
A good reporter ran to ask Ibiševićh what he thought of the new nickname “Bosnian refugee”, but Ibišević refused to answer the question; he was not too happy about this.
Twain pouted. “Some people do not speak through the brain, but through the hole under their buttocks, I’m used to it. But him insulting my players like this, I would make him swallow his words. ”
It was Ibišević’s team-mates who expressed outrage. Eastwood jumped out for his forward buddy, “Ibe has the strength, but as a new player, he needs some time to adapt, which is normal. I don’t think identity has anything to do with performance on the football field. I’m a Romani and I believe Mr Carl Spicer must be looking down on us wandering around, but I would like to ask, who was the third man on last season’s scorer’s list? ”
Bosnians in Britain allegedly a protest letter to Sky TV, demanding Carl Spicer to formally apologize to Bosnians on TV and in newspapers.
This thing was not big nor small. Bosnia was a small country and they had no standing, especially not in Britain where the Bosnian population was so small. They basically had no social status so no matter how loudly they shouted, their voices were no louder than the crickets chirping at night.
But if this turned into a case of racism, Carl Spicer could lose his job. .
Spicer could afford to not be afraid of Twain because him scolding Twain was just like scolding his family, which was just an internal conflict. If the other party did not care, he could be unscrupulous, in any case can not go online to the point that can let him lose his job. He might need to think twice before scolding others.
Before the game, the media was buzzing about it. Through this, the true nature of the media was made apparent. When Carl Spicer scolded Tony Twain, they followed suit. When Bosnians were outraging about Carl Spicer being racist, they fanned the flames. They took no sides and sought only to profit.
Twain was happy with this snob, Carl Spicer, helping him before the game: he was trying to further agitate Ibišević with this matter, and the frustrations and discontents he had accumulated in his heart would all break out. It would be like a volcanic eruption, a blast! The world would be cleansed.
In the dressing room on game day, Twain was fervently inciting the players’ emotions, mainly Ibišević’s.
“Look what that idiot said. Today, he called Ibišević a Bosnian refugee and tomorrow he might call any one of you out the moment you make a mistake in the game. If this weren’t a modern civilisation I wouldn’t hesitate to fire two shots into his head! But now we have our own way of revenge: win the game against Norwich, and win it beautifully! ”
Then he pulled Ibiševićh aside. “Hey, Ibe. I don’t want to put pressure on you,but you see, that’s life.” He spread his hands. “Pressure came looking for you. I think you have to prove yourself in this game. Remember what I said? I don’t like to slap myself. Now there is such a chance slap someone else right in front of, you see if you are able to grasp it. ”
Ibišević nodded with a sombre look on his face. “I understand, sir. ”
“If there is a penalty, you can be the penalty shooter.”
Ibišević interrupted Twain, “I’m not a penalty shooter, sir. I want to score goals during the game time.”
Twain reached out. “Have you thought of your celebration moves? ”
Ibišević slapped him on the hand. “I think so. ”
“I’ll be waiting to see. ”
※※※
Norwich were truly unable to compete with Nottingham Forest at all, even on their home court. The moment the game started, Nottingham Forest officially took over the “sovereignty” of the Carrow Road stadium from them.
When playing the underdogs, Nottingham Forest usually used their control of the midfield and layer-by-layer tactics, relying on a strong force to crush their opponents a little bit. At the same time, they would not let the back line add on the pressure, giving the other side the chance to counter attack.
But in this game, Twain changed tactics. He did not let the team to play possession, but instead played the style they used against a strong team, in the away game against Norwich played a quick counter-attack, which was a sure-win secret he had.
It was a little weird just looking at this starting roster.The starting forwards were Eastwood and Ibišević, neither of whom was a speed forward. How could they stage a counter-attack?
Nottingham Forest would soon reveal the answer.
George Wood’s direct long pass in midfield sent the ball to Theibevic’s feet. Ibe, who had his back to the goal, passed the ball to Eastwood, who was next to him, Eastwood kept firing straight, but the ball kept missing the goalmouth by a bit which stunned Norwich’s home fans.
Neither Bostock nor Shahin made their debuts in the game, but instead it was George Wood and Thiago, the dual-back configuration which makes Forest’s midfield defence much thicker and makes their attacking approach more concise. This was a tactic for weak teams to use against strong teams, it was not expected for Twain to use it to deal with a weak team like Norwich.
After several attacks, Nottingham Forest was doing the same thing, launching direct attacks from the backfield. The two sides quickly plugged in and the forwards’ area was not confined to the penalty area, but almost the entire half.
These attacks proved that Wood’s initial kick was not a temporal flair, but a tactic carefully orchestrated by the manager.
“I can’t understand, ” The TV narrator muttered.
Of course he could not understand, but it was a change that Twain made specifically to take care of Ibišević, making some adjustments based on Nottingham Forest’s original defensive counter-attacking tactics in order to get Ibišević to find a feel at Hoffenheim.
Quick and simple tactics with forwards running in a huge area to intercept and receive, so that Ibišević could receive the ball more. But the first goal was not scored by Ibišević.
In the 29th minute of the first half, Cogen broke through on the right side and passed the ball, but was intercepted by Norwich’s full back. Landing on the foot of Thiago outside the penalty area, he got his feet on the ball and the ball flew onto Eastwood’s butt and into the net, and the Norwich goalkeeper had no means against this goal – he dived towards the initial direction of the ball, but he had no idea there would be a Romani butt in the middle of its flight.
The TV caption registered the goal as Thiago’s at first but after replaying, the goalscorer’s name changed to “Freddy Eastwood”. This was his third goal of the season. Nottingham Forest had scored three league goals in the new season, all by the Romani.
The narrator did not forget about Ibišević as he cheered for Eastwood, “It looks like Nottingham Forest’s goals are all given to Eastwood all the time this season, maybe Tony Twain should bet with Carl Spicer on Eastwood instead. But I think if that’s the case, Spicer would definitely be afraid to take the offer. ”
Ibesevic smiled as he celebrated Eastwood’s goal. No one knew what he was thinking and how he felt about it.
※※※
Ibišević tried to calm his restless heart. He was no stranger to the current situation, he just needed to calm down and think, then he would discover in the years of his career, he had been through several doubts from others.
At Paris Saint-Germain, he was labelled to have been able to get into the French club through the “countryman” relationship of then-head coach Halilhodžić. In the team, among the fans, there are rumours that he has an unusual relationship with Halilhodžić.
No matter how he trained during that time, people would look at him that way. So suddenly he realized that although Halilhodžić appreciated him and personally brought him from the United States to France, he could not stay under Haliloch if he wanted to have a future.
Even if he did well in the training session, people would think Halilhodžić was playing favourites. If he did not do well, him and Halilhodžić would both be in trouble.
He played only two games under Halilhodžić before he was out. In the eyes of outsiders, his good days were over. He only made four appearances for Paris Saint-Germain all season and scored no goals.
From the head coach to the ordinary training ground staff, it was believed that Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Khalilozic decided to introduce the Bosnia-Herzegovina so he could benefit from some other sources. This kind of young man basically did not have a future so it was better to let go of him earlier.
Ibišević was no fool. He knew what the club people thought of him, so he offered to go out on loan to play the game.
In this way, in the 05-06 season, he was loaned to the French-B where he felt freedom for the first time. No one would think he had been offered the job because of his relationship with the manager, and he could make the most of his abilities. There he made 33 appearances and scored ten goals. As a twenty-one-year-old player, he had already attracted attention.
But a big team like Paris Saint-Germain was certainly not interested in a 21-year old player who only achieved this much.
So he went to the Bundesliga team Aachen.
It wasn’t a successful season, making 24 appearances, scoring six goals and wearing the No.9 jersey, which symbolized the main center.
The doubt ringing in his ears did not dissipate. People always said that he was too nervous during games as a striker, which cost him a lot of scoring opportunities. In the face of the goalmouth, he seemed completely confused and did not know which direction he should kick the ball. He did not even have the confidence to shoot the goal, how could such a striker succeed?
In fact, there were thousands of players like him playing football. They were unknown, mixing in the lower leagues and the end team They could not score much in a season and could only move from one place to another to try their luck, only to end up transferring to a league and a team which was worse. At the end of the day, at the age of thirty-five or six, they simply just find a low-level league team to retire. They would then go to the community to coach the youth football team or find other jobs irrelevant to football to support themselves and their family. They may have had talent and ability, but what they had in common was a lack of opportunity and luck.
For him, he was lucky after the end of the 06-07season, because German FN Hoffenheim found him then.The story after was obvious, everyone knew what happened afterwards.
Now he was in the dark red Nottingham Forest jersey and stood on the pitch in the English Premier League. It was the most prominent team he had ever played for, but little else has changed. He was still being questioned.
Even if he scored 37 goals in a season at Hoffenheim he would still be questioned. “This kid was a wallflower, I dare bet that he would drop immediately, just like Mintál. Best not let him get his hopes up!”
Well, the only change was that in England, someone was finally making a public bet on this. “I bet he can’t score twenty goals a season!”
Carl Spicer, after watching Ibišević’s performance in recent games, said with pride, “In fact, I should have said that he couldn’t score ten goals in a season.”
I want to enjoy a genuine cheer, one without any distractions. Let them shout “Super Ibi” without whispering, “hopefully he can do this next season, or even the next game.”
Calm down and remember how I played in the 08-09season. Think about how I faced the goalmouth last time, facing those goalkeepers and defenders, and how I shot the ball through their gaps and into the goalmouths!
It is no big deal, there is nothing to be nervous about. I am still me, Vedad Ibišević, a boy from Bosnia. Do not expect too much from me, but do not look down on me either!
Score a lifetime worth of goals in a season?Do not make jokes like this!
I am only twenty-six years old, I still have a long life ahead of me, I still have a lot of goals I have not scored!
※※※
“George Wood controls the tempo in midfield and now looks more and more like an organized midfielder, with Nottingham Forest’s five attacks originating from his feet. His long passing has come a long way compared to previous seasons. He looked up to observe the situation.”
In an instant, George Wood passed the ball to Bentley. Bentley did not carry the ball forward by the baseless, he passed directly at an angle of 45 degrees! On Norwich’s organized back line, Ibišević suddenly appeared, leaping high to hit a strong header towards the goal.
“The header is too straight! Does he observe the goalkeeper’s position before he starts his jump?” The narrator could always find Ibišević’s mistakes.
The football was hit out by the goalkeeper with both hands. This time the football fell at Eastwood’s feet and everyone in Norwich got nervous. They could see that the Romani was in the right form in the game, at the top of the arc of the penalty area, which was literally “Eastwood area”, and once he lifted his left, the soccer was on an arc towards the goalmouth.
Everyone focused their defensive attention on the Romani but ignored the Ibišević who was next to them. Eastwood got into position to shoot but instead passed the ball forward.
Ibišević, who had just ran back from the goalmouth, immediately turned around and did not even turn his head to look at the flag referee by the side. He only cared about the ball under his foot and at the same time took a glimpse at the opposing goalkeeper.
Offside? Kick this ball in first!
Whistle? I didn’t hear it!
Ibišević turned around and instead of taking the ball forward, he went straight for a ground shot
The football jumped on the turf, evaded the hand of Norwich goalkeeper Ward, and went straight to the post at the far end of the goal!
It jumped up again in front of the door line and hit the door post.
Instead of getting up right away, Ibišević, who shot the shot, was half-kneeling, maintaining his shooting stance and, like goalkeeper Ward, was staring at the football.
Two people saw it hit the door post, and then jumped the third, sloshing and falling within the door line …
In this moment, Ibišević’s pupil dilated out of excitement while his Norwich defenders raised their hands concurrently.
Was it offside…?
The TV narrator first cried out, “Offside! ”
But soon he looked at the side of the sideline, the line referee was running towards the center line with the flag, but the main referee was raising his hands flat and pointing towards the center.This was the gesture indicating a valid goal!The goal was valid!
A handful of Nottingham Forest fans started to cheer. A voice began to ring among them, “Super Ibi! ”
“Norwich’s players ran to the sideline and obviously they were a little bit controversial about the loss. But anyway, Nottingham Forest’s players are already cheering! 2:0! They led by two goals away from home, and it was only the first half! Vedad Ibišević finally scored even if it was a controversial one,. c” The narrator sounded a little unnatural, perhaps reluctant to admit his mistake so he only using “conversional goal” to save some face for himself.
The goal scorer Ibišević jumped from the ground with uncanicity, ignoring his teammates who wanted to hug him, and running straight to the corner flag, facing the camera, firing his right hand high, then swung it sharply and drew a circle. He was really working really hard as he almost hit Eastwood who was running towards him to hug him from behind.
Afterwards, he did not stop and ran towards the head coach seats. While hugging Tony Twain, his teammates who were chasing him for half a soccer field also came over and hugged, the big group of players were together.
“Ibi, what was the meaning of that action?” In the chaos, Twain questioned loudly.
Ibišević who was surrounded by his teammates chuckled happily, “It is like what you said, sir. Slapping someone else is indeed very satisfying! Ha! I am feeling really satisfied!”
...
Chapter 756 - Once Every Goal
Ibišević finally scored a goal. The reporters who watched the game thought that they did not have to worry about what they were going to write in their reports later.
But the Bosnian’s performance was not over yet.
He had a long shot that almost breached the goal before the end of the first half. The ball just brushed against the goalpost and skimmed out.
This time, the commentator stopped mocking him for his poor shooting skill. Instead, he exclaimed, “He almost scored the second time!”
The Nottingham Forest players congratulated Ibišević during the halftime interval as he finally broke out of the goal drought. Then they discussed with great interest about the wager between the boss and Carl Spicer. They encouraged Ibišević to build on the effort. Everyone looked forward to seeing Carl Spicer’s bald look.
Twain smiled as he watched the players make use of the half-time break to have some fun. He felt that the game had been won, and no additional words were needed to be said. Norwich City and Nottingham Forest were basically not on the same level at all. They could not even prevent the Forest team from winning the game at their own home ground with a two-goal lead.
Nottingham Forest slowed down a little at the start of the second half and consciously retreated.
Because Twain knew that Norwich City, who trailed at home, would definitely launch a counterattack. They did not care about the gap in strength between the two teams. All they knew was that being “shaved clean” at their home ground was not something to be happy about.
It was the Forest team’s chance to continue to widen the score difference. As long as Norwich City wanted to attack, then they were bound to leave gaps at their back. Once they seized one or two chances, they could end the game early.
It was also one of Nottingham Forest’s usual tactics—to obtain the lead in the away games and then retreat to lure their opponents to attack as they waited for the chance to fight back. As long as they could be in the lead, the tactic was almost tried and tested.
As expected, Norwich City pressed ahead. They desperately needed to score a goal—no one wanted to lose at home, much less a defeat without a single goal scored.
Nottingham Forest patiently circled Norwich City in the midfield and backfield.
It was not until the game entered the sixty-seventh minute that after George Wood intercepted the ball and did a one-two combination with Cohen, the ball was passed to Eastwood in front.
The Norwich City players rushed back to defend, and Eastwood did not give them the chance. He handed the ball over to Bentley on the other side.
Bentley kicked and crossed the ball.
In the middle of the field, Ibišević plugged in at a high speed, jumped high, and gave a powerful and accurate header!
The Norwich City goalkeeper, Ward had not even reacted yet—when Bentley received the ball, he glanced at the goal while Ibišević was still outside the penalty area….
“What a GOOOOAL!!! Clean and beautiful goal! With a swift counterattack, Nottingham Forest once again showed us what they do best with a quick give-and-go offensive. And Ibišević hammered it home. He appeared at the most opportune spot in the most important moment. The goal was effortless for him!”
“It was his second goal of the game! Amazing, he hadn’t scored a goal for four games in a row and had been criticized for not being able to score. I did not expect him to break out in this game!”
After the goal, Ibišević ran again to the camera and made the same celebratory gesture as he did when he scored the first goal. Then he was hugged by his excited teammates.
※※※
Twain high-fived the people around him off the pitch to celebrate. Then he swept his glance across the press box in the stands and said to Dunn next to him, “If I had known that Ibišević would score in this game, I would have sent a ticket to Carl Spicer. I wonder if he’s watching the live broadcast of the game? I’ve now won a tenth of the victory! Ha ha!”
“Whether he wins or loses, Spicer’s goal has been achieved—he’s famous from the hype.” Dunn said to him.
“I don’t care what his purpose is. I just want him to make a fool of himself.” Twain shrugged and put his arms around Fleming, the team doctor next to him.
※※※
After Ibišević’s second goal gave Nottingham Forest a three-goal lead, they slacked off a little and were less aggressive in the offense. They did not even fought for some of the opportunities. The game was deadlocked in the midfield at one point.
Twain look at the time. Unknowingly, the time almost reached seventy-five minutes.
He walked to the sidelines, cleared his throat, and yelled toward the field, “Ibi! Ibi!”
Ibišević heard his roar and turned his head over.
“Have you run out of energy?” Twain asked aloud, “Do you want me to bring you off?”
Ibišević shook his head and signaled that he could still run. He found his form after much difficulty. He did not want to be replaced so early.
“Then continue to look for opportunities to score goals!” Twain raised his fists and waved. “3:0 is not enough!”
After giving the latest instructions to Ibišević, Twain cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, “Show more drive! Don’t hold back in the face of such an opponent! Score as many goals as you can score for me!!”
His voice was loud. Not only did the Norwich City fans behind the technical area heard, the members of the Norwich City coaching unit next to it and the Norwich City players close to the sidelines on this side also heard.
They suddenly gave rise to a sense of anger of being “looked down upon!”
The Norwich City fans behind the away team’s technical area began to make noise and changed tack to scold Twain, while they sent a message to the players on the pitch, “We’re f**king being looked down upon, and you’re still playing half dead! Get your spirits up! Get at least one goal into those scumbags from Nottingham Forest!”
The Norwich City manager, Worthington was furious and disgusted with Tony Twain’s arrogant way of publicly making such remarks. As the manager of a Premier League team, he could not accept such an insult in any way.
He must fight back and make that bastard, Twain know whose home ground he was on now!
He began to send the team on a task and deploy two offensive players, showing that he wanted to score a goal in his own home ground!
If everyone knew what he thought before the game, they would think how pathetic his thinking was now—before the game, he wanted to get at least one point at home. With a little bit of luck, it would not be hard to defeat Nottingham Forest which had just one striker to score goal…
The Norwich City team became crazy like they were a pack of wild dogs at home, foaming at the mouth and roaring as they pounced towards Akinfeev’s goal.
So, when Ibišević scored the fourth goal against them, only then they suddenly woke up to the fact that they were all tricked by Tony Twain!
※※※
This was what happened at that time…
As soon as they saw the entire Norwich City team all fired up and pressed ahead to attack as if they were on stimulants, the Nottingham Forest team collectively retreated with tacit coordination and compressed the defense. They did not give Norwich City much of a chance and also gave Norwich City the illusion that Nottingham Forest did not want to continue the attack after a three-goal lead. With only ten minutes left in the game, it would be strenuous and unrewarding to go on the offensive with all of their might.
It was the practice for most teams.
Norwich City did not suspect anything. They just wanted to score a goal at home to save some face. Therefore, they did not care about the gaps in the back. From the strikers down to the defenders, they all pressed on and charged ahead.
On two occasions, when they fought for two corner kicks for the team through a barrage of bombardments in front of the goal, the goalkeeper, Ward even ran in one go to stand near the center circle, as if he was considering whether to rush up to join in the action…
Everyone at the Carrow Road Stadium did not realize how dangerous the situation was with only five minutes left in the game.
Finally, in the eighty-seventh minute, Nottingham Forest seized the opportunity after Norwich City fully pressed up and Akinfeev had pounced on the shot to immediately throw the ball to launch an attack.
Tiago did not hold the ball too much in the midfield. He did not even make an adjustment and directly passed the ball to Bentley. Then Bentley made a straight pass.
Ibišević entered into the opponent’s half of the field from the side and he was not offside!
“Not offside! Not offside at all!” The commentator continuously yelled out. Now Ibišević had already received Bentley’s pass, and he was dribbling the ball toward Ward’s goal He beautifully went alone into the enemy lines!
When the Norwich City players, who waited in front for a second opportunity to attack, turned to see that it was not their man who had the ball, but a Nottingham Forest player, they were in a state of shock.
However, with the nearest Norwich City player nearly twenty meters away from Ibišević, how could they make it in time?
A group of people chased back pointlessly, while they watched Ibišević run further away and closer to the goal.
Ward bravely struck but was also unsurprisingly swung to the ground with a feint from Ibišević. Next up in front of Ibišević was a wide-open goal, unrestricted and waiting for him.
Without hesitation, Ibišević kicked the ball in.
“A hat-trick!!! Oh, my God! This is too… incredible!” The commentator got up from his seat, leaned over to look below. His mouth was agape. He could not believe what he saw.
Not only could he not believe it, even the Nottingham Forest side was incredulous—they thought Ibišević had his big break out with two goals scored in the game. They did not expect him to put on a hat-trick!
Two goals were not considered new. A hat-trick could only happen serendipitously.
Even Tony Twain held his head in his hands and laughed in disbelief.
Ibišević ran in front of the camera for the third time after the goal and made his somewhat exaggerated celebratory gesture.
“Is this the Ibišević, who had ‘scored a lifetime’s worth of goals in one season?’ A hat-trick! Hope he isn’t only play outstandingly in this game… If his form stays every game, Tony Twain will wake up laughing every time he dreams!”
“Norwich City collectively pressed on at the last minute and wanted to score at least one goal. But they did not expect Nottingham Forest to seize the chance. They completely forget who their opponent is. It’s not any other team, but Tony Twain’s Nottingham Forest! You can’t even relax the protection of your own goal for a second, playing against them! Otherwise this is the end of the game…”
He was right. At present, there were only the cheers of the away fans at the Carrow Road Stadium. The home fans collectively lost their voices. They frenziedly rained curses on the arrogant and conceited Tony Twain just now but did not expect to immediately lose their own goal. The first people to calm down guessed that the “mass ridicule” which was so loud that everyone could hear was actually Tony Twain’s deliberate use of psychological tactics. He just wanted to make the Norwich City people lose their composure in order to give Nottingham Forest a chance to score at least one more goal…
That horrible man! He was still not satisfied with a three-goal lead. His desire and pursuit for victories and goals seemed endless. When would he stop? It must not be because he was satisfied, but because… he was dead.
After expressing some surprise for Ibišević’s hat-trick, Twain happily celebrated with the people on the sidelines.
Those Norwich City fans who first calmed down, had guessed right. His loud comments to his team on the sidelines just now was done to provoke his opponents, causing them to press on the attack and leave their defense empty.
He thought that it was not enough to just score only three goals against an opponent like Norwich City… The team needed a big win to boost morale and motivate their fighting spirit.
He was reluctantly satisfied with…. four goals.
※※※
The game ended in this way. Norwich City had its head shaved at home by Nottingham Forest. A score of 0:4 was not a fiasco, but it was an utter loss of face.
After the game, Tony Twain became a supporting character instead. The leading figure was the Bosnian striker, Ibišević who completed a hat-trick.
Named as the game’s best player, Ibišević held a bottle of champagne as a prize as he was surrounded by the reporters in the mixed zone. The reporters were intrigued by the reasons for his breakout.
Ibišević offered no fresh explanation. He only said, “Manager Twain had given me the confidence to be in the starting lineup for five games in a row. He had been under a lot of pressure. I thought I had to do something to help him share the pressure, so I scored.”
Pierce Brosnan huddled up and asked, “Can you talk about your celebratory gesture? What does it mean since you’ve never done it before in Germany? I saw that you had used the same celebratory gesture in all three of your goals…”
Ibišević recalled Twain’s expression and laughed, “It’s actually an action for a slap in the face. I just exaggerated it a little.”
“A slap in the face?” The bunch of reporters stared blankly—what kind of celebratory action was this?
“Why a slap in the face?” A reporter for [The Sun] asked first, “Who are you giving the slap to?”
“Someone said I can’t score twenty goals in a season, so I’m going to give him a slap in the face for every goal I score.” Ibišević continued to laugh and added, “At least twenty times.”
Hearing him say so, all the reporters were in a frenzy.
Pierce Brosnan heard these remarks and sighed inside—ah such a good young guy, and he’s already corrupted by bad examples after he has only been with Tony Twain for more than a month…
...
Chapter 757: The Group of Death
Ibišević’s hat-trick soon caused a stir in the English Premier League. In addition to him being the only player to achieve a hat-trick in the round, there was his celebratory action. It did not matter everyone did not understand it at the time. Once he specifically explained after the game, everyone knew who he was targeting.
What was Carl Spicer’s reaction to it?
He did not express any views on Ibišević’s hat-trick in the latest installment of [Football Matters]. He discussed other matters. For example, Ferguson angrily said that it would be his last season at Manchester United after Manchester United’s upset loss of 0:2 to Fulham.
Although the topic of Ferguson’s retirement was also an attention grabber, Sky TV still received a number of disgruntled phone calls after the show aired. They all indicated that they would rather see how Carl Spicer would rate Ibišević’s hat-trick.
Most of the calls were said to be from the Nottingham area.
Upon hearing the news, Carl Spicer gave a long breath—it was a good thing that not all of the country’s audience wanted to make a joke out of him. The people of Nottingham were all Tony Twain’s Don’s lackeys and not worth a mention at all!
Therefore, he would not respond.
But that did not stop Tony Twain from taunting him in several of his columns. In his latest column, Twain told his readers a story about the “ostrich.” Any fool would know who he was referring to.
Carl Spicer was quiet for the time being, but it did not mean that no one stopped questioning Ibišević.
[The Sun] described Ibišević’s hat-trick as “fantastic” but said he could score mainly because Nottingham Forest’s opponent was too weak, and Norwich City had begun the countdown to its relegation from the moment it was promoted to the Premier League. It could only be said that both Tony Twain and Ibišević were lucky to have the weakest team in the league tournament served up to them when they needed to score the most.
As a result, his performance in the game proved nothing. Ibišević’s wanted to show that others’ doubts were all wrong, he still needed to keep scoring goals. If Tony Twain did not want to shave his hair clean after the league tournament, then he had to make sure Ibišević was always in good form. It was not something that was easy to achieve.
So, The Sun came to its own conclusion—it was premature of Tony Twain to taunt Carl Spicer now. If Ibišević could not score in the next game, his current taunts would be returned untouched by the shrewd Spicer.
This kind of pressure was really all on the players and the teams. A high-profile wager with Carl Spicer was not a wise move.
In fact, what they was rather reasonable. However, they were all nonsense in Twain’s view— the professional players would face with countless pressures from the moment they entered the circle. As a striker, whether a bet was placed with anyone or not, there would certainly be pressure once he played without scoring a goal in the game. So, a player with good psychological quality would certainly have his own methods to reduce pressure. The media did not have to worry about such things at all.
Twain was not worried about Ibišević’s mental capacity for stress, especially after watching his last game.
For better or worse, Ibišević’s psychology was not a problem. Twain had already confirmed the matter.
※※※
Following which, there would be two weeks without a game for the league tournament to make way for the national team competition. During this time, Twain would not be idle. He had to go to Switzerland to participate in the UEFA Champions League group stage draw ceremony.
After the draw ceremony, he had to rush back to Nottingham to spend his 42nd birthday with his wife, Shania—although he said he would forever be forty years old from then on, the reality was so cruel! He was forty-two years old in a blink of an eye!
This year’s draw ceremony took place in Monte Carlo, Monaco, same as last season’s Champions League award ceremony. In Europe’s famous casino town, Europe’s powerhouse coaches and award-winning star players gathered.
The most popular coaches and players came from one club, the Spanish powerhouse, Barcelona.
When Guardiola appeared with Messi on the streets of Monte Carlo at night, there was a sudden uproar among the reporters and fans waiting there.
The young manager, who steered Barcelona to a comeback by beating Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League in the country, had the last laugh in the European football’s famous Champions League.
Messi, who was also young but already famous, had finally won a UEFA Champions League trophy that truly belonged to him. He was the biggest contributing player that allowed Barcelona to win in last season’s Champions League. At the same time, he was the top goalscorer in the UEFA Champions League last season. This summer he was crowned FIFA World Player of the Year in South Africa and unparallel for a time.
His name was eulogized everywhere. His giant advertising portraits were filled the whole of Europe. Cheers and praises were sung everywhere he appeared. Every time he took the ball on the pitch, he was greeted with loud cheers. Even the opposing fans admired the football magician.
In the past, Argentina had always been looking for a successor to Maradona, a move that was wishful thinking in the eyes of the outsiders, and also a bit of a joke—any player who had been chosen as their successor was not very good. But now, Argentina no longer looked for Maradona’s successor, as they had announced this summer that Messi was Maradona the second!
No one would deride the Argentines again this time as their own wishful thinking. Even the Brazilians exclaimed his strength when faced with Messi. Kaka had been plagued by injuries and his performance were not as before in the last two seasons.
A humble young man who showed a shy smile in front of the reporters’ flashing bulbs was unlike Maradona… At least the king of the ball would not be so modest and shy.
2010 was a bumper year for Lionel Messi, who not only won the domestic league and the UEFA Champions League with Barcelona, but also led the team to the World Cup champion as the core for Argentina. It could be said that there was no other person with such an achievement in ten years of football. No wonder everyone unanimously agreed that Messi was the “king of football” of the era.
From the car drop-off point to the hotel entrance with just fifteen meters of the red carpet, Messi and Guardiola walked for about five minutes. They had to stop continuously for the reporters and fans to take pictures, answer questions from the reporters and fulfill the football fans’ requests for their autographs. The scene was still a little chaotic, even if there were the police to maintain order at the scene.
Pierce Brosnan was flanked by two reporters from Spain’s Catalonia region. They were somewhat smug when they saw the scene and said in the universally used English, “Only Barcelona and Messi in the world have such an appeal!”
Tony Twain entered before them. As one of the hottest young managers in European football in the previous seasons, he also fell by the wayside in the face of a younger Guardiola. There were not many people asking questions when he made his appearance. Only a few British reporters came up and asked a few questions before letting him go. Such a scene would have been unthinkable two years ago. At that time, everywhere Tony Twain went, he was the darling of the media’s pursuit and attention, and he was synonymous with “sensational news.”
Now his limelight was robbed by Barcelona.
He chatted at the door with Ferguson, who had stepped in first, and asked if he was really retiring. Ferguson half-jokingly said he was going to retire and recommended Tony to coach at Manchester United.
That was when Guardiola and Messi came.
The commotion at the scene was so loud that it interrupted the conversation between Twain and Ferguson. They could not help but turn around. Twain did not take a first look at Messi but at Guardiola. He said to Ferguson with a laugh, “Look, your best successor is here.”
Ferguson gave a snort, “Do you think Barcelona will let their man go?”
“Then what makes you think that Nottingham Forest will let me go?” He asked in return with a smile.
“You’re more likely than he will be.”
Twain shrugged and did not intend to continue the discussion of the issue.
He and Ferguson looked at the busy scene in front of them for a while and found it uninteresting. They were not star-chasers. So what was the use of them here to watch the lively scene?
As he turned around to walk away, Ferguson smiled at Twain, “I lost to them in the semi-finals last season. Hargreaves and Carrick couldn’t defend Messi. I thought to myself at that time how nice it would be to have George Wood on my team.”
“Ha.” Twain touched his nose, “I’ll help avenge you and keep Wood for my own use!” He certainly understood what Ferguson meant. England’s powerhouses coveted Wood for a long time. Wenger also occasionally talked about George Wood when he was on the phone with him. He never hid his interest for the kid. From the moment Wood played against the Arsenal youth team, he tried to rope him in but was turned down. Now he would regret the past matter whenever he thought about it.
“You lucky bastard…” Ferguson muttered as he walked into the hall with Twain and left the clamor behind.
※※※
In fact, Guardiola noticed the two men standing on the steps while he was surrounded by the reporters. He even locked eyes with Tony Twain once. Ferguson next to him was sly like an old fox with his eyes roving.
Since Tony Twain took the post, Barcelona and Nottingham Forest had many grievances. Guardiola had been quiet about it as he did not want to waste his time in the war of words when he was hired. Even with regards to the arch-rival, Real Madrid, he rarely spoke strong words. They were always affable remarks such as “Schuster is excellent, I regret his resignation”, “Ramos is a great manager and I believe he can succeed at Real Madrid” ….
It gave people the impression that he was somewhat soft. But perhaps it was the single-minded nature that allowed him to pull Barcelona back up from the abyss and rise to the top again.
Compared with him, Tony Twain was like a mad dog. Everyone detested him, but everyone was afraid of him—afraid of being bitten with rabies.
So, although Guardiola became the Barcelona manager, the relations between the two teams had eased. However, after Tony Twain publicly expressed doubts about Barcelona winning the Champions League this summer, the relationship between the two clubs was strained again.
Guardiola still adopted the stance of not waging a war of words with the other managers, but his men were not so easy to deal with.
Eto’o was the first to jump out and rebuke Tony Twain for using this method to attract attention because he was snubbed by the media, which made him unhappy.
In response, Twain reply was—I can’t wait for the media to cold-shoulder me. Do you think everyone is like you, using your admonishment of your own teammates to attract media attention?
Eto’o was so angry that he almost declared that he and Tony Twain had irreconcilable differences…
Valdés was also displeased with Tony Twain’s doubts, but he chose another way to fight back — “to mock and ridicule.” He said that no matter what we are the king of Europe. Where was Nottingham Forest last season?
So, Tony Twain asked in return, “Where was Barcelona when we were the defending champion of the Champions League?”
Barcelona’s defensive midfielder Keita expressed disdain toward Tony Twain’s team, “I think even if they have a chance to participate in the Champions League and are lucky enough to be in the final, we will still win easily. This Forest team is no longer the Forest team that won the Champions League trophy two seasons ago.”
Following which, Twain uttered the famous quote that led to a fine from the UEFA, “In the new season’s Champions League, I can’t wait for us to be grouped with Barcelona. Come on, you can use the unspoken rule against me!”
Only Messi was more restrained and did not comment on Twain’s words. But everyone believed that if the Argentine youngster would put in more energy than anyone else if Nottingham Forest did have a chance to encounter Barcelona.
※※※
Before the draw ceremony, there was an award ceremony. Last year’s champion, Barcelona was indisputably the biggest winner. Messi alone took the top two awards for the best player and best striker. Barcelona’s right back, Dani Alves picked up the best defender award while the best midfielder belonged to Barcelona’s Iniesta. Only the best goalkeeper was out of Barcelona’s reach. The UEFA gave the prize to Juventus’s Buffon.
Guardiola was voted the best manager. While he spoke cordially with Platini on the stage, it seemed that the two men were congenial.
The UEFA used to want to focus on cultivating Tony Twain but Twain was too tactless and repeatedly embarrassed UEFA. His big mouth was fearless and did not care who he offended. They had to quickly put Twain in the opposite camp. In the UEFA’s eyes, English football, which had always produced individualistic managers, was the least popular. Tony Twain’s appearance just proved the correctness of this “law.”
Now they could breathe a sigh of relief. Guardiola’s rise filled the gap left by Tony Twain’s departure. The UEFA could finally produce a positive image.
Twain was not interested in all these. He did not want the UEFA to promote him, because he did not want to be the face of another company. If someone else did something bad, the first one to be scolded would be the face.
He was only interested in the result of the draw.
The draw ceremony was co-chaired by the football stars and the players who won the awards, invited by the UEFA.
The players would draw for the teams, and the famous players would draw the teams’ groups.
The teams were drawn one by one and went into the groups they were supposed to go to.
Nottingham Forest was disqualified as a seeded team after it missed the recent season of the Champions League in addition to a season of average results. They were assigned to the second tier.
So which team would it be grouped with?
“Nottingham Forest.” Guardiola held up the note in his hand and showed it to below the stage. A burst of laughter came from below the stage. It felt a clever twist of fate stirring things up by having this man pull out Nottingham Forest.
Twain whistled and did not care about the managers who turned their heads around to smile at him.
Next up was Nottingham Forest’s group.
“Group C.”
Once this was announced, the people here looked back at Twain again.
The seeded team in Group C was the Serie A giant, Juventus. In the 2008-09 Champions League, the defending champion, Nottingham Forest was grouped with Juventus in the group stage. At the time, the Forest team had lost the away game to Juventus. They could not win at home as well and were completely crushed by Juventus, leaving them with no chance.
Everyone thought that with Tony Twain’s vengeful character, how could he easily let Juventus go? Now that this had happened, UEFA gave both teams a chance to resolve their grievances, or to continue to worsen their grievances.
After the draw was over, Twain realized his team was in the group of death.
The four teams in Group C were the seeded team, Juventus, Nottingham Forest and Celtic and Atlético Madrid.
Twain addressed the issue in an interview after the draw, “The group of death? That depends on which point of view… It’s nothing to me, but for my opponents, it’s really a group of death…” With that, he turned around and left. He seemed to have little interest in playing a mind twister game with the reporters here.
Unfortunately, he was not sent to Group A by UEFA’s unspoken rules… The seeded team in that group was Barcelona.
But it was all good. Twain had a chance to get revenge. With the gap of two years, the thought of the entire team’s wild celebration after Juventus’s home win over the Forest team still rankled.
The away loss to Juventus and being forced to a tie at home by The Old Lady seemed to be the beginning of Nottingham Forest’s slump in Europe. Now Twain had a chance to get things back to normal.
The group of death?
More like the group of death for the other three teams…
...
Chapter 758 - Happy Birthday Uncle Tony
Nottingham Forest were drawn into the group of death; it became another conspiracy that the UEFA targeted Tony Twain and his team under the English media’s rendering. Although none of the media which solemnly vowed, were able to produce solid evidence, the readers liked this angle.
“With Guardiola and his Barcelona team, they no longer needed to rely on Tony Twain’s team to reach the knockout stage to secure the biggest commercial advantage for the Champions League tournament. But even in the group stage, they still wanted to squeeze the last bit of value from Twain—they had grouped Nottingham Forest and Juventus together. The feud from two seasons ago will continue to play out this season. The media and spectators like to watch such a strong showdown.”
[The Sun] which had always been known for saying anything, had put it this way, which seemed rather reasonable.
In his column, Tony Twain stuck to his viewpoint that he had said to the media after the draw: the death group was not the group of death for him and the Forest team, but the group of death for the other three teams.
He did not care much about the “group of death” that the media hotly hyped about. Because the top priority for the moment was to go home and spend his birthday with Shania.
Shania was in America some time ago and had come back this time because of Uncle Tony’s birthday.
Twain loved his job, but now he cherished his time with Shania even more.
People who had died once would get over certain matters very quickly but became more strongly attached to some things than before.
※※※
While Twain was still in Monte Carlo, Monaco, for the Champions League draw, Shania had quietly returned to their home in Mapperley Park, Nottingham.
She seemed a little distracted these days in Los Angeles, both at work and in her studies. Her agent, Mr. Fasal, found her out of character. But when he thought about it again, he knew it must have something to do with Twain’s birthday, so he was not too concerned. It was a matter between the couple, and it was inappropriate for an outsider like him to speak.
What caused Shania to behave out of character was actually related to Tony Twain’s birthday—she was worried about what birthday present she should give to Uncle Tony.
On his fortieth birthday, Shania had given him a car, an expensive gift that Twain had already told her not to give again in the future. Although he liked the car very much and had been driving it, it was rather awkward for him as a man that his young wife had bought a car for him—he could not let outsiders think that he was guy who lived off a woman.
Consequently, on Shania’s birthday, Twain returned with a gift of an adorable Beetle to Shania. The two people were considered even.
So, what would be the best thing that Shania could give now?
It was a real difficulty to give a gift to her sweetheart. Twain had almost no other hobby since he gave up smoking and drinking, so it was not going to work to fit with his interests.
While she was worried, Shania had gone to Gloria to come up with ideas.
The woman who circulated in the men’s circles all the time but kept her hands clean, said with a smile, “You should give whatever you think is missing in your life.”
Then Shania began to rack her brains to think about what was missing from her life with Uncle Tony…
They had almost everything in life. The financial crisis impacted the wealthy less than imagined and even less so on the hard-working rich. Materially, she could not think of what was missing.
In terms of spirit…
She felt too lonely in Los Angeles and believed that Uncle Tony felt the same way in Nottingham alone. Could it be that she or one of them had to end their work and devote on accompanying the other person and become the other person’s dependent?
Shania thought neither she nor Uncle Tony was like that.
What was missing the most…
She worried about it for several days in this way. On the last day before returning to England, Mr. Fasal, who was sending her off, suddenly made her understand what was most missing with a jest.
In the car on the way to the airport, Fasal teased about Shania and Twain while he drove, “Jordie, you and Tony have been married for more than a year, when will I see your baby?”
It was said in jest, but it stirred Shania’s mind.
It did not occur to her if other people had not mentioned it. She had been married to Uncle Tony for more than a year and made love almost every day as long as they were together. But her body just did not respond…
They did not use any contraception, but Shania did not have any news.
She suddenly thought of the best birthday present she should give Uncle Tony—she wanted to successfully conceive on Uncle Tony’s birthday.
It was more valuable to give Uncle Tony a child as a gift!
Shania was so proud of her idea that she smiled in the car.
Fasal was surprised to see her smiling in the rearview mirror.
“Nothing, Mr. Fasal. It occurred to me that what is the best gift to give Uncle Tony.”
※※※
In fact, time was very tight for Twain. The Champions League draw ceremony took place on the evening of September 8th. Then the coaches attended a dinner reception. It went on late into the night, so he could only return early next morning in order to catch up with Shania on September 9th to spend his birthday with her.
When the travel-worn Twain rushed home, he saw Shania in the living room as he’d wished.
“Safe on the base.” Shania gestured like a baseball referee.
Twain leaned against the door frame, breathed a sigh of relief, and then laughed.
“You’re thinner than before, Shania.”
“Staying in shape is a must for models.” Shania walked over with her catwalk and tried to tease Uncle Tony. “Happy birthday, Uncle Tony!”
Twain hugged her and gave her welcome kiss but did not immediately respond to her teasing. He was concerned about another question, “We still have half a day left, and I don’t want to spend the time in bed, Shania. Let’s go out and have some fun, shall we?”
Shania had to let go and shrugged, “Okay. But I’ll state first that we’re having dinner at home.”
“Have you learned to cook any good dishes?” Twain said with a wry smile. For Shania, the greatest pleasure in family life was to learn to cook from people everywhere, and then use Twain’s mouth and stomach as a laboratory. Although her cooking had improved slightly over the years, generally speaking, most of what she cooked was actually inedible…
Shania did not answer. She only giggled and looked mysterious.
“Where are we going to go have fun?” She asked.
“Anywhere, we can go shopping. Aren’t you going to give me any gift?”
“Well…” Shania’s dark eyes turned, and she said, “Okay! What kind of gift do you want, Uncle Tony?”
Twain was stumped by the question. He really did not know what he wanted, so he coughed and said, “As long as it’s from you, anything will do!”
“That’s half-hearted!” Shania rolled her eyes and grabbed Twain’s arm, “We’ll go out for lunch. Let’s head out, Uncle Tony!”
※※※
Since the jeep was sent to the workshop for service and maintenance while Twain attended the draw ceremony and the Beetle that Twain gave to Shania was also far away in the United States, the two people could either choose to take a taxi or a public bus when they went out.
Twain first called Landy and asked if he was free. The answer he got was that Landy was driving a passenger on his way to Birmingham Airport. Twain certainly could not ask him to abandon his passenger halfway and drive back to Nottingham to pick him up. Twain was reluctant to take a taxi with an unfamiliar driver. So, they simply took the public transportation.
Shania agreed as well. Although she was the real star, she probably never liked her modeling career, and did not think anything amazing about being a model star. So, it was acceptable to her to not drive and choose public transport.
The two people wore only dark sunglasses and got on the tram to head to the city.
People on the tram recognized them—whether it was Twain or Shania, they were well-known in Nottingham. Some people took out their call phones to take pictures of them. The sun was shining outside the window, and there were not many people in the car. Other than people taking pictures, no one came up to talk to them. The two people did not pay much attention to other than to acknowledge them. In this way, they enjoyed the ordinary life of the ordinary people.
When they got to the station, the two got off and transferred to another public bus toward the busiest city center. They did not forget to wave to the passengers on the tram before they left.
On the public bus, the two people encountered the same situation. But as they get closer to the city center and more passengers came on board, they received more attention. It seemed that some people were somewhat astonished that big stars such as Tony Twain and Shania chose to travel by bus. Some people discussed spiritedly in whispers as they watched the two of them.
Twain and Shania acted as if they did not hear those discussions and calmly sat side by side as they turned their heads to look out of the window and admired the streetscape.
Before he transmigrated, it was hard for him to imagine what kind of mood he would be in when he was photographed on the cell phones by onlookers on the bus to go out. But now he was unruffled by the situation.
Shania did not care what those people did. She occasionally joked with Twain, chatted in a low voice, and laughed happily in the noisy bus. She was more relaxed than Twain. She was a natural-born star…
This afternoon, the two people hung out in the city center for a long time, bought a lot of unnecessary items, as long as Shania liked them. As the day wore on, the two people carried bags of stuff and took the bus back to Mapperley Park.
At this time, Twain grumbled that if he drove, they did not have to lug so much stuff and squeeze in a crowded bus … …
Shania would give him a roll of her eyes and said, “Who asks you to send the car for servicing at this time?”
※※※
When the two got home, Twain lay exhausted on the couch and refused to move from his spot. His feet hurt. Whereas Shania put down the things excitedly and ran into the kitchen.
“You’re so excited…” Twain grew increasingly frightened when he saw Shania’s manner. He asked, “What universally shocking meal are you going to serve up?”
“A dinner of love!” Shania poked her head out of the kitchen and pulled her face at Twain.
Twain knew that Shania was always full of ideas and did not investigate further. Anyway, there must be a surprise or scare waiting for him. There was a good point being with Shania—he never knew what he was going to eat at his next meal.
He took a break and began to rifle through the prizes from the afternoon.
In addition to some daily necessities, there were new clothes for the two of them to wear. She bought for him a suit, casual wear, shirts, long-sleeved T-shirts, jacket, tie, leather shoes… Shania bought very little for herself. She only had one bag.
When they paid for the stuff, Twain did not look as it was on Shania’s credit card—because it was his birthday today. Now looking at the delicate pink bag, he suddenly became curious and wanted to see what Shania had bought for herself. When she first bought it, Shania did not do it in front of him.
So, he reached out and opened the bag.
He had just taken out one item and stared at it in disbelief—he was holding a pink sexy underwear!
He and Shania had never needed anything like this as husband and wife… Because Shania’s energetic young body was more attractive to him than any sexy underwear.
He could not understand why Shania bought it.
He put the underwear in his hand, carried it behind him, and walked into the kitchen. He had to ask for clarification—he did not want Shania to secretly buy it and bring it back to America to wear it for some other man.
He quietly appeared behind Shania, and the busy Shania did not notice that there was someone behind her.
Twain did not open his mouth to ask because he was stopped short by what he saw.
He saw two whole boxes of raw oysters…
Any fool knew what the raw oysters were for.
Next to the oysters was a jar of unopened caviar bought from Fortnum & Mason in London.
Both items were aphrodisiacs.
“I’m not so old that I need to rely on food to replenish my sex drive, Shania…”
Twain suddenly piped up in the back startled Shania. She covered her mouth and turned around. She glared at Twain said with annoyance, “You gave me a scare, Uncle Tony!”
Twain transferred the underwear in his left hand to his right hand at the back and then put out his left hand to point out, “Are you not satisfied with my performance in bed?”
“What are you talking about?!” Shania could hear some displeasure in Twain’s tone and hurriedly explained, “I just want to add some spice to the mood … A candlelight dinner, I even ordered a chocolate cake! Don’t you think it’s very romantic?”
Twain pursed his lips and said, “I feel it’s very romantic that you came back from America. I don’t ask for much.”
Shania draped her arms around Twain’s neck and said softly, “I want to give you the best birthday present, Uncle Tony.”
“I’ve already received it. Those clothes outside…” Twain pointed to the living room outside the kitchen door.
Shania rolled her eyes and complained that Uncle Tony had spoiled the mood, “How can those things be compared to the real gift I’m about to give you? I want to give you a baby!”
Twain was so startled that he nearly jumped out of Shania’s arms. He thought he misheard, “You’re pregnant?!”
Shania continued to roll her eyes. She thought Uncle Tony was hopelessly stupid.
“I want to get pregnant! Tonight!”
“Hey, Shania. How can we conceive like that just because we say so?” Twain did not know who was the foolish one…
When she heard Twain express doubts, Shania gave a smug smile, “Today is my dangerous period, Uncle Tony.”
Twain’s eyes instantly widened. He seemed to have heard the most incredible thing.
“You lost, Uncle Tony!” Shania laughed happily across from Twain, “A candlelight dinner with champagne, caviar, and oysters! This is the first part of my birthday present to you!”
Twain looked her all excited, but thought instead— perhaps it would be more interesting to put caviar on the tips of Shania’s breasts…
Ah, what a sin, I’m such a pervert…
That night, Tony Twain had a very busy time while Shania was fully sated.
They both wanted a child. The two people’s life alone together for too long could really a little lonely and boring …
A little surprise in life was needed, whether it was Tony Twain or Shania, both hoped that a child could be their surprise in the near future.
...
Chapter 759 - Travelling with Tony Today
While Tony Twain and his young wife Shania were romantically enjoying each other’s company and were also trying their hardest to create a human being, Carl Spicer, on the other hand, was leading a depressing life.
One of the things that made him feel depressed was how he had publicly addressed Ibišević as a ‘Bosnian refugee’. His words were deemed to be racist, and he had to recite an apology letter during his show due to the different kinds of pressure that were weighing down on him.
It was supposed to be an ‘apology’ letter, but he did not mention the word ‘sorry’ in it.
This showed how reluctant he was to do an apology.
Right after that, Ibišević, who Spicer had mocked without restraint all this while, had scored in the league. To make matters worse, he had scored three in one go! The way he scored the goals was akin to a monk who saw a beautiful naked woman after 30 years of abstinence. He was unstoppable.
That was not the end. During the post-match interview with the press, the man of the match had said that his celebratory move was to ‘slap someone in the face’. Even a fool would know who that ‘someone’ was.
One can easily imagine how Spicer’s face would be slapped over and over again in front of the masses as long as Ibišević continued to score goals from here on out.
That was definitely not something that would make a person feel good.
What was even more depressing was how he could not retaliate, or even rebut, despite being slapped in the face.
Who asked that he had made a wager with the fox Tony Twain, and had also arrogantly derided Ibišević in his show?
Now the ‘master’ and the ‘disciple’ were both teaming up to get revenge on him.
It could be regarded as retribution…
He has had his tail between his legs during this period of time.
At the same time, he has also been on the lookout to see when Tony Twain would get into trouble again, so that he has the opportunity stage a counterattack.
He tried not to touch on any topics related to Nottingham Forest for the past two episodes of his show. He talked about a number of things, such as how Ferguson brought up his plans to retire once again. He also talked about Arsenal’s gifted youth players and how Rijkaard was seemingly unable to get used to life in England. But, the things he avoided talking about were Tony Twain and his Nottingham Forest, as well as the ‘Bosnian refugee’.
However, there will always be people who like watching him talk about Tony Twain and who are unwilling to remain idle…
※※※
On Monday, when Carl Spicer had just reported to work, he found an e-mail in his inbox. The title read, ‘Dear Mr. Carl Spicer, I’d like to provide a bit of gossip regarding Tony Twain’.
The sender wrote that he was someone living in Nottingham. One time, he had boarded the bus and was on his way to do some shopping when he noticed, much to his surprise, that Tony Twain and his wife had boarded the same bus as him. The two were all smiles as they went downtown to shop. The sender abandoned his shopping plans and stalked the pair for an entire afternoon. He captured numerous photos of them with his mobile phone and had only stopped when the couple went back home.
News about celebrities out to do shopping were nothing extraordinary. No matter how bored Carl Spicer might be, he would not attack Tony Twain for going out to shop. However, what interested both him and the informant was that Tony Twain had not driven a car when he had gone out to do shopping with his supermodel wife. Instead, he had chosen to board the bus, which was an accessible mode of transport typically used by commoners.
Carl Spicer thought the same way as the informant. This incident was something that he could use to deride Twain.
The informant introduced himself as a fan of Notts County. Nottingham Forest was his club’s arch-nemesis, hence, the more proud and well-off their arch nemesis becomes, the more irritated Notts County fans become as well. This meant that there were at least half of the people in Nottingham who supported Carl Spicer…
Spicer downloaded all the photos that were attached to the e-mail, and began going through each and every of them.
The informant might have secretly taken all those photos, but he apparently had good skills, because the photos were all clear and there was very little motion blur in them. He was able to clearly see Twain and Shania chatting away happily on the bus in the photos. The two had donned sunglasses, but even an idiot could recognize who they were.
The couple did not seem to mind the looks of astonishment from those around them, and they continued getting intimate on the bus as though no one was around.
Carl Spicer looked at the photos and smiled.
He thought of a brilliant way to hit back at Twain in his show.
※※※
Carl Spicer’s big cartoon head popped up on the screen, accompanied by a relaxing and wacky music as the latest episode of ‘Football Matters’ aired.
In the first half of the show, Carl Spicer discussed about the recent and interesting events that had happened in the England footballing scene as he had always done in the past. He still avoided talking about Tony Twain, and also did not mention the latest draw results of the Champions League.
Everything was normal and there was nothing different from how his show had been like in the past.
Towards the end of the show, Spicer concluded his discussions related to football and began talking about the status of England’s public transport industry to his audience.
Don’t look down on all these information of his that he was using as a part of his build-up towards what he really wanted to say next. They were all information that he had gathered after doing research for numerous days.
“… Oil prices have soared at the moment. Most people are unable to drive their cars even if they own one. Under such circumstances, there have been numerous wealthy people who have also begun to consider making use of a different mode of transport to travel around…” He was about to go into the main point of this entire discussion. “For example, our friend, Mr. Tony Twain… Has recently ditched his 130,000 pound Mercedes jeep behind, and had taken the bus with his wife.”
A photo that had been taken by the informant showed up on the screen. The scene of Tony Twain and Shania having a chat on the bus appeared before the public.
Subsequently, Carl Spicer picked up an item from the table, and dangled it before the camera. “The combined salaries of a manager who has a yearly salary of 2,700,000 pounds, and his supermodel wife whose salary we do not know of, but it can only be higher than his, cannot afford the rising oil prices. It goes to show how much the fuel prices have soared! As a friend who is concerned about Tony Twain, I have decided to give Twain a birthday present.”
He pointed at the item in his hand and said earnestly, “This is the annual pass for Nottingham’s bus services. It is priced at 640 pounds. I believe this will be able to help ease your financial burdens. A day later the courier will help me deliver this right to your hands. Happy birthday, Mr. Twain! Haha!”
He had kept a deadpan expression the entire time, but he finally could hold it in no longer and led out a laugh.
The credits began flashing by the screen right then, and the episode ended with his laughter.
He had finally found a way to hit back at Twain, but when the show ended, Spicer felt like his mockery lacked something. It felt a little reserved…
Things would have been perfect if Twain did not own a car, because he would have been able to mock how he had earned so much money, but would not spend the money buying a car for himself and would rather squeeze on the bus with his wife.
All he could mock Twain about right now was his reluctance to spend money purchasing fuel for his car. However, the truth was that in England, oil prices were truly quite expensive, and there were quite a number of people who chose to take the public transport during the weekdays despite owning a car. They would only drive their cars during the weekends when they bring their families out to play.
This current situation in England made his mockery lack a bit of punch.
※※※
A day later, Twain really received the annual pass at his doorstep. The pass came with a handwritten note from Carl Spicer,
“Happy Birthday, Mr. Twain! I hope this present of mine is able to lessen some of your financial burdens! Yours Sincerely, Your Best Friend, Carl Spicer.”
Twain has never watched any of Spicer shows.
Wouldn’t I just be torturing myself if I watched the shows knowing full well that they were shows to scold me?
Thus, he did not make sense of what was going on initially. He only understood what had happened when he drove over to Wilford.
Pierce Brosnan greeted Twain as he approached him. “Carl Spicer has scolded you in his show once again.”
Twain was not the least bit surprised. “He finally found an excuse?”
Brosnan nodded his head. “Someone secretly took a photo of you and Shania when the two of you had boarded the bus to go out to shop. He used that as the pretext to deride that you were a penny-pincher.”
Twain remembered the annual pass that he had received earlier. “So that’s what happened…”
“Do you want to say something to hit back at him?” The reason for Brosnan’s interest was because every time Twain raged a war with Spicer, the sales of Nottingham Evening Post would rise significantly.
Twain nodded his head and decided to publish a few sentences scolding Spicer in his column. He had intended it as his way of repaying Brosnan for providing him with information regarding George Wood earlier.
However, after thinking about it some more, he realized that it was meaningless to just publish a few sentences to scold Spicer. If he really wanted to publish something, he should make sure he gets to scold him a lot more.
Mr. Carl Spicer, do you think you can stump me with just these petty tricks of yours?
You want to anger me?
I think you are still very inexperienced. I will show you how it’s done!
Therefore, he shook his head afterwards. “Not this time round.”
Brosnan looked a little disappointed.
“I will call you over to take some photos for me a few days later.” Twain patted him on the shoulder and walked into the training grounds.
“He looks like he doesn’t care about what happened at all…” A reporter who was following Brosnan as an intern came up to him after seeing that Twain had left. He had initially been standing a distance away from both of them.
“If you were quarrelling with your girlfriend on a daily basis, then you wouldn’t think much about another quarrel either.” Brosnan turned around and told the intern in the tone of someone who has worked in the industry much longer than him.
※※※
Two days later, Brosnan received a call from Twain asking him to bring his camera over to Mapperley.
Brosnan rushed over excitedly, but was shocked by what he saw once he reached the designated spot.
Twain stood beside a humongous object and was already doing a pose. He shouted at Brosnan who stared incredulously at him, “Take two more shots! After taking these shots outside, we’d head inside for more photos!”
Brosnan pointed at the object and stammered a little, “You… You bought this?”
“That’s right. Don’t look down on it. It costs more than my Mercedes-Benz!”
“This… Does Shania know about it?” Brosnan was still unable to press down on the shutter. His brain was filled with question marks, how could he possibly be in the mood to take a photo?
“Of course she does. I explained everything to her. She even told me to send her the photos after I’m done. Stop talking crap, hurry up and take a photo!”
There was nothing Brosnan could do but to lift up his camera and press down on the shutter with an awkward smile.
He thought to himself, Tony, you have really splashed the cash this time…
※※※
Carl Spicer has received numerous feedback that have made him delighted ever since that particular episode aired. Everyone enjoys watching his exchange of words with Tony Twain, and they like how they would always mock each other.
There were many other shows that also discussed footballing matters, and he might not do as good a job as some of those veterans. However, when it came to ‘insulting Twain’, there was not a second person in the whole of England who did a better job than him.
Numerous newspapers reported the news about how Tony Twain had boarded the bus with his young wife. The Sun even wrote about Carl Spicer’s unspoken words in its article,
“Tony Twain is the Felix Grandet [1] of this modern era! Your wife specially flew over from America to celebrate your birthday, and this is how you treat her? You brought a supermodel to squeeze with others on the bus. Even if you don’t find it embarrassing, others would!”
Of course, Spicer was the one who provided this piece of news to the media.
He also got featured on numerous media platforms for his action of gifting Twain with an annual bus pass.
Everyone thought it was a joke. All jokes can be classified as either one done in ‘goodwill’ or ‘menace’. Carl Spicer’s joke was definitely not one that was done in goodwill…
He was very happy to see this incident grow in influence as a result of the media adding fuel to the fire.
Thereafter, he began to look forward to seeing the look of fluster and exasperation on Tony Twain’s face. He wanted to hear Twain’s thoughts on the matter. Hence, he made preparations to head over to Nottingham to attend the press conference that will be held before the start of the next match, because he wanted to ask Tony Twain about his thoughts when he received the special birthday gift in person.
He would then be able to admire Twain’s wonderful expression up close.
This was truly something that would make people feel all refreshed!
However, he did not need to wait for the day when he headed over to Nottingham for Tony Twain’s response.
He received an envelope from the same courier service that he had used previously. After he had signed and opened the envelope, he realized that the annual pass he had given Twain laid within quietly.
There was nothing else in the envelope besides the pass. Carl Spicer even went to the extent of shaking the envelope, tearing it open and checking it numerous times just to make sure that Twain had not left behind a note that berated him.
He found it odd. This was not something that Twain would do. What Twain would usually do is to exact revenge in different ways if you angered him. It was not possible that he would only return the pass to him and not do anything else after how he derided and scorned him…
He got his answer quickly.
Because he received another envelope moments later.
It was a bulged envelope. Spicer opened it and took a look. There were nothing but photos inside.
Tony Twain stood beside a double-decker bus and gave a thumbs-up to the camera.
Tony Twain sat in the bus and read a set of newspapers with his legs crossed.
Tony Twain sat on the driver’s seat of the bus and had his hand on the steering wheel.
All the photos had one recurring theme: Tony Twain and his new vehicle, the bus!
※※※
The show ‘Match of the Day’ that aired on BBC5 discussed the interesting events that had happened in England’s footballing scene recently.
The international competition had just concluded, and all the football clubs were gearing up for the league matches that would kick off over the weekend. There were no interesting news to discuss, except for the incident between Tony Twain and Carl Spicer that had caught the attention of everyone once again.
Gary Lineker laughed in his show as he said, “Carl Spicer gave Twain an annual pass to mock him for being a penny-pincher. What happened next was that Twain instantly reacted in a way that speaks of him. Please take a look at the photos.”
The photos that Carl Spicer saw appeared on the screen.
“Tony Twain has indicated that he does not need Mr. Carl Spicer’s help to ease his financial burdens. He likes big cars, so he spent 180,000 pounds to buy an Alexander Dennis Enviro400. It can go up to speeds of 28 miles per hour. It has an engine with a capacity of 6700cc, and it is able to seat 90 people. What a big fellow this is! If Tony really drove this with his wife in it onto the streets, how cool would that be! Ha!”
“The day when Carl Spicer is able to get Twain to buy a helicopter through his derision would be the day that he triumphs!”
※※※
Carl Spicer amply understood how scary Tony Twain could be when he gets stubborn through this particular incident…
But, he did not admit defeat. He said mockingly afterwards, “I admire Mr. Tony Twain for his resolution, but how many times is he able to drive such a big car onto the streets? If he doesn’t drive it out, the vehicle will definitely take up too much space in his yard… From what we can see from the photos, there’s not much space left in his yard after he parked the bus there…”
There was no need for Carl Spicer to waste his energy pondering about such things, because it was not something that would stump our intelligent and sly Tony Twain.
The bus that Twain spent 180,000 pounds to buy became immensely popular due to how it was used in the battle between Twain and Carl Spicer.
Thereafter, Twain ‘sold’ the bus for a symbolic fee of 18 pounds to a local bus company in Nottingham. The bus would operate on the route that leads from Mapperley to the downtown area of Nottingham.
In England, buses would typically come with a sign that would be used to display the name of the bus driver driving the bus for the day. The words ‘Today, you will be travelling with XXX’ would be written on it. However, the bus that Twain just ‘sold’ was slightly more special. The sign on the bus read,
“Today, you will be travelling with Tony Twain!”
The Sun wrote teasingly after receiving word of the news, “The Notts County fans who live along the bus’s route have to ascertain who they are travelling with before boarding the bus…”
...
Chapter 760 - The Manager Killer
By the time the war of words between Tony Twain and Carl Spicer was over, the national team’s games had ended as well. The players returned to their clubs in succession to prepare for the league tournament and cup competitions.
Nottingham Forest would take on Manchester City in an away game on September 15th.
On September 17th, they returned to their home ground to play the Champions League game against the Scottish Premiership champion, Celtic.
The league game with Manchester City was attention-grabbing because of the two-year-plus feud between the two teams.
Bendtner was now Manchester City’s main striker and unassailable main force. He did very well in Manchester City. Although the team’s results did not improve much, he personally benefited a lot from the transfer. The United Arab Emirates boss could fire managers but would not fire a striker who could score goals for no reason.
Ashley Young did pretty well at Manchester City too. He was basically the main winger. Even though he left the Forest team, his assists per season still ranked among the best. It was a model example of “gold shines everywhere.” The Manchester media once ridiculed Tony Twain, “He sold a good player just like that. Does he really think he’s the king of Nottingham Forest? The megalomaniac!”
The good performances of these players were in stark contrast to the decline in Nottingham Forest’s results over the past two seasons. During the six months Tony Twain spent recuperating from his heart attack, there were media outlets which expressed congratulations to Bendtner and Ashley Young for “escaping” Nottingham Forest in time.
But every dog had his day. After those two seasons were over, Nottingham Forest was back in contention for the title again. This time up against Manchester City, Tony Twain did not want to lose even if it was an away game.
Before the game, the personal feud between him and Bendtner was brought to the table again. Twain felt that the media were being tedious. Why was the same boring old gossip being talked about again and again?
“Every time I play against a team wearing red, I get invigorated.” Bendtner said in a pre-game interview.
Some people had said he was trying to win favor with the Manchester City fans because the Manchester United team wore red. But in fact, more people believed he was obliquely referring to Nottingham Forest. After all, he was already secured in the Manchester City main striker position. He only had to please the fans when he just joined the team. Was there a need to use this time to show loyalty again?
Twain’s response was silence. He felt he did not waste his breath with a traitor that had left. That would be a loss of dignity. It was better to use the actual results from the game as a weapon to fight back
It was his man, Gareth Bale that stepped forward unhappily and hit back at Bendtner, “He should have thought about where he would have been without Nottingham Forest. Maybe he would be a substitute player at Arsenal and keep clamoring to transfer if he did not get a chance to play.”
The ridicule was deep and smacked of Tony Twain’s style. Bale followed Twain for so many years and was good at glib talk. He was no longer the nervous young kid who followed Ashley Young went to the Dutch brothels.
George Wood was not involved in the war of words between the two teams. He was busy discussing his new contract with the club.
Having gone through AC Milan’s incitement, Tony Twain recognized the need to negotiate a new contract with Wood and give the team and fans confidence at this time.
So, he threw Billy Woox whom he did not want to see the most at Allan Adams and let the two foxes negotiate the renewal.
It was said that if the new contract was successfully signed, George Wood would play for Nottingham Forest until 2015. He would be twenty-nine years old at that time, and his retirement from the Forest team was just another new contract.
And this contract would greatly enhance George Wood’s package in the team and cement his current position as the highest-paid player in the team. This time, neither Allan Adams nor Tony Twain was not going to be stingy with his salary. No matter what, George Wood was also the World Cup’s fourth main player. His reputation was not the same after the World Cup. If they did not make a heavy investment, how could they make Wood stay here unswervingly and reflect the captain’s extraordinary unique value?
Insider information stated that he would be offered a hefty contract of one hundred and thirty thousand pounds a week, possibly on the same level as Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo, Liverpool’s Gerrard and other world-class star players.
His goal of entering professional football was achieved—he was paid one hundred and twenty thousand a week and now had a contract of ten thousand more than he had imagined.
No one in the Nottingham Forest team objected to George Wood’s contract. Everyone knew what Wood meant to the team. As the team captain, core of the midfield and flag-bearer, he deserved a contract that surpassed the wages of the rest of the team.
And everyone else understood clearly. If they wanted to emulate George Wood’s signed contract at this level, perhaps the boss would put him up for sale after he considered it carefully…
George Wood’s renewal negotiations started from the matter with AC Milan. The two foxes, Allan Adams and Billy Woox haggled for several rounds and finally settled every word and punctuation on the contract.
Then, two days before the match against Manchester City, Nottingham Forest officially announced:
In clarifying the rumors about his connection with AC Milan, Nottingham Forest’s team captain, George Wood has proudly signed his name this morning on a new five-year contract. He will continue to play for Nottingham Forest until June 30th, 2015.
Then Wood and Tony Twain attended the press conference together for the renewal.
At the press conference, Wood seriously and earnestly expressed his loyalty to all Nottingham Forest fans, “I will play at Nottingham Forest until I retire, even if it is unfortunately relegated.”
Twain gave him a gentle pat and said, “Don’t say anything inauspicious, George. How can the Forest team be relegated?”
The pair’s intimate gesture made the reporters in the room laughed. The performance also dispelled any rumors that Wood and Twain were at odds.
Afterward, Pierce Brosnan wrote in the article about the renewal, “After half a month’s wait, all the Nottingham Forest fans can finally take a breath and have a good night’s sleep—they do not have to worry about waking up to read the papers to find that their team captain has gone to faraway Italy. George Wood has promised to play here until his retirement, and he has expressed his love for the team. The story from the summer became a farce, and we have reason to look forward to the day George Wood retires from the Forest team!”
Twain’s decision to announce the success of the club’s contract with Wood ahead of the Manchester City game was also well thought out.
He wanted to send such a signal to all his opponents, including Manchester City that Nottingham Forest was certainly still united internally and the opponents had better not take advantage of the situation to stir up trouble. The flag-bearer’s contract renewal with the team’s to 2015 also greatly boosted the team’s morale and confidence. No one would be harassed by the tabloid reporters after training. Everyone only had to think how to win the game.
Twain undoubtedly did not forget to continue unleash his best psychological offensive—not against the younger Bendtner, but against the team’s manager, Kevin Keegan:
“I really, really, really feel sorry for him. I used to think the manager of an English football team was the hardest thing to do. Now I realize my mistake—the Manchester City manager is! Look at what his predecessor, Mark Hughes’s first words were after his dismissal? ‘I can finally get a good night’ sleep!’ It’s pathetic… A manager at Manchester City can’t sleep well. Actually, Kevin wanted to leave that place, didn’t he? He’s in a tug of war with Manchester City now, and Manchester City’s the one tugging the rope… Ah, who’s the sorriest man? I bet it’s not Kevin Keegan. Who am I supposed to sympathize with?”
Manchester City had a poor record last season. At the start of the new season, they lost the Toto Cup again and lost the qualification to compete in the European competition this season. Coming up empty in results was unforgivable for the Manchester City boss, who had invested at least three hundred million in the transfer market in two years’ time.
Such a result for any other team, the club would not hesitate to fire the manager. Or some managers themselves would take the initiative to resign when they could not stand the pressure.
But the situation was unique at Manchester City.
Keegan’s refusal to quit had a lot to do with the contract he originally signed with Manchester City. After Mark Hughes left, Kevin Keegan’s high-profile return to Manchester City, where the club valued his reputation and coaching ability in English football, gave him a worthwhile contract—an annual salary of three million and eight hundred thousand pounds! It was almost on an equal footing with Ferguson and Wenger, the two legendary Premier League managers.
The contract was signed for four years, and it had only been one year now. If the club was going to fire Keegan, it was fine except they would have to pay the three-year salary of 11.4 million pounds first.
Anyway, Keegan had a good temper and attitude. He was not a fool who had a sudden heart attack due to excessive pressure and collapsed on the sidelines of the field…..
As a result, he was properly installed in this position. Whenever the Manchester City club could grit its teeth and pay the salary of more than ten million pounds in one go, he would leave immediately.
Keegan’s mind had done the calculation. How could other people not know? But everyone was an insider, so basically no one mentioned these hurtful words. As the saying went, “do not hit people in the face while beating someone up.”
Tony Twain just did not care. With his big mouth, he just spilled the beans whether what could be said or not without filter…
So, when Kevin Keegan heard his words, his face immediately darkened.
The manager’s loyalty to a team had a direct impact on the team’s morale and fighting spirit, as well as performance. Tony Twain did understand the principle, so he must have deliberately yelled it out.
Everyone who was a manager was aware not to think of the professional players as too smart. As a manager, if he wanted to manage these players as an adult, he would be badly battered and found out that it was still best to manager them all like a parent and treat them as children.
The players often had a blind faith in the manager, and they were willing to believe in the actions and manner that the manager did on a daily basis, rather than consider whether that statement and practice were reasonable.
Although Kevin Keegan produced poor results that resulted in a mess, he relied on his good old man’s style of management and interpersonal relationships. Even though his relationship with the senior management was not good, his prestige within the team was quite high. Every player listened to him. Every time the news of the club’s top brass being unhappy with Kevin Keegan’s results came out in the media, there would be players who stepped up to defend their manager, saying that the club should give the good manager enough patience. Keegan had proven his level in his previous coaching experience and all he needed now was time. A club that always changed its manager could not solve any problems…
Roping in the locker room was the most effective way for Keegan to contend against the club’s top brass.
Now Twain’s words were clearly about dividing the cohesion between him and the players. Such a move could be said to be ruthless…
To be more malicious, it would not be too much to scold Tony Twain as mean, despicable and shameless.
As a peer in the same profession, how could he try to destroy another person’s livelihood?
But Twain did not think so. He and Keegan were unrelated and not friends. What had Keegan’s life and death got to do with him? It did not matter that he exposed someone’s scars for the sake of his victory. He did not bear any psychological burden at all.
His remarks indeed caused a stir in the media. Kevin Keegan had to come forward and refute the rumor. He said that his stay at the club had nothing to do with his salary. It was because he loved Manchester City and wanted to lead the team out of trouble…
A reporter tactlessly asked, “If the results continue to decline, will you consider taking the initiative to resign?”
Keegan frowned and thought for a moment to sidestep the topic, “I never think about what had not happened. I’m a firm believer in the future of the team and things haven’t become bad enough.”
In the end, he did not say he would resign voluntarily.
Twain’s words caused a lot of trouble for Keegan. Kevin Keegan was furious. Carl Spicer ridiculed on the show, “I dare to wager with Tony Twain this time—if Keegan were to appear in front of him now, he roundly beat him up!”
They soon met.
※※※
In the fourth round of the league tournament, Nottingham Forest challenged Manchester City in an away game. Kevin Keegan did not have to beat Twain in private. He now had an aboveboard chance to beat Twain. In a pre-match interview, he even lost his self-control and repeatedly stressed the following words, “We will definitely win! Definitely!”
Twain’s response was calm. He only said, “He’s mad.”
What was the result of the game?
Caught up in Twain’s psychological warfare, Kevin Keegan had no time to study how to contend with the Forest team’s tactics. Meanwhile, the impact of Twain’s words on the Manchester City team was as if a stone had been dropped in an otherwise calm lake—perhaps it was not big enough, but the ripples and changes had taken place and were gradually spreading.
Questions were raised within the team about their manager, and their performance in the game was a lack of concentration.
Tony Twain’s team seized the opportunity to pursue Manchester City relentlessly and battered them in the away game. Bendtner tried his best to change the result with his own goals, but under the Forest defenders’ split defense, he looked isolated and overly selfish—as long as the ball was at his feet, he rarely passed it out.
Twain wanted to seize on Bendtner’s impatience to take revenge to take him out of the entire Manchester City offensive system. The individual ability of the imbalanced and impatient Bendtner simply could not stand up to the Forest team’s rear defensive line.
As for Ashley Young? He was the unluckiest… He did not even make the squad list because he was too excited the day before the game during training and sprained his ankle.
In the end, Nottingham Forest easily took a 2:0 away win over the chaotic Manchester City team. Ibišević did not make the starting lineup for the game. After confirming that he had returned to form, Twain gave the chance to the other strikers who had sacrificed their starting positions in previous games, such as van Nistelrooy.
Van Nistelrooy did not score in the game, but he assisted in the team’s second goal. His goalscoring rate declined as he became older and the number of injuries increased. But none of the strikers in the Forest team could certainly be compared to his all-roundness. With him around, Nottingham Forest would have plenty of options when they struck the thirty-meter zone in the front field.
The two goals were scored respectively by Şahin and Žigić who replaced Eastwood in the second half. Twain use the aerial master to blast open Richards’ defense and smashed the ball into the net midair. The ever-strong Richards was knocked aside. This goal looked really powerful!
In the post-match press conference, a reporter asked about the two managers’ pre-match spat. Twain laughed till Kevin Keegan really wanted to pounce on and punch this scumbag like what Carl Spicer had said.
He said, “I think I helped Keegan and Manchester City solve a common difficult problem.”
Two days later, the Manchester City club announced that Kevin Keegan was released from his contract and they paid Keegan a three-year salary of 11.4 million pounds in one lump sum.
“We thank Kevin for the work he has done for the team over the past season and wish him good luck.” It was such a simple statement to bid farewell to Keegan. After losing so much money, the Manchester City club did not want to show any “warmth” and “feelings.” They drove Keegan out of the Manchester City Stadium’s gate like he was the plague.
Tony Twain never lied. He did help Keegan and Manchester City solve their problems.
A busybody did a calculation. This was already the third manager to step down after a game against Nottingham Forest because Tony Twain.
The first was the unlucky Real Madrid manager and Brazilian, Luxemburgo, who resigned on his own the day after losing the game to then-unknown Nottingham Forest at the Bernabéu; the second unlucky person was the famous Mourinho, who left after he tied the game with Nottingham Forest amidst the continued poor results in addition to the conflict with the club’s owner, Roman Abramovich; the third was the current Manchester City manager, Kevin Keegan.
But if the initial disgraceful departure of the Forest manager, Collymore was counted as well as McClaren who was constantly cursed by Tony Twain as “more appropriate to be an assistant manager than a manager” the moment he took office, then the figure made five….
“This guy is a peer killer!” [The Sun] commented in a half-serious and half-joking manner.
...
Chapter 761: Anyone and Us
When team leader George Wood announced the extension of the contract, the team easily triumphed over Man City on away ground 2:0. These two matters combined to inflate Nottingham Forest’s morale, boosting their confidence.
Upon facing the Celtics in the Champions League group match, the Nottingham Forest players expressed that there was no problem in winning on home ground. Twain took from Dunn a list of the names of people who either expressed similar sentiments to the media or were overconfident in their usual training. Then, on the starting roster of this starting group match, none of these people were on it.Overconfidence was the most serious problem in the middle and backcourt. Shahin, Bostock, Bentley, Kompany and Rafinha were on that list.
Therefore, the Celtics saw another version of Nottingham Forest on the road: goalkeeper Akinfeev, central defenders Pepe and Woodgate, left back Joe Mattock, and right back Nkoulou. For the midfield position, eternal captain St. George Woodley continued to start and he was untouchable. The person who partnered with him was Tiago. The right avant-garde was Lennon and the left avant-garde was Cohen. The forward line comprised partners van Nistelrooy and Agbonlahor. Not letting Ibišević start out was a tactic to protect him and relieve him of pressure.
The Celtics were absolutely afraid to say that they could easily win over such a version of Nottingham Forest. In fact, because Twain had always liked rotating frequently, each line up did not vary much in terms of strength. Any one could be said to be the main lineup, and sometimes under his ingenious words, the lineup that was not an optimal one could bring immense energy to the field.
This was deeply felt in 07-08. At the Portsmouth season, they thought that the Nottingham Forest, which had a major rotation of the main lineup, could be easily bullied. He had planned to beat this incomparable team and the incomparable head coach at home. They almost succeeded, but in the end the outraged Nottingham Forest dominated with seven goals.After that, no one dared to look down on the second lineup of Nottingham Forest.
The Celtics used a lineup which prioritized defensive counterattacks on the road, striving for a steal by securing a point. Twain expected that the opponent would do this, but the Nottingham Forest of today was no longer a team that only defended counterattacks. Although his lineup lacked a midfield organizer like Shahin, George Wood’s progress in offense was enough to make Twain feel relieved.
There was also a benefit to this midfield configuration: the midfielder had two defensive midfielders who cut off the route the opponent intended to use in his counterattack. In the formation of the two, the two people stood side by side, and the two side avant-garde positions were very forward. They were almost to the position of the winger and seemed to be far away. This was not the case during the actual competition, because Wood and Tiago always took turns to intercept and the two frontiers would also retreat, so there was no danger that the distance would be too far to be cut off.
Twain had always asked the players to be flexible, so his lineup did not represent actual results. On defense, he required everyone to strictly abide by tactical discipline, and things that should not be done were not done. But on offense, he gave the players the greatest freedom to play freely under a big tactical frame. As long as one could score, he did not care how they did it.
Now back to the game.
The Celtics laid many men in the middle and backcourt, just like a web weaved by a spider, waiting for the stupid bird which was Nottingham Forest to slam into the net, and then used the counterattack to kill them.
Twain was no fool. He asked the team to team press properly, but the defense line would not move. One of the benefits of getting Joe Mattock and Nkoulou to start was that they were more obedient than those old sticks in the mud – yes, Bale had evolved into an old fritter, so he knew how to be sly and play tricks.
Twain did not ask for the full-back to assist the offense, but he asked for the midfielder to plug in. Originally, there were two midfielders, but they continued to take turns in the game to inset, causing the Celtics’ defensive line to be cautious.
Especially Wood, whose speed and body made him extremely threatening when he was plugging in, moreover his through pass was getting more clean and accurate. After playing for 30 minutes, Wood already had two direct passes to penetrate the Celtics’ heavy defense. Unfortunately, neither Van Nistelrooy nor Agbonlahor could receive his ball.
But the Celtics were also smart and immediately adjusted their defenses. The back line shrunk back further, not giving Wood any space for a straight pass.
After seeing it on the sidelines, Twain got up from the coaching seat and made his first adjustment in this game. He let Van Nistelrooy get to the top, Agbonlahor to the side, emptied the middle, and then strengthened the long shot.George Wood, Tiago, Lennon, Cohen, Agbonlahor, and even Van Nistelrooy would try to shoot long shots whenever they had the chance.
Although the long-range scoring rate might be the lowest of all scoring methods, the Celtics created such a good opportunity for Twain that he did not have to be too violent. After the Celtics’ backline contracted, there was a big gap in the forefront of the penalty area. There were several times when Wood was there to take the position but none of the Celtics players would to the defensive in the first place, giving the players in Nottingham Forest too many adjustment opportunities.
What would you do if you could not shoot?
The Celtics were also unlucky. Wood, who usually had a poor aim, made two long-range shots hitting the door frame. Although there was no goal, stands of the city stadium cheered loudly.
The Celtics reacted too slowly, hence they still did not rush forward to control Wood’s long shots. So on the third shot long shot, Wood scored.
“Hey, George Wood!! Beautiful long-range shot! Fast, powerful, angled! His shot is getting better! Nottingham Forest leads at 1:0 at home!”
After the goal, George Wood was surrounded by teammates and rushed to the side of the field to enjoy the cheers of him.
“This is the best gift he gave to the club after he renewed his contract! He’s always played a stable state and constantly made his opponents feel despair… Such a person renewing his contract in the team for another five years, Tony Twain must be the happiest person in the world!”
Twain stood up and applauded Wood’s goaland he smiled from the side of Dunn. “Your efforts paid off. His long shot today and from when I first time I met him are worlds apart.”
Dunn also applauded. “It’s his efforts, I didn’t do anything. Demi was right; Wood’s a genius even in this regard.”
Speaking of Demi, Twain is a little lost. If Albertini was among the people around him, the Italian would probably be elated. ※※※
After scoring the goal, playing the match felt more manageable for Twain and his team. The core of his tactics was to let himself lead and then launch counter attacks against the opponent. This tactic was very cumbersome, but it worked best.
Now, he had to look at the opponent’s mentality. If the Celtics felt that there was nothing to lose a goal on the road, then they would continue to wait for the opportunity to counterattack. Maybe they could tie the score at the final moment of the game which would be ideal. This was more uncomfortable for Twain. 1:0 was the world’s most unsafe score, so he had to keep the team vigilant for the rest of the time, cautiously and constantly besieging the Celtics. At the same time, they had to beware of their counterattacks. This type of contest would be too tiring for the players. If he had the choice, he also would not want to play like this for the remaining of the contest.
Another possibility was that the Celtics were not willing to lose on the road. They would want at least a draw. Then they would try to attack in the rest of the game.
This was Twain’s favorite coping style. He could come and go with the opponent on the court. Of course, it was not a counterattack. Only a fool would launch attacks on a team which wanted to score. He wanted to defend those counter attacks. The two roles of the teams would then switch. It was in his blood to play dirty like this.
This time the Celtics did not do what he wanted. They chose to continue defending and waited for an attack, so Twain had to stand on the sidelines and supervise the war, asking his players not to relax their vigilance.
During the intermission, Twain repeated this request to everyone. He analyzed the current situation and asked them not to underestimate the enemy. They should not be taken lightly and should not relax. The defensive line was still not allowed to attack, they had to continue defending the opponent’s quick counter attacks.
In this game, he put all the self-confident and conceited players on the bench. From the player’s mentality, he was not worried about anything.
Now he just had to pray that there would not be any inexplicable accidents on the court. At the beginning of the second half of the game, the Celtics intend to attack fiercely the moment the game started while the other party was still not completely focused, to equalize the score. However, as Tony Twain had already expected, Nottingham Forest was not inattentive at all and they played against that instead. They made several counter attacks against the Celtics and almost scored.
This time the Celtics were a lot more honest. They retracted and no longer came out. The second half of the game was quite dull. Nottingham Forest was indiscriminately bombarded by the Celtics’ restricted area. Due to lack of luck, it was impossible to score. And the Celtics’ few counterattack opportunities could not threaten Akinfeev’s goal.
Nottingham Forest finally won against the Celtics at 1:0 at home and gave them a good start on the Champions League death group match tour.
At the post-match press conference, Celtics coach Rod Strickland said with some helplessness, “This is football, I think a draw was a fair and reasonable result…”
Twain almost laughed out loudly. What did he mean “fair and reasonable”? He then responded sarcastically, “I’m not very satisfied, because we only won by one ball.”
A reporter later asked, “Group C was the recognized group of death. Can the victory on the Celtics explain that Nottingham Forest has taken the lead on the group’s exit road?”
“I never thought about this issue. As long as we can continue to win, we will definitely be able to qualify. I prefer to focus on the opponents in the quarterfinals.”
Scottish reporters might still be a little too unaccustomed to Tony Twain’s habitual madness, but the English reporters were accustomed to this. They rephrased their question, “What two teams do you think would come out of the group?”
Twain looked at the reporter with a sigh of relief, “If I said that everyone has the potential to qualify, are you sure you are very dissatisfied? Thinking I am suffocating you guys?”
This sentence was very true. To Tony Twain’s character, he almost never said anything that would be satisfying. So he went on to say his own answer, “Nottingham Forest and any other team.”
What a great tone! The three teams of the death team have become his foil.
No one was surprised. It would be more unsettling if Tony Twain were not arrogant. What their reporters liked to see was this Tony Twain. A group of people were excited to prepare the title of the next day’s report:
Tony Twain sees nobody but himself
Twain looks down on Juventus!
Twain pre-registers in the form for the team leaving group matches
And many more.
Of course, Twain could be very arrogant in front of the media, but that was a means for him to confuse his opponent. There was a quote from Sun Tzu’s The Art of War: All’s fair in war. This was also the case for football.
In fact, his real idea was that any opponent in this group was a threat to the team, but there were three or six things in it. the most threatening team was Juventus, followed by Atletico Madrid, and the third was the Celtics he had just defeated.
However, Twain was not too worried about the team’s morale and state of Juventus. The only team that had not won in the European Champions League two years ago must win this time! Everyone must have thought this way.
Playing Atletico Madrid was a challenge for the team. This was an opponent they had never encountered before, not to mention the team’s silver boots shooter Aguero in the World Cup in South Africa.
As for the Celtics, returning to play at home was also the final round of the group stage. If the forest team’s qualifying situation had been fixed, how the results would go was not a concern to Twain. If the Celtics want to qualify or fight for a League Cup entry, they would inevitably launch a storm at home, then Nottingham Forest would just deploy their best tactic to defend against counterattacks.
※※※
After the game, the media’s attitude towards this game was mixed. The local media in Nottingham unanimously praised the performance of Nottingham Forest, saying they won a key victory and made a good start for the qualifying group. Although the score is not high, the scene is not good, but the three points are the most crucial.
This game has strengthened their confidence, they can once again smash the team’s taste at the top of Europe…
Of course, there are also a lot of media sneer at Tony Twain’s “habitual arrogance”. Just because of this Nottingham Forest team, it was not necessarily possible to qualify from the group stage, let alone things that were further away. Playing the Celtics, who is the weakest team in the group, and only won a 1:0 at home, how could they even say, “The teams that will qualify will be Nottingham Forest and any other one?”
Public opinion was generally not optimistic about Nottingham Forest qualifying from this group, they are more optimistic about Juventus and Atletico Madrid. As if to cite their ideas, Juventus and Atletico Madrid scored a 0-0 level at the Alpi Stadium – it seems that they are all ready to qualify from the group together and without conflict.
...
Chapter 762 - Tony’s Little Scheme
Ibišević was fully integrated with the team. He had no problem with the language. Now that he had scored, his confidence was restored. He often joked with his teammates during training and in the locker room, or he would recount “his homeless and miserable” life to everyone… He was popular.
In fact, it was one of the reasons Twain bought him—Ibišević was definitely not the kind of player who would spoil the atmosphere in the locker room. On the contrary, he had a significant role to play in the cohesion of the team. When Ibišević was at Hoffenheim, he did not play in the main force. Yet he provided substantial assistance to his two direct rivals, Obasi and Demba Ba, with their assimilation into life in Germany. His selfless help kept him on the team even though he only scored five goals within thirty-five appearances in his first season at Hoffenheim.
Now his strong point was further developed at Nottingham Forest, where the atmosphere was better. Twain also hoped the team’s number of amusing people would increase. Having solved the problem of Ibišević, Twain now had to consider how to solve Matías Fernández’s problem… It was more troubling than Ibišević’s problem.
First of all, Fernández’s English was improving at a slow pace. Habitually silent, he was more like an invisible man in the team’s locker room. In fact, he did not have an introverted personality. It was because he could not understand nor speak English, so he simply chose to keep quiet and never participate in the conversations with his teammates. This gave the impression that he was “awfully unsociable” and “not easy to get along with.” His teammates also distanced themselves from him, intentionally or unintentionally. This also led to his alienation by the team on the pitch.
Twain felt that if he still did not solve the problem, Fernández might seriously consider whether his move to England was appropriate. Perhaps he would think carefully and realize that Britain had neither the delicious Spanish cuisine, nor Spain’s blue skies, white clouds, and sunshine, and decided that he must have chosen to transfer to Nottingham Forest on a momentary impulse. Thus, he was probably busy figuring out how to escape from this perennially overcast and rainy country… That would not do. Twain did not buy him only to send him away again.
But even a simple conversation needed to be done through a translator due to the language barrier. The result might not be as good as that of Ibišević. The more important reason was that he could not rely on a conversation every time to solve the problem. After all, not every issue could be resolved by talking alone. So, he had to think of another way…
※※※
After his additional practice with shooting accompanied by Twain, George Wood marched back to the locker room. He was currently covered in sweat and just wanted to take a shower, change his clothes, and go home to be with his mother. When he walked to the locker room door, he found the team’s manager, Tony Twain standing there, as he smiled and waved. “Hey, George! I’m so glad to see you!”
“You see me every day.” As soon as Wood saw Twain smiling so brightly, he knew it was not a good thing and became wary.
“Haha!” Twain touched his nose and gave two dry laughs. “Then… When’s your birthday?”
“April 1st. Don’t you know?”
“Er…” Twain certainly knew. How could he not remember his favorite disciple’s birthday? Not to mention that the date was really too easy to remember—April Fool’s Day! But he had a request… “Can I ask you to have another birthday right now?”
Wood widened his eyes since he heard something strange. “My birthday is already over this year. My mother gave me…”
“I know, I know.” Twain bobbed his head repeatedly. “In truth, I just want you to convene everyone and gather your teammates to your house for a small dinner party…” He rubbed his hands together and smiled more brightly. “You can drink and eat meat, but don’t look for prostitutes. You all can bring wives and girlfriends along… I allow you guys to party till twelve-thirty at the latest. I’ll agree to you guys collectively coming in late an hour for the next day’s training. What do you think?”
Wood no longer viewed Twain as a human being. He looked at his boss as if he was an alien. “Don’t look at me with that expression…” Twain shook his head. “Fine, I’ll tell you the truth. Don’t you think Matías’s condition isn’t right all along?”
“The Chilean?” Wood thought very carefully and shook his head. He did not believe there was anything wrong with Fernández. “That’s because you don’t know what he used to be like,” Twain explained. “He’s not always so gloomy. He can also be very sociable and cheerful, but we have to create the conditions for him. I think it’s a good idea to get everyone together to hang out. You’re the team captain. The team captain’s job isn’t just about leading your teammates in the games, George.”
Wood thought it over seriously and then frowned as he said. “But my birthday is really over, and they all know it. That won’t fool anyone.” What he said was true. The truth of the party should just be known by a few people. It would be difficult to explain why the team captain’s birthday was moved to September 19th whereas Matías Fernández’s problem was known by everyone.
He could not let Matías know what he was doing. He did not want to put any more pressure on the Chilean. He wanted Fernández to think it was just a party, and gradually take the first steps to having a good time with his unfamiliar teammates. Everyone would accept him enthusiastically. After this, he would realize that the team was so lovely and enjoyable that the bad weather and food in England did not matter at all! He would love Nottingham Forest, he would like the grass and trees here, and he would decide to pledge his allegiance…
But it was no longer feasible to use George Wood’s birthday as an approach. So, what excuse could he use? The two men were in deep contemplation at the entrance of the locker room.
“What are you doing?” When Dunn did not see Twain in his office, he went to the parking lot only to find his car still there. Dunn went looking all the way to the locker room, only to find the man he was looking for, standing outside the locker room with George Wood. “Ah, it’s like this…” Twain told Dunn about it in full detail when he saw his partner here.
Dunn felt it was odd and said. “What’s there to worry? Did George not just renew his contract with the club?” With that, Twain understood. “Ha, that’s a good idea!” He rubbed his hands and laughed, “George, use this pretext and call everyone together for a lively party!”
Wood had no objections. Although he felt that just because he had renewed his contract, he was going to have a big party to celebrate was a little… overboard, it was much more reasonable than postponing his twenty-fourth birthday celebration to September 22nd or having his twenty-fifth birthday ahead of schedule.
※※※
September 22nd was the date Twain chose. It was midweek, with neither a Champions League group stage game nor the league tournament to deal with. It was an excellent time to relax. And thank heavens, it had been a clear day from the morning to the evening. “The weather forecast says it won’t rain tonight.” When Twain said to Dunn sitting beside him in the car, a sense of relief could be felt.
Dunn frowned and said, “Why are we going to their party? What’s more, you said during the day that you won’t go to the party, just so that everyone can relax and hang out…”
George Wood announced the decision to hold a party in the back garden of his home the day before, hoping everyone would come. Eastwood initially heard it was Wood’s private party and wanted to refuse. But Bale and Lennon joined forces to persuade him to go, and he decided that though it was alright to reject Wood, it would be difficult to ignore his entire team—almost everyone was going.
At this time, according to the written “script,” Wood falsely invited Twain, Dunn, and Kerslake to participate. The straightforward Kerslake was so delighted that he was going to say yes. Dunn suddenly coughed next to him and interrupted his attempt to speak. Then Twain immediately did not give Kerslake time to react and took over to “tactfully decline” Wood’s invitation, quick as lightning. He said that as coaches, appearing on such an occasion would make everyone uncomfortable, so they would not go! Everyone could rest assured, just hang out, and have a good time to their hearts’ content! Everyone would be allowed to be late by an hour to tomorrow’s training!
The players cheered when they heard that Twain said they could be an hour late for the next day’s training session. The matter was settled, and everyone was happy. Only Kerslake pursed his lips at the side, looking a little frustrated—he actually wanted to go, but no one cared about how he felt. So, in this way, the entire Nottingham Forest team went home to change after training and then went to George Wood’s home to gather.
Twain’s white jeep was parked in a dark corner where the streetlights could not shine upon so as not to attract anyone’s attention. Nottingham Forest’s number one and number two figures sat in the dark car at the moment. “Idiot, I said that we’re not going to sound good if we said we would come. But if I don’t come, why would I try so hard to organize this event for them?” Twain refuted Dunn’s ignorance.
“You can hear about Wood’s and the other players’ reactions to the party tomorrow.” Dunn rejected Twain’s statement.
“As the saying goes, take what you hear to be false, only seeing is believing.” Twain wagged his finger, then opened the car door, picked up a black backpack from the back seat, and beckoned to Dunn. Dunn helplessly got out of the car and followed. What he could not understand the most was why he had to be here for such a matter?
“I found them a South American band and then have them sing a song called ‘El Cóndor Pasa!’ The original, not Paul Simon’s English adaptation! It will definitely succeed in stir up Matías’s emotions and make sure he can find the sounds of his country in faraway England!” On the way to Wood’s house, Twain excitedly told Dunn about his “clever arrangements.”
“But it’s a Peruvian folk song, not a Chilean one.” Dunn poured cold water on him instead.
“Peru?” Twain was a little surprised. He really did not realize, but… “Never mind! Isn’t Peru and Chile next to each other? It’s all the same! South Americans are good at singing and dancing. I believe with wine and music, Matías’s mood can be lifted. Chinese people place importance on that things are easier to handle with drinking. This is a universally applicable truth! Ha!” Twain laughed proudly. Dunn had little interest in his enlightening remarks, so he kept his head down and walked without saying a thing.
※※※
Since they had said that the coaches would not attend the party, Twain and Dunn obviously could not press the doorbell at the door and just walk in. To be clear, Twain and Dunn were here to secretly take a peek this time. It was also possible to understand why Dunn was so disgusted with the matter… He felt like a voyeur.
Twain and Dunn were familiar with the surroundings of Wood’s house. They came here at least once a year. Initially, the mother and son lived in the apartment rented by the club. Wood later moved houses again, still not far from Wilford, but the environment was better—standalone house with its own courtyard and undisturbed. It was close to the River Trent: the air was fresh, and the house was surrounded by greenery, perfect for Sophia to nurse her health.
There were many big trees around Wood’s house, some of which were outside the back garden of his house. The lush branches reached into the garden, leaving a shade that allowed people to cool down below in the summer. The destination of Twain’s trip was among the stout trees.
Twain led the wordless Dunn to circle outside the yard before he finally locked onto his target. But when he looked up, he discovered a person lying above in the darkness! The discovery startled him. After he could see who it was, he barked in a low voice. “You really think you’re James Bond, Mr. Brosnan?”
Pierce Brosnan was so alarmed that he nearly fell from the tree. He turned his head to look below, just in time to lock eyes with Twain. “Get down!” Twain pointed firmly at his feet. “Otherwise I’ll call the police, Mr. Reporter!”
Brosnan could only admit his bad luck for having bumped into Tony Twain. He scowled as he climbed down from the tree while he defended himself. “I’ve just gone up. I did not see anything…”
“Why are you here?” Twain did not listen to his excuse. “I heard that the Forest team is having a private party, but the media did not know beforehand. I thought there might be some potential news…” Brosnan said with his head bowed, feeling somewhat aggrieved.
“What a good and professional reporter.” Twain laughed and said. “But who did you hear the news from?” Brosnan clammed up and shook his head.
“You’re really loyal!” If Twain knew who had told Brosnan the news, he would not have fired the man, but a rebuke would have been inevitable. For his own sake and that of the “informant,” Brosnan chose to be silent.
Twain no longer cared about Brosnan or who had given Brosnan the news. Anyway, everyone knew that Brosnan was the team’s “designated reporter.” So, it was also innocuous that some harmless “inside information” was revealed to him. He began to carry his backpack on his back and did some warm-up exercises.
“But Mr. Twain… And Mr. Dunn, why are you here?” At this point, Brosnan realized something was wrong—he actually met the team’s top two people outside Wood’s house at the same time. Twain first spat into his open palms before he replied, “None of your damn business!” Having said that, he ran up to climb the tree…
Then Brosnan stared agape at Twain agilely climbed up the tree using his hands and feet before he laid on the branch that he had just rested on. After he settled his position, he waved to Dunn below and said. “This is a good spot, Dunn. The view is great.”
Dunn crossed his arms in front of his chest and stood in place while he refused Twain’s enthusiastic invitation. “I don’t want to.” Twain shrugged from the tree and stopped urging. Instead, he pulled out a thing from his backpack to put it in front of his face. Under the dense cover of the branches in the night, Brosnan could not see clearly, but judging by Twain’s gesture and where that thing was placed, it should be a pair of binoculars…
“They did not hire prostitutes. All the women are their girlfriends or wives…” Brosnan felt the need to speak in fairness to the team’s players. Looking at the situation, Twain apparently intended to follow Ferguson’s lead and catch them in action. He was currently gathering evidence. “Shut up! Come up if you want to see!” Twain’s eyes did not leave the binoculars.
Under the fairy lights like the many stars in the sky and in the spacious garden surrounded an open-air swimming pool, a lively party was gradually heating up. The guests were all having fun chatting and dining. A wooden platform was set up in the corner near the house where a well-dressed South American style band of musicians sang to add to the fun. Twain scanned the crowd and found his target.
Matías Fernández was interested in the South American-style band, standing in a daze with a wine glass. Because of the distance and the noise from the people, Twain could not hear what they were singing, but he was satisfied with Fernández’s interest in it.
Liu Bang used the songs of Chu everywhere to demoralize Xiang Yu the Conqueror’s army, while Twain used their strategies to help Fernández find a familiar voice in far-flung Britain. But Fernández did not appreciate the Peruvian folk song for long. Twain saw that George Wood walked over first to talk to Fernández.
They’re communicating with words? Twain was quite surprised. They seemed to be able to barely communicate in Spanish and Portuguese… Through the binoculars from the tree, Twain admired with great interest as George Wood, a man who was not good with words, chatted with Fernández—both used a lot of body language, and probably half of which was through guessing and the other half through words. They were able to talk for a few minutes, which Twain had to hand it to George.
After a moment of talking, Fernández had already turned around and walked with Wood to the crowd. Twain knew the matter was basically a success. But he was in no hurry to come down. He continued watching.
Surrounded by his teammates, Fernández was busy greeting the women, and more smiles appeared on his face as the wine in his glass lessened. In the end, all red-faced and smiles, he jumped on the stage, grabbed the microphone from the band’s lead singer and sang!
Twain saw the scene and laughed in the tree, which caused him to nearly fall from above. Seeing this, he could finally put his at ease completely. He slipped off from the top.
Dunn was still standing below waiting for him, while Brosnan, lying on another branch, came down when he saw Twain slip down. In fact, he did not know what was going on—it looked like George’s party was normal. They did not spend tens of thousands of pounds hiring countless prostitutes to come here for his teammates to have threesomes and orgies. The atmosphere was lively but not chaotic. Everyone played some games to help liven things up, but they were football-related, such as who could kick the football to a target. They took bets, but only small wagers. Twain would not object. To his bewilderment, when Fernández ran up to sing, Twain suddenly laughed.
He really could not understand what the man was thinking… Just as he was confused, Twain had already walked over and patted him on the shoulder. “Mr. Bond, you came here at the right time. You’re lucky enough to obtain exclusive information that no other press can get— I’ll allow you to write what you saw tonight and send it to the newspaper, though of course, don’t write about what Dunn and I did here.”
Brosnan did not expect this gift to fall from the sky. He hurriedly nodded. “I know what to write and what not to write, Tony. But can you tell me why…”
“I don’t think it’ll take you long to find out, Mr. Reporter. If you have confidence in your IQ, you may as well guess, haha!” He patted Brosnan and called Dunn so that they could leave. Pierce Brosnan scratched his head and then glanced with a frown in the direction of George Wood’s yard, where the lights were bright, and the party was in full swing.
※※※
“Hey, Dunn. I really did not think that the Chilean can sing. It was a big loss that you did not go up to see this scene!” On the way back to the spot where their car was parked, Twain recounted with delight to Dunn all the interesting things he saw. “He was holding the microphone like a mic hog in a KTV! I never knew he has musical talent…”
“I take it that things are going well?”
“Ah, very well. I really want to hear Matías sing… No, I must come up with the idea of letting him sing in the locker room…”
“Actually, this has nothing to do with me. Why do I have to come?” Dunn still brooded over Twain’s initial shameless insistence that he must come.
“You were the one who didn’t want to climb up to watch the show. You would have something to do if you had climbed up too. Of course, you made a wasted trip since you did not go up.” Twain put the blame on Dunn.
“I didn’t want to be like the paparazzi. This is not the way a coach does things…” Dunn said with a frown.
Twain sneered at the claim. He made a face, “What is supposed to the way a coach does things? As long as the goal is achieved, we must explore every option.”
“I think there should at least be some dignity . . . Climbing a tree to peep is not a good idea. It would be damaging to your image if you were caught.”
“Of course, I’m very dignified in front of them. But sometimes you need to deploy some schemes to help you shape the ‘dignified’ coach image, Dunn.” Twain began to teach Dunn his insights as a manager all these years—the key was on the word “pretend!”
“As long as Brosnan doesn’t talk, no one will know that we’re here tonight to sneak a peek. I’ll certainly pretend to ask George tomorrow how the party is, and I’ll pretend to be interested in whatever they talk about… As long as our goal is achieved, it doesn’t matter how we do it. The point is that if Matías fits in with the team because of this, then it doesn’t matter if I act like the paparazzi tonight.”
Dunn found out that he could not argue with Twain, because it was indeed the truth—as long as Brosnan did not reveal it, no one would know what they did tonight. And Brosnan certainly would not spill the beans. His integrity could be seen from his refusal to sell out his informant who gave him the inside intelligence. Furthermore, if the matter were to be leaked, then Twain would know one hundred percent for sure it was Brosnan who leaked it. There was no need to point out what would happen to the person if the King of Wilford was angered…
Although Dunn felt that doing so smacked of deception, there seemed to be no other way. Twain laughed. “Dunn, it’s exciting to be a manager. Don’t look so serious all the time. A serious look doesn’t mean that you are very professional and dignified. It can only alienate others. Look at me! I think tonight’s event was quite fun. Just take it that we came out to relax for a night. No big deal!”
He opened the car door to the side of the front passenger’s seat. “Come, I’ll take you home!” Dunn muttered. “You are always right!” Then he got into the car.
“Ha, you’re absolutely correct in saying that!” Twain shamelessly took this as a compliment and laughed with delight. He had a great night, and his mood was excellent too. And Dunn just added the icing on the cake.
...
Chapter 763: Chain Reaction
As like what Twain told Dunn, during the training the next day, he did find Wood and ask what happened at the party.
“It went well,” Wood told Twain succinctly. “I talked to him for a while and introduced him to his teammates. Once he drank, it was as if he became a different man, and everyone liked him.”
Twain acted surprised. “So he’s different when drunk?”
Wood nodded. “He even sang for us.”
“How was his singing?” This was the question Twain was most concerned about
“Terrible.” Wood shattered Twain’s little fantasy with a straight face, “But everyone said it was nice.”
That was just to prevent hurting Matías’s feelings…
In fact, when Fernández was on the stage humming into a microphone for a while, no one knew he was singing. He sang in a foreign language. His voice was too soft for the melody, so they did not know whether it was accurate sounding. In short, after the self-satisfied singing finished, a group of people below the stage roared and applauded energetically.
After listening to Wood’s account of the singing in detail, Twain quickly dismissed the idea of letting Fernández sing in the locker room to help liven things up—it would be okay for him to go to the opponent’s locker room to sing and harass them. But it was likely that Fernández would rather be killed than to do that in his sober state.
Then Twain stood on the side and put his ears up to listen to the players’ excited chatter after the training to hear what they were discussing.
He found that Fernández, though still unable to communicate due to the language barrier, was unlike before when he would hide far away as soon as everyone started discussing something. He joined in and had an enthusiastic look. He could not understand, but if everyone laughed, he would laugh too.
It was a good sign! Twain could finally put his mind at ease.
He slowly moved back to the coaches’ side and said to Dunn with a laugh, “You see, Dunn. Being a manager is sometimes like a kindergarten teacher. I have to take care of everything.”
“It was the first time I had seen a kindergarten teacher climbing a tree to take a peek.”
“Ha! Anyway, the mission is accomplished. The next step is how to get him to integrate with our tactical system.” He patted Dunn on the shoulder and said, “It’s your favorite coach’s job.”
Tactically speaking alone, there was nothing to worry about. Matías Fernández was a player who could play in the wings, the middle, and on the left flank. Twain needed a versatile player who could launch an attack on the sideline alone and complete an assist after dribbling the ball to break through. He would also be able to lean toward the middle, send a straight pass, or do a long shot straight away while ceding the left flank for the left-back, Gareth Bale, to plug in to assist.
There were just some areas that needed to be finetuned. For example, Fernández could not keep the ball for too long, otherwise, he would be knocked out of bounds in the Premier League games. Also, he would slow down the Forest team’s offensive momentum. The Nottingham Forest’s pace in the competition had always been known as “fast.”
Therefore, to fit into the team, Fernández must change his habit of overly sticking with the ball and learn to play more directly. That way, it would not slow down the team’s offense, and would also reduce his chances of injury at the same time. But a matter like changing a professional player’s style of play may not be accepted by the player.
If he could not accept it, then let him have a taste the cruelty of the Premier League!
That was what Twain intended. Once Fernández’s play improved, he was bound to receive more attention from his opponents. If he did not change the way he played, he would face being frequently on the injury list.
Having settled Fernández’s case, Twain planned to fully compete in both the league tournament and the UEFA Champions League. Coming up next was the sixth round of the league tournament at home against Tottenham Hotspur and then with Atlético Madrid in the second round of the Champions League group stage next week. Neither opponents of these matches were weak, and Twain had to be careful.
It was not hard to play against Tottenham Hotspur and defeat the old Redknapp’s team based on their home advantage. To play against Atlético Madrid in the away game was a trip full of unknown risks.
Twain served up a strong attacking lineup in the match against Tottenham Hotspur, intending to settle the fight in the first half and then preserve their strength to deal with Atlético Madrid.
What he did not expect was Gareth Bale’s injury, the cause of which was somewhat silly.
Nine minutes into the game, after he took the ball on the left flank, none of the Tottenham Hotspur’s players managed to rush up and pounce on the defense. So, he intended to dribble the ball forward while playing with some footwork skills at the same time. When he faced the first Tottenham Hotspur defender, he immediately slowed down and decided to play one of Roberto Carlos’s previously favorite move, which was to use his heel to knock the ball behind him, quickly stop, and then sharply change direction to bypass the other player.
He knocked the ball beautifully and smoothly fooled Tottenham Hotspur’s Dos Santos. But he suddenly lost his center of gravity and fell to the ground as he made the quick stop to change direction.
Dos Santos looked stunned and did not know what had happened. He first raised his hands to indicate that he did not foul. Not to mention that there was no foul; he did not even have any physical contact. He did not want to receive a yellow card without reason.
Gareth Bale was in pain as he held his knee and rolled on the ground. He then put down one hand to summon the referee and a stretcher.
Fleming followed two staff carrying the stretcher onto the field. The referee and the Forest players had surrounded Bale.
“Was there any physical contact?”
“What did that Mexican kid do to you?”
“What the hell is going on? Aren’t you in good health?” His surrounding teammates all talked at once. But none of them could help.
Fleming yelled as he squeezed in. He just took a glance and knew that things were not good. He hurriedly dispersed the crowd, signaled for the stretcher to come up and carry Bale out.
At the same time, he got up and motioned to Twain on the other side of the field for a substitution.
“Goddammit…” Twain swore. He also did not expect a simple bypass move could lead to such an outcome.
But Bale, oh Bale, why were you showing off for nothing? A simple misdirection would do. Why did you have to try Roberto Carlos’ move…
He called up Leighton Baines, who was sitting on the bench with a surly expression. He had no intention of letting Baines play in this game. He wanted him to start against Atlético Madrid and secure the defense.
In the end, Bale left the game under the circumstances of injuring himself without any physical contact.
The Forest team finally relied on a header shot from Žigić in the first half and a counterattack that Agbonlahor launched at the start of the second half, as well as a long shot from outside the penalty area by Ibišević to beat Tottenham Hotspur by 3:1.
Ibišević scored his fourth goal of the season, a step closer to the twentieth goal target. Although he did not forget to give a slap to a particular person the fourth time, Twain was not happy at all.
The day after the game, Twain received the latest injury report on Bale from Fleming. He would be absent for at least seven months due to a torn cruciate ligament in his right knee.
It took a while for Twain to react.
At this time, he did not know who he should blame. Bale’s injury was mainly due to himself. He did not check out if anything was wrong with his right knee at the start of each season. Every time, Fleming said that Bale’s body was solid and that he could not see the skinny young monkey of before.
And the result…
A dereliction of duty of the team doctor? It was impossible. It was just God playing with him.
“Okay…” Twain muttered, “Fortunately I did not loan Mattock out before the season…”
He did not know now whether it was wrong to sound pleased at this time.
If the Forest team did not sign on new players in the winter transfer window, then Joe Mattock and Leighton Baines would support the Forest team’s left flank defense for a whole season.
Twain had to think it over carefully concerning the matter of signing on new players. If the Forest team reached the Champions League knockout stages in the second half of the season—almost a certainty for Twain—then adding a left-back seemed like a must. But then, when Bale recovered from his injury and returned next season, there would be four men in the same position competing for a starting position. It would be too intense and result in a waste of personnel. He could not always let Mattock play in the reserves. While the young players were relying on the increase of competition experience to enhance their abilities, they would kick up a fuss if he did not always let them play in the First Team games.
If a new full-back was not brought in, Twain was not confident about whether he could rely solely on Leighton Baines and Joe Mattock to sustain the season. Furthermore, there was a worse possibility waiting for him ahead—what if Joe Mattock or Leighton Baines or even both of them were to be hurt?
This was a real headache!
If someone could be said to be pleased that he had benefited from Gareth Bale’s injury, then Joe Mattock would be the only candidate. He did not show such joy and also spoke in an interview about his frustration and regret, over Bale’s injury.
But objectively, Bale’s injury did give him a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—if Bale had not been injured, the Forest team’s left-back position would be rotated between him and Baines. Only in an inconsequential game like the EFL Cup would he have a chance to make the starting lineup for the team.
Now he had a chance to prove in a higher level competition that the potential level, which Sports Interactive had set at 9 in the Football Manager game, was not because of the partnership Nottingham Forest club had with Sports Interactive.
Twain also looked for Mattock immediately after and talked to him about how he would follow the team to play in the league tournament and the Champions League. In fact, Twain had listed him in both competitions, but he had little chance of playing. Gareth Bale and Leighton Baines were in stable form and rarely injured.
Twain mainly told him that he would probably opt not to bring in any players during the winter transfer window, so he needed him to play with Baines on the left flank for a season. He had high hopes, whether it was the league tournament or the Champions League. Twain also hoped that he could withstand the pressure and not disappoint him. After all, he was optimistic about his potential at the time in order to purchase him. He needed Mattock to prove to him that his decision was not wrong.
Mattock’s answer was, “Don’t worry, boss. I’m not an immature child anymore.” He was right. He was already twenty years old and got his driver’s license.
※※※
With a knee injury that would take at least seven months, it was the most severe injury that Gareth Bale had suffered since playing. What made it more painful for him was that a violent collision did not cause it, but that his knee was unable to withstand the pressure when he did the action. This gave him a sense of self-doubt—was his right knee so fragile that it was not suited to playing an intense sport like football?
Twain understood Bale’s mood and was worried about it. However, he did not have time to deal with it himself. After the game with Tottenham Hotspur, he would lead the team to hurry to Madrid, Spain, for the Champions League group stage match against Atlético Madrid.
Where would he have the time to rush to the hospital to see the little monkey lying in his hospital bed, confused about his future?
But he thought of a man who might be able to help Bale get back on his feet.
Nottingham Forest’s First Team squad had a total of twenty-six players, but only twenty-five players were allowed to register in the Champions League each season. This season, Twain did not register for van Nistelrooy, which the Dutchman himself suggested it. He reasoned that he was too old and frequently injured. He could not guarantee his attendance. Rather than taking a spot, it was better to give it up to the other younger teammates. He was going to retire after the season and did not care if he could still play in the Champions League. But the others must be very keen on this Champions League spot.
Twain tried to urge him to no avail, so he fulfilled van Nistelrooy’s wish. He removed him from the name list and filled in Joe Mattock’s name. Now it looked like van Nistelrooy gave Twain a lifeline. If this interlude had not happened, he would have had to use Baines alone to finish all five of the remaining group stage games. He must not be injured nor received a card. Even if his form and fitness were poor, he would still have to put a bold face on to play.
Now van Nistelrooy could help him again.
Before leaving Nottingham, he found the Dutch striker after training. He hoped he would go to the hospital to visit Bale, and then use his experience to inspire and comfort the little monkey so that he could pull himself together early.
Van Nistelrooy understood what Twain meant. He laughed and said, “I understand, boss. It’s just like what Ferguson said to me at that time.”
When van Nistelrooy planned to join Manchester United in 1999, he suffered a serious knee injury and missed out on Manchester United, which almost ended his career. It was Ferguson who flew to the United States to see him that time and tell him that the Manchester United captain, Roy Keane, had suffered the same serious injury in his career, and how he eventually overcame the injury to return to the pitch to become Manchester United’s flag bearer.
It was the speech and Keane’s example that gave van Nistelrooy the confidence to battle the injury, and he eventually managed to overcome the knee injury to return to the pitch, where he joined Manchester United as he wished.
At the time, he was also pursued by Real Madrid in addition to Manchester United. It was Ferguson’s talk that finally made van Nistelrooy decided to join Manchester United. It made him realize that the Manchester United club was more humane, and Ferguson was clearly a worthy manager whom he could bank his future. He had a unique charming personality, which attracted him. He had no regrets playing and conquering for such a manager. Therefore, he turned down Real Madrid and joined Manchester United.
Who would have thought that six years later, the mentor and student whose relationship was as close as that of a father and son, would fall out with each other and for Tony Twain to pick up a bargain?
It was indeed hard to predict things in the world. Fate made a fool of everyone…
Now Twain hoped that van Nistelrooy could play the role of Ferguson. He was not worried that it would cause van Nistelrooy to think of his feud with Ferguson and caused an unpleasantness. Because of his understanding of van Nistelrooy, he was not the kind of person who hated everything and held onto hatred for the rest of his life.
It was best for van Nistelrooy to take over the matter. First of all, he was the oldest player on the team at the moment. Everyone respected him, and his words carried a lot of weight; Secondly, he had personally experienced it. Thirdly, Bale and van Nistelrooy had an excellent personal relationship, unlike Eastwood and George Wood who were so cold with each other that they had nothing to discuss.
Twain was relieved when he saw that van Nistelrooy had promised to help Bale rebuild his confidence. He led his team to fly to Madrid, Spain with a peace of mind.
One other effect of Bale’s injury was the lack of attacking ability in the left-wing. When Bale was previously still there, the assists on the left-wing were pretty sharp. Now it was up to the left midfielders to do the job, and it was bound to be affected.
Matías Fernández must also be required to step up and quickly integrate with the team’s tactical system. Twain had no time to wait. Fernández, who was more familiar with the current La Liga and its clubs than anyone else in the team, would be tasked with the heavy responsibility and be in the starting lineup. His play largely determined whether Nottingham Forest could get the results they wanted in the Estadio Vicente Calderón.
Fernández might feel the pressure, but his pressure was definitely not larger than Tony Twain’s, who decided to let him start…
...
Chapter 764
Three months ago, in the away team's dressing room at Fulham's home stadium, the King of the Red Devils, Manchester United, was throwing a tantrum at his soldiers .
"You lost to Fulham! What? Fulham! You dare lose to a team not even worth mentioning? You didn't even score a goal! Look at your performance in the game! I dare to bet that prostitutes can even perform better than you! No fighting spirit, no initiative, I see no ambition from you guys! If you don't want to play, tell me in advance . I will not sign you up!"
Ferguson was already 69 years old . Like Twain, he had a pacemaker in the left side of his chest . Although, from how he had been behaving the past few years, it was difficult to believe that an energetic old man like him had one . In this moment he was red, but it was not necessarily a sign of health . On the contrary, the people who really cared about him had to be worried about the old man's heart . It had been some time since Manchester United's players last saw Ferguson so angry .
They lost their away match to Fulham, completely and utterly . It was as if they raised hands early to surrender . The TV commentators were wondering why Manchester United had played so badly in this game .
After a long time of swearing, Ferguson suddenly shut his mouth . This unusual move caught the attention of the players, with some daredevils quietly raising their heads and seeing Ferguson gasping for breath in his chair . His face was still red, but there was a fine layer of sweat on his forehead . He was sitting on the chair in that manner . His shoulders shook as he breathed . It looked as if he was exhausted .
"Go home, run back to your car . " Ferguson waved .
The players were relieved to get up and walk out of the dressing room .
When everyone was gone, and Ferguson was left alone in the locker room, he was still sitting in his chair motionlessly . The gasps and red on his face faded, but the sweat on his forehead was still there, though Ferguson did not wipe it . He was 69 . Even scolding people seemed to be draining his strength, requiring him to rest for so long after . What would that group of rabbits think of his aging? Would they think that they could do as they wished now that he was unable to control them?
He thought of the scene of Brian Howard Clough leaving the City Stadium . Ferguson did not want to leave his coaching position like that . He was a great coach and deserved a decent ending .
After the break, Ferguson felt the strength return to him . He got up and walked out of the dressing room .
※※※
Two days after the game, David Gill, the chief executive of Manchester United involved in the English FA's work in London, got a call from Manchester . It was the manager, Alex Ferguson . This time, he did not reach out to the club for money or say which young talent he saw he wanted Gill to arrange for him to meet . He did not ask for anything and gave no explanation for the unexpected loss to Fulham two days ago, but he did not call specifically to simply just talk .
He said only one thing, "David, I'm tired . Find a successor . "
David Gill was shocked . In his mind, the FA meeting was no match for this news . He immediately pushed the meeting back and flew to Manchester on the earliest flight . He was going to talk to Ferguson in person to see if he was being serious .
Ferguson had repeatedly expressed his desire to retire . Sometimes, he did it just to put pressure on the club . The other times he had been sincere, but the club successfully discouraged him . Ferguson's 24 years at Manchester United had long been integrated with the world-famous club . No one in Manchester United had seriously considered even a one-day absence of Ferguson, They did not think that was going to happen . Everyone wanted the Old Scotsman to die at Manchester United .
If Ferguson wanted to put pressure on the club, Gill needed to know what he wanted . If Ferguson was serious about retiring, he would still keep the old manager anyway . We already managed to keep him three times, so this time it should still be OK!
As soon as he got off the plane, Gill kept going, straight to Carrington . The team would have finished training, but Ferguson would not leave the training base so early . If there was no traffic jam on the road, Gill should still be able to catch up . In order not to go on an empty trip, Gill called Ferguson on the way, hoping that he would wait for him in his office . Ferguson had no objection . It was clear he wanted to have a good talk with Gill .
※※※
As soon as they met, Gill could not even take off his coat . He said to Ferguson, who had been waiting for a long time, in a half-joking tone, "What do you want, sir?"
"This is not a scare tactic, David . " Ferguson sat on the sofa with his legs crossed .
"Are you really serious?" Gill turned and stared at Ferguson .
Ferguson smiled . "I have decided to retire after this season . "
"I've heard that many times, but I'd like you to think it over," Gill said .
"I've also heard that many times," Ferguson replied . "I thought it over for two days before I decided to call you . "
"It's only been two days . The team needs you, Alex . " Gill pulled a chair and sat in front of Ferguson, looking at him .
"I'll be 70 next year, David," Ferguson said . "Don't you think it's cruel to ask a 70-year-old man to continue working such a stressful job?"
"Well . . . " Gill had to admit that there was no way he could outtalk the manager who was once invincible in the Premier League . He hesitated and decided to use another way to convince him . "Don't you want another European Cup? You once said to me your biggest regret was winning only one Champions League . "
Ferguson laughed . "Of course I'd want to win another . I still haven't given up on that, even now . This season is still not over . I think this season is very promising . "
Either way, Gill did not think Manchester United could win the Champions League again this season . The team's performance had been unsteady, which was one of the reasons he did not want Ferguson to leave . But, it seemed that Ferguson had decided that he could not be persuaded with just a few words .
"Start looking for a successor, David," Ferguson said . "You'd better decide on the candidate before I retire . The last thing I want to see before leaving is a soulless Manchester United . "
"Do you have someone in mind?" Gill asked .
Ferguson replied, "After all these years, there would always be those few . . . "
Gill clearly knew who Ferguson was referring to . He started listing names, "Mike Phelan?"
It was the result of a dive from within after Queiroz left Carrington, a close confidant of Ferguson . Mike Phelan's advantage was that he came from the Manchester United system and had a good understanding of the essence of Ferguson's use and tactics .
Ferguson shook his head . "No, he's better suited to be an assistant coach . " He paused, perhaps realizing he already had too many assistants, before adding, "At the very least, he's not the right person for the job at this moment . "
"Then, Moyes?"
This time, Ferguson thought for a moment before shaking his head . "I'm not sure he can do as well in this position like he did at Everton . You know, coaching a big team and a regular team are two different jobs . "
"Hm, Roy?"
Ferguson continued to shake his head . "Wait until he's 50 before considering . "
That meant he was too young . His resignation from Sunderland was, of course, due to poor results and too much pressure that made Keane feel like things were out of his control . All in all, he was not really ready to become a professional manager, let alone Manchester United's manager . He had previously said he wanted to replace Ferguson as Manchester United's manager, but he had not said that again in recent years . It seemed like he had learned the gap between reality and ideals .
"José Mourinho?"
Ferguson glanced at Gill . "Do you think he'll come?"
Gill shrugged . "How do you know if you don't try? What do you think?"
"If you can bring him, I certainly don't have a problem, but United's fans may have to take a while to get used to their new manager," Ferguson said .
"Well, what about an easy one . . . Queiroz?"
"He and the Portuguese Football Association just renewed less than a year ago," Ferguson replied .
"Hey, Alex, all I need is your evaluation of the candidate," Gill said .
"I think he knows Manchester United best, but . . . "
"But?"
"Manchester United's record under his team might be volatile," Ferguson said . "Well, to put it simply, I think Queiroz is a good fit for Manchester United technically, but mentally I can't look at him with high hopes . "
"Ha, you see, Alex, there's no suitable successor, so stop saying you want to retire," Gill said .
It turned out that this was all a setup . But, was Ferguson one to give in so easily?
"You haven't heard my recommendation yet, David," Ferguson said . "Didn't you just ask me to recommend?"
"Try one," Gill said .
"Tony Twain . "
Gill's eyes widened . He gave almost no thought and rejected it . "That's impossible!"
"Is it impossible for us or for him?" Ferguson asked .
"Can you imagine him leaving Nottingham Forest?" Gill asked .
Ferguson stared at Gill . "I don't think I can imagine you working with him . "
Gill admitted to that . "I wouldn't be happy working with him . "
"Putting aside your personal relationship with him, I think he is the best fit for Manchester United," Ferguson said . "He's a coach with a championship tradition, and he can bring success to the team and easily gain the trust and support of the players . Of course, United fans will love this arrogant man once they get used to him . "
Gill's distaste for Twain was completely personal . There was no real reason he hated Twain . He did not hate him because of his character or words . He just did . Though Ferguson was also a head coach with huge character, he did things within reason . Twain was purely a mad dog . In order to achieve his goal, he would do whatever it took . Keegan was a good old man, but he just got bitten down by Twain .
Though he could talk at length with Ferguson and Arsene Wenger, the fact of the matter was most people hated him . In this relatively conservative circle of English football, he was too arrogant, shameless, mean, self-righteous, selfish . . .
"He's not my type anyway . I always felt that he did not belong to England, nor did he belong to Manchester United," Gill vehemently said .
Ferguson acquiesced . He knew that it would be very difficult to get Twain to Manchester United . The issue was not with the club but with Twain . From numerous side knocks, Ferguson could see that Twain did not have much interest in coaching a team like Manchester United .
To be able to coach such a big team was a dream of countless coaches . It was like a train that only passed by once . If one missed it, one missed it . Tony was always rejecting his kindness . Was he not willing to leave Nottingham Forest?
He had always been suspicious of Twain's loyalty to Nottingham Forest . Ferguson always looked down on Nottingham Forest for being a small club no matter how many champions Twain won . He was a very talented head coach, but it was a waste how he was willing to tie himself to such a small stage where he could not expand his talents .
According to the source, Benitez led Liverpool for several years in a row, splurging on people but only played in the League Cup . Liverpool's top committee once wanted to ask Twain to coach . In the end, it was not clear why they canceled it . Perhaps they were thinking the same way as David Gill .
Twain did not belong to Manchester United, Liverpool, England, or any team . If, one day, he suddenly announced that he was leaving Nottingham Forest and went home to enjoy the world with his wife, Ferguson felt that he would not be too surprised . Such a tough and unique person would belong only to himself .
David Gill looked at the pensive Ferguson, preparing to leave . "Well, we will try for the person you recommend . My personal feelings are still only my personal feelings . If you choose him to really help Manchester United . . . " He shrugged . In fact, he decided that Twain would never accept Manchester United's invitation .
"The Ferguson I know is someone who tirelessly chases victory . " At the time of the farewell, Gill was still standing at the door with some reluctance .
"That must have been me 40 years ago . Have we known each other for so long?" Ferguson laughed and turned his last effort into dust .
Gill had no other options in the face of this old man . He sighed and left .
※※※
Around three months later, Ferguson was locked in psychological warfare with Twain and played the "My Successor" card . Some thought he was just trying to disrupt Nottingham Forest's morale, but the top committee in Manchester United was serious .
Twain received David Gill's call before going to Glasgow .
"Hello, Mr . Twain . I'm David Gill, Chief Executive Officer of Manchester United . Can have a minute of your time?"
Twain was confused . What did Manchester United's CEO want from him? He instinctively refused . "I was just about to go to the airport . "
"Only a few minutes, I promise, no more than five minutes . " Gill held in his hate against Twain, prioritizing business . In fact, he did not even use a minute .
"There's an attractive job contract here, Mr . Twain," Gill said . "We hope to hire you to coach Manchester United next season . We don't ask for your reply right away . We just want you to think it over . This is my phone number . Once you've made your decision, you can contact me at any time . Goodbye, Mr . Twain . "
Twain was stunned at the door with a phone that was still ringing . Manchester United suddenly called him to invite him to go Manchester United to coach?
Hey, sir, is it not psychological warfare? Why does it sound so serious? What is this all about?
...
Chapter 765 - Conquering Calderon
“Welcome to Calderon! You are now watching a match from Group C of the Champions League in the 10-11 season where Atletico Madrid and Nottingham Forest face off against each other. They have never confronted each other before so, to both sides, the other is a piece of blank paper. Nottingham Forest beat the Celtics 1-0 at home in the first group game while Atletico Madrid shook hands with Juventus away from home. In terms of points, Nottingham Forest are temporarily ahead. But this is in Calderon, the home of Atletico Madrid, so Nottingham Forest can’t afford to let down their guard! ”
The lights in the Calderon Stadium were bright at night. Towering lights shone from all directions illuminating the stadium. In a city that was plunged into darkness, this was a place where there was concentrated light, and fans walked through narrow streets, pouring into the stadium. The noise was like water droplets carried by the river into the ocean, and the pitch slowly became a buzz. The whole of south Madrid was in a feverish atmosphere.
People here did not mind spending a full day’s wage on a ticket, to just rush in and roar for 90 minutes and then be either satisfied or disappointed before going home to sleep. Football was not a pastime for them, it was almost their goal of life.It was a crazy stadium and any visiting team would be under a lot of pressure here.
“But we f*cking grew up under pressure! No pressure to play away? I don’t believe in such a gimmick.” Twain was making the final pre-match campaign for his team in Calderon’s dressing room for the away team. “As professional players and professional coaches, we all face all kinds of pressures. I don’t think that highly of Calderon. Atletico Madrid wants to use their home advantage to scare us, tell me, are you scared? ”
“How is that possible, Sir?” Eastwood stood up and said,” Who do they think they are?” King Kong? Godzilla? Or the Jurassic dinosaurs?”
Twain hastened to make gestures to stop him from continuing, otherwise the main character for the pre-game time would be replaced.
“Well, Freddy. I know your determination. This game concerns whether we can get out of the group… Actually, every game is about it, so I’m asking you to do your best! Aguero is the key man, the whole defensive line better put on some effort and pay close attention to the defense and completely freeze him. If I think Aguero isn’t capable after the game, you’ll win! He’s fast, so I’m asking the back line not to press down easily. The winger’s assists also minimized some of the opportunities not to give Atletico Madrid a quick attack. Pay attention to protect each other on the empty space behind them. George. ”
Wood got up.
“If Aguero pulls back to the midfield to take on the midfielder, you go up and defend. Stay away from the penalty area if you’re going to foul.”
Wood nodded.
After explaining Wood’s situation, Twain said to the team, “When attacking, stick to the side. The middle road has Camacho, who’s a problem. Bypass him and when he draws to the side-side co-defense, George and Thiago will be waiting for the opportunity to plug in. ”
When Twain played Atletico Madrid at home and arranged the line-up with two defensive midfielders he gave up almost entirely the tactics of the centre-back attack. One reason for using the main side of the road was to avoid the short route and play with Nottingham Forest’s best side flanks. The other was to prevent Madrid’s attack. He deliberately compressed the distance between the two players in midfield and the back line, denying Aguero and others the chance to make plays in the forward line.
The next attack depended on how well Matías Fernández and Lennon could do on the sideline.
Twain took a look at Fernández, whose translator was not allowed into the team’s most private place, the locker room, so he could only rely on the player’s experience and guess what the team was going to play.
Twain also could not speak Spanish. He was fluent in Chinese, but Fernández as a Chilean could not understand. Fernández was the key in this game so instructions had to be relayed to him clearly. He called Fernández’s name. Fernandez looked up. He could recognise his name being called, at the very least.
Twain drew his position on the tactical board and then a straight line in the circle representing Fernández, all the way to the other side’s penalty area. He looked at Fernández with his eyes.The Chilean nodded.
Twain then split scored two lines at this point, one continuing to walk near the baseline and pulling a dashed line near the bottom line all the way to the front. The other suddenly folded from that point into the penalty area and then pulled out a dotted line towards the goal.Twain looked at Fernández in the process of drawing and only continued to draw after Fernandez nodded. After he finished drawing,, Fernández had basically understood what he was going to do. Then, Twain spoke to him in very simple English, “No defend.”
“No” and “defend” were two simple English words that Fernández could still understand. He nodded and said, “Yes.”
Twain suddenly raised his voice and said, “Attack!Attack!”
Fernández was taken by Twain and also raised his volume of the answer, “Yes! Yes!”
“OK!” Twain gave Fernández a thumbs up.
Having done this, Twain clapped his hands: “Okay, guys. In this game, just remember one thing: I don’t need a draw and a defeat, I just need to win! Take on Calderon at home and take down Atletico Madrid! ”
※※※
Atletico Madrid started the game with their home ground, launching a ferocious attack on the heart of Nottingham Forest, which seemed to never stop.Twain stood on the edge of the field with his hands crossed over his chest and regarded the changing scene coldly. He was not in a hurry. He was still quite confident with Nottingham Forest’s defence; as long as it was solely defence, the number of teams who could score on Nottingham Forest was pitiful. Maybe Barcelona could? But all of this was just speculation; both sides would have to meet for a conclusion to be drawn.
Five minutes later, Atletico Madrid were back to no avail and they slowed down a little. The next wave of attacks was brewing while guarding against Nottingham Forest’s quick counter-attacks.Nottingham Forest fought back.
The attack from midfield sent the ball straight onto the sideline and gave it to Matías Fernández.Atletico Madrid players had expressed some attention about Fernández, but more often than not, they set their sights on George Wood.
The latest information told Atletico Madrid coach Pellegrini that George Wood had been in excellent form lately and, to the chagrin of Nottingham Forest’s opponents, this defensive midfielder was now able to step up to the attack. It was difficult to guard against something you could not see. Fernández had such a good defense, so it was annoying that George Wood would] attack suddenly with a screamer.
Fernández then began his performance on the sideline.He was not too fast, but his technique was excellent. He was also outstanding in a game where the emphasis was on technology in La Liga.Twain gave him the most freedom in this game, allowing him to play at will under the bottom or inside. He was also not required to defend, which was Fernández’s favorite point.
He used his first touch to dribble past Simão quickly, then passed the ball suddenly when he was facing against the Greek right-back Setaridis, then went down. Agbonlahor then passed the football out immediately, a one-two!After, Fernández did not wait for the defensive centre-back Zé Castro to advance. He passed the ball in and the goal of the ball was to reach Žigić!
In this game, Twain did not have a technical striker, Eastwood, nor did he let the good-looking Ibišević start. Instead, he went to two extremes: one was the fast Agbonlahor and the other was the tall Žigić.Pablo, the tallest centre-back at Atletico Madrid, was 1.92m tall, but he was injured a month ago and had not recovered enough to play so he did not even make it into the roster of this match. Atletico Madrid’s first two centre-backs were a 1.83m Zé Castro and Heitinga, who were 1.8m.
Twain decided to make a big deal of the other’s centre-back’s height, using Žigić’s jump and header to cause trouble for Atletico Madrid. He succeeded!
“Žigić leaps high…header! ”
“GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL——”
Žigić jumped up when no one around him could compete with his height. Fernández’s pass ball was so easy comfortable to receive that he did not even need to adjust his posture. All he did was tilt his head slightly, then swing!
It was impressive enough that Atletico Madrid’s goalkeeper Leo Frank could react at such a close distance was already very good. He jumped out but was just a step late, and could only watch the football roll into the goalpost.
“Nottingham Forest scored a goal in the sixth minute! It was their first attack, their first shot since the start of the game! They’re ahead! Atletico Madrid has been dealt a heavy blow! ”
They really took a hard hit. Losing a goal so quickly at the start was definitely not in their tactical arrangement. What to do next?Atletico Madrid suddenly lost their ideas.
Should we attack?
After a few minutes of hesitation, Atletico Madrid launched another ferocious attack. With the cheers of the home fans, they seemed to be drowning out Akinfeev’s goal.
Twain was really entertained. He liked being overwhelmed by his opponent, taking all their hits while keeping an eye out for openings before shocking them with a counterattack.
Why would he arrange a double defensive midfielder? It was just for this moment to come. It was just that this moment came a lot earlier than he had expected.
※※※
The next game was exceedingly well for Nottingham Forest. Atletico Madrid, who had lost a goal, was still attacking pretty strongly and they were left out in the frenzy at home.
Even Pellegrini did not think there was anything wrong with that. He had told the players to stick to the attack at home and try to take advantage of the home advantage to take on Nottingham Forest and pave the way for the group to come out of the game.
Wandering in the midfield was Fernández who looked at the lively backfield, he chose to continue to patrol. The head did not seem to make gestures on the pitch to make him defend. Of course he knew what the team was facing, so he knew that his personal skills will be the key to the team’s counter-attack.So he was at ease and continued to patrol in midfield.
The opportunity reappeared towards the end of the first half.Fernández received the ball from Barnes and ran along the sideline. This time he managed to attract the attention of two Atletico Madrid players. Hetinga and Camacho came in one after the other. He did not choose to blindly dribble near the bottom, nor forced an incision, but in the gap of the two men he found the route of the pass, the football from between Hetinga’s legs rolled out.
Quick, kill Agbonlahor!
Because he came from the back, it was completely not an offside. Taking advantage of Atletico Madrid’s pressure and empty defensive half, strike again!
Agbonlahor received the ball and then accelerated, relying on his speed to shake off Guilo who was constantly chasing behind his ass, and then faced goalkeeper Frank, where he feigned to trick him onto the ground.
What was there to hesitate in the face of an empty door? Strike!
“GOOOOOAL – SECOND BALL! In the 41st minute of the first half, Nottingham Forest had a classic quick counter-attack! It was perfectly possible to write in the books! Fernández, who had two assists, was Forest’s best player in the first half, scoring two goals on two occasions. Perfect performance! ”
Twain and his colleagues applauded the goal. His two-goal lead over Atletico Madrid was far from him being overjoyed for Fernández, who was in his best form.
※※※
At half-time, Twain praised Fernández’s performance, praising him as if he bloomed. Although there were still too many English words he did not understand, he understood “GOOD” and “VERY GOOD”. He finally began to think that his first choice to move to Nottingham Forest might not have been a failed risk.
Atletico Madrid stepped up their defence on Fernández in the second half. As a player who played in La Liga last season, he was no stranger to the game. That somewhat limited Fernández’s play. Even Camacho paid special attention several times to interfere with Fernández’s receiving the ball. In such cases, Twain instructed Wood from the sidelines to step in and get involved in the attack. There was no need to always defend at the back.
This play upset Pellegrini’s lineup at half-time. If Camacho was to stop Wood, then Fernández would have to hand over his wing-back and the forward defender to defend, which would be tantamount to sacrificing the team’s right-hand side of the attack and rely on one leg on offense. How would that even the score? The middle-of-the-road attack was stuffed by Thiago and Wood, as well as Pepe and others.
At the start of the first half, Aguero was still waiting for support from the midfield, and then he found that the midfield pass was cut off by Wood and Thiago, he tried to pull back the ball back, and then he fell into Wood’s tight watch.
George Wood was judged to be a one-on-one defender who could defend against Messi, and Aguero was unable to do anything but be silent the entire first half. Despite the fact that Atletico Madrid had plenty of opportunities to attack, Aguero had never had the chance to make a particularly threatening shot.
Wood’s chances increased slightly in the second half when he was about to attack, but he was still held back by Pepe and Thiago. Even without Thiago, Pepe was capable enough to take on Aguero alone. Aguero really faced a strong enemy today.
Atletico Madrid was basically Aguero’s team in the last two years because of his outstanding performance. The benefits and disadvantages were obvious. When Aguero was in good form, Atletico Madrid could kill whoever it saw, but once Aguero was frozen, then Atletico Madrid would soon become a second-rate team. Twain planned to freeze Atletico Madrid’s core Aguero in this game. Coupled with Fernández’s outburst, the victory came as no surprise.
Aguero only came to light in the final five minutes of the game, with his two consecutive shots narrowly scoring through the city of Akinfeev, but the morale-boosting performance came too late and did little to change the score.
Nottingham Forest finished with 2-0 on away with two assists from Fernández with the dual defensive midfielder strategy with counterattacks. Two wins in two games had already taken the lead in the competition with Juventus for a place in the group stage. If he could keep winning like that, then the team will really be the death group of the other three teams, as what Twain said.
Pellegrini looked dejected in his post-match press conference, admitting it was Nottingham Forest’s goal in the sixth minute which disrupted the team’s entire deployment. So much so that for the next eighty-four minutes, his team was in a state of total passivity, with Tony Twain’s team is leading the way.
And for Tony Twain? “It was just a wonderful night and we won. Fernández found his form, and I have no other needs.”
There was a reporter who asked what he thought of facing Juventus after playing against Atletico Madrid.
“Meeting old friends always makes people excited.” Twain laughed charmingly. It was as if that the opponent was really his old friend.
After this game, the media could start to officially hype Nottingham Forest and Juventus “double club”.
...
Chapter 766 - Fight The Old Lady Again
Seven rounds had carried on in the league tournament, with Nottingham Forest achieving two draws and five wins to stay in fourth place in the league for now.
The competition in this season had been fierce since the first round. By now, in October, the league tournament’s top six teams’ points were only three points difference. The top two, Manchester United and Arsenal had the same points. They were only one point ahead of Nottingham Forest.
However, the season had only now started for two months. It was too early to say which team would win the title in the end.
Twain’s plan this season was to stay within the top four in the league tournament and secure the qualification for next season’s Champions League. They must at least advance into the final four from the top eight in the Champions League. If they could win the title, then of course they must fight for it at all costs. As for the EFL Cup and FA Cup, they were still used for the team as practice.
The Champions League away game against Atlético Madrid had helped Fernández regained his form. But whether he could show the same form in the league tournament remained a question mark for everyone.
In the eighth round of the league tournament, Nottingham Forest had an away challenge against Sunderland. Tony Twain continued to put Fernández in the starting lineup. He continued his performance from the game against Atlético Madrid. Also because of Bale’s injury and that Baines was not a full back with good attacking abilities, Twain did not ask for Baines to assist with the offense or for Fernández to return to defend on the left flank. The Chilean could single-mindedly deal with the opponent’s defensive players and employ breakthroughs or passes to threaten the other team’s goal.
Fernández’s technique was undoubtedly outstanding in the English Premier League. Sunderland was not the kind of team with fine technique. They were more like a traditional English team with their long balls, rough individual techniques, lots of active errors in passing and receiving the ball. But they had good physical fitness, bold in tackles and like to use physical contact.
However, Fernández showed that he was more able to compete than they did in the game— he completely did not consider whether he would get hurt in a physical collision with his opponent. All he knew was that if he did not try harder, he would not be in the main position for long.
The Chilean’s body was thin, but his technique was good, which somewhat closed the gap between the two sides. He used his superb footwork to protect the ball alone surrounded by three Sunderland players. Under such circumstances, the Sunderland players had only two options—one for Fernández to successfully dribble the ball out and the other was to foul.
The Sunderland manager was no longer Roy Keane. Twain felt that even if Keane was still there, it was expected that the players would be instructed to give Fernández a hard kick without reservations. Well, because he was the kind of manager who would instruct his own players to do so too…
Fernández was given the extra attention and was fouled against five times in the forty-five minutes of the first half. Fortunately, he was not hurt. In return, three of Sunderland’s four defenders received yellow cards due to him.
In the second half, Sunderland finally suffered for their rough tactics. When Fernández dribbled the ball to break through to the penalty area, he was shoveled to the ground by the Sunderland center back, Paul McShane.
The referee did not hesitate to award a penalty kick. Although this caused a collective protest from the home team’s players and fans, the referee did not change the penalty. Not only that, he showed McShane, who already had a yellow card, his second yellow card!
An agitated McShane was almost on the verge of grabbing the red card in the referee’s hand. While on the other side, Fernández who produced the penalty kick and sent down one Sunderland player, was being hugged by his teammates. He felt that he was integrating with the team. He no longer questioned whether transferring to the cold and wet England was right or wrong.
There was no turning back now. He must succeed here no matter what!
The penalty kick was to be executed by Eastwood; the team’s number one penalty shot expert. He fired a powerful shot after a long-distance run and the goalkeeper judged it in the right direction, but the ball was too fast, and the ball had already hit the net behind him as he pounced!
Nottingham Forest took the lead in the away game with a penalty shot.
Sunderland, which had one center back sent off, had to adjust their tactics. They had to bring off the Paraguayan striker, Óscar Cardozo and replaced him with the center back, Anton Ferdinand. This man was the younger brother of Manchester United’s center back, Rio Ferdinand. But he was not as capable as his brother, young and could only play for the mid to lower level teams.
Being forced to change the players this time completely disrupted Sunderland’s deployment.
When Fernández took the ball again, the Sunderland defenders had to hesitate—they were afraid to follow McShane’s footsteps. This made Fernández increasingly aggressive. He was not satisfied with breaking through from the wings. He simply moved to the middle and pushed Şahin to the left.
His excellent long shots, passes and breakthroughs created a big headache for the Sunderland defenders.
In the 87th minute, Sunderland fully pressed to try to equalize the score with a dogged fight. But Fernández’s long distance dribble and strike from the backfield shattered their dream.
Because of his previous active performance, his dribbling this time attracted the marking from two Sunderland players. Instead, he passed the football to the completely unguarded Ibišević.
Super Ibi slightly adjusted the ball under his feet outside the penalty area and then fired a long shot that went straight past the Scotland national team’s main goalkeeper, Gordon’s ten-fingers.
After the goal, Ibišević ran to the camera behind the corner flag once again and then lifted his right hand to give a hard slap.
This was his fifth goal of the season!
It was a goal that locked in the win and a goal that caused the Sunderland team to lose their fighting spirit.
With five or six minutes remaining, Sunderland could no longer organize an effective attack and the game was brought to an end in this way.
Nottingham Forest won the away game by 2:0 against Sunderland with Matías Fernández’s wonderful performance.
After the game, Fernández received the champagne that symbolized the best player on the spot. He smiled happily in the crowd of reporters.
Twain also praised Fernández at the press conference. He now had to do everything he could to make Fernández feel that he had a future at the Forest team and that Nottingham Forest was a team worthy for him to play for.
Anyway, saying good things did not require any costs, so naturally the more the better.
Fernández later spoke about life at the Forest team in an interview with his hometown media.
He said, “… I love this team and I’m getting used to the life here. Everyone is friendly and the boss—they all address the manager here in this way—is a man of unique charm. This team is different from the other teams and I want to win championships here. I enjoy my life here very much.”
“Is the language barrier an obstacle?” The reporter asked him.
He shook his head and said, “Playing relies on the feet, not the mouth. I feel like I’m building the rapport with my teammates.”
He was right. “He is building the rapport.”
Despite winning the game against Sunderland and Twain also praised Fernández for his best performance, in fact his heart was not as happy as he showed.
Fernández found his form but the rapport needed to be developed slowly. To able to defeat Sunderland was due to individual ability and not the overall strength of the team. Fernández more often opted to fight alone, which could be seen from the ten fouls against him in the game.
Twain was positive about Fernández’s brilliant performance in the game. But if that was the case in later games, he would have to criticize the team with a grim expression. Nottingham Forest had never been the type of team that insisted on individualism. He was after overall football. If it must be said that this team had individual heroism, then the hero could only be Tony Twain himself.
※※※
Nottingham Forest once again left the United Kingdom and flew to Italy after they played against Sunderland.
This time, they were up against an old rival, Juventus from two seasons ago.
Before they left, Twain gave an interview to the media, which was unexpected. He did not show his usual style of madness. Instead, he carefully said, “There’s a certain degree of difficulty playing against Juventus in the away game. Of course, I want to win, but it doesn’t make sense to say whether we can win right now. The football is round. Until the last second, who can know the result?”
The media interpreted Twain’s attitude as a deliberate show of weakness and that it was nothing more than a psychological warfare—he wanted Juventus to think that Nottingham Forest was afraid of them and to take them lightly. In actual fact? They wanted to strike them another fatal blow when Juventus underestimated them!
It was simply too in line with the guy, Tony Twain’s style.
Therefore, his words definitely could not be trusted!
※※※
It was miracle that Ranieri had not been dismissed yet as the Juventus manager. Everyone thought he was an overdue manager and he lasted three seasons… He still sat firmly in that position.
Now the white-haired old man was studying their strongest opponent in the Champions League group stage, Nottingham Forest.
Judging by the current points standings, the seeded team, Juventus had one win and one draw, trailing behind Nottingham Forest with two wins.
Tony Twain’s speech before he came naturally did not escape Ranieri’s attention.
He was pondering Tony Twain’s motive behind his sudden display of his stance…
According to Tony Twain’s previous habit of giving outlooks on the game and future, he should brashly expressed, “The three best teams in the world are Nottingham Forest, Nottingham Forest and Nottingham Forest. So, our opponent is us. I don’t care whether the game is played against Juventus or Barcelona because the result is only one—we win!”
Only by saying that would be in keeping with his character.
He was unexpectedly cautious and voluntarily low-key. Such an unusual behavior could not stop Ranieri from being extra careful.
He wants us to take the enemy lightly?
Is Juventus that kind of team?
Does he really think the probability of winning is low playing against Juventus in the away game? So, he’s giving himself a good way to get off the hook ahead of time?
Ranieri felt that this possibility was way too low…
What tricks is Tony Twain hiding up his sleeves? What does he want to do?
If his aim was to trick Juventus into underestimating the opponent, then he must want Juventus to attack aggressively at home and then wait to fight back. But Juventus was not a team that would forget itself. Even at home, Ranieri would not have taken the risk of doing so. At any given time, Juventus always give priority to “stability.” Otherwise they would be called “The Old Lady.” It was a team style that would not change no matter how many managers were changed.
Ranieri believed Twain’s level of intelligence would not be low enough to think Juventus would attack at home and leave plenty of space in the backfield for the Forest team to counterattack.
After all, when Juventus beat Nottingham Forest two seasons ago, it was not based on offense, but on the overall balance. They might not be the best in offense or defense, but their integrated strength was powerful and had no obvious weaknesses.
Football was a game of hiding one’s weaknesses and finding the opponent’s weaknesses to exploit. In this respect, Juventus’ style of play had already established them in an “invincible position.”
Unable to think of exactly why Twain suddenly adopted a low-key manner at this time, Ranieri decided to stop mulling over it. Regardless of what Tony Twain had hiding up his sleeves, as the home team and Serie A’s biggest powerhouse, Juventus, he just needed to stick to their style of play and football.
Juventus’ football was not the kind of football that was adjusted to different opponents. If the football style of Barcelona, currently dominant in the football world, was “aggressive offense”, then Juventus’ style was “immovable.”
Ranieri decided to stick to his style in order to cope with shifting events by sticking to a fundamental principle.
Just like the first time the two teams competed against each other, he did not know much more about Nottingham Forest than the average person, so he stuck to Juventus’ own style of play to eventually defeat Nottingham Forest at home and retreat as a whole in the away match. He felt he did not have to make any changes. Juventus was almost born to subdue Nottingham Forest.
What was a “natural enemy?”
Juventus was the natural enemy of Nottingham Forest!
Tony Twain’s tactical style did not appear to change much from two years ago. If that was the case… Ranieri felt it would not be a problem to get the three points at home without any surprise. As for the away match, he only needed to be more careful.
He did not underestimate his enemy at all.
...
Chapter 767 - Change
Nottingham Forest had been in closed-door training again since they finished the game with Sunderland. The English media complained that there had never been a manager like Tony Twain who used closed-door training so often to prepare for the competition.
Carl Spicer then said it was proof that how terrified Tony Twain was—he dared not let the media and his opponent know what he was doing. This implied that he had no confidence.
Twain obviously did this to keep things confidential because he wanted to give Juventus a “big surprise.” But he did not feel that he had no confidence. Self-confidence and blind arrogance were two different things. Anyhow, he was up against the group’s most powerful opponent. Superficial arrogance and true arrogance were two different matters.
In fact, Twain’s remarks to the media before he came to Italy were not entirely intended to create some trouble to Ranieri’s mind. He truly had to be careful.
That was what he said to the team.
When the team arrived in Turin, they trained at Stadio delle Alpi to adapt to the pitch. For the first fifteen minutes, the media could come in and film. It was what the rules must allow, or else Twain would not have even given them a second. But the media could not really shoot anything meaningful within these fifteen minutes. Because the team had been doing simple physical training. After the fifteen minutes were up, the team really began its tactical practice after they saw all the media pack up and leave. But it was just drills for set pieces.
Twain knew there would be people from Juventus in some corner of the pitch observing them. He would not reveal the real stuff on the enemy’s turf.
Once the training was over, it was the pre-match press conference. Twain saw Ranieri again. Both parties acted low-key. It was normal for Ranieri to maintain a low profile, but it was irregular for Twain to keep a low profile. Twain repeated the words he spoke in England, but he deliberately acted as if he was teasing and not serious about his speech.
He just wanted others to not be able to guess what he was going to do.
“Juventus is a very strong opponent … Did I say before that the teams to advance were Nottingham Forest and any other team? Well, yes. But isn’t Juventus among them? Do you really want me to state an exact name? In that case, if I say Team A advances, how would Team B and C take it? I’m not stupid enough to make enemies everywhere…” Twain grinned and completely overturned his previously arrogant image.
Many media muttered below, “He had just said those words not long ago and now he refuted everything. He’s so shameless!”
“If he still had a sense of shame, he wouldn’t be Tony Twain…”
Twain seemed to want to express goodwill toward Juventus, but the Turin media would not give him the chance. Over and over again, they mentioned the two group matches two seasons ago and asked Twain what he thought.
“What do I think? It’s normal to win or lose on the football field. Besides, what’s the point of talking about what happened two seasons ago now? Winning or losing before held no meaning for tomorrow’s game. I only care about tomorrow. I don’t care about the past.”
“Have you ever thought about how to successfully take revenge at the Stadio delle Alpi, Mr. Twain?”
“I have a lot of respect for Juventus. It’s a great team. Since it was founded in 1897, it has gained a total of …” Twain began to recite a brief summary of Juventus, which took about two minutes. After the summary, he said to the reporter who asked the question, “Do you understand what I mean?”
The Italian reporter’s mind had temporarily lost its ability to think.
But it was impossible for the media to let him go so easily. Another reporter took over and piped up, “You know Juventus very well, Mr. Twain. But you still did not say whether tomorrow’s game will be a revenge battle for Nottingham Forest.”
Twain stared at the reporter who stood up for a while. His eyes slowly became cold and the reporters anticipated Twain to suddenly slam on the table, become hostile and abuse roundly. Then there would be a good show. But that kind of expression only appeared for a second, and he suddenly smiled, “If revenge breeds revenge, will there ever be an end to it? I’m not interested in revenge. I’m only interested in winning.”
The answer greatly disappointed the reporters.
They had to throw the question to Ranieri and ask if he was worried about Nottingham Forest’s revenge at Stadio delle Alpi. Ranieri was not tricked by the media either. His answer was precisely the same as that of Twain, “I’m not interested in this kind of question.”
Due to Twain’s sudden anomaly, the press conference, which should have a lot of attention-grabbing news, ended in an awkward silence.
As they left the press conference, Twain stopped Ranieri and offered to shake his hand, “Hopefully tomorrow is a great game.” He smiled and said in Italian.
Ranieri was a little surprised, “I didn’t know you speak Italian, Mr. Twain.”
“A little.” In actual fact, he did not know any at all. Twain made a concentrated effort to quickly memorize the sentence by rote at the last minute before coming.
So Ranieri smiled, “I hope so too, Mr. Twain.”
After Twain’s farewell, the smile on Ranieri’s face gradually vanished. He felt that he was unable to make sense of the man. Ever since he had to play against him, his performance had become more and more unusual. In the face of the reporter’s numerous provocations, he did not get angry on the spot. Did his temper improve because of the heart attack?
Did his unusual behavior had anything to do with the game?
Ranieri shook his head and did not think about such meaningless things. Anyway, Juventus would only play their own football. No matter what tricks Twain pulled would be pointless in the face of Juventus.
It was a team that was so stable beyond hope.
※※※
“No one asked me how I was going to play against Juventus. Their attention was diverted to other places.” In the hotel room, Twain was talking to Dunn about the press conference that took place in the afternoon. “We’ll surprise them tomorrow!”
Meanwhile, at the hotel Juventus stayed in, Ranieri gathered all the players and coaches for a final tactical meeting. At this meeting, he would make clear the tactics to be used by the team tomorrow and the countermeasures to the tactics that the opponent might use.
It was a meeting directly related to the outcome of the next day’s game and everyone must take it seriously.
“Nottingham Forest emphasis on the flank attacks is their tradition. No matter what opponent it faces, no matter what situation, Tony Twain will not give up on that.” Ranieri explained the Forest team’s tactics to everyone in front of the tactical board.
“Matías Fernández has been in good form lately and Twain will be focused on the wings in tomorrow’s game. But judging by the last two games, Fernández and the other Forest players had not been able to work well enough with each other. He frequently fights alone in the wings. This is our chance. There’s nothing to fear about him once we cut him off with the rest of the Forest team.”
“Our defense is focused on the flanks. As long as we don’t let the Forest team play in the two flanks, their offense will be of no threat. I think in tomorrow’s game, Twain will deploy the same starting lineup as when they played against Atlético Madrid in the away match. There will be two defensive midfielders in the midfield—George Wood and Tiago. Their primary role is to intercept our attacks. Their attack focus is on the left and right side. But we also have to be prepared to deal with the two opposing defensive midfielders. Sissoko.”
Ranieri called the name of the team’s defensive midfielder, Mohamed Sissoko.
“You’re in the middle tomorrow. Stop them.”
Sissoko nodded hard and was clearly pleased with Ranieri’s arrangement. Because the manager did not select Poulsen and Marchisio, who were also defensive midfielders. It showed that in a hard-fought game, the manager trusted him more than the other two.
He had already wanted to pit his skills against the opponent’s George Wood long ago. Similarly, as a physical excellent defensive midfielder, he saw Wood as his biggest competitor. Over the years, Wood had relied on the team’s fame and results which made his value soared like a rocket. Whereas he came to Juventus from Liverpool and was always in a middling state.
He believed he was no less inferior to Wood whose strength was more likely to be hyped by the English media. He had played in England and was well aware of the media’s attitude.
When he was at Liverpool, he had played against Nottingham Forest a few times. Wood was a high-profile rookie at the time, but in Sissoko’s view, he was no different from himself. They were both physically good, technically rough, and good at defense. That was all. But just because Wood was an English player and hyped by the media, he was suddenly a world-class level player…
He was sidelined at Liverpool during that time and could not even play as the main force. Despite having a dedicated defensive midfielder like him, Benítez still brought in Mascherano, whose role overlapped with his. That was when he knew his days at Anfield were over.
Juventus played against Nottingham Forest two seasons ago. He had missed those two matches after he had received a red card in a previous match. He would not miss it again this time.
Defensive midfielder versus defensive midfielder? He looked forward to it.
Ranieri only left Sissoko in the middle alone and then placed the others to focus on the sides. Despite this being a home match, he intended to use defensive counterattack tactics to play against Nottingham Forest. Two seasons ago, he used this tactic to beat the insufferably arrogant defending champion, Nottingham Forest. He believed he could still do it two seasons later.
“First, solidify our defense and then wait for the opportunity to fight back. A team like Nottingham Forest is used to counterattack. However, they are not good at dealing with the opponent’s counterattacks. The five minutes at the start and end of every half are good opportunities for us to score goals. So do your best to seize them. If we’re going to attack, we’re going to use the middle. Nottingham Forest places its focus on the sides and the middle will be our chance.”
Ranieri announced the starting list for tomorrow’s game after he explained the tactics.
The soon to be 36-year-old next month veteran, Del Piero was not in the starting lineup. But he was on the squad list. If they could not breakthrough, Ranieri could bring him on and use his experience and skills, as well as his ability to position the ball to break the deadlock.
The starting strikers were Amauri and Iaquinta. Lined up apart in the midfield from left to right were Malouda bought from Chelsea for a fee of seven million pounds this summer, the talented young player, Sebastian Giovinco, who was trained in their youth academy, the tough defensive midfielder, Sissoko, and the old and tough, Camoranesi. In the rear defensive line from left to right were Cristian Molinaro, Chiellini, Legrottaglie, and the Czech, Grygera. The goalkeeper was, of course, Buffon.
Also, on the substitutes’ bench was the veteran captain, Del Piero, Christian Poulsen, Iago Falque Silva, Mellberg, Criscito and other strong players.
This was the strongest lineup Ranieri could come up with in recent time.
One could see how much importance he placed on the game.
※※※
But after watching for a few minutes after the start of the match the next day and observing carefully at Nottingham Forest’s formation for the game, he was immediately stunned—for the first time, Tony Twain did not adhere to his signature flank offensive. Instead, he placed the players heavily in the middle!
4-1-3-2!
This was the formation Tony Twain arranged for this game.
The goalkeeper was Akinfeev and the center backs were Pepe and Kompany. The left back was Leighton Baines and the right back was Rafinha. The defensive midfielder was George Wood while the three midfielders from left to right, were Matías Fernández, Tiago and Şahin. The striker were Ibišević and Eastwood.
“What is this?” Ranieri stood on the sidelines and muttered.
None of the information he collected suggested that Nottingham Forest had ever or tried to use such a formation. Anyone would know that the flanks were the foundation of the Forest team’s success. Looking at the signings each summer, Tony Twain always put the most focus on the wingers. Almost every winger in the Forest squad was world class.
In contrast, the abilities of the players in the middle were slightly inferior. Van der Vaart might have been the best player in terms of offense in the middle and midfield after they were promoted to the Premier League. But he had since been sold to Real Madrid. Şahin had talent, but never gave the impression that he could take on the heavy responsibility, not to mention Tiago. He was not the kind of star player who could change the course of the game.
By relying on this midfield layout, how could Twain think that he could play with the configuration of three midfielders?
While Fernández could also play as a midfielder, he was still most suited to play as a winger. Was it not self-destructing to put him in the middle?
Soon Ranieri knew why Twain had arranged it in such a way.
Juventus planned to score a goal in the opening five to ten minutes and then drag the game into their familiar rhythm. But their attack was doggedly blocked by Nottingham Forest in the midfield. This time, even Fernández was instructed to defend aggressively.
With four players in the middle, three in the front and one behind, it formed enough depth for the players to protect each other. At the same time, they could also attack directly from here. Once they attacked, Fernández and Şahin on the left and right would pull to the sides, with Tiago in the middle managing the team’s offensive order. George Wood would protect behind him. Sometimes the two of them would switch positions, with Wood moving forward and Tiago cruising behind him.
At the same time, Eastwood frequently retreated to receive like a shadow striker and also a little like a free agent in the front field. He did not have a fixed position. Ibišević stood up to Juventus’s rear defensive line in the front, leaving them afraid to make a move. With such a lineup, it seemed he had given up the flanks, but it greatly enhanced the defensive and offensive abilities in the middle. Şahin and Fernández were given the chance to face the goal directly.
In addition, the Forest team did not really abandon their flanks. Twain instructed Baines and Rafinha to plug in ahead in the game when they had a chance and be actively involved in the assists.
The combination between the flanks and middle, stumped Juventus all of a sudden. They appeared to be at a loss in the first ten minutes of the game—the pre-match tactical arrangement was to keep an eye on the flanks and steadily fight back. However, Nottingham Forest treated the middle as the main direction for attacks. And after placing four players in the middle, they were not afraid of a possible counterattack from Juventus.
Ten minutes had passed. Even though Juventus’ attack was fierce, it was of no avail. More often than not, their attacks were stopped once they advanced into the midfield. Nottingham Forest’s midfield and middle blocked the way as if there had been a series of crashes along the highway. Even the fastest attack had to slow down or even stop completely.
Ranieri stood on the sidelines, listening to the cheers from the home fans in the stands at the Stadio delle Alpi, and again looked at Tony Twain, who, like him, stood on the sidelines to direct the game. He felt a headache coming on…
...
Chapter 768 - Counterattack Counterattack
Ranieri was not a manager who was good at changing tactics according to the situation on the field. He was as slow as his team when faced with Tony Twain’s abrupt change in tactics.
Nottingham Forest quickly took control of the midfield while Juventus was unresponsive. There was a saying in modern football—the player who seizes control of the midfield takes the world. It was slightly exaggerated, but the importance of the midfield was evident.
Nottingham Forest must first take control of the midfield if they were to break the opponent’s steady counterattack and defeat Juventus in the away game. Only then would they have the ability to push ahead step by step.
Juventus simply could not pass the ball in the midfield, with all four of Nottingham Forest players taking care of both offense and defense at the same time. George Wood, in particular, tirelessly ran and intercepted in the midfield. He harassed Juventus’ every attack. Juventus’ rate of failure in its passes began to rise after the Forest team’s fast-paced tackling in the midfield.
Another weakness of Juventus’s lineup also gradually emerged—they lacked a midfielder who could keep the ball under his feet and control the entire team’s pace of attack and defense. Camoranesi was a winger and too old already while Giovinco was too young. His control of the ball was good but did not know what to do about the pace. As for Malouda… He was more of a raider than a midfield playmaker. Sissoko, the muscular man, needed not to be mentioned. He was only a worker bee. He was very talented in stealing the ball, but he was horrible at passing. Del Piero had the ability in this area, but he was on the substitutes’ bench. Ranieri did not dare put his captain at risk for any minor injuries.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Nottingham Forest took control of the midfield and fully pressed on, completely ignoring their away team disadvantages. As the whole team pressed on, the goalkeeper Akinfeev’s range of activity changed from the goal area to the entire penalty area, even extending outside pf the penalty area to act as a scrounger. The distance between the three lines was sufficient: even if the first wave of attacks were blocked, there would be a follow-up attack so that an unsuccessful attack would not result in the opponent’s counterattack. The midfielder’s double layer of interception also ensured that Juventus’ attack could not get through quickly, buying time for the Forest team’s defense.
The target that Ranieri set for the team in the opening five minutes of the game failed to materialize. It was Nottingham Forest’s turn to play. The Forest team who controlled the midfield had many ways to send the ball near Juventus’ penalty area. It was no longer the monotonous pass from the wing to the byline.
George Wood kept the ball under his feet. Sissoko wanted to rush up to intercept from a distance, yet he didn’t. If he were to do so, he would have left the goal wide open behind him and allow Nottingham Forest a direct shot to their goal. Then he would risk being replaced. Sissoko’s role became even more important when it became clear that Nottingham Forest’s main line of attack was not on the two sides, but the middle.
Wood could not remember if he had ever faced off against Sissoko. In his eyes, all opponents were the same. Very few deeply impressed him. He ignored Sissoko’s provocative expression and passed the football to Tiago. Nottingham Forest started an attack from the middle, but it did not mean that they had to strike the opponent’s penalty area straight from the center. In fact, Fernández and Şahin could disperse to the two wings during the attack.
This time, for example, when Fernández saw Tiago receive the football, he knew intuitively to plunge diagonally ahead. Sissoko looked at him and let him go. He did not keep an eye on him. His task was in the middle. Once Tiago passed the ball to Fernández, he also ran forward. Juventus’ defense swiftly retreated. Fernández soon encountered resistance. He had to stop and turn around to protect the ball. The Italian defense was not that easy to break.
Wood looked at the situation ahead and decided to go up to support. Fernández handed the ball to Wood and continued to pull to the side. When Fernández went to the side, Juventus could not help but defend. The corresponding right-back, Grygera, came up to mark him. However, Wood passed the football to Eastwood, who came from behind.
Eastwood did not keep the ball and gave it to Tiago again. Tiago already faced the goal head-on when he took the ball, so he did not hesitate and shoot from afar. Buffon fought hard to save, but he did not touch the football. The ball flew off the end line after a brush against the goalpost. The stunned Juventus fans at Stadio delle Alpi broke out in cold sweat.
※※※
In the next few minutes, Nottingham Forest had three chances to shoot, but they were all from afar. This slightly reassured Ranieri. Although the Forest team suddenly changed tactics which somewhat caught him off guard, Juventus’ traditional football was still very effective—we do not care how the opponent changes, we just stick to our football and content with the opponents. Juventus football must first put ourselves in an invincible position!
Although their attack is aggressive, they can only use long shots to threaten our goal. As long as they can’t get into the penalty area, they were not a threat. He walked to the sidelines, whistled and made a gesture, instructing the team to push the Forest team outwards and not give them a chance to enter the penalty area. They did not need to fear long shots as that shooting method had the lowest rate of scoring goals.
Even the commentator realized the point and said. “Juventus’ defense is solid, and their defensive formation is pretty good. Nottingham Forest passes the ball back and forth to find a suitable attacking point but can only play a few long shots from outside. It seems Tony Twain is still unable to find a better solution in the face of Juventus’ tactics.”
After a few waves of attack from the Forest team, Juventus began its counterattack. The standard procedure of the game should be Nottingham Forest would attack, and Juventus would use a defensive counterattack.
This time, though, they encountered aggressive interception in the midfield. Giovinco’s body was almost like a kindergarten kid in front of George Wood. Unless he dribbled the ball far away from Wood, the football at his feet would most likely be lost once he entangled with Wood.
The shaved Sebastien Giovinco was a bit like the former Italy team captain and center back, Cannavaro. But his height was a different story. He was only 1.64-meters tall, and he weighed sixty-one kilograms. He was not particularly thin, but in front of George Wood, his agility and physique did not work.
Wood was as agile and stronger than him. That kind of chance had a fifty-fifty percent chance. As long as Wood use a little bit of force, Giovinco would undoubtedly lose control of the ball. Perhaps the best solution was a quick pass to get rid of the man who was like his shadow.
But he could not find a way forward and could only pass the ball back. The pace of the team’s attack was then forced to slow down. With Nottingham Forest’s two wingers returning from the front, Juventus found that they also had to face a well-fortified defense during their attack…
Since Juventus had found a way of making Nottingham Forest only able to threaten their goal with long shots, surely Nottingham Forest would have a counter-measure too? For a while, everyone’s offensive ended with a long shot, and as a result, the quality of the attack was not high. The score was still 0:0 thirty minutes into the first half.
The commentator really wanted to give a yawn. The game was too dull—the quality of the offensive was low, the pace was dragged to a crawl by the “joint efforts” of both teams, there was neither passion nor highlights. Both sides were careful not to make mistakes. Their play-it-safe mentality made the game was absolutely unlikeable.
Ranieri was happy with the current situation as he intended to play a defensive counterattack. Juventus’ real chance was at fifteen minutes before the end of the first half. He still remembered how it went down the first time the two sides met in the Champions League—Tony Twain was anxious to take three points in the away game, so he ventured boldly with the tactics, and lost to Juventus’ defensive counterattack. They scored one goal each just five minutes into the first and second halves to completely crush Nottingham Forest.
He believed that with Tony Twain’s character, he would never learn his lesson on things he had decided on. Even though he appeared to manage the game in a low-key manner, he was, in fact, more eager than anyone else to win the game on the inside.
Why? Because his record against Juventus was a loss and a tie. There was no other team in the world that he had not defeated more than Juventus. Ranieri might have let the resentment over it passed, but for Tony Twain, he would absolutely not take it lying down. He would definitely attack, and aggressively as well! That would be Juventus’ chance!
For the ten minutes, the two sides remained in a deadlock on the pitch, threatening each other’s goal with long shots and occasionally hitting the ball into the penalty area, but the shots posed no real threat to the goalkeepers. Perhaps only the fans of both teams would be interested in such a game.
The neutral fans must have been disappointed—before the game, the media hyped it up as Tony Twain’s revenge battle and “a showdown for the giants.” But in reality? Every game with Juventus was dull, and any game with Nottingham Forest would not be too exciting either. When these two teams came together, the dullness had doubled. How could it be thrilling at all? A football game requires passion! Such a game is simply a disgrace to modern football! Those people complained in their hearts.
※※※
Ranieri looked at his watch. With six minutes left in the first half, he got up from the technical area and was ready to signal to the players to fully attack. Meanwhile, Tony Twain, who had been standing on the sidelines for forty minutes, finally seemed to feel the ache in his legs. He turned around and walked back to the technical area.
Buffon wonderfully blocked a long shot from Eastwood. This time instead of kicking the ball afar, he looked up at the midfield and threw a handball to launch an attack! Sissoko’s header tipped the ball forward, and Camoranesi withdrew to pick it up. He passed the ball to Giovinco, who was sprinting ahead at full strength.
Giovinco looked back at the ball rolling toward him and looked up ahead of him—there was no one there, but he caught a glimpse of a shadow on the left from the corner of the eye. He did not have to look carefully to know who it was. George Wood followed closely next to Giovinco like a silent wolf. He had entered a state of a hunter.
Although Wood did nothing yet and was still some distance from Giovinco, the Italian prodigy suddenly developed a state of anxiety. He felt that if he continued to dribble the ball, he would most likely be tackled by the silent number 13 near him. If the opportunity that Juventus had gotten after much difficulty were to perish in his own hands, he might be replaced in the second half. The team captain, Del Piero, had already been called by Ranieri to warm up. He must be dissatisfied with his performance …
Since he could dribble the ball to break through this man’s defense, then he must pass the ball! No matter how good he was, he could not take care of the entire backfield. Giovinco made up his mind and suddenly braked. He then looked up to find a target to pass the ball to.
He should not have stopped the ball—the stop placed him in the “dead zone.” Wood crossed in front of him and the position chosen was so good that he sealed almost all the routes he might have dribbled the ball to break out—unless he turned to dribble the ball back.
Wood was in no hurry to tackle as that could easily cause him to be bypassed. He just blocked in front of Giovinco and prevented him from dribbling the ball forward. It slowed down Juventus’ counterattack while he waited for his teammates to return to defend. Ranieri saw Giovinco suddenly stop in the field and waved his fists in a hurry.
“Giovinco is stuck near the sidelines by Wood! The Nottingham Forest players have already returned to defend, and Juventus’s quick counterattack was unsuccessful!”
Giovinco understood his situation when he saw Wood as soon as he looked up after he stopped. He knew he could not dribble the ball forward. Giovinco panicked, even more, when he saw Wood’s calm expression. He felt that his ball might be intercepted. At this time, he could only hurry to get the ball out of the way! He thought so and caught a glimpse of a man in the corner of his eye— that’s it!
“Giovinco passed the ball straight to Tiago’s feet! Did he think that Tiago was his teammate? Juventus is in trouble—they had just finished a pressing attack, and the ball was inexplicably sent to the feet of the opposing player.”
Nottingham Forest gladly accepted Giovinco’s generous gift. “Thank you.” Tiago did not forget to use Italian to thank his former teammate. The phrase suddenly provoked Giovinco, who rushed at Tiago with a furious look in his eyes.
Wood called Tiago’s name at the back to warn him that Giovinco had pounced. Tiago had clearly anticipated Giovinco’s reaction. He directly pushed the ball to Wood with his heel. Giovinco pounced on empty space and then turned to rush toward Wood. This time Wood passed the ball directly to Şahin, who was further ahead.
Nottingham Forest pressed and counterattacked Juventus! Şahin dribbled the ball forward when he was brutally shoveled by Sissoko, who threw him out along with the rolling ball. But the referee did not whistle for a foul. Even though it looked like Sissoko’s shovel was ferocious, it was clean.
Malouda, who was next to him, was going to rush up to get the ball and then continued to counterattack Nottingham Forest. Just as his foot was about to hit the football, the ball in front of him suddenly disappeared! Sissoko had just climbed up and saw a man with the yellow team caption’s armband and clad in a red Nottingham Forest jersey, flew past in front of Malouda like the wind. The football was at his feet! He did not even think and rushed toward the man’s figure to press on. We’re finally face to face, boy!
Instead of shoveling the ball first, Sissoko crossed his body and knocked into George Wood, intending to knock Wood to the side. He succeeded. George Wood was hit by him to the sidelines, but the ball at his feet was not lost. He hooked the ball, and it went with him.
Sissoko saw that the ball was not intercepted. Then he sped up and tried to push Wood to the sidelines. Just like what Wood did to Giovinco just now. This time he did not succeed. Just as he rushed at full speed toward Wood, Wood suddenly stopped, parked the football at his feet, and Sissoko overshot!
Sissoko crossed in front of Wood with a look of dismay as he could not stop in time. If Wood had a good sense of humor, he could even wave goodbye to Sissoko, who had rushed past himself.
“He shook him off with a brilliant pause!” The commentator could not help but applaud Wood for his sudden halt. “That’s so clever! Sissoko was completely deceived!” George Wood, who shook off Sissoko, had plenty of time to adjust the football. He swung his right leg. It looked like he was going to do a long shot…
“Chiellini rushed up to defend … A pass?” Wood did not shoot at the goal. Although his movement looked like a shot, the ball drew an arc and flew to the right side of the penalty area.
Ibišević stood there, but he was offside—apparently, he was behind Juventus’ entire rear defensive line just as Wood passed the ball. Another center back, Legrottaglie, raised his hand high and gestured to the referee and the assistant referee. Ibišević did not plan to receive the ball. He ran back and completely ignored the football that flew to where he was.
“Offside!” The commentator could not wait to announce the end of Nottingham Forest’s attack. Unfortunately, the referee and the assistant referee did not hear his shouts. The referee did not whistle, and the assistant referee did not raise the flag. Their eyes were clearly not on Ibišević who was running back with his head lowered, but on another red figure that was plugging in from the back at high speed.
Rafinha! Rafinha ran forward when Tiago passed the ball to Wood. When he saw Şahin’s ball being cut off by Sissoko, he still hesitated and stopped running. He thought whether or not to turn around and run back to defend. But after he saw George Wood snatch the ball back, he had no further qualms and was determined to move forward.
Wood had intended to shoot directly after he stopped. But he saw Rafinha, who had plugged in from the side, and changed his mind immediately. He passed a high ball to the right side where Rafinha arrived just in time!
The ball and the player arrived at the same time. Rafinha did not stop the ball. He directly slid to the ground and shoveled the ball for a volley shot!
Buffon clearly did not expect Nottingham Forest to make a move. He had focused all his attention on George Wood just now. Who would have thought that an opposing right-back would appear in front of his own goal? The football drilled through the gap between Buffon and the goalpost!
The ball went in!
The ball went in?!
The Juventus players seemed unable to accept the reality—they had wanted to use the last five minutes of the first half to break the deadlock, but they did not expect Nottingham Forest to successfully plot against them…
Which team was actually counterattacking?
...
Chapter 769 - Grind to Death
“A beautiful counterattack! George Wood’s brilliant performance scored a goal!” The Nottingham Forest players hugged each other tightly. It was their first goal at the Stadio delle Alpi venue!
Twain could not stay in his chair. He kept jumping up and down, waving his hands excitedly. He acted as if he had won the game already. “George is acting more and more like the core of the midfield!” Kerslake was also excited and shouted elatedly beside him. “The breakaway and pass were gorgeous!”
Ranieri shook his head in disappointment and turned to walk back. He was still jabbering nonstop. “How could he pass the ball to the opponent’s feet? I really don’t know what he was thinking!”
The loss of the ball started with Giovinco’s passing error in the front. It was frustrating to lose the ball like this. By the time Sebastian Giovinco ran back towards the penalty area, the ball was already in the goal. He looked at the football despondently.
Giovinco felt like his performance today was like a pile of crap. After a moment of silence, the booing started in the Stadio delle Alpi Stadium again. It was obviously targeted at Nottingham Forest. But to Giovinco, it sounded like all of the cries were focused upon him alone.
The booing continued until the end of the first half. Nottingham Forest entered the locker room with a one-goal lead, while the Juventus players looked a little lost—they thought the last five minutes should have belonged to them. Ranieri had already turned to leave the technical area to walk toward the tunnel the moment the whistle sounded. He was quite unhappy and had much to say during the halftime interval.
Tony Twain, on the other hand, was in no hurry to get back into the locker room. He stood on the sidelines, patting every Forest player who came off the field on the head as he shook hands with them to congratulate and encourage them. Twain was the last person to enter the visiting team’s locker room.
“Well done, guys!” Twain was in an excellent mood. His voice was loud, and his movements were energetic. It looked like he was also quite satisfied with the result of the first half. “The game has been going as we planned. But we have to keep working hard in the second half. A one-goal lead…”
“Is the most precarious situation!” Eastwood helped finish the sentence. Twain pointed at him, and everyone laughed. Twain has always treated this valued player with the most leniency. No one else would have dared to interject while Twain spoke, yet Eastwood would do so frequently without any backlash.
“Freddy, I think you can be a manager in the future.” The guys laughed again. Eastwood chuckled. “How could I, chief?”
“I bet Ranieri is upset right now.” Twain stopped paying attention to Eastwood and continued. “His plan should be the same as the last time he beat us, which is to use the opening period or the period before the end of the first half to score since he felt that we would only relax at those times. But he didn’t expect to be tricked by us.” Twain laughed deviously.
“In the second half, they will definitely keep attacking for a while because they won’t accept losing to us during a home game. That’s our chance. Seize it!” Twain made a grip with his hands.
Meanwhile, in the Juventus locker room…
Ranieri was livid. The man he faced sat silently in front of his locker-room cabinet with his head bowed. The player held a sports towel in his hand, but he was motionless. Ranieri did not scold Giovinco, who had made the crucial mistake. He just stared hard for a moment, turned around, and sighed.
“Let’s see how we can reverse the situation in the second half…” He looked at the tactical board with the formations of the two teams. In his view, the Nottingham Forest’s formation had already retreated into a defensive stance, or began “parking the bus.”
Since he coached Juventus, he had not allowed himself to make mistakes. He wanted to capitalize on the faults of others, yet he was immensely unhappy when others do the same. But now their flaw had been caught by Nottingham Forest in the first half. Tony Twain was also quite observant of other teams…
The situation was currently not in their favor. With Nottingham Forest in the lead and Ranieri’s knowledge of Juventus, he could understand what Nottingham Forest would do.
Defensive counterattack! If it were me, I would do the same…”We have to attack…” He spoke somewhat dispiritedly. “But we can’t fully press up. We have to guard against their counterattack at the same time. In the second half, we will concentrate our attacking forces on the two wings…” He said as he pointed to the other team’s formation on the tactical board.
Looking at the formation, Nottingham Forest’s middle was sturdy. Generally, an offense would encounter a strong resistance here. But the wings were relatively empty. Attacks on the wings would be far more effective.
Ranieri figured it out! Twain must have taken control of the midfield for a midfield advantage. Ranieri was not going to play by his book. They will use a quick pass from the wings to shoot straight for the goal.
“In the second half, Alessandro, you go up and replace Giovinco.” While he did not criticize Giovinco’s performance in the first half, the replacement showed everyone his attitude towards the rising midfield star. Del Piero nodded. Giovinco bowed his head lower.
※※※
“I guess Ranieri will step up the attack in the second half, but he’s not a fool. Looking at our midfield configuration, it would be a pipe dream if he wanted to win by attacking the middle. So, he’s definitely going to focus on the wings.” Twain drew two lines on the tactical board and added. “It looks like our wings are empty. Therefore, in the second half, we have to make a little adjustment…”
“The two wingers will reduce the number of assists up the line, and we will adjust the formation to a 4-4-2 parallel position. George, you and Tiago continue to take charge of the defense in the middle. Matías, you will go back to the left side and Şahin, you rest in the second half. Lennon will go on.”
Şahin nodded in acceptance of Twain’s arrangement. Both had changed players during the halftime interval, but Twain and Ranieri had completely different goals. So, the moods of the two players who were replaced were completely different.”In the second half, we will return to our offensive tactics in the wings and surprise Juventus again!”
※※※
Before the start of the second half, both sides got ready to make the substitutions near the sidelines. Juventus used Del Piero to replace Giovinco, who made a fatal error in the first half, while Nottingham Forest replaced Şahin with Lennon.
“It’s easy to understand why Giovinco was brought off. After all, he played terribly in the first half. But replacing Şahin with Lennon… What is the meaning of this? Şahin’s performance in the first half was remarkable…..” The commentator was still wondering about it, but Ranieri was keenly aware that something was wrong.
Lennon was purely a winger, and Şahin was a true midfielder. What did the adjustment mean? Nottingham Forest is going back to the wings! He had just gotten his players focused on offense in the wings, and now they were directly up against the Forest team…
He believed it must have been Twain’s plot—in the first half, he thought Nottingham Forest would stick to their play in the wings, so he focused on the wings to trap Nottingham Forest. He had not predicted that would Tony Twain uncharacteristically chose to play in the middle. Finally, the Forest team managed to attack and gain one goal. At the halftime interval, he made his own countermeasure to deal with this situation, but he did not expect Twain to change again!
Twain instructed the team to focus on their offense in the wings for the second half. It was not just for their offense, but also for their defense—when the Forest team stepped up the offense in the wings, Juventus’ offense in the wings would inevitably be affected. It was Twain’s idea to fight fire with fire in the wings.
The effect was still considerable… After the game resumed, Juventus had wanted to besiege the Forest team’s goal but were dragged into a quagmire in the midfield by Nottingham Forest. Del Piero could control the ball after he came on, but George Wood’s close marking on him made it very hard for him. To counter the Italian Golden Player with excellent ball control but a weaker physique, George Wood used his remarkable frame to tire Del Piero out, even risking fouls a couple of times.
Wood and Tiago were simultaneously on offense and defense in the first half. But by the second half, they were almost entirely focused on defense. Like two meat grinders in the midfield, they dragged in all of Juventus’ attacks to grind and crush them. The midfield defense caused a lot of trouble for Juventus’ offense.
No matter where the Juventus players passed the ball, Nottingham Forest would have the upper hand in numbers. They seemed to be everywhere. The Forest players were in excellent shape and ran around to intercept Juventus’ ball.
The game entered a deadlock. The two teams kept making mistakes—Nottingham Forest used their Premier League pace to drag Juventus, the graceful and elegant team into a frenzied dash without any regard for their image. After a while, The Old Lady could stand it no longer… Active mistakes began to increase.
While the Forest team’s mistakes were also on the rise, it was still within the extent that Tony Twain could bear. They now had the lead, and if they drag Juventus into disarray, there would be plenty of chances for the Forest team. Twain returned to his seat in the technical area, sat down and crossed his legs. He was not in a hurry.
As time went on, Juventus was the one getting more and more anxious. It was as if the manager’s seat in the Juventus technical area had nails on it. Ranieri seemed to wince as he sat restlessly. He paced around the sidelines, anxious as he stared helplessly at the pitch.
He could only hope now that Amauri could break out with the energy he had in the league tournament and break into Nottingham Forest’s goal. Unfortunately, Pepe kept a close watch on Amauri and stuck close to him. The talented center forward met a fierce rival. Furthermore, Nottingham Forest cut the link between Juventus’ midfield and forwards. Neither Amauri nor Iaquinta could receive support from the midfielders. More often than not, they struggled alone and had to continually retreated to receive the ball.
All in all, Juventus’ offensive system was messed up by Nottingham Forest. Ranieri was at his wits’ end—he was always slower than Twain by a step and made adjustments that were aimed at Twain’s previous deployments, causing the players to be at a loss over what to do.
※※※
The second half was a hundred times more frustrating than the first half. It was not until the game was about to be over that Juventus set off a wave of counterattacks. They seized the last moments and began a siege on Nottingham Forest’s goal. On the other hand, Nottingham Forest seemed reluctant to attack again. All of them retreated to defend and huddled in their own penalty area.
Twain was so unhappy with the situation that he stood on the sidelines and roared at the team to fight back. But his voice was drowned out by the deafening cheers of the home fans at Stadio delle Alpi.
“This is Juventus’ last chance! If they don’t hurry up, they will lose at home!”
Ranieri replaced Sissoko, who did not contribute to the attack at the last minute, and brought on Iago, the excellent midfielder from the La Masia Youth Camp, hoping to step up the offense, equalize the score in the final minute and create a miracle.
“Amauri attacks with a header shot!”
“Ah – Akinfeev! A beautiful save! That’s awesome!”
“Iaquinta fell inside the penalty area, and the referee whistled! But it is only a free-kick outside the penalty area. Kompany’s foul was timely. Any later, it would have been a penalty kick!”
“Del Piero takes the free-kick… and it hits the human wall! The Juventus players protested to the referee that the Forest team’s human wall was too close, but the referee only signaled to them to throw the out of bounds ball.”
…
The game only became thrilling in the last ten minutes. Juventus pressed on the edges of the Forest team with threatening shots coming in quick succession. The hearts of the Forest fans almost jumped out of their throats. The goal guarded by Akinfeev tottered under the rain of attacks as if it would fall at any moment.
Twain was also nervous. If Juventus had scored the equalizer in the final minute and he was to see them hug and celebrate in a frenzy, Twain really did not know if his nuclear-powered heart could withstand the agitation…
“Tony!” Dunn shouted from the back. He was also worried about Twain’s heart. “I’m fine, Dunn.” Twain waved his hands and rushed to the sidelines to yell. “What are you doing shrinking at the back? Are you tortoises? Your heads do not f**king belong to tortoises!!”
Nottingham Forest finally made two counterattacks, one of which came close to scoring, thanks to Twain’s frenzied yelling and body signals. Juventus was not disturbed by Nottingham Forest’s two counterattacks and continued to fully press on, wanting to score a goal before the final whistle. The always gentle and graceful Old Lady also finally took off its veil, rolled up the sleeves, and pulled up its skirt to fight with Nottingham Forest. Unfortunately, they were too late… Del Piero kicked the ball into the stands behind the Forest team’s goal when the referee blew the final whistle to end the game.
As the Juventus team captain, he was not unhappy with anyone. He was just upset about losing like this—they were completely ground to death by Nottingham Forest’s defense… The post-match statistics showed that their shots on goal were almost a third more than Nottingham Forest, but they did not score at all. At the end of the game, the Nottingham Forest players repeated what Juventus did two years ago at the Stadio delle Alpi—a frenzied celebration of the victory.
But Twain seemed calm. He did not even celebrate as he got up to shake Ranieri’s hand. “It was a great game…” Twain said in English, regardless of whether Ranieri could understand. In fact, the language barrier was not an obstacle for Twain to express his meaning, because, at the moment, the smile on his face was as bright as a flower.
Ranieri knew what kind of man Tony Twain was. Although he could not understand what he said, he knew it was definitely unpleasant. He ignored the opponent who genuinely wanted to show off in front of him. He shook hands with Twain and turned to leave.
As soon as Ranieri left, the reporters swarmed up and surrounded Twain, wanting to hear his thoughts on winning the game. “Three consecutive wins.” Twain extended three fingers and said. “We’re definitely advancing to the next stage!”
“Mr. Twain, aren’t you being a little overconfident?”
“You’re wrong, Mr. Reporter. It’s not overconfidence, I’m just telling the truth.”
“Are you dissatisfied that you only won against Juventus with one goal?”
“No, I only care about the three points.”
“Two seasons ago, your team lost to Juventus in the away match in the Champions League group stage. How does it feel to successfully avenge that game?”
“I don’t feel anything right now. We still have to face them at our home stadium. When that game is over, you can ask me this question again.”
“Can you talk about Nottingham Forest’s goal in the Champions League this season?” In this rare instance, Twain was modest. He smiled and said. “We will do our best and see how far we can go.”
As a result, the day after the game, his modest smile was interpreted as “Tony Twain is back in the Champions League for the title.” In the photograph, Tony Twain smiled mysteriously, and the pair of narrowed eyes seemed to be calculating how far his team was from the UEFA Champions League title. Twain shrugged innocently. “That was just a professional smile…” Dunn snorted. “Don’t be modest, you’ve been stereotyped, Madman.”
...
Chapter 770 - Psychological Battle
Forest beat Juventus 1:0 in an away game, and successfully got revenge against them after losing to them that year. At the same time, they also cemented their position at the top of the table for their group.
However, winning this particular match had an ever greater significance to Forest than the aforementioned points. Previously, the media made no special mention of Nottingham Forest’s victories over either Celtic F.C. or Atlético Madrid. When they won Juventus however, numerous media outlets printed the following in their titles:
“The Red Forest Makes Its Return to Europe!”
By right, Nottingham Forest had made its return a long time back. They had made their return ever since they qualified for next season’s Champions League in the last match of the Premier League last season. There was actually an additional meaning behind the media’s words. What they meant was that the invincible Nottingham Forest that once took Europe by storm was truly back.
By defeating a strong team like Juventus, Nottingham Forest proved that they weren’t a team that was just going to travel around Europe and then head back home. They were a team full of ambition, and they were intent on making a name for themselves in Europe. Defeating the seeded Juventus team was nothing more than a starting point for them. It was definitely not the end.
It can’t be helped that nobody believed Tony Twain when he showed humility, even though he rarely does so. It was just like the story of ‘The Boy Who Cried Wolf’. People would constantly think that you have an ulterior motive no matter what you did when the image of you being all egotistical has been deeply seared into their memories.
In truth, Twain was truly keeping a low-profile this time. He did not want to add too much pressure onto his team. The times have changed, and so has his team that he is leading right now. There are many new and young players in his current team. He wasn’t sure if, just like him, they all craved for a challenge and would also never get tired of being challenged.
Rebuilding a team is a process and it needs time. He cannot be too focused on instant gratification. This was a principle that he was very clear about.
Honestly, it was truly a blessing to be a player for Nottingham Forest. There isn’t much stress on the players besides the stress of trying to become champions.
When Ibišević failed to score goals, Tony Twain was there to shoulder the pressure with him. When Matías Fernández failed to assimilate himself into the team, Tony Twain tried his best to create chances for him to become one with the team.
Žigić is scoring too little goals? That’s okay. Tony assured him that as long as he makes a contribution to the team, he would not get upset with him even if he doesn’t score goals.
The media has the guts to question a particular Nottingham Forest player? Tony would have already fired back at the uneducated media with his big mouth before the players get to have an opinion about it.
The players have nothing to fret over as long as they are with their boss, Tony Twain. To the players who have followed Twain for several years, Nottingham Forest was Twain, and Twain was also Nottingham Forest.
Frankly, Twain does not really wish for his players to harbor such thoughts about him, because it would cause them to get infected with the ‘Reliance on Tony Twain’ illness.
Even though Twain has never considered leaving Nottingham Forest to work elsewhere, but that did not mean that accidents would not occur. For example, his heart…
※※※
Nottingham Forest still have to face another challenge from Juventus at home after winning them in the away game.
Three matches have been played in the group stages so far. Juventus had won once, drew once and lost once, and they were ranked second with four points under their belt. Atlético Madrid drew twice and lost once, and they have two points. Celtic F.C. was the weakest team in the group. They lost twice and drew once, and were ranked last with only one point.
However, no one would say that Celtic F.C. has no chance of advancing into the next stage. Besides Nottingham Forest, who was way ahead of the pack with nine points, all three other teams in the group could miss out on clinching the final spot to qualify for the next stage.
If Juventus intends to put themselves in a favorable position to qualify for the next stage of the Champions League, then it is best for them to triumph over Forest at the City Ground stadium.
But, is Twain a man with a good heart?
He chose to employ a more defensive-oriented formation at the City Ground stadium once again and made use of several layers of defense to confine Juventus. The match had no highlights and was also not exciting to watch. Both teams put in sub-par performances, but in the end, Nottingham Forest beat Juventus 1:0 once again with a goal that was suspected to be offside.
After the match, the British media commented, “… Ranieri’s team were already on their way home before they even got to see what the City Ground stadium looked like. Juventus could only run around the periphery of the penalty box and they were never able to make their way into the penalty box because Tony Twain had focused heavily on defense for the match…”
On the other hand, the Turin media outlets expressed helplessness over the two 1:0 losses that Juventus suffered, “… Juventus were defeated by the playing style that they are good at… Nottingham Forest gained two ‘Italian-like victories’.”
Nottingham Forest were guaranteed of a spot in the next stage of the Champions League by winning all four matches and gaining 12 points. Twain decided to reduce the pressure on the team by performing squad rotation in the remaining two group stage matches. Joe Mattock would get to play his very first Champions League game in his professional footballing career.
In the Premier League, Nottingham Forest’s performance was evidently not as consistent as they had been in the previous two seasons, and it had its ups and downs. They could win Aston Villa by a whopping 4:0, and they could also lose 0:3 to Arsenal away.
Nottingham Forest has yet to fully regain its vitality after changing most of its players after all.
After playing in the match against Juventus in the Champions League group stage, Nottingham Forest subsequently played in 12 matches in the Premier League. They attained seven wins, three draws and two losses, and racked up a total of 24 points. They were only four points behind first place Arsenal.
This result was enough to please Twain.
It was already late November. The team would soon have to play frequent games during the Christmas period. Twain’s plan was to cling onto a top four position during this period of time and also to widen the gap between themselves and fifth place Chelsea.
The economic crisis had impacted Chelsea far more deeply than Nottingham Forest…
Abramovich’s assets had decreased by nearly 80 per cent during the economic crisis. During that time, he not only sacked 15 scouts, he also did not invest a single cent in the club. There were also lots of rumors floating around that he was planning to sell Chelsea for a symbolic fee of 1 euro.
Even though Abramovich eventually came out and dismissed the rumors and also said that Chelsea was still under his name, it was an undisputable fact that Chelsea was suffering from a dip in form.
Frank Rijkaard was a manager who was down on his luck. He was not assigned to manage Chelsea at a good time. The club that spent the most money during the summer this year was Manchester City, and the club that spent the least was a club that none of you could have guessed: Chelsea.
Abramovich demanded Rijkaard to work with the current squad, and he also wants him to attain at least one trophy throughout all the competitions. However, his demands are too much of a stretch. Rijkaard was not only unable to get the players that he wanted for the team, but the team’s star player, Florent Malouda, had transferred to Juventus as well.
Rijkaard had never once said that he wanted to give up on the Premier League. His only words so far with regards to Chelsea’s ranking in the league was that there were still quite a few games left to play, therefore nobody would know which team would become champions until the end.
However, deep in his heart, he was beginning to want to give up on the Premier League and focus his attention on winning other local competitions and the Europa League.
Tony Twain was not in the mood to wage a verbal war with Rijkaard after seeing the miserable state that he was in. He just couldn’t find it in him to bully a hapless guy.
※※※
Based on the match schedule, Nottingham Forest has to play in numerous games during the period from Christmas till January. However, they were in luck, because none of those games would be against any of the top five sides.
To Twain, the difficult matches to play in would come before Christmas, and they would face two tough opponents consecutively. To make matters worse, both matches were away games for them. They were up against Manchester United on Matchday 16 and Liverpool on Matchday 17.
Nottingham Forest achieved two wins and one draw for the 3 matches between Matchday 12 and Matchday 16.
There was slight movement in the ranking table. They edged out Liverpool and rose up to third, and were only two points away from the second place Manchester United. If they could attain an away win over Manchester United on Matchday 16, then they would rise up to second place in the league, and be right on Arsenal’s trail.
Twain liked such matches whereby he could go head on with their rivals. It was one of the fastest and most effective ways to achieve what he desired.
He was not afraid of Manchester United, even if they were playing as the away team.
There was only one week left till the match.
During the post-match conference after their match against Middlesbrough, Twain took the initiative and discussed about Manchester United without the reporters prompting him to.
He tactfully expressed that it was time for Ferguson to retire. “Yes, I have a good relationship with him, which is why I’m saying these words out of consideration for his health. How old is he this year? He’s turning 70 in a few months’ time. I’m worried about his heart… As you all know, I’m also someone who has a heart disease. I have a deep understanding about it…”
Throughout the press conference, Twain displayed his care and concern towards Ferguson. It seemed like the two really had a ‘close’ relationship as he had claimed.
However, people who knew what the two of them were like would not view Twain’s concern as being genuine. All Twain was doing was nothing more than trying to start a psychological battle with Ferguson…
Ferguson took up Twain’s challenge proactively. “I am indeed at the age whereby I should be considering my retirement. However, that would only come after I have attained a trophy this year. What? You are asking who is the most suitable successor for me? Hmm… I believe if Tony Twain took up the job, he wouldn’t do a worse job than me.”
Ferguson beat Twain at his own game and made use of the topic of ‘recommending Twain as the new manager of Manchester United’ as a pretext to disrupt Forest’s morale.
The media has been hyping up the topic of Ferguson’s successor for decades, and all sorts of people have made their way onto the list, such as the manager for Portugal’s national team, Carlos Queiroz, or Roy Keane, the ex-United captain who is currently doing nothing at home, or David Moyes, who is doing a good job at Everton. Even the ‘madman’ José Mourinho, who currently manages Inter Milan, was also on the list.
Of course, how could the list not include Tony Twain, who is the best, young British manager in England for the past 10 years, and also has a striking personality just like Ferguson?
Moreover, the truth was that Twain had always been regarded as the favorite to become Ferguson’s successor. If one were to judge Twain based on the results he had achieved so far, then the only manager who came close to him was Mourinho.
However, results is definitely not the only criteria to judge who has the highest possibility of moving to Old Trafford. Most of the time, one has to see how likely a particular candidate would leave their current work position.
Both Queiroz and Moyes are doing a good job at their current clubs, while Mourinho had also expressed that he has no interest in becoming the manager of Manchester United. As for Roy Keane, he is too inexperienced.
Out of all of them, Tony Twain is the most suitable candidate. No one thinks that he would really stay as Nottingham Forest manager for 20 years, because ‘one cannot rear a big fish in a small pond’. As the Chinese saying goes, ‘a golden carp cannot stay in the pond forever’. Tony Twain’s current annual salary is the lowest out of all the managers who are managing the top five teams in the Premier League. It is hard to guarantee that Twain would never feel discontent towards his salary. If Manchester United were to offer Twain a high pay at a time when he is discontented with his salary, then it is possible for Twain to leave his post at Nottingham Forest for a bigger stage…
After all, Nottingham Forest is not regarded as a big club in the eyes of most people. Its appeal naturally cannot rival that of Manchester United’s, which has always been a rich and powerful club throughout history. Being the manager of Manchester United is a dream job for countless people. How many people in the world can reject an offer to become the manager for such a club?
Twain might be close to both Ferguson and Wenger, who are the two most influential managers in the Premier League, but between the two, Twain was more similar to Ferguson in terms of personality and management style. This is another reason why most people tip Twain to take over as Ferguson’s successor.
If Twain were to take over as Manchester United’s manager, then there would not exist any problems with regards to the continuity of Manchester United’s playing style as well as how well the new manager can adapt to the team. Ferguson would not need to worry that his current players in the squad would not get used to the new manager’s playing style, and this smooth transition between managers would aid in stabilizing the team and allowing them to achieve consistent results.
No matter how you looked at it, Tony Twain is the destined one to take over at Manchester United…
※※※
Ferguson’s words brought the age-old topic of his successor back onto the table. The media hyped up the topic once again and things became lively. Both teams still needed to play in one Champions League group stage game before their match, but nobody really paid attention to that Champions League game anymore. The starting line-ups for both Nottingham Forest and Manchester United had already been decided.
Twain regarded Ferguson’s words as nothing more than his psychological tactic. He would definitely not make any sort of response to his words, because his words would only end up being further hyped up by the media. Not only that, he would also fall right into Ferguson’s psychological trap and be at the losing end of this battle if he were to make a response.
The smart way of handling this situation is to stir up the other party’s emotions and leave. This would cause the other party to feel a mixture of emotions: discomfort, excitement, dissatisfaction and emptiness. As a result, the other party would not be in the mood to prepare for the match.
Thus, Twain chose not to make any form of response to Ferguson’s words. He focused on preparing for the Champions League match and for the important battle between Forest and Manchester United.
Twain used a radically different team in the Champions League match against Celtic F.C. so that the players could get ample rest before that period of time where they have to play in frequent matches.
Twain did not go into the match expecting the team to achieve a particular result. He just wanted to make sure that not a single player got injured in the match.
Atlético Madrid is currently battling with Celtic F.C. to gain entrance into the Europa League Round of 32. Atlético Madrid would not go easy on Juventus at the Estadio Vicente Calderón stadium. Similarly, the Scots would not let Nottingham Forest leave unscathed at the Celtic Park stadium.
As Twain was preparing to head over to Glasgow, he received a call from Manchester United Football Club.
My successor? I believe if Tony Twain took up the job, he wouldn’t do a worse job than me.
He thought Ferguson said those words jokingly and as a part of his psychological battle, but apparently, the other party did not think the same way as he did…
...
Chapter 771 - My Successor
Let’s turn back time to three months ago.
In the away team’s dressing room at Fulham’s home stadium, the King of the Red Devils, Manchester United, was throwing a tantrum at his soldiers.
“You lost to Fulham! What? Fulham! You dare lose to a team not even worth mentioning? You didn’t even score a goal! Look at your performance in the game! I dare to bet that prostitutes can even perform better than you! No fighting spirit, no initiative, I see no ambition from you guys! If you don’t want to play, tell me in advance, I will not sign you up! ”
Ferguson was already sixty-nine years old. Just like Twain, he had a pacemaker in the left side of his chest. Although, from how he had been behaving in the past few years, it was difficult to believe that an energetic old man like him had one. At this moment he was red, but this is not necessarily a sign of health. On the contrary, the people who really cared about him now must be worried about the old man’s heart. It had been some time since Manchester United’s players last saw Ferguson so angry.
They lost their away match to Fulham, completely and utterly, as if they raised hands early to surrender. From the result till the process, the TV commentators were wondering why Manchester United had played so badly in this game.
After a long time of swearing, Ferguson suddenly shut his mouth. His unusual move caught the attention of the players, with some daredevils quietly raising their heads and seeing Ferguson gasping for breath in his chair. His face was still red, but there was a fine layer of sweat on his forehead. He was sitting on the chair in that manner, his shoulders shaking as he breathed. It looked as if he was exhausted.
“Go home, run back to your car.” Ferguson waved.
The players were relieved to get up and walk out of the dressing room.
When everyone was gone, and Ferguson was left alone in the locker room, he was still sitting in his chair motionlessly. The gasps faded, the red on his face faded, but the sweat on his forehead was still there, though Ferguson did not wipe it. He was sixty-nine; even scolding people seemed to be draining his strength, requiring him to rest for so long after. What would that group of rabbits think of his aging? Would they think that they could do as they wished now that Ferguson was unable to control them?
He thought of the scene of Brian Howard Clough leaving the City Stadium. Ferguson did not want to leave his coaching position like that. He was a great coach and deserved a decent ending.
After the break, Ferguson felt the strength return to him, so he got up and walked out of the dressing room.
※※※
Two days after the game, David Gill, the chief executive of Manchester United who was involved in the English FA’s work in London, got a call from Manchester.
It was the manager, Alex Ferguson, but this time he did not reach out to the club for money, nor did he say which young talent he saw, and wanted Gill to arrange it. He did not ask for anything and gave no explanation for the unexpected loss to Fulham two days ago, but he did not call specifically to simply just talk.
He said only one thing, “David, I’m tired. Find a successor. ”
David Gill was shocked, and in his mind the FA meeting was no match for this news. He immediately pushed the meeting and flew back to Manchester on the earliest flight. He was going to talk to this guy in person to see if he was being serious.
Ferguson had repeatedly expressed his desire to retire. Sometimes, he did it just to put pressure on the club, and the other times he had been sincere, but the club successfully discouraged him. Ferguson’s 24 years at Manchester United had long been integrated with the world-famous club, and no one in Manchester United had seriously considered even a one-day absence of Ferguson, They did not think that was going to happen. Everyone wanted the Old Scotsman to die at Manchester United.
If Ferguson wanted to put pressure on the club, then Gill wanted to know what he wanted. If Ferguson was serious about retiring, he would still keep the old manager anyway. We had already managed to keep him three times, so this time it would still be okay!
As soon as he got off the plane, Gill kept going, straight to Carrington. The team would have finished training, but Ferguson would not leave the training base so early. If there was no traffic jam on the road, Gill should still be able to catch up. In order not to go on an empty trip, Gill called Ferguson on the way, hoping that he would wait for him in his office. Ferguson had no objection. It was clear he wanted to have a good talk with Gill.
※※※
“What do you want, Sir?” As soon as they met, Gill could not even take off his coat, he said to Ferguson, who had been waiting for a long time, in a half-joking tone.
“This is not a scare tactic, David.” Ferguson sat on the sofa, crossing his legs.
“Are you really serious?” Gill turned and stared at Ferguson.
Ferguson smiled. “I have decided to retire after this season. ”
“I’ve heard these many times, but I’d like you to think it over…”
“I’ve also heard these many times. I thought it over for two days before I decided to call you.”
“It’s only been two days…The team needs you, Alex.” Gill pulled a chair and sat in front of Ferguson, looking at him.
“I’m seventy next year, David. Don’t you think it’s cruel to ask a 70-year-old man to continue working such a stressful job? ”
“Well…” Gill had to admit that there was no way he could outtalk the manager who was once “invincible in the Premier League”. He hesitated and decided to use another way to convince him.
“Don’t you want another European Cup? You once said to me your biggest regret was winning winning only one Champions League. ”
Ferguson laughed, “Of course I’d want to win another. I still haven’t given up on that, even now. This season is still not over, I think this season is very promising. ”
Either way, Gill did not think Manchester United could win the Champions League again this season. The team’s performance this season had been unsteady. That was one of the reasons he did not want Ferguson to leave, but now it seemed that Ferguson had decided that he could not be persuaded with just a few words.
“Start looking for a successor, David. You’d better decide on the candidate before I retire. The last thing I want to see before leaving is a soulless Manchester United. ”
“Do you have someone in mind? ”
“After all these years, there would always be those few…”
Gill also clearly knew who Ferguson was referring to. He started listing names, “Mike Phelan? ”
It was the result of a dive from within after Queiroz left Carrington, a close confidant of Ferguson, the current Assistant Coach of Manchester United. Mike Phelan’s advantage was that he came from the Manchester United system and had a good understanding of the essence of Ferguson’s use and tactics.
But Ferguson shook his head. “No, he’s better suited to be an assistant coach.” He paused, perhaps realising he already had too many assistants, before adding, “At the very least, he’s not the right person for the job at this moment.”
“Then, Moyes?”
This time Ferguson thought for a moment before shaking his head, “I’m not sure he can do as well in this position as he did at Everton. You know, coaching a big team and a regular team are two different jobs. ”
“Hm, Roy?”
Ferguson continued to shake his head, “Wait till he’s fifty before considering.”
That meant he was too young. His resignation from Sunderland was, of course, due to poor results and too much pressure to make Keane feel that things were out of his control. All in all, he was not really ready to become a professional manager, let alone Manchester United’s manager. He had previously said he wanted to replace Ferguson as Manchester United’s manager, but he had not said that again in recent years and it seemed like he had learned the gap between reality and ideals.
“José Mourinho?”
Ferguson glanced at Gill. “Do you think he’ll come?” ”
Gill shrugged. “How do you know if you don’t try? What do you think? ”
“If you can bring him, I certainly don’t have a problem. But United’s fans may have to take a while to get used to their new manager. ”
“Well, what about an easy one… Queiroz? ”
“He and the Portuguese Football Association have just renewed less than a year ago.”
“Hey, Alex, all I need is your evaluation of the candidate. ”
“I think he knows Manchester United best, but…”
“But?”
“Manchester United’s record under his team might be volatile. Well, to put it simply. I think Queiroz is a good fit for Manchester United technically, but mentally I can’t look at him with high hopes. ”
“Ha, you see, Alex. There’s no suitable successor, so stop saying you want to retire.” It turned out that this was all a set-up. But was Ferguson one to give in so easily?
“You haven’t heard my recommendation yet, David. Didn’t you just ask me to recommend?”
“Try one.”
“Tony Twain.”
Gill’s eyes were wide. “It’s impossible!” He gave almost no thought and rejected it.
“Is it impossible for us, or for him?” Ferguson asked.
“Can you imagine him leaving Nottingham Forest?”
Ferguson stared at Gill. “I don’t think I can imagine you working with him.”
Gill admitted to that, “I wouldn’t be happy working with him.”
“Putting aside your personal relationship with him, I think he is the best fit for Manchester United. He’s a coach with a championship tradition and he can bring success to the team and easily gain the trust and support of the players. Of course, United fans will love this arrogant man once they get used to him.”
Gill’s distaste for Twain was completely personal. There was no real reason he hated Twain. He did not hate Twain because of his character or words — he just did. Though Ferguson was also a head coach with huge character, he did things within reason. Twain was purely a mad dog; in order to achieve his goal, he would do whatever it took. Keegan was a good old man but he just got bitten down by Twain.
Though he could talk at length withFerguson and Arsene Wenger, the fact of the matter was most people hated him. In this relatively conservative circle of English football, he was too arrogant, too shameless, too mean, too self-righteous, too selfish…
“He’s not my type anyway. I always felt that he did not belong to England, nor did he belong to Manchester United.” Gill said vehemently.
Ferguson acquiesced. He also knew that it is very difficult to get Twain to Manchester United. The issue was not with the club but with Twain. From numerous side knocks, Ferguson could see that Twain did not have much interest in coaching a team like Manchester United.
To be able to coach such a big team was a dream of countless coaches. It was like a train that only passed you once — if you missed it, you missed it. But Tony was always rejecting his kindness; was he not willing to leave Nottingham Forest?
Ferguson had always been suspicious of his loyalty to Nottingham Forest. He always looked down on Nottingham Forest for being a small club no matter how many champions he won. He was a very talented head coach, but it was a waste how he was willing to tie themselves to such a small stage where he could not expand his talents.
According to the source, Benitez led Liverpool for several years in a row, splurging on people but only play in the League Cup, Liverpool’s top committee once wanted to ask Twain to coach. But in the end it was not clear why they cancelled in the end. Maybe they were thinking the same way as David Gill?
He did not belong to Manchester United, he did not belong to Liverpool, he did not belong to England, he did not belong to any team. If, one day, he suddenly announced that he was leaving Nottingham Forest and then went home to enjoy the world with his wife, Ferguson felt that he would not be too surprised. Such a tough and unique person would belong only to himself.
David Gill looked at the pensive Ferguson, preparing to leave. “Well, we will try for the person you recommend. My personal feelings are still only my personal feelings, if you choose him to really help Manchester United…” He shrugged. In fact, he decided that Twain would never accept Manchester United’s invitation.
“The Ferguson I know is someone who tirelessly chases victory.” At the time of the farewell, Gill was still standing at the door with some reluctance.
“That must have been me forty years ago. Have we known each other for so long?” Ferguson laughed and turned his last effort into dust.
Gill had no other options in the face of this old man. He sighed and left.
※※※
Around three months later.
Ferguson was locked in psychological warfare with Twain, and he played the “My Successor” card. Some thought he was just trying to disrupt Nottingham Forest’s morale, but the top committee in Manchester United was serious.
Twain received David Gill’s call before going to Glasgow.
“Hello, Mr. Twain. I’m David Gill, Chief Executive Officer of Manchester United. Can have a minute of your time?”
Twain was confused. What did Manchester United’s CEO want from him? He instinctively refused, “I was just about to go out to the airport.”
“Only a few minutes, I promise, no more than five minutes.” Gill held in his hate against Twain, prioritising business. In fact, he did not even use a minute.
“There’s an attractive job contract here, Mr. Twain. We hope to hire you to coach Manchester United next season. We don’t ask for your reply right away, we just want you to think it over. This is my phone number. Once you’ve made your decision, you can contact me at any time. Goodbye, Mr. Twain. ”
Twain was stunned at the door with a phone that was still ringing. Manchester United suddenly called him to invite him to go Manchester United to coach?
Hey, Sir, is it not psychological warfare? Why does it sound so serious?
What was that all about?
...
Chapter 772 - Who Will Become Tony Twain the Second?
David Gill was still waiting for this kind of thing to happen again. He gave Tony Twain a call but did not expect an answer from Twain at all. He felt that rather than let Twain take over Manchester United, he should do more to persuade Ferguson to change his mind.
Twain found a problem. Ever since Gill called him, the news in the press that he might take over Manchester United had spread and intensified.
This phenomenon put him on guard—if Manchester United were to poach him as the manager, there was no reason to make it so publicly before any plan was in place. But if they did not publicize it, how did the media know? Manchester United deliberately leaked it out…
What was their intention in leaking it? To confuse the Forest team.
Everyone was talking about whether Tony Twain would go to Manchester United during this period. Some people said that Twain was a good fit for Manchester United, while the others said Twain would not leave the Forest team. It appeared that whatever was said made sense. Because of this, the matter caused people to feel more confused—people who did not understand the truth did not know what to believe. Tony Twain’s loyalty and standing at Nottingham Forest would surely be challenged.
With that in mind, Twain felt it all of these looked like Manchester United’s psychological warfare.
However, if this was Manchester United’s psychological warfare, then it was overly excessive of them to do so. Although the truth mingled with the falsehood was the highest level of duplicity, it was really not worth it for a game—it was not a game that determined the league title winner.
Just when Twain could not figure out why Manchester United did it, he received another call.
This time the call was not from David Gill who detested him, but from Alex Ferguson.
“The cost of this psychological warfare is a little high, Sir.” Twain said half-jokingly.
“Ha, unfortunately it doesn’t seem to be effective on you. I haven’t heard any noise of dissent coming from the Forest team.”
“He he.” Twain rolled his eyes. If his team were to be so easily bothered by a baseless rumor, then he, as a manager, should just tie a rock to himself and jumped into the English Channel. “So, your retirement this time is fake again?”
“No, this time it’s true, Tony. I’m already seventy years old. I’ve won countless honors, and I think it’s enough.”
Twain did not make a sound and listened quietly to Ferguson continuing to speak on the other end of the line.
“I won’t change my mind again this time. You know why I called you? I would like to persuade you to accept Manchester United’s invitation. Tony, Nottingham Forest is not your final destination. You should have a bigger stage.”
“I think the current stage is big enough.” Twain laughed and did not directly reject Ferguson.
“No. At Manchester United, you are perfectly capable of becoming the second me, but at Nottingham Forest… Your reputation can’t go any further. It’s a small team that can’t meet all your requirements. You’re only forty-two now. You can work at Manchester United for up to twenty-eight years, until you’re seventy, longer than I’ve been at Manchester United. You’re going to be a legend… But you won’t get all of these at Nottingham Forest.”
Twain smiled, “Why are you so sure?”
“Quite simply, your boss is not a wealthy man.”
Modern football was a world of capital. It could not be played and changed without money. At the very least, it could not be played well. Evan Doughty was not a wealthy man. His fortune was ranked at the bottom among the owners of the twenty clubs in the English Premier League. In fact, for so many years, Twain’s days had been hard up and had never been rich.
Ferguson believed that when he joined Manchester United, Twain at least would not be too financially constrained by the club. He would be eligible to buy the players he wanted to buy. Coupled with Manchester United’s repute, it would not be difficult to build another team that could dominate the world. Manchester United would have to rely on this man if they were to continue to dominate the Premier League and Europe after his retirement.
Having surveyed comprehensively all the coaches throughout the years, he was the only one who was best suited to Manchester United and the most capable.
But unfortunately, this man was more obstinate than he thought…
“I have to admit you’re right, Sir. Manchester United has more money and prestige than the Forest team. If I move to Manchester United, it will be a new opportunity and progress for my personal career. Although I don’t think much about this team when we’re opponents, I personally respect the team. I will not turn down Manchester United’s invitation because of personal dislike. But I’m afraid I can’t accept the invitation.”
“Why?”
“Manchester United is very good, Arsenal is very good, and Chelsea as well as Liverpool are good too… But I’m only fit for Nottingham Forest.”
“Your words are too idealistic.”
“Of course, I know myself the best.” Twain said with a smile, “Sir, when you consider your successor, you must be coming from Manchester United’s point of view, right? And I have no reason to think about it from Manchester United’s point of view. I only consider from my point of view—I don’t think I’m a good fit for Manchester United.”
In the past, when the two of them talked about the future Manchester United manager together, Ferguson invited Twain in a joking manner, and Twain naturally refused with a joking tone. But this time, Ferguson asked for real, and Twain’s tone was much more solemn.
“Sir, do you think if I go to Manchester United, I can still have the power I have at Nottingham Forest now? Can I manage a bunch of big-shot players in the locker room? You can guarantee that Mr. David Gill will not do anything because his prejudice against me…”
“I believe David is a man who puts the bigger picture first.”
“All right, even so, Manchester United is a big team, a powerhouse club, a team with a very high standing in the world. Nottingham Forest, by contrast, is small club with a few championship titles that is still being seen as an upstart. We have everything but money. However, I prefer the small club.”
Twain played the emotional card.
“I also came to Manchester United from a small club.” Ferguson responded, “I think a person needs to make important decisions in life. When I first chose to coach Manchester United, it was a choice that I would never regret in my life. I also won a few titles at Aberdeen, just like you did at Nottingham Forest now. If I had continued to work there, people wouldn’t know who Alex Ferguson was twenty-six years later. And you, Tony… You have such an opportunity. I don’t want you to let it go.”
“Ha!” Twain laughed, “Sir. I led a small team to rise from the League One and without ample funding, we had won two European titles, a league title and an EFL Cup. We became the fifth power in the Premier League contending against Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea. I think even after thirty years, people will remember me.” Twain said these words with confidence. He was never modest or embarrassed about the successes he had achieved. He accepted them calmly.
In fact, he did indeed have reasons to be proud. Apart from having less league titles and domestic cups than the other managers, he had won the most UEFA titles than any of the top five managers in the Premier League.
Benítez won once in Istanbul in 2005. Ferguson won it once at the Camp Nou in 1999. Rijkaard defeated Twain to win it once in Paris in 2006. Wenger had never won the Champions League title. Only Tony Twain had won the Champions League title twice. Furthermore, it was twice in a row. In terms of the European honors alone, no manager in England had matched him. That alone was enough for him to be one of the Premier League’s top managers and England’s first-class managers. Even in the history of English football, a manager who had won more than two Champions Leagues could be counted on one hand—there were only two men: Robert Paisley, the great manager who led Liverpool to four Champions League titles, and Brian Clough, the creator of Nottingham Forest’s glory days. Now Tony Twain carved his name in record as the first active manager in the Premier League.
It could be said that the present Tony Twain and the above several famous managers were completely on the same level. As for the likes of Keegan… they were all beneath Twain and at best second-rate.
Ferguson also felt that he could not argue with Twain on this point. But he had other ways. He said, “Yes, what has happened cannot be changed. But there are a lot of possibilities for the future… Do you think there will be any big development in the future with Nottingham Forest’s current situation?”
“Why not? We have a group of talented players and they are loyal.” Twain shrugged.
“But the club hierarchy behind you is a destabilizing factor. How do you know when they will force the sales of your favorite players without your consent? Like Ribéry…”
The remark silenced Twain for a moment. Because he believed that what Ferguson said could become a reality. It was probably the only thing that he felt it was not good about the Forest team—Allan Adams was a profit-maker and he could not rule out that he would continue to sell players when the club needed money. Evan Doughty was a smart man, so he would let him and Allan to control each other. But what was the strength that supported him and Allan? It was the result. Once the team’s performance declined and became unsteady, then he would not be able to get an equal status as Allan at the top.
He had actually been walking on the difficult path along for so many years. He had never had a peace of mind before.
“It can’t be helped. No club is perfect. For it to be able meet all the requirements of the manager without causing trouble for the manager, such a club does not exist, Sir, whether be it my Forest team or your Manchester United team. I am more satisfied with the present situation.”
“You’re such a stubborn man! Don’t tell me the name ‘Manchester United’ holds so little appeal?”
“At least for now … I prefer to stay at Nottingham Forest.”
“So, it can be a possibility for you in the future?”
“Who can tell what’s going to happen in the future? Like you said, if the Forest team’s top brass sells all my players, I might leave.”
“And here I am thinking you’re very loyal.”
“I’m not a fool, ha! When other people treat me well and respect me, I naturally give it back in full. On the flipside, I will not force myself to stay in a place I don’t like.”
“Okay…” Ferguson felt it was almost impossible to convince Twain now, but he had to give him something to think about. “I look forward to seeing you at the Old Trafford technical area in a few years.”
“I think things are pretty good now. How long can I still see you in the manager’s chair at Old Trafford? Would you still retire now that you did not convince me? Besides, don’t you have a Champions League title to take? You are not as good as me in this respect.”
“I’ve made up my mind this time. Nothing will change that. I will retire at the end of the season.” Ferguson’s words were resolute and without a hint of a joke.
Twain’s mouth was agape. In fact, he’d never thought Ferguson would actually leave the Manchester United manager’s position. He was at Manchester United before he even started watching football. For the longest time, he was Manchester United and Manchester United was him. How could this ambitious and always combative Scottish old man be willing to leave the position? He could not wait for Wenger to retire earlier than he did. He wanted to continue to dominate the English Premier League, suppress Arsenal and Liverpool, wage a war of words against Wenger, shut out BBC, swap attacks with the media, continuously buy and sell players. Even Glazer, the Manchester United chairman had to be reverent and respectful toward him. He had to continue to star in the leading role at Old Trafford’s The Theatre of Dreams.
How could he retire?
“You know what, Tony? When my wifey, who always kicks me out to get to work every morning, starts to worry about my heart, I know I’m old. I don’t want to be like Jock Stein and die in the coach’s chair.”
Not knowing why, the call to urge Twain to join Manchester United suddenly became filled with a sense of farewell.
Perhaps Ferguson was aware of the problem too. He quickly changed topic and said, “In short, Tony, I hope you will seriously consider it no matter how long you take to think about it. If you decide to change your mind, I welcome you to call me. Don’t worry about the management of the locker room and the relationship with the top echelon. I’ve been at Manchester United for twenty-six years. I’m happy to lend a hand if you need help.”
“Thank you so much for your kindness, Sir.”
Ferguson left a door open, and Twain did not give a flat-out refusal. No matter what, the old man was looking out for him even though his motive was the good of Manchester United…
※※※
The rumors that Twain would join Manchester United next season were rife in the press. Many media had vowed that the Manchester United club had signed a deal with Tony Twain in private. Although he still had four years left on his contract with Nottingham Forest, Manchester United was willing to fork out the penalty to be able to bring him to Old Trafford.
What they said made sense and appeared to be real. After all, it was very difficult to turn down an offer from Manchester United.
If the news was officially confirmed, it would surely be the Premier League’s most sensational news of this season.
The Old Trafford’s technical area’s manager had not been changed in twenty-six years. If Twain really became Ferguson’s successor, it was akin to the US President changing from a white man to a black man.
There were many stories about him and Manchester United, so much as that it even seriously affected the Forest team’s normal training. Even people inside the club were asking if what the outside media saying was true.
Like when Evan Doughty first heard that Manchester United wanted to poach him, he immediately called Twain, who was in Glasgow in preparations for the Champions League, to pry his intentions. Twain’s answer gave him a shot of reassurance, “I’ll finish my contract with the club.”
Dunn and Kerslake also expressed concern about the matter. Twain also reassured them in the first instance. One of the bases for his success at the Forest team was that he always had the full support of the coaching staff, so regardless, there could not be any suspicion between him and the coaching staff.
As for the players, Twain also expressed his loyalty to them in the locker room at Celtic Park, “I ask you to play for me, so naturally I want to give you back in the same way. I hate lying. If I really want to leave, I will tell you. The truth is, I’m not going anywhere except Nottingham Forest. So, there’s nothing to worry about. Win the game for me and then we go back to Nottingham together!
In the end, the Forest team still beat Celtic by 3:2 in away game with a rotated lineup. Twain supervised and commanded the game from the beginning to the end on the sidelines. From his performance, it could not be seen that he had recently been disturbed by a series of rumors. When the team trailed 1:2, he made a wonderful switch of players to change the situation and let the team turned things around to a victory in the end.
The commentator appraised Twain as showing his ability to Manchester United’s top brass, proving that he was qualified to become Ferguson’s successor.
But in the post-match press conference, Twain publicly dismissed the recent rumors in the press and said, “It’s all nonsense. I’m not going to Manchester United. It’s not necessary for me to deceive you here, because I don’t anything to benefit from by doing so. Besides, I have no interest in becoming someone else’s successor. If you’re going to hype up which club I’m going to coach the next time, please write this instead—‘Who will become Tony Twain the second?”
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Chapter 773 - Strategies Against Manchester United
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Tony Twain had personally confirmed his future at Nottingham Forest. He would not leave Nottingham, much to the relief of the Forest fans. But the media rumors that he might leave City Ground stadium did not immediately disappear. [The Times] had declared that Twain would leave City Ground stadium in four years’ time and seek a better job. At that time, his contract would have expired, and he would be free to leave. He did not have to bear a high penalty cost. It was believed that countless big clubs would compete for him when the time came.
Twain was not going to Manchester United, but Manchester United had not stopped looking for Ferguson’s successor. Because Manager Ferguson was determined to retire at the end of the season. This piece of news had not yet been officially announced. Most people would rather think that it was just a moment of confusion for the old manager and that he would find that he could not really leave football and Manchester United at the end of the season. Then he would recant his decision and decide to stay at Old Trafford. In this way, many people could breathe a sigh of relief—except for his archrivals.
Both Twain and Ferguson confirmed their futures, but the story between the two of them did not end there. It was just beginning.
After playing the last game of the Champions League group stage, both teams finished first in their respective groups. There would be a big game three days later—Nottingham Forest’s away game against Manchester United.
It was a match of the titans in that round of the league tournament and it would be a national broadcast of the live game. The game was in the spotlight due to the recent interesting sidelights of Ferguson’s successor. Coupled with a two-point gap between the two teams, a win or loss in the game would determine the two teams’ rankings in the league table, not to be missed.
After the game against the Celtic team, Twain resumed his campaign against Ferguson at a press conference. He declared that he had no interest in becoming someone else’s successor with the intention to provoke Ferguson.
Undeterred, Ferguson immediately shot back, “When he has been in this business for twenty years, his wish will come true.”
From the war of words between the two men, outsiders really could not tell that their personal relationship was more harmonious …
These two men were typical examples of “where we stand depends on where we sit.” They would speak and behave from their positions.
※※※
The managers could not always be the main characters in a confrontation between two teams. The players on both teams were also the targets of the myriad of people.
Cristiano Ronaldo had said numerous times that he wanted to leave, but he always ended up staying at Manchester United. He would be Ferguson’s sharpshooter against Nottingham Forest in this game. The reporters went to interview him and wanted to hear what he thought of the game. Ronaldo appeared to play it down and said, “It’s just a regular league game.”
Although he told the truth that the game held no special meaning, the media were so dissatisfied that they went to ask Rooney who was a little fiery than Ronaldo, “We will beat Nottingham Forest at home. I can’t imagine we will lose at our home ground.”
The young man, Rooney seemed proud and arrogant. “Who do you think is the biggest threat in the opposing team?” The reporter asked him. His answer was, “The entire team is not a threat.”
His comments angered the Forest players. Pepe was the first to step forward to express his displeasure with Rooney, “I hope he has a chance to play. I’ll show him what a threat is at that time.”
Eastwood said, “I’m glad their team feels this way, just like how everyone hopes their opponent to be an idiot.” He beat around the bush to scold Rooney as an idiot.
George Wood was not a man who wanted to incite a war of words with others. He preferred to shut the opponent up with a ferocious foul. When he was pestered by the reporters, he could only say, “You’ll find out during the game.”
Find out about what?
He did not say, but it was believed that the media assumed George Wood was going to teach those assholes who looked down on them, a lesson!
※※※
The managers’ war of words, the players’ war of words, and the war of words between the supporters on both sides breeding like flies were a special scene of professional football. All of these were laid out for the climax of the final game.
Three days flew by quickly. After Nottingham Forest returned from Rangers Football Club, they only spent one day in Nottingham before leaving for Manchester again. It was not a good thing for the team preparing to compete to run around so often. The team was unable to continue their systematic preparation training. Fortunately, because they finalized their advancement ahead of schedule, the Forest team had in fact prepared for the game against Manchester United since the last round of the league tournament. The team had made detailed arrangements during training to target several of Manchester United’s main attacking points. The way the team would operate its offensive was also carried out during training.
The only thing to worry about traveling to two away games within three days’ time was the team’s fitness.
Numerous pre-match expert fans had analyzed that Nottingham Forest would play the defensive counterattack tactic that they were best at in Old Trafford. After all, no team dared to play offense against Manchester United here. The outcome was they would be crushed without exception…
But this time Twain decided to do the very opposite again—he was going to play the game in a way that no one could anticipate.
“We will attack.” At the tactical preparation meeting the day before the game, Twain said bluntly, “I bet Ferguson won’t think we have the guts to do that, so I’m asking you all to fully press and attack. The moment the game starts, we gain the upper hand by a show of strength. The sooner we score, the better it will be for us.” He snapped his fingers.
“Boss, what if we don’t manage to score in the opening?” Eastwood raised the issue.
“Slow down the pace, stabilize the defense, and then continue to attack.”
Twain seemed determined to conquer The Theatre of Dreams with offensive play.
As they needed to attack, Şahin replaced Tiago to start in the game. Nottingham Forest’s formation had also changed from the parallel layout of 4-4-2 to the diamond shape 4- 4-2. The two wingers would be frequently involved in the attack. When the two sides were in a deadlock, the two full backs would remain in the backfield to participate in the defense, with few assists in the front. Meanwhile, George Wood would take on a defensive role in the game, and the offensive work was left to his teammates in the front field.
Even though he had stated that they were playing offense, Twain had not forgotten that defense was the foundation. So, it was almost impossible to see Twain’s team completely disregard the defense… Maybe in the last five minutes of the game, when his team was still one goal behind, then he would have done so.
※※※
Ferguson really did not think that Tony Twain would dared to play offense against Manchester United at Old Trafford. He felt that Twain was a pragmatist and that defensive counterattack was clearly the most appropriate if he wanted to fully protect his team at Old Trafford or even win.
Although the outside world did not like him always sticking to the main tactic of defensive counterattack and felt that he was cowardly and weak, Twain had never been shaken by outside criticism.
Ferguson felt he already knew Tony Twain very well, but this time he was wrong.
Before the game, Wood did the coin toss with the Manchester United captain, Gary Neville, which he lost. So, Manchester United won the right to pick its side, while Nottingham Forest got to kick off. In fact, getting to do the kick-off was a good thing for Twain’s Forest team because they were able to control the ball under their feet right from the start of the game.
Previously, there had been a misconception that Nottingham Forest never cared about ball possession rate which they backed it up with data to prove that Nottingham Forest’s ball possession rate was lower than that of their opponents ninety per cent of the games, regardless of the outcome.
But in fact, Twain just did not care about the kind of ineffective ball control that repeatedly passed the ball back and forth in his own backfield to boost the ball possession rate. He was focused on whether the opponent could finally form a threatening offensive ball control in their own half of the field. As long as they could finally score a goal, it was acceptable even if it took two passed from the start to finish. So, although his ball possession rate was always lower than his opponents, he could still win the game.
Looking at the games of the other teams, most people might have the thinking that when the football was not at the feet of the players, their supporters would start to worry about the opponent scoring. Because it was really dangerous thing to let the football be controlled by the other side.
But watching Nottingham Forest play, the Forest fans were already used to a game of the opponent controlling the ball and their team defending. In their eyes, once the football was at the feet of the opponent, the opposing fans should be worried instead. They would definitely come up and attack, which would leave their back with gaps. That would be the opportunity for Nottingham Forest.
But today’s game at Old Trafford would change the Forest fans’ perception.
The Nottingham Forest players kept the ball under their feet after the kick-off but were not in a hurry to launch a quick attack. Instead, they seemed to be casually passing the ball back and forth near the center circle. In the previous Nottingham Forest games, it was rare to see the backfield players pass the ball back and forth as Twain felt that it was pointless to pass the ball back and forth in the backfield. It could cause them to lose their chances as well as to wear out the team’s drive. Hence his game pace had always been fast.
Today, they were leisurely passing the ball back and forth at Old Trafford and passing the football further and further backwards. In the end, the football was passed by Woodgate to Akinfeev’s feet. The stands at Old Trafford began to ring out with boos against Nottingham Forest.
Berbatov rushed up to the penalty area, wanting to tackle the ball at Akinfeev’s foot and behind him, Rooney, Ronaldo and Tevez pressed on in succession.
Akinfeev did not give Berbatov a chance to intercept the ball. He directly kicked a long pass to the front field when there was a distance of ten meters between the two men.
“A long pass! It’s very much in line with the Nottingham Forest style!” The commentator quipped.
The player that Twain deployed in the forward line was not tall center forward, Žigić and not Ibišević, but the former Manchester United veteran, van Nistelrooy, and his partner was Eastwood.
With Fernández injured in the previous game, Lennon played as the left back. Bentley was suspended due to an accumulation of yellow cards, so the right back was changed to Agbonlahor. Twain wanted to use the speed of these two men to strike hard at Manchester United’s flank defense. Van Nistelrooy still received the ball under Carrick’s watch and used his skills and experience to keep the ball firmly under his feet, waiting for his teammates to come forward and help. Carrick struggled behind him to tackle the ball. Unfortunately, his position was gone, and unless there was a foul, he would have been unable to intercept the ball.
Just when he was trying to get a foul, van Nistelrooy passed the ball out and the target was Şahin.
After Şahin received the ball, he did a cross pass toward the side. On this side near the technical areas of both sides, a gust of wind blew past and that was Agbonlahor!
Agbonlahor was quite fast and the Manchester United defender on this side was Evra, an equally fast player. The two players were evenly matched.
阿邦拉霍还没有接到球,沙欣的直传球就被飞速赶来的埃弗拉铲出了边线.
Agbonlahor had not received the ball, and Şahin’s straight pass was shoveled out of the sidelines by Evra, who dashed over.
A smile emerged on Ferguson’s face when he saw the scene off the field. This was the Nottingham Forest team he was familiar with. It looked like today’s Forest team would not be any different than usual.
The Forest team’s characteristic was that they used more straight passes. They liked those penetrating passes. Although the success rate was not very good, it could be fatal as long as they succeed once.
Instead of bringing on Scholes to deal with this kind of straight passes, Ferguson heavily laid down two midfielders, Hargreaves and Carrick who were highly capable of running and focusing on defense in the midfield. At the same time, the rear defensive line was required to pay attention to help with the defense and not give the Forest team a chance to play straight passes. In terms of offense, once the Forest team’s direct pass was intercepted, they should immediately fight back. Neither Carrick nor Hargreaves was really the kind of player who could pass and organize the attack, so Manchester United’s main attackers were Ronaldo and Rooney, who switched to playing in the midfield. They were responsible for dribbling the ball to the front and then passing it to Berbatov or Tevez.
Now it looked like they were doing a good job. Şahin’s straight pass was thus destroyed by the quick-witted Evra.
Nottingham Forest’s possession of the ball from the start of the game was ended by a long shot from the top of the penalty arc by Eastwood. The ball he shot deflected off the goal.
Some might think that Nottingham Forest attacked so aggressively because they obtained the right to kick off the game, so they might as well make use of it… But as a matter of fact, the Forest team soon show that that they were wrong.
After Manchester United’s shot was pounced on by Akinfeev, he did not kick a long ball, but threw a handball away to launch an attack. Wood passed the ball to Şahin, who once again sent a cross pass, but this time it was toward Lennon on the left.
Thirty-five-year-old Gary Neville did not pounce over to shovel the ball like Evra did. He knew he was absolutely at a disadvantage in terms of speed, but his experience could help him deal with Lennon. So, he chose to retreat slowly and not give Lennon any room to sprint.
The trick worked. Even though Lennon managed to receive the ball, he found that he could not break through the Manchester United captain’s defense directly. Nottingham Forest’s quick attack could not be launched, and the football could only be passed back for a slow grind.
Ferguson sat in the technical area and constantly chewed gum in his mouth. It was his signature pose. He would adopt this pose when he was certain. After watching Nottingham Forest’s performance in the opening five minutes, he grew more confident of winning the game.
It was no different from the old Nottingham Forest team. Five more minutes, if they could not score, that guy Tony Twain would definitely instruct the team to withdraw and then lie in wait to counterattack Manchester United.
Ferguson was not worried playing this way. Their training for the past week had been specially set up to counter the Forest team’s tactical features. Once the Forest team could not score in the first ten minutes and put the game on track, it would be time for Tony Twain’s luck to turn for the worse.
Fighting to score first once the game started, then shrinking the defense to lure out the opponent, and next relying on tenacious and solid defense and speed to strike the opponent’s counterattack.
Ferguson had already studied the Forest team’s tactics and competition habits quite thoroughly. He believed that Tony Twain could not escape his control.
Now Ferguson suddenly had some regrets about why he did not use the outcome of the game to make a bet with Tony Twain— if he won, the two men would sign an agreement to let Twain take over the manager’s position once he retired at the end of the season.
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Chapter 774: 1:0
Ferguson felt that everything was within his control, but it was Nottingham Forest who scored a goal first.
Ten minutes after the game started, Nottingham Forest’s formation slightly withdrew. Manchester United saw it as a sign that the Forest team gave up playing defensive counterattack in the front field. They began to press on their offensive and seize the initiative.
When they first pressed into the midfield, they encountered more resistance than they could have imagined. Nottingham Forest did not fully return to their half to lay out the defense in one shot. They were only not press up to the center line like they did in the first ten minutes.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s dribbling was caught in a converging attack by Rafinha and Agbonlahor. He had intended to force a breakthrough, but when he looked up and caught a glimpse of George Wood standing not far away, he changed his mind at the last minute.
The ball was passed to Carrick in the middle. Ronaldo ran forward and wanted to do a two-over-one pass with Carrick. But Carrick’s stance was not very good when he received the ball and he had to slightly adjust to pass the ball to Ronaldo. That was what got him tangled up by Wood.
If he forced a turn to pass the ball, he would be tackled. So, Carrick sent the ball back.
After Ferdinand received the ball, van Nistelrooy worked hard to rush over to make a grab. He wanted to pass the ball forward, only to find that there was no suitable target and that almost everyone had the Forest players nearby. He could not hold the ball for long because his space would only be forcibly narrowed by the Forest players and eventually the ball would be intercepted. Helplessly, he passed the ball to his partner, Vidic next to him.
Vidic also met his match, Eastwood.
Unlike what Ferguson, Nottingham Forest did not directly withdraw. Instead, they launched an aggressive scramble in every corner of the pitch.
The Manchester United team really did not expect it.
After a few minutes of careful observation, Ferguson discovered that Nottingham Forest’s overall formation did not really retreat but was still in an offensive formation. But the old manager hesitated. He was unable to ascertain whether this is Twain’s strategy to lure the opponent, or something else …
He intended to continue his observation.
After another five minutes of observation, Nottingham Forest scored.
※※※
In the twentieth minute, Ferdinand received a return pass from his teammates in the backfield. He wanted to pass it to his nearest teammate. Hargreaves had already withdrawn to support. But Nottingham Forest’s Şahin also retreated with him…
He was unable to pass the ball to a player who was tightly pressed by the opposing player and had his back facing the offensive direction. Consequently, he chose to kick a long pass and let Berbatov and the Forest defenders fight for the ball.
Berbatov managed to get ahead of Woodgate and headed the ball. He had planned to pass the football directly to Tevez in the air, but the football was intercepted by George Wood who plugged in from the side.
Seeing the captain tackled the ball, Agbonlahor and Lennon, who had just helped defend in the backfield, changed their roles from defense to offense in a flash. They immediately plugged into the opponent’s half.
Şahin, who had just followed Hargreaves into the opposing half, also pulled back to support George Wood. After Wood passed the football to him, he did not rush on, but stayed where he was. As they had to attack Manchester United at Old Trafford, only Wood, the defensive midfielder was in charge of the defense in the midfield. So, the requirement for defense was even higher. Generally, when there were no special requirements, he would not come forward to participate in the attack.
Şahin received the ball and turned around to dribble the ball forward by a couple of steps before he diverted the ball over to Agbonlahor on the right side.
Agbonlahor relied on his own speed to break past Evra. The two men entangled in the wing.
Twain stood up in the technical area and shouted Agbonlahor’s name to remind him not to hold onto the ball too much.
Maybe he heard Twain’s shouts, or maybe he simply found it difficult to try to break through Evra with such a crude method. Agbonlahor passed the ball anyway.
He sent the ball straight to the other side of the pitch and Lennon received the ball.
The Forest team did not pass the ball into the penalty area in the crude way that Ferguson thought. If they did not have the right chance, they would rather pass the ball back and forth outside and look for a gap.
Gary Neville’s defense was unassailable, and Lennon did not force a breakthrough. He sent the ball back to Leighton Baines’s feet!
Even Baines, the full back with very few assists, came up. Where was their stance for defensive counterattack?
Baines came up, but Wood had not come up yet.
Baines crossed the ball to Şahin, who came back to support. Şahin looked at the side and Rafinha was on the edge. Manchester United’s defensive attention was naturally drawn to the sides when both Baines and Rafinha rushed up. After all, they all knew that Nottingham Forest’s flank attack was world-famous.
Şahin turned toward the right side and looked like he was going to pass the ball to Rafinha. Ronaldo had to keep up to prepare for the defense. Several other Manchester United players, including Evra, turned to that side, as if they were sunflowers following the sunlight…
But Şahin’s body only turned halfway and suddenly passed the football directly to Eastwood in front!
Hargreaves pounced over to Eastwood. He felt that the situation was still in his control because Eastwood received the ball with his back toward the offensive direction. As long as he stopped him from turning around, he would have to pass the football back.
Hargreaves pounced over, intending to stick Eastwood from behind. He did not expect Eastwood to not stop the ball at all. He shifted his body sideways and used one hand to hold back Hargreaves. Then he gave his left ankle a shake and the football directly moved to van Nistelrooy at the back!
Hargreaves’s attention was drawn to the pass. He did not realize Eastwood turn and move inside after he completed the pass.
Van Nistelrooy was the striker placed at the forefront. Although he was already old and had suffered serious injuries, he remained a dangerous player in the eyes of his opponents. Because he was a center forward who could still control the football at his feet under heavy siege. With such an attack fulcrum in the front field, the Forest team’s attack had infinite possibilities. He could shoot to the goal on his own, draw the opposing defensive attention and create chances for his teammates. Like this time…
Vidic and Rio Ferdinand had already lunged at him at the same time even before he received the ball, with one on the left and the other on the right, trying to catch him.
But van Nistelrooy did not plan to dribble the ball himself and then score. He made the same move as Eastwood—his ankle gave a shake to directly cross the ball out.
Eastwood dashed over in time!
He lifted his left leg, which was not his dominant leg and shot a volley directly without stopping!
The ball was slightly slanted but it perfectly fooled Ben Foster. The football scraped inside the goalpost, gave a strange crack sound, and then flew into the goal!
And for this shot, which was close at hand but with matchless strength, Ben Foster did not react. He just turned his head and watched the ball go in…
“A beautiful coordination! Nottingham Forest leads Manchester United 1:0 in the away game! Eastwood has the right form!”
The noisy Old Trafford suddenly went quiet, closely followed by a thunderous booing.
In the midst of the booing, Eastwood skidded on his knees and charged toward the corner flag. His passionate celebration also ignited the enthusiasm of the Nottingham Forest fans. They loudly sang the song composed for Eastwood, “You have Rooney, we have him too! He’s a Romani! He lived in a caravan and rode his horse to warm up. If you look down on him, he’ll teach you a lesson! With a goal! With a goal! Our Romani Rooney! Oh-la-la, Oh-la-la!”
The Manchester United fans hissed on one side and the Nottingham Forest fans chanted on the other side. Old Trafford truly became a “theater.”
※※※
Seeing Eastwood pumping the ball hard at the goal, Twain jumped excitedly on the sidelines like he was the person who scored. He waved his fists and demonstrated to the Manchester United fans in the stands. They obviously responded to him with more aggressive booing…
“Ha, it looks like Tony Twain does not want to please the Manchester United fans. He really doesn’t want to coach at Manchester United at all.”
Ferguson was a little annoyed by this goal concede. His mouth kept moving but he was not chewing gum but cursing fiercely.
“Our defense in the middle is useless! Are they all wood blocks? They just watched the opponent did a wall pass in our penalty area! And f**king scored! Why did Hargreaves not foul? What was he thinking?”
In fact, what incensed Ferguson more than the goal concede was he found that the situation had not been within his control, but in the hands of the young man next door …
He had a sense of defeat.
Although he and Twain had a good personal relationship and also hope that Twain would come to Manchester United, he was still an old man who did not want to lose when it came to the game. He wanted to remain as the master of the whole world, the best manager in this sport, smarter than anyone else, always ahead of the game and everything firmly in hand. No one could beat him unless he did not want to do it anymore.
For more than two decades, he had enjoyed a war of words with Wenger because he had the upper hand most of the time. He also enjoyed fighting with Kevin Keegan because the poor old man was almost driven mad by himself. Mourinho’s arrival did not shake his position in the Premier League either, as Mourinho’s departure proved that he was not qualified enough to be a “powerful man” in the Premier League.
He became Manchester United’s manager before the Premier League was founded. He had weathered through more storms than the other managers had combined. He fought with countless famous managers, but always had the last laugh. Mark Hughes, George Graham, Kenny Dalglish, Souness, Kevin Keegan, Arsène Wenger, Mourinho, Benítez, Scolari, Eriksson, Rijkaard….But it was him, not anyone mentioned above, who was chosen as the decade’s best manager in the Premier League.
He also enjoyed going measure for measure with Tony Twain. But the manager, who was nearly thirty years younger than himself, made him feel really old.
He should have seen through Twain’s crafty plot sooner…
Ferguson scolded Hargreaves and got up from his seat. He was going to the sidelines to direct the game.
Twain noticed that Ferguson had gotten up from the manager’s chair for the first time in the game. He turned his head to look at the old manager and smiled at the old man when he noticed him.
Ferguson’s expression looked ugly. He ignored Twain and reached out to call Neville over while the Forest players celebrated the goal to brief him directly.
After he finished clapping on the sidelines, Twain turned around and walked back with a smile.
According to past management, the Forest team would contract the defense after taking the lead and then fight back against the opponent. If Ferguson still thought so in this game, then Manchester United would be in trouble.
※※※
However, it was clear that Ferguson was much smarter than Twain thought.
He discovered Twain’s true intentions through the goal concede—Nottingham Forest did not intend to play defensive counterattack at Old Trafford at all. Instead, they played offensive football which was unusual for them. It looked like they planned to beat Manchester United using offense.
Ferguson bravely confronted the enemy head-on.
Since you want to attack, then bring it on!
Ferguson adjusted his team’s tactics, stepped up the defense and blocking in the midfield in an effort to control the midfield. Whichever team controlled the midfield in this game, would have a higher chance of winning.
When the game resumed, what the fans saw the most were scenes of the two sides fiercely fighting in the midfield and in a complete mess.
Twain also stepped up the defense in the midfield after realizing Ferguson’s intention. He moved Şahin’s position back to be in line with Wood’s position, leaving the Forest team’s middle looking less empty. The diamond-shaped 4-4-2 formation became the parallel 4-4-2 again. Under pressure from Ferguson, Twain was forced to give up his plan to continue the attack in the away game.
Anyway, with a one-goal lead, he was not in a hurry. He could slowly grind it out with Manchester United in the midfield.
Manchester United gradually regained the upper hand for the rest of the first half, but there were too few threatening shots. Berbatov and Tevez were trapped by the Forest team’s strong overall defense. After Manchester United fully pressed, it objectively caused Nottingham Forest’s defense to shrink. The gaps acquired by Berbatov and the others were greatly reduced. They could only meet force with force many times with the Forest team’s strong center backs near the penalty area.
They could not break through in the middle but were very active on the two sides.
Rooney’s and Ronaldo’s frequent breakthroughs on both sides caused a lot of trouble for the Forest team’s defense. Much of the reason Nottingham Forest was forced to shrink their defense was due to both of them.
Rafinha’s defense was weak, Agbonlahor was not a defensive player, and Wood had to make up for it several times to limit Ronaldo’s sharp attacks.
Nottingham Forest’s defensive tradition played an important role under the circumstances of Manchester United’s fierce attacks. Whoever was facing such a solid defense would have a headache. Even if it was Ronaldo or Rooney.
Manchester United did not score and the score was still at 1:0 until the end of the first half, with Nottingham Forest in the lead.
When Ferguson left the technical area with a grim look, the staff around him knew that the players were going to be in trouble in the locker room during the halftime interval. Never mind that he was sixty-nine years old, he was merciless when it was time for admonishments.
As for the leading Tony Twain, when he left, his face did not look much better. He was not unhappy with the performance of the players on the pitch, but slightly worried about the second half. Ferguson definitely would not be willing to accept this score and result. Furthermore, he had seen through the Forest team’s play, so he would certainly make adjustments during the halftime interval. How should he take up the challenge?
He had originally planned to score two goals in the first half. The current situation was very dangerous for the Forest team. 1:0 was really not a good score…
...
Chapter 775 - Unexpected Situation
In the away team’s locker room at the halftime interval, the players snatched time to take a break, rehydrate and wipe away their sweat with towels while Twain spoke on one side.
“A one-goal lead is not enough. There was a short time in the first half when you were completely held back by Manchester United. That won’t do. You have to attack your way out and fight against Manchester United! Do you know why we moved back in the second part of the first half and were eventually suppressed by Manchester United?” Twain walked around the locker room, surrounded by the busy players, but they were listening to Twain.
“Every time we hit the front field, we always wanted to threaten Manchester United’s goal in the simplest and most direct way. What was the result? The error rate was too high, leading to the ball being lost too quickly. Our men who had just gone up, had to retreat. As I have said before, in this game against Manchester United, we have to change our habit of preferring straight passes. Manchester United had made arrangements to target the straight passes that we like. If we do the straight passes, we’ll just be doing exactly what they want. Don’t rush to pass the ball forward after we attack to the front field in the second half…”
Nottingham Forest liked straight passes and fast pace of the game. People knew these well and some teams would do some work based on them to contain the Forest team’s offensive firepower.
That was what Manchester United did. In response to Nottingham Forest’s fondness for straight passes, Ferguson instructed the team’s rear defensive line to create offside and intensify the tackling in the midfield. Otherwise why would he have deploy Hargreaves and Carrick?
The goal the Forest team scored was actually the result of Manchester United’s failure to create offside. Van Nistelrooy was at the forefront and Eastwood’s plug in from the back removed the problem of offside, leaving him with an easy shot to score when no one was marking him. It was believed that Ferguson would be unhappy with the goal concede at the halftime interval.
“We try to keep the ball under our feet in the front field and don’t rush to pass the ball forward if there’s not a good chance. Don’t you have any confidence in the control of the ball at your feet? If they withdraw too tightly and you can’t find the right gaps after a few passes, then pass the football back to pull them out. Don’t just compress their formation alone. It’s just compressing our own attacking space.”
“Nuri.”
Şahin looked up.
“You passed the ball very well in the first half, very well.” Twain singled Şahin out for praise, which made Şahin happy. But then Twain’s tone took a turn, “But you passed too many straight passes in the first half. Did you count how many times you made mistakes in those passes?”
Şahin’s smile was a little embarrassed.
“I don’t blame you, Nuri. But as an attacking midfielder, you have to learn to always analyze the situation on the field. Different situations require you to have different countermeasures. Don’t just concentrate on repeating straight passes just because you can do so. You are the team’s brain in the game. If the brain is confused, how can this team play normally? You made too many mistakes in passing the ball to the front in the first half, especially in the latter part, which gave Manchester United a lot of chances to counter press. If you had realized this earlier, our situation wouldn’t have been ugly in the end.”
Twain might usually be smiling and behaved jokingly but if he really wanted to criticize someone, he could really be considered as “merciless.” If one’s psychological quality was slightly weaker, perhaps that it would cast a psychological shadow. But in fact, if it was a player he did not care about, he would not be bothered to say a bad word. But any player who could be criticized, showed that he held a place in Twain’s mind. Previously, when Anelka and Twain were at odds, Twain and he could say nothing to each other, and regarded each other as air.
Şahin’s head was bowed from Twain’s words. He knew the boss valued him very much, but he really felt a loss of face by his terrible words in front of so many teammates.
“In the second half, we must be a little more patient in the attack … For the two sides, don’t rush to the front in one shot, pay attention to keep the distance from the midfielders. When you rush too quickly, you will lose contact with them. Manchester United would love to see this happen. Freddy does this quite well. He’s always actively retreating to link the front field with the midfield. Ruud did a good job too to stay at the top to get the other side’s attention.”
After he finished talking about the offense, Twain began to speak of the defense. In the second part of the first half, Twain was quite satisfied with his team’s defense to not have conceded a goal when under pressure from Manchester United. In fact, the most reassuring thing for Twain was always the rear defensive line for several seasons in a row. It was definitely not a brag to say that Nottingham Forest’s defense was strong.
“We did a good job defensively. George, your main task in the second half is still to defend.”
Wood nodded without any objection. Some players would prefer to attack. They would want to show their talent in offense even if they were defensive midfielders so that they could obtain cheers from the fans and media. But Wood was not that kind of player. He had no preference for offense or defense. He would do what the team required.
“Because most of our energy in this game is on the offense, so the rear defensive line’s defensive task is even more important. I hope you will be vigilant every second for the remaining forty-five minutes and be aware of every attack that Manchester United may have. Manchester United will certainly step up their attack in the second half, but our forwards may not be able to provide more help. Sometimes you will need to be on your own… In addition, we can focus on the ball control in the front field, but I don’t want to see you pass the ball back and forth in the backfield. That’s a dangerous thing. Got it?”
The players on the rear defensive line said yes.
“Manchester United will be pressing on the attack because they are trailing at home. This is our chance! Seize their gaps and score another goal to completely knock them down! Don’t show mercy, guys!”
The players laughed.
It was crazy to show mercy when playing against Manchester United.
※※※
Although Twain criticized Şahin’s performance in the Forest team, the overall atmosphere was still very harmonious and relaxed. After all, they were now ahead.
But the atmosphere in the Manchester United locker room was not so good.
Ferguson lost his temper in the locker room with a grim expression, showing off his powerful “hair dryer” style.
Big names such as Ronaldo and Rooney, who had been scolded by Ferguson, dared not take a breath and straightened their backs.
“I instructed you to create offside. I didn’t ask you to let one through! You can’t even keep up with Eastwood’s obvious plug in from the back. What was the point of creating offside? Hargreaves, you are the barrier before the center back. How could you let Eastwood go so easily from where you were in charge? What are you doing following the ball? You were supposed to mark this guy. The middle defense was so easily hit by them with such a big gap! You’re just f**king ornaments in the pitch!”
After the vent, Ferguson took a little rest and began to tell his team what to do in the second half.
“You have to reverse the score, the sooner the better! If not, it will only bring confidence to the Forest team. This game is not the same as the one we played with the Forest team before. In the second half, Tony Twain wouldn’t shrink in the back to let us attack. They’re going to come out and face us head on. While we’re trying to equalize the score, we have to be careful not to let them widen the score. The midfield!” Ferguson pointed at the tactical board and said, “The midfield is still the most important! If we can control the midfield, we can directly threaten the other side’s goal. If the midfield is controlled by the opponent, then you bastards will be in big trouble!”
“Carrick, Hargreaves, you two have to play a more important role. Şahin is just a child, and it is a risk for Twain to let him play as the attacking playmaker. Don’t worry about George Wood’s plug-ins. He is certain to stay in the backfield to defend. So, you just need to put more pressure on Şahin and keep a tighter eye on him. Making him lose the ball and mistakes will destroy his confidence.”
The two midfielders nodded obediently and replied, “Understood, boss.”
“Not only do you have to make a grab in the midfield, you also have to play aggressively in the front. Spare no energy in making a grab! That’s how the opportunity will come about. As long as we score a goal to equalize the score, then the opponent’s morale will be affected. Then we continue to attack and rob. Do not to hold back. It isn’t enough to level the score. It would take at least two more goals. 3:1 ensures that they lose their ability to resist…”
Having said that, Ferguson thought something did not feel right. Perhaps 3:1 is not enough. Will Tony admit defeat so easily?
So, Ferguson added, “Of course, it would be better if you could score more goals. I won’t think it’s too much with four or five goals.”
The Manchester United players had taken Ferguson’s words as a joke and thought it was used to enliven the locker room’s somewhat dreary and serious atmosphere. A team that dared to say to score four goals or five goals against Nottingham Forest must be a conceited fool.
※※※
As the players from both teams ran up to the pitch from the tunnel, cheers broke out again in the slightly quiet Old Trafford stands. The halftime interval was about to pass.
Twain met Ferguson when he walked out. He found the other man look bad and knew that the old man must have lost his temper in the locker room. He was still so bad-tempered at such an age. Did he really want to retire because he was worried about his health?
Ferguson also saw Twain because Twain was looking at him with a smile. Only a blind man would not notice. Instead of giving a snort and walking away, he marched straight over and said, “Tony, I hear you like to bet. Why don’t we make a bet?”
“Huh?”
“If you lose in this game, you’ll coach Manchester United next season.”
Twain shrugged and said, “I don’t take part in such meaningless wager.”
“Because you’re afraid of losing.” Ferguson burst out laughing.
“Don’t try to stir me up, Sir.” Twain shook his head and added, “We can bet on something else. For example, if you lose, you can sell Ronaldo to me for cheap.”
Ferguson’s face changed, but soon returned to normal.
“How can I accept such a stupid bet?”
Twain spread his hands and said, “You see, Sir. We all have things we don’t want to bet on, so let’s not make a bet.”
Ferguson did not really want to bet with Twain. He just wanted to interfere with Twain through this kind of thing. For him, psychological warfare was to be waged all the time. He would not let go of any chance that might interfere with his opponent. However, Twain was also apparently well-versed in this area, and hit back without batting an eyelid.
In the end, the two men could only helplessly make peace.
Ferguson muttered one sentence, “Hopefully the second half will be exciting.” Then he turned and left.
Twain also turned around and walked in the opposite direction.
The second half was about to begin.
※※※
Just like what Twain said at the halftime interval, Manchester United took advantage of their kick-off at the start of the second half to launch a ferocious attack on the Forest team’s goal.
Nottingham Forest was completely held back and forced to defend.
Twain roared repeatedly on the sidelines and then used hand gestures to instruct the players to press out again and again.
On the other hand, Ferguson stared at the pitch with a serious face, and forgot to chew gum.
The sooner they scored, the better it would be for Manchester United.
Nottingham Forest withstood Manchester United’s fierce offensive and did not concede the goal within the ten minutes of being besieged by Manchester United. Then Manchester United slightly weakened, and the Forest team pressed out to attack Manchester United. The two sides launched a fierce fight in the midfield.
Şahin was heavily marked by Manchester United. Every time he took the ball, he would attract a Manchester United player’s ferocious tackle. If he was slightly distracted, the ball at his feet might be lost.
Manchester United was very effective in doing so. The Forest team’s attack was mired in a quagmire and Manchester United took advantage of the opportunity to hit back with a number of threatening counterattacks. Şahin appeared to be isolated. Twain had to let Wood and the two sides to consciously lean to the middle to support him so that they were finally able to reverse the situation again.
Fifteen minutes into the second half, the two sides were deadlocked on a 1:0 score line.
During this time, Ferguson also walked down from the technical area again. The team did not score as he hoped in the opening minutes of the second half. It could be seen that the mood of the Nottingham Forest players was gradually stabilizing. That was not going to work…
The pressure exerted was not enough…
※※※
After seeing the situation level off on the field, Twain slightly breathed a sigh of relief and turned back to sit in the technical area.
1:0 was indeed dangerous, but at least they had passed one stage.
Manchester United must be impatient after being unsuccessful for a prolonged period of attack. It would be an opportunity for the Forest team at that time. If there were no further surprises, he was confident of taking three points at Old Trafford.
※※※
Şahin counter pressed after he lost the ball in the midfield. But he committed a foul. The referee whistled to signal a free kick for Manchester United while he pulled Şahin over to give him a verbal warning. The other Nottingham Forest players turned and ran back to defend against another attack from Manchester United.
The Forest players who turned around did not notice the following scene happening:
Hargreaves took the ball to position it. The football had just touched the ground and he bent over to kick the football out!
He send the free kick out fast!
When Ronaldo received the ball, there was not even a Nottingham Forest player within five meters of him. Wood was far in the middle and Rafinha was delayed at the back. Agbonlahor surrounded the referee in protest at the penalty because he felt Şahin had not committed a foul at all. Rio Ferdinand was suspected of diving.
“Ronaldo receives the ball! He’s completely unguarded! Empty!”
The Manchester United fans, who had just fallen silent in the stands, were instantly revived. They burst into huge cheers to root for Ronaldo.
The Forest players were ill-prepared for Manchester United’s free kick. Even if Ronaldo received the ball, they were still rooted in place, and even turned their heads to look at the referee and the assistant referee, hoping they would give a whistle and let Manchester United re-launch it.
They were disappointed. After seeing that Manchester United had sent out the free kick, the referee did not stand in place and whistle. But he dropped Şahin and Agbonlahor aside and ran along forward. He clearly deemed it as effective.
It was only then that the Forest players woke up like a dream and ferociously pounced over to Ronaldo one by one while quickly retreating to organize the defense.
But it was already too late.
Ronaldo raced into the penalty area dribbling the ball and Rafinha did not even react in the flank.
Pepe rushed up to defend, aiming to force his Portugal national team captain to the outside and could not directly threaten the goal.
Ronaldo made a feint to look like he was going to quickly stop and then suddenly accelerated to turn the ball out of the line.
At the same time, Pepe make a move.
He did not kick football because it had been pulled away by Ronaldo one step ahead of time. He stepped directly on Ronaldo’s feet.
Ronaldo screamed, jumped and rolled on the ground.
The referee’s whistle sounded, so everyone reflexively turned their heads to look at the referee running over and stared nervously at his gesture—he pointed to the penalty spot!
“A penalty kick!” Oh, oh, oh! It’s a penalty kick! Ronaldo’s beautiful breakthrough earned Manchester United a penalty kick! The Nottingham Forest players surround the referee and Pepe keeps waving his hands to signal that he has not committed a foul. It was Ronaldo’s dive. At this time, he cannot care about his fellow countryman …”
Ronaldo held his leg as he curled on the ground. It looked like Pepe stamped his foot quite heavily.
Berbatov rushed up to hug Ronaldo and found that Ronaldo was indeed injured. It was not a dive…. He raised his hand in a hurry to find the team doctor.
The other Manchester United players ran over to check on Ronaldo, while the others celebrated the penalty kick.
For a while, it was a clamor in the Forest team’s penalty area.
The referee dispersed the Forest players who had been protesting around him and insisted on a penalty kick. At the same time, the Manchester United team doctor ran up to help Ronaldo to the sidelines for treatment. He limped off the field to prove that he did not dive. Of course, the Nottingham Forest fans did not go easy on him—they though the Portuguese even pretended to walk like this in order to deceive the referee.
This penalty kick could not be changed. Nottingham Forest could only accept such an outcome.
Accepting it did not mean they were calm. Twain had been muttering and fuming with rage between gritted teeth off the field since the referee awarded the penalty kick.
“This is Manchester United’s home ground. Yes, this is Manchester United’s home. I get it, I understand it better than anyone, this is Manchester United’s home…”
He was like Mistress Xiang Lin. He kept on harping which eventually brought the fourth official over.
“Can you be quiet, Mr. Twain?”
“Ah, I’ll shut up right now and say one last time: this is Manchester United’s home ground!”
“Mr. Twain!”
“Is there anything wrong with what I said? Don’t tell me this is our home ground?”
The fourth official basically did not know what to do with this scoundrel. He just glared at Twain and said, “I hope you can pay attention to your words and deeds. Your every performance will be recorded in the game report…”
Twain looked at the field and pretended not to hear it, ignoring the fourth official.
As Ronaldo was receiving treatment off the field, the penalty kick was played by Hargreaves.
Hargreaves easily tricked Akinfeev and pushed the ball into the middle.
“Manchester United finally equalized the score! In the sixty-first minute of the game, the two sides are back on the same starting!”
Even though they scored with a penalty kick, Ferguson looked excited. He rushed down to celebrate with his assistants next to him. Twain posed on the sidelines with a look of displeasure.
The score was levelled, which was not good news for his team in any case. Even worse, Manchester United’s morale would be boosted, further threatening the Forest team’s goal.
After all, their opponent was not just any team, but the Premier League champion, Manchester United. Moreover, they were still in the opponent’s home ground.
Ferguson’s words during the glib repartee with Twain at the halftime interval were really accurate.
With thirty minutes left in the second half, it was going to be exciting…
...
Chapter 776 - The Crazy Stoppage Time
Twain was enraged when Manchester United levelled the score by scoring the penalty.
Regardless of how brilliant a manager might be, he will not be able to control the kinds of set pieces that would turn up during a match. He can only remind the players to commit less fouls, especially in dangerous areas.
However, a football match does not usually progress in the way you have planned for it to before the match. There would always be all sorts of unexpected events that occur on the pitch. For example, the penalty kick that was awarded to Manchester United as a result of them taking the free kick quickly.
If Twain was a TV commentator right now, he would have commended Manchester United for the sudden shift that they made. It amply demonstrated how crafty and intelligent Manchester United and Ferguson were.
However, Twain was their opponent right now. He could only grumble and swear at them.
Ultimately, the Nottingham Forest players are at fault for the whole incident. If the players had not let down their guard and lost their focus collectively, then how could Ronaldo possibly have managed to take advantage of such a chance? A total of five minutes had passed when Ronaldo first picked up the ball till the moment he was fouled in the penalty box by Pepe. During that period of time, the Nottingham Forest players made no response and were all dumbstruck.
If this were a basketball match, then Twain would have called for a timeout immediately and called all the players to him. He would then give all of them a merciless dressing-down and make them fear losing their focus collectively during matches again in the future.
Twain really likes the timeout rule that is implemented in basketball as a result of the aforementioned points. He would get a total of seven chances every match to readjust his team or berate the players’ bad performance.
Unfortunately, implementing such a rule in football would only ruin the excitement and the flow of football matches, so he can only fantasize about it for now.
Twain hollered angrily at the pitch and kept flailing his arms to express his unhappiness at the players. As for how many of those players actually heard, saw and took his actions to heart, that was out of his control.
“All right, lads! The score has been levelled! Start focusing on the match! None of you have the right to get distracted again!”
※※※
Ferguson was very pleased with the goal, even though he knows that Twain would definitely make comments such as Manchester United ‘is under the care of both the referee and the Football Association’ or ‘everyone is against Nottingham Forest’ after the match.
But, you need to give the loser an out right?
What was most important was that they had levelled the score, and the match was back to square one.
Now that Nottingham Forest’s morale has been affected by the goal, the final victory would definitely belong to Manchester United.
What he needed to do now was to get his players to keep up the momentum and continue to apply pressure on Nottingham Forest. They should make use of this period of time where Nottingham Forest’s players are still a little distracted to get another goal under their belt. Doing so would completely destroy Forest’s fight.
He came up with very good points, but sadly the reality was contrary to his thoughts.
※※※
Nottingham Forest did not get flustered because Manchester United had scored a goal. They were able to quickly form a defense line whenever Manchester United strengthened their offense.
Manchester United’s striker, Carlos Tevez, was marked tightly and had no chance to score a goal. All he could do was to attempt long shots at goal outside the penalty box. He continued to waste chance after chance that his teammates had created for him.
Ferguson shook his head vigorously as he watched the match by the side of the pitch. Eventually, he could take it no longer, and he substituted Tevez for Paul Scholes at the 70th minute. Even though Ferguson had used a midfielder to substitute a forward, but in actuality, Manchester United’s offensive abilities did not weaken as a result. In fact, they had actually been strengthened.
Wouldn’t it be better to just play a true midfielder if Tevez also had to carry out midfield duties?
Don’t underestimate the 36 year-old Scholes. His professionalism and good lifestyle habits have allowed him to stay in good shape. He would not disappoint Ferguson every time the team needed him.
Scholes improved the team’s organizational and goal-scoring abilities at the midfield ever since he got on the pitch.
Of course, he also had to face a formidable opponent after he started playing: George Wood. Twain would not allow a player like Scholes to roam about freely outside their penalty box. This means that Wood will definitely mark Scholes, which would help the other Manchester United players get more chances to score.
Sure enough, after Scholes got on the pitch, Wood began acting as though he had automatically received some kind of signal, and immediately stuck close to Scholes.
Scholes was unable to shake off Wood regardless whether he moved in front or behind, so he could only pass the ball horizontally after finding an angle.
It was only when Wood had been attracted to defend another area that Scholes had the chance to do a long shot at goal. His shot was on target and was a threat.
Igor Akinfeev performed well. He pounced on Schole’s shot and blocked it.
Ever since Scholes got on the pitch, the balance in the midfield for both teams had been altered. Manchester United, who had more players in the midfield, continued to attack Nottingham Forest’s goalpost fiercely.
Their attacks exposed Şahin’s incompetence in defending. He was constantly on the losing end against Owen Hargreaves and Michael Carrick’s physical battles.
Even though Twain wished to persist with his plans on how to attack Manchester United at Old Trafford, keeping Şahin on the pitch would not change their current situation. Twain needed to make changes to his team as well.
On the 75th minute, Twain substituted Şahin for Tiago.
“Is the action of putting two defensive midfielders on the pitch a signal that the team is going to focus on defense from here on out?” The commentator said, “Maybe Tony Twain thinks that it is enough to only get a point at Old Trafford. After all, they are the away team, and they are also up against Manchester United…”
The commentator was trying to give Twain an out for his imminent failure. However, Twain did not want to follow the way out that had been given to him. He wanted to go against everyone else and against all odds.
Putting two defensive midfielders on the pitch actually acts as the foundation for their offense. Twain’s ideology is that offense starts from defense. Your offense will only improve when your defense is solid. This is why he would never simply put a center forward on the pitch and remove a defender when he wants to strengthen the team’s offense.
By putting two defensive midfielders on the pitch, Nottingham Forest would be able to curb Manchester United’s offense and regain the upper hand in the midfield. Subsequently, the team would be able to start their own offense from the midfield and charge straight for Manchester United’s goalpost.
If they are not able to regain control over the midfield, then the only attacking option left for them is to get a defender to do a long shot from the back to the center forward at the front. This is the kind of offense that the opposing defenders love, because they are able to defend against such attacks effortlessly.
Wood and Tiago both have the ability to pass the ball forward. At the same time, they were both able to defend as well. Tiago was able to help Forest regain balance in the midfield after he got on the pitch.
Neither Wood nor Tiago was afraid to get into physical battles with Owen Hargreaves and Michael Carrick. They were also able to take turns taking care of Scholes.
Both teams were evenly matched after the substitutions that both managers made. Eventually, the match reached a stalemate and neither side was able to get good chances to score a goal.
※※※
“I think Ronaldo should step up to the plate and do his job as a star player in the team. Manchester United’s offense is clearly in a predicament. The team is no longer able to break through Nottingham Forest’s defense as easily as before with their team play. This is the time where individual techniques would be more effective than passing the ball about. He should try making his way into the penalty box more often.”
The commentator was offering suggestions for Manchester United.
Besides the penalty that he scored, Ronaldo’s performance has been rather insipid throughout the match so far. He had even disappeared from the match for a period of time after he got stomped on the ankle by Pepe.
Perhaps his overall condition had been affected because of his ankle injury?
Nonetheless, this was indeed a time where Ronaldo has to step up to the plate and display his abilities.
Ronaldo has been searching for a chance to make his way into Forest’s penalty box all this while. There were a few times during Forest’s offense where he stayed at the front of the pitch and waited for a chance for Manchester United to go on the counterattack instead of tracking back to defend.
On the 79th minute, he was able to get that very chance. Vidic intercepted the ball that Tiago tried to pass to van Nistelrooy and then passed it over to Scholes. ‘Ginger’ subsequently passed the ball over to Ronaldo, and Manchester United was on the counterattack!
George Wood did not join in the team’s offense earlier. He had stayed behind at the back of the pitch and was geared up to defend all this while. He went up to Ronaldo right as the latter picked up the ball. Wood started to accelerate after running for a few steps because Ronaldo had accelerated as well.
Ronaldo brought the ball forward down the flank amidst the fans’ cheers.
There were only Pepe, Jonathan Woodgate and Igor Akinfeev in front of him. When he was about five to six meters away from penalty box, he abruptly cut inside.
Two bullet trains that had originally been travelling on different tracks met each other right then.
Wood timed himself and performed a sliding tackle the very moment Ronaldo cut inside. He tackled the ball and also brought down Ronaldo in the process!
Deafening boos erupted at Old Trafford. The sounds were enough to stop a person’s heart.
“That is a foul!” The commentator shrieked.
He was stating the obvious. It was clearly a foul. The referee blew on his whistle and ran over to Ronaldo. Ronaldo’s body was curled up as he clutched his leg. It seemed like he had sustained a rather bad injury. The leg that Wood tackled was the same leg that had been stomped on by Pepe earlier.
Wood did not go up to Ronaldo to comfort him by giving him a few friendly pats on the body. Neither did he try to defend his actions. He simply climbed to his feet and did not even spare the pitiful Ronaldo a second glance.
In his mind, it was a foul that he needed to commit. It is better to commit a foul at the flanks than to commit a foul in the middle of the pitch, and it is better to commit a foul outside the penalty box than in it.
He did not think that he did something wrong. As for injuring Ronaldo with his tackles? That was not his intention. It was just a by-product that came with his tackle…
The referee did not care about what Wood had in mind. He called him over to him, and fished out a yellow card from his pocket.
※※※
Tony Twain heaved a sigh of relief by the pitch. He had thought that Wood would be shown a red card and sent off the pitch for the foul, especially after hearing the ear-splitting boos in the stadium. But, now it seemed like Wood was in luck!
“Ha! Good one!” Twain, who was now relaxed, started commending Wood.
This time, it was Ferguson’s turn to be all enraged.
He rushed to the side of the pitch and grabbed the fourth official. He then unleashed his special ‘hair dryer’ attack on him as he pointed at the pitch, “You only give a yellow card for that kind of foul?! Then what kind of foul will be punishable by a red card? When their players break my player’s leg or his heart? That penalty is too f*cking awful!”
“Sir Ferguson, please watch your words…” The fourth official felt a little disgruntled. He was extremely unlucky to have been assigned to be the fourth official for this match. He was stuck between two managers with fiery tempers. One was old and one was young. He was just like a hotdog between two buns.
“My player is injured! He is moaning on the ground and you want me to watch my words? I am the one who wants you to watch your enforcement standards! That was definitely a red card offense! Great, now Tony Twain can’t say that the Football Association favors Manchester United after this match! I’m the one who gets to say it!”
The fourth official decided not to rebut him. He was just going to jot down the behaviors of both managers into his match report and submit it to the Football Assocation.
Let them be the bad guys…
Ferguson’s face was flushed after he finished chastising the fourth official. He huffed and puffed as he walked back to the manager’s seat, and was intent on calling Nani to go and do his warm-ups.
Ronaldo looked like he had suffered a fairly serious injury. It took a total of four minutes to treat him as he laid on the pitch.
The Manchester United fans at the stands who were swearing at Wood and Nottingham Forest all believed that Ronaldo had his leg broken by Wood.
The foul on Ronaldo looked extremely terrifying. Ronaldo flew into the air and his body did a half flip before he landed face down on the ground heavily. George Wood was just like a bulldozer that had bulldozed Ronaldo the tree.
“Let us not discuss about Tony Twain’s chances of managing Manchester United for now. At any rate, I think that George Wood will definitely not play for Manchester United in his entire life… How many times has he assaulted a Manchester United player in all the games played between Forest and Manchester United so far? He’s lucky to have escaped the red card from the referee this time, but he would surely not escape the wrath of the Manchester United fans. Listen to the boos, they are enough to kill a man!”
The cameras did a close-up shot of Wood. He kept a long face and remained unmoved.
※※※
The injured Ronaldo was eventually replaced by Nani. Even though Ronaldo was able to hobble to his feet in the end, Ferguson did not allow him to keep playing in the game because he wanted to protect him from further injury.
All players who like to bring the ball forward would receive such a treatment from the opposing defenders. It was certainly not the first time that Ronaldo was tackled in such a fashion. He is truly lucky to be able to last in the game till this day…
However, Ronaldo had most probably lost all favorable impressions he had of George Wood.
Fabregas and Kaka either saw Wood as someone they should treat seriously, or had hoped to have him as their team mate.
Cristiano Ronaldo longed for George Wood to disappear from this world.
The match that had been stopped for 6 minutes finally restarted after Ronaldo got off the pitch. However, the boos from the fans did not stop. Every time George Wood picked up the ball, a wave of violent boos would come his way. Fortunately for him, he mainly played in the middle of the pitch. If he had been playing down the flank, there might even have been items thrown at him along with the boos…
Nani was once touted as the second Cristiano Ronaldo. There were some similarities between his finishing and Ronaldo’s, but the two were still very different in terms of their overall abilities and experience.
Nani gave his all after he got on the pitch. He wanted to prove that he was able to become the hero that is capable of helping the team triumph over a strong opponent.
Unfortunately, Tiago and the rest of Forest’s defenders had marked him aggressively and he was not able to get many good chances to score.
Manchester United had substituted Ronaldo for Nani. Likewise, Twain also substituted the exhausted van Nistelrooy for Ibišević.
Ibišević had scored a total of 12 goals in all competitions so far. He scored 9 goals in the Premier League and 3 goals in both the EFL Cup and Champions League combined.
Most people do not think that Carl Spicer would be able to win in the bet that Twain made with him earlier. The only way he would win is if Ibišević were to suddenly suffer from a serious injury and miss out on playing in all the remaining matches. If not, it is likely that Ibišević would keep scoring goals based on his current momentum.
The reason why Twain decided to put Ibišević on the pitch this late in the game was because he hoped Ibišević would be able to create some chances for the team by attacking Manchester United’s defense.
However, both Vidic and Rio Ferdinand have been quite solid with their defense so far. Ibišević was not able to get many chances when the two of them defended against him at the same time.
The match continued to remain in a stalemate. Both sides were able to gain a few chances, but no one capitalized on them.
Ibišević fired a shot at goal from close range, but it whizzed past the goalpost. Berbatov also had a shot that was blocked by Akinfeev, but Akinfeev was not able to hold onto the ball, which led to a moment of chaos in Forest’s penalty box. In the end, George Wood was able to get to the ball ahead of Rooney, and he kicked the ball away from the penalty box.
Of course, his interception attracted boos from the Manchester United fans once again, because the fans believed that he had touched the ball with his hand prior to kicking the ball away.
On the 88th minute of the match, the score between the two teams remained 1:1. However, no one knew if that score would persist till the end of the match, because starting from the 85th minute, both teams had given up on defense, as though it was something that had been coordinated beforehand.
Both teams went back and forth as more and more chances to attack the other party arose, and the number of misses committed by both sides also steadily increased.
Evidently, neither side wished for the match to end as a draw.
Both managers nervously watched every change that unfolded on the pitch by the side. They were both hoping that their team would score a goal that would break the current deadlock.
“I understand that neither of them wishes for the match to end as a draw, but I must say that reality is cruel, and it is telling them that there is a high chance that the match would end as a draw. The fourth official has held up the board and we are getting… 6 additional minutes! That is really long, but it is normal considering the time that had been lost because of Ronaldo’s injury…”
If this were any other day, Twain would have flown into a rage by the side of the pitch over the six minutes of added time. He would have thought that the referee was being too explicitly biased towards the other team. However, right now, he actually hoped that the referee would give them another six minutes of added time, on top of the six minutes that he had just given.
Twain clapped his hands by the side of the pitch and reminded his players to continue with their attacks.
※※※
On the 92nd minute, Forest’s attack was ruined by Agbonlahor who lost the ball. Manchester United immediately went on the counterattack at a breakneck pace.
The ball quickly made its way to the front of the pitch after some passes. Rooney made use of his pace to trouble Baines at the flank, before he passed the ball into the middle of the penalty box. His action caught both Jonathan Woodgate and Igor Akinfeev off guard, which is why Woodgate did not have the time to reach when Berbatov stopped Rooney’s ball with his chest.
The striker who cost Manchester United 30 million pounds did not choose to shoot for goal at once. Instead, he stopped the ball with his chest before performing an ingenious shot at goal. The ball was sent in the direction that was beyond Akinfeev’s reach…
“The ball has gone in! The ball has gone in!” The commentator roared crazily. “2:1! Manchester United leads!”
The Manchester United fans at the stadium all went wild. They rushed to the front of the stands and began shouting Berbatov’s name as they flailed their arms about.
It did not matter how far the Manchester United’s players were from Berbatov. They all ran up to him with their arms outstretched and wanted to give him a hug.
Ferguson even jumped into the air by the side of the pitch. He was as happy as a kid who had just gotten a candy. All the players who were sitting on the bench were all locked in an embrace as well.
“A goal on the 92nd minute! This is a last-minute goal! A last-minute goal! What a miracle! Manchester United has managed to do a comeback against Nottingham Forest after being a goal down! Berbatov’s goal sends Forest into the abyss! Pepe committed an unforgivable error! He missed when he tried to head Rooney’s ball away! I wonder what was in his mind at that very moment?”
※※※
Twain did not emulate Pepe, who was hugging his head with both hands in vexation. He flailed his arms about by the side of the pitch and yelled at the players, “Put the ball on the center circle! There’s still time! There’s still time! Don’t f*cking give up!”
How could his voice be picked up by anybody in such a cacophonous environment?
However, it seemed like Forest’s captain, George Wood, was on the same page as him. He picked up the ball from the net and ran over to the center circle. While Manchester United’s players continued to celebrate wildly, he had placed the ball on the center circle. After doing so, he turned around and slapped some of his disenchanted team mates on their backs, “It’s not over yet! It’s not over yet!”
Subsequently, he ran over to the referee to remind him that Manchester United’s celebration time was taking too long.
The referee looked at his watch. It was indeed taking too long. However, there were only three minutes left in the match.
Don’t tell me you lot still want to level the score? That’s nothing more than a delusion…
That might be what he thought, but the referee still carried out his professional duties. He ran over to pull the Manchester United players back onto the pitch, and gestured for them to continue with the match. After all, the match was not over yet.
Every single Manchester United player who returned to their positions were brimming with happiness and they could not hide the smiles on their faces. They were all very pleased and happy to be able to triumph over Nottingham Forest in the dying minutes of the game. They were not going to feel this good a second time.
You injured one of us through your tackle. We are going to make all of you pay the price with a loss!
The goalkeeper, Ben Foster, even turned around to the fans and gestured for them to get riled up and sing the songs louder.
Forest tried to do a long pass to get the ball to the front of the pitch for an attack when the match restarted. However, such a frenzied attack was easily stopped by Manchester United’s players, and that gave Forest yet another setback.
“Without Şahin, Forest can only rely on long passes in their offense. This makes their attacks predictable and crude. Such attacks don’t work against the two burly Manchester United center backs. Eastwood is not a center forward who is good with long passes and Ibišević doesn’t look he’s gotten himself into the game either…”
The commentator felt that Forest was merely struggling on its deathbed.
Van Nistelrooy, who had been substituted earlier, stood by the side of the pitch alongside Twain with the team’s jacket draped over his shoulders. He stared anxiously at everything that was happening on the pitch.
He certainly did not want the match to end in such a manner. He might have played for Manchester United in the past, but he is a player for Nottingham Forest now. He desperately wanted to defeat Manchester United, and defeat Ferguson.
“Keep at it! Don’t be fazed! You can do it!” He cheered his team mates just like how a manager would.
The 93rd minute of the match had passed by amidst Manchester United’s players and fans’ wild celebrations. They used one full minute to celebrate, and this one minute of game time would not be compensated. Thus, in actuality, they were only going to play five minutes of added time instead of the six that had been given to them at the start.
On the 94th minute, Nottingham Forest’s offense continued to be in a mess. Their simple long balls were unable to threaten Manchester United’s goalpost at all. On the other hand, Manchester United nearly scored once again. Rooney’s long shot hit the crossbar and ricocheted off the pitch. His shot had silenced the fans’ cheers for a moment.
On the 95th minute, Nottingham Forest was able to earn a corner kick. Akinfeev wanted to rush forward to help, but he was reprimanded by Twain for his actions and was sent back to defend the goalpost.
Pepe rushed to the front of Manchester United’s goalpost, intent on getting a goal to atone for his mistake. Unfortunately, he pushed Vidic down while he jumped up to try and head the ball.
The referee mercilessly blew on his whistle and penalized his foul, which resulted in another lost chance for Forest. Pepe wanted to argue with the referee that he had not pushed Vidic, but rather, it was the latter who had committed a dive instead. However, Pepe was pulled away by Wood. What good does it do to argue with the referee about such things at a time like this? It was just a waste of time!
“It’s hopeless for Nottingham Forest. There’s only half a minute left till the end of the match. Also, it’s Manchester United’s ball. As long as they don’t give the ball away, they would be able to make it past the remaining half minute without a hitch…”
Manchester United’s fans were already singing and dancing at the stands to celebrate their victory.
Manchester United’s players did not choose to pass the ball around the back of the pitch to drag out the game, because both Ibišević and Eastwood kept charging wildly at them to try and snatch the ball away. The defenders were worried that they would commit an error and their opponents would intercept the ball and go on the counterattack. Therefore, they chose to send the ball to the front of the pitch, and get the ball far away from their own goalpost.
Pepe did not miss the ball this time round when he jumped up to head the ball. He managed to stop the ball with a powerful header.
Rooney ran into the middle of the pitch and was going to pick up the ball and shoot for goal once more.
However, Tiago stopped him from doing that with his body.
There was chaos right before Forest’s penalty box.
Wood rushed out from within the chaos and kicked the ball towards the front of the pitch.
No matter how one looked at it, all Wood was doing was to get the ball away from their own half…
The ball flew like a missile over to where Ferdinand stood.
At the same time, Ibišević also charged at the ball. He was the only one left on the pitch who had the energy to make such a run, because he only got on the pitch for a short period of time. Eastwood wanted to chase after the ball as well, but he realized he did not have the energy to do it, so all he could do was to stand near the center circle and watch.
Not too long later, both Ibišević and Ferdinand began fighting for the ball.
Ferdinand was unable to head the ball forward due to Ibišević’s interference. Instead, he sent the ball backwards…
However, he was about 10 meters away from the goalkeeper, Ben Foster. The ball would not make its way into Foster’s hands.
He had created the kind of ball that Ibišević was looking for!
Ibišević ran past Ferdinand, who had lost his balance, and pounced straight at the ball.
“An error! Ferdinand has committed an error! Was that not a foul? The referee has gestured for play to go on! This is Nottingham Forest’s last chance! Ibišević got to the ball and Foster is rushing out in a frenzy…”
Immense boos rang out.
Amidst the boos, Ibišević raised his feet to kick at the ball while it was still in mid-air!
Foster pounced towards the ball, but the ball slipped past him right under his armpit!
Everyone in Old Trafford watched as the ball passed by Ben Foster and the goal line, and collided against the net…
“Unbelievable! Unbelievable! Un… believable!”
Ibišević ran up to the side of the pitch and started doing his celebratory action of slapping his face after scoring the goal. However, this was the hardest he slapped himself out of all the 12 slaps he did in the past. This was a goal that levelled the score. This was a goal that pulled Nottingham Forest back up from the edge of the cliff! This was a goal of exceptional significance!
“This is just like a dream… Nottingham Forest has actually levelled the score in the final minute of the game! They have really done it! I take back everything that I said three minutes ago. The goal from Manchester United was not the last goal of the match that would get them all 3 points! Manchester United thought they had won the game, but Nottingham Forest has come out and told them, ‘No! The match is not over! It doesn’t matter if there’s only half a minute left, we can still score a goal!’! What a brilliant goal! Super Ibi!”
Tony Twain got carried away with his celebrations amidst the commentator’s passionate voice. He performed a flip to express the excitement that he was feeling. After he had finished his flip, he faced the stands and flailed his clenched fist about as a demonstration towards the Manchester United fans. This time round, no one booed him…
“This is truly one crazy stoppage time… Both teams scored two goals in the final 6 minutes of the game. Neither won and neither lost. Nonetheless, the last 6 minutes of the match were very worthwhile!”
The Manchester United players stood rooted at the ground and were all left dumbstruck. Nottingham Forest had tied the score at the very last second of the game. Most of the players were unable to accept such a result. Three minutes ago they had all believed that they were the victors. Three minutes later they all felt like they were the losers…
Nottingham Forest’s players swarmed up to Ibišević and pushed him down onto the ground. They then flung their bodies on top of him and on top of one another. They were celebrating wildly, but the referee would not get in their way, because the match was over. Nottingham Forest had levelled the score with Manchester United with this goal on the 96th minute.
Perhaps, to the Twain before the start of the match, such a result would not be pleasing. However, to the Twain from 3 minutes ago, this was the perfect result…
“We have demonstrated our bravery.” Twain said those words in his post-match interview.
...
Chapter 777 - Red War
After a crazy injury stoppage time in the post-match press conference, both sides were still talking about the two goals in stoppage time. Twain was happy to level the scores at the last minute, so he did not mention that he was hoping to win the game before the game.
“What is there to be not satisfied with this performance? This result is a great demonstration of Nottingham Forest’s style and I am very happy. ”
The draw and last-minute goal of the game were important for Forest as it further boosted the team’s morale and confidence, setting the groundwork for the upcoming Liverpool and the devil’s calendar during Christmas.
Ferguson was a little annoyed, but he still accepted the result, “There is nothing I can do but to accept the results. This is football. I really didn’t think they’d be able to level the scores at the last minute…”
To say Ferguson’s face, when Ibišević shot the ball into the door of Foster’s goalmouth, was ashen was an exaggeration, but saying he was ugly was apt. Ferguson had on the same expression until he shook hands with Twain. He was not in the mood to trash talk with Twain; he quickly shook hands with Twain and left.
The last-minute counter-score and levelling the score in the last minute. These ups-and-downs really challenged one’s heart. The only good news was that this game was just a league game, not a Champions League or a FA Cup knockout match.
※※※
Ibišević, who scored the last-minute equaliser for Nottingham Forest, only played for a short time but was named the best player of the game, receiving a bottle of champagne. He was happy that he was able to score the last goal, but he did not take all of the credit, instead modestly expressing that it was a team effort. Without Captain Wood’s long pass, he would not have had the chance to score.
He also mentioned another hero who helped levelled the scores, “When I was still adjusting to the Premier League, the head talked to me alone. He told me that Nottingham Forest was unwilling to lose and one that would not give up under any circumstances. I’m happy I lived up to this reputation.”
The Manchester United players interviewed were a little upset. “I really didn’t think they’d be able to get force a front-court press at that time. We were a little flustered…” Anton Ferdinand explained the loss of possession for his central defender.
Vidic, who lost the ball, rushed into the dressing room with his head down and did not give an interview to any of the reporters. It was certain that Ferguson would not let him off after returning to the changing room, it was at least a bad scolding.
※※※
Twain was all smiles throughout the press conference, and he did not hide his happiness behind the results. Ferguson, on the other hand, looked so sombre that everyone knew he was upset and unhappy.
At the end of the press conference, Twain headed back to the dressing room to find the players still talking about the two goals from the game’s injury-time break. Obviously they’re excited about it, too. Twain clapped and motioned for the players to be quiet, as he had something to say.
“The last-minute tie was exciting, isn’t it? ”
A group of people laughed. It really was exciting.
“I’m proud of your performance in the last three minutes and that’s what I want to see in Nottingham Forest. But…” His tone changed and his face calmed down, “I still want you guys to know, if we could have scored earlier and taken the situation into our own hands a little earlier, then none of us would need to experience this excitement.”
Twain touched his heart, “I have a problem here, and I do not wish to experience anymore ups-and-downs like this. This match is a lesson for you to never entrust your fate to something that you can’t see. We were able to level the scores because Vidic made a low-level mistake at the last minute. You can’t always expect your opponents to make such a mistake. Your own destiny should be placed in your grip, to be steady.” He clenched his fist, as if he had his fate in his palms.
Having said that, the smile returned to his face, “But the last ball was great! Everyone did great! Now you guys just celebrate!”
Playing both the good cop and the bad cop prevented the players from being too complacent and also would not let them think that the coach would be too strict. With their high morale, Twain was not worried about their next home game against Liverpool.
※※※
When Ferguson invited Twain to drink after the game, his mood seemed to return to normal. On the surface, he did not seem angry. He looked a little helpless, actually.
The media was unanimous in their praise after the game that Ibišević had given Forest an important goal. But Ferguson disagreed.
“They said Wood’s kick was just a clear forward, but I don’t see it that way. He thought he premeditated it to be a long pass.”
Twain laughed slyly, neither denying nor confirming. Wood always had that touch of genius to pull of stunts he technically should not be able to with his skill level.
“Really not considering about coming to Manchester United to coach?” After this game, Ferguson thought Twain was the best manager for Manchester United.
“No, Sir.” Twain shook his head while swirling the liquor in his flass.
Since he had a heart attack, he had basically stopped drinking. However, he had to have a drink with the opponent after the game, out of courtesy. He should be fine if it was just one cup, so Shania and the doctors did not stop it as he also knew his only condition only allowed him to drink one glass. His early days of abstinence had been hell, but he had no reaction to drinking now.
“It’s a shame…” muttered Ferguson.
Twain again turned down Ferguson’s invitation. Ferguson knew that, with Twain’s personality, he would not accept it again. So will the Premier League champions continue to shine when he retired? Although he knew that there must be a trough after a peak, which is the law of nature, but it happening to his own team, he did not know if his emotions could accept it. He wanted someone to continue his glory at Manchester United, but the most talented man had turned him down twice.
Twain read the old man’s mind. He advised, “I think you’re in good health, why not keep coaching?” ”
“You don’t seem to want me to retire, and I think it’s a strange thing. Aren’t we rivals, Tony?” Ferguson looked at Twain.
Twain smiled, “It’s not like I’ll win a lot more championships if you leave, because I’ll still win lots even if you’re here. Ha ha! But without you, I always feel like something is missing.”
Ferguson finished the glass, “Rest assured, there is still Wenger. You wouldn’t be lonely.”
“Professor, I’m not going to have a war of words with him.” Twain shrugged, “It’s more interesting to bicker with you. ”
Ferguson suddenly understood what Twain meant by “missing”. Mourinho’s absence gave him one less target to bicker with, and if he retired, none of the people left would be as thick-skinned as him. No wonder he would feel lonely.
“If not being scolded is going to upset you, I can still scold you plenty even after I retire, Tony.”
Twain laughed when he heard this. What an interesting old man!
He also leaned and finished the wine in his glass, “If your successor has potential, do you mind if I teach him a lesson? ”
“As long as you can.”
※※※
Nottingham Forestwelcomed Liverpool shortly after they were back in Nottingham. Nottingham Forest wasback in fourth place in the league after being overtaken by Liverpool thanks to a draw with Manchester United. Liverpool was back in third place after a 3-2 win over Everton at home, but they also paid a heavy price for the Derbi victory.
Centre-back Agar, for elbowing Everton striker James Vaughan, drew a red card on the spot and was subsequently suspended for three games. Dutchman Ryan Babel left the game with an injury and will miss three weeks’ worth of games. Pennant was also injured, although it was not too serious, but he definitely could not play in the match against Nottingham Forest. Adding Xabi Alonso and Dirk Kuyt who were already injured before the match, there were not many people Benítez can use.
With that in mind, Benítez kept a low profile on the away side, putting on a defensive display and aiming to get a point as a win. The team lost too many players on offense, but defensively they basically retained their original strength. Aguero was shown a red card but was suspended for the next game, so he was still able to play against Nottingham Forest.
So in midfield Benítez had a very thick defensive formation. Lucas, Mascherano’s double back-up configuration with Gerrard in the center, forming a triangle. Gerrard was on the main offense while Mascherano and Lucas lead the defense. It was clear Benítez was wary of Nottingham Forest’s attacks.
Twain could cry at this — after so many years have passed, there were finally opponents who adjusted their defensive arrangements because of their fear of Nottingham Forest’s attacks.
Despite Benítez’s adjustments, his team did not get what they wanted in the stadium. Benítez’s thick defenses lasted only twenty-seven minutes before it fell apart. Lucas and Mascherano’s matching error was seized by Žigić to intercept the ball, and then he used his own body to shield the ball from the two defender’s surround attack, until Cohen ran up to support. He got into position to pass the ball to Cohen, but took advantage of the moment the circle loosening to pass the ball to Shahin who was running the opposite direction.
Sahin picked up the ball and passed it to Lennon, who was inserted from the left, but instead of passing the ball directly to Lennon’s feet, he imaginatively passed the ball in front of him, which could take full advantage of Lennon’s speed.
Lennon picked up his speed and snatched the ball right in front of Liverpool right-back Álvaro Arbeloa, directly breaking through Liverpool’s defensive line. Afterwards, he did not dribble downwards but instead immediately through the penalty area, and shot steadily through Agger’s defenses, and past Reyna’s hands.
Nottingham Forest was ahead,1:0.
The game did not send Eastwood and Van Nistelrooy, who were less confrontational, but instead two strong, tall forwards, Ibišević and Žigić. It’s about playing against Liverpool’s tough midfielders.
He succeeded.
This lost goal put Liverpool in a difficult position. They certainly could not solely defend; they would have to come out and attack. This must have been what Twain wanted.
Both the narrator and Benítez thought Tony Twain would let his team play defensively. But they all forgot Tony Twain was a coach who liked confrontation.
This time, Nottingham Forest was playing against Liverpool who is going all out at home. The game was quite exciting and intense. Both sides had plenty of chances and the goalkeepers from both teams were the busiest and most brilliant players for some time.
Ibišević grabbed an opportunity from Reina’s loose save before the end of the first half and fired the reflected ball into the net, this was his 11th league goal of the season and his 14th overall goal. Nottingham Forest headed into the half-time break with a 2:0 lead.
The team’s extraordinary optimism at half-time forced Twain to become the villain again, warning them not to take it lightly.
“Who do you think your opponent is? It’s not a cat or a dog, it’s Liverpool! They have a captain like us who doesn’t lose — Gerrard! Even if we lead by three goals, we might still lose in the second half if we’re too complacent.”
He was not wrong. Ten minutes into the second half, Liverpool relied on a free-kick to score a goal from a powerful long shot by their captain, Steven Gerrard. The ball boosted Liverpool’s morale because it was really beautiful. The force was heavy, the angle was drilled. Akinfeev was stunned and at a loss. If Liverpool was allowed to play like this, it was only a matter of time before the scoreline levelled. Twain had to make adjustments and replace Sahin with Thiago to strengthen the midcourt.
Thiago went up and used his aggressive pace to allow for fair competition between the midfielders of both teams. It also took back a little flair and destroyed the fighting spirit of Liverpool players. Their attacking momentum finally waned after another ten minutes where Liverpool could not score. Would Nottingham Forest miss such an opportunity?
They launched a counterattack.
Cohen and Barnes hit a one-two on the left, and Žigić again displayed his aerial dominance and pressurized Aguero and Martin Skrtel, heading the ball into the net. The score gap grew to 3:1.
Just two minutes later, Ibišević made a comeback, firing a long shot from outside the penalty area which pierced Reina’s reach. 4:1!
The game had basically lost its suspense, but Gerrard was still looking for a chance to score. In the 86th minute, he finally scored his second goal for the team. But the score of 2:4 was only four minutes from the end of the game and nothing else could change.
Nottingham Forest was not Manchester United and they would not let Liverpool be themselves in the last league match. In the final moments, the Nottingham Forest team all came back to defend and resist Liverpool’s fierce attacks. Keeping the score of 4:2 till the end and successfully getting the three points!
Now, Twain and his lads could have a good Christmas.
...
Chapter 778 - Coupled Up
Since his chance encounter with Shania, Twain sadly discovered that he had only spent Christmas with her once. It was in 2004, the year Nottingham Forest had just returned to the English Premier League and Shania was not a famous model yet. She was still living at her aunt’s house in Newcastle, but she was not very happy there. So, she chose to spend Christmas at Twain’s place.
That year, they and Dunn, as well as George Wood and his mother had a very happy Christmas together.
At the same time, they agreed to do this every Christmas.
Unfortunately, the reality was cruel. They had not spent another Christmas together since. Shania has embarked on the path of professional modelling. As she rose to fame, she had been busy with work more and more. Christmas was a day of family reunions for the Westerners, and a prime time for models to work and make money.
Shania could not return to Nottingham to accompany Twain, and Twain could not fly to those fashion capitals to be with Shania. Because as a Premier League manager, Christmas was also the busiest time of the season for him. Two to three games a week even kept him from returning home. He could only stay in a hotel.
Even after the two of them got married, the situation did not improve at all.
Although Shania had acted in two films, she was still a model. Over the Christmas period, she needed to rush around for the runways shows and attend various commercial events in Milan, Paris, New York, Hong Kong, Tokyo… and all over the world, but just not in the tiny Nottingham.
Twain was probably the most pitiable manager in the Premier League when it came to this matter.
The other managers who had not spent Christmas with their families must be because they were too busy, and their wives were still waiting at home. At least their homes would not be dark and cold. Whereas if Twain did not go home, the house would not even be lighted up because the husband and wife were very busy…
For the Christmas in 2010, it looked like it would still be the case. Twain and Dunn, as well as George and Sophia spent this Western equivalent of the “Spring Festival.” Under the Christmas tree with the gifts prepared for everyone by the club, George Wood extended an invitation to Twain and Dunn to spend the holidays together.
“Okay, no problem, George.” Twain nodded and agreed. He did not think to turn it down. “Dunn and I will be there.”
Dunn hesitated for a moment and did not nod.
Twain felt it was a little strange and asked, “What’s the matter, Dunn?”
Dunn hesitated for a while before he spoke up, “Can… Can I bring another person along?”
Both Wood and Twain were surprised, except that there was a difference to the extent of the two men’s display of surprise. Wood just raised his eyebrows while Twain just stopped short of shouting it out.
“Well, never mind if it’s not okay…”
Wood shook his head and replied, “No problem, yes. My mother likes things to be lively.”
He did not ask who Dunn wanted to bring. He was not the kind of person who liked to pry into the other people’s privacy. He would not ask if the other party did not say.
After he settled the matter, Wood took his gift and left. Twain was not like Wood. He was actually very gossipy. He curiously asked his partner, “You’re bringing someone? Who is it, Dunn?”
“You’ll know when the time comes…” Dunn also unexpectedly did not answer Twain’s question. He picked up his gift and turned to walk away.
Twain looked at his back and scratched his head, “Hey, you have your own little secret!”
※※※
At the end of the training, Twain drove home to change his clothes. Although he was used to living alone in the big house, he still felt it was particularly cold in winter.
He did not stay long in the cold house. He changed his suit and put on his coat. Then he returned to his car to drive to Wilford.
In addition to feeling cold, the other reason why he did not want to stay at home for long was it would also remind him of Shania, who was far away in New York. Then he would remember that his wife was not around every Christmas and she was not here for him to embrace. It was not something that made him feel good.
Parking the car at the door of Dunn’s rented apartment, Twain beeped the horn.
Instead of knocking at the door, he waited in the car.
Soon the door opened, and two people came out… Wait a minute! Two people?
Twain rolled down the car window and stared with wide eyes to make sure he did not see wrongly.
Two people had indeed walked toward him. He knew one of them which was his partner and assistant, Dunn. As for the other person… he knew her too.
“I thought I’d never see you again after that interview, Miss Tang Jing.”
The car’s rear-view mirror reflected Twain’s wonderful expression. He did not know whether to express surprise or despair.
Next to Tang Jing, Dunn’s expression was a little awkward. Tang Jing herself appeared to natural and unrestrained.
“Don’t think so poorly of our country.”
“Oh no, I did not mean that. I mean to say, you shouldn’t come to England again after you quit…”
“Why not? I’m free now and have more time to travel. It’s normal for me to come to England just like going to America. As a matter of fact, I only arrived yesterday.”
Twain tilted his head. His gaze bypassed the talkative woman and fell on Dunn behind her. Dunn’s expression was a little peculiar as if it was akin to… the feeling of being caught in bed. He was too quiet as compared with the chattering woman.
“Have you done anything wrong, Dunn?”
“Huh?” Dunn did not understand why Twain suddenly said that.
“You’re so quiet. It’s like you’re a child who have done something wrong and are waiting to be reprimanded by your parents.”
Dunn gave an awkward cough and pointed to Tang Jing to say, “She only arrived yesterday…”
“The additional person you were talking about is her?”
Dunn nodded.
“I was going to spend it alone with Dunn. But he did not quite agree.” Dunn did not seem to want to say much, so the task of explaining fell to Tang Jing’s lap. “I know it’s a bit presumptuous, but I suggested to him the hope of spending Christmas with you guys.”
Twain clapped his hands. “It looks like your relationship has already reached a very delicate point. Get in the car.” He reached his hand over to open the car door behind. It was impolite to let the other person stand outside and talk to himself.
“I’ll drive slowly so that I have time to hear you tell me the love story between you two on the way.”
“Tony…” Dunn called out before getting into the car.
“What?”
“We’re just… ordinary friends.”
Twain glanced in the rearview mirror at Tang Jing, who had already boarded the car. Next to the visibly embarrassed Dunn, the woman’s expression was very natural. She also did not make any rebuttal to Dunn’s remarks.
“Do you know what it means when a cover up only makes matters worse and to reveal what one intends to hide, Dunn?” Twain closed the open front passenger door that Dunn opened and said to him, “Sit in the back!”
So. Dunn listened and sat in the back seat, next to Tang Jing.
The Mercedes Benz jeep was very spacious. It did not look tight with Tang Jing and Dunn sitting together. Tang Jing patted the leather seat and exclaimed, “This car is awesome! Much better than the QQ car I drive in China! Your wife loves you very much, Mr. Twain.”
Dunn lightly cleared his throat. He was worried that Tang Jing’s words would make Twain think of Shania, who was far away in a foreign country, and reminisce.
Twain snorted, “You can also give a car to Dunn for a birthday present.”
“I don’t have any money.” Tang Jing brushed off Twain’s sarcasm. She twisted around to observe the interior of the car. “I am now unemployed and an international drifter, traveling the world.
“Did you come here in a container ship?”
Tang Jing chuckled and said, “I’m not a stowaway. I haven’t hear your acerbic tone for more than half a year. I suddenly missed it, Mr. Twain.”
“Thank you for your compliments.”
In fact, Twain’s mood was pretty good at first, but when he saw Dunn and Tang Jing together, his mood suddenly became gloomy.
The other people were coupled up and he appeared lonely. Even if he was married, he felt he was no different from a bachelor now.
Even though it was said that absence made the heart fonder which was better than being newlyweds, Twain was apart from Shania at least two hundred days a year, so he would rather not be better than being newlyweds.
Consequently, until they reached George’s house, Twain did not ask about “when Dunn and Tang Jing hooked up” in the car. He had no interest in knowing now.
※※※
Wood looked just as surprised as Twain when he saw Tang Jing. Then he leaned over to Twain and said, “I don’t want any reporters to come interview….”
Twain pursed his lips and said, “She’s not a reporter… She has resigned.”
“Then…” Wood was somewhat uncertain about what a woman who was not a reporter was doing here.
Twain’s lips were so pouted that an oil bottle could have hung from them. How could George be so dense? “The two of them are now… a couple.” Twain said reluctantly.
“Oh.” Wood did not raise any further objection. As long as she was not a reporter, he had no problem.
When Dunn introduced Tang Jing to Sophia, he said she was his friend, while Twain made eyes at the side.
Sophia was a smart person, and more importantly, she was a woman. She fully understood what was going on from the respective expressions of the two people, Dunn and Tang Jing. But she did not show it. She just smiled and welcomed everyone.
Twain dragged his feet at the back, frowning and did not look very happy. Sophia noticed his expression, quickly walked up to him and whispered to ask, “Did Shania call you?”
“Not yet.” Twain shook his head.
Sophia thought about it and glanced at Dunn and Tang Jing, who had already gone inside and laughed. Then she did a bold move that surprised Twain a little—she gently leaned her body over and put her hand around Twain’s arm that had his hand inserted into the coat pocket.
Twain’s body suddenly stiffened as Sophia leaned against him. He reflexively wanted to try to throw off Sophia’s hand that she immediately put up.
“Don’t move, Mr. Twain.” Sophia turned her head and whispered in Twain’s ear, which made it looked like she was a happy woman snuggled up to her lover’s shoulder.
Twain did not struggle, and his body gradually softened, leaving Sophia to lean on his shoulder and arm.
George Wood had entered the house with Dunn and Tang Jing. Only Twain and Sophia were both left in the empty yard outside.
No one spoke or made a sound. The two of them stood in the cold night wind of Nottingham and watched the streetlights come on one by one.
When the streetlights on the doorstep were also lit, Twain suddenly asked, “Are you cold?”
Sophia now nodded and then quickly shook her head to deny it.
“Let’s go in.”
Sophia let go of her hand and nodded with a smile.
Twain also smiled at her, “Thank you, Sophia.”
“You finally stopped calling me ‘Madam.’” Sophia covered her mouth and laughed.
Twain scratched his head. He used to always call her “Madam Sophia” or “Madam.” Influenced by the wonderous atmosphere this time, he actually called her name. Was it a bit presumptuous? No, it looked like Sophia liked it very much.
“What are you guys doing?” Wood suddenly appeared at the door and looked oddly at his mother and boss who had not come in from outside the door.
“Ah, I forgot something and went back to get it.” Twain took a small paper bag out of his coat pocket and said, “A Christmas present for you.”
Sophia said to her son, “I waited for Mr. Twain for a while.”
Just as Twain was about to enter the house, his cell phone rang.
“I got the timing right, Uncle Tony!” When he heard her voice, a heartfelt smile burst open on Twain’s face.
Sophia saw Twain’s expression change next to her and bowed her head. “Let’s go ahead, George.”
“Ah….ok.” Wood glanced at Twain and followed his mother into the house.
“Merry Christmas!”
“Merry Christmas…”
The two of them spoke in unison, and then they laughed at the same time again.
As the laughter subsided, the two people fell into a somewhat awkward silence at the same time.
In the end, it was Twain who broke the awkward silence first. “When will you be back?”
“End of January.”
“Ah, then it won’t be too long…..”
“Do you miss me, Uncle Tony?”
“I do miss you… I miss you every day. Tell you what, you know Dunn? He’s got a girlfriend!”
Shania gave a cry of surprise on the phone.
“I just found out today. I miss you even more when I see them together, Shania.”
“Uncle Tony…..”
“But my mood becomes better when I hear your voice.” Twain simply sat on the steps outside Wood’s door. It looked like he still had a lot to talk about with Shania and was not in a hurry to get inside.
Twain did not feel cold, listening to Shania’s lively voice. In fact, he was very clear in his mind that for a long time in the future, he and Shania could only spend Christmas like this—far apart from each other. It could not be helped, unless one of them was willing to give up their current job. But this was not their style. They depended on each other and yet maintained an independent character. The two of them could mutually understand each other like they were one person but could not simply sacrifice themselves for each other and play a supporting role.
In their union, age was a barrier, but this mutually strong-minded character was also a barrier.
But they finally came together. So, the two of them also specially cherished their relationship, while maintaining their independence.
I’m married to you, not because I want an accessory and not for someone who is exactly the same as me. Otherwise I could have just look in the mirror every day. Ah, that would be so boring!
After chatting to Shania in the cold wind for a while, Twain finally had to hang up the phone without finishing what he wanted to say. He patted his buttocks and got up to go into the house.
When he looked at Twain and Tang Jing close together, he was able to be his “usual self.”
“Well, you ‘adulterous’ pair! You have progressed so fast under the circumstances that I don’t even know! I can see you’re quite the lover, old Dunn!” He muttered in his heart.
...
Chapter 779 - The New Year
It was the first time Tang Jing spent a private Christmas with those she would normally only have access to in interviews. She was extremely curious, but she was quite calm on the surface and hid her professional habits as a reporter very well.
She knew that George Wood did not want reporters to be involved in his private life. There was once a mindless British tabloid that revealed his mother had previously worked as a cheap prostitute in the slums shortly after Wood became famous with a somewhat sarcastic tone. George Wood and Nottingham Forest joined forces to block the media company for good, and no news about the Forest team and Wood would be allowed to appear in that press outlet, or a lawyer’s letter would be issued.
This was different from Twain’s bickering style of “blocking.” This was done for real. Sure enough, Nottingham Forest had no contact with that media outlet since then.
When Twain came in from outside the door again, his entire person changed. He no longer had the kind of depressed look from before. This Christmas was turning out to be a decent one.
During the dinner, he even occasionally joked about the mysterious relationship between Tang Jing and Dunn.
In dealing with Twain’s type of jokes, Dunn used silence, while Tang Jing seemed quite easy-mannered.
Now that Dunn no longer lived next door to Twain and while Twain and Shania enjoyed their couple hood, Dunn also had his own private space. So, Twain would not be too surprised if something happened between him and Tang Jing…
His only surprise was that with Dunn’s outwardly retiring but deep and passionate inside character, he could develop a love affair with Tang Jing who was extraordinarily extroverted, somewhat carefree and a pseudo career woman. It was just incredible…
Twain felt that these two people simply was not compatible … With a man like Dunn, outsiders basically could not discern his strengths without long periods of close contact. So, what exactly did Tang Jing like about him?
Twain felt that he really could not understand the men and women of today. But he forgot that outsiders also shook their heads at his and Shania’s “match made in heaven” and simply “could not understand it!”
※※※
This Western version of “Chinese New Year’s Eve family dinner” was different from previous years because of the new addition of Tang Jing. It was a different affair.
Tang Jing showed some restraint in the beginning, and then gradually relaxed.
Twain would glance at Sophia from time to time. He could not forget that Sophia held his arm at the door and leaned her head against his shoulder.
He still remembered what it was like to see Sophia for the first time. At that time, when the entire Sneinton ghetto was grey—grey skies, cracked grey streets, grey walls, grey roofs, and even faces with grey expressions…
Only that mother sitting at home cutting potatoes was in color, alive and full of a tenacious vitality.
Now that he looked again, Sophia’s light was gradually fading, because the surroundings was long filled with color. Or because Sophia’s own life light was weak?
Twain knew that this woman liked him. But he avoided and tactfully declined. Now that he thought about it. Was he being too cruel to do this to a weak woman? But Twain could not accept the idea that one must love a person just because one sympathized with her. It would be a torture for him and for Sophia.
Fortunately, Sophia was a sensible and intelligent woman. She took a back seat when Shania who was better suited to Twain, appeared. She was satisfied to nestle against him just for a little while today outside the house.
In this world, good people were not always lucky and good people’s lives were not necessarily secure…
※※※
They stayed for a little while after dinner and then Twain and his party bid farewell to Wood and his mother, Sophia.
Twain drove and sent Dunn and Tang Jing back to his home in Branford Garden Lane before he returned home on his own.
While he sent Dunn and Tang Jing to the destination, Twain did not forget to tease the two of them with glib talk, “Hey, Miss Tang Jing, it’s dangerous to be alone with a man.”
“It’s dangerous to be with you.” Unwilling to show weakness, Tang Jing retorted. Since she was no longer a reporter, she did not have to play nice because it was no longer an interdependent relationship between them, which was a great thing for Tang Jing—she finally did not have to “act humbled” in front of this overbearing man.
“Ha!” Twain laughed, “I’m a married man. Surely I’m better than a lonely old virgin?”
“I can go back with you, but you’ll see the news of you spending a night with your mystery Chinese lover in The Sun tomorrow, Mr. Twain.”
Dunn watched the two people bickered somewhat helplessly.
“All right, you win!” Since he had his wife, Twain had to pay attention to the image of his private life. For example, Shania was not around for long periods of time, but Twain could no longer hire a call girl for his physical needs.
“Good night, I wish you both a fantastic night together!” Twain did not forget to retaliate against Tang Jing before he left. Then he quickly drove away.
“That old hooligan!” Tang Jing could only spat at the butt of the swiftly departing car.
She and Dunn did indeed establish a dating relationship, but their relationship had not progressed to the point of going to bed and having sex together.
Dunn smiled silently at the back. If Twain was “old”, should he not buried and at rest?
※※※
Twain drove the car and did not head straight back to his home in the northeast part of the city. Instead he went to the city center.
It was after eight o’clock in the evening and it was still lively here with young couples, close friends and relatives, all gathering in the municipal square, waiting to enjoy the fireworks display, which would start in a while.
Twain was idle so he simply parked his car in the parking lot and sat in the car to watch the fireworks. Anyway, there was no need to go home so early home. Who was he going to spend Christmas with, facing hundreds of square meters of dark and deserted house?
When the first fireworks bloomed in the night sky, a cheer came from the crowd.
More and more fireworks burst into the sky and bloomed open. The noise of the commotion grew louder with the scope becoming wider.
Twain was not as happy as those young people. He just looked at the fireworks in the sky, lost in his thoughts— when would he have someone by his side, exclaiming in excitement, as he watched the fireworks here?
In a few days, it would be the New Year and the calendar would turn to 2011. If he were to make a wish, what kind of wish would he make?
The sound of fireworks and explosions as well as noises from the crowd of people rang in his ears. Twain closed his eyes and made a wish in his heart which he did not know when it would be fulfilled—
I hope to spend Christmas and New Year with Shania.
Dammit! I’m a married man. Why am I still like that lonely person in university on a day which should be spent together happily with my family!
※※※
After experiencing a Christmas with joys and sorrows of life, Twain did not have much time to be depressed. The next day his team would face Birmingham City at home. Work was still the most important thing.
Back at the training base to start the day of work, Twain did not forget to privately continue to tease Dunn and asked him if he had a good time last night.
Dunn ignored Twain, smiling lasciviously. He got busy with his things and let Twain invite a snub.
After the Christmas, everything looked as usual except for some players who were not very professional, looking tired. But Twain had secretly recorded who had a too crazy time and would not be on the squad list for the game against Birmingham City.
Nottingham Forest’s home game against Birmingham City was the eighteenth round of the Premier League. It was the first time Tang Jing had sat in a VIP box, rather than watching the game in the media gallery below.
The game ended with Nottingham Forest thrashing Birmingham City 2:0. Starting with the left back, Donovan Slijngard, who was loaned to Birmingham City from Ajax, gave the Forest team a big gift three minutes into the game. He helped Nottingham Forest with the opening record with a wonderful own goal shot. Shortly after the start of the second half, Eastwood broke the ball into the net after bypassing two players in a row, showing his killer style and helping the team fixed the score at 2:0.
The game was perfect in terms of both results and process. The Nottingham Forest fans rarely had such an enjoyable time—their team pressed against their opponent from start to finish in the ninety-minute game with Birmingham City had only one shot and it was not within the goal area. Apart from the fouls, their players were completely unable to stop the Forest team’s attacks. They could only to become the game’s supporting players and not cause any trouble for Akinfeev so much so that the television commentators in the game were worried that Akinfeev would feel too cold…
On the other hand, Nottingham Forest tried to score in the goal twenty-two times! They had the upper hand in the ball possession rate, pass success rate, cross success rate, stealing success rate and header success rate. Each player on the field played very well, resulting in such a wonderful game.
Every Forest fan who left the City Ground stadium was in a good mood, with Tony Twain and his players giving them the best Christmas gift.
Playing offense against Manchester United as well as Liverpool, and it was only natural to turn this game into a half-time offense and defense against Birmingham City.
Some experts had analyzed whether this was a sign that Nottingham Forest and Tony Twain were about to transform.
Twain did not give any explanation. Two days later on December 28th, he led the team to an away game to the Riverside Stadium and beat Middlesbrough by 1:0.
Although they only scored one goal, they completely controlled the game and had the upper hand in all the statistics.
This had left many experts who had found the Forest team objectionable, taken aback and exclaimed that Nottingham Forest could win and play well. They had a bit of Arsenal’s style.
But they were all talking nonsense. Twain would not admit that the Forest team did not learn from Arsenal. The conscientious people would find that while Nottingham Forest’s statistics on ball possession and other statistics had risen, some of their traditional skills had not been lost. For example, the emphasis on counter press in the first instance and if the counter tackle was not successful, then they would rapidly retreat to defend. They must never give the opponent space and time in their own half to find the change to breach the goal. It was something Arsenal’s Wenger rarely or even never used.
Twain could pursue beauty and momentum during the offense, but when it came to the defense, he suddenly turned into a German, rigorous and meticulous to the point of slightly harsh.
In offense, he allowed the players to make mistakes or even waste chances. But whoever made a mistake in defense would be certain to be scolded by Twain.
The outside world remained perplexed despite much thought by the changes in the Forest team, but the Forest coaching team was not surprised at all. Because it was the end result of Twain’s and their efforts over the last few seasons.
As early as the 06-07 season, Twain developed the idea of controlling the game. But things cropped up intermittently during this period and it was only completed now. Nottingham Forest had the confidence and ability to win against any opponent in a way that ensured efficiency and pleasing the crowd.
Once again, the reporter, Pierce Brosnan served as the mouthpiece for Nottingham Forest and Tony Twain once again. He wrote an article to praise the way the Forest team was playing now, saying that the Nottingham Forest fans could enjoy the victory while savoring it and showing off—our team can play the type of football everyone cheers about!
They certainly did not have a problem with Tony Twain. In fact, with Twain’s successes at the Forest team over the years, and his credentials at the Forest team since 1996, no fan would be unhappy with him. It was just that when they were arguing with the Arsenal fans or Barcelona fans, they could only use the championship title to fight with while the fans of the other two teams could deride Twain’s football as “football that makes the most troublesome monkeys sleep.”
The feeling of watching the team in the stands firmly in control of the game from start to finish, casually playing and managing the opponent, always feeling assured and not worried about the opponent pressing on them to suddenly score, was too good …
Therefore, would Nottingham Forest stick to their new style and keep playing like this?
Twain gave his answer with practical action.
In the last month of 2010, Nottingham Forest had a remarkable record of five wins and one draw in all six games, especially they did not lose any points against the traditional strong teams, Liverpool and Manchester United. They were safe playing against Manchester United in the away game until the final minute and almost won against Liverpool at home, which was not easy.
So, Nottingham Forest won the best team of the month, while Twain won the award for the best manager of the month for the fifteenth time since he took charge.
Having just received the award on New Year’s Day, January 1st, 2011, Twain led the team with a tough away win of 1:0 over Blackburn Rovers.
The players were suddenly in a bad shape after crossing into the new year. At the start of the game, Twain was going to win with the ball possession routine. It turned out that the players were in no form at all, so he changed his mind at the last minute and went back to their old routine—playing the defensive counterattack tactic that the Forest team was most familiar with and best at that they did not need to deliberately train for.
In the end, with Agbonlahor’s goal during a counterattack that was between offside and onside, they had a hard-won victory over Blackburn Rovers and got three points.
The Forest team did not play this game beautifully and it was ugly to watch. Most of the time the two teams made mistakes all the time and it was so dull that people wanted to doze off. It was a world of difference from the previous games. But they eventually won the game. Twain had the confidence in front of the reporters to say, “No! I’ve never said my team has to stick to that style. I don’t care if the team plays well or ugly, as long as we can win it! It’s a fool who plays well and lose a game.”
The Times then lamented, “Blackburn Rovers’ excellent performance almost caused the “curse the best manager of the month to lose the next one’ to resurface but Tony Twain used his way to minimize that possibility. He’s still him. Everything changes in the new year, only Tony Twain hasn’t changed…”
...
Chapter 780: Transfer Window
For ordinary people, January represented the arrival of the new year, a holiday and snow. But for Europe’s professional football clubs, January represented a busy transfer window.
Was there any area that Nottingham Forest needed to supplement? Except for Gareth Bale’s serious injury, Nottingham Forest’s injury situation was still relatively minor. It had something to do with their good stamina reserves during their summer preparations. The intense competitive events during the Christmas period did not drag down the team’s fitness and naturally there would not be many inexplicable injuries.
Twain rarely purchased players during the winter transfer window unless he was forced to. Because there were a lot of restrictions with players who were bought halfway during this time. Moreover, this was not the time to but good quality and cheap players. Good players finished moving in the summer and those left were either too expensive, limited in their level or unable to play in the Champions League. Coupled with the fact that the players who joined the team mid-way often did not have time to familiarize with the team’s style and had to play immediately, so the degree of tacit understanding with the teammates could not be compared to those players who joined in the summer. It would result in the team’s play being affected.
Twain had long said to Evan and Allan that the Forest team would not buy anyone in January. There was no need for any purchase.
He might need to buy a left back to supplement if Joe Mattock was out on loan. But for now, Mattock had been fairly solid after a couple of appearances, worthy of being highly recommended to him by Stuart Pearce, England’s under-21 national team manager. It was great to have someone at the top… There was always a bargain to be had!
Twain had already set out to focus on developing Mattock as the Forest team’s future left back.
Even if Nottingham Forest did not sign on any players in the winter period, it did not imply that their own players were not coveted by the other teams.
After AC Milan in the summer, no one had ever mentioned the signing of George Wood again. Everyone knew that English football produced the kind of old-fashioned stalwarts, such as Manchester United’s Scholes and Giggs, Chelsea’s Terry and Lampard, Liverpool’s Gerrard and Carragher….It was almost a fantasy to want to buy such a player. Even though George Wood was currently young, he was already rising among the “stalwarts.”
Wood was naturally not for sale at Nottingham Forest, but the other players did not have this label.
Aaron Lennon had won the attention of more and more other teams over the years as he played well at Nottingham Forest. This season seemed to be a good time to take him away from the City Ground stadium as Bentley, his direct rival for the national team, was brought in by Twain. The media thought that Lennon would have some dissatisfaction. Although he did not show it, it must be frustrating to have another competitor come in for the team’s main position which took him great effort to secure.
Two clubs had already announced their interest in Lennon. One was England’s Tottenham Hotspur. They had hoped to bring in Lennon before Lennon went to Nottingham Forest, but unfortunately Lennon chose Tony Twain at that time. Tottenham Hotspur still “refused to give up its evil designs” for Lennon and still constantly had him on its mind.
The other team was La Liga’s Valencia. Joaquín and Vicente, the pair of former Spanish golden wingers were now on the verge of turning thirty this year and frequent injuries affected their appearances. After David Silva was sold to Real Madrid, they lacked a new force on the wings. So, Valencia’s top brass, who had weathered the economic crisis after much difficulty, had their sights set on Lennon, who was fast and good at breaking through and assisting on the sides.
In response to the rumors that these two clubs wanted to buy Lennon, Twain’s response was “not for sale!”
Seriously, his own flank had only few players to rotate, two on the left flank and two on the right flank. If he sold one, what would happen if the other player was suddenly injured? Furthermore, Lennon used to play in the Forest youth team and also considered to be trained by the Forest Youth Camp. He also played a role in the Champions League qualifier and had feelings for Nottingham Forest. Twain basically would not touch such a player who had not make any unforgivable mistakes.
Kompany and Pepe were still sought after by a number of teams every year. After Piqué’s departure, they were two of the mainstays in Nottingham Forest’s rear defensive line. Woodgate was also good, but in terms of level and physical fitness, the first two players were still a little better.
For these two players, Twain was also of the same attitude—they were not for sale.
What did Nottingham Forest rely on to prosper? How were they supposed to continue to compete if they sold their defensive backbone?
There was a team which was interested in Leighton Baines. It was not a big team, just a mid-tier Premier League team. Twain did not turn it down immediately. Now that Gareth Bale had confirmed his departure from the season, it was unlikely that he would sell another left back during the winter transfer window. But in Twain’s mind, Baines was not necessary not for sale. If Mattock developed in the future, Baines would have to be ranked third in the team’s left back position, which he would not be good for the team at that time. He was only twenty-five years old now. This was the best time to sell for the best price.
In rejecting the offers from those teams, Twain added, “In the winter transfer window, we will not consider selling any of our left backs.”
With Twain starting to play the combination of double defensive midfielders this season, Tiago had also made a number of contributions in offense, so he had more chances to play than last season and even edged ahead of Şahin. Tiago’s excellent performance attracted the attention of the other teams.
Portugal’s Benfica was hoping to recall their old player and Spain’s Villarreal also hoped to get him. Twain did not want to sell yet, thinking he had not found a suitable successor. When Twain decided to sell a player, he must have identified an alternate in the same position so that he would not be derailed by some unexpected circumstances. To know that there were so many inexplicable surprises in life…
At the beginning of the season, Twain let John Bostock stay in the team because he felt the team had to compete in multiple tournaments and Bostock would not be short of opportunities to play and practice. But half a season later, he found that he was wrong. Bostock’s chances of playing had been reduced as a result of tactical changes. And he only played in the middle of the midfield in this position. His strength and experience ranked last among the four midfielders, so he naturally had the least the opportunities to play. This was not conducive to his growth. Bostock had also been to talk to Twain alone. He certainly did not say that he intended to transfer from Nottingham Forest but said that he hoped to seek a loan opportunity to get more appearances in the games and gain experience.
Twain thought it over for a long time and finally agreed to his decision. Adriano Moke, Nicolás Millán and Victor Moses had been loaned out and their performances were a mixed bag. But it was better than sitting on the bench.
Since January, Nottingham Forest had received three applications to loan Bostock. One of which was the right to purchase first after a loan period. The club had been shot down directly by Twain. He did not want to sell Bostock yet. The boy had a great future but needed time to develop.
The two remaining clubs were Fulham and West Ham United. Twain agreed to both, and all that remained was up to Bostock to choose the team he wanted. He did not have to do anything else.
Chris Cohen, a low-profile player who had been honed and progressively emerged as a sharp player, had been favored by a number of teams after a season and a half of outstanding play. His and Matías Fernández’s performance on the left flank continued the Forest team’s tradition of focusing on the flanks and having good side players. Fernández occasionally had to play in the middle while Cohen was also an all-rounder who was good at the sides and middle. But Twain fixed him in the flank because there were too many players in the middle…
His performance lived up to Twain’s expectations. He was diligent and never complained about sitting on the bench. He had two goals and six assists after playing half of the season. At first he was seen as the second Kris Commons. Their names sounded similar and the media and pundits thought Cohen was a player who would helplessly leave the Forest team in the end after a few years on the substitutes’ bench. But they did not think that Cohen had impressed the Forest coaching staff with his good attitude and strength. He not only stayed with the Forest team, but also became a mainstay in the rotation with Fernández.
There was one thing that could specifically be a vivid description of Chris Cohen’s level today. In the FM 2011, the famous football manager game that was just released less two months ago, Cohen’s potential was fixed at 152, which was not a high figure, and not impressive as compared to those young wonderkids who were easily at 180 and above. But his data distribution was quite scientific. In the left midfielder position, which needed a few key data, his numbers were very good. His current ability of 145 allowed his passes and crosses to be at 16, his skills at 15, stopping the ball at 14, endurance up to 18, speed also at 14, and teamwork at the highest 19.
The universal feedback from the gamers for such players was that they had low potential but could obtain high marks every game. They were very useful. Their other numbers did not look good, but their actual performance was very good.
Sports Interactive and Nottingham Forest had a collaboration. They could have the most direct and detailed observation of the Forest players, so the data given was generally the most authoritative. A lot of gamers who played FM liked to buy the Forest players because they were very useful regardless of their data. Maybe this was partiality on Sports Interactive’s part? There was even talk of Tony Twain playing FM to coach the team to dig up the wonderkids everywhere…
In terms of the strikers, Žigić’s performance also marked the second turnaround of his career. As a center forward, his number of goals scored was still not too many and subjected to many fans’ denouncement. But the people who were really savvy about football knew the importance of Žigić in the Forest team: firstly, with him around, the Forest team had the absolute aerial advantage in the front field. Secondly, his presence could greatly enrich the Forest team’s offensive style. He could launch the attack from both sides and force bombardment. He could also be a firm center forward and receive the passes to create chances for his teammates to plug in. Whether it was a long ball or a short pass coordination, he was needed as a bridgehead; furthermore, he could occasionally withdraw to be the center back to defend when the defense for a set piece was required.
Twain always valued a player who appeared ordinary but could always play a role that was not noticed by ordinary people. Žigić’s character was also clearly much better than that of his predecessor, Bendtner. He had been with the team for several years, kept a low profile and never create trouble.
It was because of such a low-key player who was now like a light bulb in the night that attracted bugs…
Newcastle United, Middlesbrough, Atlético Madrid, RCD Espanyol and Italy’s Fiorentina and Napoli were all interested in signing the front field’s lighthouse, who could both score goals and create chances for his teammates, in addition to having a great impact on the team’s attacking tactics.
While the most attention-grabbing news in the transfer market each year were the transfer rumors of the superstar players, the fact remained that most of the deals that made up the transfer market came from these second-tier players.
Twain certainly would not be willing to sell Žigić. It was currently hard to find a good center forward.
But Allan Adams came to him.
※※※
Twain had already figured it out. But if Allan came to him first, most of the time it was not a good thing. If it was not about the club’s financial constraints and how his plan to buy several players to bolster the team’s strength was put on hold. Or it would be that the club’s financials were tight and there was a need for the team to sell a few players to ease the situation; or to say that he hoped Twain would pay attention to control the team’s salary budget …
The relationship between the Nottingham Forest trio of heads was delicate: the relationship between Evan and Allan needed no mention. They were partners who worked hard together till now. As for Evan and Tony, they were friends who found each other familiar at the first sight and got along well. Whereas for Tony and Allan… it was a little complicated with them. On the one hand, they were colleagues and naturally needed to join forces to work together. For example, Twain needed Allan to set out for negotiations a lot of times when he had to buy players. Occasionally, they could even joke and chat about the world. It was congenial between them. But on the other hand, also because of the work relationship, Twain and Allan curbed each other, so they naturally would not have too much affection for each other—Twain wanted to spend money and Allan wanted to make money. This was the basic contradiction. In addition, there were times when Twain felt that Allan used the money as a cover to meddle too much in the team’s affairs, which upset him a little.
This was, of course, Evan’s way of management for everyone to control each other which would be more stable.
But even he could not control how other people complained in their hearts.
Allan clearly knew what Twain thought of him, so he jokingly pointed out his purpose as soon as he saw Twain, “I know what’s on your mind, Tony. You guessed right.”
Twain glanced at him unkindly.
“Evan and I both think you should seriously consider the clubs’ bids for Žigić.”
“I need a center forward, Allan.”
“Won’t the Bosnian do?”
“He’s still not good enough…”
“Then train him, Tony. We all believe in your ability to do so.”
Twain spread his hands and bent his fingers, warming up like a magician would do before he performed magic. He said, “Look, Allan. I have nothing in my hands now.” Then he made a grip with his hands, waved his fists in the air, and spread open again. “I still have nothing.”
“I’m not a magician who can make something out of nothing.” The empty-handed Twain said to Allan.
“Tony, Millán and Moses are back next season. How are you going to arrange your forward line?” Allan did not care about Twain’s conjuring sarcasm and asked.
“Ruud will retire. Millán, Moses and Agbonlahor can play as wingers or attacking midfielders.”
“We are not short of midfielders.”
Twain shook his head and said, “I’m going to change the formation.” He was going to go into detail about what the changes were, but upon seeing Allan’s face, he lost interest—he could talk nonstop but the American, with his half-baked knowledge, might not have understood much.
Allan sat down and sincerely said to Twain, “Tony, you know, we never asked you to sell the core players. But I really don’t think Žigić is the kind of indispensable player. He has done well in the last two seasons, so suddenly there are a lot of clubs interested in him. I am a businessman. I know that we should be decisive to selling when a product is at its most valuable stage. Otherwise, when the value declines, we can’t even sell it when we want to sell. Selling Žigić will bring an income to the club and reduce the wage burden, which I think is a very good deal.”
Twain snorted in his mind. A businessman, of course, only talked about business.
But he did not hit back at Allan who at least said one thing right—Žigić was not an indispensable and irreplaceable player yet. Moreover, in his new squad, he really did not need that many strikers…
However, he needed a way out of an embarrassing situation…he said, “Give me a few days to think about it, Allan.”
Allan Adams smiled and replied, “I’ll waiting to hear from you, Tony.”
Allan said goodbye, and Twain leaned against his large desk. He turned to look at the training ground behind him. The team was still in training. His eyes were firmly fixed on the tallest man on the field.
...
Chapter 781 - An Ibrahimović Good at Headers
According to Tony Twain’s habit of doing things, he must determine an alternative course of action before he made up his mind on a matter.
The sale of Žigić had really been bothering him for two days. The reason he wanted to keep him was really as he thought when he spoke to Allan before. The reason for selling him was that the Forest team might not need as many players in the forward line from next season… It was not impossible to sell a player and make some transfer money available for the team.
Twain was not stubborn about this matter.
In fact, starting in the second half of the season, the Forest team would be using more new tactical formations in order to seek breakthroughs. For all these years that Twain had led the team, it was the first time that he had made all these subverted changes. After all, the Forest team previously always gave the impression that they defended and then counterattacked. No matter how they changed, they could not break out of this cycle.
New formations and tactics required more proactive measures. Twain no longer insisted on his 4-4-2 formation. Instead, he changed the play to 4-5-1, and a stricter differentiation would be 4-2-3-1, the Christmas tree shaped formation.
In this way, the demand for strikers was greatly reduced. Each game only required one striker. If too many players were on the bench and the rotation could not be arranged accordingly, there would be people who felt dissatisfied—why can he be rotated on the field while I can only continue to sit on the bench?
He could only consider in this way if he really were to sell Žigić.
But if Žigić was gone, the team would be missing a center forward. In some special circumstances, a center forward like Žigić could play a role that the other strikers could not. Twain was unwilling to throw away a still very useful card in vain.
Ibišević was a striker, but he was not purely a center forward, let alone a firm center forward.
Van Nistelrooy was retiring at the end of the season. Eastwood’s knee had always been like a landmine which could be stepped on at any time after three major operations. Ibišević was the only striker with no trouble. In the new tactics, Agbonlahor would be a more comprehensive player. He could be a striker, but Twain planned to let him play as an attacking right midfielder because his speed advantage could play a bigger role in the flank.
Millán, who was out on loan, could also play as a forward, attacking midfielder slot and other positions. A utility player always did not have to worry about having opportunities to play.
If he sold Žigić, where would he go find a suitable replacement?
Twain’s target he had in mind for the substitute was to have a certain strength, but not too strong, because anyone too strong would certainly require the main position, which Twain absolutely could not satisfy this requirement. If Eastwood was fit and uninjured, he and Ibišević would be the team’s main forwards and in rotation for appearances.
As a result, the role of a new striker would be less. If possible, Twain was reluctant to pay for a third striker… It would be a waste.
After mulling over it for two days, Twain thought of a man.
※※※
“Are you free now?” During a break in the training, Twain pulled in Kerslake and Dunn.
“Isn’t the training in progress?” Kerslake was surprised.
“Let the coaches handle it first. I want you to accompany me to the reserves training ground.”
“Why do you suddenly want to go to the reserves team?” Dunn asked.
“I suddenly thought of a person. I almost forgot about him…” Twain scratched his head and said slightly embarrassed.
He did forget that person…
※※※
“You did forget him.” Standing by the training ground at Wilford, Dunn glanced at Twain.
The reserves team did not belong to the youth team, so they trained with the First Team in South Wilford. The two places were not far apart and did not take long to reach there.
The reserve team was playing a seven-on-seven game on the training ground in front of them. There was one person in the yellow team who was very eye-catching because he was the tallest on the field now.
Twain and Dunn, as well as Kerslake came to see him—Aaron Mitchell. Two and a half years ago, Twain had gone to the reserve team to inspect Şahin’s state of recovery but did not expect that day’s protagonist to be another person.
At the time, Mitchel’s performance as a center back was lacking. If he continued to play like this, the best chance he would have would be to play in the second-tier league, which he would never have been able to establish himself in the Premier League at his level anyway, let alone play in the Nottingham Forest First Team.
After watching him train and play, Twain called him in and suggested that he played as a center forward from now on. Although both positions were played in the middle, the position was moved from the back to the forefront, which could be described as a dramatic change.
It was only out of Twain’s professional habits to let Mitchell change position. Then half a year later, when he was crushed by a heart attack, he was busy battling the heart disease for another six months and completely forgot about Mitchell. Later in the process of rebuilding the team, because the Forest team was not short of players in the forward line, so he also never recalled that poor player whom he changed his position, threw in the youth team and never asked about again…..
It was no until the possibility of Žigić’s transfer was on the agenda that he recalled the young man who had felt similar to Žigić.
Aaron Mitchell was currently twenty years old and had played in the reserves for two years but had yet to get a chance to play in the First Team.
While arguably playing in the reserves was a way into the First Team, it did not mean that playing here would necessarily allow him to get into the First Team. There were a number of players who spent most of their time in the reserves and could only be drawn to the First Team occasionally to relieve any immediate need. This portion of players were considered lucky. Most players faded into obscurity in the reserve team, perhaps seek opportunities in the lower leagues, or declined henceforth. If a player who had graduated from the youth team and always played in the reserves after, it at least meant that he did not have any outstanding talent or ability. Such a player’s future was bleak.
From this point of view, Aaron Mitchell’s talent was clearly not outstanding.
Mitchell was on the pitch as a center forward, and his header was still outstanding, thanks, of course, to his fearsome height. Twain felt that Mitchell was currently taller than when he first saw him. So, he pointed to Mitchell as he turned his face to the reserve team coach Colin Calderwood and said, “How tall is he now?”
“Two point two meters.” Calderwood replied.
Twain whistled, “He’s as tall as Žigić.”
“But he is thinner than Žigić.” Dunn said next to him.
Indeed, the thinness of the two-point-two meter tall Mitchell was clear. He was a bit like Peter Crouch who used to play for the Forest team.
“How’s he with physical confrontation?” Twain asked.
“Average.” Calderwood replied.
The answer made Twain frown. The center forward he needed had to be strong and able to compete with the opposing tall and strong defenders in the penalty area so that he did lose his position and the ball easily.
Calderwood certainly knew what Twain was worried about, so he laughed and continued, “But Tony, he’s not quite like the traditional center forwards…”
“Eh? How is he different?”
“Have you ever seen a center forward who is more than two meters tall and can scissor?”
Twain and the two assistant managers next to him stared at Calderwood in surprise.
“His technique is excellent.” Calderwood laughed, “and even. There’s no obvious weakness technically. He can pass the ball to create opportunities for his teammates, and also to pull to the side to cross pass. His dribbling in terms of his height, is also good. Maybe it’s because he knows he’s not capable of physical confrontation, so he works hard in technical training, and so… it becomes what you see now.”
During their conversation, Mitchell got the ball. He stopped the ball during running with his heel outside of the foot. While he stopped the football at the same time, he also completed the action to do an emergency stop and turn to change direction…
“Wow—,” Kerslake could not help exclaim.
After stopping the ball in the flank and bypassed an opposing defender, Mitchell swung his leg for a pass on the spot. Unfortunately, the teammate who received in the middle did not expect Mitchell’s decisive pass and missed the ball by a margin.
The men did not speak and began to observe Mitchell’s performance on the field.
Perhaps because he had been a center back, Mitchell retained the habit of seeing opposing players go up and grab the ball, rather than playing like a pure attacking player who walked around in the front field and watched as the other side take the ball past him. This helped Mitchell get a lot of chances to counter press in the front field.
Because he was two point two meters tall, he dribbled the ball at a very wide pace, so his speed did not feel slow, and did not give a heavyset feeling like Žigić. Coupled with his excellent footwork, watching him play always gave the illusion—was this really a big man more than two meters tall?
He was also not the kind of center forward who liked to wait in front of the goal for his teammates to pass the ball to him. He preferred to pull out, back up to receive and overly connect for the attack.
His header was indeed a very sharp weapon. As long as the football flew into his aerial space, he would get it nine out of ten times. His amazing height coupled with his outstanding jump, in addition to the level of his header and awareness from his training and playing as the center back, he could said to dominate the aerial space in front of the goal.
Unfortunately, his shot was a little poorer compared to his excellent header…
Twain watched his game for fifteen minutes and had a rough idea. His header success rate was as high as eighty per cent, but only one out of five shots from his feet hit within the goalpost range—which was too direct and intercepted by the goalkeeper.
“Well… His shooting skill improvement rate is slow…” Calderwood was a little embarrassed when it came to that.
In the reserves, the tactic for Mitchell was during the offensive, he would retreat to receive the pass from the midfield. Then he would use his footwork skills to dribble the ball to break through and after which, he would divert it to the sides for his teammates who had already plugged in while he continued to dash to the penalty area. His teammates would send the ball after they got rid of the opposing flank defense. Mitchell who was already in place by then, would fight to head the ball. This time he had two options: A, he would use his header shot to score a goal; B, he would send it to the other teammates and create a chance for them to shoot.
The tactic was very simple and Mitchell did quite well. He was really impeccable with the header shots.
Unfortunately, his body was really too thin and almost did not have the ability for direct confrontation. That was one of the main reasons why he could not play well as a center back in the first place…
This reason was also essential to why he had not been recommended for promotion to the First Team.
The Premier League was the most confrontational league tournament in the world. A “reasonable collision” in the Premier League could be a malicious foul in other league tournaments. The physically inferior striker would lose out when he competed against the others. Apart from Wenger’s oddity, few managers would take an interest in a striker who looked like he could be blown away by the wind.
But Twain did not care that much. He saw hope in Mitchell and a completely different center forward. He might bring something different to the Forest team’s offense.
“Tell him to report to the First Team tomorrow.” Twain snapped his fingers and said, “I’m going to sign him up for the next stage of the Champions League tournament.”
This sentence meant that he could let Žigić go with confidence …
Neither of the two assistant managers made any suggestions with regards to Twain’s decision. They saw something brilliant in Mitchell, whose shortcomings could be made up by training and high level competition.
After he finished briefing on these matters, Twain left with two assistant managers. They still had to go back to the First Team training ground and was not able to waste too much time here.
※※※
Aaron Mitchell only heard the news from Coach Colin Calderwood that he had been transferred to the First Team from the reserve team after training. After being stunned for a short moment, he was joyous. Since switching to play as the center forward, he had thought about his future at the Forest team. He felt that since the boss had to change him to play as a striker, he might need a striker.
But then he felt a little hopeless when he saw the Forest team’s swelling to somewhat bloated ranks in the forward line. He thought he was not an exceptionally talented player, and the only things he was proud of were his height and headers.
He kept practicing his skills in the hope that he had some different qualities that could stand out from the other players of the same kind.
After determining on how to train him as a striker, Colin Calderwood, also noticed Mitchell’s efforts and characteristics in the area, so he recommended a training example for Mitchell to follow.
This example was not Žigić in the Forest team, nor was it van Nistelrooy. It was Ibrahimović in the far away Inter Millán.
In addition to training, he would study the tall Swedish center forward’s playing characteristics and style, to try his best to imitate and learn, in hopes that he could also become a striker who was more than one point nine meter tall but with outstanding footwork skills.
Now the opportunity had come!
The next day he went straight to the First Team’s training ground and saw the star teammates he rarely saw on the sidelines, which made him a little excited. While those teammates also looked a little curiously at the foolishly happy Mitchell, standing on the sidelines.
Mitchell was not a rising star player like Moke who was in the reserves, but whose name had long been spread throughout the club. He remained in obscurity before he came here. Although everyone was in the same club, it was normal to be unfamiliar with each other.
When the First Team players warmed up together, Aaron Mitchel still stood outside, at a loss over what to do.
That was when his savior came.
Tony Twain and the two assistant managers walked onto the training ground. He saw Mitchell at a glance, who was wandering outside the crowd, and waved to him, “Kid, come here!”
“This is your new teammate.” Pulling Mitchell over, Twain introduced him to the other players, “Aaron Mitchell, a professional striker, who used to play as a center back.”
Hearing his strange position change, the players broke out in a moment of wonder.
After a brief introduction, Twain asked the players to warm up, but he made Mitchell stay behind.
“There are some things I have to make clear to you in advance so that I don’t have any trouble in the future.” Twain said to Mitchell who stood in front of him extremely deferential, “First of all, to be able to be transferred to the First Team proves that you are capable, so don’t doubt that you are not strong enough; Secondly, you can’t think that you will be able to get the main position and be in the starting lineup once you are in the First Team…I won’t promise you all these. You have to fight and compete with the attitude and form you’ve trained if you want all these. You know, you’re currently last out of all the strikers in the First Team.”
Mitchell nodded repeatedly.
“You’d better use your learning mentality to prepare for your days in the First Team. I think that will help you more.”
While saying all these, Twain’s face with the sunglasses on was always serious-looking. He did not mind being harsh on these young people, because he knew how cruel professional football was. It was best not to have any illusions and be down-to-earth in order to achieve something. On the path of these young people’s development, he was willing to be the number one villain in these people’s hearts all the time.
Seeing that Mitchell had a good attitude and was humble enough made Twain very satisfied. He ended his sermon and began to assign specific training tasks, “Starting from today, we will increase your shooting and strength training. The coaching team will give you a special training program for you to follow. I heard when you were in the reserves, Coach Calderwood asked you to learn from Ibrahimović?”
Mitchell nodded in reply, “Yes, boss. I hope to be a striker like him.”
“Make no mistake, boy. Ibrahimović is not physically weak, and his shooting ability is ten light years better than yours.”
Mitchell’s expression darkened. Although Twain spoke the truth, the truth was not nice to hear…
Twain remembered that Mitchell was already twenty years old, but he was still a young player after all. Sometimes encouragement was needed.
So, he grinned and said, “But don’t worry. At least you have one thing that is better than Ibrahimović—your header.” He pointed to Mitchell’s head and said, “An Ibrahimović, who is good at headers and much better than Ibrahimović himself!”
...
Chapter 782: Twain’s Christmas Tree
Aaron Mitchell’s promotion into the first team marked the official commencement of Žigić’s transfer work.
Allan picked a few clubs that had put in the highest bids for Žigić and accepted their offers.
As for Žigić, he had no special thoughts regarding his transfer. He was not one of those loyal subjects who would pledge his undying allegiance to Forest. If the other club is able to offer him an even better contract than the one he has at Forest currently, then he would certainly not reject their offer.
Additionally, he is well aware that the boss has no intentions of keeping him at the club, given Mitchell’s sudden promotion into the first team. It is meaningless for him to stay.
The three clubs whose bids had been accepted by Allan Adams were Premier League’s Newcastle, Bundesliga’s Hamburger SV, and La Liga’s Villarreal CF. All three clubs had put in a bid of 10 million pounds.
A bid of 10 million pounds is very attractive given the current circumstances. It is no wonder that Allan wanted to speak to Twain about it.
Negotiations for Žigić’s transfer proceeded smoothly. Eventually, Žigić chose to go to La Liga’s Villarreal CF, because the club offered him the best personal terms. In addition, they were also a team with the capability of fighting for Champions League spots in the league every season.
Three days later, both Nottingham Forest and Villarreal CF officially announced the completion of the transfer. Žigić has transferred over to the ‘Yellow Submarine’ for a transfer fee of 10 million pounds.
Twain had initially bought Žigić for 10 million euros. Now that Žigić was sold for 10 million pounds, it means that he was sold for 10.8 million euros. Given the current economic situation, being able to make a little bit of profit off a player was considered to be a good deal for the club.
At the very least, it was proof that Twain was spot on with his judgement of players, because the club did not suffer a loss on the players that he had bought.
Žigić’s number 9 shirt was left behind after his departure. Twain gave the shirt to Mitchell.
When he passed the shirt to Mitchell, he kept a long face and told him sternly, “The number doesn’t represent anything. The number 9 does not symbolize that you are a starting player in the team.”
Mitchell has gotten used to the way that his boss speaks and acts. He nodded his head and replied, “I know that, boss. I will do my best.”
Twain’s mouth parted slightly at his response, and he passed it off as a smile.
※※※
Žigić did not perform badly during his time at Nottingham Forest. In the two and half seasons that he played for Forest, he scored a total of 21 goals and provided 25 assists.
Sadly, the team went through its ‘darkest times’ during the two seasons where he was a player for Forest. They did not become the champions for any competition, and they also did not attain a single accolade. Žigić came and left empty-handed.
The Nottingham Forest fans do not regard Žigić to be on the same level as other center forwards in their team, such as van Nistelrooy or Eastwood. Žigić left the team without leaving behind any sort of memorable moment that others would still think about in years to come.
Not too long after Žigić’s transfer had been finalized, John Bostock also accepted Fulham’s loan offer.
Twain specially added a clause in Bostock’s contract which states that, ‘Bostock is not allowed to play in any games between Fulham and Nottingham Forest’.
It is not rare for such a clause to appear in the contracts of players playing for La Liga. In contrast, such a clause is rarely included by Premier League clubs. It was quite ‘shameless’ of Twain to include the clause, but he did not want Forest to be defeated at the hands of a player that they have groomed. The ‘tragedy’ that happened at Real Madrid when they faced RCD Mallorca and Samuel Eto’o should never befall Nottingham Forest.
Ex-Real Madrid player Pablo Garcia once talked about the clause, and he called it a ‘sh*t clause’. One can tell how much he despised the clause.
Twain did not care about the reputation surrounding the clause. Everything of use to him was good!
Fulham did not care about the inclusion of the clause either. They were already halfway through the season, and they would only face Forest once in the remaining games. It was not anything big to not play Bostock for just one game.
However, Bostock was slightly upset about the inclusion of the clause, because he had hoped to get the chance to show off his skills before Twain during the match against Forest, which would then attract Twain’s attention and help him earn a spot in the starting team in the following season.
That was the situation that Twain feared the most. He was afraid that the players he had loaned out to other clubs would play with a desire of proving their worth to their parent club, and they would then perform exceptionally well during the games against Forest and become the star player who defeated his team. This is why he needed to completely eliminate the possibility of such a situation happening before it is too late.
In the end, Bostock accepted the inclusion of the clause. What could he do even if he did not agree to its inclusion? The only two choices for him were to either accept the inclusion of the clause, or to spend the remaining season on the bench.
There are certain times where Twain is your closest friend, but most of the time, he is a despicable demon.
Two players left Nottingham Forest during the winter transfer window, but the club did not bring in any new players. Twain believed that his current line-up was enough to deal with the remaining matches of the season.
※※※
On 16th January, Nottingham Forest faced Everton in an away game. It was the game where Twain was going to unveil his new formation for the very first time.
Moyes had studied Forest’s recent performances in their past few games. He figured that Twain would still insist on playing an attacking style football, but he never expected Twain to change his formation.
Twain might have changed the way his team played football from time to time, but all this while, there were certain things that Twain insisted on and never changed. One, he always placed a strong emphasis on defense. Two, he always made use of the flanks to attack. Three, he always employed two center forwards. Four, he always made use of a defensive midfielder.
4-2-3-1.
That was the formation that Forest was going to use during the match against Everton.
Joe Mattock, Pepe, Jonathan Woodgate and Nicolas Nkoulou make up the back four. Such an arrangement was not surprising. What was surprising was the fact that Twain did not put a defensive midfielder in place!
It was not that George Wood would not be playing in the game. How could he possibly not play in a game when he is in good form, is not sick or injured and has not been banned from playing?
It was just that there were some slight modifications to the position that he would be playing at.
He was not going to play as a defensive midfielder for the match. Both his and his partner Tiago’s positions have been moved forward. They were no longer defensive midfielders but rather central midfielders.
Don’t underestimate this shift. The responsibilities of a defensive midfielder differs from that of a central midfielder’s. A defensive midfielder primarily focuses on defense, whereas a central midfielder typically acts as the bridge between the team’s offense and defense. They are required to play a larger role during the team’s offense.
Forest’s coaching staff have actually been working on developing George Wood’s offensive abilities since a few seasons ago. However, due to the fact that he has always played as a defensive midfielder, only his defensive abilities have been tested thus far.
With this change in position, Wood would be able to unshackle himself and focus more on attacking. It signified a rare breakthrough for both Wood and Forest.
Wood and Tiago were in charge of organizing the team’s offense in the midfield. In addition, they also have to take on the important task of defending. They were the busiest players in their entire team.
The ‘3’ players playing in front of them were Chris Cohen, Matías Fernández and Gabriel Agbonlahor. Cohen and Agbonlahor were positioned at the left and right flanks, while Fernández was positioned in the middle. His central position would allow him to make good use of his long shots to either provide the final pass needed for his team’s attacks, or to score a goal.
Fernández was playing as a playmaker, but he was not playing as playmaker who would organize the team’s attacks. He was playing as a playmaker who would score goals.
Fernández’s ability to score is one of the reasons why Twain chose to use him over Şahin. Şahin’s ability to score goals paled in comparison to Fernández.
It was not surprising that Agbonlahor was playing on the right flank, because he had played at that position numerous times during his time at Aston Villa. It was also not his first time playing as a right winger for Forest.
The center-forward positioned at the very front was Ibišević.
Additionally, Twain has also requested his two full backs to actively participate in the team’s offense, which is a complete change to how he rarely allowed his full backs to go forward and join the offense in the past. It was evident that Twain had really set his heart on playing an attacking style football at Everton’s home ground.
The coaching staff might have gotten Wood to play as the central midfielder during training numerous times before, but it was his first time playing in that position in an actual match, which is why the Nottingham Forest’s coaching staff were all nervously watching how the match played out. They wanted to see if Wood would be able to perform as he did during their training sessions.
Wood did not get used to his new position initially. He kept wanting to run back and play as the defensive midfielder. This forced Twain to chastise him loudly from the side of the pitch, and he made Wood return to his position as a central midfielder.
Retreating backwards was permissible for central midfielders, since their role also involves defense. However, it was not permissible to retreat backwards and not move back up afterwards.
Tiago took on the responsibility of organizing the team’s offense while Wood struggled to get used to his new role. He used to play in this position in the past, so he did not need to get used to it, and was able to get into the role straight away.
※※※
It was obvious from the start of the match that it was the very first time that Forest had employed such a formation and tactic in an actual match, because all the players were trying to get used to the new playing style…
Moyes could not comprehend why Twain would suddenly employ a set of tactics and formation that his players have clearly not gotten used to. However, he did not dwell on things he could not understand.
Since Forest has yet to find their momentum for the match, I’m going to go ahead and take full advantage of this situation!
He instructed his team to start attacking Forest’s goalpost ferociously.
Eventually, on the 17th minute of the match, their genius forward, James Vaughan, displayed his gift right outside Forest’s penalty box.
He initially wanted to make his way into the penalty box after receiving a pass from his team mate, but he faced Tiago’s interception outside the penalty box. Tiago’s tackle did not stop Vaughan completely. He wobbled a little, but was able to regain his composure quickly. He then raised his feet and shot for goal before Wood came over to tackle him. The ball flew over the tip of Akinfeev’s fingers like an artillery shell and flew into the back of the net!
“A worldie!” The commentator roared excitedly. “When Wayne Rooney was still at Everton, he too scored a nearly identical goal in the match against Arsenal! Everton’s fans have all forgotten about Wayne Rooney with how Vaughan has been performing lately! He has already scored 11 goals for the team as Everton’s first choice forward this season! The future ahead of him is very promising!”
The goal set the audience at Goodison Park on fire. Everton’s fans began doing waves at the stands to celebrate. They were like a sea that had just been hit by a storm.
Twain felt a little crestfallen.
This was the difference between a genius player and an ordinary player… An ordinary player would choose to give up when he has to deal with interceptions from both Tiago and Wood, whereas a genius player would grasp at the fleeting chance and send the ball into the net through a small gap between players…
The blame is definitely not on him as the manager…
Now that his team is trailing behind, should he revert back to the 4-4-2 formation that they are used to?
It was not impossible to make the changes based on their current line-up. Agbonlahor could be moved into the center-forward position, and Cohen could take over on the right flank.
However, Twain adamantly said, ‘No!’ to the idea.
He has to stick with the 4-2-3-1 formation. He firmly believes that it would be Everton’s turn to be down in luck once his team gets used to the new playing style!
The might of the 4-2-3-1 formation has already been shown during training. The problem right now was how to successfully display that same might during an actual match.
The key to solving the problem lies with George Wood. If he is not able to get into his new role, then it will affect the team’s performance as a whole.
Twain believes that Wood’s sense for football is not that terrible. After all, he is a player that Demetrio Albertini thinks highly of. Albertini is a man whom people call the ‘commander of the midfield’. He is known for having a keen sense for football!
George Wood finally started getting used to playing in his new position after struggling for 20 minutes on the pitch. However, he had his own insights on how to play in his new position. He did not only anchor himself at the position of the central midfielder. He was more flexible, and the way he played was akin to how the traditional box-to box midfielders used to play in England. His playing style allows him to actively put in good performances in both the team’s offense and defense.
Players who adopt such a playing style have to cover a large area on the pitch, and it is very physically demanding. However, stamina is Wood’s forte, so he did not need to worry about being drained out in the later stages of the match due to him running back and forth constantly throughout the match. It was a playing style that suited Wood nicely.
Twain smiled after seeing how Wood was playing his new role as the central midfielder. It was not what Twain had put in place for him, but Wood’s way of doing things was actually much better.
Let him find a way to play that suits him the most. Maybe he would play in a way that exceeds all our expectations.
Wood began his performance of sprinting back and forth from one penalty box to the other.
He stopped Everton’s attacks. He organized Forest’s offense. He kept appearing at every single place where he was needed. He was so full of energy that it made him seem like a superman.
“George Wood tackles away Vaughan’s ball! Did he foul him? No, it was a clean tackle!”
“George Wood’s through ball! Brilliant! It went past all the Everton defenders! But sadly there’s no one who could receive it… He kicked it too hard…”
“He tries to do a long shot! But the ball goes over the bar!”
“Ohhhhh! George Wood! He has stopped Everton’s counterattack once again!”
Nottingham Forest’s two central midfielders make up the core of their new tactic. George Wood is the key player between the two central midfielders, and his performance is pivotal to the team’s success. If Wood performs well, then the whole team performs well.
On the 40th minute of the first half, Wood intercepted Tim Cahill’s ball and then passed it over to Tiago. Tiago subsequently passed the ball over to Cohen, who was positioned at the right flank.
Cohen passed the ball into the middle. Everton’s goalkeeper, Tim Howard, made an error in his judgement when he came out to try and keep the ball away. He failed to touch the ball and allowed it to fly over his head!
How could Ibišević possibly miss out on such a good chance? He broke free from Joseph Yobo who was marking him and jumped up. He then headed the ball into the net!
This is the advantage of playing two central midfielders. The team is able to snatch the ball from their opponents and go on the counterattack instantly. There is no delay when they make the switch, and it also doesn’t give their opponents a chance to snatch the ball back in the midfield.
※※※
During half time, Twain acknowledged his players’ performance in the latter part of the first half. He told them to keep playing in the same way in the second half. Everton is incapable of stopping Forest when they go all out in their offense.
It was just like Twain said.
In the second half, Everton put up a resistance for a short period of time, but Nottingham Forest was able to seize complete control of the game thereafter.
Playing five midfielders was not just for show. It was a tactic that will allow Forest to control the midfield and stop the opponents’ attacks in the midfield. In addition, it will also allow the team to pressure the opponent’s defense and gain the upper hand in the game. Once the team gains the upper hand, they can then turn this advantage into a victory.
Twain had deliberately chosen Everton to be the club that he tried his new tactic and formation on. He was afraid that something would go wrong if he tried them against a strong opponent, and there was also no point in trying them out on weak teams.
Therefore, Everton, being a mid-table team who has been performing consistently, and who also has the ability to fight for the qualifying spots to get into the Champions League, was the best candidate for Twain to try his new tactic and formation on.
Poor Moyes…
On the 80th minute of the match, Nottingham Forest’s domination in the game finally paid off.
What happened this time round was that Matías Fernández first created space by running off the ball. Tiago then passed the ball directly into the empty space and Ibišević was onside to score his 14th goal of the season in the Premier League. He has now scored a total of 16 goals in all competitions.
Ibišević only has to score four more goals in order for Twain to win his bet with Carl Spicer. To the current Ibišević, scoring four goals was not a problem at all.
Ultimately, Nottingham Forest defeated Everton with the two goals from Ibišević. However, in actuality, the true reason behind why the team was able to win Everton was because of Twain’s ‘Christmas Tree’.
As everyone knows, AC Milan’s 4-3-2-1 formation is known as the ‘Christmas Tree Formation’. Similarly, Twain’s 4-2-3-1 formation also looks like a Christmas Tree, which is why Twain addresses his formation as his own ‘Christmas Tree’. It is ‘unique’ and ‘the one and only tree in the whole world’. To Twain, ‘Other 4-2-3-1 formations cannot be called as a Christmas Tree formation. Only my 4-2-3-1 is a Christmas Tree.’
The statistics for the match highlighted the reason why Everton lost. Nottingham Forest had 59% possession. Their pass accuracy was 79%, and their rate of successful interceptions was 89%. They made a total of 14 shots in the game and 10 of them were on target. In comparison, Everton only made six shots in the game, and only three were on target. They were clearly inferior throughout the game.
During the post-match press conference, Moyes grudgingly admitted to the fact that his team was inferior, “They completely controlled the flow of the match. They deserved to win…”
On the other hand, Twain was very proud of the result. “I am very happy to see such a scene. We won convincingly.”
A reporter asked him for the reason behind why he chose to give up on using the 4-4-2 formation that he had always been using for the past few seasons.
Twain threw out his hands. “Why? Does the 2:1 score and 3 points not answer your question?”
“But hasn’t your style of football always been to defend and counterattack, as well as to employ a 4-4-2 formation?”
“That’s what you think. My style of football has always been the same. It comes in the form of victory and becoming champions. Everything else is nothing more than the means that I use to achieve them. As long as I can win and become the champions, I don’t care if it’s to defend and counterattack, or to go all out in either attack or defense. I also don’t care if it’s a 4-4-2 or a 4-2-3-1 formation.”
Twain smiled as he threw out his well-known phrase,
“I will do anything to win and to become champions.”
...
Chapter 783 - An Out and Out Conspiracy
They beat Everton with the Christmas tree formation, but in the following league game they drew 1-1 with Manchester City at home with the same formation.
This did not affect Twain’s thinking and confidence, as it allowed Nottingham Forest’s coaching staff to find out what the problem is, after all, this was a new tactic that still needs to be honed.
A draw was not a bad result, after all, he did not lose. And he did not let those watching the show get what they wanted. Bendtner was as combative as ever in the game, like an angry bull. But there was no longer media hype about this matter, Twain had no reason to argue with a transition coach. There were more important things waiting for him.
In Paris, the European Champions Cup knockout stage draw ceremony was commencing.
The 16 teams that qualify for the knockout stage would be put together by fate’s hands to fight each other.
The Premier League, which had been strong in recent years, had four, the most of any league who participated. It was Nottingham Forest, Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool.
The former Little World Cup Serie A and La Liga were close behind, with three teams each. Representing Italy are Juventus, AC Milan and Inter Milan, while Barcelona, Real Madrid and Valencia represent Spain.
The Bundesliga, one of the four major leagues, is the poorest, with only Bayern Munich being in the top 16. It’s a thing that all German fans feel helpless – the Bundesliga can only be supported by Bayern Munich, but in fact it has long been an indisputable fact that the Bundesliga has been less competitive because of Bayern Munich’s domination. Bayern Munich are both the saviours of the Bundesliga and the main culprits of the Bundesliga’s decline…
This time, even the French and Dutch teams have two teams into the top 16, after comparing, one can tell how the Bundesliga is so embarrassing.
The two teams representing France are Paris Saint-Germain and Lyon, while the Netherlands are Ajax and Eindhoven.
The Portuguese Super League had a representative and it was currently second-placed Porto in the domestic league.
Defending champions Barcelona are, of course, the most high-profile team, having won all six of their group games, scoring 18 goals and conceding only four. They had already been considered the number one favourite in the Champions League this season.
Another high-profile team is Nottingham Forest. As a team that has missed a season and returned to the Champions League, their performance in the group stage has been impressive. Two wins over Juventus cannot be done by luck, also, Nottingham Forest also got out of the group stage, but they scored fewer goals than Barcelona.
Everyone remembers that at the beginning of the season, Twain said, during the draw of the allocation of group stage, “Come and use your unspoken rules on me!”, an incident which made him get fined. Whether under Johansson or Platini’s presidency, UEFA has always declared that they are transparent and fair, which was absolutely not allowed to be questioned by outsiders, but Twain, with unknown reasons, was disturbing UEFA’s backscales at this point, so fines were flying over like snow, one after one. The two sides seemed to have stopped since the 2006 finals.
In fact, regardless of Twain was picking a fight with UEFA, it is because UEFA sometimes do things that are far too suspicious. For example, this time…
※※※
The stage is set in the style of the Champions League, with five-star symbols all over the place, on the big screen, on the background wall, on the drawing box and even on the back of the seat. The silver-studded European Champions Cup is back in sight, and it is placed in the center of the stage, attracting the attention of everyone here. That’s the common goal, and there was always the power to dream, no matter how much one’s strengths was.
Corina, a former famous Italian skinhead referee who was invited to the draw as a draw guest, stood in front of the glass box, and with his right hand, he pulled out of the box with a colored ping-pong ball. He opened it, glanced, showed the note to the stage, and read, “Barcelona.”
Barcelona’s name appeared on the big screen behind it, this was the first team to be drawn out.
Next, drawing the other ball team.
Zinedine Zidane went ahead as another special guest.
He fumbled in the box for a while and pulled out a small ball. After unfolding, he read expressionlessly:”Nottingham Forest. ”
He was expressionless on the stage, and the others on the stage laughed.
Everyone knew what this draw meant.
With Barcelona and Nottingham Forest both top of their respective teams, it was absolutely impossible to hope that Barcelona and Nottingham Forest will hit the ground in the first round under the Rules of the Champions League draw. But UEFA did not say that Nottingham Forest and Barcelona would not meet under any circumstances.
So …
Barcelona’s first game, Nottingham Forest’s second, can meet in the quarter-finals if they can beat their respective opponents.
This was really out to eliminate all difficulties and to overcome the rule limit to draw two teams together!
The coaches sitting around Twain were turning around to laugh with Twain – that was what he wants to see. Playing for the likes of Eindhoven, Ajax, Porto and Paris Saint-Germain, he was afraid he could not put in effort.
The Chinese narrator, who broadcast the draw to a Chinese audience, laughed, “There is a chinese saying in China – You are not enemies if you don’t come together. Nottingham Forest and Barcelona looks like they’re on the hook. ”
The British commentator said:”The first two teams drawing the same results is likened to Mars hitting the earth. There will be a lot of great games in the Champions League. ”
Spain’s explanation,” Is this the first time they have met? ”
Everyone seemed to think that the two teams reaching the quarter-finals was not a problem at all. They were talking about the situation in which these two teams play each other even before knowing their respective opponents were.
In case of an upset, it would be wonderful to see how their faces would change.
The telecast gave Twain and Guardiola a close-up each. Guardiola was expressionless, or even serious, while Twain was not any different from flowers.
One must make people lament that Twain was really a “slut”. People want their opponents to be weaker as possible, but he liked to take the initiative to provoke those big bosses.
But the sensational scenes did not end there.
After the first round of the draw, the eight teams begin to draw opponents.
Barcelona drew Eindhoven, which was the best draw. It could even be said that the draw could not be better. There was even an envious voice at the venue..
At last there was a subtle smile on Guardiola’s face. In any case, the first round against Eindhoven is better than the first round against any of those big teams.
The next person to draw Nottingham Forest’s opponent was still Zinedine Zidane. What he pulled out this time was
Inter Milan.
Excitement cheers and booing echoed.
Tonight’s draw was filled with the smell of intrigue! The English narrator shouted; he was a little disgruntled. It was like trying to kill Nottingham Forest, where a lock was not enough and two locks being double insurance.
If it was Nottingham Forest two seasons ago, there was no fear of such a battle. Others did not have to worry about anything. But Nottingham Forest are now in a poor position, clearly not as good as they were when they won the Champions League. Barcelona and Inter Milan were as strong as day by day. Even if he was lucky enough to pass Inter Milan, can Tony Twain guarantee his team would get away unscathed? Where no one has accumulated yellow cards and no one has been injured or anything?
Then they will face the defending champion with that mindset.
It was a dark future.
The telecast gave Twain a ten-second close-up. He was still laughing! Last time being similar to flowers but now he was basically like a flower.
What did he say at the end of last season?
“Mourinho, you got my team out of the books, we will pay back next season! ”
It was truly fate!
Mourinho, did you think you can escape my invincible fate by escaping England? It is of no use! A man like you who is so impressive, even if you escape to the ends of the earth, you cannot escape from my palm. This time, you are dead!
Mourinho was sitting opposite of Twain, with ten men between the two. Mourinho did not turn back to look at Twain when the result came out, and there was no eye contact between the two men. He bowed his head and said something to his partner and did not care what the people around him thought of the draw.
Twain did not look at Mourinho either, he was staring up at the draw on the big screen. It looks like he was one of onlookers who was just watching the show and not one of the parties involved…
Even Platini found the scene so interesting that he smiled and explained, “I guarantee that this result had never been manipulated…”
There was another burst of laughter under the stage.
※※※
After the draw ceremony, the final results were announced.
Barcelona and Eindhoven will play first, with Nottingham Forest taking on Inter Milan on the same day.
Then Paris Saint-Germain will then host AC Milan.
Bayern Munich against Juventus.
Arsenal taking on the away team Valencia.
Real Madrid hosting Liverpool.
Manchester United play Lyon on away.
The match with Porto against Ajax is probably the least watched.
Important matches in the quarter-finals are Nottingham Forest v Inter Milan, Bayern Munich v Juventus and Real Madrid v Liverpool.
After the draw, Twain was surrounded by a large crowd of reporters, all of whom wanted to hear how he rated the results of the draw. For example, whether UEFA would be scolded for their black curtain, many people were looking forward to hearing him say that classic line, “Come on, bring out your unspoken rules! ”
But this time Twain let them down. In the face of many reporters’ excited looks, he said with a smile, “I am very satisfied with the results of this draw. Thanks to the UEFA’s drawing, I drew the opponents I mostly want to meet. ”
The answer was really a disappointment for journalists who feared that the world would not be in a mess.
So there was a reporter very blatantly asked, “Are you worried about being fined by UEFA? ”
Twain glared at him, “Don’t make jokes, Mr. Reporter. I’m not short of that money. I think you guys are too bastard, you guys don’t believe me when I speak the truth, and gossip around when I’m telling a lie. I’m really happy with the result. Before the season I said Barcelona’s value in the league was not enough, and some people attacked me for having red eye disease. Now I can prove to those people whose eyes are actually wrong. As for Inter Milan, I’ve been thinking about revenge since he knocked out Nottingham Forest more than a season ago. I’m even worried that i didn’t have a chance…You all know that the lottery is a small probability event….”At this point, Twain laughed, “So of course I’m very grateful to UEFA for solving both of my problems at once. It’s a matter of efficiency, I don’t have to wait until next season, next season, next next season…”
But, Mr Twain. Inter Milan are very strong, do you have the confidence to beat them? ”
“Nonsense. If I don’t have the confidence, then why am I here to play in the European Champions Cup? I don’t believe that Nottingham Forest and I are still taking the elevator between the Premier League and 2nd League. I wouldn’t have won the Champions League without confidence. My Nottingham Forest have won two European Champions Cups, one Premier League title, and none of them have been picked up cheaply. My championship value is real and full of color. Do you think every team that made it to the last 16 of the Champions League has the good fortune of Barcelona and could draw the weaker team in the first round?” He also did not forget to laugh at Barcelona, several rounds ahead on the start of psychological warfare.
“Mr Twain, I heard you have a bad relationship with Mourinho…”
“You’re right!”, Twain did not deny this time, as he very simply and cheerfully agreed with the reporter’s statement, completely not trying to cover up on the surface. “He and I are enemies. Ask him, and you’ll get the same answer. I’m actually very much looking forward to and confident about the game against Inter Milan. Against them, Nottingham Forest have a psychological advantage. ”
Twain also did not forget to bring Inter Milan into the psychological warfare of the battle. If he were to play he would play big, it was always better to play with the whole crowd. It was a pity they were lacking a fourth member…
※※※
The next day’s newspapers and television, as well as the Internet, reported the results of the draw in the knockout stages of the European Champions Cup. Pictures of Tony Twain and Mourinho, as well as Guardiola’s three young managers at the draw, were all prominent, with three different expressions and meaning .
As the vast majority of fans saw this result, their natural first thought was
” Conspiracy! An out and out conspiracy !”
...
Chapter 784 - Coming from A Thousand Miles Away for Revenge
Being drawn with Inter Milan was a good thing to Twain. The better news had nothing to do with football—Shania was finally back.
When Twain was still a bachelor, he thought he only had football in his life, and he did not care anything else but football. He was crazy about football, no less than one of the most hardcore fans. So, after he became the Nottingham Forest manager, he was really no different from Dunn other than he went to the pub and have a drink. When he did not drink at the pub, he could lock himself up at home for a whole day, draw the curtains to watch the game videos, and study the various notes left by Dunn. He would be unaware of the passing of time and not even aware when he got hungry.
But after he got married, his love of football was divided into half and given to his family and wife. Now he felt that there was one more thing that was as important as football in his life.
He was happy that Shania was back. He would no longer find an empty and lifeless cement building when he came home after a day’s work.
Twain worked hard before he got married because he liked football and the job. After marriage, he also worked hard because he had a responsibility on his shoulders—a man needed to support his family…Although Shania earned as much money as Twain, Twain still had some traditional Chinese men’s thinking as the most authentic Chinese man in his bones. He thought that men should support their families and that was the purpose of the work.
With his parents, a lovely wife and future children, it was worth it even if he had to work hard.
With Shania’s return this time, she would not leave until May. They had four months to enjoy their time together. Twain wanted to make up all the time he was previously owed.
One of the important agenda was, of course, to make a baby.
Twain and Shania had been married for almost two years, and both had worked hard. But Shania had no response till now. The revolution had not yet succeeded, so the comrade still needed to work hard…
※※※
The first game since the return from the draw ceremony was the FA Cup. The media asked about the result of the draw before the game, wondering if such a terrible draw would affect the Forest team’s performance. Twain denied that it was a “terrible” result. Following which, he led his team to win against West Bromwich Albion with a 2:0 home win in the fourth round of the FA Cup. It proved that the media’s unfounded speculation was not justified.
Next in February’s league tournament, Nottingham Forest remain unbeaten with two wins and two draws to remain in third place in the league tournament. The point gaps between the top five teams in the league were not big. It looked like it would not be a surprise if any of the five teams would win the title by the end of the season.
The reason for the two wins and two draws was that Twain’s new tactics still needed time to adjust and adapt, so the team’s performance fluctuated with the ups and downs.
But Twain did not take the league tournament particularly seriously. He even voluntarily gave up in the fifth round the FA Cup. As the Champions League drew near, he began to hold back in the league tournament.
After all, he had already talked big in front of the media. So, if he lost to Inter Milan, it would be a big loss of face…
※※※
March 1st was the day of the away game against Inter Milan. It was a “big day” to Tony Twain.
The team left Nottingham three days early and arrived in Milan by plane. Twain was no stranger to the city. But it was still unfamiliar to many of the current Forest players.
When Twain first brought the team here to play against Inter Milan, he went to great lengths to explain to Shania that there was nothing between him and Gloria. Now that he thought about it, could it be it was since that time he realized he cared about Shania?
Among the Forest players, the changes in the midfield were the greatest. Tiago, Şahin, Cohen, Bentley and Fernández had not experienced the last big game against Inter Milan.
The media were not optimistic about Nottingham Forest’s Champions League prospects this season because Nottingham Forest’s strength had dropped too much in the midfield area…
In the past, the Forest team’s midfield could definitely be described as world-class, with George Wood, van der Vaart, Ribéry and other famous star players. The current Forest midfield lacked the star power and was more ordinary. Looking at Tony Twain’s implementation of the double defensive midfielders and 4-2-3-1 formation, even if they increased the number of midfielders, they still could not get rid of the “blue-collar worker midfield” appraisal.
By contrast, Inter Milan’s midfield was grander. The fame of Cambiasso, Vieira, Muntari, Stanković, Montolivo, Mancini, Quaresma, Mario Balotelli and the others was much bigger than that of the Forest team’s.
The comparison on the forward line was even more pathetic…
Nottingham Forest did not even have a publicly recognized world-class striker. Van Nistelrooy was considered world class, but he was not on the Forest team’s Champions League squad list and could not be available for comparison. Eastwood’s reputation was limited to the United Kingdom. Even if he had ever won the Premier League’s golden boot, it did not mean anything.
Ibišević was just a slightly brighter meteor. Agbonlahor was a typical coarse player who had no footwork skills but speed, while Eastwood’s frequent injuries had affected his progress towards being world-class.
Then looking at inter Milan’s side—Ibrahimović, Adriano and Giuseppe Rossi, who had transferred from Villarreal for a fee of 15.25 million pounds this season. In addition, a substitute player, Cruz who could be brought on to score.
Even in Twain’s proudest defensive lineup, Inter Milan was stronger than them.
The Argentine “The Wall” Samuel, Nicolás Burdisso, Iván Córdoba, Cristian Chivu, Maicon, Maxwell, as well as Javier Zanetti, Inter Milan team captain who was already thirty-eight years old but still in good form.
Which of these players were not famous figures in international football?
In comparison, Nottingham Forest only had Pepe and Kompany to show for. Woodgate and Baines were only well-known in the country. Rafinha had always been a fringe figure in the Brazilian national team, having been selected and then ruled out several times. Ultimately, in the right back positions up against the better options like Dunga and Maicon, Chimbonda was not worth a mention. Joe Mattock and Nkoulou were currently the most promising stars and would need to continuously prove their abilities at a high-level competition before they could be recognized.
No wonder everyone was not optimistic about Nottingham Forest.
If it had to be said the advantage Nottingham Forest had over Inter Milan, maybe their players were younger…
The foreign media were generally not optimistic about Nottingham Forest, but the local media in Nottingham was confident of Tony Twain’s team. Their confidence came from the “history” of just a few seasons.
In fact, when Nottingham Forest’s most brilliant two seasons, their lineup was basically like this. They were not in the same league as any big teams. But why was it them, which won the Champions League title in the end and not AC Milan and Chelsea? They had beaten Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Arsenal… and other strong teams. How could it be that the other teams deliberately threw the games?
The Nottingham Forest fans, like fanatical religious believers, had faith in that nothing could hold Tony down. The person who could make him surrender in the world had not yet been born. As long as the man sitting on the Nottingham Forest technical area was Tony Twain, Nottingham Forest would not lose no matter how powerful an opponent they faced.
With two days to go before the game began, the media in Nottingham had started to hype the concept of “revenge” in big way.
No Nottingham Forest fan would forget the game two seasons ago when Tony Twain was forced to leave his coaching post due to a heart attack and Nottingham Forest were suddenly left without a head. As the acting manager, Dunn had already exhausted all his energy just to secure the team’s place in the league tournament and utterly had no energy at all to consider the team’s future in the Champions League.
Nottingham Forest completely lost those two games to Mourinho’s Inter Milan in both the results and scenes.
Mourinho was like an infatuated man who had waited long and hard to marry this bride, only to find that the bride sitting by the bed was not the beauty in his heart, but someone else when he took off the red veil. As a result, his surprise turned into humiliation, humiliation into anger, and then took out this anger on the poor Dunn …
Most Forest fans were still unwilling to mention those two games until now because they lost terribly, and it was too shameful … Their spirit was completely lost, and the players’ performance on the pitch led to the belief that they must have been waiting for the final whistle to ring right from the first second.
If Twain had been there, he would have lambasted his team in the locker room that they were acting like a woman who had been stripped of all her clothes by, pinned under and be raped by an evildoer but still took the initiative to pander to his pleasure. Then maybe he would have another heart attack and be finished off straight away…
Fortunately, he was carefully cared for by Shania, and had no time to pay attention to the team’s mess.
But afterwards, in order to test the extent of his heart recovery, Twain specifically locate the videos of the two games to watch. After watching them, even though his body was all right, he was truly furious. Mourinho really did not give him face. With one match score of 2:0 and another match score of 3:0, he utterly wiped out the defending champion with a total score of 5:0. Twain suffered his biggest defeat in scores ever since he started coaching at Mourinho’s hands.
How could he take it that this kind of humiliated had never happened? Obliterate the feud with a smile when they met? That was not Tony Twain’s style. His style was—even if you turn to ash, I’ll still recognize you!
So, this time Twain did not mind the media hype of the “revenge” concept. He was not afraid to bring psychological pressure on the players. He was eager for the players to have pressure.. They could not play the game without pressure…
At the first press conference in Milan, Twain explicitly agreed with the local media in Nottingham about “revenge” and said, “Yes, we are here to seek revenge. The Italian media, please tell Mourinho about this—The Tony Twain he couldn’t win is here again!”
He had a smile full of confidence, and his attitude was very arrogant. He wanted to let the Italians, who had been tormented and hard pressed by Mourinho, to know that the English boss was not easily served!
At the press conference, Twain waged a war of words against the reporters. He dismissed every single comment that was down on him, trying to prove that his team was the best team of the week and none other.
If the media did not believe it, he spread his hands and said, “You’ll find out after the game if I’m talking big or telling the truth.”
※※※
After the “big truth” was released, Twain was naturally prepared.
This time, Twain planned to continue using the 4-2-3-1 formation, but different from before. The “2” was not two midfielders but became two defensive midfielders. The “3” was not a parallel line on the thirty meters line. Other than the “1” in the middle continued to be the attacking midfielder’s position, the two attacking wingers on the sides retreated to become the side midfielders, so that the formation was more layered with a few lines not too far apart that it would cause things to come apart.
Although the offense was not as strong as before with such an adjustment, the defense was certainly a lot more stable. There was a problem with the previous 4-2-3-1 formation—the gap behind George Wood and Tiago was too big and the opportunity would always be seized upon by the opponent to directly face the rear defensive line, resulting in a loss of the ball. Inter Milan’s midfield strength was not to be underestimated. The fewer such gaps, the better it was.
Now that Wood and Tiago were back in the defensive midfielder line, closer to their own rear defensive line, it was in fact still unified with two wingers in the middle even though they were far from the attacking midfielder. They could truly press for the attack and retreat for the defense.
As Wood and Tiago focused more on defense, the task of organizing the offense fell to the attacking midfielder. This time, Twain chose not to let Fernández, who was more capable of scoring, play as the attacking midfielder, but decided to let Şahin play. Fernández was moved to the left as a winger, but compared to Bentley on the right, he had slightly more freedom. He was a little like Ribéry, who was the FIFA World Player of the Year previously at Nottingham Forest. After all, Fernández and Ribéry were a little similar in characteristics. It was a waste to fix him on the sides. Having played brilliantly in recent rounds of competition, Fernández had been called “Ribéry the second” by the British media.
Unlike Fernández, who could break through, pass and shoot on the left, Bentley on the right was more of a player who passed the ball. He was tasked to retreat and support as well as pass the ball forward to send it to the front of the opponent’s goal.
At the tip of the formation as the arrowhead figure was Ibišević who was recently in good form and had no physical problem. He was a striker with very wide range of activity and could be seen in almost the entire front field. He was most suitable to be the arrowhead, because he would not be easily blocked by the opposing defenders.
The team was in a good shape without any major injuries and the morale of the players was high too. Although they were up against Inter Milan, which had thrashed them by 5:0, they had the boss there this time. There was nothing to worry about!
This time, we’re standing with the media—That’s right! We’re here to smash the place and seek revenge!
...
Chapter 785 - José And Tony
Milan, Italy, this city was famous worldwide for its fashion. But in the hearts of the football fans, the city had nothing to do with fashion. There was only one reason why the city’s name could be known around the world—football.
The word “derby” in the sports world was first used in horse racing, but it was football that carried it forward all over the world. There were many wonderful classic “derbies” in the football world, but no derby was more attention grabbing than a same city derby.
In Spain, the El Clásico between Real Madrid and Barcelona might shining bright, but in the minds of the players and fans, the real derbies were The Madrid Derby between Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid and the Derbi barceloní between Barcelona and RCD Espanyol. The same city derby was always the most eye-catching match, such as the most intense city derby in the world—the “Old Firm” of Glasgow, Scotland.
It was no exaggeration to say that “the derby created football.” For football without a competition like a derby and dominated by antagonistic and hateful sentiment, perhaps it would not have developed as far as it had today—that state of mind would have been like a catalyst.
Milan in Italy also had the same kind of city derby, which was one of the few cities where these two world-class powerhouse clubs existed. The powerhouse clubs, AC Milan and Inter Milan had long been spread around the world with their respective brilliant achievements.
AC Milan had an era of three musketeers and Inter Milan had its own dominated era. Both teams were not weaker than which. Sometimes the east wind toppled the west wind, and sometimes the west wind overpowered the east wind. Twain was tired of reading about the war of words between the fans on both sides when he was still a Chinese man.
In fact, there was a possibility that no matter how hostile the fans of the city’s two teams might be to each other, they might at least joined forces when they were up against Nottingham Forest.
Because both teams had suffered the painful lesson of being beaten by Nottingham Forest in important games. By contrast, the AC Milan fans had been hurt even more, with Twain not only speaking rudely often to their red and black legion, he also had a terrible personal relationship with Ancelotti. Furthermore, on the night of the 2007 UEFA Champions League final in Athens, they beat AC Milan which had reached the finals for two seasons in a row but returned home empty-handed.
Inter Milan’s feud with Nottingham Forest was limited to the quarterfinals of the Champions League in 05-06 season, when Nottingham Forest eliminated Inter Milan to eventually reach the final, only to lose to Barcelona. It was just a normal game, which would not implicate too much of a vendetta. Later, Inter Milan eliminated Nottingham Forest. From the point of view of the Inter Milan fans, it was just an equally ordinary game. The team that played better won. It was as simple as that.
Unfortunately, they all thought wrong. Who knew that Nottingham Forest ha a mad dog? A media outlet in England once evaluated Tony Twain’s character as such—“He’s the kind of guy who will crouch down like a dog and bite back once he is bitten by a dog.”
Tony Twain and Mourinho had a long-standing feud in the Premier League, and now that Mourinho had arrived at Inter Milan, the old feud between both sides would naturally be passed on to Inter Milan. Moreover, Inter Milan had thrashed Nottingham Forest before. The personal grievance and the impediment from the team were all stirred up… With Tony Twain around, it would certainly be stirred up. He was the best in stirring things up.
To this day, Inter Milan had the mind to continue their feud with Nottingham Forest until… one day Tony Twain stepped down from his position as that manager of Nottingham Forest.
“I think this matter is incredible, I don’t understand it.” The trainee reporter who came with Pierce Brosnan frowned and disagreed, “If Nottingham Forest accidentally lose again, there is reason enough for their two teams to continue to entangle. But what if Nottingham Forest wins? Isn’t Inter Milan going to be unforgiving? Even if Mourinho is such a man, Moratti is not a president who likes to provoke his opponents. He will surely keep a tight grip on Mourinho’s mouth. In fact, Mourinho has settled a lot more since he came to Italy than in England…”
Brosnan smiled and shook his head while he said, “You really don’t understand, because you really don’t know what kind of person Tony Twain is. If he loses, he’s going to fly into a rage. But if he wins…” He chuckled, “He’s going to insult Inter Milan at the press conference and show off. He will act as the kind of person who will cause the other people to want to pounce on and beat him up.”
His partner really could not figure this out. “But why will he do that? Is it good for him to offend so many people?”
“You can take it that this is his personality. You can also recognize that he is playing a psychological warfare with his opponent.”
When Pierce Brosnan uttered the words with a serious face, the trainee reporter suddenly had a whole new level of respect for Brosnan, “You’re really a reporter who has followed Twain for so many years. Mr. Brosnan, you truly understand Tony Twain!”
Brosnan shrugged and gave a self-deprecating laugh, “When you think you know Tony Twain very well, you will be wrong again. I’m afraid he doesn’t even know himself…”
The two men stopped the pointless topic which also could not improve the mood and watched the Inter Milan manager, José Mourinho, walked to the front of the interview stage.
After the interview with Twain, the reporters flocked to hear what Mourinho would say about his opponent. This group of people were so efficient.
“Ask any questions you have, gentlemen.” Mourinho, who had just arrived from the training ground, was still wearing an Inter Milan jersey. It made his figure look slightly bloated. Maybe he lived well in Italy. He crossed his legs in his seat and chose a posture that made him the most comfortable while he faced the reporters.
“Tony Twain had just commented that Nottingham Forest came to Milan to seek revenge. What do you think of this, Mr. Mourinho?” The first reporter to ask the question was from [ La Gazzetta dello Sport].
“Only a loser will think about revenge. I don’t care about this because I’m not a loser.” Mourinho grinned. He seemed to sketch out in his head how flustered and exasperated Tony Twain should be… it made a deep impression.
A hint of confrontation emerged in just the first question, which made the reporters secretly gleeful. Whenever Mourinho and Tony Twain met, they would never waste valuable time at a press conference asking such questions about the tactical arrangement of the players. It would only lead to the exciting scenes slip away in vain.
Mourinho was clearly relished being able to lead his team to a 5-0 win over Nottingham Forest in the past. He smiled at the reporters as he waited for the second question.
The man who stood up next spoiled his good mood.
Pierce Brosnan raised his hand and asked, “Mr. Mourinho, Tony Twain asked me to relay a message to you.”
Mourinho gave a snort but did not stop the reporter from speaking.
“He said—the Tony Twain whom you can’t defeat, is here again. Do you have any opinion on this?”
Some people laughed among the reporters. Mourinho’s face became slightly ugly.
“I never care about that boring record. As compared to who can’t win whom, I care more about winning the championship.”
If Twain were around, he would definitely speak up to ridicule right away, “I win just as many titles as you, Mr. Mourinho.”
Unfortunately, he was not here, so Mourinho could continue undisturbed, “I never take the initiative to talk about who had not defeated me. It is a very disrespectful behavior…”
If Twain were next to him, he would say “That’s because you don’t have such a result.”
“Some people only see the past, but what I care about is the future and the game in two days’ time…”
If Twain were next to him, he would say, “I’m still going to win you in two days’ time and let this ‘thing of the past’ continue.”
If Twain were next to him… It was estimated that the two men would engage in a real-life PK.
Mourinho did not want to answer Brosnan’s question because he finally recognized who the man in front of him was. He was the reporter for the [Nottingham Evening Post] and was known as “Tony Twain’s mouthpiece.” He was always on the same side as Twain and spoke for Tony Twain because he became famous for his coverage of Twain. It was said that Twain had instructed this person and not allowed him to write a bad word about him. The extent that Twain had dictatorship could be seen. He even interfered with the freedom of press… The crimes he committed were simply innumerable!
“Can you talk about your relationship with Mr. Twain? When you were fired by Chelsea FC, Twain had verbally abused Mr. Abramovich during a television interview…” An ESPN reporter asked.
“I have to correct your mistake. I wasn’t dismissed by Chelsea. I resigned on my own. It was an amicable breakup.” Mourinho put his index finger up and stressed, “As for my relationship with Twain…” Mourinho paused here, as if he was really thinking about his relationship with Twain. “We are definitely not friends anyway.”
He actually did not say, “We are enemies.” It was mind-blowing.
Mourinho did not give the reporters a chance to keep asking. He was tired of being asked idiotic questions on “how Tony Twain was.” It made it looked like he had something to do with that guy. You should ask him how he was himself. Why are you running to ask me about him!
“If you don’t care how Inter Milan has prepared for the game, then I think that’s the end of the press conference.” Mourinho got up and left, not giving any of the reporters present time to react. He just disappeared in the eyes of the dismayed crowd.
Despite Mourinho’s departure, the reporters present showed no surprise and anger, but excitedly discussed the press conference, which had just ended in a hurry.
It was obviously the first time the trainee reporter had encountered such a situation. He was a little stunned. Pierce Brosnan calmly said to him, “Who would ask him how Inter Milan had prepared? This is the way to create news. Come on, let’s go back and write the article.”
※※※
When Twain brought the team to the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium to adapt to the pitch, he met an old friend. This time it was a real old friend with no quotation marks.
The man who came to see him was the former Nottingham Forest team captain and retired Italian player, Demetrio Albertini.
In addition to reminisce with an old friend like Twain, he also came to cheer the Forest team.
“Of course, I’m going to cheer you on. I’m an AC Milan fan.” Not having seen him for a long time, Albertini had put on some weight. He laughed heartily.
Now he was the vice-president of the Italian Football Association and considered a high-ranking official. Impeccably attired, he looked very different from when he was a player.
Albertini came to the pitch midway through the training. Twain called down George Wood from the training ground.
Seeing once again his junior whom he had once pinned high hopes on, Albertini did not warmly embrace him but stared at Wood with a smile on his face for a while.
“You’ve already got seven assists so far this season, George?”
Wood nodded. Seeing his mentor, he did not really know what to say—he was not the kind of person who could express his inner feelings very well. It would simply kill him to take the initiative to do a mushy thing like a hug.
“Well done, George. But you have to keep working hard.” It was Albertini who insisted that Wood had offensive talent in the first place that allowed Twain to focus on training him in that area. Now Twain and the Forest team benefited from this together.
It was somewhat predestined to talk about this matter now—it was at an away game against Inter Milan that Wood suddenly sent a beautiful straight ball out and Albertini appeared on the direction of the ball like an apparition. He scored after he received the ball, helping the team to force a draw on the home team and secure two precious away goals.
It was the first appearance of Wood’s offensive talent, and it was caught by Albertini’s eye.
“You’re not a natural leader, George. But you did a good job as the Nottingham Forest captain. Tell me, do you usually talk more in the locker room?”
“Not too much.” Wood shook his head.
“Then how do you lead your teammates?”
Twain helped him to answer, “Action. He led the team with action. He never talks nonsense, and his actions are more powerful than words.”
On the training ground, he was the one who trained the hardest, the earliest to arrive, the latest to leave, ran the hardest on the field, never gave up, always full of fighting spirit and passion. He seemed to view football as life. It was hard for such a person to not convince the masses.
Albertini nodded approvingly, “That’s your style, George.”
Wood disagreed, “But I don’t help the new players as much as you.” When Aaron Mitchell came into the First Team, Wood’s face was a little too serious when he welcomed him as the team captain. For this reason, he was deeply concerned till now.
Albertini glanced at Twain and turned his face to smile at Wood, “Nottingham Forest is a team with a very good environment. Some things do not require you to manage. Someone else will do it. Freddy and Bale are both warm-hearted people. You don’t want to take everything on yourself. Just like how you are on the pitch, trust your teammates and you will gain more.”
Wood nodded and listened to his instruction respectfully. Albertini’s every word was a valuable experience to him.
Twain did not let the two talk for long. After all, the team was still training. As the captain, Wood was even less qualified to act privileged.
Looking at Wood running back, Albertini sighed, “What a good player. It’s a pity that he did not come to Milan last summer.”
“As long as I’m at Nottingham Forest for a day, he won’t leave the City Ground stadium.” Twain chuckled.
When Twain’s work came up as a topic, Albertini had to ask about his health.
“There’s nothing wrong with me. Everything is working normally.” Twain gently patted his left chest, where a pacemaker was installed, so he could not use too much force. “I was very lucky not to have died the first time. I won’t die in the future.” Twain was now very relaxing when it came to talks about life and death. Once a person had died once, his ideological awareness was not the same anymore.
Albertini laughed, “I had wanted to ask you to drink together after the game at first. Later, I remembered you had given up drinking. So, I can just save the money.”
Twain gave a sly wink and said, “You can always exchange it for cash for me, Deme.”
The two men laughed together. It was like they had gone back to the good old days when they worked together.
As he said goodbye, Albertini held Twain’s hand and said, “When we were together, we did not lose to Mourinho, right, boss?”
He suddenly addressed him this way, but it did not surprise Twain. He smiled, “That’s right, we never lost.”
The two men did not say anything more. They only felt that there was an added strength to their hands held.
...
Chapter 786: Dry Wood and Fierce Fire
Two days passed quickly, and the day of the game was approaching. Both sides already made preparations to deal with the battle.
Mourinho would never allow himself to have any mishaps at home. The hardest way to play for the knockout stage was to have the home match first and then the away match. But it could not be helped because they lost the first place in the group stage competition at the last minute.
Mourinho’s plan was to not lose any points in his own home ground. He demanded that the team’s rear defensive line must keep their opponent out, so he would stick to the defensive counterattack at home.
Whereas Twain’s idea was also simple, which was to score goals. The advantage of playing the away match first was that there was still a home game as a cushion, so that there were a few more opportunities to adjust. Away goals were the number one priority. They had to score, and they must score. That was the reason Twain arranged to play the 4-2-3-1 formation instead of the 4-4-2 formation. Other teams might choose to play defense in an away match, but Twain chose the opposite and emphasized on the offense.
To be able to defeat Inter Milan was obviously the best result. A draw was a must if they could not win. But to lose… that was definitely not allowed.
Twain did not see Mourinho again until before the start of the game. Both managers’ interviews were staggered for the press conference. They would only appear together in a press conference after the game.
But the media did not feel sorry about it. Because there would be more exciting stories when they met after the game. As for now, there was really no good to hype about… The war of words between the two parties was almost over.
Although Twain and Mourinho did not meet before that, they had long been at odds with each other through the media. People really admired these two men just by looking at their explosive remarks. The Italian media exclaimed that Mourinho had been a little lonely since he came to Italy. Now he had finally found his opponent…
Mourinho was an unusual breed in Serie A. His way of shooting his mouth off broke Serie A’s seemingly harmonious atmosphere. When had those academic type of managers seen such men before? They argued with each other about some tactical stuff at the most and fought poorly even if they did quarrel. They were totally defeated when up against Mourinho’s clever and eloquent tongue. Some people also wanted to learn from Mourinho and wage a war of words with other people. The result was they set out to be tigers but ended up with the likeness of a dog. It made themselves look more like a superficial clown.
So, Mourinho gradually did not bother to bicker with those guys—it was really beneath him to do.
Now that Tony Twain was here with his Forest team in Italy, people finally saw the Mourinho, who was once successful in the Premier League.
Waging a psychological warfare and war of words really required an evenly matched opponent for them to be fun.
Twain and Mourinho were really perfect for each other like dry wood and fierce fire.
※※※
On the evening of March 1st, the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium was lit up and the crowd was buzzing. The first round of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals kicked off here.
The Nottingham Forest fans who had specially travelled from England entered the stadium under the police escort. Next to them were some extreme Inter Milan fans who harbored malicious intentions to provoke them. The Nottingham Forest fans were not willing to show weakness and glowered at them.
The police in charge of the security at the stadium were at the highest alert. Neither the Italian fans nor the English media had a good reputation, not to mention the atmosphere that had been heated up by the war of words between the two managers before the game. If there was any group of people who did not want to see the two teams’ managers have a spat with each other, it must be the police officers responsible for the order. The managers had stirred up the atmosphere and the mood of the fans would follow suit and heated up, which could be dangerous. If it was not tightly controlled, a single spark could lead to volcanic eruptions.
The players from both sides had already come out to warm up as the fans of both sides were at daggers drawn outside.
Twain finished what he was supposed to do in the locker room and slipped out. He encountered Mourinho whom he had not seen for a few years, on the sidelines.
“Ha, what a coincidence. Mr. Mourinho.” Twain smiled as he greeted the other man.
Mourinho, on the other hand, looked at him with a straight face and did not want to acknowledge him.
“Don’t put on such an expression, Mr. Mourinho. I won’t ask you to have drinks anymore. I’ve quit drinking. You are the host here. You can’t look so indifferent.”
“Do you want me to say, ‘I’m happy to see you?’ But I’m not happy at all.”
“Because you’re afraid of losing?” Twain smiled and leaned in front of Mourinho.
The remark clearly touched on Mourinho’s sore point. He snorted and said, “Think whatever you like, Mr. Twain. A football match is not won by cheap talk.”
“Ha, great minds think alike.”
Twain did not waste any more time with Mourinho because both men had things to do. The war of words had been fought. It was no use to provoke now.
He walked to the sidelines to observe the team’s warm-up and get first-hand information on who was in a good shape and who was not in the right state of mind… This was the last chance to make adjustments. Once the game started, he would have to use up the three-substitution spot if he wanted to adjust.
The players did well. He did not see anyone overly self-confident and impetuous. These boys were quite good. He had been lecturing them these days and wanting them to take the game seriously. Because this was the “war of revenge.” They could not be sloppy, careless and do as they pleased.
Twain also took a look at the fans’ situation in the stands. The Inter Milan fans accounted for about four-fifths. It was a sea of blue when he looked up, while the red color gathered in a corner, surrounded by the sea of blue, looking isolated.
A circle of police surrounded these fans, separating them from the Italian fans. Under the heavy protection of the police, the Nottingham Forest fans were not afraid of the home fans’ unkind boos and hostile looks. They sang Nottingham Forest’s war songs in their own stands.
Twain saw the scene and smiled. Those lovely fans. He seemed to be able to see John and Bill in the square area on the far side from here.
After spending a moment on the sidelines, Twain was able to hear the boos coming from the grandstand behind him. This was, of course, aimed at him as the manager who had provoked a war of words with Mourinho. He did not care. He even turned to smile at the hostile-looking fans before walking back down the tunnel and toward the locker room.
He was determined to make the Inter Milan fans unhappy for this game…
※※※
The team’s warm-up was over shortly after he returned to the locker room. The players filed into the locker room and started to change into the jerseys needed for the game. Twain paced back and forth in the locker room as he thought about what to say to further mobilize the players’ mood.
The tactic was already laid out a day ago. There was not much time now, so he would not cover that again.
The players finished changing their clothes and sat down to catch their breath while they waited for their spiritual leader to say something.
Twain finally stopped pacing and stood still in front of the team.
“Who among you had played in those two games before?” He looked at the players.
George Wood raised his hand, followed by the goalkeeper, Akinfeev. The full backs, Baines, Rafinha, Pepe, Kompany, Tiago, Lennon, Şahin and Eastwood all raised their hands. They all knew the “two games” the boss asked about.
It accounted for almost two-thirds of the squad list.
“I know some of you must be still be unhappy about that… Ah no, everyone is not happy. After all, the other team scored a total of five goals in two games, but we did not score a goal. If anyone can still accept this, then he’s not normal. It’s fantastic now that you have a chance to correct that mistake and show Inter Milan that 0:5 was an accident.” Twain snapped his fingers and added, “I really wonder if UEFA did this out of full respect for our opinion at the time of the draw.”
There was a burst of laughter among the players.
“Anyway, guys. Now we have a great chance! Are you going to let this opportunity slip away in front of your eyes? Are you really going to do that?”
“No one thinks so, boss!”
“Very good! Then buck up! We’re going to thrash them in their home ground! We’ll settle all the scores today!”
※※※
Mourinho did not stir up emotions in the locker room. Inter Milan was not Nottingham Forest. It was not a group of blood-thirsty creatures with simple minds. And he did have much to fire them up with. Inter Milan and Nottingham Forest did not have many grievances. For many players, it was just an ordinary Champions League quarterfinal game. The star players such as Ibrahimović had no interest in the hyped up “Forest team’s war of revenge” by the media. Some people simply did not understand why Tony Twain would behave like a mad dog and jumped around to bite people. Was it better for him to do so? Could it be the more people he bit, the more dividends he received?
Although their manager occasionally bit people, he did it with purpose and substance. It was unlike Tony Twain’s random attacks.
If he were to be our manager, would he just bite his own people in the locker room? That’s terrible! I don’t know how the Nottingham Forest players can tolerate such a bad-tempered man to lead them.
In fact, … Even more incredibly, how can this man’s team win the Champions League title for two years in a row? There must be something we don’t know about…
Mourinho calmly set out the tactics before talking about what happened in the media.
“No matter what’s said outside, it’s their freedom. You don’t think about anything else. This is just a normal game. If you have any emotional ups and downs because of this, you will have fallen for Tony Twain’s ploy. In terms of strength, Nottingham Forest is certainly not as good as us. They are in a hurry to score away goals and will be aggressive from the start of the game. We just need to be more patient than them and we can get the result we want. That’s it. Get ready to play.”
※※※
The Inter Milan players came out and received loud cheers. The blue and black legion was the hero in the hearts of the Inter Milan fans. Many fans were quite confident of a victory over Nottingham Forest. Those two games of the 08-09 season were still vivid in their minds. Only a few teams in the football world could beat a defending champion so efficiently.
Of course, the Nottingham Forest fans would retort that the loss was due to Tony Twain’s absence. But the Italian fans did not understand this. They thought that even with Tony Twain around, their loss would only be less terrible at the most. But the end result would still be the same—they would still lose. How much power could a manager have, no matter how good he was? The star players, not the star managers, were the ones to dominate the team and determine the strength of the team.
Ibrahimović suddenly felt a deep animosity as he shook hands with the Forest players according to what was customary. This hostility peaked when he shook hands with the Forest captain.
Wood’s hand shook Ibrahimović’s hand to carry out the necessary understanding, but his eyes stared coldly at the other man. It was not a very polite attitude, which also made the Swede feel uncomfortable. The other party’s eyes were piercing, almost poking holes at Ibrahimović inside out, turning him into a sieve.
He did not like the impolite look, so he just touched Wood’s hand and separated.
But even when he turned and left, he could still feel the pair of cold eyes staring at him behind his back.
Ibrahimović was a typical representative of Inter Milan’ players. Almost all of the Inter Milan players felt the unfriendly air from the Nottingham Forest players.
They simply could not understand why these people would view this game as if it were a vendetta. Even if we had defeated you with a wide score, that was a very normal thing which happened often in the football world. Isn’t it very petty to keep hanging onto it? If you seek revenge against every team that defeats you, can you handle it?
The Nottingham Forest players did not care what the Inter Milan players thought. They just knitted their brows with serious faces and looked murderously at their opponents who came over to shake their hands to show goodwill.
It was hard to imagine a situation like this happening in real football. Maybe only the perverted Tony Twain could bring out such an abnormal team …
After the handshake ceremony ended in a strange atmosphere, the players from both sides returned to their respective positions and waited for the game to begin.
All the major media outlets seized the last moments and crazily snapped away in front of the two managers.
Mourinho was expressionless, while Twain smiled. He even repeatedly glanced at Mourinho next door in front of the press, trying to see his manner.
It was a pity that he saw nothing. Mourinho hid himself in the middle of the technical area and was not in the front. He had no idea what he was doing. Twain was not in a hurry. He knew that when the game started, it would not be long before Mourinho would come out on his own.
Why?
Because he would not be able to sit still!
...
Chapter 787 - Outer Instep
Nottingham Forest occupied the initiative from the start of the game.
Inter Milan did not get to do the kickoff, so they withdrew and carried out the defense as soon as they came on. They first solidify the defense, and then conspired to attack. Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest did not hold back and made the most of their kickoff advantage, keeping the football firmly under their feet and not rush to the goal. They patiently circled.
George Wood and Tiago were indeed further back in their positions than ever before. It looked like the distance between them and Şahin was wider than ever, but in fact the players were not wooden blocks. They would keep running and interweaving on the pitch. The formation of the team could only be used as a reference—if they were too far away, Şahin would know he could withdraw to receive. As for Wood and Tiago, they would also know to run up there.
The tactics might be set, but the players were absolutely alive.
To be able to use fixed tactics flexibly, that was the players’ level. Some players only knew to cling obstinately to the manager’s arrangements. One was one, two was two, and they would dare not go one step beyond the prescribed limit and had no ideas of their own. Such a player’s life was that of an ordinary professional player. But some players were able to develop their own ideas and make their own judgments based on their understanding of the manager’s tactical intent. Such players were often the master players who could see the situation clearly on the pitch and turn things around.
While Inter Milan retreated to defend, Wood and Tiago did not cling to their defensive midfielders’ positions and foolishly waited for the opponent to attack. Out of the necessary caution, they did not rush up at the same time, but took turns to plug in and take part in the offense. When Tiago was up, George Wood would stay in the back to defend. When Wood went up, Tiago would be in charge of the defense.
Nottingham Forest controlled the football under its feet and was in no hurry to send it directly to the Inter Milan goal. In the tactical meeting the day before the game, Twain arranged Şahin to start, but also specifically warned him that if he was not particularly certain in the game, he must not pass the ball directly. He was not to give Inter Milan the opportunity to intercept the ball to immediately fight back. He would rather he passed the ball back and forth on the periphery to jerk the Inter Milan’s defense around first.
Şahin habitually tried to send a threatening pass every time he got the ball. But when he looked up at the seemingly impervious wall of Inter Milan defense, he remembered the boss’s admonition. So, he turned around and sent a cross pass instead.
Şahin passed it to Bentley, who saw that Inter Milan’s rear defensive line remained calm when he was about to cross the ball, so he sent the football out with a long pass straight to the other side of the pitch. Matías Fernández received the ball and passed it to Leighton Baines, who plugged in from behind. Baines saw that it was not a good time, so he continued to pass the ball, which fell to George Wood’s feet.
The Inter Milan players certainly would not cower in their own thirty-meters zone like shrinking violets and let Nottingham Forest pass the ball back and forth outside. Ibrahimović at the fore front saw the ball fall at Wood’s feet and rushed up to try tackle the ball. Under his lead, Inter Milan’s overall formation began to slightly press out. There were finally some gaps in the originally impenetrable formation.
Wood ceded the ball to Rafinha when Ibrahimović pounced up.
Rafinha then passed the ball diagonally to Şahin and continued to run forward, as if he wanted to do a wall pass with Şahin.
The Inter Milan players were not fools. How could they tolerate such a conventional and simple coordinated move being made in front of themselves?
Chivu kept a close eye on Rafinha, and Cambiasso came up to pounce on Şahin.
Şahin did not receive the ball. He just made a move like he was going to receive the ball and then turned around to block Cambiasso so as to give the ball to Ibišević behind him.
“Ibišević takes the ball and he’s now on the edge of the penalty area. He faces the goal sideways. It looks like he’s got a chance to shoot!”
Ibišević did not shoot because the moment he tried to lift his leg, he realized that Samuel was close to him. It was not suitable to shoot. So, he changed his mind at the last minute and gave a shake with his ankle to pass the ball back to George Wood.
The pass was too familiar to Mourinho—the striker’s back was to goal, Wood faced the goal directly and the ball was passed to him from the striker’s position. He could shoot straight while running and without stopping the ball at all.
While some people always said how bad Wood’s shot was, it had been proven time and again that this player with a bad shot could always kick a world-class shot in this spot…
He raised his fist in the hope that the Inter Milan players on the pitch would remember what he had said to them before the game.
—George Wood is the most dangerous killer at the top of the penalty arc! It’s not alarmist talk. You have to keep that in mind and stop all possibilities of him from shooting in this spot!
Fortunately, his players had not forgotten that. Samuel was defending against Ibišević and they still had people who could step forward and defend against Wood. Burdisso stepped forward bravely and planned to use his body to block Wood’s startling long shot!
Wood gave a jab with his ankle. After he tricked Burdisso fell out of balance, he pushed the football to Şahin on the other side!
Şahin had turned and completely bypassed Cambiasso when he gave the ball to Ibišević. Now he faced the goal and there was no one in front of him.
Wood just passed the ball to Şahin’s front. All he had to do was to speed up and charge into the penalty area. Then he could directly face the Inter Milan Milan’s Brazilian goalkeeper, César…..
“A one-on-one face-off with the goalkeeper!!”
The commentator roared with excitement. The game had only began three minutes and Nottingham Forest already had such a good chance.
Şahin’s breakout was not so strong that he could dash to the front of the football with one step of his leg and then throw everyone off to kick the ball. Wood used too much strength to pass the ball in order to try to penetrate the opponent’s defensive line.
Şahin tried his best to charge up but did not manage to shake off the defenders.
The three players, Samuel, Burdisso as well as Cambiasso rushed at him from three different directions, intending to smother his shot in its infancy. Of course, since the football was already in the penalty area, they had to be careful not to foul…
But these three Argentines’ purpose had been achieved. They crowded Şahin and surrounded him. In this way, the angle with which Şahin could shoot was very small. Under the heavy siege, even if he just raised his leg to prepare to shoot, the football on the ground might immediately be removed—they could not do nothing just because of the possibility of a foul. To foul while tackling the ball might the work of a rough defender, but it would be an unqualified defender if they let the other side score a goal for fear of a foul.
If Şahin wanted to shoot, even if it’s a penalty-kick, these three people will be shoveling down!
Şahin did not shoot. He and the three men fell to the ground at the same time, but he just swept the ball across to the other side…
“Ibišević!! He’s completely unguarded—”
None of the Inter Milan defenders, including César, noticed Ibišević. They only had eyes for Şahin when the ball reached Şahin’s feet. But Şahin passed the football to Ibišević.
Now that most of the goal area in front of Ibišević was empty. It was very simple what he needed to do—
“He shoots! GOOOAL!! It’s too easy!”
The Nottingham Forest fans erupted in thunderous cheers at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium.
Ibišević ran with wide open arms to the corner flag and continued to do his slap in the face celebratory gesture.
The Inter Milan players, on the other hand, stood in a daze where they were and could not believe what they saw—the game had only started more than three minutes ago. How did they concede the goal? And lost so easily, so simply, so… inexplicably!
They were the people on the spot and baffled, but the onlookers saw it clearly.
“A beautiful coordination! It’s really a treat to watch Nottingham Forest’s coordination! It’s rare to see such a smooth coordination played so strongly in the middle in modern football. The offensive that started from George Wood had fooled all the three Inter Milan defenders.”
Şahin’s pass was crucial. If he was completely unaware that Ibišević would plug in from the side, he would have chosen to force a shot. No one would know the result if that happened. It was the moment when he pretended to shoot but passed the ball when he fell on the ground that completely tore up Inter Milan’s tight defense. Ibišević easily pushed the football into the goal as if he was facing an empty goal on the training ground.
The Nottingham Forest players rushed up to embrace him one by one after Ibišević had done a slap in the face move. And the Forest team’s technical area and substitutes’ bench off the field had long been in embrace together. Tony Twain also did not forget to brandish his fists to demonstrate in front of more than seventy thousand Inter Milan fans. His actions naturally once again won a lot of boos and abuse for himself. But he did not care. He was the winner at this moment, and those who insulted him were losers!
As Twain expected, Mourinho soon rose from the technical area. He walked back and forth on the sidelines, displeased. Just three minutes into the start of the game and Nottingham Forest had opened the gap from the middle to score a valuable away goal. Such a thing was humiliating for a Serie A giant like Inter Milan.
He knew Twain’s mind, so he instructed the team to must pay attention to the defense at the beginning of the game. . . But he did not expect the middle, which was the most difficult to break through, had become Nottingham Forest’s exclusive corridor. Looking at the coordination between the three players in the middle, they completely treated Inter Milan’s three defenders as monkeys to play with. They were dragged around by their running and passes and neglected the real focus in the end.
Which area did I miss and not cover?
He began to reflect on it much to his discontent.
Unfortunately, he did not come up with a reason why when the game resumed again.
He could only attribute it to an accident which could regularly happened on the field and no one would know when and why it occurred—at one point, a gap happened in Inter Milan’s initially tight defense due to some factors and was keenly seized upon by Nottingham Forest. It could not be said that Inter Milan played terribly, only that the enemy was too cunning.
※※※
The game resumed. Inter Milan suddenly gave up their defense, and actively pressed out by several lines, which disturbed Nottingham Forest for a while.
The Nottingham Forest players clearly did not expect Inter Milan to counterattack so crazily so soon—they thought Inter Milan would not be able to recover from the shock of conceding the goal so quickly in the opening of the game.
Nottingham’s red colored players made a mistake. Inter Milan was not as easy to deal with as they thought.
Amidst wave after wave of sounds from the home fans, Inter Milan launched a steady stream of attacks from the midfield, putting constant pressure on Nottingham Forest’s defense. Inter Milan seemed to be testing the limits of Nottingham Forest’s rebound.
In the eighth minute, after Cambiasso intercepted Şahin’s ball, he quickly dribbled the ball in the middle forward but encountered Tiago’s tight defense and the ball was intercepted. Fortunately, Montolivo did not rush too fast and Tiago’s intercepted ball rolled right under his feet. Inter Milan’s attack continued.
Montolivo did not intend to attack from the middle, as Cambiasso did. He sent the ball directly to Quaresma on the side.
Speaking of Quaresma, he was also a young man who became famous for a long time, but unfortunately did not seem to be a big name. Whether it was at Barcelona or currently at Inter Milan, his status had not been stable. His gorgeous footwork seemed out of step with the team’s overall tactics. Mourinho had high expectations with him at first, but it was a pity that he simply could not adapt to Inter Milan’s tactics and Italian style of football when he came to Italy. His footwork skills and divine outer instep skills, which could win international acclaim in Portugal, could only be a focus of defensive attention in Italy and the main culprit for dragging the team’s offensive tactics.
Having adapted for several seasons, Quaresma remained a fringe figure in Inter Milan’s lineup. He was in this game because Mancini was injured and could not play the game …
But the Portuguese was not to be underestimated. Although he sometimes seemed out of step with the team’s tactics, his individual combat ability was still very good. Mourinho might also want to use Quaresma’s individual ability to restrain the Forest team’s offense on the left flank.
Quaresma seemed to be in good shape for today’s match. After he received the ball, he showed a good body flexibility when he simply followed the ball movement, and then accelerated on the side to break through!
Matías Fernández rushed up from the back and tried to overtake to tackle the ball.
Quaresma noticed Fernández accelerating and approaching. He calculated precisely when Fernández made a move to intercept the ball to suddenly make a stop. He hooked the football back with his right foot and then pushed forward with the arch of his left foot to bypass Fernández!
Next, he started the acceleration again, shook off Fernández, caught up with the football and directly confronted Leighton Baines. Not far from Baines was George Wood, lying in wait for him to bypass Baines so that he could rush up to tackle the ball.
Fernández saw Wood on the side and gave up the chase. He believed the captain and Baines would be able to hold off Quaresma.
Baines did not manage to defend Quaresma alone. He was bypassed by Quaresma with a back heel and a quick stop. Following which, just as Quaresma was about to enter the penalty area, George Wood pounced toward him.
The football was on the left side of Quaresma’s body at this time. He was a right-footed player and needed to adjust. That would be Wood’s chance!
Wood’s entire person was as if he were being pulled with a tight bow string and his eyes were fixed squarely on Quaresma’s movements.
He saw Quaresma made an emergency stop and bypassed Baines. After which, he started to turn around. It was expected that he would use his left foot to snap the ball back and then simply cut into the penalty area. Wood planned to cut cross to meet him on the way and hit him head-on.
But then he saw a scene that widened his eyes—
Quaresma did not continue to dribble the ball. His left foot stepped on the ground with force and he turned around to lift his right leg toward the football… and volleyed!
In that moment, George Wood’s eyes widened, and he was unresponsive. Because he saw… Quaresma used his outer instep!
The football flew in front of Wood’s face, drawing a strange arc. Looking the movement of his lifted leg, it did not look like a shot but to say it was a cross pass…
Had anyone ever seen a cross pass into the goal?
The football leaped high to bypass everyone in the penalty area and then fell straight into the far corner of the goal. The goalkeeper, Akinfeev was unable to defend in time. When he jumped up and tried his best to reach out, his extended hands could not touch the ball.
Everyone witnessed Quaresma’s signature goal at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium.
“What a great GOOOOOAL——”
The football fell into the net from the junction of the goalpost and the crossbar.
George Wood’s heart sank as his eyes followed the football. What did he see? The right outer instep volleyed the ball in an arc and bypassed all the defenders to drill into the goal from the most unlikely angle…
It was a complete surprise!
“A beautiful goal from Quaresma! Just five minutes later, he single-handedly equalized the scores for Inter Milan! The once-rumored to-be-purged player pulled his team back with such a brilliant goal! I’m willing to bet this goal will be among the top ten goals in the Champions League this season! It’s so beautiful! The Nottingham Forest players did not react to the shot!”
Quaresma was a little excited after the goal. He pulled his jersey and said words that no one understood. But his teammates did not care what he said. They rushed forward and pushed him to the ground.
Mourinho also rose from the technical area and waved his fists hard. It was lucky to have equalized the score so soon… He was previously worried about how the game would turn out if Nottingham Forest had continued to be in the lead.
It was all good now… He turned his head to look at the thunderous Tony Twain on the side and a proud smile emerged on his face.
Your lead was fleeting. You’re still at my home ground. I want to see how you’re going to play next, Tony Twain!
...
Chapter 788: Missed out on a Golden Opportunity
“Ricardo Quaresma! What a wonderful goal!”
The Giuseppe Meazza Stadium was like a volcano that had just erupted. The lava and flames of the volcano were personified by the fans dressed in blue who were cheering fervently at the stands.
“Quaresma’s outside of the foot pass has made a name for itself, and Quaresma has just demonstrated that very stunt to us in this Champions League game! The goal leaves all the Nottingham Forest players stunned!”
All the Nottingham Forest players were indeed stunned.
Quaresma’s goal shows how imaginative he was as a player…
There were certain Forest players who knew beforehand how Quaresma liked to use the outside of his right foot to make such shots down the right flank, but no one expected him to succeed on his very first try!
Tiago was Quaresma’s team mate on the Portugese national team. He had reminded his Forest’s team mates not to underestimate Quaresma’s individual skills and abilities prior to the start of the match.
He had said those words out of good intentions, but he did not expect Quaresma to perform as he did, and neither did he expect his passing remark to come true.
George Wood stood rooted at the spot. Quaresma had already run away from him to celebrate his goal with a dance.
Wood suddenly felt humiliated, and so he clenched his fists tightly. It was not because he saw Quaresma to be a terrific player who made him feel helpless all over, but rather, it was because he had overly relied on his experience, which resulted in him not stopping Quaresma’s shot.
If only he had not waited in front of him and had just pounced at him earlier, perhaps he would have had a way to stick close to Quaresma and not give him a chance to shoot for goal.
Everyone else was heaping praises on Quaresma for his brilliant techniques. George Wood was the only one who saw Quaresma’s goal as nothing more than a result of his own personal mistakes.
He is the one to be blamed for the goal. He has to come up with a way to amend.
※※※
Mourinho celebrated the goal without restraint by the side of the pitch, whereas Tony Twain swore profusely, “F*ck! F*ck this! F*ck it all!”
He did not know who he should blame and scold for Quaresma’s goal, because his goal was impeccable.
He was not abnormal like Wood. He does not set high standards on himself, and thus, he would not pin the blame for the goal on Wood’s hesitance. He would definitely not pin the blame on his tactics either. Quaresma’s goal had nothing to do with his tactics.
He just felt really upset because the score had been levelled when his team had barely gone into the lead for five minutes. It was a blow to the team.
The players’ morale and confidence would both be affected. They might also lose their concentration in the game temporarily here and there. All these effects could lead to dire consequences in the match.
Twain sat on the chair and vented his unhappiness through the use of swear words. Thereafter, he got to his feet and walked to the side of the pitch.
He might be upset right now, but he needed to cheer his team on. He can’t let the goal undermine his army’s morale.
The Nottingham Forest players looked preoccupied, as though their souls had left their bodies. They were only able to lead their opponents for five minutes before the score was levelled…
It was quite the blow to their morale.
Wood was not the kind of captain who could encourage and boost his team mates’ morale by giving them a loud and impassioned speech. However, someone definitely needs to come out and say a few words to calm everyone down with the situation that they are currently in.
Where could he find such a person?
That person is right by the side of the pitch.
“Bastard! You bunch of wusses! It’s just a draw! Don’t forget that we have an away goal! What are you guys so depressed about?” Tony Twain stood by the side of the pitch and yelled at the players while gesticulating about. “Score another f*cking goal now that the score is tied! If one away goal is not enough then for f*ck’s sake score two away goals! Three away goals! Four away goals!”
Twain did Wood’s job for him. The only thing he did not do was to point his middle finger at the dejected players who had their heads drooped.
Frankly, given the cacophonous environment within the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium, several of the players who were situated a distance away from Twain could not hear what he was yelling about at all. However, the moment they saw their boss standing by the pitch and making a few gestures at them, their unsettled hearts were able to settle down.
How is he not the emotional pillar of the team?
How is he not a natural born leader?
It was such a pity that Twain could not get on the pitch and play in the game.
Mourinho noticed Twain jumping up at down by the side of the pitch, and he snorted at the sight.
He also heard everything that Twain said earlier. He was a multilingual Portuguese who could speak many other languages, and his familiarity with English was perhaps second only to his mother tongue, Portuguese.
I didn’t think this guy’s temper would still be as fiery as before. I thought he would act with more restraint after suffering from a heart attack. That string of swear words that he just spewed really tested the masses’ tolerance towards him. Isn’t he afraid that his heart attack might relapse someday due to him being overly agitated?
But…
A feeling of nostalgia surged up from within.
You rarely get to hear such fiery swear words being used this profusely by the side of the pitch during an Italian game, and it is also very rare that you get to see such a great pitchside performance. In England however, such scenes are not uncommon. Things were worse at the games between Chelsea and Nottingham Forest.
※※※
Inter Milan had originally intended to attack Forest’s half ferociously after the match restarted. They wanted to take advantage of the momentum of the game that had swung in their favor after they scored the goal. However, Nottingham Forest shifted their entire formation backwards and made themselves more compact defense-wise, and they started employing the tactic of defending and going on the counterattack. It made it difficult for Inter Milan to gain any sort of progress.
This time, it was Mourinho’s turn to stand up from his seat and make adjustments to his tactics.
Mourinho gestured for his players to move backwards as well. He wanted them to pay attention to the empty space behind them. His team must never charge ahead mindlessly during matches against Nottingham Forest. The more his team gains an upper hand in the match, the more dangerous it gets for his team.
As a manager who has faced off with Twain numerous times, Mourinho knows Twain’s tactical ideologies and habits like the back of his hand. It might seem as though Forest is intent on playing an attacking style football with their 4-2-3-1 formation that Twain even called as ‘his own Christmas tree’, but in actuality, Twain was a utilitarian at heart. If going on the offense doesn’t bring success to his team, then he has no qualms about throwing that tactic out the window and reverting back to his previous tactic of defending and going on the counterattack.
Inter Milan’s fans were singing and dancing at the stands to celebrate the fact that their team has the upper hand in the game right now.
Even the players started to get ahead of themselves. Maicon Sisenando rushed up the pitch and never returned. Do those players have a death wish?
Mourinho could now allow his players to behave like that any longer. He needed to eliminate any possible risks before they became a threat to his team.
Perhaps Mourinho was not persuasive enough.
Nottingham Forest went on the offense once and all the Inter Milan fans at the stands went silent.
Zlatan Ibrahimović displayed his ball handling techniques before Forest’s penalty box. He made several feints, but he was not able to cause George Wood to lose his balance. Left with no other choice, he then passed the ball over to Quaresma who was on the right flank.
Quaresma’s goal at the start of the match has allowed everyone to recognize that he was in a brilliant form today. His team mates started passing the ball over to him more often, especially after Forest started to make its defense more compact, because they hoped that he would be able to make use of his personal skills and abilities to break through Nottingham Forest’s airtight defense.
The ball from Ibrahimović was snatched away by Tiago before it reached Quaresma’s feet.
Almost all of Inter Milan’s players had moved up the pitch when they attacked Nottingham Forest’s goalpost earlier. Even their two center backs had moved towards the center circle to try and see if they could contribute to their team’s offense.
What a good chance this is!
Nottingham Forest fans habitually cheered at the top of their voices after seeing Tiago snatch the ball from Quaresma. They were cheering as though their team had just scored a goal.
Inter Milan fans were puzzled by their cheers. They thought that Nottingham Forest fans were all unambitious people who would get excited over a simple thing such as snatching the ball away.
The Inter Milan fans began cheering their players on even louder, hoping to drown out Nottingham Forest fans’ cheers with their voices.
Tiago passed the ball over to George Wood without hesitation. Wood was positioned closest to him and was also the easiest to pass to.
Ibrahimović was situated right before Wood. He stuck out a leg to try and snatch the ball away, but unlike his offensive abilities, his defensive abilities were amateurish. All he was doing was to ‘put on a show’ that he was trying to defend.
Wood was able to get past the Swedish effortlessly.
Thereafter, Wood brought the ball forward. He had already passed the ball over to Şahin while Esteban Cambiasso tried to chase after him.
Şahin turned around and began darting towards the flank. Ibišević was also running towards the same place as him. The two of them attracted both of Inter Milan’s center backs, Walter Samuel and Nicolás Burdisso, over to them. However, when the center backs were closing in on them, Şahin suddenly turned around and passed the ball in the opposite direction to the one that he was running in!
The one who received his pass was Matías Fernández, who had also run to the front of the pitch.
The runs from both Şahin and Ibišević had caused the Inter Milan’s defense to be scattered, which is why when Fernández picked up the ball, there was no one before him…
Inter Milan fans finally understood why the Nottingham Forest fans were so pumped up earlier…
Because those fans have gotten even more stoked now.
“Fernández has received the ball! There’s no one ahead of him, he can make his way straight into the penalty box!”
“F*ck!” Mourinho could not help but swear in exasperation. He did not need to turn his head to look at Tony Twain. He could already imagine the smile that would be on his face.
Nottingham Forest have been acting as though they are on the losing end all this while, but this was the moment they have been waiting for!
Mourinho’s heart was in his mouth the moment he saw Fernández make his way into Inter Milan’s penalty box. He felt that Forest would definitely score, because there was no way that Forest’s players, who were well known for their abilities to defend and counterattack, would miss on such a chance.
“Charge! Chilean!” Twain urged his player on excitedly by the other side of the pitch.
Inter Milan’s Brazilian goalkeeper Júlio César chose to rush out of his goalpost after seeing that Fernández had made his way into the penalty box. However, he did not pounce for the ball at the Chilean’s feet straight away, because that would only allow Fernández to go past him easily.
He had chosen to rush out of his goalpost so as to try and minimize the angle in which Fernández could shoot. At the same time, he was also able to maintain a considerable distance from both Fernández and the goalpost, which enabled him to stop the other party from shooting. He could also avoid getting too close to his target and being left aside.
Júlio César made the correct decision at the most critical time.
Fernández had initially intended to get past César when the latter pounced at him, but when he looked up, he realized that César did not get close to him and had instead laid down horizontally on the ground. Fernández was at a loss since things did not go according to his plan.
He could not just leave the ball there while he thought about how to deal with the unexpected situation. Both Walter Samuel and Nicolás Burdisso had turned around and were rushing for him after realizing that they had walked into a trap. There were also other Inter Milan players who were charging for him as well. The chance that he had to score was beginning to slip away from him.
Fernández was in a state of panic, and he chose to raise his leg and shoot for goal straight away.
The ball rolled towards the goalpost.
César pounced towards the ball, but he made an error in his judgement!
Unfortunately, Fernández’s shot was too straight and did not have an angle to it. César was not able to get the ball with his hands, but his legs were able to get the ball away!
All the Inter Milan fans held their breaths when Fernández shot at the goalpost.
When César kept the ball away however, the ones who could not breathe were the Nottingham Forest fans.
The fans of both teams experienced an emotional rollercoaster at the same time.
They should really give each other a hug for going through the same experience…
“Fernández shoots! Ah! Júlio César! He has saved the hearts of all the Inter Milan fans!”
In truth, the ball had not gone out of play after being blocked by César. However, Fernández’s heart had been dealt a heavy blow by then, and all he could do was stand rooted at the spot. Instead of rushing forward to attempt another shot at goal, Fernández hugged his head with both hands and watched in disbelief as the ball rolled towards the edge of the end line. Nicolás Burdisso was the player who eventually sent the ball away from their goalpost.
Ibišević, who had also rushed into the penalty box, was very upset with Fernández’s performance. He yelled at the Chilean who had his hands around his head, “What were you doing just now? You should have gone and retrieved the ball and tried a second time, not stand there and stare into space!”
Fortunately, Şahin was able to pull him away from Fernández before things escalated.
Fernández did not appear to have heard Ibišević’s words. All he did was to continue to stand at the spot and hug his head like a fool.
※※※
Mourinho felt as though he had just experienced a heart attack, and there was a lingering feeling of fear within him after going through the calamity. He wanted to sit down and rest for a little, so he turned around and looked for his seat.
Tony Twain, on the other hand, was gritting his teeth tightly as he stared at the pitch. He was unable to say a single word.
Both Kerslake and Dunn who were behind him were thinking about how Fernández would not be able to escape a dressing-down from Twain during half-time later.
Even though Forest was not able to score a goal, but their attack was enough to scare the Inter Milan fans speechless.
The commentator was worried for Inter Milan after witnessing the prowess of Nottingham Forest’s tactic of defending and going on the counterattack.
“If Inter Milan is very desperate to get a goal, then they have to be mentally prepared that there is a chance that Nottingham Forest might go on the counterattack and score when they move forward to attack. I bet this is definitely not the situation that Mourinho wishes to see. Thus, changes need to be made to the team right now. It’s suicidal to keep playing the way they are now!”
Fortunately, Inter Milan did not continue playing the way they were.
Just like Tony Twain, Mourinho also made use of his rich body language and yells to remind his players to pay attention to their defense and not move forward too much. His players were also clearly frightened after Forest’s previous counterattack, and they have all retreated backwards.
The two sides then engaged in a battle in the midfield.
Twain wants to obtain away goals, but one goal was far from enough. Nottingham Forest has to keep going on the offense.
For the remainder of the first half, Nottingham Forest became the team on the offense, and Inter Milan became the team who seemed to be playing defend and counterattack.
The 4-2-3-1 formation was truly a formation that allowed the team to be much more powerful in their attacks. Having five players in the midfield allowed Forest’s defense in the midfield to be very solid.
On the other hand, Inter Milan did not dare to commit too many players to its offense, and so they were not able to find many ways to attack.
The matched continued to be in a stalemate. Both sides were able to get a few good chances, but neither side grasped at those chances. Just like this, the first half ended with the score being 1:1. Nottingham Forest has an away goal and also has the upper hand in the match so far. However, no one knew what would happen in the second half, because both managers were capable of making tweaks to their teams that could completely change the situation on the pitch.
Moreover, this was a match between those two very managers. There was no way they would not make changes to their teams.
The commentator was content with how both teams had each scored a goal in the first half. “The match has not been boring so far, and both teams have scored brilliant goals. Both teams also had good chances in the first half. I believe that the match will never be boring with these two managers in charge. The first half has proven my point…”
There was a reason why he said those words. The faces on both managers were not very pleasant when they walked towards their respective locker rooms, and it meant that they were not happy with how things had progressed in the first half. Since they are not happy, they would definitely make some adjustments to their teams, and that would make the second half even more exciting than the first…
How great would it be if all football matches were like this one, and only involved a battle between strong teams!
That was the thought on the minds of all the football fans watching the match who were not fans of either team.
...
Chapter 789 - Be Crazy Together!
There was a little bit of noise in the dressing room. Everyone was talking about the first half and forming their own opinions, or advising other team-mates on how to do better. Only Fernández sat in his seat with his head bowed, playing with the towel in his hand. It was as if he was back to his unsociable form at the start when he first joined the team. He was still regretting that he had missed the shot in the first half.
All the players came in, and Twain was the last to enter the dressing room, the door closed behind him, and the noise outside was gone almost instantly. Hearing the sudden silence in the dressing room, Fernández knew who was coming, so he kept his head bowed. After more than half a season of interaction, he had figured out the head’s temper. The team had a chance to take the lead to end the first half, but they had to accept the draw because of his own mistakes. The King of Nottingham Forest must be very, very unhappy, so there was no way he could escape the scolding.As a player, Fernández was not a man who liked to talk back to the manager, so he chose to suffer such a rebuke in silence.
The expression on Twain’s face after he entered the house signaled to the others that he was going to curse. His eyes swept around the dressing room and ended up on the boy, who was holding his head and fiddling with the towel in his hand.
Honestly, the only thing he felt when Fernández missed the ball was pity, but seeing Fernández stand stock-still in place instead of choosing to continue running and go for another shot angered him. Twain could tolerate bad luck or bad shooting, but he would never tolerate a player just giving up.
As a result, he appreciated the actions of Ibišević after that — rushing up to the Fernández to snarl and express his displeasure. Twain did not think that this kind of behavior would affect the harmony of the team. On the contrary, he felt that if everyone in the team were like Ibišević, the atmosphere in the dressing room would be harmonious to the maximum. What he needed was a team eager to win, not a team that sacrificed some of its most valuable things for harmony.
Twain went straight to Fernández, stopped in front of him, and cast him in his shadow. “Matías What are you looking so annoyed about?” He knew Fernández could understand him. The latter had been in England for half a year, so even though he was not fluent, he could still understand well enough.
Fernández could not ignore Twain. In simple English, he stuttered out, “That ball….did not go in…”
“Was it just that?”
Fernández didn’t know what Twain was talking about. Other than that mistake in the first half, his performance was average and he made no mistakes.
“Actually, I don’t care if the ball gets in.” Twain shook his head. ” I really don’t care. After all, we already have an away goal.” As his voice rang out in the locker room, the attention of the rest of the public was directed at him and Fernández.
“I’m disappointed with your performance, Matías.” Twain stood,while Fernández sat, and instead of bending down and saying this to Fernández, he leaned over and looked down at him. “I don’t care if you score a goal, what I care about is your attitude. Look at what you did after you lost your first kick. You just stood where you were and held your head in your hands. What, were you under attack?”
Twain’s voice rose sharply, and everyone flinched even though they knew what was coming. It was like being in a car on a bumpy mountain road and hitting your head on the ceiling of the car with a bang.
Twain gritted his teeth and stared at Fernández. There were basically sparks coming out of his eyes. “As long as the ball is not out of bounds, you will rush up to the ball to assist the shot! Even if you kick the ball into outer space, I won’t have any complaints. If the other side gets the ball first, you kick the ball and him into outer space!”
With his bad-tempered boss scolding him, Fernández’s head was buried lower.
Twain hated this attitude. He reached out and dragged Fernández from his seat. “Keep your head up! It’s just a goal which didn’t go in, what’s so great about it? No matter when it is, you have to be full of fighting spirit! Fight! What is fighting spirit? Fighting spirit is to not admit defeat till death! It’s when someone calls you trash and you rush up to fight them. Don’t just keep your head down and and not say a word! ”
Don was a little worried about Twain’s heart, and he coughed next to him, but he didn’t expect Twain to look back and stare at him, “You’re sick or something, Don?”
“Well, uh…no, I’m not.” Don knew it was better if he kept quiet.
“Yes, I’m sorry, Chief.” Fernández hurriedly apologized..
“Don’t pull this with me! What are you sorry for? Fighting spirit is not when someone else scolds you and you kneel down to beg for mercy! What should you do? What should you do? ”
Although Fernández had not been at Nottingham Forest long, he knew more or less what he had to do. So he looked up and said, “I’ll try to make up for it in the second half, Chief.”
Twain loosened his grip on Fernández’s shoulder and patted him. His face immediately brightened. “That’s good. It seems you understand.”
Although Twain was known to scold people without mercy, it would be better to look at this from another angle. If you did not treat this as a “scolding”, perhaps it would not be so uncomfortable-. Twain was actually teaching you how to see reason, just more intensely and vigorously, with more emotion and extreme methods.
After helping Fernández see reason, Twain turned to look at the rest of the locker room. “In the first half you guys did a good job. We scored an away goal, that lost goal…” He glanced at George Wood. “It was not the fault of any of you.” He noticed that Wood’s facial muscles moved a little and he was happy.
“But we need to make some adjustments. It looks like Quaresma is in great form today and if Mourinho is smart, he would make big use of it in the second half. We need to pay attention to his watch. George, I remember you’re on the right? ”
Wood nodded, “Yes.”
In the back, Wood tends to the right and Thiago, to his left.
“In the second half, you and Thiago will change positions to come to the left. On defense, help Barnes and Fernández limit Quaresma to the sideline. ”
That was what Wood wanted to hear the most. His answer was even louder, “OK! ”
Of course, Twain knew what Woodwas thinking, so he added, “Try not to foul, and definitely don’t get any cards. ”
Although Wood had stopped getting cards unnecessarily these days, Twain thought it was necessary to remind him again. Allowing Wood to guard Quaresma when he was so keyed up was a double-edged sword that might cut his own fingers and result in a huge loss.
“Guys, Inter Milan wants to play our defensive counter-attack, so in the second half you need to pay more attention to the defence than in the first half. We will start with defending, and slowly toughen up with Milan at the midfield. Once the situation is good for us, they will become more on edge as the game goes on and throw aside Mourinho’s tactics, as long as they cannot score in the later part of the game. That will be our chance.”
Pepe stood up and asked, “Chief, are you saying we defend against counter-attacks in the second half?” ”
Twain made a thumbs up, “Yes! ”
※※※
While Twain was “reasoning” with Fernández in the dressing room, Mourinho was busy telling his players about the second-half tactical adjustments.
The score of 1-1 in the first half, while containing some occasional elements, was also telling. Mourinho discovered one thing: Inter Milan would undoubtedly lose out if he assumed Tony Twain had not changed.
What did he mean by ‘change”? It was saying how Tony Twain himself and his team were not very good at positional warfare. When their opponents secured their defense and counter-attacked Nottingham Forest, Tony Twain and his players would run out of plays and could only rely on some free kicks and luck to win the contest. At least that habit did not improve until Mourinho left England.
But judging by the first half, Nottingham Forest was now completely out of the question of not being good at the position. Twain’s special “Christmas tree” formation was the best choice for battle. The first attack in the battle of the position was often not important, the important thing was the following attacks. In this aspect, it was easier to accomplish that with Nottingham Forest’s current midfield. The midfield has thickness, the attack had different layers, the defense also had depth, so it would not be as easy for the opponent to counter attack after a failed attack. Their opponents would also not be able to break through a whole area after breaking in at a point. At the time they were surrounding the midfield while playing around Inter Milan at half-time, they looked like a stronger team.
Mourinho could not guarantee that Inter Milan would survive if Nottingham Forest continued to play like this in the second half, so changes had to be made. He guessed that Twain would not stick to the tactics of pressing Inter Milan in the second half. On second thought, he realised that he would give up on pressing Inter Milan if he were Twain as it left too much space behind him, which made it easier for the opponent to counter-attack.
“… Nottingham Forest’s attack in the second half should not have been as aggressive as it was in the first half, so it was our turn to attack. Also pay attention to our own behind, you can see how sharp their counter-attack is, right? You’ll see it a lot in the second half.”
“Watch out for their two sides and their quick counter-attack. We also need to strengthen our side attacks, with our attacks to suppress their attack. At this point, he glanced at Quaresma.
The Portuguese was listening to the manager’s arrangement with a satisfied smile. Could a game change a player’s fate? Mourinho did not think this situation was ideal, but he did need to use Quaresma’s strength in this game. He said he should pay more attention on the side attacks. Quaresma was also one of the two side roads, so the implication was obvious.
Quaresma was clearly excited about what the manager had shown. He had been a fringe figure at Inter Milan for several seasons and had been disappointed that he could not impress the manager with his brilliant footwork. Now the Champions League quarter-final against Nottingham Forest might be a good opportunity, and the absence of Mancini’s due to his injury might be God’s arrangement. As long as they maintained this state and momentum, it was estimated that he could only be the Brazilian’s reserve even if the latter recovered from his injury.
Such a future was exciting for Quaresma who could not wait to get started in the second half, but Mourinho also made his own demands for Quaresma. ” Riccardo, don’t limit your position to the side. I know you like the feeling of taking the ball on the sideline, but you have to be more flexible in this game. Both sides and middle roads are available. ”
Quaresma nodded to show that he understood; only a fool would shake his head.
After speaking to Quaresma, Mourinho looked to everyone. “The focus of this game is to score goals without losing the ball. You have to remember, 1:1 score is absolutely not good, 2:2 and 3 :3 are not okay! You have to win and you can’t let them score again. Otherwise our home-field advantage is meaningless! Tony Twain and Nottingham Forest want revenge. No matter what he thinks, no matter what others say, the situation is against us, we have reached the edge of the cliff, and we will fall if we’re careless. Every one of you better be careful!”
Mourinho’s last words amounted to a euphemistic admission of his previous mistakes. He once said he did not care if it was a revenge game for Nottingham Forest and that they should just regard it as a normal game to play. But now he found that this was simply not possible. If it were a normal game, then his team was definitely losing. Because the game began with a pre-match war, he had already been pulled into Tony Twain’s orbit.
Tony Twain seemed to have some sort of magical power that could drive the people he had interacted with crazy.
Mourinho could do nothing but go crazy with him now and let the players realise that this game was different from the ordinary games of the past. Why was it different? Not because they blew their heads two seasons ago — that was just an excuse for Twain to play psychological warfare. The reason was simple:
It was because their opponent was Tony Twain.
...
Chapter 790 - Swift Counterattack
At the start of the second half, Nottingham Forest did shrink their defense. Inter Milan, on the other hand, took advantage of their kickoff to launch a fierce attack on the Forest team’s heartland.
Ibrahimović had a shot from inside the penalty area which struck the goalpost and bounced, that startled all the Forest players to break into a cold sweat.
Following which, there was a moment of chaos in front of the goal, with Rossi falling to the ground amid the chaos and the football being taken by the goalkeeper, Akinfeev. The Inter Milan players immediately raised their hands to signal a foul on the Nottingham Forest players, which should result in a penalty kick. The Nottingham Forest players also raised their hands to show their innocence.
The referee made his own judgment and he gestured for Rossi to get up.
Deafening boos broke out at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium for his gesture.
The Inter Milan players did not protest much because it was indeed not a foul… They did that before in hope to give the referee a wrong message amid the chaos and put pressure on him to award a penalty kick in their favor. They did not expect the referee to be able to distinguish right and wrong with acuity. In that case, there was no need to continue the entanglement.
After five or six minutes of chaos in the opening, the situation was back in balance.
Inter Milan attacked, but they were afraid to put in all their strength and thus not be able to put the most amount of pressure on the Forest team’s defensive line. Nottingham Forest was naturally be able to hold on.
Nottingham Forest had shrunk their defense and was not strong on the offense, giving Inter Milan a chance to attack.
One team wanted to attack, and the other side must defend. So, the game was back in balance.
※※※
Quaresma was more active than in the first half. At the halftime interval, he saw hope in Mourinho’s words, and it was an opportunity to seize. He had a year and a half left on his contract with Inter Milan. If he still did not have a convincing performance, then his departure from Meazza at that time would only be the inevitable result.
He raised his hand frequently on the field to ask for the ball.
Montolivo passed the ball to him and Leighton Baines immediately leaned closer. Quaresma was not afraid of one-on-one confrontation, even two over one—behind Baines was Wood, the defensive midfielder they revered.
He intended to get rid of Baines first, and then face Wood in a one-on-one duel. He wanted to play with the hotly anticipated defensive midfielder in the football world to prove his ability to stay in Meazza.
Unfortunately, Quaresma did not eventually encounter BOSS George Wood this time. He hit a wall with Baines. He was too eager to break through but forced himself to a dead end instead. Not only did he miss the opportunity for the tactic, he could not dribble the football out. It was finally jabbed out by Baines.
Anyway, Quaresma used his consummate skill to win an out-of-bounds ball for Inter Milan…
For a while after, Quaresma was obsessed with a duel against Baines in the flank, much to Mourinho’s displeasure. In the end, he could no longer tolerate it and stood on the sidelines to shout Quaresma’s name, reminding him not to always wander around the side.
Quaresma also found out about this problem—if he was always on the side, he would not be able to run into George Wood, because Wood was also in charge of the defense in the middle and could not run to the side to stay.
While the Portuguese winger preferred and was more accustomed to the side, he had decided to move to the middle the game in order to prove to the manager that he was a good player who was battle ready and could win the game.
The first time he came face-to-face with Wood, he used a beautiful step over move to bypass a defensive line and send the ball out—it was a clever move, even though Quaresma did not realize it at the time.
The Portuguese was encouraged by his first successful attempt to trick Wood into losing his center of gravity and decided to directly challenge with a breakthrough next.
The second time, he changed into a feint, dribbling the ball at a high speed from the side and cutting inside. Then he changed direction with his ankle and subtle control of speed to get rid of the defenders. He managed to get rid of Baines, but not Wood.
When Wood’s powerful body leaned close, Quaresma suddenly felt that the football under his feet had become unmanageable.
A powerful force pressed against him, preventing him from controlling the ball under his feet. The football bounced on the ground and he extended his leg to hook the ball while he leaned his body against Wood. Did he want to fight Wood with his body? He failed.
Wood struck Quaresma who was dribbling the ball and caused him to tumble but it was not even a foul. It was just a reasonable collision.
Quaresma was so angry at the referee’s decision that he knelt on the ground and waved his fists. But no one paid attention to him.
However, the Portuguese winger was in fine form for the game. The third time he took advantage of a sudden change of direction to coordinate with his teammate’s running position to bypass Wood.
Wood lost his balance from the swaying and Quaresma easily broke through before passing the ball to Ibrahimović. The Swedish striker swung his leg again for the shot. Akinfeev firmly caught it this time.
The goalkeeper, Akinfeev was clearly unhappy that Wood let the opponent broke through. He held onto the football and did not rush to send it out. He shouted instead, “George, what’s wrong with you?”
Wood waved his hands and looked at Quaresma, saying nothing.
This nimble kid was more difficult to deal with than he thought…
Quaresma lost in the next two one-on-one face-offs that followed.
Mourinho watched for a while on the sidelines and decided not to be silent.
He wanted the team’s offensive focus to shift to Quaresma, but it was not so as to create the condition for this kid to face off against George Wood and play out individual heroism. If he continued to singlehandedly challenge, the team’s offensive would sooner or later be destroyed by him.
Taking advantage of a dead ball, he called over Quaresma who was near the sidelines. He said, “Ricardo, I instructed you to take charge of the offensive, it’s not so that you can face off the opponent individually. Have you not played professional football before?”
Quaresma also felt that he was being excessive for that period. He bowed his head and said, “I know, coach…”
“When you have a face-off with George Wood, you have already fallen for Tony Twain’s ploy! Wood’s one-on-one defense is very good. If you continue to play like this, I can only consider bringing you off, no matter how good your form is!” Mourinho said seriously with a straight face. He and Quaresma were both Portuguese, so there was no language barrier. He could be certain that Quaresma would not have a situation where he did not understand what he said and continued in his own way.
“If you get it, get back on the field!”
Mourinho shoved Quaresma back.
Following which, some interesting developments happened in the game. Quaresma remained as Inter Milan’s playmaker, but he was no longer obsessed with challenging Wood or Baines. He would only choose to break through if the timing was right. More often than not, he would lure Wood over and then pass the football out.
This time, Inter Milan’s offensive became alive.
Quaresma was no longer the end point of the offensive, but more like a relay station—the ball was passed to his feet and he could make his own breakthrough or pass to his other teammates based on his own observation of the situation. Such an offensive approach was obviously better than letting Quaresma try his best to break through Wood.
Nottingham Forest also found it more difficult to defend. Before, they only needed to defend against Quaresma. Now they needed to defend all the Inter Milan players and not miss any positions. Otherwise it was possible to…
※※※
“Quaresma gets the ball again, and he’ll choose whether to break through or pass…”
As soon as the voice trailed off, Quaresma chose to force a breakthrough. Baines planned to come up to shovel the football out, but he was easily bypassed. This time he did not choose to go to the middle and clash with George Wood, but he picked a better soft touch.
Breaking through Baines, he could pass, and he could also go straight into the penalty area. Once he entered the penalty area, the Nottingham Forest goal would be in danger.
George Wood certainly would not let that happen. He rushed over to stop Quaresma from breaking through, but also to guard against his outer instep shot.
When he saw Wood coming, Quaresma picked up his right foot. This time he did not want to shoot straight at the goal—he sent the ball to the front of the penalty area.
Cambiasso received the ball and Tiago rushed up to cover the position. Wood also turned around to dash back. Quaresma did not pose a threat without the ball, and Baines returned to be in charge of defending against him.
Tiago blocked Cambiasso’s direct shot angle, but Cambiasso did not want to shoot for the goal. After he did a feint to look like he was going to charge into the penalty area, he passed the ball to the flank where Nottingham Forest’s defense was the weakest.
Maicon suddenly slotted in from the side like a bullet train and received Cambiasso’s pass.
None of the Nottingham Forest players noticed his plug-in, including George Wood. Their defensive attention was all attracted by Quaresma, Cambiasso and Ibrahimović.
Maicon kicked the incoming ball straight on and volleyed hard!
The football whistled through the heavily guarded penalty area like a cannonball and flew toward the far corner of the goal!
“Maicon’s long shot—”
The commentator lengthened the end of his voice, which was accompanied by cheers from the Inter Milan fans.
Everyone was convinced that the ball was in!
But there was one man who did not believe it.
Akinfeev took a step to the right and then jumped. He stretched his body in the air, extended his arms and flew toward the football.
The football was cut off in the air by a pair of big hands like a scud encountered a MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missile.
The commentator’s tail end of his voice and the cheers of the Inter Milan fans came to an abrupt end.
Maicon gave a long sigh out of frustration after he saw what happened.
Just as he looked up at the sky, Akinfeev, who had fallen to the ground, had already climbed up and threw the football out with his hands without hesitation—it was a chance for Nottingham Forest to fight back!
The football was thrown at Bentley’s feet and he did not turn to take the ball forward. Because he knew that he did not have a speed advantage in the counterattack. If he were to break forward and could not find a point to pass, the ball could only be intercepted by the other side. Even if he managed to protect the ball, he would also lose a quick counterattack opportunity.
The best way was not to dribble the ball himself, but to pass the ball.
Who should he pass the ball to?
Most of his teammates were still defending in the backfield. There was no one who could show up in the front. He looked up to take a glimpse and saw his captain.
Wood had originally wanted to defend against Cambiasso, but Cambiasso passed the ball to Maicon, leaving him empty. However, it was a help to him—when Akinfeev caught the ball, only George Wood was heading in the direction of the offensive and cutting out to sprint. . .
He looked back at Akinfeev and made the choice to continue running forward immediately.
As he had anticipated, Akinfeev thought the same as him—this was a great opportunity for Nottingham Forest to fight back quickly!
Bentley passed the ball to the only Nottingham Forest player who was running forward in his line of sight.
By the time George Wood received the ball in the middle, he had left behind a number of Inter Milan and Nottingham Forest players. Now he had adjusted his forward direction well, which directly faced Inter Milan’s goal!
Cambiasso rushed up diagonally from the back. He wanted to intercept the ball while Wood had not yet accelerated. The worst that could happen would be a tactical foul.
Wood poked the ball forward. Instead of shoveling the football, he shoveled Wood’s feet.
The man who was shoveled at his feet did not seem to be George Wood. He only stumbled once and continued to maintain his balance to accelerate!
“George Wood dribbles the ball and avoids Cambiasso’s tackle from behind! He’s sprinting forward! This is Nottingham Forest’s counterattack at its best!”
The Nottingham Forest fans’ cheers grew louder.
“Stop him! He’s only one person!” Cambiasso, who had failed in the tackle, shouted as he laid on the ground. He certainly knew what it meant to let Wood get away with it. But maybe the situation was not that bad, because Nottingham Forest just wanted to fight back quickly, so there were not too many people there to support at the moment. George Wood could not do much if he broke through to the forefront alone.
In the blink of an eye, Wood had already dribbled the ball through the center line.
Burdisso stormed up aggressively and just as he hit Wood, Wood sent the ball out. But Burdisso did not care about the small matter. His target was Wood, not the football.
Wood was knocked out of his original track by Burdisso’s full impact collision and deflected to the right. Did Burdisso succeed?
No!
Wood had also directed the ball to the right side when he sent it out…. Burdisso’s collision helped Wood instead and brought him closer to the football. And what about Burdisso? He used his full strength and center of gravity for the collision just now. After he collided with George Wood with a reckless mentality, he also fell to the ground, but George Wood did not fall to the ground with him.
Chivu, the left back in the game, completely could not keep up in speed with Wood running at full speed. Although the football was kicked toward his side, he could only watch Wood’s back soar through his zone, fast as lightning and turned into the penalty area.
Inter Milan’s last line of defense was made up of two men: Samuel and the goalkeeper, César.
Samuel was smarter than Burdisso. H was not stupid enough to hit him straight on. He just blocked the inner line and forced Wood to the side. He would succeed as long as he forced him to the side.
Wood waded into the penalty area and Samuel came up. He did not make a move and just ran with Wood. He was not afraid that he did not have an advantage in speed, because Wood had slowed down a while ago. He could not rush inside the penalty area.
Wood made to look like he was going to shoot, so Samuel leaned his body closer, but did not throw his entire weight into it. If Wood did not shoot again, he would not have a chance.
George Wood decided to force a shot. How about Samuel and César? He would just blow them apart!
This time Wood swung his leg again, and Samuel continued to lean his body closer to interfere. Wood shot directly at the goal!
The football whistled and flew past Samuel to charge into the near corner of the goal.
Even César had already sealed the angle, the football still found a crack and hit on the nearest goalpost…
A crackling sound and the football seemed to hit the hearts of all Inter Milan fans, collectively caused their hearts to stop.
The scene they were most afraid to see did not happen in the next second. The football hit the goalpost but did not bounce into the goal. Instead, it rebounded out!
“Ss—-” The gasps from the Inter Milan fans could be clearly heard at the raucous Meazza Stadium.
César laid on the ground, Samuel was on the ground, and George Wood was also on the ground. Was this the end of the attack?
No way!
“Matías Fernández!”
The Chilean appeared in the penalty area. Only Burdisso was around him. But now he did not care too much. He only had eyes for the rebounded football.
The boss seemed to be growling in his ear at this time, “See that football? It’s bouncing in front of you, laughing at you that you can’t shoot it in, can’t shoot it in, can’t shoot it in! Even if it’s an empty goal, you can’t—shoot—it—in——!! You’re a coward who only knows to hold your head and cry when your first shot is blocked!”
Burdisso tried to get the ball out first to lift the siege, only to find himself unable to move after Fernández leaned in—his position was completely blocked by the Chilean.
The next thing was simple.
Fernández picked up his right foot and faced Júlio César, who had gotten up from the ground. He knocked the football hard toward the goal!
“GOOOOOOOAL——!!”
The Chilean finally completed his self-redemption…
...
Chapter 791 - Two Away Goals
“George Wood dribbles the ball and breaks through! He breaks into the penalty area! Against Samuel’s and César’s defense… He shoots! Oh, but the football hit the goalpost… Wait a minute! Matías Fernández! He shakes off Burdisso’s defense, shoots high in the air sideways and —GOOOOOOOOOAL!!”
The football hit hard into the net. César only just flew to the spot but to no avail…
Fernández, who scored the goal, looked very excited as he ran toward the corner flag. He pulled his jersey and roared. He was finally able to relieve his frustration.
Although it was him who scored the goal, the man who got the most attention was George Wood. The television coverage cut to a close-up of Wood immediately after the goal, which even led some viewers to mistake George Wood was the one to score the goal…
Fernández helped Nottingham Forest to score and take the lead again. But the thrilling part of the goal was not his makeup shot, but that George Wood’s previous consecutive bypasses to shoot at the goal. It was a pity he was unlucky. The football hit the goalpost. Otherwise it would have become one of the memorable goals in his career!” The commentator gave high praise to George Wood.
Even Tony Twain below felt it was a great pity about Wood’s failure to score. Then he remembered that he should applaud Fernández’s shot…
Who was the happiest person to see Wood perform like this? It was not the excited commentator nor Tony Twain who held his head in his hands in disbelief at what he saw. It was not even the Nottingham Forest fans but Albertini, sitting in the box above the pitch.
When Demetrio saw Wood dribble the ball past several people in the midfield, he had already risen from his seat. When Wood shot at the goal at last, he could not help but shout “goal” in advance, but unfortunately … the football hit the goalpost in the end.
But that was not the most important thing. Albertini was very happy he saw a different George Wood from whom he had seen before. It could even be said that he was even more outstanding that the George Wood he had imagined before.
Albertini wanted Wood to become a defensive midfielder who could control the entire team’s pace of offense and defense, just like AC Milan’s Pirlo. But judging by his performance in this game, he was getting closer to the combination of Kaka and Pirlo…
He could use the passes to dispatch the team and also had his own ability to dribble the ball forward to break through at the same time. It was just formidable…
Watching the game with Albertini was his good friend, AC Milan’s iconic figure and retired Paulo Maldini. He laughed when he saw Albertini this excited, “It looks like your feelings for Nottingham Forest run really deep.”
“Other than AC Milan, it’s them.” Albertini continued to clap and said, “After all, I also got the… oh.”
He had wanted to say he had won a Champions League title there, which was something he never dared to think about. Suddenly he realized that the championship title was snatched from this man next to him.
Maldini did not care, “It’s okay. The championship title belonged to the side that played better. I feel sorry instead… that last summer, Galliani did not bring Wood to San Siro.”
Albertini laughed, “He’s going to become Paulo Maldini of Nottingham Forest.”
He finally ended the applause of several minutes and sat down again. The game on the field had also started again.
Maldini shook his head and was not convinced, “Nottingham Forest is not AC Milan.”
Albertini also seemed to think that his good friend had a point. He said, “To put it another way, if Tony continues to stay at Nottingham Forest, then I think George will stay there too.”
“I was thinking… Galliani had set his heart on getting Wood, but he’d never thought of this method—poach Tony Twain along with George Wood together.”
To hear Maldini say so, Albertini laughed, “Don’t you know the personal feud between Tony and Galliani?”
“I heard a little. But I think… This kind of thing is of little importance in some respect. If AC Milan can offer better pay and other conditions than at Nottingham Forest, I think even the unpleasant thing between Tony Twain and Galliani should disappear?”
Albertini continued to laugh and shook his head as well, “You don’t know Tony, Paulo. He is sometimes very emotional. His personal feelings represent everything. In addition, AC Milan cannot give him anything else other than a higher salary. As for him… As far as I can see, he’s not particularly a fan of money.”
Maldini disagreed, “At the very least we can give him a higher transfer budget. I know he not only has no money to buy players at Nottingham Forest, but also needs to sell players to make money for the club. Have you ever seen such a Champions League manager? I would have quit my job long ago if I have to work in that kind of place…”
“Paulo, do you think Galliani and President Berlusconi will allow Tony to buy the players he wants to buy, and not get involved like obedient kids?”
That remark stumped Maldini. He really did not consider the matter while Demetrio was absolutely right… At AC Milan, the real decision on which player to buy could lie with Galliani, the expert negotiator, Braida, or possibly his father Cesare Maldini. There was even a big chance that it could be Berlusconi. But it would not be the manager.
When he saw that his good friend did not speak, Albertini patted him on the shoulder and said, “Even though there’s not much money at Nottingham Forest, Tony can do what he wants and lives like a king. At AC Milan, he can earn a lot of money, wear the golden crown, look like the king, but he cannot decide on many things. The distinction is decisive. So, don’t think about this impossible thing, Paulo. We all don’t want President Berlusconi to leave his post. Just enjoy watching the game.”
※※※
The game had already progressed another ten minutes while Albertini and Maldini discussed in the box why Twain and Wood could not come to AC Milan.
Mourinho was furious at the goal concede. He left his seat for these ten minutes and stood on the sidelines to supervise and direct the game with a serious face.
He knew how good Nottingham Forest’s counterattack was. He was certain that his players were aware of it too. In that case, what was the problem?
The problem laid with George Wood.
He had not been in the English Premier League for a few year and Wood got better… Mourinho had never seen this outstanding show of dribbling the ball to bypass a few players before in the Premier League. He suddenly plugged in ahead and did an out of character individua breakthrough. He did not pass the ball, resulting in the collapse of Inter Milan’s entire line of defense. Everyone’s attention was on Wood and neglected the other Forest players. And they eventually lost the goal…
Did Inter Milan concede to Nottingham Forest in terms of overall strategy or George Wood’s individual play?
This was really a difficult question to understand.
Therefore, what was Mourinho angry about? Of course, he was furious that he conceded two goals at home! What did it mean to let Tony Twain obtained two away goals? That meant that they were halfway into the top eight!
But what was the use of anger now? The opponent had already scored the goals. His team could only find ways to score a few more goals and minimize their away goal advantage.
However,….. was Inter Milan really confident of scoring more goals with twenty minutes left in the game against Nottingham Forest’s die-hard counterattack style?
※※※
Tony Twain crossed his legs in the technical area. He was enjoying the situation now.
The voices of the Inter Milan fans in the stands behind them became softer. It looked like the Inter Milan fans had been hit hard by Nottingham Forest’s second goal…
The score of 1:2 and the Forest team’s two away goals were like a huge boulder, pressing on the hearts of those people. When they wanted to open their mouths to shout something for the team, they would feel short of breath and tightness in their chests.
What they did not understand the most was why Nottingham Forest suddenly became unrecognizable with a change in the manager. They had not seen it with their previous games. It was reasonable to say that the players’ strength of the current Nottingham Forest team should be not as good as compared to the previous team which they had played against.
How did they break out with such amazing energy when Twain took over?
Could it be possible the man who always liked to provoke a war of words before a game and was derided by the media as a clown, had a mysterious aura?
※※※
The television commentator, who knew Tony Twain well, had already declared that the game had entered a dreary stage.
“Nottingham Forest is in the lead for the away game and even scored two goals. Who can give me a reason that Tony Twain will not defend? And once Nottingham Forest is determined to hold fast, there are not many teams in the world that can breach its goal. Maybe Inter Milan can be one? I do not know. But I’m sure of one thing—Inter Milan must work very, very hard to score goals. Even so, even if they beat Nottingham Forest by 3:2, Tony Twain will also leave Meazza with a smile…”
With such a conundrum placed in front of the Inter Milan supporters, it did not make them feel good. It was no wonder that the voices at the Meazza Stadium became much smaller.
The Inter Milan players launched a fierce attack on the Nottingham Forest goal with fury in their eyes, as if they had collectively taken the same medicine. They attacked wave after wave, each stronger than before.
George Wood did not have a chance to show his offensive talent again. Even Ibišević quickly became the third center back and frequently used his physical superiority to break the siege in front of the goal.
Mourinho brought on Adriano to replace Giuseppe Rossi, which had been inundated by the Nottingham Forest players. Meanwhile, he also repeatedly waved on the sidelines to signal for the team to press on continuously. At this point, he did not care if there were a lot of gaps behind the team, because Nottingham Forest simply could not fight back!
Adriano came on and won some a few chances for the team. However, there were too many people in the Nottingham Forest penalty area…
Inter Milan had also reduced their own offensive space to the lowest level as they besieged the Forest team. It was really not conducive for them to shoot and score goals. As the game wore on, more inter Milan players began to try long shots.
The voices of the Inter Milan fans suddenly grew louder when the game was ten minutes away from injury stoppage time. Although the score was still 1:2, they were not willing to give up. Even if there was little time left, they had to fight until the last minute. Now their highest wish had changed from “a victory” to “an equalizer.”
Even with this wish, Tony Twain did not want them to make it happen. He replaced Fernández with Cohen, who was better defensively, and then used Woodgate to bring off Şahin. He was now playing the 5-4-1 formation with three center backs. It was abundantly clear that they were going to cling fast to defense.
Until the injury stoppage time, Inter Milan still did not break the Nottingham Forest goal. Just when it looked like the game was about to end in this way, a sudden change took place in the game!
※※※
After Ibrahimović received the ball, Adriano and Quaresma, as well as his other teammates in better positions, raised their hands to ask him for the ball. But he did not pass. He chose to force a breakthrough and cut inside.
Just moments after he crossed the line of the penalty area, he was tripped by Tiago!
Meanwhile, a shrill booing rang out at the Meazza Stadium.
Everyone nervously turned to look at the referee. One gesture from him at this moment might just determine the fate of both teams…
“He points to the penalty spot!! My God! Inter Milan has a narrow escape!!”
The Inter Milan players might have just complained that Ibrahimović acted alone again at the crucial moment, but now they were all cheering the Swede and embracing him.
Whereas Tiago, who had been indicating to the referee starting from just now to show that he did not foul, and that Ibrahimović did a dive, was angry. He rushed up to hold the referee’s hand and tell him that it was a dive!
It was not only Tiago who was angry. The rest of the Forest players were also angry. They rushed to the referee and surrounded him.
No one could understand why the referee would make such a decision. Putting aside whether Ibrahimović dived, no one could determine such a matter without a slow-motion replay. After all, it happened so fast. But they all clearly saw that the physical contact between Tiago and Ibrahimović was outside the penalty area…
Even if Tiago had fouled, it should be a free kick, not a penalty kick!
The players were furious on the pitch, while Twain held back the fourth official to express his displeasure, “How can this f**king be a penalty kick?”
“Please mind your language, Mr. Twain.”
“Then please get the referee to pay attention to his eyes! A last-minute penalty kick! He’s got some balls!!”
Dunn saw that Twain was getting more agitated the more he rebuked. For fear that the fourth official was going to tell on him to the referee and then be directly kicked out of the game, he hurriedly gave Kerslake a look and the two men rushed up to drag Twain against his will back to the technical area.
Twain was still scolding, “He’s got some balls! Takes special guts! His balls are exceptionally big!”
“This is a pretty controversial penalty. One must know that it takes courage to give the trailing team a penalty kick nearing the end of the game…It takes guts. The referee must have some hard evidence but let’s take a look at the slow-motion replay… Oh no, it’s outside the penalty area! This is a miscalculation!”
What was the point of the commentator saying that? Once the referee decided on a penalty, he would not change it easily.
He stood at the penalty spot with a serious face and waved his hands to disperse the Forest players who surrounded him. The Inter Milan fans were already shouting slogans in praise in the stands.
Twain snorted, “Forget it! Even if they were to equalize, we still have two away goals!” He decided not to argue with the fourth official. Otherwise the gains would not make up for the losses if he were to argue till he was forced to be in the grandstand… No, there was basically no “gain” at all. It would all be “lost.”
The Forest players on the pitch saw that no matter how they begged, the referee would not change his penalty decision. Not only that, Tiago who fouled and Woodgate, who protested the loudest, were given the yellow cards respectively.
They could only choose to accept the result and withdraw from the penalty area.
Mourinho was delighted that his team was lucky enough to get a penalty kick in the final minute. But he did not show it too much. He and Twain had the same idea at this time—even if they scored the goal, they would only equalize the score. The fact that Nottingham Forest already had two away goals could not be changed like this penalty kick.
Ibrahimović himself carried out the penalty kick. Amidst the Nottingham Forest fans’ boos and the Inter Milan fans’ cheers, he equalized the score at 2:2.
The Inter Milan players embraced excitedly to celebrate the new lease of life after the goal. The Nottingham Forest players were still holding the referee back, wanting to say whether the penalty kick should have been awarded. But this time their tone was much better with no worries about getting a yellow card. Because it was no longer possible to change the score.
Everyone at Inter Milan were celebrating, with the exception of Mourinho.
Twain found Mourinho looking at his side, so he spread out his hands and shrugged at his other man to deliberately taunt the other side. Sure enough, Mourinho soon averted his eyes.
When Twain saw Mourinho like this, he also forgot that the other team had just used the penalty kick to equalize the score. He just grinned.
In any case, he maintained his personal unbeaten record against Mourinho. As long as the record was kept, he could remain strong against Mourinho. If Mourinho wanted to reverse the situation, he would be knocked over by him, and never be allowed to bring about the reversal.
The game ended in a raucous environment, with Nottingham Forest still complaining about the referee’s last-minute “bold penalty” as they left the Meazza Stadium, while the Inter Milan fans expressed concern about the fate of the team’s second leg.
As for the reporters? After finishing the interviews in the mixed zone, they all hurried to the scene of the post-match press conference, looking forward to a good show there—it was Mourinho’s first face-to-face press conference with Tony Twain since Mourinho left England. It would simply be outrageous if there were no explosive content!
...
Chapter 792 - The Post Match Spat
The reporters gathered in the mixed zone had dispersed, with no players waiting there for the reporters. The focus was no longer on them by this time.
In the press room at the San Siro Stadium, a rather special press conference was being held.
The Inter Milan manager, Mourinho sat on the left-hand side while the Nottingham Forest manager, Tony Twain sat on the right-hand side. The English media had not seen this scene for more than three years, so they appeared to be a little excited. But the Italian media thought it was just a normal press conference.
Twain and Mourinho soon showed them what kind of press conference it was…
A practical reporter from [La Gazzetta dello Sport] raised his hand and asked Mourinho to give his opinion on the game.
Mourinho snorted, “We were unlucky to have not been able to win. I’m not happy with the two goal concedes, but that’s the way football is. You can only accept the result…”
Then he said some nonsense which was tantamount to saying nothing.
The same reporter threw the question at Twain, who laughed and said, “Mourinho said they were unlucky? I think they were lucky instead. Otherwise we should have taken three points from here, and not just one. The game is over, so I don’t want to evaluate the referee’s work anymore…” In fact, he did not want to give himself any more trouble. “But I think Mr. Mourinho really should thank God for letting them get the one point.”
A tense situation had already emerged.
Twain took the initiative to provoke, and Mourinho could not resist.
The press conference continued.
Asked by an English reporter this time, he was clearly more aware about the story between Twain and Mourinho than his Italian counterparts. He said, “Mr. Mourinho. You never seemed to have beaten Tony Twain whenever you led the team. It was no exception this time. Do you think this matter has become a vicious circle?”
Mourinho had answered many such questions during his years in England. He was long tired of such questions. So, he decided not to answer.
The atmosphere suddenly became a little awkward. Next to him, Twain raised his hand and saved the situation with a smile, “I can answer your question, Mr. Reporter.”
Mourinho knew that no good words were to be expected from a scoundrel like Twain, so he gave Twain a cool glance.
“Well, it’s like this. Mr. Mourinho and I never cared about this kind of record.” Surprisingly, Twain’s first words were to help Mourinho. “Because it does not illustrate any issue. After all, I have nineteen opponents in the league tournament. Even if I could obtain a complete victory every time I encounter Mourinho’s team, it was only six points. Was six points enough? Not at all. So, I’m more concerned with the championship title than the unbeaten record against Mourinho.”
At this point, everything was still normal.
But then Twain changed his tune.
“But while I don’t particularly value the unbeaten record against Mourinho, I don’t want to lose for no reason. No manager wants to lose. So, I don’t regard Mourinho’s team alone, but treat it as any opponent and try to win. Therefore, the result is… what you’ve seen!”
Twain smugly laughed in the end.
Everyone understood. Twain had gotten what he wanted and still bragged!
His way of handling it was too annoying!
Mourinho very much wanted to silence Twain because he could not refute the matter. What could he say? If he were to say, “I don’t really care about that shit record. I only care about the results,” but the result was that he did not defeat Tony Twain in the game once again. It also led to a stalemate on their promotion path to the Champions League. Or he could say, “Although we haven’t won this time, I promise to win the next time!” It was a little too meaningless. It lacked class to say words like they would definitely win the next time. It was like the promises which a crazy-eyed gambler said when he found someone to borrow money from. Mourinho absolutely could not say such a thing.
With a dark expression, Mourinho wanted to turn and leave abruptly, but he could not. Because his boss, Moratti had already warned him more than once that this was Italy, and not England. He must pay attention to his image, which was also the image of Inter Milan.
The next question was slightly more normal, which was to ask the managers to comment on the performance of the players in the game. Mourinho praised Quaresma’s goal and performance. His words, which were disseminated through the media, would surely delight Quaresma. On the other hand, Twain praised the team. He did not praise anyone alone, even though George Wood played brilliantly in the game. However,…Twain was undoubtedly the reincarnation of a mad dog. He could also create an explosive situation with such a question.
“… I don’t praise any player alone, not because they did not do well. Instead, they played so brilliantly that I couldn’t just praise a few players individually. If I really wanted to name them, I would have to list all the names of the Forest players that played. I’m very pleased with the team’s performance tonight. Even though the game was a draw, we scored two away goals. It was the result of everyone working together. Inter Milan, by contrast, only had a few players that performed normally…” The unspoken implication was should Mourinho have praised Quaresma alone? Because he had no other player to praise except him.
Mourinho was not a fool, but he could only pretend to be dumb at this point. Because he actually lost to Twain. A draw at home was a loss.
The result made him feel sullen. What was even more dour was that he might have faced the result of a home defeat had it not been for the referee’s last-minute extra favor.
Pierce Brosnan stood up and asked Twain if the away draw with Inter Milan could be considered a revenge for when Inter Milan eliminated the Forest team two seasons ago.
Twain shook his head to correct Brosnan’s question, “First of all, we did not force a tie with Inter Milan. It was the home side that forced us into a draw. Secondly, I don’t think this can be considered a revenge. It’s just a draw. We still haven’t play one more game. After that game is over, I might be able to answer according to what you asked.”
Mourinho finally found a chance to fight back, “Don’t speak too soon, Mr. Twain. I don’t think you can win against Inter Milan when you get back to your home ground. Since you can score two goals at our home ground, why can’t Inter Milan score at least two goals at your home ground?”
Twain gave a laugh, “Well said, Mr. Mourinho. It doesn’t really matter what we say here right now. I think football is played with the legs and not with glib talk. I’m looking forward to the game.”
“I’m looking forward to it too.” Mourinho responded with a cold face.
What seemed to be specifically asked to embarrass him, this time an English reporter asked, “Since the home side conceded two goals, the situation is grim for the team’s promotion. What do you think of the current situation, Mr. Mourinho?”
“I admit the competition is going to be tough. But I’m confident. We’ve eliminated them once, and it’s no exception this time.”
Twain pursed his lips. But he did not say, “that’s because I wasn’t there.”
It was pleasurable to win against Mourinho in the war of words. But it could in turn hurt the feelings of the coaches such as Dunn and Kerslake. Because that indirectly meant that his aides were incompetent…
The press conference eventually ended in an awkward and tepid atmosphere. Mourinho did not even shook hands with Tony Twain and hurried away from the scene. However, Twain still smiled and posed for the photojournalists present to take a few more photos.
To be able to score two away goals and compel Mourinho to yield at the press conference, both matters made him feel good.
※※※
Despite Twain’s failure to name George Wood in his post-match press conference, Wood’s outstanding performance in the game had also attracted a lot of attention. Nottingham Forest’s rivals were scared to discover that the silly boy who used to defend the entire field like a headless chicken had grown into a powerful offensive weapon in the Nottingham Forest lineup.
“He can freeze the other team’s midfield core one-on-one. He does not have to worry about attendance rate due to his excellent physicality and never-been-injured abnormal physique. He can shoot world class long shots to score, and now he can even start dribbling the ball from the backfield to bypass a few players to send the ball all the way to the other side’s penalty area … What more can you ask? Tony Twain has been focusing on developing Wood’s offensive ability since the start of the season. He intends to develop George Wood as the double core of the team—Wood has been a spiritual core before, and now he has signs of moving closer to becoming a tactical core. He can make interceptions directly in the midfield and then deliver the shells to his teammates. In some cases, he can even dribble the ball himself to break through and create opportunities. Such a midfielder is what every manager dream of.”
The media’s appraisal was good. Now that George Wood was in perfect form and his physical fitness was also on the rise, his status in the national team was increasingly important. Although Lampard had not announced his retirement from the national team, he was no longer likely to rock George Wood’s dominant position.
The players who partnered Wood were sometimes Gerrard, Barry, or Joe Cole. Only Wood’s position was immoveable. Capello liked this boy with a serious attitude. The only headache was that Wood received more yellow cards. Although he did not get red cards, it was still frustrating to be suspended due to the accumulated yellow cards.
Nottingham Forest was warmly welcomed by many fans since they returned to England. They scored two away goals and the public unanimously thought highly of them. Nottingham’s local media even could not wait and started looking at the clash between the Forest team and Barcelona. Poor Mourinho was tossed aside…
Even the Forest players were pleased with the result during an interview and were optimistic about the team’s prospects of a promotion.
Some people even spoke out about their next opponent, Barcelona, in the interview. For people who did not know what happened must have thought that the game that had just ended was the second leg between Nottingham Forest and Inter Milan…
That kind of optimism continued into the league tournament, with Nottingham Forest’s 3:0 home win over Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League. For a time, the media touted Nottingham Forest as an invincible warship.
Subsequently they came with this kind of thinking in their encounter with Bolton Wanderers in the 28th round of the Premier League. It was played at Nottingham Forest home ground. Everyone thought that with the Forest team in top form, it would be easy to defeat Bolton Wanderers, which was ranked sixteenth in the league.
But…
The twenty-one-year-old young player, Nathan Woolfe magically scored his second goal in the game and helped his team to defeat the mighty Nottingham Forest. The score for that game was 1:2, with the home team’s score in front and the away team behind.
At the end of the game, Twain sat in the chair in the technical area and did not express any anger. He did not throw his suit jacket nor kick a water bottle. He did not even swore incessantly. He just got up and expressionlessly shook hands with the Bolton Wanderers manager, Phil Brown.
Some people thought that Twain did not even take a stand due to his anger. The Nottingham Forest players also thought so. To have lost to a weak team like Bolton Wanderers which was on the edge of relegation zone at home, wouldn’t such a result be enough to make the boss angry? So, they hurriedly thanked the fans in the stadium and hurried into the locker room. Everyone waited in trepidation to shoulder for the boss’ fury.
But what happened next came as a surprise to them.
Twain smiled and told them they “lose well.”
“Do you know why I say that? I’m definitely not making an ironic remark, so you don’t have to worry about me scolding you next. I’m also not muddled and speaking nonsense from being angry. I’m clear-minded. I remembered your previous performances. I’m not reminding you because I just don’t think it’s persuasive enough to say those words when your spirits are high. But it’s different now.” He spread his hands and continued, “You just lost a game, and you lost a weak team like Bolton Wanderers. I think it will be very persuasive to say it now. No one will whisper in their hearts, ‘The boss is always an alarmist.’ Now I’ll tell you—if you continue to use this mentality to play against Inter Milan, you will lose everything including your underwear!”
“Am I being an alarmist? Just look at the game that has just ended. I bet you must have thought before the game that it would be effortless to beat such an opponent like Bolton Wanderers, which was about to fall into the relegation zone, right?”
No one made a sound, but everyone knew in their hearts that the boss was right… Few people could take an interest in the placed last fourth team, especially when a major Champions League match was about to begin.
“We have lost to a team like Bolton Wanderers because we momentarily underestimated our opponent. Do you think Inter Milan can’t even be compared to Bolton Wanderers? So, this game came just in time. If you must lose a game because you underestimated your opponent due to your pride, I would rather lose a regular league game than the Champions League. So, I can laugh now because I know I’m not going to lose the Champions League game. Will I?”
“No, boss.” Someone answered him.
“This is what you said.” Twain pointed to the players and said, “A man must keep his word. If you lose, then you’re not men.”
...
Chapter 793 - Relive the Past Experience
Despite Twain’s remark that “the players are not men if they lose”, he was still worried. He might appear to be confident, in fact, his inner pressure was no less than anyone else. One must know that the pressure on the players if they lost the game, would only last from the pitch to their home, while the pressure on the manager could last for days. Therefore, he could not be negligent.
In addition to using words to motivate the players, he must think of other ways.
The Inter Milan team had already arrived in Nottingham. Mourinho joked in an interview at London’s Heathrow airport that he did not think he was competing in an away game because he was very familiar with many things in England. Mourinho’s face looked relaxed and smiling in the television frame. He appeared to have a card up his sleeve. And he did not care that the reporters mentioned Nottingham Forest’s two away goals in front of him.
“I think it’s a good thing for us. Yes, Nottingham Forest has two away goals. At the same time, they only have two away goals while we’re not the same. Our away game hasn’t started yet. Why can’t we score three goals at the City Ground stadium?”
Looking at his tone and demeanor, it made people doubt that it was him and not Tony Twain who had the advantage of the away goals…
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“It’s psychological warfare.” Twain’s snorted, “Mourinho lacks new ideas. He has taken a step backwards from staying in Italy for too long. He used to be like a sharp-toothed kitten.”
Twain did not have to worry that the walls had ears in his office or that the paparazzi would put miniature cameras and microphones in his domain, so he could sneer at Mourinho without fear.
Kerslake guffawed when he heard Twain’s analogy. He neither liked nor disliked Mourinho himself, but he clearly did not like “Mourinho the enemy.”
After commenting on his opponent, Twain looked at his assistant, Dunn.
“Dunn, have you prepared the thing?”
Dunn nodded and handed a disc to Twain. Twain did not put it on the CD-ROM, but repeatedly played with it in his hand. The disc’s surface reflected his face, somewhat blurry.
“I’ve decided to let them watch it twenty minutes before the game.” He spun the disc around with his index finger.
“What’s that?” Kerslake was a little curious.
“Something not nice for us.” Twain glance at Dunn. In fact, it was not really a good thing for Dunn. It was probably the biggest defeat he faced since he took charge of coaching Nottingham Forest alone. He wanted to give Dunn some face and did not want to say it too obviously.
“It was the Champions League quarterfinal series of the 2008-09 season, Nottingham Forest’s home game against Inter Milan.” Dunn himself introduced it.
“Ah, that game…” Kerslake was no longer curious. That game was a painful memory. If he could, he really did not want to think about it again. “Tony, you… Why do you want them to watch that?”
“Let them revive the old dream.” Twain shrugged.
“That was a nightmare…” Kerslake cried.
“Revisiting a beautiful old dream will only deprive them of the motivation to move forward. I don’t think the stimulus is enough.”
Kerslake knew that Twain was someone who kept his word. His lips quivered a little and he stopped speaking. He just cast a sympathetic glance at Dunn. After all, Dunn personally directed that game… He suddenly realized in a flash what it meant to “do whatever it takes to win.”
Dunn had no objection and said, “Tony had discussed it with me, and I agreed. I also think it’s a good idea.”
Dunn personally cut, edited and burnt the CD-ROM, in order to meet Twain’s requirements. To make the video more impactful, he needed to watch the game many times and select the best scenes to edit and put together. For Dunn, it was like looking in the mirror at his own worst moments to repeatedly watch the scenes and place his own shortcomings under the microscope to analyze them. No one liked this kind of feeling.
But Dunn must do this kind of job for the team’s requirements.
Kerslake felt it was a hard job to be Tony’s assistant, but fortunately it was Dunn and not him…
“That’s it, guys. Let’s give Mourinho a lively welcome party!”
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On the day of the match, throngs of crowds milled around the City Ground stadium, with a large number of fans walking along the banks of River Trent to the City Ground stadium. A lot of fans were already in the stands, including Nottingham’s most die-hard fan group, John, Bill and the others from the Forest Bar.
They arrived in the stadium ahead of time and were busy hanging the banners.
“Welcome back to England, welcome to the City Ground stadium, José!”
The first sentence appeared as if Mourinho and them were really friendly, but the following sentence exposed the hostile relationship between both rivals: “You won’t win this time too!”
The Inter Milan fans were certainly not to be outdone. They also had their way to fight back.
A group of Inter Milan fans hung a banner with the score below the stands. The score of 2:0 and 3:0 were written on it, of which 2:0 was the score at Inter Milan’s home ground, and 3:0 was the record they wrote in the City Ground stadium.
Since Nottingham Forest entered Tony Twain’s era, no team had ever scored three goals at the City Ground stadium and kept Nottingham Forest from scoring. Mourinho did it.
The matter would not have been worth a mention, but due to Tony Twain’s repeated provocations, the Inter Milan fans simply wrote in bleeding colors to provoke the Nottingham Forest fans as a counter response to their constant provocations.
These two games, especially the score at the home ground, were indeed a “painful memory” for the Nottingham Forest fans.
They had let the opponent scored five goals for the home and away matches and failed to score even one goal. In that game at the City Ground stadium, the Forest players bottled up their energy and wanted to teach Inter Milan a lesson when they got back to the home side. No one expected Inter Milan caught hold of the Forest team’s over eagerness to press for an attacking goal and successfully snuck an attack when the game started. After leading by three goals, Inter Milan played more comfortably, and Nottingham Forest played increasingly anxious. The whole team counted on their acting manager, Dunn to be able to step up and try hard to save a desperate crisis. Dunn could only look on helplessly at the field and completely did not know what to do. He usually prepared a full head of football technical and tactical knowledge. But at this moment, he could not even apply it in the slightest bit.
In the end, the team played more and more chaotically. Inter Milan took the opportunity to score consecutive goals and utterly crushed the Nottingham Forest players’ fighting spirit with 3:0. Then the game went into garbage time.
After the game, the local media in Nottingham angrily stated that, judging by the performance of the game, if Inter Milan had scored another goal, the Nottingham Forest players would have to collectively hold their hands up and kneel for mercy.
Even the Forest fans, who almost never booed their own team in the stands, could not help but hiss too.
After that game, countless Nottingham Forest fans gathered in all the major bars to talk about the same issue—
What would it look like if Tony was still there?
Now they had a chance to find out the answer.
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The buses for both teams’ players arrived in the stadium for the pre-match warm-up. But the Nottingham Forest players came earlier. About only a quarter of the crowd sat in the stands when they entered the stadium to warm up, while the Inter Milan players had just left the hotel where they stayed at.
When the Inter Milan players arrived at the stadium at a regular time to carry out the warm-up, they found that the Nottingham Forest players were getting ready to leave.
This surprised some people because, as was customary, everyone came out together to warm up at the same time. So why did the Nottingham Forest players finish the warm-up so early? With more than half an hour to go before the game starts, what were they doing in the locker room now? Take a bath and a nap after?
The Nottingham Forest players brushed past the Inter Milan players; they did not care about the puzzled looks from the Inter Milan players.
All this, of course, was arranged by the boss. He asked the team to make use the home team’s advantage to come into the City Ground stadium early, start warming up, and then return to the locker room. He had a mysterious and exciting thing to show everyone…
Everyone was guessing what it meant for the boss to suddenly rack his brains to show a “film” half an hour before the game to everyone. Who was still in the mindset to watch a film at this time?
Twain smiled and did not speak. After everyone entered the locker room, he switched off the lights, turned on the DVD projector and television.
After a brief black screen, a sound rang out in the small space of the locker room:
“Ibrahimović!! Ibrahimović!! A beautiful turn to shoot! Just three minutes into the game, Inter Milan obtained an incredible lead! Now Inter Milan is already 3:0 ahead of Nottingham Forest! Poor Nottingham Forest… Of course, they want to bring down Inter Milan at home, but they did not expect to concede another goal. It’s not easy to play this game…”
Many of the Forest players in the locker room changed faces. They might have made a lot of guesses, but no one expected the boss to show them this … The players who had experienced that game would not easily forget the humiliation—the home fans actually booed the team they originally supported team. They clearly had the drive but could not execute it. They could only run back and forth behind the opponent. The pace of the game was controlled by Inter Milan right from the beginning. They did not even have the power to fight back.
He did not even have to worry about the Forest players who had not played the game. Dunn’s excellent clip was enough to give them an immersive experience of that 0:3 game.
Three minutes into the opening, Ibrahimović scored a goal.
Then it was followed by another goal at the start of the second half. By this time, Inter Milan already had a 4:0 lead over Nottingham Forest and even had scored two away goals. Nottingham Forest needed to score at least five goals in the remaining forty minutes if they wanted to qualify and not let their opponents continue to score. It was an impossible task for a team like the Forest team.
Eventually, there were fans in the stands who could not stand the ordeal and emitted shrill boos. Finally, the sporadic boos joined together, and became an unstoppable mainstream voice. The commentator’s voice sounded even more piercing amid the booing, “Even since Tony Twain became the manage of this time, there had never been anything like it in a game. The fans, labelled as the most loyal fans in the Premier League, actually boo their home team… I don’t even know what to say… The Nottingham Forest players’ performance are really terrible!”
The players who had played in that game seemed to go back to that day and relive the scene, which made them all bow their heads and not want to watch the television screen. If possible, they even wanted to cover their ears. The booing was so shrill that it was as if there were needles poking at their hearts.
Whereas the players who joined the team later understood when they watched the game—to Nottingham Forest, which was the defending champion at the time, it was a heavy blow for Nottingham Forest, which was once successful, fearless and thought that the whole world was in their hands…
this time? Samuel! In the chaos in front of the goal, Samuel got the ball. There was no Nottingham Forest player around him! It’s incredible! … 3:0! Inter Milan is ahead of Nottingham Forest by 5:0! The game ends in twenty minutes, but I’d say… looking at the performance of the Nottingham Forest players, the game has now entered garbage time ahead of schedule.”
No one could stare indifferently at the screen after hearing that, except for Tony Twain.
The coaches, including Dunn and Kerslake, averted their eyes from the television screen. They also did not want to relive the nightmare.
Twain was the devil for forcing them to recall such a cruel game. And he was still smiling—the light from the television screen shone on Twain’s face. That expression should be a smile!
After the video clip of the game finished playing, Twain did not turn on the lights immediately. Instead, he told everyone in the dark with his hoarse voice why he did this.
In this kind of environment, his voice sounded as if it came from the depths of hell. It was hoarse, sometimes low, sometimes sharp, and uncomfortable to listen to.
“Is anyone still speculating as to why I’m showing you something like this? I know that game is definitely not a ‘good memory’ for some people. I just hope you know that we can laugh at some failures and they will pass. Some failures we absolutely cannot forget! What do you do if the enemy wants to humiliate you? Obediently climb through under his pants?! No! That’s not our style! You should use your head to knock their testicles above when you climb under his pants! Knock him to the ground and stamp with your feet! Stamp! Crush! Until his balls burst! If you don’t want this game to happen again to you, if you don’t want your own supporters to switch sides and cheer for your opponent, if you don’t want the enemy to mock you as a bunch of sissies after they beat you, then remember to win this game! We lost by 0:3! It’s like being pinned under and gang-raped by eleven strong men, too powerless to fight back! Do you like to be gang-raped? I don’t like it! I feel sick!”
Twain finished saying that before he turned on the lights in the locker room.
The light was restored instantly which many people had not adjusted to yet. They covered their faces and squinted their eyes to hide in the shadows.
“How does it feel to be back to reality?” Tony Twain’s tone and emphasis did a one hundred and eighty degree turn when he opened his mouth again, completely without the previous sternness and rebuke. His squinted eyes and smiling face looked really harmless. But anyone who knew him was aware that this version of Tony Twain was more dangerous. “A lot of you must be relieved—fortunately it was only a dream, right? But dreams and reality are closely linked. Now that Inter Milan is at our door, is this still a dream? If you’re not careful, the nightmare just now will come back! I don’t want to hear the boos from the home fans on my own pitch. I’ll never want that in my lifetime ever! You know what to do, don’t you?”
“Yes, boss!” Was there any fool who would say “I don’t know?”
“That’s great.” Twain put his hands together and said, “Remember the feeling you had in the dark just now. Never forget, guys! That’s the most valuable asset of your career…”
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Chapter 794 - Poor Quaresma
During the handshake, Inter Milan’s players got the feeling that Nottingham Forest’s players emanated a killing intent that was even stronger than before.
They were perplexed.
Nottingham Forest is the team going into this match with an advantage! Why are they acting in such an aggressive manner? We are the ones who should be giving off a killing intent!
The stadiums in England are generally smaller in size. The City Ground Stadium can only hold a maximum of 30,000 spectators, but to the Italians however, the noise that is produced from such a small stadium could not be underestimated.
The smaller the stadium, the closer the audience gets to the football pitch. Every single sound that they make will easily concentrate and be distinctly picked up on the pitch.
At stadiums like the San Siro Stadium where the stands are situated further and higher away from the pitch, the players are unable to see the fans from where they stand on the pitch, and they feel less stressed as a result. However, at traditional British stadiums such as the City Ground Stadium, not only can players hear every single swear word that the fans shout clearly, they can even see the hairs in the nostrils of the fans who stand right behind the goalpost when they shoot for goal. The kind of stress that comes with playing at smaller stadiums was not something that the players can experience at large stadiums.
Forest fans exerted enormous pressure on the Inter Milan players from the start of the match. They made use of boos, chastisements and all sorts of gestures to disturb the Inter Milan fans. The atmosphere in the stadium made Mourinho furrow his brows.
Mourinho decided to start Quaresma in the match again given his outstanding performance previously. He hoped that Quaresma would be able to make use of his personal skills and abilities to trouble Nottingham Forest’s defense.
There was theoretically nothing wrong with his decision to play Quaresma. Choosing to rely on a player’s individual performance when you have to face off against a team that is strong at defense might sometimes lead to unexpected results.
Quaresma was laughed and booed at by the Nottingham Forest fans after he got the ball out of bounds when trying to stop it at his feet. The mockeries from the fans happened so close to him that it made him tense up, and he started performing poorly afterwards.
As a result, Mourinho could not pin his hopes on Quaresma being able to bring about any drastic change to the team’s offense anymore…
The Forest fans spared no pains in going against Inter Milan. The moment Inter Milan makes a tiny mistake, there would be overwhelming laughter and boos from the Forest fans.
On the other hand, every single time a Nottingham Forest player touches the ball, there would be thunderous applause from the Forest fans.
This is the home advantage…
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Quaresma was an inconsistent player. In the previous match between the two teams, he was able to put in a brilliant performance and even score a world-class goal. In this match however, he has been performing poorly.
There was a time in the match where Quaresma failed to get past Baines at the flank, and he chose to raise his foot and shoot for goal forcibly. However, his outside of foot shot flew right past the end line and was miles away from the goalpost.
His blind shot at goal made Ibrahimović very upset as he had been waiting in the middle of the pitch for him to pass the ball over. Ibrahimović flailed his arms about vigorously to let Quaresma know that he should have passed the ball over to him instead of shooting for goal, but Quaresma hung his head in frustration over the mistake that he just made, and did not pay any attention to the Swedish forward.
Quaresma tried to make his way into Forest’s penalty box a while later, but he was intercepted by George Wood who came at him with a tackle. The ball did not roll out of bounds, but Quaresma rolled off the pitch.
Quaresma, who was on the ground, signaled to the referee that Wood had just committed a foul, but the referee showed no interest in his claims. The referee did not blow on his whistle, and that indicated that the referee did not think Wood had committed a foul on Quaresma.
Quaresma was furious with the referee’s decision. He jumped up from the ground and began flailing his arms about as he complained to the referee incessantly about his decision. He completely ignored how Wood had started going on the attack right as he was complaining to the referee.
His behavior upset Mourinho. Mourinho stood right behind Quaresma and hollered at the player who was from Portugal just like him, “What are you f*cking doing, Ricardo? Get back in the match!”
Quaresma became much more well-behaved after he got scolded at by his manager. However, it did not take long for him to start ‘misbehaving’ again.
Quaresma was not in a good form for the match, but he was very worked up for some reason. He would raise his hand and signal to the referee that the other party has committed a foul the moment there is a little bit of physical contact. He would blame the opponent for playing petty tricks when he lost the ball, and he would also claim that the other party collided with him when he failed to get past them.
It was not just during offense that he acted with this much agitation. He acted the same way during defense well. People were worried that he would be shown two yellow cards and get sent off the pitch before the first half ended.
Those people clearly worried too much.
Quaresma did not receive a single yellow card in the match, though he was still taken off the pitch…
Wood did not pass the ball straight away after he snatched it from Quaresma’s feet. Instead, he observed the situation on the pitch, and came to the decision that he should bring the ball forward himself.
His decision came as good news to Quaresma, who had been held back by Wood. It meant that he had the chance to snatch the ball back from Wood and catch Forest off guard!
Without hesitation, Quaresma moved beside Wood and tried to snatch the ball back while tugging onto his shirt.
Just when he had stuck his leg out, Wood galvanized into action and he dragged Quaresma with him as he made a turn.
Thereafter…
Quaresma led out a cry in pain and he released his hand that had been holding onto Wood’s shirt. His face went white as he laid on the ground with a hand over his right knee.
He did not look like he was putting on an act…
Wood glanced at Quaresma who was on the floor. He hesitated a little but still decided to kick the ball out of bounds.
Everyone was unprepared for the incident since it occurred so suddenly. The commentator went into a short daze before he said, “Quaresma is injured… How did he get injured?”
A replay of the incident began to air on the television screen.
Quaresma had tugged on Wood’s shirt in hopes of lessening his pace, which would then bring about a chance for him to snatch the ball away from Wood.
It was a good plan, but who would have known how fearsome Wood’s strength and energy was?
Quaresma had his right leg as a support, and right at the moment when he stuck his leg out to snatch the ball away, Wood suddenly galvanized into action. The force behind Wood’s actions caused every other part of Quaresma’s body, barring his right leg, to turn forward. His right leg was not able to turn with the rest of the body because it had been acting as a pivot for his body. As a result, it created an utterly bizarre scene: Quaresma’s body had already made a 360 degree turn, but his right leg still maintained its original position…
Everyone knew what the scene signified.
There wasn’t a single person whose knee would be in good shape after making a turn that was not humanly possible.
And that was also why Quaresma has fallen to the ground yelling in pain with a hand over his knee.
“Oh god…” The commentator’s voice did not sound like he normally did. He was frightened by the scene that he had just viewed. The moment where Quaresma’s knee got twisted and became deformed was shown before everyone in slow motion. The scene was real and brutal. Not everyone could act normally after seeing such a scene.
“I think that Quaresma’s knee has suffered a very bad sprain. He’s definitely unable to continue playing in this match.” The commentator showed reservation in expressing his real thoughts.
Maybe Quaresma will be unable to continue playing for the rest of the season.
Inter Milan’s medical staff rushed to Quaresma’s side without waiting for the referee to gesture for them to get on the pitch. The spot in which Quaresma laid at was very near to Inter Milan’s bench after all.
They removed Quaresma’s hand that he had clasped over his knee. When Inter Milan’s head doctor Franco Combi saw Quaresma’s right leg, he could not help but draw a deep breath.
His calf laid in an absolutely abnormal manner next to his thigh. It did not look like Quaresma’s calf at all, because a normal person’s leg would not be joined together in the same way that his was. It was proof that Quaresma had fractured his knee joint.
Nevertheless, Combi still had to comfort Quaresma who was in a lot of pain, “It’s okay, it’s okay. It’s not a big deal…”
He had already gestured Mourinho to bring on a substitute for Quaresma.
“I… I can’t feel… My… My… Right leg…” Quaresma was in tears as he laid on the ground. The doctor might have tried to console him all this while, but he knew what had happened to him. There was nothing more agonizing than a broken leg to a professional footballer.
Quaresma, who had been as lively as a rabbit just a while ago, was now lying lifelessly on the ground. His right calf was twisted to the side. The sweat that had been secreted due to the pain and the tears that gushed out from his eyes blended into one. It was impossible to separate them from each other.
Even the Nottingham Forest players had looks of pity on their faces upon seeing the scene.
The boos that were targeted at Inter Milan gradually stopped, and the City Ground Stadium that could hold 30,000 spectators suddenly quietened down.
A stretcher had been sent onto the pitch. Four medical staff gingerly placed Quaresma onto the stretcher. Combi then covered his right leg with a towel before the stretcher was lifted off the pitch.
Quaresma’s injury might not have been caused by a foul from Wood, but Wood was still inextricably linked to it.
Wood stood by Quaresma’s side ever since he fell to the ground. He only walked up to Quaresma when he had been lifted up in the stretcher, and he gently patted him on the shoulder.
He had never been injured before, but that did not mean he did not understand how it felt to be injured. He has been feeling guilty all this time for causing Eastwood to suffer a serious injury due to his reckless actions. He hopes to avoid getting injured as much as possible, unless he is really left with no other choice.
Quaresma felt someone pat him on the shoulder, but he assumed it was from his team mate and did not pay any heed to it. He had covered his face with both of his hands and was feeling tormented over the fact that he was injured. He was not in the mood to care about anything else.
Quaresma was definitely not going to be able to get back on the pitch for the remainder of the match. He needed to be sent to a local hospital in Nottingham for immediate treatment straight away. He would only take a plane back to Milan after the match has ended.
His injury messed up Mourinho’s plans completely. Mancini has not recovered from his injury and Mourinho did not even bring him along to England. Now that Quaresma was severely injured, Mourinho was left with no other choice but to bring on the 32 year-old Dejan Stanković as a substitute for Quaresma.
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Twain crossed his leg after seeing Stanković get on the pitch. It was a sign that he was very relaxed at the moment.
“It’s a shame that Quaresma suffered such a serious injury and I do feel sorry for him, but this is a chance that has been given to us. Inter Milan’s players must still be reeling in shock from what just happened, and bringing on another player so suddenly will lead to some confusion and chaos on their side as well. If we can grasp this chance, we can close out the match.” Twain told the two assistant managers beside him.
“David, tell the players to strengthen their offense. This is a good chance to get a goal.”
Kerslake did as he was told. He had a loud voice that did not pale in comparison to Tony Twain’s, and more importantly, his voice was not as hoarse as Twain’s. When he shouts at the top of his voice, even people who are situated very far away from him can hear him, which is why Kerslake is generally the one who will relay Twain’s instructions to the team during the match, unless there are important things that Twain must convey personally.
As Kerslake stood by the side of the pitch, he made use of his loud voice and hand gestures to tell the Nottingham Forest players, “Don’t let the fact that an opposing player sustained an injury get you down! This is a very good chance for us to score a goal!”
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If anyone had thought that the atmosphere in the stadium would ease up a little and become much better for the away team to perform in after seeing how Nottingham Forest’s fans showed kindness and respect towards Quaresma when he was injured, then they were utterly mistaken.
Laughter and boos directed at the Inter Milan players rang out from the stands once again a while after the match restarted.
There was not even a shred of sympathy on the Forest fans…
As fans, they draw a clear line between ‘work’ and ‘personal affairs’. Keeping quiet when Quaresma was injured was out of personal feelings, but now that they are in a match, it was back to ‘business’ for them.
Twain wanted his team to strengthen their offense and fight for a goal, but Mourinho did not make any further mistakes. He quickly saw through Twain’s plan, and immediately got his team to make their formation more compact and pay more attention to defense. They were not going to give Nottingham Forest any chance to score a goal.
The Inter Milan players put in a good performance. Nottingham Forest attacked Inter Milan vigorously, but they lacked the finishing blow. Ibišević was tightly marked by Inter Milan’s defenders, and Mourinho chose to let his players get rough on Şahin as a way to curb his attacks. Both flanks were also well-defended, and the players were also asked to keep a close eye on George Wood and Tiago.
All in all, Inter Milan did not give Forest even the slightest chance to score.
The match reached a stalemate. Both teams spent most of their time battling it out in the midfield and had very few chances at goal. It was quite boring to watch.
However, things were different for this game as compared to their previous match against Inter Milan. It would be good if the team could score goals, but Twain would not feel irritated if the match continued to stay as a stalemate since they have two away goals. Nottingham Forest would still progress to the next round even if the score stayed 0:0 at the end of the match.
Hence, Twain’s core tactic for this home game was to ‘defend and counterattack’.
It was a tactic that has made countless of their opponents gnash their teeth in anger, and it will always make a grand appearance every time Twain needed a result. It represented Tony Twain’s ‘conservative football’ and ‘result football’.
George Wood and Tiago were both playing as the defensive midfielders and their main role was to defend. Cohen and Fernández play as the side midfielders, but they were not attacking midfielders. They had to defend while going forward to attack. Leighton Baines and Rafinha play as the full backs, but unlike the previous match against Inter Milan, they did not need to go forward and join in the attack as frequently. Their main job was to defend.
As for Ibišević and Şahin, they were asked to snatch the ball back despite being more attack-oriented players. Ibišević also has to return to the penalty box during set pieces to help in the defense and head the ball away for his team.
Netherlands’ football is to either go all out in offense or defense. Tony Twain’s football is to go all out in defense and only half in offense. It is easy to see why others say he only cares about results…
Inter Milan had no way of breaking through Nottingham Forest’s sturdy defense after losing Quaresma.
The key to breaking the deadlock during a battle between two top teams in football could lie in the manager’s ability to make changes based on the situation on the pitch, the players’ individual performances, one counterattack, one set piece or one mistake from the opponent.
Sadly, none of the aforementioned factors happened up to the end of the first half. Both managers wanted a more solid performance from their team, and they sought to make the least number of mistakes while they waited for the other party to make an error. The players for both teams were not able to shine due to the restrictions present in the tactics that their managers have chosen.
When the first half ended, Mourinho’s face had gone dark, whereas Twain carried a smile on his face.
If things continue in the way that they have in the first half, then Nottingham Forest would definitely progress to the next round!
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Chapter 795 - The Chip Shot
At half-time Twain praised the team’s overall performance and asked the team to continue playing like that. Mourinho, on the other hand, was not as relaxed; he was concerned about Quaresma’s injury and how to crack Nottingham Forest’s defensive counter-attack tactics. Other than improving their offense, what else was there to do?
Inter Milan was a bit demoralised. Quaresma suffered such a serious injury because the situation was disadvantageous — the news from Comby confirmed that Quaresma would miss all of the games this season and that it was not clear when he would return next season.
But Mourinho’s spun this into a morale boost for the team. He used Quaresma’s broken leg to inspire the players in the team, telling them that they there was no way back and that he would have to roll back to Milan if they did not work hard enough, also that Quaresma’s injury would be pointless.
And like Tony Twain, Mourinho was also a demagogue who was able to spur others. He excelled in these things. Those Inter Milan players who were uninspired were motivated by his words like wolves.
And just like that, they were back on the court. Inter Milan’s attack was clearly strengthened after the start of the second half, and they were taking a siege at the Akinfeev’s goal without thinking about their defense. That being the case, Nottingham Forest was naturally happy to fight back defensively.
But César played well, he consecutively blocked two shots from Nottingham Forest. With him at the back protecting the goal, Inter Milan’s attacking players were relieved.
Twain was furious that the team had missed two chances. He was acutely aware that the second half was different from the first half. In the first half, it was a mess that only alleviated with Quaresma’s injury. There was something ominous about the second half and they could not help but be wary.
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Ibišević was in the thick of the game and had to take on too many defensive tasks, also he was not fast enough to fight back. Twain decided to replace him immediately, loath to delay. What if Inter Milan scored in this period of time?
Since they wanted to counterattack, of course a striker who is speedy would be ideal. One option would be the experienced striker Eastwood and the other the faster Agbonlahor. Eastwood was not slow, but he was certainly not as fast as Agbonlahor. However, he was more capable of grasping opportunities in front of the goal mouth with several ways of shooting methods. The advantage of Agbonlahor was much simpler; that is, speed. He moved like the wind and it was almost a guarantee that he could break through the defensive line easily and face the goalkeeper directly.
But what then, after facing the goalkeeper? Agbonlahor’s shooting was not superb so it was possible to lose in a one-on-one with the goalkeeper, and César was in good form and might have made some incredible saves. If Agbonlahor repeatedly wasted his opportunities, it would only strengthen Inter Milan’s confidence and reduce Nottingham Forest’s resolve to fight back quickly.
After weighing his options, Twain opted for the slightly slower but technically better pure striker, Eastwood. After calling Eastwood to him, Twain looked at him and laughed, “When I need help, you’re always the first person I think of, Freddy.”
“We need to score goals, Chief.”
“You’re not going to let me down, are you?”
“I was riding Fina this morning as a warm up, Chief.” Fina was Eastwood’s horse. When Fina was younger, Eastwood used to ride it on the road in the eastern suburbs of London as warm-up. Today, it was very sturdy, and Eastwood’s stance in these two seasons was also very outstanding.
“That’s assuring. As you said, go up and score goals.” Twain patted him on the shoulder and handed the work to Don, who was responsible for explaining the general tactics to him.
Don asked Eastwood to move more widely on the pitch, not to be confined to the middle of the road. He also told Eastwood not to think too much about the defence and to focus on scoring instead. To shoot more, no matter where he was, since more shots would mean more chances of scoring.
Eastwood nodded, then the fourth official held up a sign on the sidelines to signal for his substitution. Ibišević walked off the pitch to complete the handover with Eastwood, and both of them were applauded by Forest’s fans. Although there were no goals, Super Ibe was working very hard in defence, and there are several key headers to clear the ball. His selfless character also helped the team’s overall defense.
Eastwood came on, and everyone knew it was Twain’s “offensive signal”. Eastwood was not good at defending, but he was good at scoring goals, and his physicality did not allow him to sprint back and forth from one penalty area to another in the game, let alone physically confront his opponent.
Eastwood ran on the field with his right hand above his head, drawing a circle and eventually pointing to the front. Keep going with the defensive counterattack. All the Forest players could understand it.
Twain made a substitution but Mourinho’s side was still standing put. First of all, he still did not know what effect this adjustment of Twain would bring, so it was better to observe first. Secondly, due to Quaresma’s accidental injury, he lost a replacement for no reason and only had two cards left which he could only use in the most crucial moment.
He just let the players on the back line pay attention to the offside. One way to deal with defensive counter-attacks was to create an offside, allowing the opposing attacking player to fall into the offside trap frequently, causing the opposing passer to no longer dare to pass the ball straight.
※※※
Nottingham Forest’s counter-attacking quality improved after Eastwood came on. The Romani could control the ball under his feet. He was very well-rounded, could break through and shoot from afar. Such a striker could do what that required several talents to do alone. Forest’s long and straight pass on the counter-attack had a high error rate, but once successful, Eastwood could face César directly.
Eastwood also did not return to defend, but instead just stood in front of the field and waited for the opportunity. If his teammates made a mistake in passing the ball, he would snatch the ball, but he would let go otherwise and continue to wait for the next chance. He believed in the midfield’s ability to intercept and there would not be a lack of chances for him.
The Forest players in the midfield also had great confidence in Eastwood’s ability so they did not worry that their passes would not reach anyone. They just had to send the ball forward.
After Wood intercepted a pass from Inter Milan, he passed the ball to Şahin, who continued to pass it straight. This time they succeeded! Samuel had some big direct cuts, but he let the football slip past his feet! Eastwood ran out from behind Andreu and went offside, sloping to catch the ball.
“Freddy Eastwood! A beautiful pass that was not offside!”
But this was not a death sentence for Inter Milan because there was still some distance between the route of the pass and Eastwood. As long as César’s timely strike blocking the line and angle, coupled with his continued magical play, then it was not impossible to save the team at a time.
Julio César made his choice. He ran out of the goal to get as close as possible to Eastwood to block his shot. At the same time, he recalled some of Eastwood’s technical features. As a striker, he preferred to shoot hard instead of shooting cleverly. That’s good, blocking the angle, no matter how much strength, unless he shot past the goalkeeper, he would not score.
Şahin passed the ball straight, Eastwood slotted in, and if he wanted to shoot, he needed to adjust his direction after receiving the ball, which was advantageous for Inter Milan’s defense.
César slowed down a little because he thought he could grab the ball in front of Eastwood, and once he got out he would not be able to use his hands, which would greatly limit his play. He intended to let Nottingham Forest’s No.11 get the ball first and then block his shot.
“Eastwood was about to reach the ball and now he is right outside the penalty area and César has blocked his angle of the shot. Will he pass the Brazilian goalkeeper?”
“Pass him!” There was a tsunami of mountain calls in the stands, and they all wanted to see Eastwood dribble pass César, send the football beautifully into the empty goalmouth, and admire the desperate expression on the faces of the chasing Inter Milan players. As long as the goal was scored, Inter Milan needed to score at least two goals to secure promotion.
But Eastwood made an action that no one thought he could. Once he received the ball, the Gypsy was facing sideways towards César, he lifted right foot calf…
The football chipped over the top of César, who had already dropped his centre of gravity and prepared to pounce on the ball, and flew straight to the empty door behind him!
“Chip shot! Beautiful! Beautiful!”
César would have been prepared for Eastwood’s strong shot, but he did not think the other side would actually do a chip shot. When he jumped from the ground to pounce on the ball he had already been too late as he could only be half-kneeling on the ground, turning his head shockingly to look at the ball that was still in the air.
Eastwood, who had completed the chip shot, ran to the other side and was ready to celebrate the goal with open arms. He knew that the ball could not be stopped by anyone, not even the crossbar posts.
César watched the football fall into the net, and finally fell to the ground on one side, a chill was sent into his heart. The graceful arc seemed to make all the sounds disappear and stopped time, but when the football fell into the goal, the city pitch comes alive like an erupting volcano.
“Wonderful shot! A kick of surprise. César is in good shape, but Eastwood, who hasn’t been on the pitch for long, was in better shape than he is! The goal, from passing to running to the last shot, had a clear and easy path. Eastwood’s as he is during regular trainings — you don’t see any extra movement when he shoots. Neat! ”
“Ahha! Don’t think that I can only shoot hard shots!” Eastwood, after the goal, flew on the pitch with open arms and gloated.
“You’re still chewing gum? Aren’t you afraid of swallowing that thing!” Teammates flocked to him.
“Hey, if you don’t pat me on the head, I won’t!”
“Hahahaha-”
※※※
Unlike the Nottingham Forest players who were basking in their excitement, the Inter Milan players were extremely frustrated. Nevermind that they could not score against Nottingham Forest despite the siege, but to have Nottingham Forest score against them? How were they to continue the game now? Now they had to make sure they did not lose the ball again and scored at least two more goals to qualify. Even if they end with 1:1 draw,they would be eliminated because of the lack of away goals.
Mourinho, as manager, stood rooted and was a little helpless. Technically, the loss started with Samuel’s shoveling error, but he could not blame anyone. Because of how he played, Nottingham Forest’s goal was going to come sooner or later. He had hoped to score before the other side, thus changing the stance of his play and taking the initiative of the game in his own hands.
Now it was all gone!
Was he really going to lost to Tony Twain?
Mourinho clenched his fist, he was not satisfied. Why was it so difficult to win a game from him!
※※※
Mourinho then replaced Cambiasso with Adriano and Mario Balotelli replaced Samuel, who made the mistake. He seemed to be doing an all-in like a madman. Twain, on the other hand, substituted Şahin with Woodgate, so the technique was re-stousteing, five full and three center backs as defense. As the game passed, his odds of winning increased. As long as Inter Milan did not score two goals in the last minute, Forest would advance even if they accidentally scored a goal. He really went all out with the exploiting…
In the final moments of the game, Forest gave Inter Milan three free-kicks in a row on the edge of the penalty area due to their exaggerated defense moves. This made Twain very nervous. He could no longer sit as he stood from the coach’s seat to step up to the side of the field, nervously watching the game.
He knew Balotelli was a free-kick ersty, and the division from Mihajlovic was not to be underestimated. He did not want to make himself the victim of a genius boy rising; he was more willing to be the devil who killed this genius boy.
Balotelli’s first free-kick hit the post and flew out of bounds, leaving the Forest fans in the stands in a cold sweat. Mourinho was as nervous as he was on the sidelines, staring at Balotelli while grit his teeth. What he was probably wanting to see the most at this moment was Balotelli’s “two goals to fame” drama.
The second free kick, Balotelli kicked the ball against the wall. The sly Nottingham Forest player took full advantage of the opportunity, being knocked to the ground by the football’s smouldering, as Eastwood, groaning in pain on the ground, was unwilling to get up.
Inter Milan wanted to continue their attack, but was hasty as they kicked the football at the feet of forest players. Barnes kicked the football into the stands with a big kick as the team doctor entered the field, wanting to drag the time.
Mourinho quipped on the pitch, “I bet if Barnes did not kick the ball out and decided to take the ball back for a counter-attack, Eastwood would jump up and take part in the attack.”
He was not wrong at all. Nottingham Forest just did not have much sportsmanship.Eastwood’s affair took five minutes and it did not take long after for Inter Milan to get another free-kick after the match resumed.
There were still three minutes to go before the additional injury time, and eight minutes left, even if the injury stoppage time was five minutes. To score two goals in eight minutes was not easy for Inter Milan’s players. Not to mention their opponents, Nottingham Forests, excelled in defense.
This third free-kick was a testament to how anxious inter Milan’s players are at the moment. Balotelli kicked the ball straight into the air, being 108,000 miles away from the goalmouth.
The six-minute injury lay-off did not bring good luck to Inter, who were frantically besieging Forest’s goal and even goalkeeper Julio César rushed up to play as a kicker in the corner. It did not help.
City’s stadium was instantly covered in loud cheers when the referee blew the final whistle. They finally got the revenge for the previous season and using the best way to eliminate Inter Milan.
At the end of the game, Nottingham Forest fans sang self-made songs in the stands to mock Mourinho,
“You’ll never win Tony! You’ll never win Tony! What a poor man! If Tony appears in your dreams, it would be a nightmare for you! If you open your eyes, Tony would appear in front of your eyes to smile at you, to smile at you! ”
In the midst of the noise, Mourinho came over to shake hands with Twain.
“Did you step on dog sh*t today?” He asked.
“Why do you ask?”
“You had such good luck.”
Twain laughed. “As long as I win, the reason doesn’t matter.” Twain did not care if his luck was good. “I only care about the results.”
In fact, when Mourinho was in Chelsea, he had been a little shameless, but when Tony Twain, such an extremely shameless person came into the picture, he lost. Hence, it was normal facing Twain with a consecutive loss record.
...
Chapter 796 - Before A Big Game
Eastwood’s shot became a topic of great relish among the Forest fans after the game. It was even featured on the opening reel of ESPN’s highlights and broadcasted repeatedly. It was a really terrific goal, like a work of art. The commentators joked that it was not humiliating for Mourinho to be wiped out under such a goal.
While Nottingham Forest eliminated Inter Milan with a score of 3:2, Barcelona also easily defeated Eindhoven by 2:0 and advanced to the final eight. The two high-profile teams finally met.
Although it would be almost a month before the two teams actually encounter each other, the media and fans were already eagerly counting down.
So far this season, Nottingham Forest had been hovering between the third and fifth places in the league tournament. It would take a lot of effort on their part to win the league title, while also praying that the top teams in the table would make consecutive mistakes. It was too low a probability. So, those people familiar with Tony Twain thought Twain would focus the strength on the Champions League while retaining a top-four spot in the league tournament.
Barcelona’s situation was slightly better than Nottingham Forest. They currently occupied the top spot in the league tournament, with the second-placed Real Madrid four points away from them. At the same time in the Copa del Rey, they also reached the final. It looked like it was going to be another successful season—they were likely to achieve the great accomplishment of a Treble, even though Real Madrid was eyeing covetously in the league tournament, the Copa del Rey final was against Sevilla, which was recovering and wanted to use the Copa del Rey as a chance to re-emerge, and their Champions League opponent encountered was the toughest…
It was right to say that they had a bright future, and also reasonable to say that their future was uncertain.
With half a month to go before the game, Guardiola was asked by the reporters about the match against Nottingham Forest. He did not want to answer the question, so he said, “I’m only thinking about the next league game and derby against RCD Espanyol now. The Champions League is still half a month away.”
Unlike him, Twain spoke to the media early on about the game, “Who will be the eventual winner? Do you still need to ask the question? It’s obviously us! Barcelona is unlucky. Their competition schedule is not good for them during this period. This is our chance… Want me to comment on the Derbi barceloní the night after tomorrow? I hear it’s a bigger game than El Clásico? I hope a few players in their team will be injured in that game…”
The remark caused a stir in the Catalan media. [Mundo Deportivo] angrily denounced Twain as a “stadium fascist” and he actually said the despicable words of wanting his opponent to have their players injured in the game.
[Sport] derided Twain’s remarks as a “declaration of a coward.” Why? Because “he can only pray that we have injured players in Barcelona so that his team can win. How sad and pathetic it is!”
A number of other tabloids published their own comments about Twain in their articles. In their published caricatures, Twain became a monster with a human face and a bull’s body. He had long horns on his head and a tail behind his buttocks. A strip of a moustache above his lips made him looked like Hitler.
But Twain did not talk nonsense. At least Guardiola had the worry—what if his players were really injured in the Derbi barceloní against RCD Espanyol? What was he going to do? Messi was currently in great form and playing very well. He had scored consecutive goals and assists. He had long been a player who needed the special attention of his opponents in the games. Since it was the Derbi barceloní, it was almost inconceivable that RCD Espanyol would not send anyone to mark Messi. The use of lethal tactics against Messi in the games now seemed to become an “unwritten rule” in La Liga. In any team encounters against Barcelona, Messi would always be the player with the most violations against him after the game.
Cruyff had on more than one occasion called on the Royal Spanish Football Federation to introduce a rule: to protect the players with artistic talent and punish the lethal tactics that targeted a particular player. Although he did not mention Messi by name, anyone with a normal IQ knew he was speaking for Messi.
The Royal Spanish Football Federation could not change the rules for a player, and FIFA had long created a regulation to crack down on the “tackle from behind.” So, nothing could be changed.
Messi had already suffered an injury in the first half of the season and took a month and a half off to rest before returning. In fact, he had been injured for almost every season over the years. As one of the best offensive star players on the planet, he was naturally contradictory to the defenders. All defenders would never feel “tender, protective feelings” when they faced Messi. They would only shovel him to the ground again and again, forcing him to lose the ball and thus bringing Barcelona’s offense to a standstill.
Twain was definitely not cursing the Barcelona players. He was just telling the truth—the current situation was such. One could say that the players who were technically good suffered from others’ jealousy, or that the defensive players were killing the beauty of football. It was an indisputable fact that they were more likely to be injured.
Therefore, Twain’s words caused Guardiola a certain amount of complications… There was no doubt that the match against RCD Espanyol would be intense. Messi would certainly be the core of his team and be heavily marked by the opponent, which would even use lethal tactics. If Messi were to be injured in the game and missed the next few games, would the loss not be even greater?
He mulled over it, and in the Derbi barceloní a day later, Messi’s name was not on the starting list.
Some media exclaimed that Twain’s mouth was really powerful and could actually make the Barcelona manager changed his mind …
It was not as simple as not having Messi. The entire Barcelona team also practiced a little restraint when they played in that game against RCD Espanyol. As they played in the away game, they were clearly not as proactive as the home team, RCD Espanyol. The commentator said that Guardiola had instilled in them the idea of not getting hurt in the game when he touched on this point.
Regardless of how careful Guardiola was, Twain was right in that Barcelona’s competition schedule during this period was against them:
After Derbi barceloní with RCD Espanyol, the next round of the league tournament was against the fourth-placed Valencia, followed by the internationally highly anticipated “war of the century”, the “El Clásico” —Barcelona’s away game against Real Madrid. After they finished playing in the game, it would be time to play in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals. They would wait at home for Nottingham Forest to come challenge. Then after playing this game, it was the league’s home game against Sevilla, followed by the away challenge against Nottingham Forest.
It looked like Twain really had a deep understanding of his opponent and even completely knew the other side’s schedule. In the face of such a difficult competition schedule, Barcelona still wanted to break through in all the tournaments. It was indeed difficult. After the league tournament was played till mid-April, everyone would be exhausted and lacked strength to continue by then. But this was the final sprint. A single slip might cause long lasting trouble.
Barcelona would not be willing to lose the Champions League title, nor would they want to give up the league tournament. The four-point gap was not enough for them to keep out Real Madrid, not to mention that they still had a chance to directly play against Real Madrid.
On the other hand, Nottingham Forest’s competition agenda was much easier. They only had one stronger opponent before the game against Barcelona, and that was Chelsea.
※※※
The result of the Derbi barceloní was a 2:2 draw between the two sides. In this game, the referee showed nine yellow cards and one red card. RCD Espanyol’s center back, Sergio Sánchez was sent off with a red card for knocking over Iniesta. The latter lasted for fifteen minutes after he was sent off for a red card and was immediately replaced with Yaya Touré by Guardiola.
Twain’s jinx became true. After Iniesta was replaced, the center back, Gabriel Milito was forced off the field with a twisted ankle from a scuffle.
The Barcelona fans should be really happy that the game was a 2:2 draw because toward the end, Barcelona only had nine players to play—Milito was injured with eight minutes to go before the end of the game and Guardiola had used up all the substitutions.
The only good news was that Guardiola was right not to arrange for Messi to be in the starting lineup. In fact, by the end of the game, when Barcelona was facing a bad situation, Guardiola also did not let Messi play. After seeing RCD Espanyol’s exuberant fighting spirit and rough actions, only a fool would let Messi go up and take the risk.
After the game, the media went to interview Twain and asked him what he thought of the game. Twain used a tone which set the Catalan’s media teeth on edge, “This result showed that I absolutely did not maliciously curse the team, because I was telling the truth. I don’t believe that no one would get hurt and no one would not be sent off, playing a game like the Derbi barceloní. So similarly, I don’t believe there won’t be any bit of friction in playing in a game like El Clásico…”
The last remark revealed his sinister and despicable nature—RCD Espanyol was not enough. He continued to expect Real Madrid to cause trouble for Barcelona.
Of course, Twain’s comments had caught Barcelona’s attention. Guardiola did not say anything as always, but his players could not sit still.
The big mouth, Eto’o was the first to fire at Tony Twain, “Some people just lack basic respect. I really don’t know how this guy became the manager of a professional football club.”
Xavi also expressed his displeasure, “I don’t think it’s appropriate to promote injuries in players. Quaresma’s injury was a tragedy. Don’t tell me Mr. Twain wants to see such a tragedy unfold every day?”
In fact, the Barcelona players were clever and eloquent… Twain could only choose to shut up with response to Barcelona.
But the person caught in the middle who had it the hardest was Piqué. As a Barcelona player, Piqué’s affection for Nottingham Forest and Twain ran deep. Without his previous boss and Nottingham Forest, Piqué did not know how long he would have to endure before he could be in Barcelona’s First Team squad and become the current center back. He could be considered to “save his country through a roundabout way” …
The war of words with Barcelona was first provoked by Twain. As for Piqué, who had played for his team, he certainly knew what the boss had in mind—it was not that he hated Barcelona. It was completely a necessary means to victory and nothing more. But in the eyes of his Barcelona teammates, this man had a deep hatred of Barcelona.
When the reporters came up to ask him as the man in the Barcelona team who knew Tony Twain the best, Piqué could only use “I refuse to comment” to dodge it.
He did not want to say bad things about his mentor, but he could not help an outsider either, so he chose to be silent.
Twain could afford to pay such attention to Barcelona. Unlike Barcelona, which was struggling to compete and try to win multiple titles, his team played well enough to finish in the top four of the league tournament for now. He long since given up the FA Cup and EFL Cup. Now he had a lot of time to slowly play with Guardiola.
※※※
After a draw with RCD Espanyol and two players injured, the Catalan media could not help but panic. In fact, the media were like this and like to create a ruckus. Knowing that Nottingham Forest’s next league opponent was Chelsea, one by one, they began to trumpet Rijkaard’s great achievements previously at Barcelona. Since they had previously referred to Guardiola’s Barcelona as “the second dream team”, they had to say that Rijkaard was the “founder of the second dream team”, just like AC Milan’s Sacchi and Capello.
They looked back at Rijkaard’s experience in Barcelona and, of course, automatically blocked the bad things, saying nothing but merit. Everyone sang high praises of him and wish him all the best and success at Chelsea.
Looking at these attitudes, it could not be seen that when Rijkaard was in trouble, it was them who threw him under the bus.
Rijkaard was a smart and calm man who reacted coolly to the sudden collective crazy praises from the Catalan media. Everyone who left Barcelona did not seem to have a good impression of the local Catalan media…
When asked about the subject by the reporters, he simply said in a very bland tone, “I am the manager of Chelsea now. Of course, I will try to defeat Nottingham Forest, but it will not be for Barcelona.”
But a defeat of Nottingham Forest would not be beneficial for Barcelona. Twain did not seek to win the league title, so he could afford to lose a game or two. The Catalan media must have hoped that what Twain had “cursed” them with would happen to him—a number of players would leave the field with injuries in a bitter clash with Chelsea.
Twain did not give them that opportunity.
In the previous years when the two teams met, a war of words would inevitably happen, thus inciting explosive scenes during the game. Plus, Twain and Rijkaard had an old feud. The media speculated that the game might not be exciting, but it would certainly be intense. But what happened instead? Twain did not take the initiative to provoke a war of words, and Rijkaard, who was upset by the team’s factional locker room, was not in the mood to argue with outsiders.
Twain swapped the entire starting lineup for the game and rotated all the players expected by the media to be in the Champions League starting lineup to be on the bench and in the stands.
The game eventually ended with a 1:1 draw with Chelsea. Nottingham Forest was still in the fourth place in the league. It had little impact.
Compared to the Derbi barceloní, the game was civilized—there was no red card, only four yellow cards, and no one was injured. The media also guessed only half right. The game was really not exciting, but it was not intense either. It was dull for ninety minutes, with a scored goal for each side. The game, which was highly anticipated to be “an explosive duel” before, ended like it was an errand to be dealt with.
After the game, Twain wrote in four of his media columns mocking the Catalan media for “wasting their energies in vain.” The war of words between the two sides escalated further.
Although there was still more than a week to go before the real match day, the smoke had already spread, blown by the wind from England to Barcelona.
...
Chapter 797 - Heavyweight Skirmish
After they played the game with Chelsea, there was still one more league game before Nottingham Forest would fly to Barcelona in Spain for the Champions League quarterfinals.
Their opponent was not strong. It was only Blackburn Rovers. Tony Twain rotated the team again. Only half of the players who would play against Barcelona, were in the game. In the end, Nottingham Forest easily beat Blackburn Rovers, which was not on the same level at all, by 3:1.
Nottingham Forest’s game was played on Saturday afternoon. It was considered a slightly earlier game in this round of the Premier League. After the game, Twain handed the team to Kerslake and rushed straight to London with Dunn. They had to catch the evening flight to Madrid, Spain.
They were not traveling to Spain for a holiday nor for an elopement. They were going there just to watch El Clásico live the next night at the Bernabéu and collect first-hand information at the nearest distance.
The team would not leave for Barcelona until Sunday afternoon. By that time, Twain and Dunn would be waiting in their booked hotel for a long time.
※※※
It was now six hours before the evening’s game. They were already here early. It did not make sense to stay in the hotel. It was better to go out and explore. They could enjoy the atmosphere of a different country while relaxing their tight nerves.
Spain was not like England. Visitors wove through the sun-filled streets. Twain saw a lot of football fans from all over the world. He even saw East Asian faces. He did not know whether they were Chinese or Japanese. Some of them looked like ordinary tourists, wearing sun hats and sunglasses with cameras hanging in front of their chests. But some people paraded ostentatiously about town, wearing the jerseys of Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Fortunately, this was not Glasgow. There was need to worry about being stabbed to death by the other side’s hardline fans…
There were also the media from all over the world doing random interviews with those football fans in the streets.
This scene was absolutely nonexistent in Nottingham. No matter how good Nottingham Forest was, the gap between a big city and a small town was not so easy to close. That was why most people still did not think of Nottingham Forest as a “powerhouse” —the so-called “powerhouses” were not located in small cities.
Inter Milan and AC Milan were in Milan, Italy’s second-largest city. Juventus was in Turin, the city of car industry. Not to mention Barcelona and Real Madrid. Manchester United was in the heavily industrial city of Manchester, while Liverpool was a famous port and tourist city on a large scale. There was also Munich, home to Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga. Hoffenheim was also good in the Bundesliga, but no one would see them as “a powerhouse.” Even they themselves did not think so.
There was no large market without a big city, which in turn lacked more attention. It was all linked. Nottingham Forest completed its revival under Evan Doughty’s administration but there was still a long way to go to create even greater glory.
※※※
“It’s the first time I’ve been to the stadium to watch El Clásico…” Twain and Dunn stood outside the Bernabéu stadium, looking up at the huge white building.
“When I was still a football fan, I looked forward to coming to Europe to watch the famous derbies like the Derby della Madonnina, the Manchester derby, the Merseyside derby, the North London derby, El Clásico… Unfortunately, I couldn’t afford it.” When Twain and Dunn were alone, he did not shy away from talking about who he was formerly. “Now that I can afford it, I’m only able to fulfill the wish after so many years…”
“I thought you really wanted to spy on the enemy.”
“Ha, of course I’m here to spy on the enemy. But it’s normal to have some personal selfish motives…”
“If you were a football fan, which team would you cheer for?” Dunn also asked a question that had nothing to do with his job.
Twain touched his nose and thought for a moment, “Barcelona… I think. Maybe it is.”
“Why the slight hesitation?”
“Because I wasn’t sure what my mentality was at the time. I have been a manager for so many years. I had long forgotten what it was like to purely be a fan… Why did I support Barcelona? Because they played beautifully. But the only thing I think about when I watch the games now is whether I can win, even if I’m not a manager.” He viewed a game the same way even when he was a guest pundit on the BBC.
Dunn smiled, “Occupational hazard?”
“Maybe.”
“In fact, your current style of football is nice watch. The rhythm is very fast, and the game is very intense.”
“Someone thinks I’m whitewashing it, ha!” Twain thought it was funny when he said it.
Dunn laughed too, because he knew what Twain was like. It was not his style to win public support for doing this kind of thing.
In the game against Barcelona, Twain would stick to his defensive counterattack tactics without any surprises. He would try for a draw and score away goals. Then he would go back to the home side and seek a chance for a fatal blow.
To go directly against the team that was best in offense in the world, that manager must be crazy.
Standing in front of the home ground of Spain’s most prestigious club, Twain looked up at the high-up name as a fan. Everyone loved beauty and was willing to pursue good things. Football was no exception. Beautiful football always won applause and cheers from the bottom of people’s hearts. If Twain were a fan, he would pay sublime tribute to the teams which played beautifully but lost the game and maintain the necessary respect. Even if he was not a supporter of that team.
However, he was now a coach who could only rely on the pursuit of victory to prove his worth and maintain his position as a manager.
Suddenly a voice came from behind. Twain and Dunn could not understand it at all, so they ignored it. It was not until the voice rang out again that they realized it was directed at them.
At the same time, the owner of the voice already went around in front of them. She was a professionally dressed beauty, holding a microphone and followed by a cameraman with a camera on him.
It turned out to be an interview. Twain and Dunn looked at each other and saw surprise in each other’s eyes—they came to Spain without informing any media. Why were they found out here by the Spanish media? But they discovered they were mistaken in the next second.
“Tony Twain!” The female reporter screamed out first.
Twain and Dunn glanced at each other again—it turned out to be sheer dumb luck…
They originally thought that in Spain, a place so unfamiliar that even if they had been kidnapped, they would not be able to find anyone for the ransom, they simply did not need to wear any sunglasses or be in disguise. They did not expect the dedicated reporters to be out so early to produce the program that they would run into them among so many people…
Twain’s first reaction was to cough and lower his head to say, “You’ve got the wrong person, Miss.”
“How can it be?” The female reporter looked very excited, and said the rhetorical question with a laugh, “For the past month, the Catalan media has been plastered with all kinds of photos of you. I have collected a lot of them myself. How can I be mistaken?”
She was so happy not because she was a big fan of Tony Twain and eager to have a one-night stand or something with Twain. But it was because she was lucky enough to get the best news that no one else could get.
“It looks like you are part of the Catalan media too. Don’t you really want to give me a slap now?” Twain finally admitted his identity with reluctance. He knew he could not escape today. It would be better to admit it in this way.
“Although I’m not a lady, I’m not going to hit anyone casually, Mr. Twain.”
“Oh, is that so? I read the remarks in the Catalan media. You guys are eager to tear me apart. To give you an exclusive story, I’m already thinking about whether to hire a professional bodyguard to protect me while I direct the game at the Camp Nou. If I were to be knocked out from a weapon of mass destruction like a pig’s head, would the game be suspended for a rematch? Will the home game at Camp Nou be cancelled?”
The Catalan reporter did not know whether to laugh or cry at by Twain’s remarks. She began to think that maybe it was not an enviable job to interview Tony Twain…
“Can we not talk about those things? Mr. Twain, I’m curious as to why you’re here. Yesterday you were at the Premier League’s technical area, directing the game…”
“Don’t tell me you think I’m here to buy toilet paper?” Twain asked instead.
※※※
“This is the latest news from our reporter outside the Bernabéu stadium. Let’s take a look at whom Miss Savier met!” The “breaking news” was plugged in the pre-match special on the television station, TVC. The footage turned from the studio to the outdoors.
In the square at the Bernabéu Stadium, Tony Twain faced sideways at the television camera and opposite him was the beautiful reporter.
“What am I doing here? Don’t tell me you think I’m here to buy toilet paper? Of course, I’m here to watch the game.”
“Are you here to watch your opponent for the next game?”
“That’s right.”
“I can see that you take the next game very seriously. So, what do you hope to be the outcome for tonight’s war of the century?”
Twain gave an answer that surprised the reporter, “That Barcelona wins.”
The footage cut back and the host smiled, “It’s an unexpected answer. After Tony Twain wages a month-long war of words with us, is it him expressing goodwill?”
The interlude ended with the host’s hilarious laughter.
※※※
While waiting in line to check their tickets to enter, Dunn still could not figure out why Twain would answer in that way.
“I thought you would say ‘I want Barcelona to lose’ even if you didn’t say, ‘I want Barcelona to have a few more injured players.’ Why are you acting abnormally…”?
Twain smiled, “We have to play defensive counterattack, so we naturally have to dial down our attitude. That’s how Barcelona will be willing to press out. Although it does not matter what tactics we play and Barcelona will still stick to the offense, they certainly want us to attack them. We are not going to do what they want. A lower stance and playing defensive counterattack will be for our best.”
Having said that, he smacked his lips again and said, “If someone like me goes to Barcelona to coach, I will probably be sacked after the first game, right? Ha!”
Dunn laughed when he thought about what kind of treatment someone like Tony Twain would receive if he were to stand at Camp Nou’s technical area, “You’ll probably be the first coach in Barcelona’s history to be booed by his own team’s fans every game.”
“That’s too bad. I hate the method of booing one’s own team. But I’m looking forward to hearing the boos at Wednesday’s game.” Twain opened his arms as if to hug the boos. He added, “The fiercer they boo, the more afraid they are!”
※※※
The clash between Barcelona and Real Madrid appeared lackluster against the backdrop of the Champions League quarterfinals. This disappointed Twain—the war of the century he most wanted to see should be like this: the referee should crazily issue cards like a dealer in a Las Vegas casino, the players of both teams should repeatedly collide on the field like twenty-two bulls in heat, and then a few core players would be in a heated collision. Maybe it would not necessarily be intense. The process was not important. What mattered was the result—for them to be injured and leave the pitch. The latest news from the hospital the next day would that these people would all be injured for a month, just missing the two games against the Forest team.
Unfortunately, Guardiola was not a fool. The war of the century was a game that could not be lost the most in the season, but he was not willing to give up the Champions League. What heartened him was the rival, Real Madrid also reached the top eight of the Champions League and they did not want to use up too much energy in the war of the century.
The two sides tacitly played a slow-paced “war of the century” on the pitch, much to Twain’s dissatisfaction. He booed in the stands like an ordinary fan, “Such a game should really refund the ticket price and the TV broadcast fee! Practically deceiving the spectators! It’s so fake!!”
There were plenty of spectators who shared his views at the Bernabéu. It was clear how much the fans and the coaches disagreed—the fans who paid to buy tickets to watch the game might only care about this game in a season, whereas the manager of a team could not do that. Otherwise, he would be fired.
Ribéry missed the game due to his injury. So, Twain did not see a showdown between his two former players. Piqué’s performance was adequate without any bright spots. Maybe he was conserving his energy for the game against Nottingham Forest?
When Real Madrid temporarily took a 2:1 lead over Barcelona with twenty minutes left in the game, the Barcelona players were in no hurry to equalize. Messi tried his best to score, but it was difficult for him to achieve anything without support against the backdrop of a slow pace throughout the team. Guardiola did not whistle until ten minutes left in the game to signal to his team to increase the pace of the attack and try to equalize the score.
It was already too late.
For Barcelona, which had been slow for eighty minutes, it was easier said than done for them to suddenly speed up. Only Messi was able to keep up with the pace, but he was replaced by Guardiola five minutes ago—he wanted to protect Messi and keep his strength.
In this way, Barcelona lost the game by a score of 1:2 to Real Madrid. Both sides obtained a victory respectively in the “war of the century” this season which gave them a draw.
Twain was extremely disappointed when he left Bernabéu with Dunn because he did not see some of the key players in Barcelona’s squad injured. He complained that Guardiola treated Messi like a vacuum pack for fear that he would suffer the slightest injury.
From this point on, Guardiola had already won a chip even though the two men had yet to officially fight.
For the Catalan young manager, losing to Real Madrid in the league tournament and equalizing were not too important. The games which already ended were not worth the discussion. No one on the team was injured in this game and that was the greatest victory.
In the post-match press conference, Guardiola looked a little distracted. Perhaps he was already imagining Tony Twain’s expression when he saw the scene.
We’ll use the strongest lineup to deal with you. Hope you won’t be too surprised, Mr. Twain.
...
Chapter 798 - An Army Burning with Righteous Indignation
The area which Guardiola was most careful about these days was not on the training ground, but on the team doctor’s side. Iniesta and Milito were injured in the game against RCD Espanyol, with Iniesta slightly injured. The team doctor said at the time that he was likely to play against Nottingham Forest. So, after playing in the war of the century with Real Madrid, he began to care about this issue for fear of a relapse.
Iniesta was now the team’s midfield core. He and Xavi managed things well in the midfield for Barcelona’s offense. Barcelona was considered to be the team that played most beautifully on the planet at the moment, and it was to the credit to the both of them.
Guardiola did not want to lose that player when it came to deal with the aggressive Nottingham Forest.
Aside from Gabriel Milito’s slightly more serious injury, he did want to come up with the strongest lineup to deal with a tiger like Tony Twain.
Two days before the game, the good news finally came. After a detailed physical examination of Iniesta by the team doctors, they confirmed that he recovered well and was in good form. He could play in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals.
Guardiola could finally heaved a sigh of relief.
※※※
Despite the life-and-death battle between the two teams, there was already tension between the two managers. But the relationship between the players was not as bad as what the outsiders thought. As a Barcelona player who had played for Nottingham Forest for many years, Piqué still had a good relationship with a few people even though many of his former teammates had left Nottingham Forest, such as Bale and Lennon, as well as his former center back partner, Pepe at Nottingham Forest.
Fortunately, Twain got used to it a few months early. Otherwise he really would not know how he would feel when he saw Real Madrid’s future main center back and the future Barcelona’s main center back joking together and acting like brothers…
Of course, there were also some media that used this relationship as speculation. When the Nottingham Forest team arrived in Barcelona, Pepe was asked such a question in the interview. Pepe did not mince words to say he and Piqué were good friends, “… We had a good understanding on the pitch, and I enjoyed that time. Of course, I currently work well with Kompany, Woodgate and other teammates… But I thought it was normal that he left. After all, he came out of La Masia… You ask what happens when it comes to the game? I certainly will not hold back. Friendship is friendship and the game is the game …”
Piqué also responded to Pepe’s words, “… Yes, I still remember my time at Nottingham Forest. But I’m clear-headed and know what the game is. You don’t have to doubt my loyalty to Barcelona. Otherwise I wouldn’t have chosen to leave Nottingham Forest then. Maybe I’ll treat them out to a meal after the game, but until then I just want to beat them.”
He was also asked by the reporters how it felt to work with Twain. Piqué was slightly upset by the recent Catalan media’s aggressive and strong comments about Twain, which were already sufficient to constitute personal attacks and slanders—leaving aside his loyalty to the team and the manager, Guardiola did not hold the same place as Tony Twain in Piqué’s mind.
So, he decided to put aside his previous “no comment” attitude and say something nice about Twain, “Tony Twain is a charismatic manager. He seems to have a magical aura that captivates you. There are a lot of criticism of his style in England, but his players always stand with him.”
The Catalan media were not happy with the answer. They wanted to hear the voices of the Barcelona players joined in opposition to the same adversary, rather than such an “anomaly.” Then someone asked, “But every player who left Nottingham Forest did not seem to have anything good to say about him…”
Piqué laughed, “Am I not one?”
“What about Guardiola?”
It was a trap, and Piqué carefully went around, “They are both very good managers. I have the privilege of playing for them and won the Champions League titles.” Piqué won two Champions League titles under Tony Twain and under Guardiola, he lifted the championship cup for the third time last season. Therefore, when it came the experience of getting the Champions League title, he might have more than many of his current teammates.
Piqué was probably the only player in the Barcelona team who had goodwill toward Nottingham Forest and Tony Twain. The other players did not speak as nicely during the interview.
“There is no doubt that we will win.”
“I want a victory.”
“We’re the defending champions!”
…
And so on. Declarations like this made people think that Barcelona was full of confidence.
What did the master of psychological warfare, Tony Twain think of this?
“The louder the clamor is at this time, the more nonsense being said, the more they prove that they lack confidence, and must use this false bravado to boost some confidence in themselves. As for me? I never talk nonsense before a game.” He casually dismissed Barcelona’s angry attacks even though a number of Catalan media derided him as giving himself a slap in the face, “If he ‘never talks nonsense before a game’, then maybe it’s the end of the world.” Some Barcelona fans in China even lashed out at Twain’s “thick skin is as thick as the Great Wall.” On the internet, they even traded insults with those they labeled as “country bumpkin upstarts”, the rising emergence of a large number of Nottingham Forest fans following the rise of the Forest team.
That was what Twain said, and that was what he did. Since the team’s arrival in Barcelona, he refused to accept interviews of unidentified origin. If the outsiders wanted to know what the manager was doing, they could only find out through Pierce Brosnan’s [Nottingham Evening Post]. Still, he gave pitifully little information to the “royal correspondent.”
He was focused on preparing for the game and intended to wage a big war at Camp Nou.
The media complained that “Tony Twain’s secretive time” had returned and did not know why he liked closed door training so much. But what made the media even more miserable was that even though Tony Twain drove them away like they were flies, they did really scrabbled madly for him like flies to a cake. To put it bluntly—they were really lowly.
※※※
On April 16th, after a month of repeated hype, both sides engaged in numerous wars of words, mixed with Derbi barceloní, El Clásico, Nottingham Forest’s heavyweight games against Chelsea and other teams, this high-profile clash that would leave both sides shattered was finally on the verge.
By this time, all the noise seemed to disappear. Whether it was the Forest team’s side or Barcelona’s side, no one jumped out and spat at each other. If they still clung to the outcome of war of words at this time, then they could not be considered as qualified professional players.
On the day of the game, there was only ninety minutes in the game to decide which team could finally be able to hold their heads up high and which team could only hung their heads in dejected and go home with the tails in between their legs. If they did not want to be trampled in the mud and be humiliated after the game, then they had to put all their efforts into the game.
※※※
Tony Twain was in the luxurious away team locker room at Camp Nou, giving the players one last reminder and special instruction.
“Iniesta and Xavi are the playmakers in the game. More attention must be paid. Don’t give them too much space and time to get the ball in front of the penalty area. Our flanks should pay attention to the opponent’s full backs, especially on their right which is our left side. Today’s defensive task is quite important. Alves and Messi are both put here. But I don’t ask that you just defend, because that doesn’t work. Fight back at the appropriate time and let Barcelona know that if they dare to press on, we’ll fight back!”
Twain looked stern, and so were his players. No one would take such an opponent lightly, let alone it was the opponent’s home ground.
Using “luxurious” to describe Barcelona’s lineup today was probably not enough. “Terrifying” must be used.
On the tactical board, Twain listed the opponent’s starting lineup which he had just received:
The goalkeeper was Valdés. The center backs were Piqué and Puyol. The right back was Alves and the left back was Lahm, who joined the team from Bayern Munich this summer. The three midfielders were Yaya Touré who were further back, with Iniesta and Xavi in the front to organize the offense. Among the three strikers, Bojan was in the middle, Silva, whom Twain was interested in at one point, was on the left, and Messi was on the right.
The 34-year-old Henry had already left the club. While there were rumors of Eto’o being sold off cheap every season, but ultimately still remained in the squad, only for his main position to be replaced by Bojan. His speed, which he was so proud of, also gradually grew rusty with age. Other than his mouth, he was not his valiant self of the yesteryear.
This time, Twain had no intention of handing Messi over to Wood, as there were Xavi and Iniesta, the two players in the middle. It was impossible to cede the middle to them. So, the main responsibility of Wood and Tiago would be in the middle to directly defend against the two playmakers in the midfield. Messi was left to Baines, Matías Fernández, and the others to take care of.
At the same time, the defensive pressure on the right side was not small either. Silva was not to be trifled with and Lahm was also a full back who exceled in assists.
Coupled with an agile Bojan, it was really a headache to face such an offensive lineup. The defensive side should handle everything and not be exposed.
If they really had to attack Barcelona head-on, there were probably few teams in the world that could fully withdraw. Twain cleverly chose to play defensive counterattack and placed many players in the middle of the backfield. To be on guard and defend to the end required the cooperation to the team.
“You have to make sure the formation stay in shape and not let them give and go to disrupt. The full backs do not have to withdraw by too much. It will give them the chance to play near the sides. Messi and Silva were great players. We have George and Tiago in the flanks. The range of activity should be appropriately increased, but don’t lose your positions.”
“Guys, this game is very demanding on the defense. But that doesn’t mean we don’t value offense. The aim of the away game is not to prevent defeat, but to score goals and score more goals. You must think of attacking anytime, anywhere during defense. But with defense as priority, we can’t give the offense too much support. This requires you, the attacking players to find your own way. But no matter what you do, you must be resolute. When there’s a chance, you must plug ahead and pass forward! Don’t think about the pointless question of whether the attack will be successful. You only think about getting the football closer to the other side’s goal, and that is success! As long as we can create enough trouble, Barcelona’s offensive momentum will naturally wane. There is no unadulterated offense and defense in this world. We must be more patient than the opponent!”
After he finished talking about the technical tactics required attention, Twain tossed aside the marker pen in his hand. He said, “Okay, guys. Let’s talk about something that’s not so dry. Will you be surprised If I say I’m not sure we can finally win the championship title this season?”
It appeared that most of the players were not surprised. Obviously they also had a certain understanding of their own strength.
“I always give people the impression that I’m arrogant and conceited. But I’m never blindly arrogant. When did I say we’d win the championship and not win? No, not once.” He shook his head. “But I can’t ask you for more this time. Barcelona is currently really strong, and I think it’s even stronger than last season when they won the Champions League title.” Twain said this with an imposing expression on his face.
But someone disagreed. Eastwood smiled and said, “Hey, chief. You’re kidding us, aren’t you? I’ve been with you all these years and never seen you so afraid of a team…”
Twain glared at him and said, “It’s not fear. I’m never afraid of an opponent, but I hope you don’t develop a blind self-confidence, which will only push us into the dark abyss. To be honest, I haven’t thought to advance into any finals this season, so I’m happy to be able to encounter Inter Milan and Barcelona in two rounds in a row—I don’t have to wait until the final to meet one of them, which is great! I’m asking you now to play every game as if it were a final. Regardless of how far we can finally go, it’s beside the point! Totally beside the point!”
The boss’ anomaly today was not to boost morale for everyone before the game. The players really found it incomprehensible that he would say something that demeaned himself and gave high praise to the opponent… But when they saw the serious expression on the boss’ face, he was definitely not pretending. So, they also followed suit and wiped the smiles off their faces, leaving only frowns and piercing gazes. They always believed in the boss, and since the boss said so, they would do so as well.
“Play against Barcelona like they are our opponent in the finals, and then play against any opponents after like you would in a final! That’s all I ask of you.”
The players finally took to the pitch with this sentiment, while Twain and Dunn stayed at the back.
“What’s all that about?” Dunn asked.
“Barcelona is really strong, so I’ve got to scheme a little. An army burning with righteous indignation is bound to win.” Twain laughed slyly, “Tell them not to think about what to do in the future, to play the game like it was the finals, to play every game with their utmost efforts, and then when they suddenly want to stop to take a breather, they look up—wow, it’s already the finals!”
“So, do you think about winning the title or not?”
“If we’re in the finals, why should we do our best to fight for a runner-up spot?” Twain turned to look at his partner. His brown eyes flashed with an elusive glow.
...
Chapter 799 - The Taller Trees in The Woods Are Liable to Get Their Tops Blown Off
It was Twain’s third time at Camp Nou, and it felt more intense than the previous two times because the nearly eighty thousand home fans were booing the Forest team with imposing momentum. The last time he was here, he did not receive such a warm welcome. What happened today was all to the Catalan media’s credit.
As the Barcelona players walked into the stadium, the fans were still chanting Barcelona’s team song, singing at a crescendo. Every one of the eighty thousand people chanted “Barça! Barça! Bar-ça!” Then when they saw the Nottingham Forest players ran onto the pitch, these people uniformly burst into shrill boos like they were one person.
“What a welcoming host.” Twain laughed.
While eighty thousand people hissing at the same time was a magnificent sight, it did not affect the Nottingham Forest players. As the annoying Tony Twain’s men, they were long used to being booed when they played in away games. The difference was whether it was a lot of or fewer people. The stadium was smaller if there were fewer people, and the noises would reverberate. The more people the bigger the stadium and the sounds were spread out, so the side with more people would not have any advantage to their number.
The Nottingham Forest players might be weaker than Barcelona in other respects, but in terms of their mental strength, they considered themselves second to none in the world. So, they were calm in the face of the thunderous boos.
George Wood shook hands with Puyol and exchanged the team flags. Then they did the coin toss. He won Puyol and got to pick the side. In fact, Twain had always felt that picking the side was not as important as the kickoff. Therefore, he hoped Wood would lose in the coin toss every time.
After the game started, Barcelona used the kickoff to launch an attack and Nottingham Forest retreated to defend.
“The game has just started, and Nottingham Forest are on the defensive. The pre-match spat was so intense that I thought Tony Twain would pounce to attack at the start of the game.” The television commentator was slightly critical of Twain’s retreating defense.
The commenter next to him laughed, “Barcelona has the ball. If Nottingham Forest wants to attack, how can they attack without the ball under their feet? Nottingham Forest will stick to the defensive counterattack in the game if there are no surprises. Tony Twain is a smart man who knows what the result is to go directly against Barcelona at Camp Nou.”
“But can they really hold on if they cling fast to defense at Camp Nou? I think it will be a matter of time before a goal is scored if they are besieged by Barcelona.” The commentator also had his own opinion on this.
“You’re right. If any team just wants to attack when it is up against Barcelona, then it’s normal for them to concede goals. On the other hand, if they just want to defend, they will also concede their goal sooner or later. So, Tony Twain did not go to the extremes here, and defensive counterattack is his special measure. I think if Barcelona can’t score after a while, the game will be on track for Nottingham Forest.”
Guardiola was aware of this point too. He knew that Tony Twain would play defensive counterattack in the away game, so the key was whether he could keep him from defending successfully. As long as the Forest team lost the possession of the ball first, Tony Twain’s defensive counterattack would collapse.
The crux of the game was not how strong the defense was, but whether the offense was sharp.
One of the best attacking lines in Europe today was facing the best defensive line, and the clash between the spear and the shield was not as exciting as one might think.
Barcelona’s offensive met with a tenacious obstruction from Nottingham Forest outside the thirty meters zone. George Wood’s and Tiago’s defense was solid, especially Wood’s. His tireless running ensured that he would appear where he was most needed. Both Xavi and Iniesta met with a lot of trouble.
Iniesta took the ball and stopped outside to observe and found that there was no suitable chance to pass the ball inside. Just as Messi found the same problem and pulled out to receive in the midfield, Iniesta simply handed the ball to him.
While Iniesta and Xavi were the brains of the team, Messi’s popularity was much higher than theirs. As soon as the small statured Argentine received the ball, a huge cheer went up in the stands. Everyone was waiting for his magical performance.
Barcelona’s No. 10, known as the king of the new generation of footballers, was last year’s European Footballer of the Year, FIFA World Player of the Year, champion of the Champions League and World Cup. When he stood in front of you, it was as if his entire body radiated with light. Even if he did not do anything, he would still be the most eye-catching target on the field. Then he easily bypassed Baines.
The combination of speed and technique was perfect. It was a simple feint and another kick to the ball tricked Baines into stumbling. Such a gap in level was really frustrating—no, that would be the general idea. But for the Nottingham Forest players, they might smugly underestimated the opponents if they were too weak. However, when the opponent was too strong … they were more excited instead!
Baines was knocked to the ground. Fernández was already blocking in front of Messi as he prepared to cut inside. The quick-to-react and nimble Messi rushed to kick the football to the outside line and flashed past Fernández. When he evaded Fernández’s amateur defensive action with his excellent response, he was tangled by Pepe, while Baines had rushed back to defend him from behind at the same time.
The embattled Messi also tried to protect the football, but he fell to ground when he was kicked by Baines who rushed from behind!
Baines kicked the back of Messi’s right ankle, and Messi screamed as he fell to the ground. He held his ankle as if he was in agony.
The stands burst into earthshattering hisses. The impetus was enough to scare a man with a weak heart to death.
The Barcelona fans hated all fouls against Messi because it would simply be killing the art of football and destroying their beliefs in football.
The referee’s whistle was almost drowned out by the boos. Baines reacted quickly and immediately leaned over to comfort Messi to show goodwill to the referee. But the commentator did not let him go easily, “The game has just begun, and Messi has been attacked by the Nottingham Forest player. This scene is simply too familiar. Recently we often see such a scene. As Barcelona’s most famous and powerful player, Messi has reaped numerous honors while he has also been given the attention of the defenders. Baines’ foul is enough for him to get a yellow card!”
The referee did not give Baines a card. Perhaps given that the game had just begun, he did not want to affect the intensity of the game that followed. It seemed that the Italian referee was not an “iron-faced judge.” Otherwise, he would not be able to evade a yellow card.
The Barcelona fans close to the sidelines were swearing at Baines in Catalan and English, “You bastard! Only a coward kicks another person’s ankle!!”
“You English savages! Football hooligans!!”
Baines turned a deaf ear. When he saw that the referee did not issue a card, but only a verbal warning, he turned and ran off after listening.
Messi looked miserable, much to the delight of Twain off the field. He thought Baines had caused Messi to leave the pitch with his kick. But soon he was disappointed—Messi groaned for a while and stood up…
Looking at the way he was moving his ankle, he guessed he was okay.
Twain’s mouth twisted and said to Dunn somewhat disappointed, “Just as I thought. How could he scream like that with such a light kick?”
Guardiola was furious that the referee had not shown Baines a yellow card. He protested loudly on the sidelines until he drew the attention of the fourth official. He finally calmed down under the behest of the fourth official.
“I’m wondering if Baines’ kick was accidental or Tony Twain’s special request before the game…” The commentator said after he saw the scene.
“We’ll find out as we continue to watch the game. But I bet it must have been arranged by Twain. He has said that he will use all means and ways to win. So why will he not use the lethal tactics against Messi which are so popular now?” The commentator said.
In fact, they blamed Twain wrongly. He did not instruct the players to use rough fouls and lethal tactics against Messi before the game. He just told the players to keep a close eye on Messi, so the players themselves understood that it was difficult to use the conventional defense tactics to defend against the football genie. The simplest and most effective way was naturally a foul. As for whether to kick the ankle or the knee, whether to knock or pull the person, it was all only a formality.
Of course, the possibility that Baines was resentful after being easily shaken off by Messi and turned around to kick Messi in retaliation could not be ruled out.
※※※
Messi did not cut back on his ball possession rate because he suffered Baines’s attack. When the team could not get a breakthrough, he always actively pulled back to ask for the ball. Then in the face of Baines, he would insist on bypassing him one-on-one. Messi’s active play put the focus of Barcelona’s offensive on the right side. Nottingham Forest’s defense on the left was under immense pressure. George Wood, Pepe and the others started to consciously lean towards this side.
At this point, Iniesta, who was in charge of diverting the ball, did not continue to pass the ball to Messi, but shifted to the right side and handed the football to Silva.
Nottingham Forest’s right side was emptier as compared to the heavily guarded left side. Silva beautifully stopped the ball to suddenly cut inside and charged into the penalty area!
“Silva! This is Barcelona’s chance! He tried to keep going in the penalty area. Rafinha is defending against him, but doesn’t dare to make a move lightly… A breakthrough! Success!”
Silva seized the opportunity when Rafinha did not dare to make a move. He pushed the football past him and then lifted his leg to sweep the ball. The football rolled along the turf in front of the goal. Anyone who kicked the ball could hit the goal in this way.
Bojan grabbed the ball in the crowd, but his shot was blocked by Akinfeev, who was in an excellent position and used his body to block!
“Bojan shoots! Oh, that’s a shame! It did not go in!”
Blocked by Akinfeev, the football fell to Iniesta’s feet. He hit a long shot under Wood’s close marking but hit it too high.
In the ensuing period, Barcelona completely suppressed Nottingham Forest. For a period of time, Nottingham Forest could not even pass the football past half of the field, never mind start a counterattack. George Wood’s and Tiago’s job was to keep intercepting the ball again and again.
※※※
Tiago was shown his first yellow card in the game in the 24th minute when he fouled against Messi. At the time, Messi suddenly switched to the middle and directly broke through Tiago. As Tiago turned a little slower, he could only stretch out his hands to drag Messi to the ground as if he were wrestling in order not to let Messi break through successfully.
It would not do to not issue a yellow card with such an obvious foul. The referee gave a yellow card to warn Tiago, but the Barcelona fans were still unwilling to forgive—they felt that the referee on duty for the game was too soft and that many of Nottingham Forest’s fouls were only verbal warnings. For example, George Wood shoveled Iniesta from behind. After the ball was intercepted, the referee actually indicated that it was not a foul and the game continued! The thunderous boos came at Wood and the referee at that time.
The Nottingham Forest players grew bold after they realized this and stepped up their defensive moves. It was not until the 24th minute of the game that the referee showed his first yellow card of the game. Tiago did it right under the referee’s nose and it was no excuse that he even used his hands to encircle the waist…. The football match was fast becoming a wrestling match. If he still did not show any cards, perhaps the game would become an unrestricted wrestling competition.
The referee’s yellow card slightly moderated Nottingham Forest’s actions. But within minutes, when they found that Barcelona’s attack became lively as they exercised restraint, they suddenly threw the yellow card warning out of their minds.
Messi was knocked straight out of the field by Baines and hit a billboard when he was dribbling the ball on the side. The scene was visually impactful as if he were dead. Consequently, the boos suddenly grew louder again.
This time, the referee took a yellow card out of his pocket and gave it to Baines. When Baines saw that he had gotten a card, he simply stopped pretending to be a nice guy … He did not pull Messi up. He just turned around and ran away.
In fact, Messi was not injured. He got up himself and spread his hands somewhat helplessly. He had met with such treatment countless times, but he was not used to it. The defenders always looked vicious and could not wait to break the joints in his whole body whenever they saw him.
The series of violations against the Barcelona players had brought down Nottingham Forest’s image to the bottom of the Barcelona fans’ minds. At the beginning of the game, the home fans still maintained the basic courtesy to the visiting team. But thirty minutes later, as soon as the Nottingham Forest players touched the ball on the pitch, what “welcomed” them was a burst of boos.
Another thing that made the Barcelona fans feel fretful was—it had been thirty minutes since the game started, Barcelona’s attack could be said to be aggressive, and at the most dangerous time, Nottingham Forest’s goal looked like a skiff in a tempest, ready to be capsized at any moment. Despite this, the score on the big screen remained at 0:0 so far.
“Time went by so quickly and before we know it, thirty minutes had already passed in the first half. But Barcelona still did not score. They had numerous chances to shoot in the thirty minutes. It looked like every time they were able to break the goal that Akinfeev guarded, things turned out contrary to what they wanted. Until now, they and Nottingham Forest are still 0:0! It’s indeed embarrassing for the Barcelona fans. The only highlight within the thirty minutes might be that Messi was knocked to the ground again and again, right? I think in the second half, he should change to a new jersey to play. Otherwise, we won’t be able to tell the number on his jersey…”
“But the result of Nottingham Forest’s efforts is clear. Messi is heavily marked, and Iniesta and Xavi have no better way in the face of Nottingham Forest’s heavy forces deployed in the middle. With Messi being so active on his side, Silva’s side looked a little deserted, while Bojan was completely inundated by the Forest team’s strong defenders… Tony Twain is good at defense and Guardiola should consider how to deal with it. Maybe he should make some adjustments? His offense is a little too dependent on Messi. Twain is clearly targeting him on this point by sending people to attack Messi in turn.”
“The aggression against Messi was uncomfortable to watch but from the Nottingham Forest manager’s point of view, he did it very well. It looks like Nottingham Forest intends to bring Messi off. Three players had been shown the yellow cards so far. In fact, I think Guardiola did not have to rush to adjust and he should just wait until the second half. As the Nottingham Forest players get more and more yellow cards from Messi and the others, problems will appear within Nottingham Forest’s defense and it will be Barcelona’s chance when the time comes. Tony Twain will have a chance to pay for his actions…”
...
Chapter 800: Come out If You Dare
“Problems would naturally arise in Nottingham Forest’s defense as their players receive more and more yellow cards for their fouls on Messi and the other players. Tony Twain will pay the price for his actions…”
The guest commentator had only just finished his words when there was a sudden change to the situation on the pitch.
During one of Barcelona’s attacks, Xavi and Iniesta performed a feint in the midfield that fooled people into thinking that they were going to try and attack down the middle of the pitch. The next moment, they suddenly passed the ball over to Messi who was positioned at the flank.
Their attack was no different from any of the attacks that Barcelona had launched in the past. However, Nottingham Forest messed up its defense this time. Baines had initially wanted to commit a foul on Messi, but he did not expect Messi to take advantage of him instead and make his way past him with a turn.
Baines’ mistake was a little too amateurish. He had rushed up towards Messi like a fool, but Messi easily got past him when he stuck his leg out as though he was nothing but air.
Messi had already made his way into Forest’s penalty box before any of the Nottingham Forest defenders had the time to react!
“He has made his way inside!”
None of Nottingham Forest’s defenders dared to act recklessly now that Messi has made his way into the penalty box.
Messi has a way to score a goal no matter how small a space he is given, as long as the defenders do not stick a foot out to kick the ball away. He skillfully made his way through the tight space within the penalty box and demonstrated his outstanding ball handling techniques. He got past Pepe with the ball still firmly at his feet.
“He has gotten past Pepe! He continues to control the ball at his feet!”
Kompany did not dare to stick a leg out to stop Messi for fear of giving away a penalty.
George Wood did not share Kompany’s reservations. He would never think about the consequences. He would always act first and think later.
Messi sensed danger as he was looking for a chance to shoot. He did not have time to contemplate if he should pass the ball or shoot. He instinctively raised his foot and shot for goal!
Right as Messi kicked the ball away, Wood came at him with a tackle. Fortunately, Messi had jumped up into the air after he shot the ball, and it allowed him to evade Wood’s potentially life-threatening tackle…
The entire incident had happened in a flash of an eye. All the spectators saw was Messi raise his foot to shoot for goal, and George Wood coming in at him a short while later.
The goal had happened too close and too suddenly. It did not matter how fast Akinfeev could react. He would still not be able to get to the ball…
The ball flew past Akinfeev’s feet and went straight into the corner of the net!
“GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!” The Spanish commentator dragged out the word as he roared.
Camp Nou came alive. Everyone began chanting the name of the hero who just scored a goal in unison.
Guardiola, who had been standing nervously by the side of the pitch all this while, jumped up with clenched fists.
He could finally let out a sigh of relief…
All the staff and players sitting at the bench to his side were all locked in an embrace.
Messi’s goal had come at just the right time. If it had come later, Barcelona would have gone into halftime with a score of 0:0, and that would have dealt a blow to their team’s morale. Messi’s goal not only boosted the team’s morale, it also ensured that Nottingham Forest would not be able to play their ‘defend and counterattack’ tactic anymore, and that would shift the game in Barcelona’s favor from here on out.
Messi’s goal was extremely significant to the team. The team has no reason not to celebrate to their hearts’ content.
“F*ck!”
In contrast to the euphoria exhibited by the Barcelona staff and players, Twain was upset and had just shouted an expletive.
“Baines made an idiotic mistake! And those defenders at the back… If you don’t dare to stick your foot out, then you jolly well stick close to him! Why are you all just standing there ogling at his performance? Are you all watching a monkey perform tricks? Sh*t! Bunch of bastards!”
No one beside Twain dared to utter a word as he vented his frustrations. They were also feeling dejected over how their team was one goal down. The team was not able to maintain the goalless situation till the end of the first half despite having held on for 40 minutes. How could they not be dispirited?
“Messi’s solo performance! Brilliantly done! He has allowed Nottingham Forest to realize one thing… You can’t win even if you defend to the death against Barcelona! Messi’s the fairy of football, and he’s the player who has gotten the closest to the King of football, Diego Maradona! He is always able to find a way to pry open the door that his opponents try to seal on him and bring victory to his team! Messi is in an outstanding form right now! He continues to persevere and fight no matter how tightly his opponents mark him and how much they foul him! Well done!”
The commentator threw every compliment that he could think of at the Argentinian shorty. To him, Nottingham Forest was the ‘villain’ who was only capable of using fouls to stop Messi. They were a team that was rotten beyond salvation.
Messi, on the other hand, was like a hero who always managed to get back on his feet to fight no matter how heavy a blow he has been dealt with. He was someone who earned everyone’s respect.
Tony Twain and his team are just not likeable most of the time…
Contrary to how Barcelona’s players were celebrating without restraint on the pitch, Nottingham Forest seemed lifeless and despondent. Baines, who had committed an error, stood rooted at the spot with his head hung low in vexation. Pepe had initially wanted to get back onto his two feet, but he lied back down onto the ground and covered his face with his hands after seeing Messi shoot the ball into the net.
※※※
The Nottingham Forest players appeared dazed when the match restarted. Everyone had been emotionally affected by Messi’s goal. They had worked hard for 40 minutes to no avail, because Barcelona still managed to score against them.
With the Forest players being distracted, the remainder of the first half swung in favor of Barcelona. There was a time where they nearly scored again. If not for the fact that Akinfeev was in a good form and had pounced at the shot from Bojan Krkić as though his life depended on it, the first half would have ended with a score of 0:2.
Twain was very upset with how his players performed after the match restarted. He could not stop yelling and flailing his arms about as he stood by the side of the pitch. He was just like a King Kong who was hitting at helicopters at the top of a building.
The players pulled themselves together after hearing his repeated yells. They fought to the end of the first half and did not give Barcelona another decent chance at goal.
At half-time, Guardiola made his way away from the pitch with a contented smile on his face. Twain stayed behind by the side of the pitch and patted any Forest player on the shoulder when they walked past him.
Twain said nothing besides patting his players on the shoulder. The players were well aware that their boss was very unhappy with their performance towards the end of the first half. They had all kept their heads low as they walked briskly back to the locker room.
Twain was the last to make his way into the locker room. However, he did not slam the door shut after him and admonish the players furiously.
“Don’t think about the goal that you have allowed the opponent to score. What good can come of filling your minds with thoughts about it? Can it make the goal disappear? Can it help us score two goals in five minutes and make a comeback?” Twain was upset with the performance that the team put in after the match restarted, and so he focused on criticizing their performance during that period of time.
“The performance that all of you put in after we went one goal down was too awful! That wasn’t a performance that any professional footballer should be putting in. Don’t tell me that all of you are so psychologically weak?”
As a veteran player for Nottingham Forest, Pepe has more guts to say the words that no other player would dare to say to Twain in the locker room. The words are not words that only he could say, but George Wood was reticent and Eastwood did not play in the match, so he did not understand what the players were thinking during the match.
Right now, Pepe was the only one who understood what the players were thinking and also had the courage to voice his opinions.
He raised his hand and indicated that he had something to say.
“What do you want to say, Pepe?”
“Boss, it was you who told us to play the match as though we were playing in the finals. When we thought that we had allowed the other team to score during the finals… We… Uh… Well, as you can see.”
“Can any of you guarantee that you won’t let the opponent score a single goal during the finals?” Twain was not angry. He laughed instead. “The finals is also nothing more than a regular football match. If you let the opponent score a goal, then you just score one back. There’s nothing else that needs to be said. We actually had a chance to get a goal back if all of you were in a better state of mind after Barcelona scored the goal.”
Twain was not lying. Barcelona had gotten ahead of themselves after they managed to score a goal. They had pressed high up the pitch hoping to find the opportunity to score another goal, but they had forgotten about how Nottingham Forest had the chance to go on the counterattack due to the large space that they had left behind them.
Unfortunately, the Forest players were unable to get over how they had allowed Barcelona to score a goal, and they even looked battered as they defended against Barcelona’s attacks. A counterattack was the last thing on their minds…
“If you can score goals, then the ones who would be dispirited right now would be the ones next door and not us… But, forget it.” Twain shook his head. “There’s no use crying over spilt milk. Focus on thinking about what you ought to do in the second half. Does anyone here think that we should press forward and attack because we are down by one goal?” Twain started laughing as he finished those words.
“I believe many of you would think that way, including those people next door. They think that being down by one goal is the end of the world, but sadly, that’s not the case. We are still going to defend and counterattack in the second half. You guys need to think about it this way. The worst case scenario for us is that we would lose this match, but even then, we would only lose with the score of 0:1. We still have a big chance of winning when we play at home. So, I want all of you to get your act together for the second half. We are going to stick with our plan of defending and counterattacking. Relax, the ones who will falter as the match goes on will be Barcelona. They know that winning by just one goal in their home game is a very risky thing. All you lot need to do is to be even more patient than them and wait for the chance to counterattack. If you do that, you will definitely be able to score a goal. As long as we can score a goal, we can level the score, and we’d be able to seize the initiative in the match. If Barcelona keeps pressing and attacking us, we’d just continue to counterattack! We’d annihilate them at their home ground!”
“There’d be no changes to our tactics. But I want you to be careful not to pick up too many cards in the second half. If I were Guardiola, I’d let Messi, Dani Alves, and perhaps even Xavi and Iniesta attack our left flank. How many of our players have picked up yellow cards?” Twain started counting with his fingers. “Baines, Tiago, Pepe. It’s not like you can only defend by committing fouls. What will we do if all of you get a red card? So, be careful with your actions. Of course, if you can commit a foul and somehow escape the referee’s eyes, then I’d applaud you!”
※※※
In the second half, Guardiola strengthened his attack down the right flank, just as Twain had predicted.
Dani Alves became even more lively in the second half and kept going forward to join in the attack. During one particular attack, he did not even return to his original position, choosing instead to wait in the front of the pitch for the second chance to attack. Messi kept trying to mess up Forest’s defense and exert pressure on Pepe, Baines and others by cutting into the middle from the flank numerous times.
Guardiola chose to ramp up their attacks down the right flank after noticing that Nottingham Forest had no intentions of going on the offense and facing them head on. He was going to let Forest pay the price for choosing to go all out in their defense against Barcelona.
Weren’t you out to injure my players? I’d make sure your players pick up a red card and disappear from the pitch first!
The Nottingham Forest players were more reserved with the way the defended due to the warning given to them by their boss at half-time. This allowed Barcelona to get more chances to attack Forest’s goalpost.
Fortunately for Forest, Akinfeev was in a good form for the match. He became the busiest person on the pitch in the second half. He had to pounce into the air and also get down onto the ground to block the numerous shots from Barcelona’s players.
“Messi shoots! Akinfeev… What a wonderful save!”
“Bojan Krkić’s header is easily stopped by Akinfeev. He might only be 1.84m tall, but he has amazing jumping abilities, and is also very accurate in his judgement as to where the ball will fall. It looks like Tony Twain is intent on going away from Camp Nou with a score of 0:1. That’s not a bad idea, actually. If Nottingham Forest do manage to go away from this match with that score, then all credit goes to Akinfeev…”
“Is Silva trying to pass the ball into the middle? No! He has actually shot for goal! Brilliant! Akinfeev pounces for the ball and sends it over the crossbar!”
“There goes the corner, and Akinfeev gets the ball!”
Akinfeev did not just perform brilliantly during defense. He was also able to initiate an attack by throwing the ball forward. In fact, Akinfeev throwing the ball forward after saving a shot became one of the main ways for Nottingham Forest to switch from being on the defense to going on the counterattack.
Sadly, Nottingham Forest was unable to commit too many players to the counterattack each time, and their entire offense lacked power as well. Hence, Forest’s counterattacks would always lead nowhere and Akinfeev was not able to initiate a successful counterattack for the team.
Despite Akinfeev’s outstanding performance however, the Barcelona fans and the commentator continued to believe that Barcelona were the favorites to win the match, because they did not believe that an all-out defense would lead to victory.
Isn’t Messi’s goal towards the end of the first half enough to prove that such a tactic would not work?
No matter how well the goalkeeper performed, all Nottingham Forest was doing was to play passively and defend. There is no such thing in the world as an impenetrable defense. As time goes on, Akinfeev is bound to commit a mistake that will lead to dire consequences for the team. The match will more or less be decided once Nottingham Forest goes behind by two goals, and Barcelona would become the victor of the match.
This match between Barcelona and Nottingham Forest was beginning to take the shape of a battle between ‘attacking football’ and ‘conservative football’.
The glory belongs to attacking football! The victory belongs to attacking football!
Conservatism will just get buried by attacking football!
Tony Twain, your crude performance will not work at Camp Nou! There is not a single team in this world that has not lost by going all out in its defense against Barcelona!
Come out and face us if you think you have what it takes to win us! Let us fight fair and square!
Twain hid behind his thick and sturdy rampart and yelled at the top of his voice, “Barcelona! Don’t get ahead of yourselves! If you think you are so good, then try getting in!”
“Come out if you dare!”
“No way! Only a fool will go out…”
“I’d count to three. If you don’t come out, then I’m going in!”
“If you think you have what it takes, then try it!”
...
Chapter 801 - One Goal and a Red Card
Guardiola stood outside the penalty area and shouted at the closed gate, “Tony Twain, you coward! Which man would hide inside! Have the courage to come out and fight with me!”
Twain hid behind the tall gate and replied, “You have no right to decide whether I’m a man or not. Didn’t you call yourself the best in the world? Come in if you can, then! What kind of a hero are you if you can’t do that much?”
“Have the guts to come out! ”
“Hmph, I just don’t want, are you going to bite me?”
“You’re a shameless old thief! Come out quickly and face me!”
“And if I don’t? What are you gonna do?”
“Ha! Don’t dare come out like a man to fight in the right way. The ladies who can only hide in their necks! ”
“Haha! Whether I am a man or not, do you want to come in and experience it for yourself? ”
” Well, you shameless Twain, if I count till three, would you still not come out? ”
“What would you do if I don’t come out! ”
“If you don’t come out… you don’t come out then I’ll force myself in ”
” Well, well, I still have that patience for you to try out! ”
“One!”
“Go on. ”
“Two!”
This time, he did not wait for Guardiola to count to three. The opposing suddenly opened the door, and a horde of troops rushed out, killing him with a surprise!
※※※
“Pepe intercepted the ball that Bojan passed to Silva, and he got the position of the ball right and decided to cut into the way in advance! He passed the ball to George Wood who received him!”
It was George Wood who brought the ball forward. He relied on his body to lean on Iniesta, who had come forward to defend himself, and then deflected the ball to Lennon on the sideline. Lennon led Nottingham Forest’s quick counter-attack.
“Nottingham Forest have had few decent chances to counter-attack so far and their counter-attack is not a threat because of the lack of troops in front. Will it be the same this time?”
No, it was very different this time! After Wood passed the ball, instead of staying in the backfield ready to defend, he followed Lennon through the midfield.
“Lennon is very fast! Barcelona had collective pressure and the back was empty. This was a great opportunity to fight back!”
Lahm had just pressed up the attack and was now desperately chasing behind Lennon’s ass, but he could not keep up with Lennon’s dribbling. Pique, who is in charge of the centre-forward, was moving towards Lennon, aiming to block his former team-mate in front.
Pique knew Lennon and Lennon was as familiar with Pique, so when he saw Pique coming up he knew that the middle way was bound to be empty. At this moment, he had to see if he had that awareness and techniques to pass that ball.
Who was running the middle road? Ibišević!
Lennon passed the ball out when Pique rushed up to seal himself, but instead of stopping after the pass, he continued to run.
All Nottingham Forest players do not stop after they pass the ball on the counter-attack, but instead kept running. This was an important condition of the counter-attack – playing in place would not ever play a quick counter attack for a lifetime.
Lennon was running forward with Matías Fernández on the other side. He was also running forward along with Şahin and George Wood, and even Thiago was sprinting at full speed. This was their chance after waiting through the first half of the opportunity, they definitely could not let it go!
Ibišević received the ball and then Puyol forced him to pass it to Fernández on his right. With Alves’ assists too far ahead, at this time he was still chasing back behind Fernández, but in front of Fernández there was a clear pitch!
“Barcelona’s defence is completely empty! None of them thought that Nottingham Forest’s counter-attack would come so resolutely and deadly!”
Twain crossed his legs outside the field, a proud smile on his face.
“Now it’s three on two … No, four, five on four! ”
Rahm managed to get back, but he ran towards the middle instead of chasing Lennon. Nottingham Forest’s chances of hitting the ball to the left were too small at this time. The endpoint of the attack must still be in the middle road, so only returning to defense on the middle round was the correct choice.
Their full back Yaya Touré returned back to place as well. After Matías Fernández cut into the penalty area, Puyol ran over and Ibišević had Yaya Toure guarding him, and he could focus all his attention on Fernández.
Seeing how he was unable to shoot directly, Fernández sent the ball back with a quick stop. Ibišević took the lead and rushed to the front, the football was clearly not meant for him. Şahin received the football when no one was defending, and he did not hesitate to directly kick the shot!
“Şahin shot from afar! ”
Fortunately, Valdes was quick-witted and focused and not fooled by Fernández’s neche.
While he was defending Fernández, he was also mindful of the players in the middle room.
Valdés wanted to hold the football directly, but when the football hit his fingertips, he found that the football had a strong spin and it was impossible to hold the football. At that moment he just wanted to hit the ball out. But the football hit his fingertips and bounced off!
“Vedad Ibišević! He appeared where the ball was landing… and did a header! Goal! Goal! GOOOOOAL!”
Yaya Touré lost his target in the instant of Şahin’s shot as he turned his attention to the shot.” Ibišević overtook from his side and waited for Valdés’s chance to fumble the ball.
Barcelona’s players had doubts about Forest’s goal, believing that Ibišević might have been offside before Şahin’s shot, but in fact he moved forward after Şahin’s shot and did not go offside.
Twain stood up from his seat and clapped loudly, he was very excited. He finally got an away goal! Guardiola, on the other hand, waved a little helplessly. He knew Nottingham Forest would fight back, but did not expect it to happen so suddenly. Because that was when his team was at its best, it seemed like a step away from breaking the door. He did not expect Nottingham Forest to go against the flow and level the scores with a counter-attack.
Ibišević’s goal was followed by his celebration of slapping faces, while England’s narrator was particularly excited. “This was his 20th goal of the season! Hey, Mr Carl Spicer, are you watching this match? Are you ready to bid farewell to your hair? Haha!”
Although what Ibišević was targeting was Carl Spicer, but Barcelona fans who don’t know the inside story and took his actions as a provocation by the Nottingham Forest players as they jeered for a while .
Amidst the jeering, Ibišević changed his celebration. He put his finger to his lips and signaled everyone in the stands to shut up. This was really a provocation to the Barcelona fans.
“Well done, Super Ibi!” Nottingham Forest fans stood in solidarity with Ibišević in the stands, using their songs to fight the jeers of the Barcelona fans.
Forest’s players congratulated Ibišević on scoring his 20th goal and helping their Chief win the bet with Carl Spicer.
“Going back to England, we’re going to urge Spicer to deliver on his promise as soon as possible. It’s best if he just bring a shaver to the live stage, haha!”
Twain, who scored an away goal, was in a good mood and had begun to look forward to how to humiliate Spicer. Perhaps in the future, he would need to call the other person “Bald Spicer”?
※※※
The scoreline was tied, giving Barcelona’s players a slight impact. Their attack afterwards was less aggressive as it had been before, as there were always fears of another sharp counter-attack from Nottingham Forest. Nottingham Forest’s attack was a bit exuberant and they were going to take the opportunity to go down again and score two goals to basically set the tone for the second leg.
Unfortunately, they were a little less fortunate and Barcelona’s defence was not as vain. Pique put the ball out of the penalty area twice in a row to defuse Nottingham Forest’s attack.
The game then returned to its former form — Barcelona’s successive attacks and Nottingham Forest’s shrinking defence. But there was a slight change: Barcelona began to pay great attention to their own backs at the same time as the attack, and Alves and Rahm’s assists were clearly reduced. Nottingham Forest, on the other hand, were more determined and willing to put in their forces when they fought back.
It seemed that no one wanted to end the game with a 1:1 score.
※※※
Messi was back in the game after the 70th minute. He constantly and successfully broke through Nottingham Forest’s defenses to shoot at the goal, but they were both saved by Akinfeev. After a period of silence, Messi used these two shots to tell the Forest crowd that he was the most threatening player in the game and they would die if they ignored him.
One thing Messi knew was that Pepe, Barnes and Thiago in front of him now had a yellow card and, no matter what, he had to make sure that one of the three men was sent off, preferably the centre-back, if possible, o he cut in-ways from the side several times, looking for Pepe.
Pepe also found Messi’s intentions, but there was nothing he could do about it because he could run away due to the yellow card he was holding. He had to do what he usually does, he just needed to pay attention to his defensive action and not give Messi the possibility of success. Even if foul was the only way to stop his opponent, the location of the foul could not be in the penalty zone.
In the 77th minute, Messi forced a break through George Wood. Wood wanted to stop it with a foul, but he was was so flexible that a little bit of the gap allowed him to break through. Now he could face Pepe directly and if he could pass by Pepe, the only person in front of him would be only Akinfeev.
Pepe stretched his foot to intercept the ball but Messi pulled the ball away. Messi, who had flicked the football, did not follow to run from Pepe. In that moment, his body seemed to have become awkward, as if he did not dodge and hit Pepe head-on, rolled over and fell to the ground, not forgetting to clutch his ankle.
The referee’s whistle was heard along with boos from The Barcelona fans.
“That was a foul! He even kicked down Messi! Pepe looks to be in trouble…”
Pepe pulled Messi up, constantly waving his hand to signal to the referee that it was not a foul. The reason he was so anxious was because he had seen the referee put his hand towards his chest pocket.What did that action mean?
“No!” Twain also shouted when he saw this scene. “This was not a foul! It’s definitely not enough for a yellow card foul! You f*cking referee, you’re doing this on purpose, huh!”
His shouting and swearing did not prevent the referee from showing Pepe a second yellow card, and the Brazilian was sent off! A group of Nottingham Forest players swarmed up and surrounded the referee as they could not accept the result.
“In fact, there is not much to argue. If Pepe did not foul, Messi will pass by him, and then directly to the goalkeeper Akinfeev. He was the last ball! It’s not wrong to give a yellow card!”
When Twain saw the referee pull out a red card, he jumped like a flash lightning onto the pitch. The score line-up was levelled and, as the game wore on, the situation should have become more and more favourable to Nottingham Forest. Now the main centre-back was sent off, and in the face of Barcelona’s wrath, how could Nottingham Forest play?
In a contest with a team like Barcelona, it was very different to have one person fewer. There would never be a situation where that one person did not make a difference.
The fourth official came up to call Twain to stop a little, and only then did Twain stop scolding to turn and walk back. Pepe’s penalty was immutable, and to be fair it was a foul, so he could only accept it.
The referee dispersed the crowd and urged Pepe to leave the scene quickly. The Brazilian defender left with jeers from the home fans. But instead of returning to the locker room, he stood at the mouth of the aisle and continued to keep an eye on the game.
※※※
Pepe was sent off and Twain was forced to replace him. Using Woodgate to replace Şahin. When Şahin came down, Twain came up to shake his hand and comforted him. There was really no choice… Şahin’s performance was not bad, and he indirectly assisted Ibišević’s goal. But in this case the two backs certainly could not change, the striker as well because Twain still wanted to fight back. If he changed one side, both sides would not be balanced, then the person who could be substituted out was the front midfielder Şahin.
“You did a good job, Nuri. There’s nothing to be frustrating about, it’s just our luck … It’s a little bad. …”
Twain said it for Şahin and himself.
It was a difficult match… keeping this goal might have become his highest target.
※※※
“Barcelona stepped up their attack against Nottingham Forest who was lacking a player, and they were on full-back attack to end their opponents by taking the opportunity! Pepe’s unexpected departure has caused Nottingham Forest a lot of trouble. Maybe Tony Twain should consider to take the score 1 : 1 away from Nou Camp Stadium being his biggest victory. But will Guardiola give him that chance? This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Barcelona! I think Nottingham Forest is in danger. ”
“That’s well said, Calvin. But I don’t think it’s unacceptable that Nottingham Forest to lose to Barcelona on 1 : 2, they still had a home game and what happens then would not be easy for anyone to say. If Guardiola think he wins for sure, he would regret going to England. With about 12 minutes left in the game, Barcelona would have preferred to score two more goals so that Nottingham Forest’s promotion hopes could be wiped out! With Barcelona’s offensive ability, I doubt it’s an impossible task…”
...
Chapter 802 - The Second Red Card
However, they did not expect that after Woodgate was brought on, Twain had instructed the England center back to bring a new command to his teammates on the field.
“We need to attack. The boss wants us to find a way to attack.” Woodgate took advantage of a dead ball to gather everyone to announce the latest decision. He said, “He stated that Barcelona’s mind is full of how to score goals against us now and will never think that we have the strength to fight back, so their defense exists only in name. As long as we can seize the opportunity, the initiative will come to our side.”
The others nodded in agreement. Having been with the boss for a long time, they seemed to understand this principle—riches could be gained from danger. The more impossible the area was, the more likely it was, while the more dangerous it was, the safer it could be.
When the game resumed, Barcelona continued to focus on how to break through to take the lead. Their rear defensive line was, as Twain put it, existed only in name. Nottingham Forest first bunched themselves into a ball like a hedgehog, leaving Barcelona, desperate for goals, nowhere to go. Then those little eyes began to look for a path to victory in the midst of a tumultuous situation.
Heaven helped those who helped themselves!
Barcelona attacked so aggressively that it lost its sense of measure. Alves, Lahm and even Puyol all crossed the center line, with the intention to “fight and attack in half of the field” against Nottingham Forest. Even Valdés unwittingly moved his position outside the penalty area while he focused on his team’s offensive.
With one player short, Nottingham Forest had been acting like a stray dog during this time. Who would have thought such a team could still threaten the opponent’s goal?
Nottingham Forest, the “stray dog” managed to do it against reason.
Messi’s sudden shot from the penalty area was pounced on by Akinfeev. After Woodgate received the ball, he was immediately marked by Bojan. Barcelona wanted to counterattack after it counter press in the front field. Woodgate could not turn around and he passed the ball to Baines on the sideline under extremely difficult circumstances.
Messi rushed up when he saw Baines take the ball.
Barcelona’s use of counter press in the front field made it hard for the Forest team to get the ball out. But it also created a problem—with every line pressed up, it caused their rear defensive line to press too far in front, leaving a large tract of empty space behind the defenders. A long pass could penetrate and basically did not require any technical skills to do so.
Messi’s counter press was amateurish. After all, he was not a professional defender. After Baines guarded the football, he saw Alves rush up. He could not afford to delay and passed the football to his own teammate, George Wood.
Reasonably speaking, he should pass the football to Fernández when Alves came up and open up the way from his side. Wood did not choose such an obvious method. He suddenly turned to send out an obliquely long pass and passed the ball in the exact opposite direction.
Over there, Lennon was sprinting at high speed, ready to receive the ball. As for Lahm? He was already thrown behind him by his sudden start.
Wood’s long pass was precise, passing from one sideline to another. He was even able to send the ball to Lennon’s front, taking full advantage of the latter’s speed.
Lennon lived up to expectations and caught up with the football.
Then Nottingham Forest fought back at full speed, with Ibišević, Fernández and even Tiago all rushing up.
Nottingham Forest’s speed of counterattack was astonishing. Barcelona’s run-back speed was simply not up to speed!
In the backfield, there were only both Piqué and Puyol. Piqué went to defend against Lennon, and Puyol was guarding from a distance while monitoring Ibišević’s movements.
Lennon saw Piqué again and glanced at the middle again. He saw that Ibišević was almost in place, and that Fernández was waiting at the far end. He was certain that his pass would be absolutely safe if he passed it over. So, he lifted his feet while running and crossed the football out. The football flew over Puyol’s head and dropped to the rear.
Ibišević slightly slowed down and did not get the ball!
“Oh, what a shame…”
The Barcelona fans in the stands did not think so and their boos suddenly became louder.
Although Ibišević did not receive the ball, Fernández on the other side managed to catch the ball.
While receiving the ball, Fernández also turned the ball toward the middle and stopped the ball to adjust in one go.
Alves was still chasing from behind but Fernández was just one step away from the penalty area.
“It’s a one-on-one face-off with the goalkeeper! He burst into the penalty area!”
Valdés left the goal to strike but gave Fernández a chance to lob a shot instead. He lifted his left foot up in the run and picked the ball over Valdés’ head!
At that moment, the hearts of the Barcelona fans collectively stopped beating and their breathing froze. Everyone watched the football pass over Valdés’ head and crash into the goal…
The Nottingham Forest fans, who were overwhelmingly in the minority, erupted with volcanic-like energy at the moment. Their cheers resounded across the skies above Camp Nou.
“Incredible! Nottingham Forest reversed the score with one player short!!” The commentator was going crazy… He did not expect the game to turn out to have such an ending.
Twain jumped from his seat and ran to the sidelines with his arms raised up. You sent off one of my men and I scored a goal against you. What a good deal this was!
“We’ve won, ah ha ha!” He laughed and said to Dunn and Kerslake.
Frustrated throughout the game, the elated Nottingham Forest players ran to the front field to hug Fernández and celebrate the goal.
But in such a joyous scene, the team captain, George Wood was yelling in the backfield. From his hand gestures, it looked like he wanted his teammates to hurry back…
What was going on?
“Wait, wait!” The commentator called out too, “Offside! The assistant referee raises the flag. When Lennon passed the ball, were Fernández and Ibišević both in an offside position? Maybe we’ll take a look at the replay. But now… Barcelona quickly sends out a free kick as the Nottingham Forest players celebrate in front of the goal. Now it’s their turn to fight back! George Wood is beckoning his teammates to return to defend. Currently, the Forest team’s rear half of the field only has him, Woodgate and the goalkeeper, Akinfeev. It’s almost unguarded! What’s going on? Look at the Nottingham Forest players’ expressions. They are completely stunned and even forgot to return to defend!”
Only a few people were trying their utmost to run back. But by this time, Barcelona had already passed the ball to the front of Nottingham Forest’s penalty area…
The referee did not stop Barcelona’s attack. He thought that Barcelona did not break the rules because the game had not been suspended.
Tony Twain could not believe his eyes on the sidelines, either. His hands, which had been held high to celebrate the victory, were now holding his head as he stared at what was happening on the field with an incredulous expression.
George Wood had only one way to save the team now. It was not to be a superman to keep all the Barcelona players out and then kick the ball out of bounds. But… it was to foul.
He was like a severely overloaded heavy-duty truck, charging toward Messi who was dribbling the ball at full force. This time, even if he broke both Messi’s legs, he was going to stop Barcelona from scoring!
Messi saw his intentions. Before Wood rushed up, he passed the football out and then jumped to duck Wood. Despite this, he was still struck by Wood and rolled in the air before he fell to the ground. It looked vicious but his mission was completed.
The football was successfully sent to Bojan’s feet and he was not in an offside position!
Before Woodgate could come up and block, Bojan made a decisive kick, and the football flew over Woodgate and then over Akinfeev to accurately drilled into the goal!
This time, it was the Barcelona fans’ turn to cheer. And the assistant referee’s spoiler flag was not raised. He just ran toward the center line—which meant that the goal was valid.
“The ball’s in! It’s a game full of ups and downs! Nottingham Forest’s recent counterattack was ruled invalid, but Barcelona’s counterattack was effective. 2:1! Barcelona is ahead! With five minutes to go until the end of the game, Nottingham Forest was dealt a heavy blow!”
The Barcelona players began to celebrate the successful counterattack, while the Nottingham Forest players angrily surrounded the referee, demanding an explanation from the man.
“Why was our goal considered offside and their goal was not an issue?”
“Why did not you whistle when they kicked off so quickly?”
“The decision was so inexplicable! I’m definitely not in an offside position!”
“You scum…” This player’s mouth was covered by a slightly more sensible teammate.
But someone else helped him with his foul language.
After realizing that Barcelona’s goal was valid, Twain seemed ignited by TNT explosive off the pitch. At this point, even if the sky came falling down, it would not stop him from bursting into a string of obscenities at the referee.
“You motherf**king bastard! Where’s your damned conscience today?! What qualifications do you have to stand on the pitch in that suit?” He rushed into the field and pointed to the referee while shouting the abuses.
Instead of immediately confronting him, the referee showed a yellow card instead to Wood, who had just struck Messi!
The Nottingham Forest fans in the stands booed with all they had at the black-clad referee.
The move was nothing short of adding fuel to the fire on the angry Nottingham Forest players. A group of people surrounded the referee to tug at him aggressively. They opened up their mouths as if they wanted to gobble up the small statured referee in front of them. Fernández even received a yellow card for protesting the penalty. If someone had not pulled him away, he would have rushed up and punched the Italian referee.
“Ha!” Twain laughed instead of getting angry. He said, “You even gave my men yellow cards! If I were George and Matías, I would f**king give you a red card! You son of bitch corrupt referee!”
The fourth official came over once again and said sternly, “Mr. Twain! Please mind your language…”
“Mr. Fourth Official, please ask your referee to pay attention to his conscience!” Twain retorted with a bad attitude, “What is this? What is this? You’re practically killing us! You murdered our goal and made a false countercharge! That’s just great! Is this UEFA’s must-kill tactic? Sent off my center back, blew up my goal to give a goal to Barcelona! That’s fantastic, just great! I must applaud you! I should be proud to have made you go through so much trouble to get rid of us! I’m so f**king proud!!”
The more Twain scolded, the more furious he became. Beads of spittle sprayed the face of the fourth official, and the fourth official’s face gradually darkened.
“There’s no problem with our goal. You’ll see that there’s no problem with a thousand replays! Barcelona’s goal shouldn’t have happened! You bunch of UEFA robbers! Utterly shameless! You robbed us of our championship title in Paris in 2006. And what else do you want to rob this time? You don’t want us to advance? Don’t be too pleased with yourselves! Don’t be too happy too soon!”
Twain held his head against the fourth official and scolded.
The fourth official pressed the microphone attached to his ear and informed some men to deal with the mad dog in front of him.
It was not easy for the referee, who was heavily surrounded on the field to break out, so the fourth official was abused by Twain for almost a minute. The game simply could not continue during this period. The Barcelona players waited for Nottingham Forest to kick off after they finished celebrating the goal only to find that they all surrounded the referee for an explanation. While the Nottingham Forest manager on the sidelines was up against the fourth official. The Barcelona fans in the stands continuously booed at Nottingham Forest.
It was a mess!
Guardiola stood on the sidelines and happily to watch the show. Anyway, he had nothing to lose from the delay. It was Nottingham Forest which was unlucky. They got so many yellow cards during this game and now it appeared as if Tony Twain did not want to stay in the technical area… Although the next round was at the Forest team’s home ground, Nottingham Forest was no longer a threat.
He now specially hoped that Twain would scold more viciously and even directly punch. Although he had no grievances with the UEFA, it would have ensured that Twain would be sent off.
The referee finally broke through the siege of the Nottingham Forest players and ran toward Twain. The Forest players chased behind him and continued to protest along the way. But the referee turned a deaf ear.
He ran to the sidelines. The fourth official turned away from Twain’s spitting range and lowered his head to say a few words to the referee. Then he saw the referee walk up to Twain and point to him to speak in a stern tone, “You need to take responsibility for everything you say, Mr. Manager.”
Twain looked like he was still bantering and said, “Of course I’ll be responsible. You want me to repeat what I just said in front of your face? I’d love to, Mr. Referee.”
“I’m warning you, Mr. Manager…”
“Don’t pretend, Mr. Referee. You blasted one of our goals and then helped Barcelona score the winning goal. You robbed us of our victory by holding a knife to my throat. And now you dare come here and point at my nose to warn me? What do you want to warn me about? You want to warn me for telling the truth? You want to warn me for accidentally pricking your soft, tender heart? Oh, baby, that must have been my intention…” Tony Twain eloquent and fast talk rebuked the referee till he could not say a word for a long time. But he also had his way.
He put his hand into his chest pocket. When he did this action to a manager, he certainly would not immediately show a yellow card.
Twain began to clap while his mouth still provoked nonstop, “Well done! F**king well done! Mr. Black Shirt, why don’t you just sent off my entire team? You see, half of them already have a yellow card. You just have to find any excuse and they will all go!”
The referee ignored Twain’s provocation and showed him a red card.
The stands behind the Nottingham Forest technical area sounded with gleeful cheers and laughter.
“Look at what just happened on the sidelines! Tony Twain was sent off with a red card for contradicting the referee! For Nottingham Forest, it’s really… terrible, terrible! They have a center back sent off, are trailing by 1:2 and the manager is now ejected from the pitch…The game can be declared over early, right?”
“But it is truly a ‘wonderful’ game. One climax after another toward the end, wave after wave…”
Twain turned and walked toward the tunnel. The fourth official shouted to his back, “I will put all these down in detail in the report of the game, Mr. Twain!”
“Whatever, Mr. Robber of the UEFA.” Twain waved without care.
“I’ll write that remark down too!”
Twain did not pay any more attention to him. When he walked to the mouth of the tunnel, unable to quell the anger in his chest, he decided to do a move to vent.
He held up his right hand and did a money-counting action under the attention of several cameras and more than eighty thousand people in the stadium…
The smiles on the faces of the mocking Barcelona fans froze, while Twain turned his face and did not want to watch any more.
After a brief uproar, lighters, coins, mobile phones and everything else that could be thrown, rained down at the mouth of the tunnel.
But Twain had long since disappeared into the tunnel while they were in still in shock.
“…..” The commentator spoke up after a moment of shocked silence. “I dare say that Tony Twain’s actions will cause him a lot of trouble after the game. This is not just a matter of a suspension for two games with a red card… Does he know what he’s doing?”
The guest commenter replied, “Of course he knows. He is setting himself against the whole world.”
...
Chapter 803 - Snap My Fingers
“It’s common to see a player being sent off with a red card for contradicting the referee, but it’s not every day you can see a manager fighting nonstop with the referee and the fourth official on the sidelines and finally being sent off with a red card. Last night, Tony Twain played out such a passionate scene for us at Camp Nou…”
As the television footage switched, the recording of last night’s final moments of the match between Barcelona and Nottingham Forest emerged onscreen. In the image, Tony Twain had one hand on the hip and a finger pointed at the referee while he jabbered nonstop. He looked agitated as if he wanted to throw a punch at the other man.
When the referee pulled out a red card to send him off, he walked to the entrance of the tunnel and made a money-counting action. This completely infuriated the Barcelona fans at the stadium, and it could be seen clearly in the imagery that lighters, coins and other debris came raining down.
At the post-match press conference, when Twain reappeared in front of the reporters, the Catalan reporters even directed hisses of displeasure at him. Twain turned a deaf ear to this. He sat down and initiated to speak about two things:
“Firstly, the referee is Italian; secondly, we will be promoted.”
Having said those two remarks, he got up and walked away without even shaking hands with Guardiola. It was clear that he was still indignant and unable to calm down.
The television presenter commented, “He still seems to think he has not done enough to stir things up. He has added fuel to the fire again. I’m sure the UEFA definitely won’t let him go this time.”
In fact, Twain was reprimanded in person by Allan Adams before the UEFA came knocking.
Allan Adams and Evan Doughty came to Barcelona together. They had wanted to watch a great game in the box at Camp Nou. But they did not expect to see such a scene …
By the end of the game, when Twain returned to the locker room after the press conference, the players had already left. The men waiting for him in the locker room was the club chairman and marketing manager.
“Tony, you’d better explain it to us.” Allan suppressed his anger and glared at Twain, while Evan remained silent beside him.
“There’s nothing to explain. You saw it.”
“It’s still normal to be sent off with a red card … But what did you mean by that action after? Are you accusing Barcelona of bribing the referee? Do you have any proof?”
“I just snapped my fingers.” Twain shrugged.
“You can tell this nonsense to the officials at the UEFA disciplinary committee!” Allan was so infuriated by Twain’s indifferent attitude and explanation that he wanted to smash something. He said, “You’re the manager of Nottingham Forest and you’re in the public eye all the time. In a sense, you are more like the symbol and representative of this club than Evan. You can’t express your emotions so recklessly. You represent the image of Nottingham Forest! Your actions caused us to offend almost all of our friends in the circle!”
Twain looked at the angry Allan and said nothing. But his eyes and expressions unmistakably told the other party that he was not willing to back down.
“All right, Allan.” At this time Evan stepped forward as the chairman and friend to smooth things over and slightly ease the tense atmosphere. He said, “I’m sure Tony must have been dizzy with anger at the time. To be honest, there was no problem with our goal, I’ve watched the replay. The commentator also talked about the issue after. But neither the result of the game nor the penalty could be changed. You’re not the manager and in that position, so you’ll never know how much psychological pressure is on them.”
Having said that, he walked up to Twain and lightly patted him on the shoulder.
“Tony, you’re in big trouble this time. The club can’t absolve you of your actions. You have to deal with it yourself.”
Although he always did not see eye to eye with Allan, Twain still did what he was told in the face of Evan. He nodded and softened his stance by a lot. He said, “I’m sorry, Evan. I was too agitated…”
Hearing him say so, Allan gave him a hard look. Why didn’t you say that when you were facing me?
“There’s no problem with your heart, is there?” Evan pointed to Twain’s left chest area.
Twain shook his head and said, “Everything is fine.”
“You’d better call Shania. If she’s watching the game, she’ll be freaked out by your last five minutes of excited performance. Did you turn off your phone?”
The moment he said so, Twain remembered the matter. He did switched off his cell phone, but Shania was far away in the United States. It was hard to say whether she would be watching the game.
“Well, Allan. Let’s go first.” Evan intended to give Twain some alone time and space.
Before Allan left, he did not forget to point at Twain and warned him, “You’d better be prepared, Tony. This time, this is not something that can be solved by paying a fine of a few thousand pounds.”
Twain ignored him.
After everyone had left, he pulled out his cell phone and turned it on. Then he dialed Shania’s cell phone number.
“Tony!” It was rare for Shania not to call him “Uncle Tony.” She sounded angry from her tone.
“Looks like you watched the game, Shania?” Twain twisted his lips and smiled somewhat helplessly.
“Of course, I did. Were you trying to scare me? What was going on in those minutes?”
“Well, we were treated unfairly, and I’m a little angry…”
“I don’t care about that, Tony! I don’t care about the matters in football. Why did I watch the game? I only care about you. Seeing you lose your temper there; do you know how worried I am about your heart?”
“… I’m sorry, Shania. I’m sorry…” Twain was unable to put forward any convincing argument at this time, so he could only apologize.
“When will you get rid of your bad temper, Tony?” Although she was younger than Twain, Shania currently used the tone of an elder to chide her husband. She said, “You’re always so easily agitated. One remark from another person and you will be all fired up. You’re already in your forties, Tony. Why are you still acting like a child?”
“Well, my temper is a lot better now…..” Twain recalled in his mind that before his transmigration, he was simply quite loathsome and never give face to others, like a stone in a latrine, smelly and hard. “It’s just that there are times when I really can’t control everything on my own. You know, Shania, sometimes it’s not of my own volition…”
“All right, Uncle Tony!” Shania interrupted Twain’s explanation, “As long as you’re okay. Sometimes I really don’t know what to say to you. You’re always so stubborn… Perhaps you have to give up this career completely to give me a peace of mind. But I also know you will never do so. So, what else can I say?”
Shania’s tone was much softer, and she also called Twain “Uncle Tony” again. But Twain still felt a little guilty. Sometimes he momentarily gave free rein to his emotions but alarmed Shania. He did not care how the UEFA punished himself, how the rival fans would love to kill him, how the media condemned him in speech and writing, and Allan’s rebukes to his face, but he had to care about Shania. Because, like what a Canadian country singer with the same name as Shania, sang—“You’re Still the One.”
“I’m sorry Shania. I promise I’ll try to be restrained in the future. I’ll think of you when I want to lose my temper. Ah —just the thought of you calms my emotions…”
“You’re so corny, Uncle Tony!” Shania laughed at the other end of the line.
When he heard Shania laugh, Twain also laughed along. His heart finally settled, because Shania was not angry with him.
After he ended the phone conversation with Shania, Twain walked out of the locker room. Some media still blocked him on the way to the bus, trying to get him say more explosive content. But Twain shook his head and stayed silent on any questions. He had already said what he wanted to say and also said what should have not been said. He too had done what he should and should not do. Now he would just have to deal with how people were going to evaluate the matter, how the UEFA would punish him, and what trouble he was going to face. It was no use talking about it.
※※※
The UEFA acted swiftly. Just as Twain and his team had stepped off the plane and re-entered England, the initial penalty was already out.
Tony Twain was suspended for two additional games on top of the ban of two games from the red card and fined fifty thousand pounds for contradicting the referee, verbally abusing the fourth official and making an insulting gesture to provoke the Barcelona fans. Furthermore, the matter was not over yet. The UEFA would call for a hearing at a later date to bring Twain in to question him on what his actions and words on the sidelines meant, and whether there was any evidence to prove that the referee had accepted a bribe from Barcelona. If he did not produce the evidence, he could face a far more serious punishment.
But since the UEFA was a big bureaucratic organization, it might take a long time for a specific hearing to be held. Twain still had time to prepare…
Twain certainly would not resigned to his fate. He told reporters at the airport during the interview, claiming that his action was not counting money, but a snapping of his fingers—these two actions really looked very similar …
The important thing was that Twain did not put his thumb on his index finger and middle finger to rub them back and forth. If that was the case, it would be “counting money” without a doubt. But Twain only rubbed his fingers a little. Snapping his fingers required only a bit of rubbing.
In addition, Twain also had prepared other materials for his counterattack. He insisted that Nottingham Forest had been treated unfairly at Camp Nou. The Catalan media had criticized his team for being rough and the lethal tactics against Messi were contrary to sportsmanship. Twain snorted at it, “If I really want to deal with Messi using that kind of means, I can guarantee that he won’t last on the pitch for five minutes.”
A reporter asked Twain that it should be true that Nottingham Forest had a lot of yellow cards. Twain asked in return, “In Derbi barceloní, both teams, Barcelona and RCD Espanyol had a lot of yellow cards. What did that imply?”
Twain also continued to attack the referee and assistant referee at the airport. He said anyone who watched Nottingham Forest’s second goal replay would admit this point—Fernández’s goal was fine and not in an offside position. Ibišević might have been in an offside position, but he was not actually involved in the offensive or interfering with the defense. It made no sense to rule the goal invalid and immediately allow the other side to quickly kickoff until there was a goal. He was not afraid of even going to the UEFA hearing. If the UEFA did not give him an explanation, he would even go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. In short—if you want to fight me, I will fight with you to the end!
Twain’s attitude was tough, and Barcelona was not soft, either. In a post-match interview, Guardiola mentioned the controversial goal. First of all, this was what he said about Nottingham Forest’s goal being invalidated, “I’m not a referee and I was not near that part of the sidelines, so I did not know what happened. But I think if both the referee and the assistant referee thought it was in an offside position, then it was definitely in an offside position.”
Then he talked about his team’s goal, “There was no problem with our goal. It was absolutely not against the rules. The referee signaled for the game to continue, so we kickoff the attack. I don’t think there’s any reason for us to stop and wait for the other team to return to its defensive positions to start attacking. As long as we did not break the rules, it was fine.” Anyway, he pushed the problem to the rules and the referee. If there was any problem, it laid with the referee. We were only following the referee’s instructions…
Following which, he was asked about his opinion on Tony Twain’s strings of actions. He said, “I could understand how he felt at the time. Of course, there are times when there are surprises on the football field. But regardless, he should respect the referee. He’s a role model for the players… What did he say? I’m sorry it is so noisy here; I can’t hear you. What about his gesture? I don’t know what that meant. Maybe only he knows… I didn’t see it either. I only saw it on the news after someone told me about it. I don’t care what his gesture meant.”
Finally, he responded to the media reports of “Barcelona had bribed the referee” and said, “This is complete nonsense! How can Barcelona, a powerhouse club which enjoys immense prestige all over the world, do such a thing? We have the strength to win any game and don’t need anyone’s help. I didn’t hear Twain say we bribed the referee. If he did say that, the Barcelona club will definitely make a complain to the UEFA. He must give us a reasonable explanation.” He did not forget to show his rarely displayed sense of humor. He said, “It would be more effective to use that money to pay our players a winning bonus than to bribe the referees. Ha.”
The Barcelona Football Club also stated they would pursue this matter with Twain to the end. They would definitely appeal to the UEFA for the insults they had been subjected to.
Unlike Barcelona’s unyielding stance, Nottingham Forest was a bit ambiguous. They simply stated that they would gather evidence for the “offside goal” in the game to report to the UEFA. They refused to acknowledge all the other personal complaints about Twain and Barcelona.
Any mess that Tony Twain had made, he had to clean it up himself.
...
Chapter 804 - A Gift for Barcelona
When the team returned to Wilford from London’s Heathrow Airport, they were dismissed on the spot and given a half-day break. They would resume training tomorrow morning. But Twain and the two assistant managers did not have a break. He brought the two men straight to the training base to handle the day-to-day maintenance of the training ground.
The person in charge of this department was Thompson Isaksson, an elderly man who had worked his entire life in the turf maintenance at Wilford. He now continued to serve the club, leading sixteen men. The seventeen-member team was responsible for the day-to-day maintenance of a total of eight training grounds at the North and South Wilford training bases. The work included leveling the site, turf maintenance and some special requirements from the coaching staff.
Twain came to them this time for “some special requirements.”
“Thompson, which is the worst training ground in the First Team’s training base?” Twain got right to the point and asked the old man which momentarily stumped him so that he did not respond right away.
South Wilford was the First Team’s training base with four standard training grounds. Each of the grounds was the same size as the City Ground stadium. The fields with the best conditions were number one and two, where the Forest First Team and reserves often trained and played internal games on. Within such a venue, even the turf was the same as what the City Ground stadium used, and it had the best maintenance.
Twain saw that Thompson looked uncomfortable, so he smiled and said, “Don’t think too much, old man. I’m not here to criticize. Just tell me which training ground had the worst conditions.”
“Well… Number three.” Isaksson replied.
“How bad is it?”
“Well … We haven’t had the time to level the ground and the grass growth is not satisfactory. Usually the team never used that space, so we didn’t do much…” He still thought Twain was here to ask to criticize, and hurriedly explained on behalf of his team.
Twain patted him on the shoulder and said, “Bring us along to take a look.”
So, the old man awkwardly led the way in front, followed by the three coaches, which somehow looked like a criminal being escorted…..
The number three training ground was located in the most remote corner of the training base, surrounded by dense woods. It was largely invisible from the outside. This training ground was the first field to be used by Nottingham Forest when it moved the training base from the City Ground stadium. Later because of the facilities were more complete in three other fields and after the more conveniently located training grounds were completed in succession, this location was gradually forgotten. The First Team’s three training grounds were basically adequate for usage, so this fourth place was left idle here and neglected.
Twain knew about the situation but today he wanted to confirm it with his own eyes.
Hidden deep in the dense forest, the number three training ground revealed a barren and dilapidated air from which Twain could even detect a hint of the 1980s.
“It was first used when I was already at the club…” Isaksson could not help but sigh with regret when he saw the training ground. “It was lively at the time. Then it gradually died out. Coupled with the club’s poor financial situation the end of the last century and no extra money to maintain so many training grounds at the same time, this place was completely abandoned …”
The group of people walked down the field themselves. Twain found that it was just as Isaksson had said. The training ground was no different from a wasteland due to the lack of maintenance and management. Although it did not have an overgrown of weeds and hares roaming about, it was largely different from the other three leveled training ground that were like green meadows.
“The ground is uneven … Oh, be careful!” Kerslake stopped Dunn beside him. He was walking when he twisted his ankle.
Dunn took a breath and seemed to have sprained his ankle. “It’s nothing…”
“The quality of the grass is not good. It’s too hard. One can easily get scratched training here.” Isaksson added while he gave Dunn an apologetic glance at the same time. As one of the groundsmen, every site was their area of responsibility, so they would feel guilty if someone were to be hurt.
After he carefully walked a lap, Twain stood on the sidelines to look around again, and then snapped his fingers, “Very good.”
“Very good?” Isaksson did not understand what the manager meant when he said that.
“Level the ground a little. Pay attention, Thompson, I’m talking about just level it a little. Just slightly. Do you get me?”
Isaksson looked at Twain and shook his head with a look of confusion. He could not understand his words.
“Well… That is to say, while keeping to its original appearance is important, try to make sure that one doesn’t sprain one’s ankle while walking on the training ground.”
“Keeping it to its original appearance? What does that mean?” David Kerslake was also surprised, so he asked next to Isaksson.
“I need to maintain the little bumps in this pitch, keep the grass rough and for the football to fall unevenly on top.” Twain explained.
“Why?” Isaksson and Kerslake asked the question almost at the same time. Only Dunn at the side suddenly looked pensive. When Kerslake saw it, he wanted to pinch his neck and said, “Say it if you know something! Dunn!”
Dunn shook his head and said, “I just thought maybe Tony is up to something no good again…”
“That’s the idea I came up with on the flight.” Twain chuckled, “I can’t be in charge of the next game. I’m afraid the UEFA people won’t even let me in the locker room. I think it’s a loss for us when we are up against a team like Barcelona, so I have to make up for this loss from somewhere else. You’ve all seen the quality of the pitches at Camp Nou, haven’t you?”
“Of course, it’s much better than this… er, training ground under our feet. They have a five-star stadium.” Kerslake had wanted to say, “this rotten vegetable patch under our feet.” But he suddenly thought of Isaksson by his side. It would be too unfair to say that to an old employee.
“Ha, you’re right, David. Their turf is of an excellent quality, which is also to be expected. After all, for a team that always likes to keep the football under its feet rather than at the top of its head, the requirements of the field must be very high. We have to use all means and methods to create trouble for them. In addition to the tactical and psychological means, I thought of the venue. A terrible field can greatly limit their play.”
“But Tony. That will also limit our play.” Kerslake was puzzled.
“So that’s why I’m here today to handle the matter. Starting from tomorrow until the end of the game against Barcelona, we’ve got to carry out our training on this training ground, such as getting our players to get used to the feeling of playing on this ground as quickly as possible and avoiding injury as much as possible. And then on the day of the match, I’ll ask that the City Ground stadium to be turned to this.” He pointed to under his feet.
Kerslake swallowed when he heard Twain said that. He thought about how Dunn sprained his ankle just now from just walking on top of the field. If they were to use all their energy to sprint and do their moves on this kind of field…
It was as Dunn said. This was really not a “good idea.”
After he explained to Kerslake, Twain turned to Isaksson who had been listening in a daze and said, “You only have half a day. Can you do it?”
“Ah, uh… If it’s just to ‘slightly’ level it, I think there’s no problem, Mr. Twain.”
“In that case, I’ll leave it in your good hands, Thompson. Without letting our people easily get hurt here and if we win Barcelona in the end, I’ll send you a good bottle of wine!”
※※※
On the way out of number three training ground, Kerslake raised his objection to Twain’s approach. He did not really think it was necessary to do so.
“I don’t think there’s such a big gap between us and Barcelona that we will need to resort to such an unusual means to secure victory, Tony.”
“Truthfully, David. The gap between us and them is indeed that great. Do you think we can win easily just because we are back at our home ground? Pepe can’t play while Baines and Fernández have accumulated enough yellow cards to be suspended. And as for me, I can only sit in the stands and wish you all good luck. But who are they missing? No one. Now come to think of it, we were too restrained in the first round…” Twain smacked his lips and rubbed his chin.
“Limit their play with terrible field conditions and frequent fouls, disrupt their inherent game rhythm and mess up the game situation as much as possible. Lastly… instruct out team to only practice long balls this week and I want to change the striker.”
Kerslake saw Twain’s expression and he already guessed who he wanted to replace, so he was even more surprised, “Are you serious, Tony? That kid had only played three times as a substitute in the league tournament and did not even score one goal. If you let him play in such an important game, aren’t you afraid of ruining him?!”
“He’s not going to collapse at the first blow like you’d imagine, David. I know what I’m doing.” Twain gave a shrug and said, “The only regret is that he’s still not strong enough… How nice it would be if he were a combination of Žigić and Ibrahimović…”
“Dream on!” Kerslake threw out the remark in frustration.
※※※
The next day, Twain came to Wilford early in the morning, ahead of most of the staff and players, as well as all the reporters. He went straight to number three training ground.
The early morning mist still shrouded the small forest. The number three training ground was faintly discernible amid the white fog. The scene reminded Twain of the Journey to the West story he read at a young age. The white fog lingering in the Heavenly Court was almost like this.
No one was there because he came too early. Twain went off the field to walk a lap and then jogged another lap. Following which, he nodded with satisfaction alone and said, “Well done.”
Isaksson was undoubtedly a veteran worker who had worked here for decades and had good techniques. The work was fully in line with Twain’s wretched requirements.
To ensure that the ground was uneven, and the quality of the turf was scraggly, but to also ensure that their own people training on top of it would not be easily injured, it was certainly risky. But that was not something that the groundsmen could control. These were matters for the coaching staff to consider.
Stepping on the still-uneven field, Twain began to chuckle deviously to himself.
※※※
The players arrived at Wilford for training as usual with the reporters huddled outside the venue to wait for fifteen minutes of public filming. Of course, more reporters were here to interview Tony Twain. They still wanted to hear the latest developments in the war of words between the two teams.
But what they saw was disappointing.
Tony Twain did not appeared in front of everyone from beginning to the end. Kerslake was the only coach on the training ground.
The players were as surprised as the reporters. They went out to get ready for training after they changed into their training clothes in the locker room, only to find that apart from the assistant manager, David Kerslake, none of the other coaches were to be seen.
After everyone had gathered, Kerslake spoke, “Guys, we’re training at a different place today.”
Huh?” Everyone’s reaction was one of puzzlement.
“Go to the number three training ground.” Kerslake pointed to a direction. Everyone looked over and could only see a dense forest.
“Where is it?” The vast majority of the players did not know the exact location because they had never trained in that place before. Some people thought that South Wilford had only three training grounds, number one, two and four.
“Don’t ask. Just follow me.” Kerslake turned and walked toward the dense forest.
“But the reporters…” Some of the players looked back at a group of media outside the barbed wire.
“Ignore them.” Kerslake did not even turn his head.
The reporters outside the field were surprised to see the team suddenly march together to the most distant part of the training ground. Just as they did not know what was going on, the press officer appeared in front of the crowd with a smile.
“Mr. Twain suddenly informed the team to seal off the training. I’m sorry, everyone.”
This was not the first time they had encountered such a situation, but the reporters still openly voiced their complaints.
“When has there ever been a manager who treats the media in such a manner?”
“Is he scared witless by Barcelona? Does he need to have a closed-door training for an away game again Norwich City, a league opponent at the bottom of the rankings?”
“Actually, I think he doesn’t want to be surrounded by us and be asked questions about that gesture of his…”
Pierce Brosnan shook his head in the crowd. He could not understand what Tony Twain had in mind.
A group of reporters left reluctantly in the midst of their complaints.
Meanwhile, the Nottingham Forest players stared blankly at their “new training ground.”
Twain was grinning in front of them, as if here were Mr. Devil himself to lure them to jump into the lava hell.
“This is the new training ground you will use in the coming week. It looks great, doesn’t it?”
Eastwood mumbled to himself in a low voice among the crowd, “This is probably the worst training ground I’ve ever seen…” He had the right of speech and people would believe his words because he was the only one among the players who had played in the amateur league.
“It looks like a vegetable patch in a farm. Actually, it is a vegetable patch.”
Twain’s expression when he said this made the people who saw it wanted to beat him.
The color of the grass varied in the regular football field-sized training ground with patches everywhere. In some areas, there was no grass at all, and the color of the soil was directly exposed. It looked like a head being carelessly shaved with a pair of blunt hair clippers.
“You have to be careful. It’s not as flat as it looks… So, today’s warm-up has to be longer than previous days. No slacking off. Otherwise, don’t complain that I did not warn you in advance after you sprain your ankle.” After he said that, signaled to Kerslake to step forward and continue.
Kerslake stepped forward with today’s training schedule.
“Guys, our training assignment today is…” At this point, he thought it was amusing, but he had to look serious and keep pretending, “to adapt to this site!”
Some of the players laughed. Kerslake immediately gave a glare and said, “This is not a joke! We are pressed for time. You only have one day to get used to… the feeling of playing football on this vegetable field! If anyone is injured here the next day, you will not get my sympathy!” He pointed to the other side, where the team doctor’s unit was on standby under the leadership of Fleming with his “Super Mario beard.” Everyone looked at them with a serious expression. They were no strangers to that look in their eyes. Whenever a player was seriously injured during a game, Fleming and his colleagues would look at the injured area with that look in their eyes and then turn around to make a substitution gesture to Twain.
When they looked at the situation, the laughter in the team gradually subsided until it completely disappeared. They realized that the boss was not prompted by a sudden impulse to play a joke on them. He was for real. It was a very serious matter.
After he saw that all the players realized the importance of the matter, Kerslake raised his voice, “Warm up! Fully warm up! Loosen up every part of your body and every joint! Even if your ankle twists to ninety degrees, it won’t hurt easily! Then use your bodies to firmly remember the feeling of running every step here! Remember the parts which are deep and shallow, the areas which have pits and bumps, where the football has irregular movements when it falls… Don’t remember them in your hearts or minds, remember them with your bodies! If anyone gets hurt, it’s because your body doesn’t remember! Finally, I ask you to keep your mouths shut on the contents of this week’s training!”
His voice was concealed by the dense forest. No outsider could hear them. The reporters would absolutely not obtain any content to do with Nottingham Forest’s closed-door special training this week.
To welcome their distinguished guests from afar, Tony Twain racked his brains and spent one week’s time to prepare a big gift for them.
He hoped they would like it.
...
Chapter 805 - POMO
Ahead of the match against Nottingham Forest and Norwich City, the media rushed to report this piece of news:
The host of Sky TV’s [Football Matters], Carl Spicer appeared with a shaved head on last night’s show. It had been confirmed that Spicer had been wiling to concede that he lost his wager with Tony Twain and shaved his hair. Mr. Carl Spicer became the second public figure to have lost a bet with Tony Twain. The first public figure to lose his beard was Mark Lawrenson. His beard has not grown back to date…
It was certainly a scandal for Spicer, but a good thing to Sky TV. Because they could make use of this opportunity to further drum up publicity for the show. Therefore, they went around promoting Carl Spicer would appear with “a brand-new look” in the upcoming show before the program was aired. The show set a new high in the ratings on that day.
Twain also did not forget to add salt to the wound and mocked Spicer in his column, “He should thank me for insisting on this bet at the time. I heard that their ratings have skyrocketed and that is all to my credit. I think Sky should seriously consider giving me a bonus.”
In the visiting team’s locker room, the Forest players marked Ibišević’s twentieth goal of the season. But he was not in the starting lineup for this game.
The media were aware of the starting lineup a day before. Tony Twain had rotated the team and had nothing to hide.
The striker who replaced Ibišević to start in the game was not Eastwood, nor Agbonlahor, but the young player, Aaron Mitchell. It was his first appearance for Nottingham Forest in an official tournament.
Such an arrangement was not surprising. After all, Nottingham Forest would face the strong rival, Barcelona at home next week. There was really no need to send the strongest lineup to play against an opponent like Norwich City.
Aaron Mitchell might see this day as the most memorable day of his career, because when he was still a center back, he never thought he could make his league debut so quickly as a member of Nottingham Forest.
But Twain did not take any special care of the lucky kid. What he said to the whole team was also what he had to say to the kid.
“I don’t know if you’ll feel the uneven ground under your feet when you walk onto the pitch later.”
The players laughed. They had been training on that terrible training ground for the last half of the week, with three players injured on the first day. Eastwood was one of them, but luckily he did enough warm-up and was not seriously injured. In order to seize the time, Twain even got here to play the away game on the morning of the game itself. For the sake of the Champions League, he was ready to give up the preparations for this league game.
“Norwich City’s turf quality and pitch are certainly not as good as Camp Nou, but it must be a lot better than that training ground of ours. Don’t forget your body’s memories because of this venue. To be honest, I won’t give you any pressure for this game. It does not matter if you win or lose. You just take it that you’re training in that rotten field. Keeping your bodies’ memories is your only task in this game.”
※※※
After the game began, the Nottingham Forest players played a state that was surprising to the outsiders. It was not a matter of them being slow to warm up. The Forest players played as if they did not know how to play football collectively and acted clumsily.
From the simplest action of running, when the football that was obviously closer to the Forest players, the Forest team would certainly have gotten it under general conditions.
But during this game, the Nottingham Forest players appeared as if they could not run. They looked like they did not have the energy to start running and completely could not catch up with the Norwich City players mid-run. In this way, they just watched the football being taken away by the opponent first.
“I really suspect that the Forest players went out last night and got prostitutes. Otherwise, how else to explain the weakness in their legs?” The commentator also thought the Forest team’s playing was really ugly like this.
“The desire to win is not strong and their bodies are not right. What did Tony Twain train for those three days of closed-door training?”
“Only God knows…”
Aaron Mitchell was brought off after sixty-five minutes of his debut. His own personal play was not ideal due to the team’s inexplicable “poor state” on the pitch. He could not perform the headers and footwork skills which he was good at. On the contrary, because his body was slightly thin, he was also at a disadvantage in the confrontation against the opposing center back.
Ibišević, who was brought on, did not see any improvement in his form too. The commentators found it even more difficult to understand—“Why is Nottingham Forest’s entire team, from its starting lineup to its substitutes, in such a bad form? Are they voodooed?”
In the end, everyone was in a poor form and unable to find their competitive form on the pitch from start to finish. Unexpectedly, Nottingham Forest, which acted as if it could not play football, lost 1:0 to Norwich City in the away game, causing the biggest upset in the current round of the league tournament. One must know that beforehand, Norwich City was at the bottom of the rankings and almost certain to be relegated.
After the game in the mixed zone, the Nottingham Forest players who lost were the targets of the media’s pursuit instead. All the reporters wanted to ask the Forest players one question, “Can you explain your poor performance in this game?”
Most players might refuse to answer the questions because they were in a bad mood from losing the game. The few people who answered, would not really say anything of value such as, “A thing like a player’s form cannot be pinpointed. We feel that there’s no problem, but problems may crop up during a game, so we do not know what went wrong.”
Well, these players were clearly reluctant to cooperate with the reporters. Perhaps they felt that their performances were terrible, and they were too ashamed to answer such questions. So, the reporters turned to their attention to the post-match press conference, planning to hear what Twain had to say. According to precedent, Tony Twain must be furious that his team played such a bad game.
But what did they see at the scene?
Tony Twain sat smiling in front of a row of microphones, speak frankly with assurance about the just-concluded game.
“Football is like this, you can never say that just because we are strong, we deserve to win. You can’t celebrate victory in advance before the game starts. No one knows what the outcome is till the last second. I’m really sorry about the result of this match.”
Could anyone see the slightest expression of “sorry” on his face?
“The team was not in form and I’m angry.”
Was he really angry? “Angry with a smile?”
“Finally, I would like to congratulate Mr. Glen Roeder. His team played a beautiful game.” Twain stood up and shook hands with a beaming Roeder next to him. The two men were also quite connected—Twain’s debut match against West Ham United was led by this man. At the time, he showed off his “big mouth” for the first time at the press conference. He not only successfully cursed West Ham United’s relegation, but also found out for the first time where the English Football Association’s front door was.
Now, eight years later, Mr. Roeder appeared before Twain again after he had suffered a heart attack and a cerebral thrombosis. This time, though, he was neither the West Ham United manager nor Newcastle United’s acting manager, but the manager of the newly promoted team, Norwich City. He led the team to promotion last season but was likely to lead the team back to the English Football League Championship this season. At this crucial time, to be able to beat a strong enemy like Nottingham Forest, it was naturally help provided in the hour of need.
Unfortunately, even so, he could not be the leading character at the press conference. Instead, it was the defeated Twain who became the focus of attention. Had it not been for Twain’s initiative to stand up and shake his hand to congratulate him, he did not know how long he would have to wait for the reporters to turn their attention to him.
Norwich City’s victory over Nottingham Forest was an upset after the game, but the articles which appeared in the important placements were the media analysis on why Nottingham Forest had suddenly been unable to find its form. Poor Mr. Glen Roeder…
Some people said it was due to the rotation that Twain did to prepare for the game against Barcelona. But with the Forest team’s strength, even if with a full rotation, it should not be defeated by a low-level team like Norwich City, should it?
Other people said it was the away loss to Barcelona that had a profound impact on Nottingham Forest. Cracks had appeared in their originally invulnerable locker room and Tony Twain, who only knew how to be hopping mad and scold people, could no longer control his star players. Today’s Nottingham Forest was like a sheet of loose sand, with its morale at rock bottom after two consecutive losses. Barcelona’s chance was here.
Moreover, Twain’s unusual performance in the post-match press conference suggested that he had a falling out with the club’s top brass after he lost control of the team. He had sent the helve after the hatchet. There had been rumors that once he lost to Barcelona, Tony Twain would be out of Wilford. And the Manchester United club had signed a deal with Twain in private. He would immediately go to Manchester United after he left Nottingham Forest.
These rumors were half-truths. Some of which simply did not hold up while some seemed to contain some truth. The real and fake news mingled together. The readers could not discern the truth and could only be led by the nose by the media.
Twain chose to remain silent over these media reports. Nottingham Forest also chose silence. It was like a nuclear submarine diving into the deep sea and lying in the dark, so that the enemy could not figure out where they were going or what they were planning to do.
The only trouble was that some people among Nottingham Forest’s fan base also believed the rumors. After all, the game was really ugly to watch. It was almost on par with their home loss to Bolton Wanderers in that year. And Tony Twain unexpectedly did not lose his temper. No wonder some of the Forest fans had the wrong idea.
But based on this point, Nottingham Forest did well in its secrecy.
※※※
While the rumors continued to spread about Tony Twain’s imminent departure outside, the Nottingham Forest players continued to train on the rotten ground. After these few days of “trampling”, the site became even worse.
But it did not have much impact on the training, as Nottingham Forest did not do much ground coordination training. The focus of the team’s training this week was in the air—long balls.
The attacking players in the front field were asked to simply manage the ball after they had taken the ball. The simpler the better, the faster the better. They did not need to think about brilliant ground coordination—in fact a lot of players did think so at the beginning, but when they saw that the passes they were sending could not roll to where they wanted the ball to go on such a field, they gave up the unrealistic idea.
To put it bluntly, the only trick to playing on such an uneven ground with patchy grass was to minimize the contact between the football and the ground, so a high ball was the way to go.
When the defenders were marked as they took the ball, they must stride forward; when the two defensive midfielders switch between offense and defense, they did not use a short pass, but a long pass; the wingers frequently used cross passes at a forty-five-degree angle, rather than crossed from the byline. Then they would place a tall center forward who was outstanding at header shots in the forefront. The football would go where the tall center forward was. In addition to practicing extra set piece plays, the set pieces, whether offensive or defensive, would become the game’s top priority. Because Twain was well aware that his tactics might not get more direct shooting opportunities, so he needed other means to score. A set piece was the best option.
The Nottingham Forest players would not be too unfamiliar with the style of play, nor would they think it was a new thing to do from the boss’ moment of impulse. Because even when the Forest team played most beautifully, they could see this “efficiency football” or “ugly football” in their tactics. Otherwise, why did the media always criticize them?
The Nottingham Forest coaches were also not surprised. Because Tony Twain’s initial success at the Forest team was based on efficiency football and “useless possession.” It was only later that he revised his tactics a little to make the Forest team’s style of play richer and better. Only this time Twain took the “useless possession” to the extreme and used a famous extreme—POMO (“Positions of Maximum Opportunity”), meaning “the areas of the field from where goals were most often scored. It was the famous “English style long ball.”
Almost all England coaches knew and were familiar with this theory, because the theory was founded by Charles Hughes, who had the greatest influence on English football in the last century. He also used his position as the Director of Coaching for The English Football Association in the 1960s till 1990s to greatly promote the idea. It was the culprit in why the English football technical style had not progressed or even regressed.
It was a classic example of “an armchair strategist” in football. The theory was invulnerable, but the actual situation acted in a way that defeated one’s purpose. It was not the same thing at all. Even so, why did Twain suddenly decide to use this extreme tactic?
Since POMO had been popularized in England for thirty years and had far-reaching influence, there must be some merit to it. Even if it was small, George Graham’s Arsenal achieved success with it in the early 1990s. Although they played rough football that made the Arsenal fans tired of them too, they won the championship title, and that was the redeeming quality.
The terrible pitch was clearly well suited to the use of long balls. Twain said he would do whatever it took to win, so it would be no big deal to briefly resurrected the “notorious” POMO once in Nottingham Forest.
Every winner would still smile even if he was scolded by people, while the loser would not be happy even if he received more praise.
There was always one reason for the Catalan media to attack Twain—he played extremely ugly football which was full of the utilitarian stench, and he was England’s biggest football hooligan.
Then Twain would tell them: since you talk so much about ugly utilitarian football, have you ever seen the ugliest and most utilitarian football? It doesn’t matter if you have never seen it. I shall open your eyes soon!
...
Chapter 806 - Aaron’s Troubles
Aaron Mitchell has never felt this valued in his entire life. The attention that he has been given so far exceeds the attention that he received during the very first time he played for Nottingham Forest in a Premier League match.
All eyes were on Mitchell as the team conducted physiotherapy, tactical drills and training sessions that worked on improving the players’ techniques, set pieces and strength this week.
The kind of attention that was given to him was not one whereby the coaches approach him to ask dumb questions such as if he was feeling happy. The kind of attention that was given to him came in the form of the coaches’ chastisements towards him following an increase in intensity in the training that he was given.
Using the strength training session as an example, Mitchell was informed that he had to do more strength training so as to enhance his overall physicality when he was first promoted into the first team, but the coaches became even stricter with their demands of him this week.
Luckily, the physiotherapy sessions following the training session have also been enhanced, if not Mitchell really doubted that he would be able to last for long.
The situation suddenly turned for the better in the middle of the week two days before the Champions League game. Mitchell was on his way to the gym to continue with his strength training when he was held back by Dunn.
“You don’t need to do additional strength training today, Mitchell.”
“But I’m fine. I want to…” Mitchell was a little taken aback and he did not react in time.
“You don’t need to do additional strength training tomorrow either.” Dunn smiled at him. “I want you to rest up for these two days.”
Mitchell was baffled. The Chinese assistant manager was speaking in English, but Mitchell realized that he completely did not understand what he meant.
Dunn felt a little awkward as he looked at the confused expression upon Mitchell’s face. He should not be revealing the starting list to the players without Tony’s approval, but seeing how the lad has worked hard and pulled through his tough training for the past couple of days and how he was endearing…
Perhaps it would be all right to tell him as a reward?
“Yeah, Mitchell. You will start in the game two days later.”
Mitchell nodded his head and did not appear to be surprised in the slightest. It took him a while to react, and when he did, he nearly jumped into the air.
He bulged his eyes and stared at the assistant manager before him. “What did you just say, Mr. Dunn?”
“I’m not dreaming am I, Mr. Dunn?”
Dunn shook his head. “Rest up these two days. And don’t tell anyone.”
Mitchell immediately covered his mouth and nodded his head. He thanked Dunn and ran away gleefully.
※※※
Aaron Mitchell’s father was an ordinary workman who was also a loyal fan of Nottingham Forest, which was why he chose to send his son to Forest’s football academy. He was overjoyed for days when his son got promoted to the first team by Twain, and he went about bragging to every person that he met that his son was a football star.
His son, on the other hand, was not as excited as he was. He was well aware about how competitive it gets in the team and he kept raining on his father’s parade. He did not want him to get his hopes up.
Every time Mitchell did that however, his father would start acting authoritative and pretend he is about to slap him by raising his hand.
“Get your act together! Some French bastard whom I’ve forgotten the name once said, any football player who doesn’t want to be a football star is not a good player!”
Mitchell has always acted in a much more mature manner as compared to his excited father. However, there was a turn of events today.
He deliberately hid the smile on his face the moment he entered the door.
“Good afternoon, Dad!”
“What good afternoon? It’s almost night time!” His father was doing carpentry work in the garden and he responded to Mitchell without turning around.
“How’s training?”
“I’m doing okay!”
“You make me think you are not training in your team at all when you say that.” His father’s words sounded muffled since he was biting onto nails, but Mitchell could make out what his father was trying to say.
“I’m doing great!”
“That’s more like it…”
“Where’s mum?”
“Making dinner.”
“Heh heh.” Mitchell broke into a laugh suddenly. His father was surprised by his sudden laughter and dropped the hammer that he was holding. It nearly hit and hurt his fingers.
“Hey! You!” His father was about to chide him, but he realized his son was already gone by then.
He stood rooted at the ground for a moment. “Did he get stimulated by something today?”
During dinner, neither the father nor the mother could focus on eating their dinners. They had their eyes on their son, who was smiling to himself.
Eventually, Mitchell’s father opened his mouth to break the peculiar silence that they were in.
“Aaron, do you have a girl that you like?”
Mitchell found it odd that his father would suddenly ask a question like that.
He shook his head. “I haven’t liked anyone for a long time. Don’t you know that, Dad? My height makes it hard for me to find someone suitable…”
It was certainly difficult for Mitchell to find a girlfriend with him being 2.02m tall. How awkward would it be if his girlfriend found it easier to give him a blowjob than to kiss him?
His father used to joke that he would have to look for a girlfriend in the girls’ basketball team.
But… The girls in the basketball team all look a little…
“That’s odd. Then why are you smiling to yourself if you don’t have a girlfriend?”
“Ah! That’s because…” Mitchell nearly divulged the information that he was going to be in the starting list for the Champions League match, but he suddenly remembered Dunn’s words about keeping it a secret.
He quickly changed what he was about to say. “Nothing. I’m just happy! Oh, right, Dad. Will you be going down to the stadium to watch the Champions League game?”
“When has your Dad ever missed watching a Forest game at the City Ground Stadium? Are you doubting my loyalty to Forest?”
“Heh heh.” Mitchell laughed again. “That’s good, that’s good.”
His laughter made his father feel uncomfortable from top to toe.
“Mitchell! Stop laughing like that, you are not a girl! Hearing your laughter makes me lose my appetite to eat!”
His father knew that he was hiding something from him, but he could not force him to speak. The authority that he held as his father would also not be able to help him get his son to speak. He felt very upset at the fact that there was nothing he could do…
“All right, all right. Let’s just eat.” Mitchell’s mother spoke up to ease the mood.
Mitchell did not care about how his father seemed to stare daggers at him. All that was in his mind right now was not his father’s reaction, but the Champions League instead.
He felt as though the sounds of the Champions League had rung by his ears. The sound set his heart ablaze and he became so excited that goosebumps broke out all over his body.
He imagined tens of thousands of people at the stadium chanting his name at the top of their voices.
He was finally going to fight against a strong European team. He was not just going to make an appearance in an insignificant competition at an insignificant time.
He once dreamed of donning Nottingham Forest’s red jersey and making an appearance in a top-level European match as a child. Now, he was not too far from making his dream a reality.
Mitchell’s mother felt a little worried after seeing her son’s behavior. She knew that the team had increased his training load for the past couple of days. Her son had also come home a few days ago telling her how he was exhausted. She feared that Aaron was overly worn out.
“Rest up earlier tonight, Aaron.”
“I will, Mum. I will rest right after finishing dinner.”
Mitchell continued eating his dinner without haste. When he was done, he pushed his utensils forward and stood to his feet. He then said good night to his parents before going upstairs.
The two adults who were left behind looked at each other. They did not understand what was going on.
Mitchell’s father felt a little dejected and frustrated for not knowing what his child was thinking about earlier.
His wife laughed upon seeing the expression on his face. “Our son’s all grown up now. He even has secrets that he keeps from us now.”
※※※
Mitchell laid on the bed and forced himself to sleep even though it was barely nine at night. However, he could not fall asleep no matter how hard he tried, because he was too excited. He did not think he would fall asleep even if it reached 12 midnight.
He still wondered if everything that had happened today was just a dream. Maybe he had been hallucinating back then…
If the person who broke the news to him had been Kerslake instead of Dunn, he would have just passed the entire thing off as a joke.
How does it feel like to play in the Champions League?
He has watched numerous Champions League matches either on television or at the stadium in person. However, he has never stepped on the pitch to play in a game before.
Watching a match and playing in one were two completely different experiences. How would he perform when he has to play in the game? Will he get too nervous and not be able to perform at half of his usual standard as a result? Or will he get too excited instead and not be able to perform at half of his usual standard as a result?
Gah, let’s not think about such dreadful possibilities!
“… The fourth official has raised the board. 3 minutes of stoppage time! Loud boos ring out in the City Ground Stadium. How can there only be 3 minutes of stoppage time added when there were numerous fouls and substitutions made in the second half? It’s bizarre.”
“The score right now is 0:0. If the score stays this way till the end of the match, then Barcelona will successfully progress into the next round of the Champions League. That is definitely not something that Tony Twain wishes to see. He is standing by the pitch and gesturing to his players to press forward and attack. There are only 3 minutes left for him. Can his team create a miracle?”
“Nottingham Forest has earned a corner. Even their goalkeeper Akinfeev has rushed over to Barcelona’s penalty box. This might be Forest’s last attack of the match! Aaron Mitchell, being the tallest on the pitch, has been tightly marked by three defenders. His height advantage and ability to head the ball are all very important to Forest’s set pieces.”
“The ball goes into the penalty box… Aaron Mitchell jumps into the air! No one can stop him! All the energy that has been building up within him has finally been released! He jumps higher than anyone else! Higher than Víctor Valdés’ hands! He heads the ball towards the net!”
“GOOOOOAL! GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL! GOAL!”
Mitchell jumped off his bed and began running about his room with his two arms outstretched. He went ‘GOOOOAL’ as he jumped up and down here and there and stomped his foot on the ground.
“Aaron Mitchell!” Sounds of his father shouting in exasperation and knocking furiously on the door rang out in the room. “What on earth are you doing? The dust on the ceiling have all fallen into the soup! Do you want me to call an ambulance over for you?”
Mitchell turned a deaf ear to his father’s furious knocks and chastisements.
Right now, he was in the City Ground Stadium. His powerful header has just saved his team from the abyss, and it has also sent Barcelona into that very same abyss to fill up the void left behind.
He hugged his team mates around him and also ran to give the assistant manager, Dunn, who had told him the good news, a hug. He hugged every person possible to try and release the emotions that had built up within him.
He has rose to fame with this goal!
“Bam!”
His father was left with no other choice but to charge into Mitchell’s room after seeing that the noises coming from his room showed no signs of stopping.
He stood before Mitchell and was just about to admonish him when his son pounced on him and wrapped his arms tightly around him. Mitchell then mumbled by his father’s ear, “Die Barcelona! We have progressed to the next round! We have progressed! I am the hero!”
“You are the one who should die!” His father had been fuming over his son’s actions thus far and he slapped him on the back of the head.
Mitchell woke up after getting slapped. There was a look of bewilderment on his face as he looked at his father who was in his arms.
“Huh?”
“Did you think you were hugging some big-breasted beauty?” His father had a smile on his face that sent chills down Mitchell’s spine.
He knew he was going to be in for a hard time…
※※※
The next day, Twain noticed that Aaron Mitchell was not in a good state and was also not able to focus during the training sessions on the pitch.
Twain found it odd. This was not how Mitchell acted like in the past. Mitchell has always been fully focused, hardworking and earnest during training. If not, Twain would not have arranged for him to make an appearance in the second leg match against Barcelona. Any player that Twain sets his sights on was a player who did not have any problems with his attitude.
Now that there was an issue with Mitchell’s attitude, and for it to have happened in just one night…
Twain felt that there was a need to have a talk with him. It was not just because of the issue with his attitude. Another important reason was that Mitchell would definitely sprain his ankle in no time if he were to keep going through training in the state that he was in. If he were to sprain his ankle, then Twain’s plan would go haywire.
Thus, he walked to the side of the pitch and called Mitchell over to ask him what was going on.
“Mitchell, were you not able to sleep well last night?” Twain noticed that Mitchell’s eyes were bloodshot.
“Uh, yes, boss.” Mitchell did not dare to lie to Twain.
“Can you tell me the reason?”
Mitchell glanced at the expressionless Dunn who stood next to boss and contemplated if he should say the truth.
Assistant manager Dunn told him not to tell anyone, but boss is the leader of the entire team, which means that the news that Dunn relayed to him must have come from the boss himself…
If that is the case, then it should be fine to tell boss, right?
“Yeah… Assistant manager Dunn told me that I will be starting in the match against Barcelona yesterday…”
Twain turned to look at Dunn. The latter had a deadpan expression on his face, as though he had nothing to do with whatever Mitchell just said.
He decided to make himself clear to Mitchell before settling things with Dunn.
“That’s right, you were put in the starting list by me.” Twain quickly made a gesture where he pressed both his hands down. “But, don’t get excited just yet. Look at how you have been performing during training so far. Do you think that’s all you need to do to start in games? There’s still a day and a half to go till the match. I can still change my starting list at any time.”
The smile that had emerged on Mitchell’s face vanished after hearing Twain’s words.
“I don’t care how much you might be looking forward to the match tomorrow. You better get back onto the pitch and give your 100 per cent to the training! I want you to be fully focused on it!” The expression on Twain’s face was grave and frightening. “If you continue to have your heads in the clouds and you injure your leg in the process, then you might as well give up any shred of hope that you might have about starting in the game tomorrow.”
Twain’s words allowed Mitchell to come to his senses.
Getting distracted while training on the pitch was a very dangerous thing…
“Did you tell others about it?” Twain asked.
Mitchell immediately shook his head. He was never someone who liked to go around bragging about his achievements, and he also did not tell his father the truth when he tried to force the words out of him yesterday.
Twain smiled and patted him on the back. “Great. You just avoided the possibility of embarrassing yourself before your friends.”
Mitchell felt an overwhelming chill down his spine. He knew his boss was not joking with him. If he did not perform well during training, he would definitely be taken off the starting list.
Hence, he rushed back to join in the training once again and did not dare to think about whether or not he would start in the game anymore.
After he finished dealing with Mitchell, Twain turned to look at Dunn.
“I just thought of giving him a reward for all the hard work that he has been putting in for the past couple of days…” Dunn knew what Twain was about to say, so he responded before Twain opened his mouth.
“But you almost caused harm to him.” Twain’s expression was still as grave as when he spoke to Mitchell earlier.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know…” Dunn knew he was in the wrong. Everyone knows how well Mitchell has been performing. It was true that his performance had only become worse after he heard his words.
Twain did not feel like admonishing his partner. Dunn has always done an excellent job most of the time, and he hardly makes an error.
He just gets soft-hearted from time to time, just like a girl…
Twain consoled Dunn. “I suppose all’s well ends well. This incident actually turned out to be a valuable experience for him. His mentality is much better now. This will help us greatly during our future matches.” His eyes were fixed on Mitchell as he finished his words.
...
Chapter 807 - Adapting to the Field
The day before the game, the Barcelona team arrived in Birmingham by plane, followed by a special bus to Nottingham, where they had a simple adaptation to the ground training, all they had to do was wait for the game to arrive.
At the airport, Messi and Guardiola were the targets of a chase by journalists. Both men were very low-key; they did not say they would definitely win, just that anything was possible in a football match. It was home court for Nottingham Forest and everyone knew Nottingham Forest’s home game would be difficult, so they did not think it is right to take it lightly.That was what the Barcelona players thought, and only they knew what they truly thought internally.
At the airport, Barcelona, Europe’s most-watched team, was warmly welcomed by the media, and the density of the flash lit up every time a Barcelona player walked out of the hall. Later, The Catalan newspaper Le Monde ran the headline “The Arrival of the Champions”, which revealed Barcelona’s ambitions.
After putting their luggage in the hotel, Barcelona immediately went to the city’s stadium for training on the pitch. Tony Twain was giving his players a tactical lesson at Welford when assistant coach Kerslake, tasked by Twain, snuck into the City Stadium with the home team as an excuse to watch Barcelona’s warm-up training in the box.
Guardiola clearly knew the little tricks the home team liked to play, so he did not plan any training sessions in the afternoon that might reveal their tactical content. All he wanted was to adapt to the pitch.
The coach in Barcelona’s coaching staff laughed after seeing the turf on the city pitch, “They really are a small club, this stadium is not as good as our training ground.”
“I heard their new stadium ruined the finances of the team, it’s normal to not have enough money to maintain the turf.”
“I really don’t know where Tony Twain’s ridiculous confidence came from, is this the turf he’s really giving us?”
“The stadium, which can only hold 30,000 people, looks like a high school stadium.”
The turf they saw certainly was not the best, but this was what Tony Twain intended. Just yesterday he asked the grass workers at the city’s stadium not to put on the best turf, but to keep the grass that had been used frequently before.
Guardiola listened to his colleagues’ comments on the pitch but did not make any comments himself. This field was indeed not as good as the one in Nou Camp, but this was normal. The San Siro stadium had also been ridiculed for its quality of turf.
He did not care much about the condition of the venue but instead more about Tony Twain’s tactics. He had studied Twain before, and he knew almost exactly what tactics Twain would use in the game — defensive counter-attacks. It was nothing new. While on a tie, he would use defensive counter-attack, while leading he would still use defensive counter-attack, and while behind he will still use defensive counter-attack, while playing on away he would use defensive counter-attack, back at home still defensive counter-attack. His tactical manual may simply only read “Defensive Counterattack”.
Even in the face of a 1:2 situation when they were behind, Guardiola did not believe that Twain would come out against Barcelona since he was a coward. He would never know the beauty of the attack as his mind was full of utilitarian paste.
Out of the football philosophy of the gap between heaven and hell, Guardiola did not think much of Tony Twain. The only reason why people thought he did not hate Twain was because he did not publicise it. But in fact he hated Twain more than anyone. Others hate Twain perhaps just because of his unbridled mouth, while Guardiola hated Twain’s ambitions and thoughts of rising being a gulf that could never be filled. Twain and Mourinho would sit down one day for a drink and laugh over their feud, but this would never happen with Guardiola.
Guardiola already had plans in mind. If Twain continued to use the tactic of defensive counter-attacks, Barcelona would not mind defending the counter-attack as drawing the game was advantageous for Barcelona. This game, from whatever angle, was more favourable to the visiting team Barcelona. For the home team, the score of 1:2 was not fatal, and even the suspensions of Pepe and Barnes and Fernandez were not too difficult, but the most fatal factor was that man could not appear on the sidelines to lead the team. Without Twain’s on-field command, Nottingham Forest’s level would have to be reduced by a notch, and the players who had lost their main bone would play erratically and become a loose-haven. Inter Milan in 08-09 were Guardiola’s example, with Mourinho’s home win over the Nottingham Forest without their leader, it was as easy as stepping on ants.
If Nottingham Forest were to press out and go for a shot, it would be more in line with Guardiola’s expectations. Then Barcelona would play against Nottingham Forest’s offense. He was not afraid to losing the ball. Tony Twain should be the one who was afraid, because Nottingham Forest only had one away goal, and Barcelona’s chances would be unlimited during those 90 minutes. With Barcelona’s invincible offense, did anyone believe they were unable to score against Nottingham Forest during their offensive conflict? Even if Barcelona did lose on 2-3 on away in the end, it would be Barcelona who had scored one more away goals than Nottingham Forest.
Anyway, no matter how Tony Twain reacted, this time he was doomed to failure. The initiative would always be on the Barcelona side. If Guardiola had read the classic Oriental Chinese book The Journey to the West, he would have felt that Tony Twain would be that preposterous Monkey King who liked to jump around in front of the media. and he would be Buddha who had everything under his control. No matter how incredible that monkey might be, it would never escape his five-fingered mountain.
After a hastily finished training at the City Stadium, Guardiola took his team back to his hotel, where they held tactical meetings and made final arrangements for tomorrow’s game.
※※※
While Guardiola led the team to the ground at the City Stadium, Twain was giving the team a tactical lesson. The last day of training before the game was almost all theory lesson, and he was more detailed than ever because he could not even step in the dressing room the next day.
UEFA was wary of him this time. He was not allowed to wear any communication equipment. They also drew on the lessons of Mourinho’s coaching at Porto did not allow an assistant to sit next to him on the stands. Tomorrow, he would be thoroughly checked by two UEFA supervisors before he went to the stands to watch the game. UEFA did not mind picking people who had great opinions against Tony Twain to complete this task, because it would help them better put an end to the tricks of Twain.
In the final tactical lesson, Twain analysed the video of the first leg between Barcelona and Nottingham Forest with full details and made a targeted arrangement for his players. He believed Barcelona would continue to attack away from home, but he had not ruled out Guardiola’s sudden decision to take a point and hold on to a 2-1 away side.
“I was sent off for a red card, Pepe was red-carded and Barnes was suspended for one game for accumulating a yellow card. The outside world feels that our prospects are bleak. Guardiola may think their chances have come, but I hope you show them whose chance is actually coming. Our core tactic in this game is fouls.” Twain raised his thumb, “Bad pitches will limit their play, but that’s not enough. You have to thoroughly disrupt the rhythm of Barcelona with frequent fouls and oppressive defences. If you lose the ball in the front of the field then snatch it back, don’t limit your dangerous actions in less dangerous places, foul frequently, then they will know their place and be scared.
“Remember, it’s important to play like this from the start of the game. Barcelona’s hopes of qualifying are greater than ours, or so it seems. So it’s easier for their players to cherish their chances of playing. They don’t want to be injured in this game and miss the semi-finals and finals that follow. Psychologically, their desire to win is inferior to ours. What kind of team is Barcelona? Their tactics are impeccable and are the best in Europe today. But psychologically…” Twain shook his finger and laughed ,”The artist is always short of a bare-knuckle temperament that is not afraid to die.
“Capitalise on our strengths to nullify theirs and they’ll start to break down from the bottom of their hearts. Body! Speed! Resistance! And in the air.” Twain looked at Aaron Mitchell. “Mitchell, now that you’re aware, I don’t have to talk more about it. Tomorrow’s game you start to play center forward. We need your height and header skills, don’t even think about dribbling in this game. If you do, I’ll replace you. Do you understand? ”
The head spoke to himself very seriously, and Mitchell nodded hurriedly. His starting did not surprise his teammates, as the training sessions of the day were always around Mitchel, even the fools could see it.
“Your task is simple: squeeze into the other side’s penalty area when we reach the front and get into position for a header. When we’re still in the backfield, you retreat to the near midfield to prepare for the call-up, use your header to pass the ball to the team-mates on the counter-attack, or protect the football while waiting for support.
Mitchell continued to nod.
After instructing Mitchell, Twain set his sights on the team, “The key to winning this game is in the air. Barcelona’s air defence is weak, Pique can not be used as four people. As long as we have the power to take control of the air, Barcelona can only wait for us to be slowly slaughtered, even with their outstanding skill and footwork. Does anyone think doing this is dirty?”
No one dared to make noise; only a fool would make noise now.
“It seems that no one has an opinion, then that’s fine. Let me tell you the unbreakable truth of a football field. What is ugliness? Only failure is ugly! Those who shout ‘ugly victory’ are people who are sore! If you don’t believe then look. When they win, no matter what they do, they will never say they are ugly. Barcelona thought they were the most gorgeous, and we were ugly representatives, so let them gorgeously die! In front of the ugly!”
※※※
After ending his tactical class, Tony Twain did not return home straight like other coaches, but instead he drove hurriedly into the city stadium. By the time he arrived at the City Stadium, The Barcelona team had long since left. In addition to him, there was Thompson Isaksson who arrived from the Welford training base and his team. In addition, he met Kerslake.
“Do you get anything?” he asked casually.
Kerslake pouted, “Guardiola was very cunning. Nothing is planned for the play. Even after the reporters walked away, it was still like that.”
Twain shrugged, “That’s normal. Think about what we did at the Nou Camp.”
Then he turned to Isaksson. “Thompson, I have a request.”
Isaksson nodded before Twain went on. Twain was surprised, “I haven’t said what the request is.”
“The ideas our coach Tony Twain thinks of is definitely something bad, I have already guessed. You want us to make this field exactly like that one right?”
Twain made a thumbs-up, “Absolutely! But my demands are more strict. I hope you can copy the No.3 training ground into the city pitch. Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V. Down to the bumps, everything has to be the same. Can you do it?”
Isaksson frowned for a moment, then nodded, “I think it’s ok, we’re professionals in maintaining the turf, and every detail of the venue has long been in mind. Just a simple copy, I think it should be possible.”
Twain breathed a sigh of relief, and he clapped, “Thank you so much!” But you only have one night’s time, okay?
“You need to ask the stadium keeper to turn on the lights, but I don’t know if the stadium keeper will agree to do this, The pitch is sacred to them.” Isaksson’s dilemma was visible on his face.
“That’s not a problem, tell me everything that you need, the club would fully support. It’s just time-pressing and it has to be done by tomorrow morning, and I don’t want the damn media to catch on to anything.”
Isaksson looked back at his team and turned around with a proud look on his face, “They followed me for more than a decade, and they were my Nottingham Forest team, Mr Twain.”
Twain smiled and extended his hand, “I dedicate my victory to you, gentlemen!”
“But the game hasn’t played yet, Mr. Twain.” Isaksson said as he extended his hand.
“Two Nottingham Forest teams working together, it is a definite win!”
The hands of the two men were clasped together.
“Let’s show Barcelona what we have!”
...
Chapter 808 - Do I Need to Take Off My Pants?
On April 22nd, the sky over Nottingham, which had been cloudy for several days, finally cleared. Barcelona, which had been worried about rain, could breathe a sigh of relief now. With the favorable weather, the time to kill Nottingham Forest had arrived!
“The English are good at playing in the rain because it’s always raining over their heads.” The Catalan reporters liked to joke about such things when they chatted with each other. Compared to the sunny Barcelona, the weather in England was damp enough to make people become moldy.
“As long as the weather is good and the venue is good, victory will definitely belong to us!”
※※※
When the sun shone in the middle of the City Ground stadium, Thompson Isaksson, who had been busy all night, was resting in a seat in the technical area. As a sixty-something-year-old man, working all night was a big strain on his body, but he and his team had finally completed the task given by Tony Twain on time.
His old partner and longtime mate, Glenn Shelvey, stood on the sidelines and looked at the pitch that they had spent the night working through.
“I thought I’d never had the experience of messing up a good piece of field and still have a sense of accomplishment.”
Isaksson sat behind him and chuckled.
“Sometimes I really don’t know what Tony Twain’s brain is made up of. He can always come up with a lot of shady ideas to deal with others. Make the pitch look like a rotten field and let everyone play on this ground… I’m afraid there’s not a second manager in the world who will do that.”
Shelvey had been muttering lots of words to himself in front of Isaksson, but he did not continue the thread. He pointed to the particular seat he was resting on while he enjoyed what it felt like to be a manager.
Shelvey looked back at him and found that his old mate with a look of enjoyment. Then he noticed the seat.
“How does it feel like to be Tony Twain?” He asked.
Isaksson shrugged, “With no cheering fans and team for me to direct … It feels a long way off.”
Shelvey smiled and patted Isaksson on the shoulder, “With those things around, I don’t think your heart can stand it!”
“That’s true, a manager is under too much pressure. In the previous Champions League game, when I saw Mr. Twain squabble with the fourth official on the sidelines, I felt a little discomfort in my heart…” Isaksson touched his left chest, “I really admire Mr. Twain. He’s actually someone who had a heart surgery.”
After talking about a few things that had nothing to do with work, Isaksson stood up and looked at the venue, nodding with satisfaction, “I guarantee that Mr. Twain will be satisfied with the pitch. Let’s knock off work now!”
“We’re done!” Shelvey shouted to the other workers, and then he turned to ask Isaksson next to him, “Are you going for a drink, old chap?”
Isaksson waved his hands and said, “You go with them. I’ve got to go back to catch some sleep and then come watch Barcelona’s exciting performance on our pitch tonight.”
“Ha!”
The two men looked at each other and smiled.
※※※
Aaron Mitchell got up early in the morning. Although there was no training on the day of the match, the team had to go to Wilford in the morning and then take the bus to the hotel. They would be on a break until they leave for the City Ground stadium an hour before the game.
During the meal, Mitchell found that his hands were shaking slightly. Was he too excited or too nervous?
He hurriedly found an excuse to go to the restroom and splashed cold water on his head.
After splashing some water on his head, he looked at the mirror to see his look of a drowned rat and repeated over and over again, “Aaron Mitchell, it’s just a regular game. Yes, all the games are just regular games. What are you nervous about?” He clenched his fists hard as he tried to see if he was still shaking.
He gritted his teeth, clenched his fists with all his strength, and stared at the man in the mirror as if he was looking at the enemy who killed his father.
After a while, he felt that his body did not tremble slightly for no reason, so he wiped any traces of water on his head and came out.
His father and mother looked strangely at their son and thought the boy’s mind was getting increasingly harder to guess.
But today was the match, so it was not good to ask too many questions that would interfere with their son’s mood and state as parents. As their son often said, “The form is not something that can be pinpoint. It can inexplicably come and go.”
It was not until Mitchell went out the door that his parents looked at each other.
“I feel that our son is a little out of sorts these days.”
“Today is the game. He’s a little nervous, isn’t he?”
“He’s not playing. So, what’s he nervous about?” As a father, he always held out hope for his son, but he was also a clearheaded fan who knew that Tony Twain could not give his son any chances in such an important game.
“Is he hitting his puberty now?” His father finally murmured.
※※※
When Mitchell hurried to Wilford, his teammates who had made the squad list were almost there. They even joked with Mitchell when they saw him come over, “Were you too nervous to get some sleep last night, Aaron?”
“I slept well, Freddy!” Mitchell shot back.
Looking at his serious expression, everyone laughed. If he was really not nervous, he would not have such an expression.
“Hey, relax, Aaron. The game hasn’t started yet!”
“Don’t take Barcelona too seriously. It’s not as good as your opponents in the training session!”
“Are you saying we’re very strong?”
“Of course! Nottingham Forest is the strongest!”
“Remember how you felt during training? It’s the same in the game!”
“It’s only the Champions League quarterfinals! I play games like this every year…”
“Stop bragging, Freddy. We were absent from the quarterfinals for two years.”
“Hey, Aaron. Just imagine for a moment that Barcelona’s tallest center back is that kid, Piqué, but he’s still shorter than you by a head! Then you won’t be afraid!”
“Are you talking about Piqué? Ah, I know that boy well.” Pepe, who had just arrived, stepped in and said, “He’s got great stamina, but he’s still not quite there yet in terms of skills and awareness. I’m better than him! Unfortunately, he went to Barcelona. Otherwise, if he had been with me, he would definitely progress quickly…” He shook his head with a look of regret.
“I think Aaron’s going to be marked by Piqué. If you’re going to pit body to body and fight hard with him… To be honest, I don’t think you’ll get the upper hand, Aaron.” He then gave Mitchell a word of advice as Piqué’s ex-partner. “I think you should try to use your own skills…”
“But the boss doesn’t want me to rely too much on my footwork skills…”
“Don’t be a fool! Techniques are not just about footwork. Your awareness, your positional play, these are all techniques!” Pepe wished he could give Mitchell a knock on the head.
“A high-level technique of tricking an opposing defender away with a positional play can only be grasped by a superb striker like me!” Freddy Eastwood was ruthlessly despised by his teammates for putting on an act of a capable player in front of everyone.
Everyone’s comments gave Mitchell the idea, and he was not nervous. Of course, he would think about tonight’s game, but he did not feel other emotions other than looking forward to it.
He was certain that he was really ready this time.
※※※
“We got the whole world in our hands! We got the whole world in our hands! We’re invincible and ever victorious… Forest, Forest! Nottingham Forest!”
When the lights first came on in the evening, a large group of fans sang out outside the window.
Mitchell’s father said goodbye to his wife at the door, and then hung the Forest team scarf around his neck as he opened the door to walk out. He greeted several familiar fans and then began to flow with the stream of people in red. As they continued to pass by the houses and streets, more and more people joined them, like a rushing river, sweeping everything along its way as it rolled toward the sea.
They sang Nottingham Forest’s team song as they made their progress towards the City Ground Stadium.
On this night, countless such groups flocked from all directions to the brightly lit City Ground stadium. They did not know each other ordinarily, but at this moment they were all comrades who fought side by side.
The Barcelona fans, on the other hand, gathered outside the City Ground stadium to wait for admission, heavily protected or more likely surrounded by a number of police officers. They were also chanting Barcelona’s anthem. Their shouts of “Barça! Barça! Bar—ça!” could be heard from afar. They might be small in numbers, but their voices were not small.
They were more optimistic. In a pre-match interview with the media, they confidently expressed that Barcelona would win the game. “We have Messi! We also have Xavi and the Pale Knight! We have Bojan! We are the best in the world! What does Nottingham Forest have? Tony Twain, Tony Twain, Tony Twain… Where is he now? In the stands! Hahahaha!”
In response, the Nottingham Forest fans began to act like pundits who were familiar with the history of competition between the two teams in front of the cameras, telling the Catalan media that Barcelona had been knocked out twice in the two times they played against Nottingham Forest other than the 2006 final. “What about the championship title? We don’t think about that kind of thing. We tell you, tonight we just want to see Barcelona go home in tears to find its mommy! All the champions have to bow down when they face Nottingham Forest. Inter Milan had just lost, and Barcelona will not be an exception too!”
“Even though the game hasn’t started yet, I’d like to say… this is going to be a tough game!” The BBC reporter said at the end when he reported back from the scene.
※※※
The buses from Nottingham Forest and Barcelona arrived at the same time, with the distance between the two buses no more than twenty meters, front and back. With the help of a police car to clear the way, they all smoothly made it through the crowded Trent River.
The players filed down from the bus. Some people were still in the mood to wave to the surrounding press and fans and showed confident smiles.
Tony Twain was in the crowd, but he could not follow the team to the locker room. The two inspectors sent by the UEFA watched him at the entrance of the tunnel.
“Hey, Mr. Twain! Can you accept an interview?”
“Manager Twain, I have a question…”
Twain glanced at the two inspectors standing at the entrance, smiled at them, and stopped here to accept interviews from the reporters.
“I’d love to. Do you have any questions to ask?”
“In a game up against Barcelona, you’re banned from the game and could not even enter the locker room. I would to ask if this will have a negative impact on your team?”
“There’s no adverse effect. My coaching staff are very good, and my players know what they have to do. I’ll watch the game like an ordinary fan in the stands.” When Twain finishing saying, he pried opened his shirt collar and showed the media what he wore today—there was a red Nottingham Forest home jersey underneath!
He also pulled a Nottingham Forest scarf, also in red, from his suit pocket. He hung it around his neck and looked like those ordinary fans outside.
“In a pre-match interview, Guardiola said he was very glad you couldn’t direct the game on the sidelines. What’s your take on it?”
“Is he praising me?” Twain laughed and said, “The enemy’s fear is my glory. But what I want to say to him is he can laugh all he wants because I’m afraid he won’t be able to laugh when the game is over!”
“It looks like you’re confident you can win the game. But where did you get your confidence from, Mr. Twain?”
“My team.” Twain had a look of pride on his face when he answered the question, “They’re the best team in the world.”
“All husbands think their wives are the best, don’t they, Mr. Twain!” A Catalan reporter raised a different opinion.
Twain glanced at him and noticed the Barcelona badge on the collar of his suit. He was convinced that the man was a Barcelona fan.
“Oh, no, this gentleman. The words of wisdom I’ve heard is that another person’s wife is always good, and only one’s own child is the best.”
Having said that, he stopped the interview and went straight to the two UEFA match inspectors. He opened his arms as he walked up to the two men and said, “Do you need me to take off my pants?”
The two inspectors looked at each other and wondered why Twain said so.
“To look for any miniature microphones or other high-tech gadgets like a wireless transmitter in my anus.”
Hearing him say so, the two inspectors looked as if they ate shit.
“We… We’re not in prison here, Mr. Twain.” One of them suppressed the surge of disgust to reply.
“Isn’t it? I think you two look a bit like the prison wardens.” Twain snorted and walked past the two men.
“Where are you going, Mr. Twain?”
“Don’t worry. I’m not going to the locker room. I’m just going to the restroom.” Twain looked back at them and said, “Are you coming together with me? Don’t be shy. I’ll be the host. By the way, you can see if I’m going to put any miniature microphones, satellite phones in my anus…”
“Mr. Twain!” One of them finally could not bear it to say, “We just had dinner!”
Twain raised his hands and made an apologetic gesture, “But I’m doing this for your own good. If I really connect with the coaching staff through those high-tech gadgets, how are you going to account for it when you get back, right?”
“I’ve never seen a coach who would bugger himself for a win in a game.” The other man spoke a little viciously. Obviously his prejudices about Twain were deep. Or it could be said that through the little amount of interaction just now, he had firmly become “anti-Twain.”
But Twain winked at him and uttered words which completely disgusted him, “I will, Mr. Inspector. I will do whatever it takes to win.”
At the time, the two UEFA inspectors simply thought that Twain deliberately made these angry remarks to disgust them. However, it was not long before they knew that everything Tony Twain said was true…
Tony Twain never lied. He would do whatever it took to win.
...
Chapter 809 - Two Identical Leaves
Although Tony Twain did not really take off his pants, he did get a check-up by the two inspectors. His entire body was rummaged through to prove that he did not have any communication devices on him. The battery in his cell phone was removed in front of his face. As the battery was taken out, a thought flashed in Twain’s mind. He wanted to simply entrust someone in China to buy him a knockoff cell phone so that even if the battery was removed, the cell phone could still be used. It would throw those ignorant guys off their guard!
Twain was amused by his idea.
The two inspectors next to him looked grim instead.
“Looks like you’re in a good mood, Mr. Twain. Aren’t you worried about the game at all?” One of them beat about the bush to try and provoke Twain.
“I don’t need to worry about the winner.” Twain shrugged and asked, “Are you done with the inspection?”
“Yes, there’s no problem. You can go to the stands.” The two men made a gesture. They would not follow Twain to the stands. They were seated in the box. The Nottingham Forest club treated them well.
Twain turned around and walked away. He did not even say “goodbye.”
The two inspectors were still indignant about the treatment they received.
“We’ll see if you’re still so cocky after the game!”
They said viciously to Twain’s back.
※※※
There were more and more fans in the stands, and all kinds of songs and chants reverberated through the air in the City Ground stadium.
Tony Twain walked up the steps to the grandstand.
“Hey, guys!” He stood in front of his fans with their backs toward him and shouted out a greeting.
“Forest, Forest! Nottingham Forest!!” The group of people only turned back after the last phrase. The fat leader laughed and announced, “Look who’s here, guys! The poor man who is punished to the stands—Tony! Welcome to the Robin Hood grandstand!”
Fat John gave Tony Twain a warm bear hug. He was so enthusiastic with his hug that Twain was almost breathless.
After John had hugged him, the others came up to hug and welcome him here.
Taking off his suit, he wore a red Forest jersey with a scarf around his neck which made him looked no different from the average fan. It was not easy to find him among the fans.
“Tony, what’s going on with the stadium?” Skinny Bill pointed to the pitch under the grandstand.
Twain gave a glance and immediately laughed. Isaksson did a good job. It looked exactly visually the same as Wilford’s number three training ground.
“Are our turf maintenance workers asleep on their jobs? How can we play on such a field?”
Someone in the crowd echoed.
Twain chuckled and said, “Doesn’t it look shocking? It’s going to an exciting game!”
“Ah — you did it on purpose!” Bill reacted and pointed to Twain to say, “You badass!”
“Badass! Badass! Tony’s a badass!” The fans next to them immediately shouted the slogan, like how they cheered the team on during the game.
“I prepared a little gift for Barcelona. I hope they like it.”
The crowd laughed.
“But for a venue like this, our guys can’t adapt as well…” Some people were still doubtful.
“Ha! What do you think we have been doing during the week of closed-door training?” Without Twain clearing up the confusion this time, John laughed first. He already understood it.
Twain looked at the group of fans looking excited and stood at the side, laughing without saying a word. To be honest, it was a shame not to be able to stand on the sidelines and watch Mr. Guardiola’s expression when he saw the pitch…
When everyone was done laughing, he asked, “The club did not tell me where my seat is. They only said to just to sit with you guys. So… Where’s my seat?”
John pointed to the middle, “Right in the center! Between us.”
“Very good!”
※※※
Kerslake’s loud voice rang in the home team’s locker room, “Warm up! Warm! Fully warm-up! Keeping in mind the conditions of the field, you have to warm up more seriously than in any other games! You can be shoveled by your opponent on the pitch, but I don’t want you to run and hurt your ankle! Think about what you’ve been doing all week. How can that kind of thing still happen to you?”
Kerslake paced back and forth in the locker room, but everyone treated him like he was the background music. Someone even asked Dunn, “Where will the boss be during the game is?”
“In the north grandstand.” Dunn replied.
The north grandstand, or as Fat John called it the “Robin Hood Grandstand”, was the area where Nottingham Forest’s most hardcore and most ardent fans gathered. Every football club’s home stadium had such a grandstand, with some in the north stands and some in the south stands. The north stands of the City Ground stadium were next to the Trent River, with the home stadium, Meadow Lane of their same city archrival, Notts County across the river.
“The boss must be like a fish to the water there.”
“Heh heh, that’s right. He’s Nottingham Forest’s number one big diehard fan!”
Dunn had a feeling that the atmosphere that had just been a little on edge because of Kerslake’s constant clamor slowly eased after they knew of Tony’s position. The manager was indeed the backbone of a team. No matter how well the assistant manager did, he could not steal the manager’s light …
※※※
The first team to warm up was Barcelona. Twain was able to tell the difference from the level of the boos that rang out in the stadium. So, he got up and left his seat to stand up and look down.
He very much wanted to see the marvelous looks on the Barcelona players when they saw the pitch. It was a bit of a cheap thrill for him…
The Barcelona players ran out of the tunnel in succession and then stopped without fail the moment they first stepped on the pitch. Then they looked at the field in front of them in disbelief. Some of them even wanted to turn back.
“What’s going on in their minds now? I bet they must be thinking—strange, we’re on the wrong field!” Sitting in the corner of the grandstand, a fifty-year-old man and a sixty-something-year-old man rocked with laughter and said, “The field was not like this yesterday when they did their adaptive training! Hahahaha—”
Glenn Shelvey slapped Thompson Isaksson’s thigh and almost fell to the ground. Isaksson was also overjoyed as he admired their masterpiece after a night of hard work.
Guardiola and the members of the coaching staff followed the players out, only to find them standing on the sidelines and not warming up on the pitch.
Vilanova, Guardiola’s assistant and his assistant manager at Barça’s second team, thought it was strange and asked, “What are you doing? Why aren’t you warming up?”
“Coach, this ground…” Puyol stood up as the team captain to bring it up to the coaches on behalf of the team.
“What happened to the field?”
“It doesn’t feel like how it was yesterday…” The professional players were very sensitive to the pitch. Although the training ground was bad yesterday, it was not quite the same as today’s.
Guardiola did not listen to them continue. Instead, he personally stepped on the field to get a first-hand experience to have a say.
He had only walked a few steps when he knitted his brows.
“Scumbag!” He swore under his breath.
“Josep, what’s going on?” The second assistant manager, Eusebio (an assistant to the former manager, Rijkaard and not the Portuguese named “Black Panther” Eusébio) noticed his strange look and asked.
“They changed the turf and the pitch was specially treated.” Guardiola looked up toward the technical area and found it empty, which he then recalled that Tony Twain was banned from the game. He should look toward the stands if he were to look for him.
Eusebio was a little taken aback. He said, “Is there such a thing? Wasn’t it still normal when we came to adapt to the field yesterday?”
“Maybe they changed it after we warmed up…they must have done it overnight.”
Eusebio was shocked by Tony Twain’s despicable action. “How could he do this!”
Just at this time, Nottingham Forest also came out to warm up. Eusebio immediately saw Dunn, who was always inseparable from Twain. He rushed up to personally asked, “Mr. Coach, would you care to explain what is going on with your pitch?”
Dunn looked confused and said, “Is that Catalan? Or Spanish? Please speak English.”
Eusebio only realized that he had not spoken the lingua franca and came out with his hometown language in a moment of excitement after he saw Dunn’s reaction. He had to readjust his mood and angrily pointed to the different colors of the turf on the pitch again in English to demand, “Such terrible turf. It’s very bumpy when our team stepped on it. How is this field suitable for a match? Don’t you have anything to say?”
Dunn suddenly realized, “Oh, the City Ground stadium recently maintained the previous used turf, so it was replaced…”
“Did they replace it with such patchy turf?” Eusebio was infuriated when he heard Dunn say that.
“We’re a small club and financially tight, so we did not have any good turf to spare. I’m really sorry.” Dunn bowed slightly and looked sheepish. It made it impossible for the Barcelona people to lose their temper…
In fact, all that he had said to answer to Barcelona’s questioning were prepared by Twain who anticipated that the big difference in the before and after situation with this kind of turf would cause some people to take notice. So, he prepared the corresponding answer in advance so that it was naturally foolproof.
Moreover, the Nottingham Forest club did inform the UEFA a few days in advance that they were going to maintain the turf. It was normal to change the turf, so the UEFA did not take it seriously either. They just nodded in agreement and said, “You can change it!”
The end result was a field which stunned Barcelona and the most powerful stadium in history, which was unforeseen by the UEFA.
The two UEFA inspectors, who were accustomed to the ways of the world, were also in shock for a long while when they saw the field. They thought they had gone to Meadow Lane on the other side of the river—for a Premier League football club that had competed in the UEFA Champions League for a long time, won two Champions Leagues titles and one Premier League title in the past few years, to be so terrible to this extent…it rendered them speechless.
Eusebio had wanted to say more but was stopped by Guardiola.
“We have been screwed by them. There’s nothing more to say. It’s impossible to change the ground back. Since they’re insisted that it is to maintain the turf, it means they’ve taken everything into account.”
Eusebio was upset and said, “We can report to the UEFA…”
Dunn suddenly pricked his ears next to him and piped up, “The UEFA?”
It was a sensitive moment. A week before the game, the English media seized on the close relationship between Barcelona and the UEFA and repeatedly speculated to insist on proving that the UEFA had dark secrets and that Barcelona’s home victory was given by the UEFA. Anyway, it was not a day or two that the UEFA was not happy with English football and the English media, which would not even give face to their own people, would definitely not give face to the UEFA. Therefore, “The UEFA” was almost a prohibited word at this time. Whenever Barcelona mentioned the UEFA, it would lead to other people to associate the two…
Eusebio turned back to him and said unkindly, “I thought you didn’t understand Catalan?!”
Dunn just put on the kind of fake smile that East Asians gave and said nothing.
Eusebio was completely at a loss as to what to do with these shameless scoundrels that he could only be pulled away by Guardiola and walked away from Dunn.
“It’s no use complaining to the UEFA. The game is about to start. Will the UEFA change the game date due to a small matter like the turf? Furthermore, the field can still be played in—We just need to tell our players to be careful. But after the game, we will report the state of the City Ground’s pitch to the fourth official.” Guardiola looked helpless. He had been thinking about Tony Twain for the past week and what kind of tactics he was going to come up with since he could not direct the game. But he did not think Tony Twain did not play by the rules and played such a hand.
He carried out such an operation on the pitch and meticulously set up the plan from beginning to end with no oversight. It was truly “obtaining the victory by fair means or foul” …
But with such a rotten field, my team cannot play, don’t tell me your team play on it?
Just when he thought that the game might not be as bad as people had thought, Guardiola suddenly remembered that Nottingham Forest had been in closed-door training the past week before the game. They even canceled a routine press conference with the local media without fear of offending them, so that no one knew what they were practicing…
Maybe, perhaps… They were training on a training ground that was similar to this one?
When Guardiola stirred suddenly, he realized that his back was sweaty and breaking out in cold sweat.
That Tony Twain!
He unconsciously clenched his fists.
※※※
While the assistant coach was arguing with Dunn, the Barcelona players at the side huddled around in whispers. Someone even ran to ask Piqué because he was the only one of these people present who had the experience of playing for Tony Twain.
Piqué could only speak honestly, “He is such a person … In order to achieve his purpose, he can use all means available …”
“Wow, didn’t it feel awful to play for him?” Someone gave a gasp of surprise.
When Piqué heard what they said about Tony Twain, he muttered with a wry smile, “It’s okay…”
He then looked at the empty Nottingham Forest technical area. He could imagine how the Nottingham Forest players would feel—it must have been great!
Because when he was at Nottingham Forest, every time the boss pulled such a stunt against an enemy, it would always drew approving responses.
“We will do everything that makes our opponents uncomfortable, and that’s going to benefit us.”
This was what the boss had said before. At this moment, it was somewhat awkward to recall such a scene because he had become the “opponent” in that remark.
※※※
“Warm up!” Vilanova shouted from the sidelines, urging the players to warm up. “But be careful, don’t get hurt. The pitch is in a terrible condition. Do not get hurt!”
The moment he shouted that all the Barcelona players who were warming up on the pitch became constrained. Because no one wanted to leave the game because of an injury during the warm-up before the game started, especially the star players who had been placed on the starting lineup…
On the contrary, when the Nottingham Forest players stepped onto the pitch, there was a hint of pleasant surprise on their faces at the same time.
They thought it felt familiar, too familiar… Because the stadium’s field felt exactly the same as the number three training ground!
“Did they move number three here?” Akinfeev even removed his gloves and bent down to touch the turf to get a real feel.
“After training there for a week, this suddenly feels familiar… Hey, look at the Barcelona players. Haha!” Pepe suddenly pointed to the opposite side and laughed.
Everyone followed his hand to look over and laughed as well. The Barcelona players did their warm-up as if they were in a minefield. Every one of them stood on tip toes as if they could not wait to fly and not to suffer from using such a terrible pitch.
“Look at them. I feel like we are going to win the game!” Lennon exclaimed excitedly beside him.
George Wood poured cold water on him instead and said, “Don’t underestimate the opponent.”
“Well, guys! Chat time is over!” Kerslake’s loud voice chased them down from the locker room to the field. The group of people ran up one by one, as if to deliberately provoke Barcelona. Unlike the opponent’s overcautious movements, their pace was strong, they moved nimbly, and were in high spirits. They moved on the bumpy pitch like they were on an even field.
It was the result of a twice daily drills for a week at the cost of three injured players.
This was the real home ground—no one in the world could adapt to the turf on the City Ground stadium now except them.
A philosopher liked to say: No two leaves are alike in the world.
The Nottingham Forest players would argue against him this evening in this way: No, there are two identical leaves in the world, one at Wilford and one at the City Ground stadium.
...
Chapter 810 - The Puppet Master
“To our friends and spectators, welcome to the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals of the 10-11 season. We are now broadcasting live the high-profile game for you at the City Ground stadium, with Nottingham Forest taking on Barcelona at home!”
“Well, we say it’s the City Ground stadium, but I believe a lot of people must think we’re talking nonsense.” The guest commenter next to him interjected.
The commentator laughed, “I couldn’t believe it at first—Nottingham Forest’s pitch is so poor… Half a week ago, Nottingham Forest said it was carrying out maintenance works and turf replacement. Who would have thought that such turf would turn out a few days later? Are we watching a friendly match between Nottingham Forest and an amateur team?”
The guest cleared his throat and said, “By putting it this way, you’d better watch out for protests from Barcelona. You actually liken them to ‘an amateur team.’”
“Ha!” The commentator laughed drily and hurriedly changed the subject., “There’s still some time before the start of the game and we’ve got the starting lineup from both sides. Barcelona’s list is not surprising, extending the same lineup in the last round. Speaking of which, Tony Twain was really wronged by the Catalan media—he really did not use any lethal tactics against Messi and the others. Messi, Bojan … Even Iniesta, who had only just returned from the recovery of his injury, continues to be in the starting lineup. George Wood also did not to mark Messi in the last game and did not stand out in his performance.”
“Well, let us take a look at Nottingham Forest… Will you look at that! Compared with Barcelona’s stability, the Nottingham Forest team has changed a lot!” The commentator raised his voice and there was a deliberate sense of mystery.
“First of all, there’s a big adjustment in the rear defensive line. Leighton Baines was automatically suspended for one game due to the accumulation of yellow cards. His replacement is Joe Mattock, who is thought to be England’s new star defender. Even though he’s young, he already has a record of two appearances in the starting lineup for the England nation team. He has been placed in an important role by Twain since Gareth Bale’s injury. He has received many opportunities to be in the starting lineup for the league tournament and is currently rotating with Baines in the left back position. With Baines currently suspended, he’s naturally the one to replace him. This is not the first time he has played in the Champions League. But it is believed this young player will still be a key target for Barcelona to break through from as they have Messi and Alves on this side. We can take a good look at young Joe Mattock’s performance this game. Hopefully he will not betray Twain’s trust…”
“As for the center back here, Pepe is suspended by his red card and the player who replaces him is Woodgate. His partner is Kompany. The right back has also been replaced. Rafinha is said to have suffered some injuries in training. Nkoulou has appeared in this position. With a height of 1.88 meters, he can actually play as the center back. He has played in both positions in the league tournament.”
“In the midfield, Fernández is suspended for accumulating yellow cards, like Baines. Twain arranges for Lennon to play on the left and Bentley on the right. It’s no surprise that Cohen didn’t appear on the starting lineup. The middle is still the unshakable George Wood and Tiago’s partner. Since Twain started using the double defensive midfielder, Tiago found new lease of life. Şahin did not start in the game because Tony Twain did not use his recent favorite 4-5-1. Instead he went back to the old 4-4-2 formation. All right, ladies and gentlemen, here comes the main highlight!”
“Let’s see who the two strikers are in the starting lineup?!”
“Agbonlahor!”
The guest commenter next to him corresponded with his commentary to say, “There’s no issue with it. Agbonlahor is very fast and if Tony Twain wants to fight back, he’s a very good player to deploy. Eastwood is also injured in training and unable to play in the game. There are only a few strikers to choose from…”
“That’s right, but they still have Ibišević. The Super Ibi who scored two goals in a row at Camp Nou and that last goal might have helped the Forest team win the game if it hadn’t been for the referee’s whistle! But he’s not on the starting list! Yes, you heard right. He’s not on the starting list and he’s not injured. He’s fit as a fiddle, in good shape and can overcome Camp Nou. But he is not on the starting list. Why is he not on the starting list? That we don’t know. Maybe Tony Twain, who is watching from the stands, will know. I believe that if Nottingham Forest lose the game after and is eliminated, he will definitely be bombarded by the media with this question. Having said all that jabber, who is the player that replaced Ibišević?”
Aaron Mitchell’s head shot, and name appeared on the screen.
“That’s right, it’s this kid, Aaron Mitchell. The young striker, who was born on May 5th,1990 and about to turn twenty-one, was only transferred from the reserves to the First Team by Twain in January of this season. He had made five appearances on the bench and made one appearance in the starting lineup for the league tournament, with a total of one hundred and seventeen minutes. He has not made his debut in the Champions League and appeared once in the starting lineup for the FA Cup but did not score any goal. His record is clean like a piece of white paper. That’s not a good thing for a striker. What’s more, before he became a striker, Aaron Mitchell played seven years as a defender in the youth team and one year as a goalkeeper… It wasn’t until the age of eighteen that he started playing as a striker at Twain’s suggestion and then went unnoticed. We don’t have any information on hand about him. Maybe Tony Twain doesn’t have, either. He is neither the player with the highest goal score in the youth team nor an effective hitter who consistently scores in the Premier Reserve League. We know nothing other than he is very tall. Why would Tony Twain let such a player be in the starting lineup for such an important game?”
※※※
The commentator’s doubts were also the doubts of all media reporters. According to Tony Twain’s practice of not releasing the starting lineup until the last minute, they had just gotten the Forest team’s squad list. Everyone was “stunned” by the name of the starting striker.
The English reporters took it slightly better. They at least knew who the written name, “Aaron Mitchell was because he had just made his Premier League debut in the last round, albeit without any contribution. The media in Catalonia, Spain, were baffled. They even had to ask, “Is there such a player in the Nottingham Forest First Team?”
It was not that the English media would nod and go “Oh, all right.” when they know who Aaron Mitchell was.
In fact, their response was—
“Is Tony Twain crazy?! What’s he doing? Ibišević is not injured and has no problem with his form. Why must he use this young boy?!”
“Lord knows. He’s been acting out of character since his sudden outburst at Camp Nou…”
“No, I think it’s been harder to pin him down since he had a heart attack. Before he was like a hot-blooded young man, now he is a sinister and cunning middle-aged man.”
“Is he having a menopause?”
“I think he’s covering his ass and getting ready for the defeat of the game. Once he loses the game, he can put the blame on the boy—‘I have high hopes for him, but his performance… Everybody saw it!’”
“You all seem to know Tony Twain well.” Pierce Brosnan, who had been quiet, finally could not stand it and retorted.
“Ah, look who’s here. The big reporter who knows Tony Twain the best, Pierce Brosnan. Are you saying that you know some inside information?”
Brosnan shook his head awkwardly and said, “I have no idea too…”
A burst of laughter rang out in the crowd. “You have no idea too? Today is full of surprises. I thought Mr. Tony Twain will give you some exclusive information!”
“Anyway, Tony Twain is not the kind of manager who will put the blame on the players after a defeat in the game.” Brosnan might not understand the tactics, but he believed he knew Tony Twain’s character better than these people. “He will only place the blame on himself, and I’ve only even seen a few managers like that.”
The reporters saw that Brosnan was so serious and suddenly felt it was dull—Everyone was joking just now. If you have to talk about it so seriously, then that takes the fun out. You missed the point if you’re being so serious!
The group of people dispersed with the doubt of why Tony Twain had to used Aaron Mitchell and not Ibišević as they got ready to focus on the start of the game.
※※※
The outside media would certainly regard Aaron Mitchell’s performance with preconceived ideas and be determined to find faults. But in the home team’s locker room, Mitchell did not feel any difference in the mood.
It was a Champions League quarterfinal game and he was part of the team, that was all.
Dunn was explaining the tactics and the things for everyone to take note of in the game for the last time.
After Dunn finished speaking, he suddenly turned on the television and DVD player, saying he wanted to show the players a video.
This surprised many people. They had watched Barcelona’s game video countless times, and long understood this opponent clearly. There was no need to watch any video with ten minutes to go before their appearance.
“This is not a video analysis of the opponent.” Dunn explained and then pressed the play button.
Suddenly a clamor which could only exist in a stadium assaulted their senses. It did not seem to come from the tiny square of screen on the TV rack.
“… Offside? Is the ball in an offside position? … Barcelona scored! A beautiful counterattack! The Nottingham Forest players cannot believe their eyes. The referee invalidated one of their goals with a whistle and almost immediately ruled Barcelona’s goal valid. The situation turned around in an instant! … Tony Twain is in a heated confrontation with the fourth official on the sidelines. He looks furious. If we had copied NBA and gave every manager a microphone, that would have be fantastic… A red card! Tony Twain was sent off to the stands by the referee! The game suddenly reaches another climax toward the end! The Nottingham Forest players surround the referee but cannot change his mind. Their manager, Tony Twain has been kicked off the pitch again!”
What was showed on the screen was, of course, the mess in the final stages of the game.
After the video finished playing, Dunn said, “Tony wanted me to show you this segment of the video. He hoped that you would not to forget how the other side treated us in the last game, and what we were made to suffer. We are slightly inferior in terms of strength in this game, but he wants you to put aside the disparity in strength and teach your opponent a hard lesson. Teach those who want us to lose… a good lesson!”
Although Dunn did his best and tried very hard to show vehemence in his speech, he was not Twain after all. The effect of his speech was diminished. Fortunately, the players were outraged by the video just now. Because that reminded them of the scene in the last moment of the first round. No one would feel comfortable after experiencing such a stinging defeat.
In fact, each of them had a ball of fire in their hearts. A week of closed-door training did not extinguish the fire gradually but made it burn brighter. Because Tony Twain would always bring up the matter this week and tell them they had been insulted in the away game, so they must take revenge on the home ground.
It was now time for this ball of anger to explode!
While the man sitting in the stands had been planning for a week to take revenge today. Even though he was not in the locker room, his influence was still there.
From the transformation of the training ground, a notice to replace the turf in the City Ground stadium, the ongoing war of words with Barcelona, repeatedly connecting them with the UEFA to remind the public of the close relationship between the UEFA and Barcelona, the change in the formation and strikers, using a young player whom Barcelona was completely unfamiliar with, to using the video as a catalyst in the locker room for the last time, he calculated everything. Now everything was ready except for only one tiny crucial detail.
If anyone thought that Nottingham Forest was finished and scattered because Tony Twain was banned, then they were gravely mistaken!
He was no longer as simple as the king of Nottingham Forest for the game. He was the puppet master of Nottingham Forest…
Even if he was not in the technical area, he could still control every detail of the team.
The moment the Barcelona team filed out of the tunnel, they had in fact embarked on the road to hell in Tony Twain’s eyes.
Hey, Mr. Guardiola, do you see the sea of red in front of you? That’s not our Nottingham Forest fans. It’s the red lava that spews out of the eighteen levels of hell! It’s erupting and surging in front of your eyes. Do you feel the broiling heat hitting you in the face?
Welcome to hell.
...
Chapter 811: The Loudhailers
When Guardiola received the Nottingham Forest starting lineup list before the game, he looked at the name in the forward line. He thought for a moment, and then asked his assistant beside him, “Is Ibišević injured too?”
Vilanova shook his head in reply, “I haven’t heard of such news. All we know is that Eastwood is definitely absent from the game with an injury.”
Guardiola fell into deep contemplation when he heard his most trusted assistant say so.
He really did not know why Tony Twain served up this completely unfamiliar striker when Ibišević was not injured. He did not even have any information at all on the player presented before his eyes, only that his name was “Aaron Mitchell.” It was only because it was written on the starting list. He did not even know how tall Mitchell was until he saw the real person. Not to mention this player’s technical characteristics and real level…
He frowned. Barcelona’s training in defense was targeted at Ibišević but now Ibišević was sitting on the substitutes’ bench. Barcelona’s defenders knew nothing about the player in front of them. How were they supposed to defend? Should they observe first for a while and then decide? Then he’d better hoped that Nottingham Forest would not take advantage of this situation to score a goal first…
It looked like they could only do it this way. No one in the coaching unit was familiar with this “Aaron Mitchell”, so the Barcelona players were less likely to be familiar with the player they had never heard of.
It was a scene that took place before the game began. Now Guardiola was sitting in the visiting team’s technical area and watching the game on the pitch. In the area next to him, the manager’s seat was empty in the home team’s technical area. The Chinese assistant manager looked like a manager in appearance, but he was a little too nervous.
Guardiola still unwittingly looked to the stands and seemed to be able to find Tony Twain among so many people. In fact, he did not find anything.
※※※
At this point, Twain was enjoying the football game surrounded by a group of his closest fans.
“You rarely watch the game from this spot, don’t you, Tony?” Fat John said with a smile, sitting on the left. The game had just begun, and his attention was still on the people around him.
“I had been penalized and sent to the stands many times. But this is my first time sitting in the stands where the hardcore fans gather. Well… the view is a lot better here than the technical area.”
“Why don’t we change seats? You can sit here in the future and I’ll sit there.” John pointed to the Forest team’s technical area below.
Twain grinned and did not speak.
On the other side, Bill poured cold water on his friend and said, “I bet you can’t sit down for forty-five minutes.”
“Don’t put your own level as the standard on someone else, Skinny!”
Taking advantage of the two men’s bickering, Twain turned back and looked up. Nottingham Forest treated the two UEFA two inspectors very well and gave them seats in the VIP box. But it was actually arranged by Twain, including sitting in the stands which was Twain’s idea as well. Since we are the home team with the home advantage, then we must make good use of it. Otherwise it will be a waste of our resources.
When he arranged to be seated in the stands, it was not really about being able to enjoy the game with his old friends here. Twain had another purpose.
He glanced back at the box and never saw the two black-clad game inspectors. However, he was sure the two men must be up there, drinking and watching the game.
So, he interrupted John’s and Bill’s argument over who would be more capable to sit in the Nottingham Forest manager’s seat.
“Hey, guys. I want to discuss something with you…”
John and Bill turned to him at the same time and stopped arguing. “Anything you need help with, just name it, Tony!” This time they came to an agreement.
“Well, it’s like this…the UEFA people use every possible means they can to stop me from contacting the coaching unit and the players below, so I don’t have any communication devices on me…”
“I’ll lend it to you!” Bill pulled out his cell phone, but it was swatted down by Twain.
“Don’t take it out. I can’t even borrow someone else’s cell phone. Do you think they don’t know what I’m doing here while they are sitting up there?” Twain pointed upward without turning back. “They’re equipped with a powerful binocular.”
“Wow, is that so!” Bill was amazed. It was only an inspection. Why did they need to act like voyeurs …?
“I prepared it for them.” Twain laughed.
“Huh?” Both of them were taken aback.
“I want to show that I’m very cooperative with them and definitely will not play any tricks. Preparing the binoculars for them proves that I do not have any schemes in mind. But actually…” Twain gave a sly smile, a look which made John really want to give him a punch.
“I can’t really get in touch with below through any means of communication, but the UEFA can’t ban the fans from shouting, can they?” He smiled again, with his eyes squinting together.
“Hey, Tony! Don’t beat around the bush, just say it! What do you want us to do?” Bill was a little impatient. He was not a man of good patience.
“Sometimes I may need to give the latest instructions based on the situation on the pitch, but I can’t tell my coaches and let the players know my ideas. But I think maybe I can borrow your mouths to tell them. If I have information I want to tell the people below, I want you to help me shout them out, but don’t be too deliberate. It will be just like cheering the team in the stands… That way, when the UEFA ask me about it, I have an excuse. They can seal my lips, but they can’t shut your mouths. Ha!”
John laughed with Twain. He now thought that Tony Twain’s mind must be different from everyone else. Otherwise how could he come up with so many clever schemes?
Bill’s reaction was a little slower, but it dawned on him soon after.
“No problem, Tony!” He shouted excitedly, “We’d be delighted to meet the UEFA head-on! I always find the group of men in suits objectionable!” He also brandished his fists.
John also patted Twain on the shoulder and said, “Just take it that you’re directing the game from the stands. We’ll be your assistant coaches.”
Twain nodded to the two men and said, “Thank you guys!”
John laughed and continued, “As long as you can win Barcelona and make things difficult for the UEFA, not to mention we will help you voice out the instructions, it’s not a problem even if you want us to pave the way!”
When he finished speaking, he got up and left his seat to inform the nearby fans. It would be impossible to act collectively by relying on two or three people. So, this grandstand must be informed of what they were going to do in a while.
※※※
Five minutes into the game, Barcelona was aggressive in its offense because they kicked off the game and were able to use the technical advantage to keep the ball on their side. Another reason for Barcelona’s fierce attack was that a problem seemed to arise in Nottingham Forest’s midfield defense today… George Wood repeatedly turned to the north stands during the game to find that man. He thought it was strange as he had always thought since he was the team captain, he should be able to take charge. But when he habitually glanced toward the technical area before the game and could not find the familiar figure, he felt a little unsettled…
Since when did he considered him as a person to rely on?
This is ridiculous! I’m George Wood. I had tried to make a living in the slums since young and took care of my mother. I don’t need to rely on anyone!
Despite thinking this way, he still incorrigibly threw glances at the North Grandstand…
There were so many people there that he could not possibly find him.
Just as he turned his head, Iniesta passed the ball past his defensive zone and he did not even react.
※※※
“George is a little distracted…” Twain muttered and frowned in the stands.
Bill, the “number one loudhailer” beside him, pricked up his ears and asked, “Do you need us to shout this?”
“Ah? Well, there’s no need to.” Twain hurriedly waved his hands. The side effect of getting the fans to be loudhailers to help was that they could mistook what he said casually as something that needed to be shouted out… If anyone was too enthusiastic, awkward scenes such as thousands of fans shouting “māle ge bī” (your mother’s f**king c**t) in unison would appear. Because he was used to muttering dirty words repeatedly while he watched the games, and the words would all be in Mandarin…
He did not know what was wrong with Wood but judging by his performance of the last few minutes, he was always glancing around on the pitch and not focused on the game. It was a very rare situation. George Wood was always known to focus his attention, threw his full concentration on the games and had a dedicated attitude. A situation like today should not happen to him.
In that case, what was wrong?
If he were below, he could stand on the sidelines and shout, “George!! What the hell are you doing?! Play attention to the game!”
Now, although he had the fans to act as the loudhailers, they could not just shout out any remark.
※※※
Dunn also noticed Wood’s anomaly. But his reaction was not the same as that of Twain. He looked down and pondered for a moment. Then he got it and looked up with a smile. He turned around to look for Kerslake and his loud voice. He said, “David, can you help me tell George that Tony’s in the middle of the North Stand?”
Kerslake thought it was a little strange. He asked, “Didn’t you say that in the locker room?”
Dunn smiled, “Maybe someone did not hear it at the time.”
Kerslake shrugged and rose from his seat. He really felt that as an assistant manager, he was sometimes like a nanny. He had to deal with any matter, regardless of its importance…
After taking a deep breath, he bellowed, “Geor—ge!!”
Wood heard Kerslake’s voice and turned his head to look over. He found Kerslake pointing to the north stand and yelled, “He’s there! In the middle! Stop looking! I think he must be dissatisfied with your performance!”
The remark was effective. Wood glanced at the north stand and refocused his energy on the game.
When Messi was about to break through him, the ball bounced off the turf from his interference and knocked against the leg to go out of bounds. It was even considered Nottingham Forest’s throw-in.
“George Wood was not in form in the opening five minutes of the game and his position allowed the Barcelona players to break through several times. But it all seems okay now! Messi had wanted to play the same old trick, but he took a tumble instead. Not only did he fail to break through, he gave the Forest team a throw in after Wood’s close interference.”
Messi also felt the course of events had changed. He was like a zebra in the African savannah. As soon as the wind turned, he smelled a lion in the low bushes. He shrewdly looked up and looked around with his ears pricked up and on guard.
Whether George would admit the feeling or not, he was at peace at the very moment. Before, he was like a lion snoozing in the afternoon, lazily lounging under the bushes, letting the bunnies and zebras hopped around in front of his nose, even too lazy to lift the eyelids.
But when the last light of the sunset disappears below the horizon and the night descends, our lion will rise from the shadows, with its cold eyes staring at its prey.
It is hungry.
※※※
When Wood re-focused on the game, Barcelona’s five-minute advantage was immediately wiped out. In addition, there was the bad news—their men were completely unable to adapt to the crumbling pitch at the City Ground stadium.
When Silva ran to an empty gap on the left side and raised his hand to ask for the ball, Xavi sharply noticed that there were no Forest players marking him nearby. So, he did a feint and passed the football over.
Such a pass was cakewalk for the Spanish national team’s playmaker—provided that it was done on normal turf. At the City Ground stadium, his pass eventually rolled out of bounds. Silva lifted his leg and did not get it. Because the football in front of him suddenly jumped to the left and flew straight out of the sidelines!
The Catalan commentator thought at first that there had been a mistake in the two men’s coordination and regretted missing out on such a good opportunity. But then Barcelona’s pass-and-go balls went wrong one after another, he felt something was wrong—when he first saw the pitch, he only thought the turf was of poor quality and that some areas had exposed dirt. But now he found that there was a problem with the foundation of the soil under the turf!
“I don’t know how the Nottingham Forest football club maintains its turf, but I do know there’s not one professional football club in the world that will maintain its grounds in such a way. This must be Tony Twain’s idea again! This is… really a lack of sportsmanship!” He did not have to think about impartiality. He was a Catalan commentator and the people who listened to him must be the Barcelona fans. He did not need to consider the mood of the English fans, so he could try everything he could to denigrate Barcelona’s opponents on the show. The response was very good at the same time.
After Silva’s miss, Bojan had another very good chance. He broke through Woodgate and almost faced off Akinfeev alone. But just as he lifted his leg to get ready to shoot, the football popped up on the uneven turf! He kicked out in the empty air, and nearly twisted his knee on the supported leg… Fortunately, he reacted quickly and threw his entire center of gravity out. Although he cut a sorry sight and was covered in dirt, he was not hurt.
The football was easily saved by Akinfeev who struck.
Akinfeev, who got the football, still remembered to smile at Bojan, who was lying on the ground.
“Ten minutes since the start of the game, Barcelona had relied on the advantage of its ball possession after the kickoff to launch several threatening attacks. George Wood’s wandering mind led to many loopholes in Nottingham Forest’s defense. But Barcelona did not manage to score a single goal. Their players suddenly behaved like they could not play football. Their performances on the pitch were…comical. I think it must have something to do with the venue. To tell you the truth, the turf on the City Ground stadium is terrible! The Barcelona players are wearing the yellow away jerseys for the game. But I reckon they’ll be brown by the time we get to the halftime interval…”
Seeing his players play like this, Guardiola, sitting in the technical area, shook his head. He really had no ideas. He was not superman and could not move Camp Nou’s turf to England in an instant.
He could only hope that Nottingham Forest would be restricted by the pitch at the same time. Even if the score was 0:0 in the end, Barcelona would still advance.
Such a rotten venue was a double-edged sword. No one knew how the football would move. Sometimes the naughty football could cause trouble for Barcelona. But who could say that at other times it would not become Nottingham Forest’s nightmare?
...
Chapter 812 - Aaron Is a Fool
Nottingham Forest’s tactics for the match were actually very simple. They would create a tense atmosphere for Barcelona to play in by passing the ball about quickly and snatching the ball from their players ferociously. Those actions would stir up feelings of agitation within the Barcelona players and cause them to perform poorly. The venue in which they are playing at would also assist them greatly in creating an atmosphere that is difficult for the Barcelona players to play in as well.
Barcelona is well-known for being a team that is not good with headers during both its defense and offense. This prompted Tony Twain to research about aerial tactics so as to capitalize on this particular weakness of Barcelona’s.
Nottingham Forest gradually seized the initiative on the pitch after Barcelona tossed aside the advantage that they had at the start of the match.
Barcelona has always placed a strong emphasis on getting its forwards to snatch the ball at the front of the pitch. Many of their goals have all been scored as a result of their players snatching the ball back from the opposition in the opposing half.
It was a tactic that worked well in La Liga, but it was ineffective against Nottingham Forest in this match.
The Catalan press once mocked British football for being crude. They said, “The defenders playing in the Premier League only know to raise their legs and kick the football into the other half. They possess such poor technique!”
Now they all can see how that supposed ‘poor technique’ is tormenting Barcelona…
A forward is only able to snatch the ball away at the front of the pitch on the premise that the opposing defenders do not kick the ball away easily, and prefer to control the ball at their feet before sending the ball to the other half through a series of passes.
That is something that the defenders in La Liga do often. La Liga is a league that regards individual techniques so highly that even the players playing in teams that are at the bottom of the league possess the skills and techniques needed to break through Real Madrid and Barcelona’s defense.
Getting your forwards to snatch the ball from defenders who prefer to control the ball at their feet can compel those defenders to commit an error, which would then help the team in snatching the ball and going on the counterattack straight away.
This tactic has been very useful in allowing Barcelona to gain the upper hand over their opponents in La Liga. However, it was a tactic that was very physically demanding. The season has gone on for quite a while now, and this was the period of time where the players’ stamina start to plummet. Many of the Barcelona players who were on the pitch right now were pushing themselves to run.
If Barcelona is able to score a goal quickly using this tactic of theirs, then the match would most likely be decided right there and then. Barcelona would be able to control the flow of the game from that point onwards, and Nottingham Forest would just be led by the nose.
Given how Barcelona was much stronger than Nottingham Forest as a whole, it was certainly not difficult for them to score another goal.
However, Bojan Krkić and Messi realized after going forward that the Nottingham Forest’s defenders gave them no chance to get close and snatch the ball away. The moment they saw the Barcelona players approach them, they would kick the ball into the other half of the pitch.
Their actions frustrated the Barcelona players. They are only able to snatch the ball from the defenders when they have run up towards Forest’s penalty box, but since the Nottingham Forest players kick the ball away before they can even snatch the ball from them, it would mean that their efforts were in vain and they ran for nothing.
Given how running back and forth depletes the players’ stamina, it was hard to guarantee that the Barcelona players would be able to last through the entire match.
If their physical conditions were to deteriorate as the match goes on, they would most likely start to lose focus and their movements might become erratic. It would then be as easy as walking for them to pick an injury on the pitch…
Nottingham Forest was good with long balls. Their defenders were usually able to find their target, Aaron Mitchell, who was positioned in the other half of the pitch, when they kick the ball to the front. It was then up to Mitchell to do the rest.
Mitchell struggled against Gerard Piqué at the start. He might be 2.02m tall, but he had a bamboo-like figure and was not physically strong, just like Peter Crouch was in his early days.
He was on the losing end during the few times he battled with Piqué, and he was not able to perform any headers even though he was good at them and also had the advantage in height.
The commentators kept praising Piqué and Barcelona during this period of time, despite the fact that Barcelona’s attacks were not as good as before. “… Barcelona definitely triumphs over Nottingham Forest based on their overall abilities as a team. This is an indisputable fact… It is only a matter of time before they score. It all depends on whether they are able to readjust their mentality when facing Nottingham Forest…”
How should Barcelona readjust their mentality when facing Nottingham Forest?
Do they have to get rid of how they ‘look down’ on their opponents?
Twain shook his head as he watched Mitchell’s performance from the stands. “Mitchell, you fool!”
Bill, who sat next to him, immediately asked, “Do we need to shout this sentence?”
“No need, Bill…” Twain replied, feeling exasperated. He realized that he might have a mouthpiece now, but it was still much easier for him to say what he wanted to by the side of the pitch.
It was also much more natural for him to do that…
But, no, wait a moment, maybe it will work!
Twain turned to Bill. Bill watched him with excitement written all over his face.
“Bill, John, I want you to shout like you always do when you are cheering for a particular player. First, you shout his name a few times, then you shout, ‘Technique. Awareness. Positioning.’ Can you do that?”
Fat John did not agree to Twain’s request at once. He leaned towards Bill and they rehearsed what they were going to shout.
“Mitchell! Mit-chell! Technique! Awareness! Positioning… No, that doesn’t feel right!”
“It sounds very awkward when we shout those words…” Bill furrowed his brows as well.
Fat John contemplated for a moment before he suddenly snapped his fingers. “Why should we shout them? We should sing them out!”
Bill clapped his hands together in response. “That’s right! We are good at singing!”
“Singing?” Twain was a little surprised. “You’d need to come up with the lyrics and the melody on the spot. Can you two do it?”
John smiled. “You don’t need to worry about the lyrics. As for the melody we’d just use the melody of a popular song. I’ve never heard of anyone who is able to come up with a melody on the spot…”
The two had a hushed discussion amongst themselves before they passed on the lyrics and the melody of the song to the other fans seated around them. Thereafter, the fans worked themselves up and a clear voice rang out from the North Stand,
“We have a giant on our team, his name is Aaron Mitchell! He’s 2 meters tall, good at headers, jumping and good on the ball! Yet, he doesn’t make use of any of them! He prefers to confront his opponent head on! Lalalala! Aaron, Aaron is a fool! Tony, Tony has lost his cool! Lost his cool!”
The fans made use of a melody from a popular song that Twain was familiar with. Many people were able to sing along because the song was catchy and had a very simple melody.
Even Tony Twain could not resist waving his arms in the air and singing ‘Tony, Tony has lost his cool’ alongside the other fans.
He burst out laughing when he finished singing. This is so interesting! This is an emotion that I won’t get to enjoy when I’m sitting on the bench with a long face.
Their voices were a little jarring. The lyrics were very weird as well…
Still, it caught the attention of everyone in the stadium. People who stood by the side of the pitch also raised their heads to try and locate the source of the voice.
Eventually, everyone focused their gazes on the crowd of people at the North Stand who had their hands in the air.
“… He prefers to confront his opponent head on! Lalalala! Aaron, Aaron is a fool! Tony, Tony has lost his cool!”
Dunn, who initially had his brows furrowed as he sat at the tactical area, suddenly smiled. He was the first to make sense of what was happening. He knew Tony Twain must be ‘up to no good’ and the song was his ‘wicked idea’.
This was his way of communicating with the players after UEFA banned him from coming into contact with the other managers at the tactical area as well as the players on the pitch.
UEFA must be thinking that all is well after sealing Twain’s mouth. They surely did not expect him to make use of the 27,000 mouths at the stadium to help him relay his messages.
The voices grew louder and louder as more and more fans joined in the chorus.
It suddenly dawned on Mitchell that the fans were singing about him. He froze and listened carefully to the lyrics.
His face turned red soon after.
He knew that the boss was seated at the North Stand, and he understood what the song was really about.
The boss was upset with his performance.
In the past, if the boss was upset about something, he would yell and flail his arms about by the side of the pitch. However, he was seated at the stands now, and all he could do to convey his emotions was through such a method.
Mitchell was not stupid. He knew what he has to do from here on out…
Most of the Barcelona fans, players and staff did not pay any heed to the voices that had emerged out of nowhere, because they knew that it was very common for British football fans to sing songs at their stadiums, and that they include all kinds of messages into their lyrics.
Piqué was the only one amongst them to realize that something was amiss with the song since he had played in England for numerous years and was also able to understand and converse in English.
He began to keep a closer watch on Mitchell. He knew that he would most likely fail the next time he tried to snatch the ball from Mitchell by relying on his physical advantage.
※※※
Nottingham Forest played a long ball to the front once again. This time, Mitchell did not jump up to fight for a header with Piqué, and neither did he try to engage in a physical battle with Piqué over the ball.
Instead, he ran backwards towards the ball and waited till it had fallen close to the ground before using his chest to bump it downwards. He then stopped the ball with his right foot.
Piqué went up to him and pushed him from the back. Mitchell made use of the momentum from the push and continued to run backwards. It looked as though he was running further away from Barcelona’s penalty box, but the ball was still at his feet and he had not lost it.
Mitchell had no intentions of protecting the ball at his feet after he got it under control. Piqué continued to chase after him to try and snatch the ball away, and he continued to retreat backwards towards his own half.
When he had retreated all the way back to the center circle, he suddenly passed the ball away. He then turned around and made a run forward!
At this moment, Piqué had been led out of Barcelona’s penalty box by Mitchell!
The spot that was originally guarded by Piqué was vacant. Carles Puyol had no choice but to move towards it to fill up the void.
Mitchell did not hesitate to make use of his advantage in height against Puyol this time. He jumped up into the air and headed the ball over to Puyol’s original position.
The player who received his ball was Lennon, who had suddenly cut into the penalty box from the flank.
Yaya Touré was hot on his heels.
Lennon did not dribble the ball forward. He made a turn the very moment he received the ball and passed it over to Forest’s left back, Joe Mattock!
“Nottingham Forest is very fast on its counterattack! Their left back has joined in the offense in the flash of an eye. However, if we look at this from another perspective, if Barcelona manages to intercept the ball, they would be able to make use of Nottingham Forest’s left flank because it is currently empty!”
Intercept the ball?
Joe Mattock did not give Philipp Lahm the chance to do that. He passed the ball into the middle of the pitch.
Bentley, who was originally playing at the right back position, had appeared in the center forward’s position right before goal.
He jumped up high but failed to get to the ball. However, his actions had attracted the attention of Víctor Valdés.
The player who followed up on the ball was Aaron Mitchell!
Mitchell had been on the losing end throughout his numerous battles with Piqué so far, and this led the other Barcelona players who had not faced off with him before to assume that he was a player who was tall but was bad with headers. Thus, Puyol did not go forward to mark him.
Piqué was the only one who kept close to Mitchell throughout. He was not familiar with Mitchell, but he knew that the boss must have his reasons for choosing to use him in such an important match.
Mitchell dashed towards the ball when he was just a short distance away from where it would land. He then jumped up and threw his body towards the ball.
Piqué did not dare to be negligent. He followed suit and jumped into the air and stretched out his hands to try and interfere with Mitchell.
Most people are of the opinion that the taller a person gets, the higher they can jump. However, Mitchell has surpassed their expectations. He had jumped higher than any other player in front of the goal. Piqué, who stood at 1.91m tall, could not even jump as high as him.
At this very moment, Mitchell was the Mount Everest within the City Ground Stadium!
Piqué could only knock his body against Mitchell and hope that he is able to throw him off balance.
He succeeded. Mitchell was hit by Piqué when he tried to get to the ball, and he lost his balance as a result. The ball that he tried to head into the net slammed against the sidebar and deflected onto the top of the net…
Mitchell subsequently fell onto the ground due to him losing his balance.
Twain burst out, “That’s a f*cking penalty!”
Bill did not need to ask if he had to relay Twain’s words this time round, because all the Nottingham Forest fans had bellowed in unison, “Penalty! Foul!”
The referee and the assistant referee shared the same opinion. It was a goal kick.
Bentley flung out his hands to protest against the referee’s decision. The referee shook his finger at him, then pointed at his eyes to indicate that he had a good view of the entire incident. He determined that Piqué had not committed a foul.
Mitchell climbed to his feet. He was very upset with the fact that he had not scored a goal and that the referee had not given him a penalty kick. He kicked the goalpost in anger before shaking his head and running away.
He might not have reacted fiercely to the referee’s decision, but there was one person at the stands who did.
“That’s my son! That’s my son!” Mitchell’s father, who was a workman, shouted at the top of his voice as he pointed at his son. “You son of a b*tch! Piqué had obviously knocked into my son just now! Why has there not been a penalty awarded against him! I hope your child ends up without an anus [1], you evil referee!”
When Mitchell’s father first found out that Mitchell was going to start in the match, his mouth was so large it could fit a light bulb. He finally understood why his son had acted so abnormally for the past few days.
However, his happiness was short-lived. He began to worry that his son would not perform well in the match and would end up affecting the entire team as a result. If that were to happen, he would become the laughingstock of the neighborhood after the match ended.
At the beginning, his son’s performance showed signs that it could progress in the direction that his father feared he would.
When the fans began to sing the song directed at Mitchell, he sang it with much more gusto and force than any other fan, especially at the part of the song that went, ‘Aaron, Aaron is a fool’. It was just like he was scolding his own son for failing to live up to his expectations.
Mitchell’s poor performance even prompted him to make a promise in his heart.
If his son were to perform well in this match, then he would buy a car for him the next day.
Aaron Mitchell has always complained about how his team mates would drive their own cars to the training grounds and how he was the only one who boarded the bus over. He has always wanted a car of his own.
It was natural for Mitchell’s father to shout the loudest after seeing his son perform better on the pitch and being unfairly treated.
Look at how he had rolled up his sleeves. He looked like someone who desperately wanted to rush towards the referee and ‘settle the score’ with him like men.
※※※
Twain took the lead and started to boo the referee’s decision after seeing how he had not awarded a penalty kick to Mitchell. Soon after, deafening boos rang out from the stands as well.
The fans did not care if the referee was right or not. All they cared about was that things did not go their way, and that is why they booed.
Booing is nothing more than a way for the fans to vent their frustrations. It does not change the situation on the pitch in the slightest. The match went on as per normal.
Nottingham Forest did not score a goal, and they were not awarded a penalty kick either, but the players saw something positive from the incident.
Barcelona’s defense was still weak, and they could only rely on Piqué to help them deal with aerial balls. However, everyone saw how Piqué had lost out to Mitchell when battling for the ball in the air.
The knowledge that Barcelona was not some indomitable giant gave the Nottingham Forest players a huge confidence boost. It meant that they could keep attacking Barcelona’s goalpost fearlessly and pile the pressure on their defense from here on out.
Nottingham Forest would definitely be able to score a goal!
Barcelona tried their best to control the game, but things did not go their way due to Nottingham Forest’s tactic of snatching the ball away from them and the terrible venue that they were playing in.
The Catalan press looked down on the long passes being used by Nottingham Forest in this match, but it was those long passes that had bared their fangs before Barcelona.
Frightening booms would ring out every single time the ball pounded against Barcelona’s defense. It would not be long before the rampart starts to crumble.
Guardiola had a grim look on his face, and his lips had also gone white from him biting onto them.
...
Chapter 813: A Blunder
The Barcelona players were trapped in a vicious cycle.
It all started with them being unable to control the ball at their feet. They started to feel indignant at the venue that they were playing in, and as a result, feelings of agitation began to rise within them. These erratic emotions led to erratic movements, and they became unable to perform at their best. They continued to struggle to control the ball, they continued to blame the terrible venue for their mistakes, and they continued to feel agitated and enraged…
And the cycle repeats.
Not a single Barcelona player had the right psychological state for the match. The players responsible for the team’s offense were agitated, and the players responsible for the team’s defense were on edge.
Even players like Messi who looked cool and composed on the outside would make two consecutive mistakes when bringing the ball forward. Once, he exerted too little force when kicking the ball forward, so the ball did not move by much. Another time, he exerted too much force and sent the ball far away from him.
Messi stomped on the turf beneath him in anger after he committed the two consecutive mistakes. He knew that the reason for his errors lies beneath his soles, but there was nothing he could do about it. He was lucky to not have picked up a sprain during the runs that he has made so far….
Before Guardiola could give any instructions to the players with regards to the situation that they were in however, the Barcelona players began to readjust their playing style by themselves.
They reduced the number of dribbles and passes that they made, and they also stopped making their way into Forest’s penalty box as frequently. They chose to do long shots at goal instead.
Once the ball made its way towards the front of the pitch, the Barcelona players tried to threaten the goalpost that Akinfeev was protecting by shooting from a distance. However, their long shots at goal were ineffective against Nottingham Forest. They lacked power and were nothing more than a shadow of their former selves…
In contrast, Nottingham Forest’s offense was much more exciting and threatening.
The defenders would intercept the ball and do a long pass.
The defensive midfielders would also intercept the ball and do a long pass…
Every single player in the team would do a long pass to the front.
The ball continued to fly about in the air. The necks of the Barcelona players ached just from having to raise their heads to track the ball.
Technical players like Xavi and Iniesta found themselves unable to make use of their techniques and keen awareness following the shift in strategy. They were soon rendered useless in the match even though Twain had not assigned players to mark them.
Yaya Touré was the only player who could contend against Forest in the midfield. However, there was very little that he could accomplish alone. He was not able to stop all of Nottingham Forest’s attacks all by himself.
The fact that George Wood was able to get increased chances to go forward and join in the offense highlighted the mess that Barcelona’s midfield was in.
Guardiola insisted with playing a 4-3-3 formation for the match, and this has resulted in the current situation whereby Barcelona only has three midfielders against Forest’s four. It made it very hard for Barcelona to put up a fight against Forest in the midfield.
Nottingham Forest’s long balls would always make their way past the midfield easily.
Yaya Touré would have his hands tied behind his back whenever Aaron Mitchell retreated backwards to retrieve the ball. He paled in comparison to Mitchell in numerous aspects, be it height, ability to head the ball or the ability to jump.
Mitchell, who stood at 2.02m tall, was superb at jumping. Yaya Touré could only wait on the ground and try to snatch the ball after Mitchell jumped up to head the long ball from his team mates.
Every time Mitchell retreated backwards to retrieve the long ball, there would always be a Forest player positioned near him to provide support, and this allowed Mitchell to have a good grasp of who he could pass the ball over to.
It did not matter how good a player Yaya Touré was. He might be able to try and snatch the ball from one possible spot in which the ball lands, but he was not able to go after the ball at all the possible spots in which it will land.
There were many players that Mitchell could choose to pass to after he had jumped into the air. He could pass the ball to Lennon, to Bentley, to his partner Agbonlahor, and he could also pass to George Wood or Tiago. He could also stop the ball with his chest and then control the ball under his feet.
As a result, it was very difficult for Yaya Touré to try and snatch the ball away given how there were many different ways for Mitchell to deal with the ball after he has headed it…
He was unable to stop Nottingham Forest’s aerial attacks by himself. It was just not something that he was good at.
※※※
“Nottingham Forest’s offense goes unimpeded! There are no obstructions along the way… Yes, that’s because Barcelona do not have the players who can deal with their aerial attacks! They do not have the ‘Royal Air Force’ on their side! Akinfeev kicked the ball to the front of the pitch, and Mitchell headed the ball over to George Wood who has moved up to join in the attack! Wood passed the ball over to the flank, and Bentley passed it into the middle. Agbonlahor jumped up to head the ball! He misses! Valdés gets a hand to it! Forest’s entire attack has been completed in the air. Piqué has become the most important player in Barcelona’s defense. Unfortunately, there’s only one Piqué in the entire Barcelona team.”
The match had only gone on for 20 minutes, but Gerard Piqué was already gasping for breath.
He was under immense pressure. Every single one of Nottingham Forest’s attacks was done in the air, and he was the only player in Barcelona’s defense who was able to deal with aerial balls. This meant that he had to run all over the pitch.
He was not a ‘freak’ like George Wood. There was a limit to his stamina, and running all over the pitch was taking a toll on his body.
Carles Puyol was very experienced as a defender, but sadly, he lacked height. Additionally, his physicality has also deteriorated with age. He was not good with dealing with physical players like Agbonlahor and Mitchell.
As for Dani Alves? He was busy trying to join in the offense. Piqué has to thank his lucky stars that their opponents did not exploit the space left behind by Alves whenever he moved forward to attack.
As for Philipp Lahm, he was also a fullback who liked to move forward and join in the attack like Alves. However, unlike Alves, Lahm was still a ‘newbie’ in the team, having just joined a year ago. Therefore, he was not as reckless and would not go all out during an attack. He would still track back and help in the team’s defense vigorously.
At the back, they had the unreliable goalkeeper Víctor Valdés.
Piqué suddenly felt alone after surveying his surroundings.
He would not be so exhausted when dealing with aerial balls if he had Pepe as his partner. Bale and Rafinha might be attack-oriented fullbacks, but they would stay at the back of the pitch for an entire match if the boss asked them to.
In comparison, Guardiola prefers to get the fullbacks to join in the offense. The main job of the fullbacks is to move forward and attack rather than to defend.
The playing style adopted by Barcelona makes it very exhausting for a center back like Piqué to play in.
It did not take long for Nottingham Forest to initiate another attack. This time, Bentley passed the ball into the middle, and Mitchell jumped up to try and head the ball into the net.
Piqué had to give his all to compete with Mitchell in the air. In the end, he managed to triumph over Mitchell marginally, and he headed the ball out of bounds and gave Forest a corner kick.
“Forest’s ex-player Gerard Piqué has been rather lively throughout this match. He has stopped Nottingham Forest’s attacks numerous times so far. His performance reassures Guardiola.”
The commentator might have praised Piqué’s performance, but there was nothing ‘reassuring’ about the current situation to Piqué and Guardiola. In fact, if Guardiola were to be given a choice, he would rather take Piqué off the pitch, because that would signify that Nottingham Forest’s offense was not a threat to Barcelona.
Twain shook his head vigorously as he sat at the stands. If possible, he wished that Piqué would get injured and miss out on playing in this match, because the game would have been dominated by Forest if not for his presence on the pitch.
There were no other player in the Barcelona team who could stop Forest’s advancements besides him. Piqué was like the last soldier standing for his army, and he continued to put up a resistance against Forest.
The ball flew into the penalty box from the corner. Piqué headed the ball away before Mitchell could get to it. Right after he did, he turned around and yelled at his team mates, “Focus on the defense! Victor, you need to step out a bit more! The area that you can take control of should be bigger! They keep using aerial balls, but we don’t need to fight for the ball in the air! We can interfere with them on the ground!”
The Piqué right now did not seem to remember that he once played for Nottingham Forest. All that was on his mind was to help Barcelona defend its goalpost.
Twain scratched his head.
It looks like I have gotten Piqué all fired up… This is not good.
Mitchell was not a player with a strong body. His performance would definitely be affected if he were to be marked by Piqué. Twain hoped that Mitchell would be able to get tougher, but it was hard for him to achieve that in this match. He needs more training to build on his muscles and strength, but those were things that he could only do after the match.
It would be disadvantageous for Forest if Mitchell were to be tightly marked by Piqué, because Forest’s tactics for the match were formed with Mitchell as the core.
Perhaps some changes need to be made?
※※※
Forest launched yet another attack. The ball was sent to Mitchell through the air once again.
This time, Mitchell decided to stand his ground and engage in a physical battle with Piqué for the ball instead of avoiding him.
Mitchell tried to block Piqué from getting to the ball in the air. His tall stature certainly made things difficult for Piqué. He then jumped up into the air to receive the ball. Piqué also followed suit. Right at the moment where there was physical contact between the two players however, Mitchell led out a cry and fell to the ground.
The referee’s whistle rang out.
Piqué had committed a foul!
Piqué felt wronged. He did not see anything wrong with his actions. They were normal actions that would be taken in any other physical battle.
He checked with the referee over what had been deemed to be a foul, and the referee raised his arm upwards to indicate that Piqué had wrapped his arm around Mitchell during the physical battle earlier.
Piqué knew that Mitchell had deliberately fallen to the ground at the slightest of contact, but there was nothing he could do about it.
Nottingham Forest had finally gotten their first free kick of the match after practicing for an entire week.
Guardiola should feel lucky that Bale was out injured for the match. Bale was Forest’s sole free kick specialist.
The free kick that Twain had trained his team to do for the past week was the ‘indirect free kick’.
There are two types of free kicks in football. One is called the ‘direct free kick’, while the other is called the ‘indirect free kick’. There are no restrictions for direct free kicks. The ball may be directly kicked into the goal without any other player touching it. On the other hand, an indirect free kick requires at least two players to touch the ball for it to count as a goal in the event that it does make its way into the net.
Mitchell had earned a direct free kick for Forest. However, Nottingham Forest was going to play the ball as though it was an indirect free kick that had been awarded to them.
Bentley walked over to the ball. Mitchell kept trying to squeeze his way past the Barcelona’s defenders, and that led to a minor scuffle between the players from both teams.
The scuffle prompted the referee to step forward to maintain order. In the end, Mitchell was able to get what he wanted from the start, which was to squeeze his way into Barcelona’s penalty box.
The Barcelona players all believed that the ball would be sent to Mitchell. Thus, they sent a player to stand right behind Mitchell. The player would able to mark Mitchell and also prevent a gap from being formed that Forest would be able to exploit if Mitchell were to run away after the free kick has been taken.
But, everything was nothing more than a pretense for Nottingham Forest.
Their true tactic was this…
After the referee blew his whistle, Bentley ran up to the ball. However, he did not kick the ball straight for goal. Instead, he passed the ball over into the middle of the pitch!
George Wood ran up from behind and shot for goal at once!
He did not manage to shoot the ball at the height that he was most comfortable with. The ball was low and it lost a bit of speed due to the friction with the pitch below.
Nonetheless, the shot still caused huge problems for Valdés…
The ball bounced about erratically on the pitch, and it was hard to tell where the ball was going towards.
Valdés’ initial judgement was that the ball would continue to follow its current trajectory and land in his arms, but he did not expect the ball to suddenly change direction after bouncing over a small bump on the pitch.
The ball then rolled towards the goalpost!
Valdés pounced towards the ball and managed to tip the ball away!
All the Barcelona players broke into cold sweat at the sight.
“George Wood does a long shot at goal! He nearly scored! The terrible pitch has helped him out. Fortunately, Valdés was completely focused and he did not commit a rudimentary mistake…”
Wood was disappointed that the ball had not gone in. It was not like he could replicate such quality long shots at goal every single time.
Valdés’ heart was palpitating furiously after he got the ball away.
It was a close call.
His heart was in his mouth when he saw the ball make a turn at the last moment, and there were still lingering feelings of fear in him even now.
Thankfully, the ball had not deviated too much from its original trajectory, and it was still within an area that he could get to. However, given the condition of this pitch…
Who knows if Barcelona would still have such good luck the next time Nottingham Forest launched an attack?
The ball was sent into the penalty box from the corner.
Mitchell headed the ball, but sent it wide due to Piqué’s interference.
※※※
Guardiola looked at his watch as he stood by the side of the pitch.
27 minutes had passed since the start of the first half, and Nottingham Forest’s attacks were still as ferocious as ever.
The only thing Guardiola could be glad about was that the team had not let in a goal during the period of time where Forest’s offense was at its most intense. Piqué’s outstanding performance had definitely saved the team.
He definitely has to make changes in the second half…
Nottingham Forest decided to slow down their tempo to allow their players to conserve some stamina after attacking feverishly for 20 minutes. They did not want any of their players to be exhausted before the first half ended.
Barcelona decided to try and shift the game back into their favor now that Nottingham Forest had stopped being as offensive.
They maintained possession of the ball and tried to find a way through Forest’s defense. They did not believe that Nottingham Forest had no weaknesses that they could exploit. They just haven’t found one since they were too busy dealing with Forest’s attacks earlier…
However, they soon realized that Nottingham Forest’s was invulnerable to their attacks. They did not give them any chance to break through and shoot for goal.
What should they do against a team that is defending to the death?
Barcelona decided to pass the ball around the back and maintain possession for the time being. Doing so would attract Nottingham Forest to move forward, because they were the ones who needed to score a goal.
Nottingham Forest were the ones who should be getting anxious. Not Barcelona.
Once Barcelona realized of that fact, they started becoming less frantic. They would pass the ball around at the back, and if Nottingham Forest did not move forward, they would continue to kick the ball backwards and let their goalkeeper Valdés initiate another attack.
On the 30th minute of the match, Barcelona continued to pass the ball about at the back, but Agbonlahor suddenly charged towards Puyol from the middle of the pitch.
Puyol was not in a hurry to pass the ball away. He wanted to attract Agbonlahor and the other Forest players to move upwards. He gestured for his team mates around him to move back and support him.
Piqué turned around and ran back towards him. However, Puyol did not pass the ball over to him, because Mitchell was right behind Piqué.
The Forest players were all like a pack of wolves chasing behind its prey, waiting for the opportunity to strike.
Puyol turned and passed the ball over to Alves at the flank.
Lennon rushed up to Alves after seeing that the ball had been passed to him.
Alves could have passed a long ball to the front of the pitch, but he hesitated. He raised his leg and put it down.
In the time in which he hesitated, Lennon had already run up to him!
Alves turned around and tried to protect the ball at his feet. He realized that it was risky to pass to any player before him, so he chose to pass the ball back to the goalkeeper.
He held Lennon back and passed the ball back to the goalkeeper. Valdés moved forward to stop the ball that was rolling towards him.
Agbonlahor noticed that Barcelona had passed the ball back to their goalkeeper. He did not stop in his tracks. Instead, he shrugged off Puyol and charged towards Valdés.
Valdés had initially wanted to stop the ball at his feet before passing it to a defender, but he realized that he had underestimated Agbonlahor’s pace. In the blink of an eye, the two were already in very close proximity to each other. He would only be digging his own grave if he were to stop the ball at his feet now.
Valdés changed his mind at the last minute and decided to kick the ball towards the other half of the pitch.
Barcelona’s first choice goalkeeper lifted his leg. All he had to do was to connect his feet with the ball…
Agbonlahor was only about 10 meters away from him. He definitely could not afford to make a mistake.
In the next second however, every single player, fan and staff of the Barcelona team could not believe their eyes…
The ball that had rolled over towards Valdés was not fast. It would be as easy as breathing for a goalkeeper like Valdés, who had played in countless games before, to kick the ball away.
Valdés got into position and was ready to kick the ball away…
But, the ball suddenly bounced upwards just when it was a short distance away from Valdés!
It was at this very moment that Valdés swung his right leg out!
His right leg did not hit its intended target and he kicked at nothing but air…
Valdés exerted too much force in his attempt to kick the ball. It tipped him off balance and he fell backwards onto the ground.
It dawned on him at once that he had just missed!
He looked on in horror as Agbonlahor passed him by…
“A mistake! Valdés has made a mistake! This is a chance for Agbonlahor! This is a chance for Nottingham Forest… He shoots! GOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!”
Agbonlahor would have to smash his head against a wall if he could not score a goal before an empty goalpost. There were no defenders around Agbonlahor when Valdés failed to kick the ball earlier. He could have stopped the ball and readjusted himself before shooting. He would still have scored a goal.
The Nottingham Forest fans were already cheering by the time Agbonlahor scored the goal. They had erupted into cheers the very moment Valdés fell to the ground.
Twain, John and Bill all jumped up from their seats. They stretched out their two arms and roared at the top of their voices.
“Forest, Forest! Nottingham Forest!”
Barcelona has committed a blunder…
...
Chapter 814 - Panic and Lost
Víctor Valdés was perhaps the worst goalkeeper of any European club. It wasn’t because of his lack of potential, but because of his instability of play. He often exhibited some inexplicable low-level mistakes, such as kicking the ball directly to the other side’s feet, creating an assisted offense for the opponent, or fumbling the ball after diving on it…
But this time it was not his fault.
Nottingham Forest’s turf and field combined to make the goal. Valdés knelt on the ground and gave a hard slap to the culprit: a bulging piece of turf in front of his foot. This was where the football rolled when it suddenly jumped and playfully dodged Valdés’s right leg, scoring Forest’s goal.
“Nottingham Forest’s lousy field has made a contribution!” the narrator roared with excitement. “Alves’s return pass has caused Valdés’ mistake, and Agbonlahor scored with ease!” This scene was so dramatic that Barcelona’s players could not believe their eyes until now, and Valdés could only vent his anger on the turf. Nottingham Forest now gained the lead, tied with Barcelona on aggregate score, and took the advantage with an away goal!
“Passing the ball back to the goalkeeper in this situation, Alves must also take responsibility for this lost goal!”
※※※
When Barcelona’s players saw the football slip away from Valdés’s feet, everyone was in a state of desperate panic. Some people even hugged their heads prematurely because they didn’t want to watch.
Guardiola, looking expressionless, sat in the coach’s chair with his hands around his chest. It was impossible to tell how he was feeling from his face. He was not the kind of head coach who immediately went into a frenzy after losing the ball—this was the great difference between him and Tony Twain.
Looking at what was next door, Kerslake raised his arms, charged out of the coaching room, and hugged whoever he saw, displaying Tony Twain’s style. Don, another assistant coach, was calm. He just clenched his face and waved.
What about Tony Twain?
As the ball slipped through Valdés’s feet, Twain rose from his seat like everyone else around him, raising his arms and cheering.
Eventually, when he imitated tens of thousands of fans and shouted, “Forest! Forest! Nottingham Forest!” he felt an excitement that he never felt when he was on the coaching seat.
“Well done!” After the cheers, John gave a thumbs-up to the celebrating Forest players. “We’re even now!”
Twain corrected him. “No, we’re ahead. ”
If Twain did not say anything, once he spoke, the fatty John squeezed over like a meaty hill, “Tony! Wow, your idea was really brilliant! They definitely lost out on this field! Did you see their expressions? It was too exciting! Haha!”
“Hey, John… I’m going to be out of breath…”
※※※
The goal-scorer, Agbonlahor, was so excited that he ran to the north stands with his mouth open and roared, waving his arms at the most hardcore fans, and immediately drew even greater cheers.
Twain did not cheer like the rest of the fans this time. He just gave a thumbs-up to Agbonlahor below. He did not know if Agbonlahor could see him, but he still had to act like a head coach.
In fact, Agbonlahor was looking for his head. He soon found him in the crowds, because his head was different from the masses—he was actually smiling at him!
“Hey, guys! I see the head!” The excited Agbonlahor pointed to the stands as he shouted at his celebrating teammates, and for a moment everyone looked at the stands, in the direction that Agbonlahor was pointing, as they saw Tony Twain’s silhouette.
“Hey, let’s have another celebration!”
Agbonlahor first did a salute towards the stands, similar to that of the U.S. Marine Corps The other players also followed to salute to Twain.
Twain made a serious face and saluted back, just like a general’s head.
After they saluted to their head, they ran back to get ready to reenter the game.
But Tony Twain was still excited amongst the fans. They sang the Nottingham Forest anthems loudly, again and again. Even Twain sang with them afterwards.
“We are invincible, we are invincible! We are the strongest team in the world, we are Nottingham Forest! ”
※※※
Nottingham Forest’s goal impacted Barcelona quite a bit, as Barcelona’s players looked a little flustered on the pitch after the game resumed. If Forest’s front-court players were pressing a little more, Barcelona’s players would immediately kick the ball a lot further – they definitely did not dare to pass the ball backwards, as they were scared that the ball would playfully jump up again, it would all be over for them.
So, in order not to let the football be intercepted in front of them, everyone chose to kick it forward, hard.
This naturally helped Nottingham Forest a great deal. Barcelona’s attack was threatening when the football was on the ground, and when they kicked the ball into the air for fear of making a mistake, they were not even a first-class team in front of Nottingham Forest.
Nottingham Forest were easily in control of the situation on the pitch, again and again besieging Barcelona’s goal.
Fortunately, Valdés was not affected by the loss of the ball. His performance was still normal: blocking the ball consistently, ensuring the goalmouth was not lost. Another busy man was Piqué, who was in good form. Nottingham Forest were dominating in the air, and he was the only man who could be trusted in Barcelona’s backline, with his height and header advantage.
He was not completely downwind in his tussle with Mitchell, which was one of the reasons why Barcelona had not let in another goal. But Piqué did not think the situation was optimal. He had given all his strength, and the tall man, who was still looking for his play, did not give full strength. If this goes all, he did not know if he could hold on for the full 90 minutes.
Towards the end of the first half, Nottingham Forest, who had been expected to take a possible counterattack at home, instead surrounded Barcelona’s penalty area and launched a frenzied siege. Barcelona could not even get over to the other half of the field.
Guardiola was restless and anxious on the sidelines. He just wanted the first half to end quickly so he could make adjustments. He did not care about pride; he just waved to the team to defend the whole line and survive the last five minutes.
The last five minutes were a pain for Barcelona’s players. Nottingham Forest’s wild attack was never seen at the Nou Camp, and they even thought Nottingham Forest would not attack at all, or would maybe try once or twice.
But Nottingham Forest’s current attack had left the Catalan narrator speechless.
England’s narrator, on the other hand, was very excited. He kept shouting the names of Nottingham Forest players.
“Aaron Lennon’s breakthrough was very beautiful, he passes! Mitchell’s header! The header was too good, but it’s a pity it was blocked by Valdés!”
“Thiago’s long shot – it flew just past the goalpost and out!
“Nottingham Forest seemed to be trying to force a break in the middle of the road to open a breakthrough, with Mitchell leaning on Piqué and relying on his leg-length advantage to pass the ball to Agbonlahor. Agbonlahor feigned and passed straight! Bentley appeared in the penalty area and he received the ball, as if it was a straight cleaver! He shoots! Valdés pounced and hit the football out…
“Barcelona fouled on the right side of the penalty area, with Nottingham Forest’s free-kick…Will they do it again? Bentley passes! Straight to the post! Mitchell attracted three of the Barcelona defenders by himself, Kompany heads the ball from behind! The ball went in … Oh no, it hit the side of net! It’s a shame, it was like it got in from this point of view…
“Nottingham Forest intercepts the ball on the midfield…Barcelona were intending to pass it out, but they were beaten by George Wood’s relentless resistance. He passed the ball to Thiago and ran forward … one-two, it was beautiful! Nottingham Forest made a two-on-one play in front of Barcelona, Yaya Touré was played around with by the chemistry of Wood and Thiago! Piqué keeps a close eye on Mitchell…Long shot! George Wood came straight up with a long shot, and it flew slightly above the crossbar! Listen to the voices in the stands—they thought the ball was going in!
“Joe Mattock passes! Aaron Mitchell – goalpost!! Alas, it seems that today the Goddess of Luck has not blessed the young Mitchell. This is the second time in the game he’s headed the ball at the crossbar! His height and header were a big threat to Barcelona’s goal, but his luck was off—or was Barcelona’s luck too great?”
In Nottingham Forest’s tide-like attack, the referee became Barcelona’s saviour. As he blew his whistle at the end of the first half, even the most hardcore of Barcelona’s fans wanted Nottingham Forest to come again, Barcelona’s defensive line would collapse.
“Guardiola should be thankful for the first half, because at least they haven’t had a player who was injured by that poor pitch but had only lost a goal.” At the end of the first half, this was how the narrator was casually talking.
※※※
Twain got up from his seat and said to Bill and John next to him, “Hey guys, do you want to have a drink? I’ll treat you.”
“I thought you weren’t supposed to be drinking,” said Bill.
“Of course I can’t drink. But I can drink juice, and you guys can choose to drink what you like.”
“You’re in a good mood, Tony.”
“Because we’re ahead, ha!” As he said this, a group of people walked towards the exit.
“Aren’t you worried Guardiola will make adjustments during the mid-game break? Barcelona is a world-class team for a reason…”
Twain laughed. ” Unless he can figure out a way to level the ground in 15 minutes, Barcelona won’t be able to turn the tables. Their technique simply can’t be used on such a pitch, and if they play high-altitude football, they might as well continue to endure a bad ground attack.”
Yes, he had calculated everything: this game must consume Barcelona. So he was not worried about the bad effects when the UEFA would not allow him to enter the dressing room. He believed that the outcome of the match had been decided by his idea of the “vegetable patch.”
I am like Buddha, Guardiola. No matter how sly you are, you will still be unable to escape my palm, haha!
“Come on, guys, I’ll invite you to drink. Moisturize your throats—I might still need to use you guys in the second half!”
※※※
While Twain was drinking and talking at the stadium’s concessions stand with his “voice-over”, Barcelona’s dressing room was a bit of a fendiall.
The team’s physiotherapist was giving Barcelona’s players ankle and knee massages to prevent them from spraining in the second half. The atmosphere was a bit dull, and no one knew what to say. It was too bad to play on a pitch like this, because they were unable to display their most prided techniques. They could only be played around by Nottingham Forest.
If the game went on like this again…the consequences were unimaginable. Perhaps they could also count on Nottingham Forest to make the mistake they had made in the first half?
Guardiola took away their hopes. “Don’t expect your opponent to make a mistake. We have to play well in our own game.”
But Guardiola had no idea how to get his team to play well, too. The atmosphere in the changing room turned cold again.
Barcelona’s players might have felt this way for the first time after experiencing thousands of glorious games. This game was unplayable, and it was not because their potential was not up there, but because their opponent was too cunning. Who would have thought that Nottingham Forest would have been at the expense of transforming their pitch for a win …
After a moment of silence, Guardiola re-opened his mouth. “We will pass the possession to them in the second half.”
Everyone looked up with an expression of surprise on their faces. Barcelona’s football was always under their own feet—passing the possession right to their opponents did not fit their style.
Guardiola had to explain why he wanted to do this. “Yes. The quality of the turf on the City pitch is so bad that long-term ball control on the foot increases the risk of losing the ball. So, I think it’s better for us to give up the football to the other side. Once the football is at the foot of a Nottingham Forest player, wherever that player is, the people around him have to go up and snatch possession. Launch a quick counterattack immediately after the turnover!”
This was a good idea, as Barcelona’s players had accepted the manager’s arrangement.
“Piqué, how do you feel about defending Mitchell?” Guardiola turned to ask the defender.
Piqué gasped, “I feel that it’s a little tough, coach…I’m afraid I can’t defend him alone.”
Guardiola looked around at the players on the bench, and found that there seemed to be no players with decent heading skills other than Márquez, a veteran on the bench. But Márquez was too old and was in a bad state, rarely getting a chance to play. In such an important game, he really didn’t want to pin his hopes on such a player.
So his eyes passed Márquez and fell onto Puyol. “Carles, in the second half you helped Piqu. I don’t ask you to win their no. 9 in terms of heading, but don’t let him jump and head so easily.”
Puyol nodded, stating that he knew what he was supposed to do.
Next, it was time for psychological hints.
“Don’t give up the race in the last second! We have 45 minutes left, and with just one goal, Nottingham Forest will be in disarray. But until then, we can’t panic ourselves! I saw that in the last half you were panicking. That’s not going to work! That’s absolutely not going to work! Your panic will only make your opponent happier. I know this kind of venue has cost us a lot, but if your minds are just complaints on the bad pitches, I’m sure you’ll have no hope of winning. This is Tony Twain’s trick! You have to put all your energy into the game, and not think about anything else! The more you think about it, the worse it may turn out!”
Guardiola made a strict face, but deep inside, he knew the situation was bad…
...
Chapter 815: Piqué
The mood in Barcelona’s locker room was gloomy and miserable. Guardiola desperately tried to boost everyone’s morale. It was a different story in Nottingham Forest’s locker room.
“Well done, guys!” Kerslake took on Tony Twain’s job in the locker room. He had to continue motivate the players with words while Dunn was responsible for explaining the tactical arrangements.
The players were as happy as the coaches. They were pleased with the performance in the first half. Barcelona’s offensive was almost completely blocked. They had the upped hand in the game and even scored a goal in the final five minutes.
Everyone sat down and started discussing Barcelona’s predicament in the first half. They had a happy discussion.
When he saw that their discussion was becoming more animated, Kerslake had to use the imposing manner as the assistant manager to keep them quiet, because Dunn had something to say, “We played well in the first half. But we cannot relax in the second half. I am now worried that you will be arrogant and underestimate your opponent in the second half. You still have to keep in mind what kind of opponent Barcelona is. If you give them too much space, the situation will not be good once they adapt to the pitch…”
The expressions on the players’ faces became serious. They knew what Dunn said was right.
As the saying went, a lean camel was still bigger than a horse. A team like Barcelona was still strong under any circumstances. They could get into trouble if they lowered their guard.
“So, in the second half we will continue to fully press them, forcing them to make mistakes and not being able to organize an effective attack. Force their offensive to only rely on long shots and crossing from the sides. Once they play high-altitude football with us, their threat will be much reduced.”
“As for our offense … we just have to pay more attention to the rate of success. We had a lot of chances in the latter part of the first half but didn’t score a single goal. We cannot be like this in the second half. Tony always said there will be payback if we waste our opportunities and a one-goal lead is the least secured score in the world. I don’t think he wants to see that you are satisfied with a score of 1:0 in the second half in the stands?”
Dunn still had to evoke Tony Twain in the end to make his speech more convincing. He could not control the players, which was already proven when Twain was absent from work with a heart attack. When things were good, everyone listened to him, and no one cared about him when the situation was bad. Evoking Tony Twain at such times was like having an imperial sword which gave the sword bearer arbitrary powers. Sometimes Dunn would also think that he might just be an assistant manager all his life at Nottingham Forest because Tony’s influence on the team was so profound…
※※※
Twain held a disposable cup filled with fruit juice and returned to the stands with his mates. The second half was about to begin and both teams’ players had left after they did their warm-up on the pitch. The fourth official and three referees appeared on the sidelines. They were having a chat. Perhaps they were talking about the stadium?
Twain’s appearance in the stands caused a small commotion. The other fans who recognized him came up in succession and shouted, “We’re going to win, right, Tony?”
Twain also replied loudly, “Of course!”
Then a group of people raised the beers in their hands and shouted, “Forest, Forest! Nottingham Forest!”
They kept shouting until the players from both sides entered.
The Nottingham Forest players were cheered by the fans as they entered the stadium. It was much quieter followed closely by the Barcelona players.
The situations of both teams might be gleaned from the players’ expressions when they entered the field. The Nottingham Forest players talked and laughed, while the Barcelona players frowned and looked grave without exception from the players to the coaching staff.
Messi, who was previously dubbed as the “new king of the world” by the media, also pursed his lips and looked grim. He almost ceased to exist in the first half, with no contribution at all. The unparallel Argentine football leader and Barcelona’s ace of all aces, who was dominant on the pitch, played looked as if he was sleepwalking.
He was thinking about how he could salvage the situation and get his form back in the second half.
But it was a bit difficult. The venue was a reason, while the close marking from Wood and the others was also a reason. Twain did not let the full backs defend against Messi in the game as they did in the previous round. George Wood would often take the initiative to “pop by to talk about the ideals of life” with Messi whenever he was free.
The uneven field made it inherently difficult to control the ball. In addition to Wood’s close-marking interference, he could barely manage the ball.
Maybe he should be more aggressive with his positional play in the second half and widen his scope of activity to make it better…
※※※
After the start of the second half, Puyol and Piqué used their full strength to defend against Mitchell and the situation slightly changed. Mitchell’s height and header, as well as his jump, were indeed excellent. But he was completely at a disadvantage in terms of experience. He did not know what to do when Piqué and Puyol joined forces against him.
During that time, with Mitchell being closely marked, Barcelona gradually regained the situation on the pitch. They began to attempt organizing the offense.
Unlike the first half, Barcelona’s attack began to rely more on the individual skills of the star players than coordination. Because the first half’s failure proved that their cooperation could not be played on such a pitch.
Almost any team with many star players would consider relying on their individual skills to determine the game under such circumstances. Barcelona’s lineup had Messi, Silva, Bojan, Iniesta, Xavi, Alves… and many other star players. Any one of these players had the ability to decide the outcome of the game alone. It would be too wasteful if they were not used.
Silva chose to act alone in the wing after he received the ball. He managed to break through the tall Nkoulou with his high center of gravity, but his pass was easily headed out by Kompany.
Then Xavi came to try. He fired a long shot straight away and deliberately hit a ground ball, trying to use the uneven field to cause trouble for Akinfeev.
But the Russian, who had been training on this kind of field for a week, had adapted to this kind of shot. Twain had specially trained him in similar capacity. He pressed the ball firmly under his body when he fell to the ground and did not create a chance for Bojan to shoot.
It was followed by Messi.
He pulled the ball to the sideline and faced Joe Mattock’s defense. He did a feint to cross the ball but suddenly hook the ball to cut inside and shook off Mattock.
Messi would be more confident if he were at Camp Nou. Now he could only choose to cut inside early. Unsurprisingly, George Wood rushed up.
The football bounced on the uneven turf and Messi struggled to control the ball. His technique was really good to not lose the ball and still be able to control the ball under his feet in such a situation.
Wood saw that he was very steady in the possession of the ball, so he was not in a hurry to make a move. He just leaned his body closer to him.
Messi also knew that once he was leaned on by Wood, he would have no chance to break through. So, he suddenly stopped, flashed past Wood, and then changed direction toward the side.
He was going to forge a way out from being hemmed in by Wood and Mattock, and straight into the penalty area!
He pushed with his left foot and his right foot hooked the ball!
He succeeded in shaking off Joe Mattock’s interception and intended to charge out from this crack. But the power of Wood’s breakout was amazing! By the time he pushed the ball with his left foot, he had already seen through his intentions. He took a big stride first and cut across Messi’s path. Just when Messi hooked the ball to the front with his right foot, Wood separated him from the ball and successfully locked in his position!
Messi could not stop in time and directly knocked into George Wood. He felt as if he had hit a wall. Fortunately, he had just started. If he had been running at a high speed, perhaps he would be immediately dizzy …
Messi fell to the ground, with the Barcelona fans and Nottingham Forest fans in the stands booing at the same time. The Barcelona fans thought that George Wood had fouled by blocking and they should have given a free kick, or a penalty kick—the exact spot where Messi had fallen was vague. It appeared to be outside the penalty area and also in the penalty area…
The Nottingham Forest fans booed because they thought Messi dived. It was exaggerated of him to fall to the ground at such a close distance collision.
The referee did not whistle to indicate that Wood had fouled, nor did he signal that Messi had dived. He did not do anything, and the game continued.
Even though Wood had stopped Messi’s attack, Nottingham Forest was not out of danger yet as Bojan had come up.
At the same time when Messi had failed, Bojan plugged in diagonally from behind and tried to intercept the ball. He thought Wood had focused all his attention on Messi and certainly would not have time to focus on him. But he was wrong.
After Wood had stopped Messi, he twisted his body around and shuttered Bojan behind him.
When Bojan and Messi hit him like they did, he did not fall to the ground, but lost the chance to grab the ball.
George Wood’s ability was fully reflected when he defended against Barcelona’s two top attackers on his own. Instead of blindly sending a shot out after protecting the football, he passed it to Joe Mattock, who had already pulled to the side and let him get the football out to organize the attack.
The few successive attacks did not yield any results. It looked like Barcelona’s plan to rely on the individual skills of the star players to score goals did not work as well …
※※※
The game was interrupted in the 60th minute.
Someone was hurt!
But it was not a Barcelona player who was injured this time, nor was it a Nottingham Forest player. The injured party was a bit of a surprise.
At that time, Barcelona’s ball was intercepted in the front field and Nottingham Forest launched a quick counterattack, with both sides moving at a high speed. The referee naturally had to run quickly from Nottingham Forest’s half of the field to Barcelona’s half. Just as he had started running, he fell to the ground on his buttocks!
It was not until Nottingham Forest had finished the attack that people noticed the referee was still sitting in the center circle, with one hand holding his ankle…
“Ha! What are we looking at? The referee’s hurt!” The commentator laughed, which sounded like he took delight in someone else’s misfortune.
A burst of laughter could also be heard over the City Ground stadium. This scene was really comical.
“We’ve been speculating about who’s going to get hurt from the terrible pitch. Maybe Messi, maybe Iniesta, maybe Bojan, maybe even the Nottingham Forest players themselves … But we never thought the first person to be injured would be the referee… Does it look like he sprained his ankle? Let us take a look at what happened at the time…”
The replay appeared on the television screen. When he started running, the foot which the referee used to launch stepped on a bulge, so …
“Well, I don’t think it’s possible for this referee to enforce the game any longer…”
While he spoke, the camera gave a close-up to the fourth official who was warming up on the sidelines.
“We wish the fourth official good luck and hope he doesn’t sprain his ankle the moment he gets on that pitch. Ha!”
Twain also saw the scene in the stands. He laughed happily like the other fans. Due to the things that happened in the first round between the two teams, the Nottingham Forest fans did not have any good feelings toward the UEFA referees.
Even the two teams’ players who were fiercely fighting for the ball just now on the pitch, also put aside the competition at this moment and surrounded the referee to watch the lively scene with amused smiles on their faces.
Kompany even took the opportunity to catch up with Piqué.
“Hey, man, how’s it going?”
“Hey, it’s okay. How else can I be?”
The referee’s injury added some comedic elements to the hostile game and eased the atmosphere a little.
Next, supported by the staff, the injured referee left the field and the fourth official got ready to go into battle. As the two men did the handover of the job, the referee specifically warned him repeatedly, “Be careful of the turf around the center circle…”
A fan in the stands shouted at the fourth official, “Hey mate! Are you sure you have done enough warmup? Be careful not to twist your leg——!”
“Ahhahahaha—” His shout triggered a burst of gleeful laughter.
After the original referee came off the field, he described how terrible the turf was on the City Ground stadium pitch when asked by the people around him. He spread his hands and shook his head as he gave a helpless shrug.
※※※
When the game resumed, the ease shown by the players on both sides just now disappeared immediately. Kompany and Piqué did not have the warmth of chatting together with a smile. Everyone returned to the state of mutual hostility.
After all, it was the final game that would determine which team would advance to the quarterfinal and which team would be eliminated. They could not let their guard down.
Messi suffered a hard time with Wood, but he did not give up. He did not even get around Wood to seek another breakthrough point. It looked like he wanted to have a showdown Wood today.
This time he managed to bypass Wood but still could not break into the penalty area easily. He could only shoot from outside.
Akinfeev threw the ball out of the end line which gave Barcelona a corner kick. Could this be considered a victory for Messi?
Piqué rushed up to get ready to fight for a header and Kompany was ordered to keep an eye on him. As the two men leaned forward, Kompany smiled next to him, “Don’t even think about scoring, mate!”
“You’re so full of crap…” Piqué gave Kompany a sideway glance and said, “Don’t pull my jersey!”
“I did not pull!” Kompany raised both hands.
Crowded in front of the goal, Piqué kept changing positions. He was dodging Kompany.
Xavi ran to serve the corner kick. He was waiting for the situation in the penalty area to be a little more chaotic…
Piqué was still competing with Kompany. Although his center back partner was frequently Pepe at Nottingham Forest, he also often partnered with Kompany because Tony Twain always did the rotation. Having trained and competed together for so many years, he knew Kompany well and how he was used to defending corner kicks. Likewise, Kompany knew him well too. He was familiar with his habits of competing for headers and standing positions. Piqué was aware that it was not good for him to continue to be entangled. He gave a signal with his eyes to Puyol next to him. Puyol understood tacitly and suddenly inserted himself into the fight to separate the two men. Piqué, on the other hand, took the opportunity to get out and moved outside the line.
Meanwhile, Xavi kicked the football toward the front of the goal!
Kompany knew it was Barcelona’s tactic, but he could not do anything about it. He tried his best to get rid of Puyol’s defense but was a step too late in the end.
The football drew an arc and slightly turned outwards. Piqué who freed himself of Kompany’s close marking, dashed inward and have a powerful header!
With the distance too close, Akinfeev could not react in time. He just raised his hands and the football flew into the goal past his side!
“GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL—” The Catalan commentator yelled for a minute before stopping. Whenever people though he had exhausted himself and stopped, he would immediately raise his voice and keep yelling.
“A powerful header from Piqué! He blew his former team’s goal wide open!”
Piqué did not celebrate after the goal. His teammates came up to hug him in a rush, but he did not show any expression. He was like a block of wood and let them hug and clap him on the back.
He scored the goal because he was now a Barcelona player and naturally wanted to play for his owner. But he rose to fame at Nottingham Forest and he loved everything there, even the fans who booed him in the stands. There was only sporadic booing in the stands. Most of the Forest players were still unable to harbor any ill feelings toward Piqué. The way he was treated in his return to the City Ground stadium was completely different to how Bendtner was treated.
But if Nottingham Forest was knocked out by Barcelona due to his goal, how would the two parties feel at that time?
“Barcelona is currently in the lead with the overall score! And more importantly, they also have an away goal! How will Nottingham Forest fight back? Tony Twain is not in the technical area. He’s always best at meeting contingencies as the circumstances dictate ..”
...
Chapter 816 - Who the Hell Is This Kid?
“Now Barcelona is leading by the overall score! And more importantly, they also have an away goal! How will Nottingham Forest fight back? Tony Twain is not in the technical area. He’s always best at adapting to the changing circumstances…”
The commentator’s concern was also the Nottingham Forest fans’ worry. John, Bill and the others next to Twain turned to look at him as if they wanted him to make a decision.
They did not expect Twain to look at each pair of expectant eyes and laughed, “Why are you looking at me for? I’m not on the sidelines.”
“You can use our mouths, Tony.” John said, pointing to his mouth.
Twain shook his head and said, “Before the game we took into account all the things that could have happened, including, of course, the concede of the goal, even though I thought the probability of it was small … It seems that Piqué has a high fighting spirit…”
“So, did you come up with any countermeasure?” The impatient Bill asked.
“No.” Twain continued to shake his head.
“Tony…..”
“Haha!” Twain laughed, “In fact, Barcelona had a bit of luck with this goal. They didn’t obtain control of the game. Apart from this corner kick, they didn’t really have chances to threaten our goal. So, with regards to any adjustments we have to make, we just have to keep our offensive pace. Barcelona’s defensive weakness will not improve much as a result of this goal. So, I’m not worried…”
“But we need to score two more goals now if we want to advance directly, Tony…”
“Is scoring two goals difficult?” Twain asked in return.
He stumped everyone with the question. Two goals were really hard, but why was Tony Twain so confident?
Twain no longer explained. He wanted to watch the game now.
※※※
In fact, Barcelona was in high spirits after the goal and besieged Nottingham Forest’s goal for a while. However, they did not get a decent chance in the face of the constrained conditions in the pitch and Nottingham Forest’s defense. The goal was purely down to luck, just like what Twain said.
Soon Nottingham Forest drove Barcelona back. Currently for them, with twenty-five minutes to go, they needed to score a goal to make sure they were not eliminated within ninety minutes. To directly advance to the next round, they needed to score at least two goals.
It might be an impossible task for an average team up against Barcelona. But for Nottingham Forest, nothing was impossible.
They had all the right conditions. They had no excuse to lose the game!
After watching for a while, Twain said to the people next to him in the stands, “Let them boldly press forward, Barcelona’s force is spent.”
Accordingly, the north grandstand erupted in a burst of chanting voices, “Forest, Forest charge forward! Barcelona is finished! Forest, Forest, press forward! Barcelona is done for!”
They chanted over and over again. The Nottingham Forest players knew the chanting came from the north grandstand and were aware of whom it came from…
When the two full backs, Joe Mattock and Nkoulou boldly pressed ahead, the chanting finally disappeared.
Twain high-fived the people around him and thanked them for their help. “Well done, guys!”
※※※
Nottingham Forest’s oppressive attack kept Barcelona so busy that they had no time to attack. Perhaps they thought it was better to cling fast to defense until the end of the game under such circumstances. That way, they could eliminate Nottingham Forest by a total score of 3:2 to advance to the semifinals.
Soon Nottingham Forest was awarded a free kick in the danger zone. The Barcelona players were nervous as they knew that a set piece was key in the game. Consequently, the human wall lined up to be deliberately close to the football. When the referee did not pay attention to them, they slowly took small steps to inch forward.
Twain frowned in the stands and said, “They should simply place the human wall in front of the football!”
This time without waiting for his instructions, the fans in the north grandstand began to chant in unison, “The human wall is too close! The human wall is too close!”
Whether the referee could understand or not, it was to make some different sounds. The shouts were accompanied by a huge number of boos.
The Nottingham Forest players also noticed Barcelona’s petty maneuver. They got hold of the referee and signaled to him to take notice of Barcelona’s human wall position—they had moved forward about a meter from where they were originally…
The referee turned back to motion for Barcelona’s human wall to move backwards. The Barcelona players dragged their feet and were unwilling to move. They even indicated that they were in the right position.
The referee knew that it was not persuasive enough to use words. He must prove that Barcelona’s human wall was not far enough, so he started to walk from the penalty spot to the human wall. One step equaled to one yard. The standard free kick distance should be ten yards (9.15 meters) from the human wall, which was about ten steps.
As he began to walk, Twain and the rest of the fans in the north grandstand joined in to count the numbers for the Barcelona players who did not know numbers:
“One! Two! Three! Four!”
As the counting progressed, more and more fans joined in the camp. For a moment, loud counting voices rang out over the City Ground stadium.
“… Five! Six! Seven!”
The Barcelona players looked a little worried. Even if they did not comprehend English, they should still know what the most basic “One Two Three” meant.
Before the referee could walk up to them, one by one began to retreat.
The referee was delightful too. Even when Barcelona’s human wall moved back, he did not stop there, but continued walking. So, the Nottingham Forest fans in the stands also followed suit and were determined to embarrass Barcelona.
“Eight! Nine! Ten ——!!”
After counting to “Ten”, a huge cheer erupted in the stands. The Forest fans celebrated the victory against Barcelona for this round. Even the commentator could not help but laugh at the scene.
In the end, the referee stood in a position that coincided with Barcelona’s human wall position. Then he walked back to signal to the Forest team to get ready for the free kick.
Bentley’s free kick bypassed the human wall and went straight into the top corner of the goal, which was quite threatening! Unfortunately, Valdés pounced and turned it into a corner ball.
Off the field, Kerslake waved to signal both Woodgate and Kompany to go up. As a full back with a height of 1.88 meters, Nkoulou also squeezed to the front of the goal to prepare to fight for a header. Joe Mattock was the shortest in the rear defensive line, so he retreated to near the center circle to defend.
After Nottingham Forest’s corner kick was sent out, Nkoulou received the ball. But his header deviated slightly under interference. The football brushed against the goalpost and flew out, making all the Barcelona people gasped.
※※※
“Barcelona has fully retreated to defend, leaving Nottingham Forest to pass the ball back and forth in front of our penalty area. It is a dangerous thing … I don’t think I can understand why Guardiola did this!” The Catalan commentator was dissatisfied with the situation. Barcelona played so pathetically which greatly embarrassed the Catalans.
But he was a typical armchair expert. If he were to play, he would realize Guardiola’s frustration in doing so.
The Barcelona players could not execute an effective offensive on such a pitch. If they were to rely on the star players’ personal skills, it would be easy to get caught up in the quagmire of the Forest team’s collective defense. If they could hold on to the one goal advantage, why not?
As the game entered the seventieth minute, Guardiola looked at his wristwatch. It was only twenty minutes away from the victory.
Nottingham Forest attacked again, with the Forest fans in the stands chanting, “We need to score a goal! We need to score! We are dissatisfied, quickly score a goal to satisfy us!!”
When Bentley took the ball on the sidelines, he was about a dozen meters from the penalty area and looked unthreatening. So, Lahm did not immediately rushed up, because he wanted guard against Agbonlahor from inserting diagonally behind him. Yaya Touré and the others were also paying attention to Tiago and George Wood. In short, no one thought Bentley, who was far away from the penalty area, was a threat. If he were to cross from the byline, he would face Lahm’s defense. If he passed the ball, Yaya Touré was standing guard in the middle.
Bentley, on the other hand, chose a way that no one thought of to create a threat—he swung his leg on the spot and directly crossed the ball near the midfield into the penalty area!
Knowing that the player furthest in the front at this time was Aaron Mitchell, who was still outside the penalty area, what was the point of his pass?
The football was not passed to the front of the goal. Actually, the ball’s distance from the goal was as wide as a penalty area…
Aaron Mitchell sprinted forward during Bentley’s pass and Piqué closely followed him. This time, due to Bentley’s sudden pass, Puyol did not keep up in time. With only Piqué around him, Mitchell was confident of winning the header against his rival.
But what would happen if he won the header? He did not have a teammate around him who could receive it… Piqué began to focus on defending the second point of fall. He observed for a while. Agbonlahor, nearest to Mitchell, was on the right. Was he going to ferry the ball over?
After competing for most of the match, Piqué believed the tall man did have that ability as his header was really strong.
Unfortunately, he was wrong.
When Mitchell turned his head back to confirm the direction of the football, he took a glance at the situation around and found that there was no Barcelona defender in front of him, apart from the goalkeeper, Valdés. Perhaps it was a good time to shoot?
Is it too far? I don’t know where I am now! I only saw a wide-open goal, and a goalkeeper standing slightly forward…
Mitchell, who had made up his mind to shoot, leaped high after his sprint. He opened his arms wide like he was a glider and blocked Piqué behind him so that no one could interfere with him…
“Mitchell’s header… Is this a shot to the goal?”
The commentator could not believe it. Mitchell’s current position was still outside the penalty area. It was precisely at the top of the penalty arc.
Mitchell jumped really high, and even had time to adjust his body posture in the air to position himself to directly face the incoming football. Then he gave the football a powerful flick of his head. The football drew an arc in the air that could only be achieved with a kick to bypass Valdés standing slightly in front and lobbed to the far corner of the goal … …
Piqué, who was behind Mitchell, could not believe his eyes—Mitchell actually chose a direct header to the goal outside the penalty area!
What made it even more unbelievable for him was that… the ball actually went in!
Valdés stood a little outside during Bentley’s pass. He had wanted to intercept the pass but did not expect Bentley’s pass to have a wide arc. He returned after he moved into the penalty area. He knew the ball was directed at Mitchell, but he did not expect Mitchell to dare attempt a header shot to score the goal from so far away…
Unable to respond in time, he hastily jumped. But how could he stop the ball?
“What a beautiful goal! Incredible! A long-range header shot from outside the penalty area! From Aaron Mitchell—This is his first goal of the season! It is also the first official goal he scored for Nottingham Forest!”
This time it was the English live commentator’s turn to be crazy. He was upset just now when the Catalan commentator extended his voice next to him and shouted “GOOOOAL!” This time, he had a chance to take revenge. His mouth was like a Gatling machine gun, popping out with all sorts of flattering words.
“Valdés was completely stunned by a goal like this! Piqué, Barcelona’s best-performing player, was also at a loss in the face of such a beautiful goal! I bet he did not even think Mitchell would choose to shoot directly! What a genius idea! Mitchell had this extraordinary confidence in his header, and he did it! Congratulations! The twenty-year-old player will pull Nottingham Forest back from the edge of a cliff! It was definitely not a momentary lapse for Tony Twain to let him make his debut!”
Mitchell still stared blankly when he saw the football flew into the goal. He was uncertain as to whether he had really scored…
When he heard the deafening cheers ringing in his ears, he then realized he was not dreaming—this time he was not fantasizing in his bedroom. Even if he shouted as loud as he wanted, his father would not break the bedroom door and rush in to admonish him.
“GOOOAL! GOOOOAL!! GOOOOOOOAL——!!” He had rehearsed this action many times. He roared with his arms wide open and rushed toward the camera near the corner flag.
“Two point two meters tall, excellent headers, marvelous bounce! Where did Tony Twain find this giant? It was said that his breakout force is also very powerful… Formidable! We’re seeing another master header of the ball! Look at his goal, who would have thought he had played as a goalkeeper and center back eight years ago?”
Aaron Mitchell had been so obscure that most Forest fans could not call his name at once. They could only chant during the cheering, “Number 9! Number 9! Our Number 9 master header of the ball!”
Mitchell’s father was so dizzyingly happy in the stands that he kept shouting, “That’s my son! That’s my son! I’m his father! I’m his father! Hey! Son, I’m here!”
“You have a good son!” The fans next to him came up to him to hug and congratulate him. “Also, what’s his name?”
“Aaron! Aaron Mitchell! Hey, guys, remember this name. I promise you’ll often shout it in the future.”
“I hope so, old chap!”
Soon, the shouts in the stands turned from “Number 9! Number 9! Our Number 9 master header of the ball!” into “Aaron! Aaron! Our master header of the ball, Aaron!”
Then the fans present made up a song for the goalscorer, and of course they started singing from the north grandstand.
“Aaron! Aaron Mitchell! If you don’t know the name yet, you’re outdated! Outdated!”
※※※
When he saw Mitchell used his header to “shove” the football into the goal that Valdés guarded, Tony Twain who put him on the starting lineup, also rose from his seat and cheered with the fans around him with his arms high up. To see the success of a player whom he had personally dug up, that sense of accomplishment was indescribable.
Kerslake, who celebrated in the technical area, got hold of Dunn and shook his head as he admitted his failure, “Tony does have a keen eye for players. Luckily I did not bet with him at that time… Aaron did a wonderful job!”
※※※
Unlike the jubilant Nottingham Forest technical area, on the Barcelona side, Guardiola, who had just picked up a water bottle for a sip of water, threw the bottle out before he could put it to his parted lips.
“Who the hell is this kid?!” He could not help but burst out with a curse word.
He never thought Nottingham Forest could score when Bentley passed the ball…
They could actually head the ball in from so far away. They were too lucky!
The manager issued the angry question, and the people around him could not help because they similarly did not know who the kid was. . .
There was no information about the player in the information about Nottingham Forest. It was like he had descended from the sky, bringing with him a gust of wind to blow away Barcelona’s fire of hope.
...
Chapter 817: A Giant’s Waltz
“Aaron Mitchell! A beautiful header outside the penalty area! Nottingham Forest equalized the score between the two sides!”
Huge cheers broke out at the City Ground stadium.
The Barcelona manager, Guardiola was furious on the sidelines and threw out the water bottle in his hand when the football was “shoved in” by Mitchell’s header.
“Who is this kid?!”
Both assistant managers, Vilanova and Eusebio, cleverly chose to be silent at this moment.
Guardiola’s anger was not directed at his own team. The fact that they could score a goal in such conditions, was already good. What angered him was that he knew nothing about the Nottingham Forest striker. He obviously could not make targeted arrangements without any information, such as he did not know before the number 9 player was outstanding at headers. Otherwise he would not let the team give Bentley the opportunity to play from the side …
After a while, Vilanova said, “Maybe… it isn’t as bad as we think it will be? At least the total scores of both sides are currently tied and the away goals are also at a tie. We still have a chance to play during overtime…”
Guardiola frowned and shook his head. He spoke in a bad mood, “It’s useless to play overtime with the current state of the team… The players will physically exhaust themselves very fast on such grounds.”
He was right. Even if Nottingham Forest accidentally allowed Barcelona to drag the game into overtime, they were not worried at all. Tony Twain had taken that possibility into account before the game. The Forest players were fit enough to ensure that they could complete in a 120-minute intense game, while Barcelona was not. Playing on such a terrible pitch required more stamina than usual. Playing an additional thirty minutes was more likely to increase the chances of their players getting injured.
No wonder Twain was not anxious after the goal concede.
Everyone was lamenting in the Barcelona technical area and the players on the pitch were no better. After Barcelona’s goal, they were in high spirits and wanted to build on the momentum. If they were to score a second goal, it would be almost impossible for Nottingham Forest to reverse the situation. Not only did they not score the second goal, they had unexpectedly let Nottingham Forest score another goal …
When they saw the football flew into the goal, their hearts instantly felt cold almost at the same time.
What scared them was not the score, but the game had gone on for seventy minutes, and they were still unable to adapt to the feeling of playing on this ground, while Nottingham Forest took to it with ease. What would be the outcome of the game if it were to continue like this? They did not dare think about it.
After the game resumed, Barcelona stepped up their defense against Mitchell. But this time Mitchell played even better. The Barcelona players could block him from shooting, but not necessarily prevent him from passing the ball. As a beacon for the front field, he could not only score goals himself, but also create all kinds of opportunities for his teammates. His height was his biggest weapon. At the same time, the skills he displayed in stopping and protecting the ball had caused the Barcelona defenders to be at a loss as to how to deal with him—once they were squeezed behind him, they could not tackle the ball without fouling.
Agbonlahor also got opportunities for two threatening shots due to Mitchell’s excellent performance.
To make matters worse, four minutes after the Forest team scored, Messi withdrew from the game after he sprained his knee in a scuffle. The departure of the team’s soul due to an injury hit Barcelona really hard. Many Barcelona players on the pitch had a lost look in their eyes… They really did not know how to play such a game.
The Catalan commentator began to scold Tony Twain and his Nottingham Forest team incessantly when Messi was injured. He accused them of no sportsmanship and destroying the players’ bodies in order to win.
The English commentator, on the other hand, gave a long breath and said, “A player was finally injured…. It would be incredible if no one was hurt playing on such a bumpy field.”
When Messi was injured, Guardiola finally could not stand it any longer. He rushed to the sidelines to look for the fourth official—the previous referee who was brought off the field due to the injury—and pointed to the field as he said to the fourth official, “Is this a venue where the Champions League can be played? It’s bumpy and causes my player to get hurt! Is this also allowed?”
Unfortunately, Twain was not on the sidelines. Otherwise, he would step forward to rebut without hesitation, “The UEFA agreed. Why are you kicking up a fuss?”
The fourth official shrugged helplessly, “There’s nothing we can do about it, Mr. Guardiola.”
“I’m going file a complaint to the UEFA after the game! How can something like this that violates the sports ethics be allowed to happen?”
“Hey, look!” John suddenly pointed to the technical area below, where Guardiola spoke to agitatedly to the fourth official. In fact, everyone could tell what he was saying by looking at his gesticulations—he was pointing at the pitch.
“Ha! Is he sore about losing?” Twain laughed in his seat. “Want to go crying to the UEFA mommy?”
“I guess he must be protesting to cancel the game or lodging a complaint with the UEFA!”
“What a coward!”
An immediate deafening hissing of Guardiola erupted in the north grandstand. Even Twain booed in the crowd. He could not go down to argue with Guardiola. He obviously could only boo here.
The fourth official reassured Guardiola, “We will record all these details in the game report. But for now, please go back first, Mr. Guardiola.”
Guardiola walked back with a black face. The boos grew increasingly louder, which he pretended not to hear.
Messi was eventually carried off on a stretcher with a painful expression. The team doctor’s expression also did not look good. Guardiola could not help but swear as he looked upon the scene. He did not find Twain when he looked up toward the stands with the loudest boos. The guy was hiding among a crowd of fans, dressed up as they were and could not be told apart.
The UEFA sent him to the stands as punishment. From the looks of it, it might even have been a favor to him…
Guardiola gritted his teeth and thought so.
Messi could not continue to play so Guardiola brought on the young midfielder, Busquets to strengthen and increase control of the midfield. Busquets, who stood at 1.89 meters tall, had outstanding physical qualities. His presence could change Barcelona’s weakness in competing for the headers. At the same time, his playing style was to the point which was very suitable for handling the ball on such a ground.
Before he went on, Guardiola patted Busquets on the shoulder and said, “Be careful, don’t get hurt…”
It was indeed a helpless act.
As the game went on, the Barcelona players played with fury. It was quite normal… Who would not be angry at watching his teammates get hurt due to this terrible field? Moreover, they might follow in Messi’s footsteps and could not calm down at the thought of it.
Even Piqué also set aside his relationship with Nottingham Forest and did not hesitate to make Mitchell fall during defense. His approach “won” the boos of Nottingham Forest. He did not find it awkward.
Nottingham Forest did not care what the Barcelona players thought. As always, they attacked Valdés’ goal and were bent on settling the fight within the ninety minutes.
But Busquets did prove to be effective on the field. His height and physical condition helped Barcelona to complete the midfield defense well. He and Piqué teamed up to defend against Mitchell in the grab for the headers, thus freeing Puyol while Agbonlahor had little chance.
So, Nottingham Forest began to try to make more use of the long shots to seek scoring opportunities. Such an attack tended to end hastily after it hit the front field.
Twain was very unhappy about it and waited a little longer to see if the team show no signs of change. The north grandstand rang out with shouts from the fans, “Be patient! We have the upper hand! Don’t shoot blindly!”
“Okay. Guys. I’m sure they heard it.” After shouting a few times, Twain told them to stop. He did not want to do it too explicitly.
As the game progressed, the Barcelona players began to gradually recall their defensive lines till everyone retreated to their half of the field. They did not have much energy left to attack now, so they naturally concentrated on the defense. They wanted to be able to hold on to the current score so that they could have at least thirty minutes more to fight again.
Dunn stepped out from the technical area when he felt it was time for the team to attack. So, he signaled to indicate for the team to fully press.
“The Nottingham Forest offensive is pretty fierce! Barcelona has fully retreated to defend against it…Let’s look at how many Barcelona players are in the penalty area when Nottingham Forest attacks. Eleven! They’re all back!” The English commentator was quite proud of it. “Who says that Nottingham Forest only plays conservative and utilitarian football? Such scenes are not common in offensive football, are they?”
Such a situation might be humiliating to the Barcelona fans, because they had always been the ones to compress their opponents like this in previous games. They would never display such pathetic side to them.
Mitchell felt greater pressure than before since 1.89-meter-tall kid came on. Sometimes he might win while they competed for the header, but the header that was sent out might not go accordingly to plan. It seemed that Barcelona had made special arrangements to target his height and headers…
If it continued, Mitchell did not know he could still contribute to the team with his headers. He had played almost the entire game. During the long time, he had been playing directly up against two of Barcelona’s best defenders and had expended more energy than he did in the last league game. His bounce and sprint s were not as powerful as before. Sometimes he could not guarantee that he could lock in his position.
When Bentley passed the ball over, he was pushed behind by Piqué at the last minute even though he had locked in his position earlier. When he struggled to squeeze back, he felt as if he was pushing against the head of a train and could not jump. He watched helplessly as Piqué headed the ball in front of him.
Barcelona fought back. His teammates were quick to defend. His spirit was willing, but his body was weak. He put his hands on his knees while he took big gulps of air. In the past, he always appeared as a substitute. Even though he was in the starting lineup in the last league game, he was also replaced midway and did not even complete the game. Now that he had persisted in such a fierce match for more than seventy minutes, he did not know if his body could sustain until then.
George Wood intercepted Silva’s pass to Bojan in the backfield. He did not hesitate to send out a direct long pass.
Mitchell, who had been gasping for air in front of him just now, wanted to jump and catch the ball, but was ruled in an offside position—he was focused on taking a break but forgot to look around at the situation.
“Is his size a weak spot for his stamina?” Twain muttered to himself in the stands.
Then Mitchell got another chance, but this time he lost it quickly under the joint defense of Piqué and Busquets after he controlled the ball under his feet. He was even crushed to the ground by the two players who were not as tall as himself, looking really vulnerable.
The Barcelona fans in the stands began to laugh at the stupid great hulk of a man.
“Aaron Mitchell has fully exposed his physical weakness. Being overly thin, he could not achieve anything under Barcelona’s tight defense. His performance is worrying. Perhaps the Forest team should consider replacing him?” Even the commentator began to question Mitchell. “He scored a goal and he did well enough for a young player who made his debut in such an important game. The Forest team’s coaching staff can’t ask him to do more because that’s impossible.”
Kerslake also noted that Mitchell’s performance during this period was not as active as it had been before. Apparently it had to do with Barcelona’s targeted defensive arrangements. Guardiola found that the situation had turned better after he replaced Messi with Busquets. So, he simply brought on Keita to replace Xavi and changed for the team to play the 4-4-2 formation with three defensive midfielders and one attacking midfielder. The Forest team’s ball was now difficult to deliver to Mitchell’s feet as Barcelona’s midfield defense had hardened. Another reason was that Mitchell’s fitness had declined by a lot…
He looked for Dunn to discuss, “Aaron looks like he can’t play anymore. The opponent’s defense against him is too tight. He has overly exerted himself physically… plus it is his first time playing in such an important game. I think he did a great job, going head to head with Puyol and Piqué for eighty minutes… Should we think about replacing him? The most important thing…” He hesitated for a bit before he said what he was worried about, “Tony insisted on putting him in the starting lineup. He performed wonderfully. But I’m afraid that the confidence he’s just built up with much difficulty, will be destroyed if he continues playing. You must know that Piqué and Puyol are not your average defenders. We may have been too hard on him to let him fight these two strong opponents…”
Dunn frowned. He was also considering whether to have Mitchell come off and bring on Ibišević who had better stamina and more superb shooting, to attack. But his mind would inevitably diverge in the other direction— what kind of choice would he make if he were Tony?
He realized that if he were Tony, he would probably insist on keeping Mitchell on the field.
In that case, would he also agree to do the same?
“David… I don’t think Tony would agree to bring him off…” Dunn was hesitant.
“But we’re the ones in charge of the team now, Dunn!” Kerslake was unhappy that Dunn used Tony Twain as an excuse.
Dunn also seemed to feel that he was too feeble. He could not always take Tony as his only guide. He thought about it and then made his choice, “Let us wait a little more. Give him five minutes…”
Kerslake nodded and stopped saying anything.
The game entered the 79th minute. Soon, there was only ten minutes left.
Once again, Nottingham Forest organized an attack.
Keita, Yaya Touré and Busquets formed a wall in front of Barcelona’s penalty area, blocking the Forest team’s attack.
The Forest team’s midfielders very much wanted to send the ball to Mitchell’s side, but under the opponent’s tight defense, even if the ball was passed over, Mitchell could not hold it. What was the use of passing the ball over when he would soon lose it?
Tiago took the ball and was a little confused. He wanted to send the ball out. but did not know who to pass it on to. Just as he was looking in all directions and hesitating, his ball was jabbed away by Keita.
The Barcelona fans in the stands suddenly burst into huge cheers, but their cheers had just come on before coming into an abrupt end because Keita’s ball was also intercepted by George Wood.
When Keita had ball successfully intercepted, Barcelona was just about to fight back, and their formation pressed slightly outwards.
Mitchell found himself in an offside position again, so he also followed suit and retreated. This time he could no longer let a teammate’s pass turn into an offside position. But he retreated a little more this once. Instead of acting as the beacon in front, he simply retreated to Agbonlahor’s position in one go—somewhat like a shadow striker. Did he over-compensate?
After George Wood intercepted the ball, he saw that Barcelona’s rear defensive line hurriedly pull back and widen the distance just enough from Mitchell who ran back. No one was marking him up until now!
Wood did not hesitate to pass the football over.
Piqué saw that the football was passed to Mitchell, and he suddenly pounced over. He had already seen through the tall guy. He knew the other man was close to collapse. As long as he put in a little more force in the back, his ball would be dropped.
Mitchell’s stamina was really exhausted. He only had two things in mind right now—to receive the ball and not lose it. As for where and who the opponent was plus what they were going to do to him, he did not think about it at all. His oxygen-deprived brain simplified his thinking and anything superfluous was stripped away.
Piqué rushed up and decided to speed up to bypass Mitchell from the side. He wanted to suddenly circle to the front to defend, intercept Mitchell’s ball and then seize the opportunity to counterattack Nottingham Forest!
It was a good idea, but…
After picking up the ball with his back to the goal, Mitchell used his heel to arrange the ball while he jumped up, stepped on the ball, turned around and pulled the ball at the same time. With Piqué as the axis, he turned one hundred and eighty degrees and evaded Piqué’s defense together with the ball! Piqué went around to the front had instead brought about Mitchell’s beautiful bypass!
“Wow! What a fantastic bypass!” The commentator could not help but call out, “A Marseille Turn!”
It was indeed visually stunning for a player with a height of 2.02 meters to produce a move as elegant as the waltz…
At this moment, Mitchell tossed the boss’s warning that he was “not allowed to play with fancy footwork” to the clouds. When the football came, more than two years of hard training allowed his body to automatically make the most suitable choice—he did not use a header nor his body. He just used his own footwork to deal with it.
After being bypassed by Mitchell, Piqué was a little dazed, and even forgot to return to defend as he stood in a daze at the same spot—he did not expect that when he pounced on him, the other man took advantage of it to bypass him. And he still did not know how the other side did it.
Thanks to the help of Busquets, Puyol had put his focus on Agbonlahor and the other. He did not expect Piqué who played so well in the whole game would be bypassed so easily off and be caught off guard.
Fortunately, Busquets was so focused that he rushed up to defend when Mitchell bypassed Piqué.
On the outside of the penalty area, Mitchell suddenly made a quick stop. After he pulled away from Busquets, he swung his leg to shoot!
Busquets reached his leg out to stop but did not think this was Mitchell’s feint!
He simply dodged and got away from Busquets to enter the penalty area!
“He bypassed two people in one breath! My God. What are we seeing? The 2.02-meter-tall player is willfully showing off his footwork in front of Barcelona’s defensive line! Is he possessed by Ibrahimović’s spirit? The world is going crazy!”
Busquets, who had been flashed past by Mitchell, could hardly believe his eyes. He slipped to the ground and turned to look back at Mitchell in amazement. But by this time, he could only see his back.
At the very moment, Mitchell and the Mitchell that Guardiola understood were completely different players. He did not make use of his height and header advantage but displayed his stunning footwork! Guardiola, who saw the scene off the pitch, suddenly felt like a failure as he sat in his chair—there was so much more about the kid that he did not know! Who exactly was this kid?!
Mitchell himself seemed to have entered a mysterious realm where he forgot himself. Perhaps he was too tired, and his physical instincts in turn dominated his consciousness. Whenever an opponent was directly in front of him, his legs would automatically make the movements, leading him all the way forward. He did not know the faces of the opponents that appeared in front of him. He only knew he must go around them!
“Son! Bypass him! Bypass him!” Mitchell’s father roared with excitement as he watched the scene in the stands.
Busquets’ blocking did not succeed in tackling the ball, but he at least bought some time for Puyol and the other defenders.
Seeing how Mitchell bypassed two players alone and enter the penalty area, Puyol and the rest of Barcelona’s defenders came up to encircle. They dropped their original defensive target and came charging aggressively at Mitchell as the target.
Mitchell did not even lift his head. After he entered the penalty area, he lifted his leg to shoot again!
Puyol took a big step forward to block in front of him, intending to stop the other player’s shot with his body.
It was actually a feint, with Mitchell hooking the football back with his left foot. The experienced Puyol had already anticipated his move, so he did not make a move. He just locked down on his position.
However, he did not realize that Mitchell was not done hooking the ball. He used his right foot to hook the football back to its original position again. With two consecutive hooks of the ball, he finally shook open a crack. Mitchell continued to drill inside! Puyol, on the other hand, was stuck in place because changes in the center of gravity happened too quickly.
“Three players!” The commentator roared excitedly.
Breaking through Puyol’s defense, Mitchell only had Valdés in front of him. He once again lifted his leg to seize the opportunity to shoot.
Whether he was doing it for real or still faking it this time, Valdés had to make a defensive move. He fell to the ground as he pounced toward the direction that Mitchell might have shot. With Alves making a slide tackle at the back against Mitchell, even if he fouled, he could not allow the kid to score so easily after tricking three Barcelona defenders!
Don’t even think to score such a beautiful goal in front of Barcelona!
It was almost as if Mitchell had eyes in the back of his head. Without looking back, he pulled the ball to the right and jumped with the ball. He tricked Valdés and dodged Alves’ slide tackle.
Although he evaded Alves, he also missed the first opportunity to shoot.
Alves tried to get up and grab the ball. But Mitchell tilted his body and his 2.02-meter-tall body pressed against him. This time he lifted his leg once again to shoot for the fourth time!
But it was not a feint…
“Mitchell! Mitchell! Mitchell!” From the moment he burst into the penalty area, the commentator kept shouting Mitchell’s name, each time louder than the last. Because if he did not shout louder, he could not hear the words he was shouting, even with a soundproofed headpiece on—the entire City Ground stadium was like an erupting volcano with the continuous thunderous cheers coming in one wave higher than the previous wave.
“Mitchell! Mitchell—goooooooooal!! A beautiful goal from the ground! A brilliant goal! A magnificent goal! A tall player who was more than two meters tall used his long legs to play with the Barcelona defenders as much as he liked! He single-handedly overturned Barcelona’s entire rear defensive line! It’s a miracle! Who would have thought that this tall player could have such a delicate footwork skill! Hey, Mr. Tony Twain, had he really been playing as a center back for the last seven years?” The English commentator was almost mad. On the other side, the Catalan commentator was completely silent.
“Even Messi couldn’t guarantee the control of the ball on such a bumpy pitch, but the 2.02-meter-tall kid did it! He levelled Barcelona’s penalty area like a giant! The football was meek like a sheep under his feet. It was like he was playing on a flat field! The City Ground stadium, which made Barcelona’s skillful players suffered greatly, was like the lawn in the back garden of his own home, where he drew a wonderful painting on it with his pair of long legs!”
“Listen to the cheers in the City Ground stadium——!”
“Aaron! Aaron! Aaron Mitchell!! If you don’t know the name of Nottingham Forest’s number 9 yet, you’re already outdated!”
It was the cries of the Nottingham Forest fans, which became the only voice in the City Ground stadium during this time period.
Tony Twain held his head in his hands among the crowd. He could hardly believe his eyes. He knew that Mitchell’s footwork skills were much better than his ability to shoot and dealing with physical confrontations. But he did not expect his footwork skills to be this good—to be able to keep the ball firmly under his feet on such a rough and bumpy terrain which made it difficult to control the ball and bypass four players as well as break away from the goalkeeper to finally send the ball into the empty goal.
Was this something which an average striker could do?
Was it just plain dumb luck? But good fortune only favored the people who were prepared.
Amid the unified cheers of the fans in the entire stadium, he seemed to see the ascendant of a new star player of tomorrow.
While his opponent, Guardiola sat paralyzed in his chair. He did not even have the strength to scold “who is this kid?”
If he really lost the game, he must admit he had no idea that Tony Twain would boldly deploy a new player in the game, and he knew nothing about the new player. It was the main reason for the failure of the game.
He thought the new player was of a great height and would not usually be good at his bounce and header. But Mitchell’s header from outside the penalty area gave him a slap in the face. Next he thought the player was outstanding in his height, jump and headers. That meant his footwork skills must be terrible. According to the general law, such analysis was immaculate and unassailable.
He was wrong again…
When the football went in, it was as if Mitchell woke up from a dream. He looked at the football quietly parked inside the goal and turned around to look at the Barcelona players lying on the ground in disorder. He still could not believe his eyes.
I scored the goal?
How did it get in?
It looks like… I’ve bypassed all of them?
Ah! I’m done for! The boss will definitely must scold me! He said I wasn’t allowed to show off my footwork skills… How can I forget!
The somewhat panicky Mitchell was startled by the huge cheers coming from behind him. He looked back at the grandstand with countless arms waving, and everyone roaring his name.
“Aaron! Aaron! Aaron Mitchell! Aaron Mitchell!! If you don’t know his name, you’re outdated!”
He could not find the boss among the crowd because all he could see was arms and excited faces. He did not know if the boss was in the cheering crowd.
He turned his eyes from the stands and when he turned his gaze to the field again, he saw his teammates rushing toward him excitedly with arms wide open.
Then he was pounced onto the ground. His ears were filled with hoarse shouts.
They were shouting, “Aaron, you bastard! You stole all of our limelight!!”
...
Chapter 818 - A Last-Ditch Struggle
“Aaron Mitchell! He has scored the most brilliant goal of the match! No, the most brilliant goal of the Champions League! He went past 4 players on his way to score the goal! At 2.02m tall, his techniques remind us of Ibrahimović, who is also over 1.9m tall. But Mitchell is even taller than him…”
Mitchell’s team mates flung their bodies onto him after he scored the goal.
Mitchell’s father looked at the player who had been weighed down by the other Forest players absent-mindedly. He was not like the other fans around him who were screaming and dancing in joy.
A fan next to him patted his shoulder and yelled excitedly, “You have a great son! You have a great son!”
Mitchell’s father forced a laugh in response, but quickly averted his sight back towards Barcelona’s goalpost.
Is that man on the pitch really that foolish son of his?
That son of his who would always go ‘heh heh’ when he laughs?
That son of his who has a weird voice?
That son of his who, as a child, was suspected to be suffering from ‘gigantism’ due to how he could not stop growing in height?
The only reason why he had sent his son to Nottingham Forest’s football academy was because Mitchell enjoyed playing football. Never in his wildest dreams did he expect his son to score not just one but two goals in a top-level European match…
He was overjoyed for his son when he scored the first goal.
The second goal was also a brilliant goal, but he felt like his brain was unable to comprehend everything that had happened after that goal.
Number 9. Mitchell.
That’s right, that’s his last name.
He then took a look at the face that carried an exuberant smile. It was indeed his son.
This all feels like… A dream…
My son has just become Nottingham Forest’s hero in the blink of an eye!
I am now the father of a hero!
Guardiola turned his head to look at his assistants seated next to him. He realized that they all had blank looks upon their faces.
It seemed like none of them have recovered from the shock induced by Mitchell’s goal.
There was nothing that any of them could say against such a brilliant goal.
But, it was not like the match has ended, right?
He stood up from his seat and readjusted his emotions. He then called Carles Puyol over to him.
“There’s still 10 more minutes!” He told Puyol as he pointed at his watch. “Nottingham Forest would be finished as long as we can score one more goal! One more goal! I don’t need anything more than that! One goal is enough!”
Puyol nodded his head. He knew what he had to do.
“Tell the others to concentrate fully on offense. Don’t think about defense right now. We have to score another goal against them!”
Puyol did as he was told. He called all his team mates over to him and relayed Guardiola’s words to them.
“The match is not over yet! Now’s not the time for our heads to drop! As long as we can score another goal, it would be game over for Nottingham Forest! The initiative is still on our hands!”
Barcelona had not given up on the match, but neither did Nottingham Forest lose themselves in their euphoria either.
When the players were celebrating the goal, Dunn and Kerslake reminded them from the side of the pitch, “Don’t let your guard down. The match is not over yet! I need all of you to put aside your feelings of happiness right now and pay attention to the defense! We are going to change our tactic from here on out to defense and counterattack!”
After the match restarted, Barcelona launched a flurry of attacks towards Nottingham Forest’s half of the pitch. They knew that if they do not bestir themselves right now, there would be no chance of them winning the match.
Nottingham Forest responded to Barcelona’s attacks by making their defense compact and trying to find the opportunity to hit them on the break.
Both teams played as though they had tossed their midfield aside. Barcelona kept passing long balls towards the front of the pitch, and similarly, Nottingham Forest’s defenders also kept passing the ball to their forward at the front. The ball kept flying about in the air.
Barcelona was making use of a playing style that they were not good at. However, long passes were right down Nottingham Forest’s alley.
Mitchell was utterly exhausted after scoring his last goal. He could not even get off the pitch after the celebration of his goal due to a sprain on his leg. Hence, Dunn took him off for Ibišević.
As he hobbled to the side of the pitch under the assistance of the team’s medical staff, the fans in the stadium all stood to their feet and applauded his performance.
“Aaron Mitchell. He has scored a brace in this match. If Nottingham Forest were to end up winning Barcelona, then he is surely the biggest contributor to their victory. His performance in this match can be regarded as perfect. The media might not have given him a score for his performance yet, but the fans at the stadium have all given him a 10 for his performance today! Look at all the fans who have rose to their feet! Well done to the 20 year-old Aaron Mitchell!”
Mitchell could not believe that the scenes he fantasized about that very night had actually turned into reality.
He lifted his head to look at the stands before raising his two hands slowly to thank the fans for their applause.
Tears welled up in his eyes. He felt like he was the happiest man alive in the whole wide world right now…
“Well done, Aaron.” Dunn stood before him and looked at him with a smile on his face.
Mitchell took a step forward and gave Dunn a hug.
“Rest up. Everyone’s waiting to give you a hug.” Dunn patted him twice on the back lightly.
Mitchell noticed his team mates on the bench who were winking at him. A smile emerged on his weary face.
The scenes at Forest’s bench might make one feel warm inside, but the scenes on the pitch would fire one up instead. Nottingham Forest and Barcelona were still having a heated battle with each other.
Barcelona’s offense might look ferocious, but it did not rattle Nottingham Forest’s defense in the slightest. They kept attacking Forest from all directions, but their attacks did not lead to any results. Instead, it was Forest who nearly scored another goal due to the void left behind in Barcelona’s defense after their players moved forward to attack. If not for the fact that Forest was unlucky during their attacks, the score would definitely not remain 3:1.
Guardiola stood by the side of the pitch and watched the match nervously. He would become very enraged every time Forest went on the counterattack. There was nothing else that he could do besides feeling enraged.
Barcelona has to press forward and attack, and it is only natural that Forest would try to go on the counterattack. Forest were no fools. With all the Barcelona players moving forward to join in the offense, it was the perfect opportunity for them to go on the counterattack. How could they not make full use of it?
All he could pray for was that his team would score a goal quickly.
His team just needs one goal to pronounce Forest dead…
Unfortunately, Barcelona were not able to get their wish. Nottingham Forest did not give them the slightest chance to score a goal.
Five minutes had passed since the match restarted.
Barcelona was a team that took pride in its offensive prowess, but right now they were being kept outside of Nottingham Forest’s penalty box, and were only able to attempt long shots at goal.
The Barcelona players started becoming more and more agitated as the end of the match drew near. The players from both teams started to have physical contact with one another more often as well. However, there was something different about the physical contact that the players shared. There seemed to be a note of anger in the players’ actions every time they had physical contact with an opposing player.
Bojan Krkić was pushed to the ground by Wood when he tried to maintain possession of the ball before Forest’s penalty box.
The Barcelona fans started booing to show their displeasure towards Wood’s actions, and the Barcelona players all gave up playing in the match as well. They raised their arms into the air to indicate that Wood had committed the foul. Every single one of them waited for the referee to blow on his whistle, but the referee did not react at all!
Nottingham Forest did not care about what the Barcelona players were doing at the moment. Wood passed the ball over to Lennon, and Lennon initiated a counterattack by bringing the ball forward.
Their actions snapped the Barcelona’s players back into the game. Yaya Touré charged towards Lennon and tackled him from behind as revenge!
Lennon fell to the ground and rolled about as he clasped onto his ankle. It looked like a serious injury.
This time, the referee blew his whistle. He deemed that Barcelona had committed a foul!
The Barcelona players had initially intended to rush over to the referee to question his decision over not penalizing Wood’s actions as a foul earlier. However, they changed their target en route to the referee and dashed towards the spot where Yaya Touré had fouled Lennon instead.
That was because Yaya Touré and George Wood both had their hands on each other’s necks over there.
“Ah! Look at what’s happening on the pitch! George Wood and Yaya Touré have gotten into a confrontation!”
Sergio Busquets, who was 1.89m tall, ran up and shoved Wood on the chest. It was unclear if he did what he did to stop the fight or to vent his frustrations.
“Take off your hands, bastard!”
The Forest players were not willing to take things lying down after seeing their captain get humiliated. Kompany bumped his head against Busquet’s, and the two looked like two angry bulls in a fight. Their eyes were bloodshot and there was hot air being emitted from their nostrils.
“Do you f*cking want to die? You bastard!” Kompany chastised Busquets.
“Shameless son of a b*tch!” Busquets did not reply in English but in Catalan instead.
In truth, the Barcelona players have been fuming over the terrible state of the pitch for a while now. Their actions have started becoming rough when Messi was taken off the pitch due to an injury earlier. The fact that their team was now a goal down only added to their frustrations.
They were looking for a way to vent their vexation all this time, and now they finally found one. Nottingham Forest has given them the chance to vent when Wood committed a ‘suspected foul’ on their player earlier. None of the Barcelona players were willing to let this chance slip away.
“Hey! Stop fighting!”
The Barcelona players might be shouting that, but they were secretly punching Wood behind his back.
“Are you guys going to get rough after seeing that you can’t win? I’m not afraid of you!”
“Pull them apart at once!”
“What do you want to do?”
The players from both teams were at each other’s throats. The scene was utterly chaotic.
The Forest fans at the stands started booing the Barcelona players. There were even coins, lighters and other objects being thrown towards the pitch.
The security officers at the stands were on high alert. They were afraid that the more ‘extreme’ fans would rush down from the stands to join in the fray on the pitch.
That would be terrible…
Dunn did not expect the situation to go out of hand. He was dumbstruck and did not know what to do.
Kerslake was the one who was shouting by the side of the pitch, “George! You are the captain! Calm down right now!”
No one on the pitch could hear what he was shouting about. All the players were lost in their anger, and the only thoughts in their heads were how to teach the opposing players a lesson.
Gerard Piqué from Barcelona and Jonathan Woodgate from Forest were the few players with a clear head. They threw themselves into the fight that was going on between their team mates and tried to pull as many players away from the brawl as possible.
Wood appeared to be livid. He did not utter a single word and just glowered at Yaya Touré. He looked to be trying to find an opportunity to grab hold of Touré.
If Yaya Touré were to be caught by Wood, he would definitely get punched in the face.
Piqué was well aware of the kind of temper that Wood has. He had seen him throw his temper numerous times during his time as a player at Forest. Wood would always be the first person to get in their opponent’s face whenever his team mates got fouled.
Perhaps that is his way of protecting his team mates…
Between the two troublemakers, Piqué chose to run up to Wood first. He wrapped his hands around Wood’s waist and forcefully dragged him away from Yaya Touré.
“George! George!” He shouted. “You need to calm down! You are the captain! You can’t be the one getting into fights! Calm… down!” With concerted effort, he dragged Wood away from the fray.
Wood continued to struggle in his arms. He wanted to rush back towards Touré to teach him a lesson.
Meanwhile, Puyol was the player to drag Touré away. He had also wrapped his arms around Touré just like Piqué had done to Wood.
Both Puyol and Piqué believed that Wood and Touré would likely fight to the death if they were to loosen their grip.
Twain swore after he saw what was happening on the pitch. However, none of the angry fans seated around him understood what he said, because he had sworn in his Sichuan dialect.
“F*ck your mother!”
He was not reprimanding the Barcelona players. He was reprimanding his own players instead.
John and Bill’s faces had gone red in fury. They kept yelling and scolding the Barcelona players at the top of their voices.
Twain wished he was at the technical area rather than the stands. If he were at the technical area, he would have rushed onto the pitch and stopped the fight between the players.
Nottingham Forest was most likely going to progress to the next round of the competition. A wise thing to do at a time like this was to rile the Barcelona players up and let their players get penalized with yellow cards for committing fouls.
Forest should not be the ones getting riled up as well!
What are Dunn and David doing?
Pepe is not able to play in the next match! How are we supposed to play in the semi-finals if any other player on our team picks up more yellow cards and gets suspended?
F*ck, are all of you bastards on drugs or something? Why are you all so damn agitated?
The referee kept blowing on his whistle to signal for everyone to calm down. The conflict abruptly started again just when things looked under control, but eventually the players were able to calm down and stop fighting. However, both Wood and Touré still had to be held back by another player, because the looks on their faces still suggested that they were not ready to walk away from the fight just yet…
Forest’s medical staff had already run onto the pitch to treat Lennon during the confrontation between the players.
Once the situation was completely under control, the referee called Touré and Wood over to him. Both players carried looks of hostility on their faces when they stood next to each other, but they did not get into a fight before the referee.
The referee fished out a deck of cards from his pocket. Then, he flashed the red one at Yaya Touré to penalize him for his malicious tackle from behind.
Touré protested against the referee’s decision, “Why have you not penalized their player for committing a foul on us?”
The referee paid no heed to him. He turned around and flashed the red card at Wood!
Wood knew he was going to get shown a red card. He had already walked to the side of the pitch before the referee flashed the red card at him.
The fans at the stands applauded him when he walked off the pitch. They saw him as a hero who stood up for his team mates.
He helped us take our anger out on those Barcelona players!
Kerslake chased after Wood when he saw him leave the pitch. He personally walked him back to the locker room because he was afraid that Wood would get into another fight with Touré on the way back.
On the way over to the locker room, Kerslake kept patting Wood on the head to chide him for being too rash earlier. The managers clearly saw things from a different perspective than the fans.
Dunn hung his head by the side of the pitch. He did not know what kind of expression he should make after all that has happened.
Guardiola, on the other hand, was very upset with the referee’s decision. He felt that the decision was biased against his team, and that they were ‘unfairly treated’.
He pulled on the fourth official and questioned him, “Why have there not been any penalties given to their team for the fouls they made on our players? Why are we the only ones who got penalized? And we even got a red card for it! Why was only one player penalized for their team? What about Kompany?”
He soon found out why Yaya Touré had to be given a red card and why George Wood was so indignant.
Aaron Lennon was carried off the pitch on a stretcher. He was badly injured and would not be able to continue playing in the match. Gary Fleming, Forest’s medical doctor, gestured to the managers to make a substitution as he walked off the pitch alongside Lennon.
“That was one nasty foul. The referee has made the right decision to show Touré a red card!” The British commentator was furious.
“This match has really been… Horrible.” There was a twinge of helplessness in the Catalan commentator’s voice. He knew the match was over for Barcelona. They were not going to qualify for the next round…
Wood and Touré were both penalized with red cards for their actions. Kompany and Busquets were also shown yellow cards for their involvement. Numerous other players were all given verbal warning as well.
The entire confrontation had lasted for 5 minutes. When the situation was finally brought under control, the match was already at the 90th minute and was about to enter stoppage time.
The fourth official was able to shake off Guardiola after a moment of struggle. He raised the board to indicate the number of stoppage time that would be added in the game:
Nine minutes!
Deafening boos erupted in the City Ground Stadium once again.
“Why don’t you f*cking add 45 minutes to the game? Rotten referee!” The Forest fans chastised the referee’s decision at the stands.
“The confrontation from earlier lasted 5 minutes. That’s why the stoppage time is exceptionally long… Is there still a chance for Barcelona to win the match?”
Not a chance.
Dunn put Rafinha on the pitch to replace the injured Lennon, and he also reassigned Nicolas Nkoulos to play as the center back.
With the addition of Nkoulos, Forest’s defense was now made up of five defenders. It was just like a bulky iron chain that had completely sealed up Akinfeev’s goalpost.
The Barcelona players were all affected by the confrontation from earlier. Their emotions and movements were erratic, and they were not able to perform at their best. They chose to do long passes to the front of the pitch instead of building up their attacks slowly from the back during their offense.
The boos from the stands turned into cheers the moment the referee blew on the whistle to signal the end of the match.
All the Forest fans celebrated their victory. They had triumphed over Barcelona 3:1 at home. They not only exacted revenge on Barcelona with this victory, they also proved that Nottingham Forest, who was the two-time defending champion of the Champions League, was still a strong team.
“The match is over! Nottingham Forest has just eliminated the 2009-10 Champions Barcelona after eliminating the 2008-09 Champions Inter Milan! Those two teams were the champions in the two seasons where Nottingham Forest failed to become champions in the Champions League! They have now eliminated both of those champions… Nottingham Forest is truly the ‘Champions Killer’! Tony Twain said at the start of the season that we would know how good a champion team is by letting them play a game against Nottingham Forest! His team has certainly shown what they are capable of!”
...
Chapter 819 - Well Done
Everyone at the stadium was cheering when the referee blew on the whistle to signal the end of the match.
Twain stealthily left the stands behind once the whistle went off.
UEFA might have barred him access to the locker room and the pitch prior to the start of the match, but they did not ban him from getting into contact with his players after the match has ended.
He was finally able to bask in the joy of their victory over Barcelona after being banished to the stands for more than 90 minutes.
If possible, Twain hoped that he would be able to do a handshake with Guardiola. He wanted to enjoy the treatment that a victor deserves.
Mitchell, who had been sitting at the bench after being taken off the pitch, tossed the towel that was draped around his neck onto the floor. He then bolted onto the pitch to give his team mates a hug.
As he made his way about the pitch to hug his team mates, he realized that a crowd of reporters was constantly on his trail, and they would surround him no matter where he went.
“Heh. Aaron, you are famous now.” Akinfeev patted Mitchell on the head before leaving him behind.
Mitchell was left to deal with the horde of reporters coming in for him alone. He did not know what he should do.
“Mitchell, can you answer a few questions for me?”
“Can you share what was on your mind when you scored that last goal?”
“Is it a challenge for you to play as a forward now when you have been playing as a center back previously?”
“This is the very first time that you are representing Forest in the Champions League, and you were able to score two goals in the match. Is there anything you’d like to say?”
“Ah… Uh…” Mitchell was at a loss of words. It took him a while to gather his thoughts and answer the reporters’ question one by one.
As a ‘newcomer’ who just made his debut as a professional footballer for Forest, Mitchell was still inexperienced when it comes to dealing with reporters. He did not know how to reject others and answered all the questions that were thrown at him.
If this goes on, he would be stuck here answering questions all day long…
Right then, a voice rang out by the side of the crowd, “How long do you plan on asking him questions? My player can’t even return to the locker room to bathe and change his clothes. If he were to catch a cold because of this, then don’t even think about interviewing any of my players again in the future.”
Mitchell and the reporters turned their heads towards the source of the voice. They saw Tony Twain standing by the side with a dark face.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the interview time is over.”
The moment the reporters saw the fiendish Twain appear before them, they knew that their interview time was over. They would not be able to get any ‘ground-breaking’ scoop from Mitchell now that Twain was here…
The crowd of reporters dispersed at once.
Soon, only Twain and Mitchell were left at the scene.
At the sight of Twain’s dark face, Mitchell instantly remembered the warning that the Boss gave him at the start of the match.
“If you dare flaunt your techniques during the game, I’d take you off the pitch right away, even if it’s only the start of the match.”
He might not have flaunted his techniques at the start of the match, but he still flaunted them towards the end. He knew that he had went against the boss’s wishes.
He did not know what kind of chastisement would be thrown against him. The happiness that he felt from scoring the two goals had already been tossed somewhere far away…
“B-Boss…”
“You forgot everything that I told you, right?” Instead of praising Mitchell for scoring a brilliant goal in the match, Twain seemed to be intent on reproaching him instead.
“I… I did it instinctively…”
Twain watched as Mitchell said nothing for a while. He then patted Mitchell on the shoulder before walking away.
Dunn noticed Twain’s figure on the pitch from the corner of his eye as he was giving an interview to the reporters. He saw him discuss something with Mitchell.
Dunn immediately recalled the words that Twain had told Mitchell prior to the start of the match. He was worried that Twain would go over and reprimand Mitchell for his actions. Thus, he shoved the reporters out of the way and approached the duo with the intention of saying a word for Mitchell. He was going to pin all the blame on himself by saying something like, ‘I was the one who asked him to do that’.
Before he could reach them however, Twain had already turned around and was walking towards him.
“Tony.”
“Hey, Dunn. Congratulations. You did very well in the match.” Twain’s originally dark face brightened up. He smiled exuberantly at Dunn and looked like a completely different person than the one who stood before Mitchell earlier.
“Ah… Thanks. Well, Tony… I saw you and Mitchell…” Dunn’s focus was still on Mitchell. He found Mitchell to be a very gifted player, and he was worried that Twain would destroy his confidence by giving him a dressing-down.
“That lad… Did well. He has what it takes to become a football star in the future.” Twain turned his head around to look at Mitchell, who continued to stand rooted at the spot where they just had their conversation.
“Huh?” Dunn was surprised to hear Twain say the words that he did.
“What’s with that response?”
“I thought you would admonish him for going against your wishes…”
Twain laughed. “A player who is able to break free of the restrictions imposed on him at the start of the match and perform to the best of his abilities in a way that no other player can, is a player who will turn out to be a superstar in the future. If not for that ‘eureka moment’ of his towards the end of the match, I think I would still be sitting at the stands now and the match would have gone into extra time. So, why would I scold him?”
“But I saw you with a dark face earlier…”
“I just don’t want him to get ahead of himself.” Twain smiled slyly. “You can be the one to heap compliments on him. I’d be in charge of playing the devil.”
“Oh, you…!” Dunn did not know what to say to Twain.
Twain left with a grin on his face. He still needed to find Guardiola for a handshake after all.
Dunn clearly saw through Twain’s ‘scheme’, because he told him, “Don’t bother. He left the moment the match ended. I was the one who shook his hand.”
“Huh?” Dunn’s words burst Twain’s bubble.
“But… If you really want to get your handshake… You can go to the press conference.”
Twain thought about it for a moment. UEFA probably wouldn’t care about what he does now that the match has ended.
He nodded his head. “All right. I’d go to the press conference. I reckon there’d be many questions for me from the press.”
“Are you ready to handle all those questions?”
Twain waved his hands dismissively. “One has to act based on the situation! Plus, I’m not scared of those reporters. In fact, you should pray for them instead.”
Dunn smiled as he shook his head. He then left Twain behind and walked straight to Mitchell before patting him on the back.
“Ah, Assistant Manager Dunn!” Mitchell instantly felt better once he saw Dunn.
“Well done, Aaron. But these are not words from me.” Dunn secretly pointed at the person behind him.
Mitchell looked in the direction that Dunn pointed at and saw Twain.
“Boss?”
“He doesn’t want you to get ahead of yourself. You still have a long way to go.”
Twain and Dunn have certainly allocated their roles very well. Twain is responsible for being imposing before the players, whereas Dunn is responsible for helping him come off as being much more friendly and approachable than what he might appear to be in front of the players. Doing so allows Tony Twain to maintain a ‘perfect’ image before the players. He is imposing like a father should be, and also kind like a mother would be…
Mitchell finally understood that his boss had his best intentions at heart. In truth, he had actually felt a little upset with the way Twain looked at him earlier. He is, after all, the person who helped the team win the match! He did not deserve to be treated that way by Twain.
He nodded his head forcefully. “I understand now, Assistant Manager Dunn. Thank you.”
“If you really want to thank someone, thank him.” Dunn smiled at him, before turning around and walking away.
When Twain made his way past the mixed zone, numerous reporters chanted his name. However, he did not stop in his tracks. He only pointed at the front and said, “I’d see all of you at the press conference later. Ask your questions then.”
After hearing his words, there were a few reporters who decided to give up on their interviews with the players. They left the mixed zone and headed over to the venue for the post-match conference.
Twain had only sat inside the conference room for a short while before the reporters began to stream in and take their seats one after another.
Everyone was waiting for the arrival of Guardiola, but he did not show up for quite some time.
Twain was not angry that Guardiola was late. There was not a twinge of anger on his face. Rather, he carried a smile the whole time as he waited at his seat. He would even make eye-contact and gestures whenever he spotted a reporter whom he knew.
The reporters soon got annoyed with how long they had to wait for Guardiola. Just as they began to whisper amongst themselves, Guardiola finally showed up in the conference room. He clearly looked displeased, especially after seeing Tony Twain at the stage instead of Dunn or Kerslake.
What made him even more enraged was the fact that the man before him was smiling!
Does he not know what he did to my team? He actually has the audacity to smile?
Guardiola felt like turning around and walking straight out the door after seeing the smile on Twain’s face. However, he decided against it when he thought about how he had to display poise before the reporters. Additionally, he could not become a person like Tony Twain, who has no manners.
He swallowed the animosity that he held towards Tony Twain and took a seat.
“Since both managers are here, we shall commence the press conference right now…” The press officer said with a forced smile on his face. He could tell that there was tension between the two managers.
Guardiola, who was the manager of the away team for the match, spoke first. “There’s nothing I want to say. We lost. However, everyone saw the reason why we lost. I’m proud of the performance that my team put in.”
It was Twain’s turn next.
All the reporters were keen to hear what sort of ‘brilliant’ comments he would say this time round. They were certain he would not have anything good to say.
“I’m happy that we won.” Twain said with a grin. “It proves that we are stronger than Barcelona, and that we are more qualified to progress into the semi-finals. I am very pleased with my team’s performance today. They were able to dominate every aspect of the game without my guidance. It was the kind of match that I hoped to see.”
The reporters were upset with the comments that the two managers made so far. There was no element of hostility in their words.
Nobody’s here to watch the two of you get along with each other!
When it was time for the reporters to ask questions, one reporter instantly threw a sharp question at Twain, “Mr. Tony Twain. The Barcelona players mentioned numerous times about how the terrible pitch has affected their performance for the match during our interviews with them. What are your thoughts on this issue? Do you think that it is inappropriate for you to suddenly announce that you are going to change the turf just a few days before the match?”
The reporter who asked the question was from Catalonia. He looked hell-bent on getting a comment from Twain regarding the state of the pitch.
Twain replied slowly, “There’s nothing inappropriate about what we did. We provided a report to UEFA prior to the match, and they permitted our actions. Thus, there are no problems whatsoever. Are you questioning UEFA’s decision?”
“No. I just find it odd as to why you would only change the turf a few days before this match is due to kick off.”
“That’s because this is the time when we usually change our turf. We played in an away game before this match, and that delayed our plans to change the turf. If not, we would have finished changing the turf by now.”
Twain pushed all the blame to the Premier League’s match schedule. He had no intentions of shouldering any blame for the poor state of the turf.
“You said you changed the turf. But your stadium looks as though you did not even lay out a turf over it.” The reporter was still relentless in questioning Twain about the turf.
“We are a small club and we have been having tight finances recently. We cannot afford to buy a better turf, so we can only settle for something that isn’t as good.” Twain threw out his hands before him and looked helpless, as though he was the victim in this situation. “We can’t possibly let Barcelona play on mud. So, we still put the turf over it even if it’s low in quality. But, we do know that others would make fun of us for our poor pitch, which is why the club is considering to purchase two sets of high quality turfs. I promise that such a situation would not happen again in the future!”
Twain was serious about his words. After all, such a situation could never happen a second time. It was a scheme that he could only use once…
He would not have thought about altering the pitch if their team was not in such a dire situation after the first leg of competition.
His words rendered any other reporter who still wanted to question him about the turf speechless.
Guardiola was upset with how things had turned out, but he knew that there wasn’t much that he could say or do. “I believe that UEFA should look into establishing a standard that all pitches have to follow in the future to ensure the quality of the pitches that we play on…”
Twain concurred with Guardiola’s proposition shamelessly. “I completely agree with Mr. Guardiola’s opinion. UEFA should indeed come up with measures to standardize the quality of the pitches that we play on. We should never have to let players play on rotten pitches in the Champions League ever again.”
The Catalan reporters all wished they could run up to the stage and slap Twain on the face. They have seen many shameless people in their lives, but they have never seen anyone as shameless as Twain!
Guardiola was so enraged by Twain’s words that he shuddered all over his body.
He was not good with verbal confrontations. He did not know what to say to Twain, and he also found him to be someone he could never reason with.
There were a few reporters who felt that they were not going to be able to get any interesting scoop from the managers if they continued to probe them about the turf. Therefore, they decided to shift the focus onto the players who got injured in the match.
“Messi has sprained his knee. I do not know the extent of his injury right now. As for how he picked up the injury? Isn’t that very obvious? It’s impossible to not pick up an injury while playing on such a terrible pitch!” Guardiola became agitated as he said those words.
Messi was a player that he really liked and relied on. How could he not be indignant now that he was injured, and badly, from the looks of it?
“He had sprained his ankle without any physical contact from any other player on the pitch!”
When it was Twain’s turn to respond, the very first thing that he said was, “My players have not gotten injured while playing on the pitch. Lennon was only injured because of Yaya Touré’s foul on him. I think that foul by Touré was truly very malicious. I don’t know why he actually wanted to protest against the referee’s decision. If I were him, I’d most likely have run off the pitch before the referee showed the red card. Every experienced footballer knows how dangerous a tackle from behind is!”
Twain was equally enraged when speaking about Lennon’s injury.
“As for my opinion on Wood’s red card incident, I have to say that I fully support the actions that he took then!” Twain might have been upset with Wood’s impetuousness when he was at the stands earlier, but he has to show support for his player before the press right now. “He had only acted out of concern for his team mate. I understand him completely.”
Guardiola could not hold his emotions in any longer. He scoffed, “So it’s reasonable to hit another player to you?”
“And you are saying that it’s reasonable to tackle another player’s ankle from behind?” Twain did not even turn his head to look at Guardiola when he spoke. “Would Wood have been that rash if not for Touré’s tackle?”
“If the referee had not failed to penalize Wood’s foul on Krkić, would my players have acted the way that they did?”
Twain laughed coldly. “That’s the job of the referee. I’m not able to make a comment on that. If your players felt so upset about that, why don’t they tackle the referee from behind? Do they think they are so great after venting their anger on Lennon? Who doesn’t know how to do a tackle? Touré’s action is completely devoid of sportsmanship!”
Twain was just like a thief, and he was calling another thief ‘thief’.
Guardiola realized that he could not triumph over Twain when it came to arguing. Nottingham Forest was the team that did not display sportsmanship first, but Tony Twain made it sound as though Forest was the victim, and that Barcelona was the team without sportsmanship…
There were many reporters who were also upset with Twain’s comments. The Catalan reporters started booing to show their displeasure and to protest against Twain.
Twain definitely did not give up on the chance to make things difficult for the Catalan reporters now that he was the victor of the match. The Catalan press has constantly criticized Twain for these two matches. It was payback.
He pointed at the Catalan reporters who were booing him. “I wonder who was it who said that their style of football is a kind of art, and that the football that Nottingham Forest played was ‘ugly’, because it was ‘defensive’ and ‘conservative’ football? Look at the score and look at how the match progressed. We dominated the game and drubbed Barcelona throughout. Our possession was at 68% at one point in the match. Be it shots or passes made, Nottingham Forest was the team with the better stats for the match. Let’s not forget Aaron Mitchell’s last goal. He went past four players! He went past every single player on Barcelona’s defense! Do any of you dare to call his goal ‘ugly’?”
Twain’s words were powerful and they resonated in the conference room. Forest’s performance for the match could certainly be regarded as ‘perfect’. It not only added weight to his words, it also gave him the confidence to confront the Catalan reporters.
As Twain had expected, none of the Catalan reporters stood up to rebuke his words. The team that they supported had lost completely in the match earlier. The Barcelona player who got the highest score in the post-match ratings was Piqué. He received a score of 7 for his performance in the match. However, his performance was definitely not one that could be seen as a form of art.
Additionally, what humiliated the Catalan media even more was the fact that Piqué, who was the man of the match for the Barcelona team, was groomed in Nottingham Forest. The style of football that he plays bears the mark of ‘Nottingham Forest’, and he was also a player who still maintained a good relationship with many of the current Forest players. It was not wrong to call him a Nottingham Forest player, even.
Twain threw the criticisms and mockeries that he had received from the Catalan media back at them. When he was done throwing a temper, he stood up and left the room with a dark face.
Twain’s departure made things awkward for Guardiola. He should have been the one to walk away from the press conference and make things difficult for Tony Twain, but now Twain was the one who had made things difficult for him…
Guardiola sat unmoving at his seat for a moment. Eventually, he stood to his feet with a displeased look on his face and left the room without saying a word.
A grudge between two managers was born.
...
Chapter 820 - A Scoundrel Realized His Ambition
The game between Nottingham Forest and Barcelona ended but the story was far from over.
A day later, the Barcelona Football Club filed a complaint with the UEFA about the quality of the turf at the City Ground stadium. At the same time, Nottingham Forest submitted a complaint document which they had worked on for a week about the issue with the referee in the first leg.
In any case, the battle between the two sides would continue on to a higher level.
Barcelona protested against Nottingham Forest’s use of a method which lacked sportsmanship to help them win the game. They had brazenly changed the turf at the last minute. Mourinho used to sprinkle sand on the turf at Stamford Bridge when he was at Chelsea to deal with Barcelona. But generally, people simply could not see the sand spilled on the pitch. Only the people who personally played on the field would know how uncomfortable it was and could not find the reason why for a moment. Tony Twain’s ploy was too blatant. Was he afraid that he did not leave enough evidence?
The English media taunted Barcelona for being a sore loser. “They had already lost the game and yet they still talked about the terrible pitch condition and Nottingham Forest resorting to tricks. Did they still want the UEFA to award them the victory?”
The Catalan media hit back, “We just want to preserve the spirit of sportsmanship in professional football! A sacred football match must not be tarnished by the conduct of such a vile character!”
When the Barcelona players and coaches were interviewed after the game, they all blamed their loss on the City Ground stadium’s poor pitch. It appeared as long as the pitch was fine, it was as they would have definitely won. In fact, they just wanted to draw attention to the quality of the turf on the City Ground stadium.
The Nottingham Forest Football Club remained unmoved. They alleged that the UEFA had agreed for them to change the turf. The quality of the turf was really a little worse for wear, but there was no other choice due to the club’s financial constraints … But they had learned their lesson this time and promised that this would never happen again. If they did not believe it, the UEFA officials and the Catalan media were welcomed to inspect and provide pointers for the first leg of the semifinal match…
The UEFA was also forced to suffer in silence this time. In fact, anyone with a normal IQ could see what Tony Twain was up to. He stated that the financial constraints had caused the quality of the turf to be so poor. Did it mean that it had to be really bad? Nottingham Forest was also an English Premier League club. How could they not have two sets of standard turf? It was pure nonsense! He deliberately did not take it out, just so that they could pit against Barcelona. This point was already everyone’s common understanding. Even if the Nottingham Forest fans were interviewed, nine out of ten would think so, and the one person who did not think so was lying.
But the UEFA really could not punish Nottingham Forest, because the Nottingham Forest Football Club’s change of turf was agreed upon and approved by them. They would have to take on the responsibility first in order to punish the Forest team. That way everyone would find themselves in an awkward situation and it would not look good on them. And more importantly, Tony Twain did this in full compliance with the procedure. No fault could be found.
Barcelona’s complaint made them looked like a sore loser.
Platini privately supported the Catalan side. His and the other top brass’ relationship with Barcelona was really good. But he must handle the matter impartially, or he would lose his prestige and undermine the UEFA’s reputation. The result of the impartial handling of the matter was that Nottingham Forest was innocent of any wrongdoing.
Finally, the UEFA issued a public statement saying that it would inspect the quality of all fields that would host the Champions League games in the future, and that any clubs which did not pass the review would be penalized. The “home ground would be banned.”
“… We believe that as the highest level of tournament between the European clubs, the venues that host the matches should also be of the appropriate standard. This should never be in doubt. For example, we have asked that the venue for the Champions League final must be able to accommodate at least sixty thousand people, which is a mandatory requirement. Any stadium that does not meet the requirement will not be considered. Of course, we can’t use the number of seats as a criterion for venues that are not for the finals, but the quality of the turf is still necessary… Yes. We don’t want to see the scene from the City Ground stadium last week to happen again. I admit that the official launch of the rule has something to do with the game between Barcelona and Nottingham Forest. It was an unusual game… No, we will not impose any punishment on the Nottingham Forest Football Club. They were within the limits of the regulation…”
Following this remark, the press spokesman said it rather helplessly. This was tantamount to a euphemistic expression of the UEFA’s attitude that Nottingham Forest had found a loophole with the UEFA. Since we can’t punish them now, it does not mean that we can’t punish them in the in the future. Anyway, we have taken note of this, and one day we will settle the score.
After the new rule was established, the Catalan media was still unwilling to forgive and complained that Barcelona would have made it to the top four if it had been introduced a week earlier.
The English media taunted them and said, “If Barcelona had learned of Tony Twain’s move earlier, they wouldn’t have to complain like that.”
Guardiola was expressionless during an interview. It was clear that losing the game in such a wretched way still left him brooding a week later. “The UEFA did the right thing, albeit a little late. I just hope that Barcelona’s defeat can be a source of power to drive progress in the Champions League—what the viewers and fans in front of the television as well as the spectators who go the stadiums to watch the highest level of European competition definitely do not want to watch that kind of game.”
That kind of game he referred was certainly the second leg match between Nottingham Forest and Barcelona. The football flew back and forth in the air from start to finish. There was no beauty to speak of. The big-name star players did not play normally, which disappointed those people who wanted to enjoy their wonderful performances. It had zero technical highlights and the tactics used were subpar. A typical game whereby “the results are important than everything else” was really boring.
But there were four goals in a game like this. And there were two goals that had made it to the top ten best goals in the Champions League this season. In this respect, the game was better than a lot of those thrilling to watch games but with dull results…
On the other side of the sea, Tony Twain was surrounded by a crowd of reporters at the training ground, wanting him to talk about the new UEFA rules.
Twain smiled and agreed with the UEFA’s new rule, “It’s a good thing, of course it’s a good thing. In particular, I agree with the spokesman’s statement that ‘as the highest level of tournament between the European clubs, the venues that host the games should be of the appropriate standard.’ Well-said!” Twain’s smile could easily be interpreted that he was fawning on the UEFA. “I don’t think the fans themselves want to see a game on a vegetable field. That would be damaging to football!” Looking at his righteously indignant face, it was as if the turf on the City Ground’s stadium had nothing to do with him.
“So, I give two thumbs-up to the UEFA rule.” At this point, he even raised his hands. “The rule guarantees the quality of the Champions League tournament and it’s a good thing for our players too—because no one will worry about getting injured playing on a bad pitch. This is a very humane rigid rule. Nottingham Forest will certainly give its full support and cooperation!”
Guardiola was said to have torn the newspaper in half after he read Twain’s comments. Well, reportedly anyway…
The other matter was more complicated.
A week after that game, the UEFA finally dealt with the issue of the turf with a new rule. Following which, they were going to deal with Tony Twain. They had no grounds in the “vegetable field” incident. But now they believed there must be enough reasons to deal with the unruly Tony Twain.
You dare to accuse our appointed referee of accepting a bribe from Barcelona! What evidence do you have? There’s no evidence. You’re making a false accusation!
Originally with UEFA’s bureaucratic style of handling things, a hearing would have to wait until six months later.
But this time, contrary to the norm, the UEFA acted swiftly and decisively. Tony Twain was notified to attend the hearing in Nyon, Switzerland as soon as the “vegetable field” incident was dealt with.
Before going to Switzerland, Twain called Pierce Brosnan and Lineker. He was willing to accept their interview, to be recorded by BBC 5. The interview would be aired on BBC 5 and published in the [Nottingham Evening Post].
Obviously, Twain also realized that this was a huge pitfall in his coaching career. Someone wanted to mess with him, but he would not be dragged down.
So, he needed to give his all and package himself as a Robin Hood figure up against the official authorities. He needed to win more support from the people and make use of the media. This kind of thing could be done easily.
The interview naturally revolved around a series of recent focal points about Tony Twain and unfolded from there.
Lineker was the one who did the interview while Brosnan made notes at the side.
Lineker asked a lot of questions, which Twain explained them one by one. In the television footage, he tossed aside his usual arrogant and ego centric manner and looked placid with a smile on his face as he cordially accepted the interview. Sometimes he even displayed his characteristic sense of humor, but his antagonistic way against the reporters could not be seen. It was rare to see this in previous interviews—he seemed to have a natural enmity against reporters.
He did not shy away from those sensitive issues. Instead, he opened up to Lineker.
He said the word “counting the money-gate” incident was a term invented by the Catalan media. He never said that the referee had accepted a bribe from Barcelona. He did not hint at it in other ways. His gesture was obviously… a snapping of his fingers.
Lineker asked why he would snap his fingers in that situation. One must know if his action were to be interpreted as a snapping of the fingers”, then its appearance was indeed abrupt and inexplicable.
“It may be abrupt to the outside world, but I don’t find it strange. It’s like when a player was sent off inexplicably by the referee, he used clapping to express his anger. I did not choose to clap. I chose to snap my fingers and that meant—well done, referee! Can you understand? It was actually a kind of irony. But the Barcelona fans in the stadium preferred to interpret it as ‘counting money.’ I don’t know why. Maybe they’re naturally cynical?” He laughed.
The Nottingham Forest fans would think that this was Twain’s humor. But the Barcelona fans were lucky enough to watch the interview, they would definitely not going to think so…
“I repeat, I had never said in any way on any occasion that I thought the referee on duty at that game had been bribed by Barcelona. I know the Catalan media vilification of me is not a short-term thing. Of course, they would love to see me make a fool of myself. Whereas the twisting of right and wrong or fabrications in the world are a common occurrence for the media. So now, do you know where the nonsense come from? If the Catalan media is unhappy with my comments, I am willing to take responsibility. I will cite all the media comments after that game. I have collected them.” Twain laughed again at this point.
“But those are considered evidence, and I’ll only show them to the UEFA. They’ll know who started this whole thing and it’s not me anyway.” Twain shrugged.
The interview eventually received a good response after it was broadcast on the television. Brosnan’s article was reprinted by several newspapers. Twain’s purpose was achieved. At least now a lot of the media and public were on his side.
After he had done his preparations, Twain left for Nyon alone. Before he left, his wife, Shania, specially called him from the United States to support and comfort him.
All these gave Twain the confidence to tackle the pitfall.
At the same time, the club also did something. They presented the UEFA with a video of the last ten minutes of the first leg match between Nottingham Forest and Barcelona as evidence to support Twain and show that this was not a shot in the dark. His team had indeed been treated unfairly in the away game. If the UEFA was unwilling to admit that the penalty shot had issues, they did not mind appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Anyway, since you’re going to mess with our manager, we’ll fight you to the end!
Twain’s leading the team into the top four spots also appeared to have improved his relationship with the club’s top brass. Evan decided to step forward to show support for Twain while Allan was also being ordered to lobby the UEFA’s top echelon.
The Forest team’s final place in the Champions League had a direct impact on their televised bonuses at the end of the season. Twain was a manager who could lead the team to victory and naturally it would bring a lot of money to the club. Only a fool would not protect such a cash cow…
Meanwhile, a lot of people in the circle had come out to express their support for Twain’s view. Mourinho, who always did not get along with Twain, also seemed to have seen glimpses of himself in Twain, also came forward and said that the Catalan media’s hype about “counting money” was pointless. As a former Barcelona translator and assistant coach, his words held sway.
Ferguson also said he had not heard Twain complain that Barcelona had bribed the referee. Because “he’s not that kind of person.”
Wenger said that although Tony had a sharp tongue, he would never talk about uncertain things.
Benítez’s relationship with Twain was not good either, but this time he chose to stand on the opposite side of his country. He thought that since he and Twain had many encounters before, he was familiar with Twain’s temper. If he said that he did not say it, then he must not have said it.
This time the Premier League managers were on Twain’s side. Perhaps the UEFA’s attitude towards the Premier League had angered them. The English Premier League had long been an organization that fell outside the grey area on the edge of the UEFA’s jurisdiction. The Premier League gave the biggest headaches the UEFA in terms of people and incidents.
They naturally took it that the UEFA’s beef with Twain was actually them making an example of Twain to warn them. It was obviously necessary to unite. After all, the interests of the Premier League were their own interests. These problems were in fact about “interests” at the heart of the matter.
Led by John and Bill, the Nottingham Forest fans also gathered at the City Ground stadium to show solidarity with Twain at the time of the hearing. They contacted a number of media outlets to come for interviews and do coverage to continue to expand the impact.
“We’re fighting a battle to defend our own kingdom!” John said resolutely in front of a lot of media and cameras.
All of these were totally down to put pressure on the UEFA.
No one knew the details of the hearing, but one thing was clear to everyone.
The moment Twain got out of the car and greeted the reporters outside the UEFA headquarters with a smile, an observant person could see that his smile was somewhat stiff. The Ray-Ban sunglasses that he wore—he was now the brand’s British spokesperson—still could not hide his worries.
Despite all the preparations he did, he was still a little nervous.
But after two hours, when he came out of the headquarters building, he took off his sunglasses and gave a breezy smile. There was no hidden meaning behind his smile. He smiled naturally from the bottom of his heart.
Every reporter present was familiar with Twain and certainly knew what Twain’s behavior meant.
The Catalan reporters groaned in pain on the spot, “This bastard got away with it!”
The reporters from Nottingham and England cheered Twain who happily waved to them. Twain willfully enjoyed the cheers usually reserved to welcome a hero’s return.
Following which, a UEFA press spokesman reappeared in front of the press to announce the final verdict of the case, “While we think that Tony Twain’s remarks toward the referee was a little extreme after the game, there was no evidence that he had suspected the referee’s and Barcelona’s professional ethics. He gave a reasonable explanation of his actions at the hearing, of which we had accepted. Finally, we want to remind Tony Twain to pay attention to his words and deeds…”
Brosnan asked about the referee and his handling of the penalty.
The UEFA spokesman stalled for a long while before he replied, “That offside ball was a miscalculation …for which we’re sorry.”
Up until now, Tony Twain and Nottingham Forest had won big.
The next day the Catalan media largely adopted the same headline, which roughly translated into Mandarin words as—
A scoundrel realized his ambition.
Indeed, in their eyes, Twain, a despicable scoundrel had managed to escape twice. Just look at his brilliant smile in front of the UEFA’s Nyon headquarters. He’s a typical scoundrel that got away!
A hardcore Barcelona fan tweeted a similar message at a popular Barcelona fan forum in China:
“It’s truly the case of the good die young (Barcelona was knocked out) and the evil lives a thousand years…”
...
Chapter 821 - The End of the Season
The press was still publishing numerous articles about Twain’s hearing days after it had happened. Everyone wanted to know what were the exact words he said to the UEFA officials during the hearing that actually compelled them to let him walk away scot-free when it was clear that UEFA wanted to drive Twain into his grave.
Twain did not utter a single word about what happened at the hearing to the press, not even to Pierce Brosnan, who had called Twain to ask for some ‘insider information’.
What happened at the hearing was destined to become a secret that no other person would ever know about. All people could hope for was that Twain would include some details about this hearing in his bibliography when he retires as a football manager.
The UEFA also made no further mention of the incident. It was as though the entire hearing had not happened.
The Catalan media was upset with how things had turned out, but what else could they possibly do besides to rant and moan in the papers and on TV?
They lost to Tony Twain both on and off the pitch. They needed some kind of way to vent their frustrations, and they could only achieve that through the various media platforms.
However, the Catalan media did not walk away from this ‘battle’ with Tony Twain empty-handed.
A few of the more level-headed reporters were able to point out that Nottingham Forest had actually paid a steep price for their actions despite successfully defeating Barcelona and evading punishment from UEFA.
In the first leg of the match against Barcelona, Tony Twain was served a four match ban for insulting the referee. He has only been banned for one match so far, and there were three more to go. What this meant was that Forest would have to play in the finals of the Champions League without the guidance of their manager, should they somehow manage to land themselves a place in the finals.
Tony Twain would certainly not be able to rely on the 27,000 Forest fans to be his mouthpiece then either.
Pepe was shown a red card in the first leg and was banned for two matches. He had served his ban for one match, and there was still one more match remaining.
George Wood was also shown a red card for his violent behavior in the second leg. Similarly, he also has to serve a two match ban, which would mean he will definitely miss out on both the semi-final matches.
Both Wood and Pepe are key players in the team. Their absence undoubtedly deals a heavy blow to Forest’s defense.
In addition, Lennon also picked up an injury after being tackled by Yaya Touré during the second leg. His injury was determined to be very severe in the post-match examinations, and he would have to miss out on all the remaining matches for the season.
Nottingham Forest was truly down on their luck to have two of their key players severely injured and unable to play for the remainder of the season.
The four aforementioned points made it very challenging for Forest to win their semi-finals match.
The two most fatal points out of them, according to the Barcelona media, were the bans on both Wood and Twain.
The ‘trick’ that Tony Twain used against Barcelona has already been exposed to the public, and he would not be able to use it a second time. Furthermore, there would be supervisors from the UEFA who would be sitting with him throughout the following matches to prevent him from making use of his fans as his mouthpiece to convey his instructions to the team.
Nonetheless, one cannot deny that his method of using his fans to communicate with his team is truly ingenious…
Forest’s opponent in the semi-finals would be Germany’s Bayern Munich. They were a tough team to beat. Football teams from Germany have always been tenacious and Twain’s psychological trick of trying to rile up the players during the match would not work against the Bayern Munich players.
Without Twain’s onsite guidance, Forest would only be half as strong as they usually are.
If we were to add George Wood’s absence to the equation as well…
Wood has always been Nottingham Forest’s protective screen in the midfield. The influence that he has on the team is huge. Most people might not be able to tell how big of an influence he has on the team when he is playing on the pitch, but the difference becomes significant and discernible once he is off the pitch.
Anyone who knows football knows how important a defensive midfielder is to any football team, especially to a defense-oriented one like Forest.
Without Wood on the team, Forest’s opponents would be able to threaten their defense directly. Tiago is clearly not well-suited to carry out Wood’s role. He could not measure up to Wood in terms of both abilities and stamina.
Wood’s absence from the team also serves as a crude reminder about an issue that has been largely ignored but has always existed.
The team has not been able to find a substitute for George Wood.
Now that Wood has been banned from playing for two matches, Forest has no other defensive midfielder like him that they can employ for the next game. Tiago is not a player who mainly operated in the midfield. Most of the time, he would move forward to join in the attack. He would play as a defensive midfielder occasionally, but even then, he would have Wood right beside him to support him. His inability to defend in the midfield would undoubtedly be magnified when Wood is not playing next to him.
Nottingham Forest’s happiness was bound to be short-lived.
When an article that brought up all the aforementioned points was published, it was mocked by Nottingham Forest fans as being nothing more than ‘Barcelona trying to console themselves over their loss’.
However, it was proven a while later that the article had hit the nail on the head…
“The match is over! Nottingham Forest has lost 0:2 to Bayern Munich in an away game. The final score is 1:3. Nottingham Forest is eliminated from the Champions League!”
The Allianz Arena erupted into cheers following three blows to the referee’s whistle.
Bayern Munich’s coaching staff and substitutes rushed onto the pitch in a frenzy, and they hugged the players on the pitch tightly.
In contrast, Forest’s players stood rooted to the ground with their heads hung low on the other side of the pitch.
The camera immediately zoomed in on a particular corner at the stands, and Tony Twain’s emotionless face showed up on the screen. He was surrounded by a crowd of crestfallen Nottingham Forest fans.
Twain was not able to make use of the home advantage to create trouble for their opponents this time round. His good luck appeared to have reached its end.
The match had only barely started for five minutes when Forest found themselves down by one goal. The accident messed up all of the team’s plan, and the match slowly slipped away from Twain’s control. There was nothing he could do at the stands.
The cheers from the Bayern Munich fans were all he could hear when the match ended.
Twain lowered his head. He then turned around and followed after a group of fans as they all made their way away from the stands.
“Tony Twain has finally lowered his arrogant head!” The commentator said as he watched Twain’s actions.
Thereafter, he went on to tease, “Nottingham Forest has eliminated both Inter Milan and Barcelona consecutively, and those two teams happen to be the champions of the Champions League for the past two seasons. The British media hailed Nottingham Forest as the ‘Champions Killer’ ever since. However, this very name that they were given might have led to their downfall, because Bayern Munich has never clinched a Champions League trophy in years… The magical Forest appears to have lost their drive against a non-champion Bayern Munich team. This has led to their elimination from the competition…”
The commentator’s explanation as to why Forest lost seemed to carry some truth in it.
Twain could only force a smile after hearing the commentator’s words after the match.
It does seem like everything was meant to be.
The commentator’s words helped to cast an interesting sidelight on the match.
Twain entered the locker room after the match had ended. He did not criticize the team, and neither did he give the players a dressing-down. All he did was to express regret at the team’s elimination from the competition. Following that, he commended their performance. He told the players that they have all tried their best, and that they should not have any regrets in their hearts over the result. All they could do was look forward to trying to claim the Champions League trophy again next year.
Twain even joked towards the end of his speech to his players. “Actually, this all works out just fine. We have embarrassed UEFA too many times now. Lads, think about it. If we were to really make our way into the finals and become champions… It would mean that a team whose manager is sitting at the stands has actually managed to lift the trophy. How embarrassing would that be for UEFA? We can’t make things too difficult for them.”
Everyone in the locker room burst out laughing at his words. The despondence within their hearts slowly started to vanish after they laughed.
Twain relaxed after seeing that everyone had gotten into a better mood after his words.
There was no use for them to keep dwelling on the fact that they have been eliminated from the Champions League. It was all in the past now.
What he needed to do was to get his team back on track quickly so that they can continue their fight in the Premier League. Ensuring a top four finish and clinching qualification for Champions League next season were the most important things to Nottingham Forest this season.
“All right, lads! Head on home!”
Twain clapped his hands and ended the debrief. The players all stood to their feet one after another and began packing their belongings.
Twain was quickly located and surrounded by the sharp reporters after he exited the locker room.
Countless microphones came at him and were all directed at his mouth. Some of them nearly hit his lips. Twain could not help but lean backwards to avoid ‘kissing’ the microphones.
“Hey! Hey! Bring the microphones away from my lips!”
“Mr. Twain. Is there anything you’d like to say regarding your team’s elimination?”
“There’s nothing for me to say about that. All football teams win and lose games. I hope that Bayern Munich would become the final champions of this competition. That’s all I have to say…”
“Mr. Twain! Would you agree that your ban has a huge influence on your team? Your fiery temper has directly led to your team’s elimination from the competition…”
“Nonsense! My team is collectively strong. We won’t become weaker just because we lose a certain team member. And you say I have a fiery temper? I am not to blame for the incident from before. UEFA has also agreed to it.”
Ever since the hearing, Twain would always bring out UEFA’s name to shut the reporters up every time they try to get him to talk about his ‘feud’ with Barcelona.
This move of his is indeed shameless, but no one can stop him from doing it.
“I’m just protecting my rights.”
UEFA’s name was certainly an effective weapon. Several reporters shut their mouths right there and then.
“All right, please give way. Don’t block the door.” Twain reached out both his hands and tried to shove his way out of the crowd.
“Mr. Twain, I have one other question…”
“Keep your question to yourself! Someday you might get your answer.”
“Mr. Twain! Mr. Twain!”
Twain disregarded the reporters”reluctance’ to let him go. He shoved a way out for himself and rushed away.
The manager of Bayern Munich, Jürgen Klinsmann, chanced upon the scene where Twain looked a little worn out as he was being surrounded by the reporters.
He laughed. “A man who has been banished to the stands remains a cynosure. As expected of a famous manager.”
Nottingham Forest loss in the semi-finals did not come as a surprise to most. After all, Bayern Munich was the leader of Bundesliga. They are consistently ranked first on the ranking table.
Moreover, Forest was in a very bad situation going into the match. Several of their players had either been banned from playing or were injured. The fact that they were able to progress into the semi-finals was in itself a feat.
Some Forest fans even regarded the two matches against Barcelona to be just like the finals of the Champions League. They did not desire for anything else this season, as long as they defeated Barcelona…
However, such a desire would certainly be scoffed at by the Barcelona fans. They would deride Nottingham Forest for not setting their sights higher.
No matter what the Barcelona fans might think however, it was still a fact that Forest won Barcelona. As the victors, Forest has every right to ‘not set their sights higher’…
Nottingham Forest’s loss in the Champions League was not good news to their rivals in the Premier League.
It did not matter how much those rivals despised Twain. This was one of the few times that none of them would be able to say words like ‘I hope Forest gets eliminated’.
Forest’s elimination from the Champions League would signify that Twain’s ‘pack of wolves’ would now put all their focus on the Premier League.
Currently, Forest was ranked fourth on the ranking table. If they were to put in all their time and effort into achieving results in the Premier League, it would certainly not be a problem for them to climb up to second place. Only a few points separated the second placed team from the fifth placed team after all…
Every single one of Forest’s rivals wanted Nottingham Forest to progress as far as they could in the Champions League.
There was one exception however, and that was Manchester United’s manager, Ferguson.
His team had made its way into the finals once again. His wish would definitely be for Nottingham Forest to make its way into the finals, so that they would then be able to lose against Manchester United. The arrogant and obstinate Tony Twain would thereafter bow his head before Ferguson the master, and announce his transfer over to Manchester United as Ferguson’s successor. Twain would then go on to lead the Red Devils to glory in both England and Europe…
That would mark a perfect end to his managerial career.
Thus, after Manchester United’s qualification into the finals, Ferguson said, “I think it’s a pity. If I could choose my opponent, I would rather meet Tony Twain in the finals. Of course, it’s on the premise that he’s not seated at the stands…”
His words led to unhappiness in Bayern Munich. The Bundesliga giant felt that Ferguson had insulted them with his words.
Ferguson immediately came out and explained himself shortly after, “My words are not targeted at Bayern Munich. They are a big and prestigious club, and I do think that it’s great that I can meet them in the finals. I will treat every single opponent with respect… I just hope to be able to choose my opponent in the very last game of my managerial career….”
It did not matter how Ferguson tried to mince his words. It still sounded like he was looking down on Bayern Munich.
There were some media outlets that said that Ferguson was getting more and more muddled with age, and that all he was doing was just adding fuel to the fire.
But, what if the ‘old fox’ Ferguson had only said those words as part of his psychological trick against Klinsmann?
Twain did not involve himself in the entire issue. He was perhaps one of the few people who understood what Ferguson was up to. Ferguson had definitely said those words as part of his psychological battle against Bayern Munich.
It looks like the old man is very confident that he would clinch his last Champions League trophy of his managerial career…
His response to Ferguson’s comments was, “I might go down to the stadium to watch the match. However, it’s not because I care about the results. All I care about right now is the Premier League. We’d definitely challenge for the title again next season.”
Ultimately, Nottingham Forest finished the season by coming in at third place, and they successfully qualified for Champions League next season.
Wenger’s Arsenal successfully overtook Manchester United on the ranking table due to how the latter had put in more time and effort into playing the Champions League instead, and they were crowned champions of the Premier League.
It might be a pity for Ferguson to not be able to achieve the Double, but the final result was an embodiment of Ferguson and Wenger’s long-standing battle over the past decade.
Alex Ferguson, Manchester United’s ‘godfather’ who had announced his retirement as a football manager after the end of the season, led his Red Devils team to a 2:1 victory over the King of Bundesliga, Bayern Munich, at Arena AufSchalke, which serves as a stadium for Schalke 04. He was the one who had the last laugh in this clash between two giants.
Ferguson also fulfilled his promise from years ago:
I would retire after clinching one more Champions League trophy.
He lifted the trophy that signified the highest possible honor for all European football clubs in one of the best stadiums throughout the whole of Europe. However, the expression on his face did not look like one that belonged to that of a professional manager’s. It looked more like one that belonged to an elder who should be enjoying his old age. There was no passion upon his countenance, only a look of relief that everything was over and that he was finally able to remove the burden weighing on his shoulders.
In that very moment, it seemed as though he had aged by another 10 years. Even the red hue on his cheeks seemed to have faded.
Tony Twain watched from the stands at Arena AufSchalke as Ferguson lifted the trophy before him. He suddenly felt like Ferguson was very far away from him at this very instant. They might only be separated by a short distance since one was at the stands and the other was on the pitch, but Twain felt like the distance between them was like the size of Europe.
He joined the other spectators in the stadium who had all stood up to applaud Ferguson for having reached the end of his managerial journey. The happiness in his heart was intertwined with a twinge of loneliness.
From this day onwards, I will face one less fierce competitor.
But, likewise, I will also face one less good competitor…
Farewell, Ferguson.
...
Chapter 822 - Goodbye, My Friend
A week after the Champions League final, the television stations, radio stations, newspapers, magazines, Internet… all the major media outlets were talking about Ferguson’s retirement. It was indeed the most sensational thing to happen the football world in recent time. Although Ferguson had already announced his retirement in advance, when the day finally arrived, people still felt unwilling to let go.
Even Wenger, his archrival for years, sent well wishes to Ferguson’s retirement. He said, “He has created an era. This is probably the only time I’ve praised him. He’s done really well in his twenty-five years at Manchester United. The league championship title? You know, life always needs to have such a regret for it to be beautiful, isn’t it?” Wenger laughed slyly.
Even Klinsmann, who was defeated by Ferguson in the Champions League final, did not have any bad comments because Manchester United snatched away his title, “He is a role model for me to learn from and a target to catch up to. I’m happy that he could win another UEFA Champions League title before he retired. Manchester United performed better and they deserve the title.”
In a television interview, Ferguson again spoke of the concerns of his successor.
“There are many great coaches in the world and I’m sure the board will pick the most suitable manager for Manchester United. Take note that I said, ‘the most suitable’ instead of ‘the best.’ I won’t comment on how the club handles the personnel work anymore. Now I just want to go home and enjoy a relaxing time with my wife. You know… for the first time in so many years, I don’t have to think about tomorrow’s training plan and the weekend’s lineup schedule. It’s actually a very pleasant thing.”
He did not name a specific candidate and apparently did not want to cause trouble for the club’s selection process. Because if he had to state it, it would be “Tony Twain” but Tony Twain was certain that he would not come to Manchester United. It was not a good idea to say things that would cause embarrassment to everyone. He called Twain in private and sighed with some regret after he confirmed once again that Twain had no desire to join Old Trafford.
Just when Twain was tired of the media’s extensive coverage of Ferguson, he finally heard a different news.
After the league tournament ended, the Forest team was dismissed, and the vacation had begun.
Twain also planned to take advantage of this holiday to fly to the United States to spend many wonderful nights with his wife, so as to continue their great “baby making project.”
While Dunn would bring Tang Jing back to his hometown to probably meet his parents this time…
Before leaving, he suddenly gave Twain a call and asked to meet him alone.
Twain thought it was strange. If Dunn had something to discuss with him, he could talk about it over the phone if they were not together. Even if it was a major matter, there was no need to specially arrange for a face-to-face meeting alone.
Feeling odd, Twain still made it to the appointment. He even remembered to joke on the phone, “Are we going on a date?”
The place that Dunn set could not really be connected with “a date” mentioned by Twain. It was right at the Wilford training base.
When Twain drove there, the exceptionally busy training base gate which was always crowded with a lot of reporters and people coming and going, was so quiet that the distant sound of birds in the woods could be heard at this time.
The guards were surprised when the manager suddenly came. Twain smiled and greeted them before he was allowed through.
Twain parked his car in the parking lot, and saw Dunn waiting at the door of the building when he got out of the car
He raised his hand to say hello, but did not hurry over, but strolled along in parking lot under the sun.
“It’s nice out today. Breezy and sunny.” He spoke of things that only Dunn and himself knew where the punchline was.
But this time Dunn was not amused by Twain. He stood within the shadow of the building, expressionless.
Twain waved at him and said, “It’s so sunny and beautiful today, and yet you’re standing there. Don’t you feel the chilly wind around? If you have something to say, we can talk as we walk. How about taking a lap around the training ground?”
Dunn nodded in agreement.
But before that, they did not talk and just walked along until they accidentally walked to the number three training ground. Twain smiled when he saw the training ground, which was still like a vegetable field. He said, “If Guardiola saw this training ground, I wonder if he would give Barcelona a similar piece in the training base?”
Dunn did not answer, so Twain turned his head and asked, “Do you have something on your mind, Dunn? Is Tang Jing giving you pressure to get married?”
Dunn rolled his eyes and said, “I do have something I want to talk to you about, but I don’t know where to begin.”
“Hey, this is us! We’re sworn brothers from our hometown in Sichuan. If you have something to say, just say it. You don’t have to worry about the wedding gifts.”
Dunn cleared his throat and said, “It has nothing to do with marriage. Tony… Well.” He started to talk and stopped again.
Twain frowned. He rarely saw Dunn overly careful with his words. “Do you have bad news?”
“No… I don’t know.” Dunn shook his head and said, “I… I intend to end my contract with the club early.”
Twain was taken aback. He thought he heard wrong. Was the bird song in the woods so loud that it affected his hearing?
Dunn’s contract with the club as the assistant manager expired in two years. Twain had planned to offer Dunn a new contract after the start of next season, with a longer extension. Maybe it would even be good to sign an eight-year contract like himself.
Seeing Twain looking incredulously at him, Dunn explained, “I’ve been thinking about this issue for a long time. I… Uh…” He wrung his hands, not knowing where to put them. “I don’t want to be an assistant manager anymore.”
“Why?” Twain asked. He did not want to make any comments now. He wanted to hear Dunn’s explanation.
“Tony. You probably don’t know… Initially, we… Before that, I really did not think about wanting to be a manager. Then you found me, and I thought it was okay if I could be an assistant manager. But after following you all these years, I suddenly feel… I feel like I’d like to try and be a manager.”
Twain looked at him and said, “Go on.”
“Well…” Dunn mulled over it for a bit and thought about where to start. He rarely said so much in one breath, but this time it had to do with his future life choices, so he had to say more.
“Honestly, Tony. During the time when you left the team due to the heart attack, I was the acting manager. When you were banned, it was also me… But this is your team, not mine. What I want to do is not to be the ‘acting’ manager. I want to be a real manager, but I don’t have a chance at Nottingham Forest.”
“I’m not complaining about anything, Tony. But Nottingham Forest is now your Nottingham Forest team, deeply marked by you. I can’t change that mark, so I struggled a lot to be the acting manager. You know what? Tony? Sometimes when I have to instruct the players, I have to borrow your identity to be effective.”
Twain only raised his eyebrows and did not say anything.
“I said to them—Tony thinks…so on and so forth. Tony says so and so. Then they’ll listen. The king’s name is no exaggeration. You’re really powerful, Tony.”
“Is this a compliment to me?” Twain did not laugh. “Simply put, you want to be a manager, but at Nottingham Forest, you can only be an assistant manager. That’s right, isn’t it?”
Dunn nodded.
Twain fell silent for a moment and then said, “It looks like I really… did not consider your feelings. I only thought about how you can help me a lot by keeping you by my side as an assistant manager… I should probably say to you generously at this time, ‘Go on. Go pursue your life ideals?’ But I still don’t want you to go. I’m a selfish person. I can’t help it. If you leave, it will be hard for me in my job.”
Dunn shook his head and said, “You are giving yourself an excuse to be lazy.”
“Okay. I’m trying to be lazy.” Twain nodded and admitted Dunn’s “allegations.” He said, “But regardless of the reason, don’t you think we’re golden partners? We’re invincible when we’re together! I want you to stay, Dunn.”
When Twain asked Dunn to do something in the past, he would always agree, whether he was willing or not. But this time, Twain’s move did not work. It looked like Dunn had made up his mind. He said, “It’s no use, Tony. I thought about it for a long time and felt I should leave the Forest team to try to a different path.”
“Perhaps is there a club inviting you?”
Dunn did not deny. He nodded in reply, “There is a club.”
“Ha!” Twain gave a dry laugh.
“An EFL League Two team.”
Twain really laughed this time. He seemed to have heard a funny joke. Dunn did not stop him and watched quietly next to him as Twain crouched on the ground and laughed.
“Ha… Let’s be honest, Dunn. Do you really think that leaving Nottingham Forest for such a team would do you any good for your future? EFL League Two, huh? A fourth-tier team is equivalent to the previous the Football League Third Division! Do you really want to go?”
Dunn said very seriously, “I really want to go.”
“Are you sure?” Squatting on the ground, Twain did not laugh, and just looked at him from the corner of his eyes.”
“I’m sure.”
“Is that good for you?” Twain stood up and asked angrily. He really could not understand Dunn’s choice, so he would rather think that it was Dunn’s excuse to deliberately get away from him.
“I don’t know. Tony. I don’t know if it’s good for me. But I want to try… Maybe I’m still terrible that I can’t even lead a League Two team well and be fired in the end. Who knows?” He spoke calmly about the terrible future. “But the idea has going around my mind every day. I just want to try… Even if I don’t succeed, at least I have tried.”
“Go and try to lead a team with your mark on it?”
“Yes. I envy you, Tony. I hope one day I can achieve accomplishments like you.”
Twain did not express any joy at Dunn’s praise. He still had a straight face and was in a very bad mood.
“I decided to start from scratch. I’m confident I’ve learned a lot from you which should help me. But I don’t have to be the type of manager like you are. I’m still not good at fight a war of words with people.”
“That kind of team… No name or no profit…” Twain still wanted to persuade Dunn to give up the illusional idea.
“I don’t care much about fame and profit, Tony. I just want to see if I have the ability to be a manager.”
Twain was still frowning and looked unhappy.
Dunn sighed when he saw him looking this, “Do you still remember Chen Jian, Tony?”
Twain stared blankly for a moment. He did not react to why Dunn would suddenly mention the Chinese kid. “I remember. What about him? He’s still training in the youth team and reserves. I haven’t gone to see him in a long time…”
“Do you still recall what you spoke to him about on the phone at the time and asked him to come to England to play? Do you still remember how excited you were after the phone call with him? Do you remember when you decided to train him using Wood’s training program and how you answer my question?”
Twain was rendered speechless by Dunn’s three consecutive questions.
“You ask me if I have any dreams. You ask me if I have the impulse to do certain things. You also told me, ‘Men will definitely have one thing in life that makes them want to complete it no matter what.’ Thank you, Tony. Now I have a dream and the urge to complete something, I’ve the one thing in my life that I want to finish no matter what.”
Twain was checkmated by Dunn using his own words spoken previously. He completely lost his anger.
He looked at Dunn for a long time, and then gave a smile, “You’re getting more and more slick with your words.”
Dunn felt relieved when he saw him smile, “Really?”
“If you really determined to leave, I can’t stop you. After all, you’re not my personal belongings. I have no right to interfere in your life. The kind of road you have to take, and how you will end up, have nothing to do with me.” Twain waved his hands in defeat. He was really tough, but he was not unreasonable.
When Dunn heard him say this, he suddenly smiled, “Your words are really callous.”
“You hurt me. Of course, I’m going to be a little heartless.” Twain glared at him and said, “But … I said if, if. If you really can’t make it, then come back. The door at Wilford is always open to you.”
“Like Queiroz?”
Twain chuckled, “I think it’s incorrect that one should not go back to one’s past experiences. If you want to come back, give me a call. I’ll free up the assistant manager’s position for you.”
Dunn did not say anything. He felt more relaxed after he told Twain what he thought. From now on, he could pursue his own ideal. Although it was a bit cruel to Twain, after all, they worked alongside each other all the time and had a tacit understanding in the work, Twain would be caught unprepared with his sudden departure. But in fact, if he had not considered to minimize the impact, he might have left the season when Twain returned. The Forest team was on track this season, with a new group of young players such as Mitchell revealing outstanding talent which made him think that it was time. He could leave with confidence.
“Tony. Since I’m leaving, there’s something I want to say to you… In fact, my departure is a good thing for you.”
“How is that a good thing? I will be short a right-hand man.”
“You had always used the excuse that you’re not familiar with training for the team to let me arrange everything. But you’ve been in the team for eight years now. You should have observed enough to learn to do it, shouldn’t you? But I’m always here, so you leave everything to me. Now that I’m leaving and you can’t find anyone, you’ll have to do it yourself. I think it will further raise your level. Don’t underestimate yourself, Tony. You have the potential that you have not developed. It’s a waste and it’s a shame to waste it.”
Twain continued to laugh, “Are these words of a man on his deathbed coming from the heart?”
Dunn did not continue to get tangled with Twain on the subject. He believed that Twain had listened. “I have made everything clear to you, so I have nothing else to say.” He was going to say goodbye.
“Oh right, can you tell me which team asked you to be the manager?”
Dunn was unable to suppress a tiny smile on his face when he heard Twain asked.
Twain was even more curious and asked, “Which one?” If you need help at that time, I can loan you the Forest youth team players. You can pick the players you want. I won’t charge you the fees for the loan …”
Dunn could not bear it any longer and laughed, “Notts County.”
Twain’s eyes widened and stopped mid-sentence. His mouth was agape as if he saw an alien.
“I did not hear wrongly, did I?”
“I thought you’d be happy that I don’t have to move out of Nottingham.”
“What? How can I be happy?” Twain felt that he’d been fooled. “Nottingham Forest’s arch enemy! I take back every word I said before! Want to loan my players from me? No way! Keep dreaming! The next time we meet, we will fight for real!”
“Ha! Are you finally interested in the city’s derby?” Dunn laughed happily.
Twain gritted his teeth and stared at him, “Are you still laughing? You did this on purpose, didn’t you? Of all the teams to pick from, you pick Notts County!”
Dunn spread his hands and said, “The other teams are not keen on me. Only they came to me. They don’t think there’s anything wrong with me as the assistant manager of the Forest team. I certainly will not turn them down just because they’re from Notts County.”
“You really… You really will do whatever it takes in order to be a manager, won’t you?” Twain felt helpless.
“The conditions they offered are also very attractive. Although the team is not in good shape recently, they promised that I make all the decisions in the team and also gave me control of the youth camp. I can build my team from the ground up and according to my own philosophy. This is the best condition.”
Twain nodded forcefully, “Very well! I wish you all the best to lead the team to move up three levels and appear in the Premier League. That way, I will have two chances to crush you bastard face to face every season!”
“I’m looking forward to that day.” Dunn replied with a smile.
Even though he scolded him, Twain still reached his hand out and said, “If you find that you can’t make it in Notts County and want to come back, I’ll still welcome you. You don’t have to worry about the pressure from the fans. I’m sure my words still carry some weight.”
Dunn also put his hand out and said, “Thank you, Tony.”
Two days later, the media report thanked him for all his contributions to the team and wished him all the best elsewhere.
Three days later, the Notts County officials announced the official signing of the former Nottingham Forest assistant manager, Dunn for a four-year contract as the team’s new manager.
However, both pieces of news were drowned out in the flood of news about “Ferguson”, and did not even make a tiny splash.
The Nottingham Forest and Notts County fans had taken note of the two pieces of news. They were divided on the issue. Some people understood and some people rebuked. But in any case, they could not interfere with the path that Dunn wanted to take.
Brosnan was going to interview Twain. He wanted to know the story behind the personnel change. But Twain, who had already flew to Los Angeles to be with his wife, simply turned off his cell phone. So, he could only give a sigh when he held a phone which emitted a busy ringtone.
After five years of working with Twain, Dunn chose to take a different path. Whether this choice was a blessing or curse for him and Twain, it was still unknown. The two of them chose two different paths. Would the two paths meet someday after a few years?
...
Chapter 823 - A Crimson New Beginning
While Twain and Shania indulged in their sensual activities every night in Los Angeles, Allan’s negotiations with Hong Kong’s Cheung Kong Holdings Limited were in their final stages. After a year of repeated negotiations, the two sides had basically reached an agreement. Cheung Kong Holdings Limited obtained the development and management rights to the land around Clifton’s new Nottingham Forest stadium at the lowest price, while Nottingham Forest did not have to pay out of its own pocket for the development and other miscellaneous expenses of the new stadium. After thirty years of Chinese operation, the right to operate these areas would be gradually returned to the Nottingham Forest Football Club.
The previous deadline proposed by Cheung Kong Holdings Limited was fifty years, which Allan considered too greedy and unreasonable. The negotiations between the two sides were deadlocked. After a period of cold war, Allan took the initiative to call on them again with a thick skin, hoping to reopen the negotiations. Only the Chinese appeared to be rich during the world financial crisis…
The world economic environment was gradually improving, and the Clifton area development plan had restarted. It also added a lot of jobs in the Nottingham area. The Nottingham city council had given the greatest support for the project.
One must know that Nottingham was not a very safe city. Its crime rate had been ranked one of the highest in the United Kingdom all year round. The financial crisis had added many unemployed people and they became a destabilizing factor in this society. Since the Nottingham Forest Football Club and Hong Kong’s Cheung Kong Holdings Limited could finally reach an agreement to provide nearly ten thousand jobs in the area, it was indeed a good thing that allowed the mayor to breathe a sigh of relief. Of course, he would support it.
Eventually, the day before Twain decided to return to Nottingham, the representatives of both parties formally signed a contract in Hong Kong. The next day, the first batch of staff from Cheung Kong Holdings Limited set out for Britain and began their overseas expansion plans.
The entire Clifton development was expected to take eight years to get the preliminary plans to take shape. Just the stadium alone was estimated to be under construction for two to three years. Nottingham Forest would officially move to the new stadium for the 2014-2015 season if all went well.
In order to show its sincerity for the cooperation, the Nottingham Forest Football Club originally intended to give the naming rights of the new stadium to Cheung Kong Holdings Limited, which invested in the construction of the project. It was to be called the “Cheung Kong Holdings Limited Stadium.”
But Victor Li, now the chairman of Cheung Kong Holdings Limited’s board of directors, rejected the name. He had given the new stadium a name that would please the locals as well as in keeping with the Chinese background of the investors.
The Red Stadium.
Red was naturally the main color of Nottingham Forest, while red was also the traditional Chinese representative color.
When the Arsenal club’s new stadium was named the “Emirates Stadium”, many fans protested the name which was unrelated to Arsenal, except that the voices of the fans clearly could not stand up to the Sheikhs’ oil money. But Victor Li was much smarter, and the name was cleverly pleasing. Whether they were Nottingham people or Chinese, they would love it.
Judging from the new stadium renderings given by Cheung Kong Holdings Limited, the main color of the stadium would also be the same as the Nottingham Forest jersey, a slightly darker red—crimson. Carrying on with the rectangular style of most of English pitches, it could accommodate sixty thousand spectators to watch the game at the same time. The sixty thousand seats would have backs. At the same time, in keeping with the expansion space, it could be expanded to a capacity of up to sixty-eight thousand people. There would be a luxury box above the stands on both east and west sides. This time it was a really authentic stand-alone box and not the small, shabby “box” in the City Ground stadium that looked like a corridor. It was estimated that there would be two hundred and twenty luxury boxes that could accommodate more than four hundred and forty VIPs to watch the game.
The north grandstand would still be home to the home team’s most hardcore fan pool, and the name “Robin Hood” would be engraved above the grandstand to inspire the team and the fans to fight ceaselessly like the brave Robin Hood.
The stadium had a retractable roof, so that even the worst weather conditions would not affect the game held in the stadium. Good geothermal and drainage systems ensured that the site condition was always at its best. This time, there would never be another repeat of the predicament in the Nottingham Forest’s home game against Barcelona in last season’s Champions League quarterfinal.
Guardiola must be in tears at this moment…
There was also a wide tunnel for both home and visiting teams to enter the stadium at the same time, as well as spacious, bright, clean and tidy modern locker rooms. The City Ground stadium’s locker rooms with the obvious 1980s-style were practically like public toilets…
There were also four huge LCD television displays in four sides of the grandstand, which could display the latest melees, scores, goal replays in real time and so on.
Up to a dozen gateways and links to the stadium’s all-encompassing transport network ensured that sixty thousand people could leave within ten minutes after the end of the game. Even under exceptional circumstances, the busy and tense flow could still be orderly and calm.
Once the project was finished, such a stadium would be completely designed and built in accordance with the standard set by the UEFA for five-star stadiums,. The UEFA would officially award it the honorary title of “a five-star stadium” after the inspection.
At that time, the Nottingham Forest Football Club could formally apply to host the finals of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.
With a brilliant history and results as well as a brand new five-star stadium, Nottingham Forest were making big strides towards the goal of being “a powerhouse club.”
Twain spent two wonderful weeks in Los Angeles with Shania and reluctantly bade farewell to the Los Angeles sunshine and his beautiful wife to return to Nottingham. Work in the new was about to start.
When the team regrouped, Twain first explained to the players the reason Dunn left. There was no contradiction, as some media had reported. Then he set out to rearrange the work and take over the job that Dunn had left behind.
When Dunn was still with the team, Twain simply did not have to worry about the daily training and miscellaneous matters. Dunn was someone who had a deep tacit understanding with Twain. Dunn knew what to do without Twain having to open his mouth and he did well.
It was indeed Twain’s greatest fortune to have such an assistant.
Unfortunately, the fortune was gone now. He had to do everything personally. Fortunately, he had been in the team for a long time. He was able to handle these things when he was familiarized with them.
He was certainly more tired than before, but Twain also slowly realized how correct Dunn’s words were at the time. He did improve …
He used to make little headway before but when his reliance on Dunn was taken away, he found that he could actually do a lot more.
First of all, he had to determine the new season’s lineup and matters like signings and transfers.
In the 07-08 season, the Forest team signed a contract with the Mexican young player, Martín Galván. He had finally reached the age of eighteen and could play abroad. He ended his career at Cruz Azul, packed up his bags and came to the unfamiliar England with his family. Living in the apartment provided by the club for their family, he still had to adapt from scratch with regards to the language, diet, weather and football style. For him, everything about Nottingham Forest was fresh and an impact on the past.
Twain did not expect him to come and be able to play for the team in the games. He still had to learn to adapt in the youth team and reserves for a while. It also made it easier for the Forest team’s coaching staff to closely observe him. It was not that he would be famous and could do what he wanted in coming to England. No, on the contrary, if he did not perform well and was slow in adapting to Nottingham Forest’s football, he would be likely to be sold again by Twain. Twain had a lot of affection for the old players, but he did not invest too much emotion in those young players. It was a cruel line of work. Nobody knew if they could make it.
Another person returning to the team was Adriano Moke, who was on loan at Blackburn Rovers and played outstandingly this season. He had twenty-three appearances in the league tournament, scored two goals and assisted five times. He had five appearances in the EFL Cup with one goal and six assists. In total, he had three goals and eleven assists. As a winger, he gave satisfactory results. After Moke’s loan period, Blackburn Rovers wanted to continue the loan, but Twain refused. On the one hand, putting Moke on loan was to give him the opportunity to train. On the other hand, it was in hopes that this talented player’s overly ambitious nature could worn down, so that he could keep his feet on the ground. In this way, it could help with his development.
Judging from the situation over the past few seasons, he had clearly met Twain’s expectation. Moke’s arrogant and opinionated character was much moderated. He was more pragmatic and down-to-earth. So, Twain thought it was time to reward him by getting into the First Team and bringing him back to the First Team. It was also convenient for Twain to observe his performance up close which would be conducive to his growth. After all, Moke was a Forest player. If everything went as planned, he would play for the Forest team in the future. Wandering around outside in other teams all the time would not help him develop a sense of belonging to his team and familiarize with the team’s style of play.
Moke’s return would not cause the midfield to be crowded. Lennon could play on both left and right wings and Fernández could also sometimes play as the defensive midfielder in the middle. Considering that the Forest team would definitely compete in multiple tournaments next season, the staffing of the midfield was actually reasonable. Only John Bostock needed to remain on loan because he was currently unable to occupy a spot in the Nottingham Forest midfield with his current ability.
There was no change in the rear defensive line. Gareth Bale was back in the team after his recovered from his injury. The competition for the left back position was fiercer than ever, but the strength was also greatly enhanced. Other than that, Twain had no plans to bring in full back in the summer. The past few seasons had proved that Nottingham Forest’s defensive system was perfect, and he did not need to bring in any new players to disrupt the already tight and coordinated defense. Although Pepe and the others still received a number of transfer applications, Twain refused them all without exception.
The stability of the rear defensive line overpowered everything. He would break it up without any special circumstances.
In the forward line, Van Nistelrooy, who already retired at the end of last season, left Nottingham and returned to his hometown In the Netherlands to enjoy his days without professional football. He was living a comfortable and idyllic life.
Nicolás Millán and Victor Moses continued to be on loan. Although Moses was already twenty years old, the competition in the Forest team’s forward line was too fierce. He would not even get to play if he did not go on loan. Looking at the current Forest team’s strikers—“Romani Rooney”, Freddy Eastwood, who was Twain’s favorite in the club and would always save the team at crucial moments; “Super Ibi” Ibišević, who was in excellent form, scored twenty-seven goals in the Premier League last season and won the Premier League Golden Boot; in addition, the talented giant, the second Ibrahimović, Aaron Mitchell, who broke out of the blue in the second leg against Barcelona; Although Gabriel Agbonlahor often played as the right back, he was still considered a striker and moved with a surprisingly fast speed that could serve him as the most lethal dagger during a counterattack. Adding to the number were Nicolás Millán that might appear in the future and Victor Moses which made up six strikers. If Twain was going to stick to his 4-5-1 formation for most of the season, then it was rather ferocity and cruel to compete for the six strikers to vie for a spot on the field.
Twain had been looking for ways to reduce that number, including not bringing in new strikers from the transfer market and allowing some strikers to try to play more positions. Agbonlahor himself could play multiple positions, which was obviously the best. And Nicolás Millán could also play in the wing and should have a place when he returned to the team. Eastwood was no longer a pure striker after a number of injuries. His passes and awareness could help connect the team’s strikers and midfielders. He was more like a False 9. Sometimes he could even take Şahin’s position, but then he was not tested for his playmaker skills. The work would be left to Wood and Tiago behind him. Although his shooting skills and awareness were still there, he was further away from the penalty area. He was still not the best candidate for the “1” in the 4-5-1 formation.
Ibišević, who was in his peak playing years, was the striker Twain would need to rely on in the coming years. Mitchell, on the other hand, was young. Despite his great talent, he needed to accumulate experience, step by step. Twain did not want spoil things through excessive enthusiasm. At times he had to deliberately put the kid on the bench. Fortunately, Mitchell’s personality was completely different from Bendtner’s. He listened to Twain, who did not have to worry about being too harsh and pushing him away.
While Evan had promised Twain that he would have more funds invested in the transfer market this summer, Twain had no plans to be extravagant. He did not like those stingy owners who never want to give a little more money for the team to put into the transfer market like Grant. Similarly, Twain also did not like those owners who liked to throw money around to sign a bunch of players he did not need and stuff them in the team.
The change mainly happened in the midfield.
In the 4-5-1 formation, the two midfielders at the back were very important. In Nottingham Forest’s current squad, George Wood and Tiago mainly played the positions. He did not have to worry about Wood as there was basically no big problem. The key here was Tiago.
The Portuguese midfielder had just celebrated his thirtieth birthday. Although his competitive form was still in its golden age, it was an indisputable fact that his competitive curve was about to decline. As he got older, problems would arise. Twain could not wait until the problem emerged to find a solution. He must plan ahead.
In any case, the position required at least three players to facilitate the rotation. There were a few good midfielders who played in the middle in the football world these days, such as Mascherano, Veloso, Lassana Diarra… But none of the three players could come. One was the Reds, Liverpool’s absolute main force, someone whom AC Milan could not even take away from Anfield. The second was the new darling of San Siro. The third was “the second Makelele” whom Real Madrid had been lacking for years.
Twain was interested in the Argentine midfielder, Gago, who had unhappy at Real Madrid.
With the presence of van der Vaart and Ribéry, as well as Diarra, Gago’s space for survival at Real Madrid was getting smaller and smaller. Originally when he was playing in Club Atlético River Plate, he played with confidence and ease and was famous for his sense of the big picture in the game. But at Real Madrid, in order to fight for a chance to play, he had to change his style of play and became a midfielder like Gattuso. Although he was hard-working and not bad…the situation changed when Lassana Diarra came.
In terms of the defense abilities such as interception, tackling, marking, he was not as good as Diarra. In his ability to pass the ball and organize the offense with long shots to attack, he was not as good as van der Vaart and Ribéry. He appeared to be a little mediocre. His defensive ability was stronger than van der Vaart’s. His offensive ability seemed to be slightly better than Diarra’s. But he did not have one ability that had the prominent advantage, leaving him on the bench at in the star-studded Real Madrid.
He worked very hard the pitch, but he had played as a foot soldier for so many years and seemed to forget how to attack. He often made mistakes when passing the ball forward on the pitch. And as a defensive midfielder, once he made an error in his pass, the other side could directly counterattack and cause a mess in Real Madrid’s rear defensive line.
Although he occasionally had some flashes of brilliance, it was too insignificant compared to his teammates around him…
Gago’s chances for appearances at Real Madrid had been woeful these two seasons, while his Argentine teammate, Higuaín did very well instead.
Although he did not do so well, Twain saw what he needed—in his team he did not need Gago to be a foot soldier and tirelessly run around to tackle and foul in the midfield as he did at Real Madrid. George Wood could handle such tasks. What he needed was Gago’s special features such as his strong sense of the big picture in the game, excellent passes and creativity. In addition, Gago had good endurance and a serious attitude, which Twain quite liked. He liked dedicated players, even if they were not geniuses.
Based on these circumstances, Twain found Gago’s agent.
One side wanted the player and the other side wanted to leave. Both sides hit it off. Next, it was the Forest club’s offer to Real Madrid.
Real Madrid also believed that Gago’s role in the current team was not obvious. Rather than keeping him, it was better to sell him. After all, he was already twenty-five years old, and in any case could not be counted as a “young promising player.” There was basically no hope to count on if he had not succeed at twenty-five. Playing for a powerhouse club was prestigious but the demands of a powerhouse club was much higher and more stringent.
Negotiations between the two sides went well, with Nottingham Forest’s offer of ten million pounds accepted by Real Madrid. Although it cost them sixteen and a half million pounds to buy him at the time, Real Madrid always did the same thing—to buy a player at a high price and then sell him at a low price or give him away for free. Anyway, the super wealthy Real Madrid did not care about the small amounts of money. Moreover, Nottingham Forest had sold a lot of players to Real Madrid, and the relationship between the top brass of the two teams appeared to be good.
In this way, Fernando Gago, the Argentine midfielder, who played four and a half seasons at Real Madrid and was once known as “the second Redondo”, put on Nottingham Forest’s number 16 red jersey.
He hoped to usher in a new chapter in his career in England. And Tony Twain hoped that under his own hands, Gago could restore his elegant style of playing like “the second Redondo” and inject a limitless momentum into the team’s offense.
But Gago did not seem to be adapting to the style of the new team. Whether in training or friendly games, he always played according to what he did at Real Madrid by participating too much in the midfield defense and contribute little to the offense.
Due to this, Twain specifically found him and talked to him about it.
In fact, the conversation was very simple and less than a minute. Twain only made a remark, and everything suddenly became clear at once for Gago.
At the time, Twain said, “You only need to care about passing the ball forward, don’t be afraid of mistakes. Don’t worry about errors in passing and dribbling. George is around you, isn’t he? Trust him and just boldly attack with confidence!”
A few years later, when Gago recalled his career, he still thought that Tony Twain’s words gave him the greatest help and encouragement.
...
Chapter 824: Everyone’s on Their Way
In the blink of an eye, Chen Jian has already spent two years in a foreign land. If he were to count the year in which he was sent here after participating in the talent show, then this was his third year in Nottingham.
He had initially stayed at the proclaimed Nottingham Forest’s most die-hard fan, Mr. John’s home. However, he later moved out because he wanted to learn to be independent.
Chen Jian might be having an apprenticeship with Nottingham Forest at the moment, but that did not stop him from continuing his studies at Nottingham University. He keeps a low-profile in school, and does not reveal his additional identity as a footballer to his school mates.
Having spent three years in England, Chen Jian no longer struggles with communicating in English. He is always the most hardworking and passionate player amongst his team mates, and the coaches would always use him as an exemplar to encourage his team mates to train hard.
His behavior piqued the interest of his team mates and they asked him, “Do all Chinese people work as hard as you?”
Chen Jian should feel lonely and left out since he was the only Chinese or Asian in his team. However, he focused all his attention on his training solely, and he did not think about any of these other trifles.
He knew that he was in a race against time. He would not be able to accomplish anything in his life if he were to slack on his training now.
He firmly believes in a principle that was brought up in many of the stories that he listened to while growing up:
A genius is only able to achieve success because he is working hard in the time that another uses to drink coffee. There is no such thing as a genius who is able to achieve success just by relying on his gift alone.
If even a genius needs to work hard, then there was no way an ordinary person like him could not work hard.
A genius would still have his gift without hard work, but an ordinary person would have nothing without hard work.
Chen Jian was assigned to train with the U15 team during the very first year that he joined Nottingham Forest due to his poor foundation in football. He might have stuck out like a sore thumb amongst a group of 14 to 15 year olds, but he was not embarrassed about the situation. He put his heart and soul into training his footballing foundation, and he did not care about the looks that were thrown his way.
It was difficult for him to find a training partner as a result of the age gap between him and his other team mates in the U15 team. Therefore, he could only practise by himself most of the time.
Chen Jian was also unable to participate in the U15 competitions.
In China, it was common for players to lie about their actual ages, but that was not the case in England.
In truth, Chen Jian longed to participate in the U15 competitions. Every time the team participated in a competition, he would sit by the side and become very engrossed in watching how the players play football.
The players might be younger than him by four or five years, but besides his physical build being slightly better than theirs, he was not able to find a single advantage that he had over them.
Chen Jian was also not able to participate in intra-team U15 competitions either. He was too old, and it would be too easy for him to take advantage of his physical build, which would make things unfair to the younger and smaller players in the team.
This situation lasted for close to a year.
In the second year, Chen Jian was promoted to train with the U18 team despite being nearly 20 years old by then. However, even then, he was still unqualified to participate in U18 competitions such as the FA Youth Cup. He was only able to play in intra-team U18 competitions, or some unofficial warm-up competitions. But, he was still able to participate in some kind of competition at the very least.
Chen Jian was actually a very intelligent person. His intelligence can be discerned from how he was able to converse in fluent English with his British team mates in just a short period of time.
Even if he was not selected to play in a particular game, Chen Jian would still make a trip down to watch the match in person. In fact, he never misses a match that Nottingham Forest plays in, be it a youth team match, a reserve team match or a first team match.
The best part about watching the match in person rather than on TV is that his view would not be restricted by the camera shot. He is able to get a complete view of the entire pitch.
Other than a few occasional appearances as a right back, Chen Jian mostly featured as a midfielder who operated down the middle of the pitch in the youth team. It was a position that required him to be able to see and grasp everything that was happening on the pitch.
He would mull over every action that a player takes while he watches the game from the stands.
Why did they choose to deal with the ball that way and not this way? What are the pros and cons of every possible method of dealing with something?
He would pay attention to the performance that the more famous players put in on the pitch. He would observe how they play football in general.
Chen Jian believes that watching football is also a form of training. A player who is willing to rack his brains and analyze the game being played out before him would definitely be able to learn a lot of things just by watching.
He also carries a small notebook with him whenever he shows up to watch the matches. He would jot down everything that he observed or thought of as he watched the match, so that he is able to refer to the notes again in the future.
A midfielder needs to be the most intelligent player on the pitch, because he needs to be able to analyze what is happening on the pitch at all times and make the best decision that corresponds with the situation. In this sense, the training that Chen Jian has given himself is apt.
Chen Jian did not only watch and analyze the games. He would also try to apply what he learned from the matches in his actual training.
All the coaches of the youth team admire his way of playing football in which he would make use of his brain.
Chen Jian did not have any advantage in his physicality once he was put into the U18 team. There were lots of professional footballers who were physically stronger than he was. Asians simply are not able to measure up against the Westerners in terms of physical stature and height.
In terms of explosive power, Chen Jian was not the weakest in the team, but neither was he the most outstanding. He was just average at best. The only thing that he could work on to make himself stand out from the rest of his team mates was his ability to make use of his brain. Unlike physical stature and height, a person’s intelligence does not rely on his genes.
He might not be physically strong enough. He might lack explosive power and he might also not be fast enough. But, he can make up for all those weaknesses with his intellect.
A year has passed since Chen Jian trained himself to use his brains more while playing football, and he has managed to achieve outstanding results.
He might not be able to participate in the FA Youth Cup or the Youth League, but he was able to put up good performances in the intra-team matches.
Chen Jian typically plays as a defensive midfielder for his team. When he has to defend, he does not make use of his physicality to fight for the ball with his opponents. Instead, he would judge where his opponent would run to during his attack and then run over to the area before his opponent is able to get there so as to intercept the ball and stop the opposition’s offense before it threatens his team’s goal.
Similarly, he would not try to use his pace against his opponents when he is trying to bring the ball forward during an attack. He would always observe the situation on the pitch after he has received a pass, and he would then pass the ball over to where it should be passed to. Doing so makes his attacks easy, effective and straightforward. It also enables him to grasp any fleeting chance to catch their opponents off guard and launch an attack.
However, it did not matter how hard he trained and how well he performed in the youth team. He remained as an ‘apprentice’ in Nottingham Forest, and the club has never offered him a new professional contract. His salary was very low and it was only enough to let him live his life in Nottingham. He was not able to send money back to his parents, and neither did he have the money to spend on women to satisfy his biological needs.
His life was simple and dull. He spent most of his time at either the training grounds or his apartment, and he would drop by the university once in a while. It has been three years since he came to Nottingham, but he has only gone to the downtown shopping district five times so far, and he did not even know where the other places of entertainment were at.
He did not know how much longer such a life would last. He was not some monk doing penance. He craved to live a life of higher quality, but he needed to be given a higher salary in order for him to achieve that. He needed a new professional contract.
He still vividly remembers every single word that Tony Twain said to him in that very phone call.
“… You are just an apprentice. I won’t guarantee you anything. I won’t promise that you’d be able to fulfil your dream and become a professional footballer in the future. Don’t even think about something like being able to represent the first team in competitions right now! The club will also not be able to promise you anything. Be it your pay, your treatment or a guaranteed contract… We won’t promise you anything. We would not give you anything besides a chance. It is possible that you would still be in the reserves team fighting for a spot in the first team once you are 26. It is also possible that you would be kicked out of the club and be forced to join a semi-professional football team. There are even worse scenarios, but I leave those to your imagination…”
Will those scenarios become a reality?
Chen Jian did not return to China during the month’s long vacation. He intended to use the time to continue with his practice.
His actions caused his mother to worry about him, and she took a month’s leave to fly over to England to visit him. His father, on the other hand, was not able to fly over because he had to work. That was to be expected, since his family was not rich enough to be able to emigrate over to England to be with their son.
Chen Jian could be considered to be working right now, and it was good that he no longer needed to ask for money from his parents.
Both his parents were doing jobs with a low salary. It would take them a long time to plan their finances before they are able to pay for a trip to England.
Chen Jian hoped that he would be able to receive a professional contract from the club soon. This would increase his salary and he would then be able to reduce the financial burdens on his parents.
It would mostly be a lie if he were to say that he wanted to play football because it was his passion. His wish was to turn his passion into his profession. There would be nothing more blissful to him in this whole wide world than that.
His mother brought numerous bags of items with her when she came over to England. Most of the items were specialties and condiments from Sichuan.
She had brought them along because she was worried about her son’s inability to taste authentic Sichuan cuisines during his time in England, and because she wanted to save money, since the cost of living in England was much higher as compared to Mianyang City, their hometown.
However, Chen Jian could not eat of any of the Sichuan food products she brought along, be it the Sichuan bacon or sausages, because he was a professional athlete and he could not eat any of those food.
In truth, he really wanted to eat them, but he had to force himself to stay away from them. If he was not able to persevere with this strict diet, then he should just give up on being a professional footballer entirely.
His mother could not understand why he would find boiled chicken delicious. Despite their disagreements over food however, the two still spent a happy month with each other. Chen Jian did not feel as lonely with his mother by his side.
Every night after training, he would bring his mother out to shop. At times, he would also bring her to watch Forest’s first team matches at the stadium. He wanted to let her experience the crazy atmosphere. However, his mother did not want to go after a visit or two because she found the atmosphere too noisy and she did not think that her heart would be able to take it…
When the time for their separation drew near, Chen Jian began contemplating about what he should get for his parents as a gift. He eventually decided to bring his mother over to London during the weekend to buy a gift for both of them.
Oxford Street is a famous business district in London. Nearly all of the luxury brands in the world have set up a retail store in this district.
Every year, large numbers of tourists make their way over to shop for branded products at Oxford Street. They come here to shop not because of the appeal of the luxury brands, but because the products here are slightly cheaper as compared to other places.
Despite the cheaper price however, the expression on Chen Jian’s mother’s face changed after she glanced at the price tags on a few items. She immediately pulled on her son and urged him to leave. She looked like she would never go near any of these shops in her life again.
Regrettably for her, Chen Jian was adamant about buying them gifts as his way of showing filial piety towards them.
It was only natural for Chen Jian to want to buy gifts for his parents, considering what they had done for him in the past.
His parents were the only ones who stood up for him at a time where all his close friends and relatives were against his decision of dropping out of the Tianjin Police Academy to pursue his footballing dream in England.
They did not think that Chen Jian was talented enough to make a name for himself in the footballing scene. One of his relatives who had no knowledge of the state of football in England used the state of football in China as a way of deterring him from going over to England.
“Jian, look at the reputation surrounding Chinese professional football! Listen to me. Don’t think about the quality of the school that you are enrolled in. All you need to do is to get a certificate. When you graduate and return here, I will use my connections to land you a job at the court. Don’t become a professional footballer, okay?”
If Chen Jian could still vividly remember the spectacle whereby all his relatives made a trip over to talk him out of his decision, then he would certainly remember how his parents had supported him in the face of his relatives even more clearly.
His relatives intended to get his parents to stop him from pursuing unrealistic things. They knew that there was a chance that Chen Jian would not listen to their words, no matter how good a relationship they might have with him. However, a son would surely not disobey his parents should they tell him to give up on his impractical dream.
Chen Jian’s parents gave a unified response to their relatives when asked. “It’s up to Chen Jian. We as parents can’t interfere with his decision. If he wants to go, then we’d let him go.”
His relatives could say nothing else when his parents were supportive of his decision. Chen Jian subsequently flew over from Sichuan to England and began his journey to realize his dream.
Chen Jian did not know what he would be doing now if not for his parents’ open-mindedness.
Perhaps he would have gotten a job at court through his relative’s connections, and also end up owing his relative a huge favour in the process. Or perhaps he would have become a security guard in Tianjin after graduation.
Who knows?
He definitely needed to do something to reciprocate the support he received from his parents.
However, he needed an excuse to get his mother to accept his gift wholeheartedly. Thus, he told his mother that he had just signed a new contract with the club before she arrived in England. He was no longer just an apprentice but a professional footballer. His salary was one that a professional footballer would draw and definitely could not compare to the salary he was getting as an apprentice.
Therefore, it was not a problem to spend a bit of money to buy gifts for them!
His mother was happy for him after hearing the news. Chen Jian felt like it was worth lying after seeing the smile on her face.
As for how to cover up his lie afterwards, he would just think about it another time.
In the end, Chen Jian used up his two years’ worth of savings to buy a tuxedo and a casual outfit for his father, and a handbag and skirt for his mother.
His mother wore the skirt and walked out of the dressing room happily. She looked a little embarrassed as she looked at herself before the mirror.
“My son is a famous football star now.” She quickly averted the topic to hide her embarrassment from her son. “Your dad will also be very happy when he hears this.”
“I’m just a professional footballer. I’m not a football star, mum…”
He might have feigned composure before his mother, but worry still crept onto his face when he walked over to the cashier to make payment.
He was not concerned about the money he had to spent to buy the gifts for his parents. He was just worried that his lie would be exposed one day. He could not imagine how disappointed his parents would be then…
His mother’s flight was scheduled to take off on Tuesday afternoon. Chen Jian went to find the youth team manager, Greenwood, to request for a day off during training on Monday.
Greenwood did not accede to his request straight away. Instead, he grinned at him and said, “You came at a good timing, Chen. I received a call from South Wilford earlier. They told me to inform you to make a trip over and find Manager David Kerslake when you reach.”
Chen Jian was confounded. “I’m sorry, Manager Greenwood. I didn’t catch your words. Can you repeat yourself once more?”
Greenwood coughed lightly. “The first team assistant manager David Kerslake wishes to speak to you.”
“Me?” Confusion was written all over Chen Jian’s face. He did not interact with the first team coaching staff before. Why would the first team manager want to speak him?
Greenwood could not hold back his words after seeing the foolish look on Chen Jian’s face. He slapped him on the back and said, “He’s going to tell you to sign a new professional contract! You are not going to be an apprentice after this.”
Chen Jian would have thought that he must be dreaming if not for the fact that Greenwood’s slap was painful.
“You mean… They want to sign a professional contract with me?” He asked in disbelief.
“That’s right, Chen. Are all the Chinese as cautious as you? I’ve already repeated myself so many times, yet you still don’t believe in me. If you don’t believe in me, then I’m going to call them to put away the contract…”
Before he could finish his words however, Chen Jian had already run away from him after giving him a curt bow.
It took a while before the words, “Thank you, Manager Greenwood!” reached his ears.
Greenwood smiled. “Why are you thanking me? You should thank yourself, Chen.”
The first team training session had concluded a while back, but both Tony Twain and Kerslake had stayed behind to wait for their man in the office.
Sounds of hurried footsteps and rough breathing could be picked up down the corridor. The two looked at each other and smiled.
Their man was here.
Chen Jian stood before the closed door. He was not in a hurry to knock on the door. He held up a fist, lowered his head and closed his eyes. He tried his best to calm himself down and slow down his breathing.
No one could blame him for feeling so worked up after hearing the news. Nonetheless, it would still be very embarrassing to enter the room looking the way he was right now.
A while passed before he finally raised his hand to knock on the door.
“Come in.” Kerslake’s voice rang out from behind the door.
“Manager Twain. Manager Kerslake.” Chen Jian politely greeted both managers as he made his way inside.
Kerslake was full of smiles when he responded to his greeting. “Hello, Chen.”
Twain, on the other hand, was more composed and only nodded his head as acknowledgement.
“Judging from the way you look… I suppose you already know why we want to speak to you today?”
Chen Jian nodded his head forcefully. He was afraid that they would change their minds if he were to nod too softly.
“We have always kept an eye on your performances for the past two years. You have performed well in the youth team. Tony thinks that you are talented. If we were to count the year where you became a part of us after joining the talent show, then you have improved very fast in these 3 years.”
The first image that surfaced in Chen Jian’s mind was his mother’s smile. He no longer had to worry about the lie he told her earlier.
I did not lie! I’m really going to be given a professional contract now!
“You still don’t have an agent yet right?”
Chen Jian nodded his head.
“Hmm… It doesn’t matter. It’s just a normal contract like any other. Go through it yourself.” Kerslake passed the contract over to him.
Chen Jian scanned through the contract. He did not care about what was written on the contract. He only paid attention to the duration of the contract and his weekly pay. It was a four year contract, and he was going to be given 1500 pounds a week.
It was not a high salary, but it was much better than the salary he was drawing as an apprentice right now.
“I’ve finished looking through it. I have no issues with it! Can I sign on it now?” Chen Jian wished that a pen would magically appear in his hands right now.
Kerslake was about to open his mouth, but Twain cut him off.
“Don’t be in such a hurry, lad.” The manager who had not spoken a single word since Chen Jian entered the room stood to his feet. “I want you to think about it carefully. Is this your final goal?”
Chen Jian did not understand what Twain was trying to say. He looked at him in confusion.
“We might have given you a professional contract, but based on your current abilities, you would still not be able to play for the first team. Even if we were to put aside the issue of the work permit, you would still not be able to appear in any of the first team matches. You also can’t play in any of the reserve team matches.”
Chen Jian felt as though someone had doused cold water over him after hearing Twain’s words. He was instantly able to cool down and think rationally.
What Twain said was right. Even if he signed the contract, he would still not be seen as an official member of Nottingham Forest, because he would not be able to represent Forest in any of its matches.
What good is there in being a professional footballer if he was not able to participate in matches?
Was he just going to go to the training grounds to train every day and then draw a salary for it?
I am indeed playing football to earn money, but this is not how I want to earn money.
Chen Jian shook his head. “If I’m not able to participate in matches, then why are you still giving this contract to me? I don’t understand, Mr. Twain…”
Twain glanced at Kerslake, before continuing, “The reason why we called you here alone is because we have a special arrangement with regards to your contract with us… By signing this contract, you are undoubtedly a member of Nottingham Forest. We would be responsible for your professional career. However, as you know, the work permit is an issue. You won’t be able to play for the team. We also wouldn’t sign a player and leave him to train on our training grounds for four years. It’d be too much of a waste.”
“I do think highly of you. You have the potential to become a star player in the future. I believe that what you need right now is to play in matches against decent teams. There’s little you can learn by training in the youth team. But, as you know, you can’t feature in matches if you don’t have a work permit. It does not matter how talented you might be.” Kerslake said. “This is a vexing issue, Chen.”
Twain went on to say, “Let’s not think about your personal abilities and potential for now. Let’s focus on the work permit for now. Actually, there are many ways to obtain a work permit. It just depends if you are willing to do them. One of the ways is to marry a British woman.”
Chen Jian was shocked. He was only 20 years old this year. He has been preoccupied with becoming a professional footballer for the past few years, so he did not have any time to spare to find a girlfriend.
How could someone like him possibly have contemplated about marriage?
Twain smiled after seeing Chen Jian’s reaction. “Looks like this is a dead end. The other way is to apply for British citizenship.”
Chen Jian was not as shocked this time round. He immediately shook his head. “This is impossible, Mr. Twain. China does not allow any of its citizens to hold dual citizenship.”
“Then just change your citizenship.” Twain told Chen Jian with a stoic face.
Chen Jian became even more animated. “No way! Definitely not! I have never thought about something like that. I am Chinese. How could I possibly give up my Chinese citizenship? My parents would never agree to this either…”
“Okay, let’s say you get selected to be a member of the Chinese national football team and you manage to play in 75 per cent of your national team’s ‘A-ranked’ matches. The Chinese national football team would also need to be ranked in the top 75 teams in the world… I don’t think that’s possible based on their current abilities. I also think it’s a pity for you to be playing football in China…” Twain furrowed his brows and continued to speak to Chen Jian gravely. “I still think it’s better for you to consider doing one of those two things that I told you about earlier. Either you marry a British woman or you change your citizenship.”
Chen Jian continued to shake his head. “Mr. Twain. I am really grateful that you think so highly of me. It doesn’t matter if my abilities are good enough to get into the Chinese national football team or not. It also doesn’t matter how poor the Chinese national football team is. I will never reject being a player for them as long as they request for me to do so. It’s impossible for me to change my citizenship, Mr. Twain. Perhaps you do not understand this strong sense of belonging that we Chinese feel towards China… I don’t know how to explain this feeling to you either. Anyway, I won’t ever change my citizenship. I can’t do something like give up my Chinese citizenship to play football…”
Chen Jian suddenly felt as though the contract he was holding in his hands was very heavy.
He was prepared for the worst. He was prepared to either give up the opportunity to sign a professional contract with Nottingham Forest and return to China, or to play football in another country that did not require a work permit.
Twain shrugged. “I certainly don’t understand. Isn’t your dream to become a true professional footballer? Then why are you hesitating now that the chance is right before you? I think it’s very normal to change your citizenship. Look at all the famous professional footballers. They all hold multiple citizenships. Didn’t the Brazilian football star Aílton give up his Brazilian citizenship to join Qatar so that he could participate in World Cup?”
Chen Jian furrowed his brows as he explained to the British manager, “It’s not the same, Mr. Twain. The Chinese are different from the people from other parts of the world. Why is there a Chinatown in almost every country? I might not harbor such thoughts if I was born in England. But I was born and raised in China…” He started becoming more and more exasperated as he spoke. He did not know how to explain his feelings to the manager before him.
He bit on his lip and contemplated for a while. “A dream is just a dream, Mr. Twain. My dream is to turn my passion into my profession. However, neither my dream or my job would ever become more important than my ‘motherland’. The word ‘motherland’ also refers to the land of your mother. How could anyone turn their back on their mother just for money? Being filial to your parents is one of the many Chinese morals that we are taught, and it is also the most important. How can I still call myself a human if I push my mother aside just to play football?”
Chen Jian got more and more worked up as he continued to try and explain his thoughts to Twain.
Eventually, he decided to just return the contract to him.
“I would rather give up on this chance if I really have to give up on my citizenship to play for Nottingham Forest, Mr. Twain.”
Neither Twain nor Kerslake picked up the contract. Instead, the two broke out laughing.
“What did I tell you, David? Don’t underestimate a Chinese’s stubbornness! Ha!”
Twain then looked at the dumbstruck Chen Jian who could not make sense of what was happening. “Don’t worry. There’s no one here who would force you do anything that you don’t want to do. As for what citizenship you want to choose, that’s entirely up to you. Your decision would not affect the validity of this contract. We still want you to sign this contract.”
“Then… Just now…” Chen Jian was at a loss.
“That was just a joke.”
The expression on Chen Jian’s face turned solemn. “But I don’t think that was a very funny joke, Manager.”
Twain became a little embarrassed after hearing him say that. “All right, I’d apologize to you. I’d apologize to you sincerely for that. I definitely understood what you meant and how you felt earlier. I’m not joking about this. After all, I am a British who knows a thing or two about China.”
Chen Jian’s happiness had completely vanished due to the ‘joke’ that the two had pulled on him.
He looked at the contract in his hands and suddenly began thinking a lot more about his future. He was not as excited as he was at the start.
That’s right. Even if I do sign on this contract, I can’t guarantee that I’d be able to succeed in the future. This is just the first small step in the long journey ahead of me. If I can’t play a match for Forest, then where should I go four years from now? Will I be able to continue playing professional football? If I can, where can I go?
The work permit. The Chinese national team. My citizenship…
All these various issues continued to linger and encircle his mind.
Twain seemingly read his mind. He placed his hand on Chen Jian’s shoulder. “Don’t think about things in the future. You should focus on playing well for now. If you really possess the skills needed to represent Forest in matches, we would apply for the work permit for you. Thus, the work permit is not an issue. The only issue is whether you have the abilities to represent Forest. Do you understand?”
Twain’s words enlightened Chen Jian.
That’s right. I might not be able to get the work permit in the end, but as long as I have the abilities, then isn’t it the same no matter where I play football? My dream was never to play for Nottingham Forest either…
Chen Jian eventually signed on the contract by penning down the Chinese characters for his name.
Twain received the signed contract from him. He scrutinized his signature for a while, before he smiled and said, “You sure wrote your name nicely.”
He passed the contract over to Kerslake before turning to face him once again. “I heard your mother is in Nottingham?”
It was only then that Chen Jian remembered why he tried to find Manager Greenwood earlier.
“Yes, but she’s flying back tomorrow. I was going to request for a day off from Manager Greenwood to send her off…”
“No problem. You can just make a request to me. Anyway, I approve of your request. Go ahead and send your mother off tomorrow. After you are done with that, I want you to start packing your things. You have to prepare to leave England as well.”
The news caught Chen Jian off guard.
Are they trying to chase him away now that he has signed the contract?
“What kind of rubbish are you thinking about now? Why do you always like to think about all these useless things? Greenwood said that you are an intelligent player, but you need to use your intellect on other things! Without a work permit, you can’t play in any matches here. Why would we keep you here? Can you develop your skills just by training? You obviously need to participate in matches! That’s why, you are already on loan to Volendam, a Dutch football club that is playing in the Eerste Divisie. Develop yourself while you are there!”
Chen Jian did not think that he would be able to play in an official league match so soon. It might only be for a club in the Eerste Divisie, but he was not picky.
It was great that he was able to play in a match after being deprived of any chance for three years. How could he possibly still be picky?
“There’d be a language barrier, but you need to get used to it. No matter what, I still hope that you’d be able to perform well over there. From my point of view, I don’t want any player that walks out of Nottingham Forest to become a laughingstock to others. From your point of view, you need to perform well for your own good.”
Chen Jian nodded his head forcefully. “I promise you I’d do my best over there!”
Twain smiled after seeing the way he reacted to his words. Chen Jian reminded him of how a member of the Young Pioneers [1] would act when they were inducted into the organization…
“Word is cheap. If you fail to perform over there, then this would be the very last contract you are getting from us.” Twain pointed at the contract in Kerslake’s hands.
Then, he paused a little and changed the tone and language that he had been using up till then.
“Chen Jian.”
“Huh?” Chen Jian did not expect Twain to suddenly speak in Sichuan dialect at all. It took him aback.
“You are a player who only started playing football recently. You know what you lack, don’t you? It’s time. It doesn’t matter how hard you train. This is something that you can’t make up for through training. Three years of training…” Twain raised three of his fingers. “Is definitely a very short time for any player who’s aiming to become a professional footballer. But you don’t have a choice. It doesn’t matter where you are playing football. You have to remember one thing. You do not possess talent, and you also do not possess time. You cannot afford to make mistakes, and you also do not have the right to complain about your circumstances. You are incredibly lucky to even be able to get to where you have today. So, from now on, I want you to keep pushing ahead, no matter what obstacles lay in front of you. You don’t have another choice. Do you understand?”
Chen Jian nodded his head. “Yes, I understand.”
Twain smiled and then reverted back to speaking in English. “Don’t think about anything and don’t care about anything. Just keep moving forward. Keep moving forward…”
Twain’s voice started to trail away and eventually became a whisper. His vision became blurry as he spoke as well.
Isn’t it the same for him?
Ever since the day he transmigrated, hasn’t he also just kept moving forward? He also has to keep moving forward now and in the future as well…
Destiny chose him and he does not have a choice either. Just like Chen Jian, there was no way back for him.
“Keep moving forward!” Twain’s voice changed back to how it was earlier, and his vision also started to clear up.
He looked at Chen Jian. “You will definitely achieve your dream someday. Don’t forget that expression that you made just now when you were adamant about retaining your Chinese citizenship.”
Chen Jian bowed deeply to Twain.
A day later, Chen Jian sent his mother off at the Heathrow Airport. He also told her that he was going to play football in Netherlands then.
His mother wished him all the best after hearing the news.
Two days later, Chen Jian packed his belongings and made a trip over to Netherlands all by himself. There was no attention from the media over his departure, and there were also no fans to send him off at the airport. He was going to start chasing after his dream in a new and foreign country.
At the same time, Dunn began his journey to achieve his dreams over at the Meadow Lane Stadium that was situated north of the Trent River. He was being revealed for the very first time before the press as the new manager for Notts County, and he displayed a slightly bashful smile before the cameras.
As for Tony Twain, he continued to lead Nottingham Forest, a team that has his name deeply engraved upon it, towards a brand new tomorrow.
The radiant morning sun rose up slowly from beneath the horizon, and it shone light onto the faces of everyone who were on their way to achieve their goals and dreams.
...
Chapter 825 - Two Years Later
The rays of the morning sun seeped into the room through a small gap between the curtains.
Twain got off bed gently, before turning around to glance at his sleeping wife. He then donned on his pajamas and left the room quietly.
He turned on the tap and squeezed a lot of toothpaste over his toothbrush. He then put his neatly folded bath towel next to the sink. He was all prepared to wash his face and brush his teeth so as to get refreshed for the new day.
The moment he raised his head however, he became dumbstruck.
The man he was seeing in the mirror was foreign to him.
He looked like someone who had not slept in ages. The crisscross wrinkles on his face seemed as though they had been engraved onto his face with a knife, and his eyes were bloodshot as well.
However, what he found most unsightly was not his wrinkles or his bloodshot eyes, but rather the clump of dishevelled white hair on top of his head.
Twain tilted his head and stared at his reflection in the mirror for a long while. He did not care about how the tap was still running and how his toothpaste had already slipped down onto the basin.
He welcomed his 45th birthday a month ago, on 9th September 2013.
Time passed by really quickly. Before he even knew it, it has been more than 10 years since he transmigrated.
If not for the fact that he transmigrated, he should only be 32 years old right now and should still be considered young. He would have been at an age where he could still afford to mess around in life and pretend to be someone young on the internet. He also would not have to care about any complex philosophical issues such as where life comes from and where it leads to.
However, as a result of his transmigration, he was already 45 years old this year.
It is said that you have lived half your life when you reach 50 years old. But, how many people in this world can live till they are 100 years old? One is considered to have lived a long life if he or she is able to live till they are 90 years old. Hence, being 45 years old signified that he had already lived half of his life.
A thought surfaced in Twain’s mind for the very first time as he stared at his aged self in the mirror:
It does not matter if I never suffer a second heart attack. I am not far away from death either way. The time I have left will not be longer than the time I have lived.
Melancholy gushed up within him at the thought.
When would he too, turn into an old man who is gibberish, confused, unable to speak loudly, perpetually wheelchair-bound and who required assistance wherever he went?
He had always thought that he still had a long way to go before he would end up in that state. But, why does he feel like those things would happen very soon now?
The sounds of the running water caught the attention of Shania, who had been lazing around on bed.
In truth, she had woken up when Twain got off the bed. She lied on the bed and tried her hardest to suppress her smile as she watched her husband get off the bed gently so as to not wake her.
The sounds of running water emerged shortly after Twain made his way into the bathroom. However, it has been almost 10 minutes since he went in, and the sounds have not ceased.
The smile on Shania’s face disappeared. She sat up on the bed and called out, “Uncle Tony?”
There was no response.
Shania’s heart began to beat wildly. An unpleasant thought surfaced in her mind.
Did Tony’s heart attack relapse?
At the thought of that, Shania jumped off the bed in a panic. She did not care that she was only wearing an underwear then, and she did not bother trying to put on her slippers either. She ran into the bathroom next door without anything on her upper body and her feet.
The first thing she saw was not Uncle Tony lying unconscious on the floor. She heaved a sigh of relief and broke into a smile when all she saw was Twain holding onto a toothbrush and staring at his reflection in the mirror with his head tilted to the side.
“You scared me to death, Uncle Tony.”
No one responded to her.
“Uncle Tony!” Shania had to raise her voice and shout.
“Huh? What? Oh…” Twain saw the way that Shania was dressed, and he immediately understood what had happened.
“You must have let your imagination run wild again, right?”
Shania rolled her eyes. “You look like a corpse and you didn’t answer when I called you. Of course I’d be worried.” She walked over behind Twain and hugged him from behind.
“What were you looking at? You were so engrossed earlier.” She whispered by Twain’s ear.
“I was just looking at my white hair.” Twain forced a smile.
“You can just dye it.” Shania kissed the back of Twain’s neck. “Besides, it’s not like all your hair has turned white. It’s just your sideburns.”
The pair were being intimate with each other, but somehow, the sight of it seemed a little jarring when viewed from the mirror. The man looked old while the woman’s naked body emanated youth and passion.
If the two of them had not been doing such intimate acts, one would have thought that they shared a father-daughter relationship.
“Dye my hair?” Twain contemplated about it for a moment, then nodded his head. “That’s a good idea. But I’ve never thought that there’d come a day where I need to dye my hair.”
Shania smiled. “Every human being ages with time. I might look young to you now, but 10 years from now, I would be just like you as well. My dear philosopher, you will age faster if you keep having such deep thoughts about life every morning.”
Twain’s nether region slowly started reacting to the sensation of two lumps of plump flesh against his back. However, now was not the time to be doing those things.
He turned around and grasped Shania by the shoulders before trying to push her out of the room. “Put on your clothes. Don’t catch a cold.”
The eagle-eyed Shania noticed the abnormality with his nether region. She smiled proudly and said, “Look at that, Uncle Tony. We already did it yesterday, but you are still lustful in the morning! It’s proof that you haven’t aged at all!”
She then giggled as she finished her words and ran away right as Twain raised a hand and pretended that he wanted to hit her.
Twain saw Pierce Brosnan when he drove over to the training grounds at Wilford. The way in which he stood with a cigarette in his mouth and his brows furrowed made him look much older than he was.
Twain realized that he now has a tendency to observe the changes in the outward appearances of every person he interacted with. It might be due to what happened in the morning.
Time changes many people. He wanted to see what those changes are exactly.
“Hey, Mr. Bond. Why do you look so depressed in the morning?” Twain poked out his head from within the car and greeted Brosnan.
“Ah, Tony… The interview that you promised me…”
“I will arrange for it to happen some other day.”
“Not another day, Tony. My boss told me to get the exclusive interview with you today or else… Help me out please…”
“All right, all right. Let’s do it this afternoon then. At the restaurant in Wilford. We’d chat while we eat.”
More reporters rushed up to Twain when he finished dealing with Brosnan. They were all fighting for the chance to ask him questions.
“Mr. Twain! Can you discuss about Lennon’s transfer…”
The reporter’s question touched a nerve with Twain. He glared at him fiercely. “That is something that happened almost two months ago. What else do you want me to say? If you really can’t find a question to ask me, I’d suggest that you ask me about what I had for breakfast this morning, or what I intend to eat for lunch or dinner!”
Indeed. That was something that happened two months ago…
Aaron Lennon’s outstanding performance in Forest has allowed him to cement his position as a starting left winger for England’s national football team.
Currently, both the right and left winger positions on the national team are taken up by players from Forest, namely Bentley on the right and Lennon on the left. Walcott, who was nicknamed ‘The Little Tiger’, was forced to sit on the bench whenever the two could play.
Of course, Fabio Capello would not be displeased with such a situation. He was very fortunate to be able to choose from a number of high quality players for the same position.
Lennon’s ability to play on both the left and right wing has benefited his career significantly, because he was able to obtain more chances to play in a game as compared to others. The numerous chances to play in games allowed him to improve his skills and become more mature as a player, and his good performances eventually led to interest from other football clubs.
There were numerous football clubs that had put in a bid for Lennon this summer. They all wanted to buy a player like Lennon who could play on both the left and right wing.
However, Twain insisted that Lennon was not for sale. Lennon was a player whom he personally groomed. He was a player who climbed through the ranks from the youth team all the way to the first team, and he was also a player who was well-liked in the team.
Why would Twain think about selling a player like that, especially now that he was in his prime?
Despite Twain’s refusal however, Lennon still left Forest in the end. The reason was simple.
Inter Milan had put in a bid that Forest could not reject: 30 million pounds!
Allan Adams did not care about Twain’s refusal to sell Lennon and insisted on involving himself with the transfer. He forcibly sold Lennon to Inter Milan, and his actions led to a huge rift between the two. Things got very bad between them, and the two nearly engaged in a physical fight before Evan Doughty.
When the press started publishing articles about how the two did not see eye to eye, Twain did not offer any clarifications to the issue.
I’m not clarifying anything because I obviously don’t get along with that money grubber!
Sometime later, Kerslake consoled Twain by telling him about how Lennon was also intent on leaving the club because Inter Milan had offered him a higher salary as well as other bonuses.
Twain was well aware that Inter Milan’s offer was an attractive one. However, he felt that he would have managed to keep Lennon at the club for another two seasons by making use of his personal charisma. If Lennon wanted to leave the club after those two seasons, Twain would definitely not stop him then, because Adriano Moke would have developed into a good player by then.
But, Allan’s interference had completely foiled his plan.
He was not upset about Lennon’s sale. He was upset that Allan Adams had gone against his word, because they had come to an agreement previously that Allan would not interfere with his job.
As someone who liked to have control and authority over everything, Twain saw Allan’s actions as a humiliation.
The only reason why he did not resign and walk away from the club was out of consideration for Evan Doughty and the team. It would be very easy for Twain to leave the club and find a higher-paying job elsewhere based on his achievements. However, it would be very difficult for him to groom another team like Forest in a short period of time. Forest was a club that he had spent 10 years to groom. It was his everything.
Twain still has yet to bear a child of his own with Shania, but Nottingham Forest was just like his son. He had developed a deep bond with the team, and he just could not toss this 10 year old son of his aside.
Brosnan, who was well aware of Twain’s temper, did not dare to bring up Lennon’s name before him for the past two months.
The reporter who just asked him the question clearly looks like a newbie…
Twain was left in a bad mood due to the reporter’s question. He decided to take out his anger on all the other reporters at the scene by refusing to answer any of their questions. He pulled a long face and drew up his car window before driving into the training grounds.
Some of the reporters began ranting about the situation.
Of course, their rants were not directed at Twain, since they were well aware of his fiery temper after years of interviewing him.
Their rants were directed at the young reporter instead.
“Are you new to the job? How could you not know the rules?” A middle-aged man questioned the young reporter with a voice brimming with hostility.
“Who was it that got you to ask such a stupid question? Which news agency do you work for?” Another bespectacled man who looked like he was a gentle and well-mannered person also questioned the young reporter through gritted teeth.
“That’s a piece of news that had been widely reported two months ago. Why are you still asking about it now?” This reporter was the only one who asked his question in a nicer tone.
“Do you know who exactly you are interviewing? It’s not the ‘Mr. Nice Guy’ Kevin Keegan! It’s Tony Twain! Tony Twain! You must be an intern reporter… I really hate newbies who do not know anything…”
The crowd of reporters left after reprimanding the young reporter. Brosnan looked at the young reporter who looked helpless after being chided. He walked up to him, gently patted him on the shoulder, and left without saying anything.
The incident made Brosnan recall his experiences as an intern reporter. He did not need to tell the young reporter anything. The young man would definitely come to understand how it is normal to make mistakes as a newbie.
The reporters who congregate around Wilford are perhaps the most unique group of people in the whole of England. The various news agencies would only send their most talented or most experienced reporters to carry out interviews here at Wilford. It was very rare for any agency to send a newbie here because they would just end up humiliating themselves.
The job of interviewing Tony Twain, who was known as the hardest man to deal with in the whole of England’s footballing scene, was not something that any newbie reporter could handle. Additionally, a newbie reporter would also find it hard to fight for a piece of news amongst a group of veteran reporters.
Every single reporter who frequently appeared here at Wilford was a veteran reporter who has wrote articles about Nottingham Forest for more than three years. They have all picked up numerous strategies about how to deal with the moody ‘King of the Forest’ through their long-standing ‘battles’ with him. They were all more familiar with Twain than they were with their own wives and children.
Many of these veteran reporters are known as the ‘wily old foxes’. They are called such because they know how to observe and analyse a situation. They know when they should ask a particular question, and they know what are the questions that they must never ask him. They also know what questions would potentially elicit a fierce reaction from Twain that they could then report about in their articles. Last but not least, they also know what is the best way to ask their questions so as to elicit the best results.
They learned everything through experience. It was no different from how a professional footballer develops himself. A footballer would never be able to grow if he is not able to play in games…
New football players would become seasoned players one day, just like how newbie reporters would also become capable, veteran reporters through time.
A certain inept manager was also only able to lift two Champions League trophies, two Premier League trophies, one EFL Cup trophy, one FIFA Club World Cup trophy, two Community Shield trophies, two UEFA Super Cup trophies and become known as the ‘Manager of Champions’ after suffering a concussion by the side of the pitch.
The City Ground Stadium was usually silent when there were no matches being played. However, there were times where the silence would be broken by visitors who had travelled all the way over from thousands of miles away.
A big luxurious bus was parked at the parking lot outside the City Ground Stadium. A group of yellow-skinned Asians wearing red caps over their raven black hair followed a slender white-skinned beauty into the trophy room within the City Ground Stadium.
“This is Nottingham Forest’s trophy room. This room holds all the trophies and honours that Forest has earned ever since it was formed.” The beautiful tour guide was British. Her Chinese pronunciation was not very accurate, but she could still use it to communicate with others as a tour guide and translator.
“The team has obtained one EFL Cup trophy after its current manager Tony Twain took over.” The tour guide said as she pointed at a small but exquisite trophy in the cabinet.
“They were also crowned as the champions of the Community Shield twice.” She then pointed at two silver trophies that were shaped like a shield.
“They were also able to obtain two UEFA Super Cup trophies, one FIFA Club World Cup trophy…” The beautiful tour guide introduced the trophies of varying sizes to the visitors behind her. The trophies were all exquisite, and they shimmered under the light.
“And two Premier League trophies. The one on the right is a trophy that they obtained during the 2007 to 2008 season. That very season was also the season where Nottingham Forest was able to achieve the Double. The trophy on the left is very new. It’s the one that Manager Tony Twain was able to achieve in the previous season.”
She walked towards a big glass cabinet in the center of the room before stopping in her tracks. She then pointed at the four trophies within the cabinet, and then introduced them with pride,
“These four trophies that are shaped like big human ears are the trophies that signify the greatest honor possible amongst the European football clubs… The Champions League trophies!”
Some of the visitors who understood football led out gasps of astonishment, while the others remained emotionless. They simply stared at the trophies and wondered if those silverware were truly made of silver…
The visitors crowded around the glass cabinet. There was a rule that stated that they were not allowed to take photos, but there were still football fans amongst the crowds who secretly fished out their digital cameras or handphones to take a photo.
After all, it is not every day that one is able to see four Champions League trophies all in one place.
The tour guide did not notice the visitors’ actions. She continued to introduce the significance behind the trophies to everyone excitedly.
“The number of European football teams who have managed to win four or more Champions League trophies can be counted with two hands. They are the nine-time champions Real Madrid, the six-time champions AC Milan, the five-time champion Liverpool, the four-time champions Ajax, Bayern Munich and Nottingham Forest! It is possible that Nottingham Forest would clinch a fifth trophy under the guidance of Manager Tony Twain soon!”
A visitor amongst the crowd raised his hand to ask a question. “Miss Tracy. Are you a die-hard fan of Tony Twain?”
The beautiful tour guide smiled after hearing the question. “Half of the people in Nottingham are his die-hard fans.”
The four Champions League trophies sat quietly within the glass cabinet and accepted the looks of wonder and admiration from the people beyond the glass.
There was an extraordinary story behind every single one of the trophies.
In Munich, Twain’s ‘swordsmen’ unsheathed their long swords from their shafts and shocked the whole of Europe during their very first appearance in the Champions League.
In Madrid, Forest was able to retain their champions title by defeating a tough team that had the then European Footballer of the Year as its player.
In Athens, Forest, who made its return to the top-flight European football competition, was able to put in a performance that made the King, AC Milan, pale in comparison. At that time, Tony Twain even shouted arrogantly that he would ‘jump into the sea’ if he could not win, but sadly, no one was able to get him to fulfil his promise.
In Moscow, Eastwood was able to clinch the winning goal against Chelsea amidst a heavy rain and help Forest defend its champions title for the second time. They were also able to achieve the double in that season as well.
If one were to quiet down and listen carefully, one could almost hear the sounds of muffled cheers that had been transmitted over from a distant time and space reverberate within each and every trophy.
“… The match is over! 1:0! Nottingham Forest, the club from England that made its maiden appearance in the Champions League has been crowned champions!”
“… Robson’s goal! The match is over…! Brian Clough has successfully led his team to retain the Champions League title at the Bernabéu! This is the highest ever honor for any football club! They are the Kings of Europe…”
“Freddy Eastwood! He has scored the goal needed to seal the victory for Forest! Tony Twain has finally led his team to clinch the Champions League trophy! They have defeated the mighty AC Milan!”
“It is pouring in Moscow right now, but the rain does not dampen the passion within the Nottingham Forest fans! It’s Freddy Eastwood once again! He has scored the goal needed to seal the victory for Forest again! The ones to topple under Robin Hood’s arrow this time round are the Blues! This is Nottingham Forest’s fourth Champions League trophy! All hail Forest! They have achieved the double!”
The visitors from China have left. Most of the lights in the trophy room were switched off and the room went dark, but the trophies continued to shimmer faintly within the darkness.
...
Chapter 826 - Destiny
“The defending champions of the Premier League, Nottingham Forest, has run into some troubles recently. They have gone without a win in three consecutive matches in the league, and the gap between them and first-placed Arsenal has increased to seven points. They were also eliminated by a Championship team in the EFL Cup. However, those are the least of Twain’s worries. His favorite player, Freddy Eastwood, has picked up another knee injury in the previous match, and that has left Twain in a very bad mood lately. The reporters who frequently appear at Wilford have all chosen to stay away and avoid asking him for comments.”
On November 1st, Matchday 11, Nottingham Forest faced Tottenham Hotspur in an away game.
Eastwood was knocked onto the ground when Michael Dawson tried to intercept his ball during the 54th minute of the match, and he was unable to get back to his feet after the collision.
Dawson was successful in snatching the ball from Eastwood, but he quickly kicked the ball out of bounds after realizing what had happened so as to allow Forest’s medical staff to get onto the pitch.
Dawson had intended to say a few comforting words to Eastwood, but he was pushed away by Forest’s medical staff who had rushed over to Eastwood’s side before he could say anything.
He might have been Nottingham Forest’s captain in the past, but he was now regarded as an enemy in the eyes of the Forest players.
Fleming and his two assistants carried out a medical examination of Eastwood as he laid on the ground moaning in pain.
“All right, all right. You’re going to be fine! You’re going to be fine!” The first thing Fleming did was not to check Eastwood’s knee. Rather, he looked at his expression instead. The sight of the Romani’s face shocked him. Tears had welled up in both of his eyes.
As a team doctor, Fleming would often get to see the expressions on the players’ faces up close when they lay injured on the pitch.
The expression on the players’ faces was all he needed to get a rough gauge of how serious their injury is most of the time, because it is said that we always know the state of our bodies the best.
Fleming knew of only one other example where a player cried after picking up an injury.
It was when Ronaldo collapsed on the pitch for the second time during the match with Nottingham Forest a few years ago.
Eastwood had opened his mouth wide and he looked as though he wanted to moan in pain. However, he was unable to produce a single sound. He resembled a fish that had just gotten out of the water.
“Stretcher. Stretcher.” Fleming called for the stretcher. The medical staff gingerly placed Eastwood onto it.
“You’d be just fine. Believe me. You’d be fine…” Fleming bent over to whisper by Eastwood’s ear as the latter was being carried off the pitch on the stretcher. He kept repeating his words as though he was performing a chant.
When they had gotten off the pitch, Fleming looked up and noticed Twain’s questioning gaze on him. He shook his head gravely in response, and he saw Twain swear.
The next day, Twain received even worse news.
Eastwood was seriously injured and was out of action for four months. In addition, he also needed to undergo an operation one more time.
“… This is very unfortunate. This is the third time Eastwood has to undergo a major operation for his injuries. His first came when he represented West Ham’s youth team in a match against Nottingham Forest’s youth team, and he picked up a serious injury after being tackled by George Wood. He had just celebrated his 30th birthday two days ago. Who would have thought that he’d receive this for a birthday present…”
“The 30 year-old Eastwood’s professional footballing career can be said to be legendary. He was once seen as a youth player with high prospects in West Ham’s youth team, but he was eventually discarded by West Ham after picking up a severe injury during the match against Nottingham Forest’s youth team. He then went on to play football in a semi-professional league, and also worked as a salesman selling second-hand cars…” The TV commentator spoke as though he was reciting a eulogy at Eastwood’s funeral.
“He was then brought over to City Ground Stadium by Tony Twain, and that was when he was given a second chance to play professional football. He scored the winning goal in the Champions League finals twice, and he has since become a legendary striker for Forest. He was the third highest goal scorer in the league during the season when Tony Twain returned to manage the club after ceasing treatment for his heart attack. He might have picked up one injury after another ever since then, but he was still able to score ten goals and above every season… This injury of his has probably dealt the heaviest blow to him so far. It might even lead to him ending his career in advance… According to his American operating doctor, Richard Steadman, Eastwood’s right knee is just like a bunch of torn cotton that had been stuffed together messily. There’s a possibility that he would get injured again after the operation…”
“Bastard!” Twain slammed his hand onto his desk. Kerslake, who stood beside him, did not dare to take a breath.
Twain was not reprimanding Kerslake, and neither was he reprimanding any other person.
He was reprimanding this terrible destiny of his.
He has never been able to have a healthy striker in his team ever since the day he brought back the Romani player from the soccer field in East London.
Eastwood was a brilliant forward when he was not injured. Twain firmly believes that Eastwood has the capacity to become one of the top strikers across the whole of Europe, but sadly, his injuries have become the fetters around his feet, and they have restricted his ability to run about freely.
Twain could not help but feel pity towards Eastwood over how life has toyed with him.
There was one other thing that infuriated Twain terribly as well.
Eastwood had called him an hour ago and told him personally that he had decided to retire as a professional footballer after his operation.
The two had a heated debate, or perhaps, argument, over the phone regarding his decision.
Twain refused to accept Eastwood’s decision to retire. He did not even want to hear the word ‘retire’. However, Eastwood had set his heart on it. He was going to follow through with his decision and was even going to oppose the King by arguing with Twain over the phone.
“Listen, Freddy! I won’t allow you to say the word ‘retire’! I won’t agree to your retirement either! You are just 30 years old. Why would you retire at this age? What I want you to do now is to go through with your operation, rest for four months, then return to the pitch and continue to play football! What are you so depressed about?”
“Boss, I know my own body the best! I really can’t go on like this anymore… Nine years ago, you told me to persevere and choose the path that I wanted to walk on. I listened to you, and I have walked on the path that I really love for nine years… It’s been nine years, boss. It’s been a long time. I really can’t walk any longer…”
Twain heard sobs coming from the other end of the phone. He fell silent and did not know what he could say to console him.
If Freddy were right before him this very moment, he would have hugged him without hesitation. However, they were separated by an icy cold telephone and intangible electromagnetic waves right now. There was nothing he could do.
Eastwood regained his composure after sobbing intermittently for a while. His voice was hoarse when he spoke. “Actually, I’ve been running a lot less during games recently. I would not be able to contribute much to the team even if I were to return to the pitch after my operation… I’m really tired, boss. Do you know what’s my biggest dream right now? It’s to take care of my horses and my kids, and to be with Sabina… That’s all I want. It’s not been an easy journey for me so far. I’ve gotten really tired from persevering all this while. I want to rest now…”
“Freddy…”
“Don’t try to talk me out of it, boss. I’ve made up my mind. I…”
Twain raised his voice and cut off Eastwood curtly, “Do you remember our promise? I’m going to become the legendary manager, and you are going to become the legendary striker! Do you remember, Freddy?”
“I’m sorry, boss. I’m sorry…” Eastwood’s voice was low and he was choking back sobs.
Twain abruptly raised his head after hearing those words from Eastwood. He pulled the phone away from his ear and pursed his lips, trying to hold back his tears from falling.
Fortunately for him, there was only one other person in the office besides him. No one else would be able to see the King of Nottingham Forest in such a state.
Twain successfully held back his tears. He then put the phone back to his ear.
The call had not ended. Eastwood was still on the other end.
“Freddy.”
“Boss?”
“Drop by Wilford once you are done with your operation. Say goodbye to everyone. I won’t tell them anything for now.”
“Okay.”
“Call me when you are coming.”
“I will.”
“Rest up for now, Freddy…” Twain hung up the phone quickly. He was worried that he would cry if he were to continue with the call any longer. His voice was starting to quiver towards the end.
You are going to retire right now! Right now! I want to arrange for a farewell match for you at the f*cking least! Freddy! You… Why would you choose to retire right now?
Twain walked about his office aimlessly. His chest rose and fell furiously, and he was not able to calm down for a long while.
Twain regarded every player who has worked with him for numerous years to be his friend, and he would feel devastated every time any of them left.
From Fernando Hierro to Demetrio Albertini to David Beckham to Ruud van Nistelrooy and now to Eastwood…
What he did not wish to see the most was a player retire before him. He would feel better if the player was just going to transfer to another club, because it meant that he would still able to see their familiar faces at other places.
But, retiring was different.
Twain would go into a slight daze every time Albertini appeared before him formally dressed as an official for the Italian Football Association.
How time flies…
No one else besides Twain and Eastwood knew about the latter’s decision to retire from football. However, the media still managed to pick up on it through the numerous rumors that had been floating around.
A post-match conference was held following the Champions League group stage match against Lyon. During it, a reporter asked about Eastwood’s injuries.
“… Based on the numerous reports going around, is there a possibility that Eastwood would retire?”
Twain’s face darkened at once. “I don’t know. I’m not a professional doctor. I can’t make any comments about his injuries.”
Another reporter raised his hand. Before he could open his mouth however, Twain had pointed a finger at him and said, “If it’s about Eastwood, then I’m sorry. I refuse to reply. It has nothing to do with the match.”
The reporter opened his mouth and looked like he wanted to say something, but he eventually sat back down.
Clearly, he had intended to ask a question about Eastwood.
“Let’s talk about the match.” Twain changed the topic. “We defeated Lyon in an away game, and we are already guaranteed of a spot in the next round of the competition with two matches still to play. I’m very pleased. I’d like to thank the team for being united.”
Why would the reporters be interested in hearing those words of his?
Sadly, they were not given a single chance to ask about Eastwood’s injuries at the press conference. No one knew what the outcomes of Eastwood’s injuries were.
The reporters decided to switch targets and ask the players for comments since they were unable to obtain anything valuable off Twain.
“Freddy? We all hope he can recover quickly and come back to the team soon! The locker room just isn’t as lively without him around! Ha!” Pepe laughed as he spoke.
“I hope that he can recover quickly. But, there’s no use in rushing things either. He should take the time to rest up properly before returning. That’s much safer for him.”
“Freddy! You can do it!” Ibišević raised his fists and shouted at the camera after scoring a goal during the match. During his celebration of the goal, he had lifted his jersey up to reveal a shirt with the words ‘This goal is for Freddy’ beneath.
Interviewing George Wood was the hardest, especially since the reporters wanted to ask him for his opinions regarding Eastwood’s injuries. Everyone knew that Wood was to blame for Eastwood’s rocky footballing career. Eastwood’s current team mate and captain was the first to injure his right knee that has since underwent three operations.
“I… I think he’d return…” Wood sounded uncertain when he spoke. “Probably… Will return.”
Wood hastily left after making the comment. It seemed as though he was escaping from the question.
Eastwood’s teammates were generally positive about his recovery and return to the team.
Three days later, Freddy Eastwood underwent the third operation on his right knee in America.
When the operation was over, his operating doctor told him that things were not looking good for his knee. He was not sure if Eastwood could return to the pitch following the operation.
Eastwood responded to the doctor’s remarks with a smile. It was as though he did not take it to heart even though it was a piece of bad news.
He flew back to England under the accompaniment of his wife after resting for a week. He then gave a call to Twain as promised.
“Boss, I’m going to drop by and visit everyone.”
Twain understood what his words really meant.
It was time for goodbye.
Freddy Eastwood appeared at the training grounds during the morning training session the next day.
It has been quite some time since the Nottingham Forest players last saw him, and everyone was just glad to see him even though it was clear that he would not be joining them any time soon since he was still on crutches.
“Hey, Freddy! It’s been a long time! How’s the weather like in America?”
“I heard the operation was a total success? Do you still need to rest for another three months?”
“Have a speedy recovery and come back soon! Everyone misses you.”
Eastwood’s teammates swarmed up to him. They patted him on the shoulder and on the head and asked him about his condition and his life.
Kerslake was pleased to see all the Forest players crowding around Eastwood and did not say anything to stop them.
Twain, on the other hand, had a grim look on his face while he stood by the side with his sunglasses on.
Even George Wood, who hardly spoke to Eastwood, went up to greet him. “We… Uh… We are all waiting for you to come back.”
Eastwood has never treated the ‘chief culprit’ who caused him to be in the state that he is in now kindly. Likewise, George Wood has always been a man of pride, and he would never admit his wrongdoings before Eastwood either. As a result, the relationship between the two has always been bad. The media had also widely reported about their ‘feud’ before.
However, Eastwood felt that it was meaningless to keep harping over such things now that he was about to retire.
He smiled at Wood for the very first time. “Thanks.”
Some of their teammates began whistling at the sight of Eastwood’s smile. They then called for them to shake hands and give each other a hug.
This is going to be one of the biggest news ever! Who would have thought that these two players would actually bury the hatchet after years of harboring a deep hatred for each other?
Despite their exhortations, the pair did not shake hands or hug each other.
Twain stepped forward after seeing that the conversations had gone on for quite a while. He coughed once to signal everyone to quiet down. Thereafter, he pointed at Eastwood and said, “Freddy came here today because he has something he wants to say to everyone.”
When he was done saying those words, Twain retreated to the side and gestured for the Romani player to move forward.
Eastwood slowly limped forward with the help of his crutches.
Everyone looked at him in confusion. They did not know what exactly he wanted to say to them.
“Uh… Umm… I nearly changed my mind earlier.” Eastwood clamped the crutches under his armpits and scratched his nose with his hand.
“I really want to play football with everyone again. But I know it’s not possible for me to do that any longer…”
Commotion broke out.
“Hey, Freddy. What are you saying?”
“I’m sorry, Freddy. Your English pronunciation is poor and you speak really fast too. I totally didn’t get what you were saying!”
“It’s not April’s Fool today, Freddy!”
Eastwood only continued speaking once everyone had calmed down slightly. “Guys, I’m not lying. The doctor told me after the operation that my knee would not be able to handle the strain that playing professional football brings. If I don’t want to keep walking like this in the future then…” He patted his crutches. “I better give up.”
“Let me finish my words first.” He noticed that some of his teammates looked like they had something to say, so he immediately gestured to stop them from talking. “I’ve thought about this for a long time… And I also discussed it with the boss.”
Eastwood turned around to glance at Twain. Twain looked emotionless with his sunglasses on. He almost looked like he was trying to act cool.
“I’ve decided to retire from football.” He finally said the words that he wanted to say.
Kerslake looked at Eastwood with surprise written all over his face. He then turned around to look at Twain. Twain had already lowered his head by then.
His teammates reacted fiercely. They all began shouting at the top of their voices agitatedly, and some even wanted Eastwood to take back his words.
“Eastwood! You… Do you know what you just said?”
“We are all waiting for you to return! How could you choose to run away?”
“Hey! Everyone! Calm down…”
“Why should we calm down? He has undergone three operations on his knee. He has pulled through the previous two times. Why can’t he do the same this time? You are only 30 years old! Why are you thinking about retirement?”
A cacophony of angry voices assaulted Eastwood’s ears. However, he did not seem to be affected. He leaned against his crutches and smiled at his agitated teammates.
Twain could not help but yell, “Shut up!” when he noticed that the scene was getting out of control.
Everyone obediently shut their mouths, but there was still indignation in their eyes.
“If you truly treat Freddy as a close friend, then you should respect his decision!” Twain’s face had gone dark and the expression on his face was quite unpleasant. “He knows his own body the best. What do you all hope to achieve by yelling like that?”
After he finished chiding the players, Twain turned around to speak to Eastwood. “You said your dream is to take care of your horses, your kids, and to be with Sabina. But, I have also prepared another gift for you. I hope you will accept it…”
Eastwood was a little taken aback by Twain’s words.
“There’s not a single person here…” Twain turned around and pointed at all the players and coaching staff behind him, “Who wishes to see you leave.”
Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.
“Therefore, I don’t intend on letting you go either. I’ve given you a new contract…”
Eastwood widened his eyes.
Why is he in the dark about this? Isn’t he going to retire? Why is there a new contract?
“Are you willing to become a member of the coaching staff after you retire?”
The players who had been a little dazed started whistling once Twain finished his words. They all wanted Eastwood to accept the new contract.
“Coach!” Someone teased Eastwood by calling him ‘coach’, but before long, everyone else had joined in as well. The coaching staff laughed as they watched the Forest players tease Eastwood.
What should have been a sad occasion became a happy one.
Eastwood looked at Twain, before turning around to look at his teammates who were all cheering for him. The expression on his face changed several times, but eventually it settled on a smile.
“I’m worried that I’m not cut out for the job, boss…” He said with a smile.
“Take it slow. It’s not like you were born to be a professional footballer either, right?”
“I… All right, I accept.”
Cheers erupted.
Everyone was too busy cheering and they failed to notice something amiss with George Wood. Wood was the only one at the scene who looked as though he had something on his mind, and he was also the only one without a twinge of a smile on his face.
...
Chapter 827 - A Legendary Tribute
After he bade farewell his teammates in Wilford, Eastwood held a press conference where he would officially announce the news of his retirement to the media and the outside world. Not one media outlet was aware of the news beforehand, although some of them might have guessed it.
The press conference was held at the City Ground stadium. There was already some media buzz ahead of the press conference—Eastwood would not have announced good news at the press conference. Some of the Forest fans who cared about Eastwood gathered outside the stadium and anxiously waited for the latest news from the press conference.
When an impeccably dressed Eastwood appeared in front of the reporters, accompanied by Twain, the raucous press conference suddenly quieted down.
Sitting in his seat, with countless microphones and recording pens in front of him, Eastwood was not in a hurry to speak. He needed some courage to make his decision public for the first time.
Twain sat next to him and gently patted him on the back.
The room was silent. After a while, Eastwood took a breath and spoken in his distinctive accent, “I have made a decision. When I had my surgery in the United States, my doctor told me that even if my knee recovered, I wouldn’t necessarily be able to continue to bear the pressure of professional football. I thought about it for a long time, and I have decided to retire.”
While some people had already guessed the reason for Eastwood’s surprise press conference, they were still shocked to hear the words coming out of his mouth in person. There was an uproar at the scene.
After he had said his piece, Eastwood was no longer concerned with the reporters’ intense reaction. He got up and walked out together with Twain. Some of the reporters who reacted first squeezed to the front row to ask him some questions, but he waved them off and said, “I have nothing to say, thank you everyone.”
With that, he left with his head lowered.
Someone took aim at Twain.
“Mr. Twain! Mr. Twain…”
“I’m sorry, I have nothing to say too. That’s the way it is. We’ll arrange a farewell ceremony for Freddy in one of the home games in the league tournament in more than half a month later. That’s it, thank you everyone for coming…”
Twain waved his hands and declined any further questions from the reporters.
“The Romani striker announced his retirement!”
“With three serious injuries to his right knee, it’s the end of his career!”
“Tony Twain lost a major player. Eastwood waved goodbye in tears!”
“A list of three serious injuries in Eastwood’s career. His retirement bound to happen as early as a decade ago!”
“The cause of Romani’s retirement was someone else, and not the former Nottingham Forest captain!”
…
All sorts of shocking and attention-grabbing headlines appeared in the media.
All of a sudden, everyone knew the news of Eastwood’s retirement. Numerous reporters flocked to Wilford in hopes of scouting out further information. Although Eastwood had never really been among Europe’s top strikers, the two winning goals he scored at the two UEFA Champions League matches spread his fame across Europe and the world. There were even media reviews of his career which reported that without Eastwood, Tony Twain definitely could not bring back those two championship trophies.
The Nottingham Forest fans had long regarded him as the best striker in the world, and their love for him went without saying. When they heard that Eastwood was retiring, they could not accept it for a while. Every day outside the Wilford training base, there was a large number of fans holding Eastwood’s portraits, posters and slogans to urge Eastwood to stay. Unfortunately, the hero in their minds was not in the training ground but recuperating at home.
The atmosphere at the training ground was not the same as it used to be. Everyone felt bad seeing so many signs with slogans to urge Eastwood to stay. But the boss was right. Since they were like brothers, then they must respect a brother’s decision. Eastwood had chosen his path which no one else had the right to interfere.
Fans flocked to the online message forums to post emotional messages in the hope of persuading Eastwood to change his mind.
But none of it was going to work.
Some reporters wanted to interview Eastwood directly only to find that the other man had turned off his cell phone.
As a professional player, it took more than courage to make a decision to retire at the age of thirty. Even if he had made the decision, it would have been really hard for him. Eastwood was feeling down during the twenty days of recuperation at home.
His wife, Sabina took it all in and sometimes she joked with her husband as she played with the cards in her hands, “The Fate says you can still go back and play football.”
Eastwood glared at her and said, “If I were to fall for what you’re trying to do, then I’m not a Romani. Don’t bring it up, Sabina. I’m not going to change my decision…”
“You’ve been playing football for so many years and suddenly one day you don’t want to play anymore. Don’t tell you can get used to it?”
“Why would I not be used to it? I haven’t played football during this period. I’m doing fine, aren’t I?”
These days Eastwood was really not in contact with football. After he was able to walk freely without the crutches, he had been in the stables to care for his horse, Blanc which had been with him for ten years.
Sabina grinned and stopped talking about it. “You’re going to the stadium tomorrow. Aren’t you going to bed early?”
Eastwood shook his head and said, “I’m not one of the players who are going to play in the game.”
Sabina kissed her husband on the forehead and said, “Then I’ll go up and see if the children are asleep yet.”
“Okay.” Eastwood replied somewhat distractedly.
When he was alone in the living room, Eastwood buried his face in his hands. Sabina had said something right—Now that he suddenly did not play football, he really could not get used to it.
He had just been injured at the time when he called his boss. At that moment, he thought he was really tired of living like this as he looked at his knees. He even thought he would spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair. At the time, he decided to bid farewell to the past ten years without hesitation. He was convinced that he had made the right choice.
He still thought he was right to retire. But his heart was no longer as determined as it was half a month ago. Sometimes when he closed his eyes. a tsunami of cheers from the City Ground stadium would ring out in his ears, and everyone was calling his name. When he was fast asleep, he dreamt that he had returned to the field and had a pair of healthy knees. Then he would run on the field to score goals and enjoy the cheers of the fans.
When he woke up from the dream, he realized that he really could not live without football.
He really could not continue to play with his knees again, but the boss gave him a coaching job. He was still happy. At least he was not thousand miles away from football and had nothing to do with it. He was still able to fight alongside his brothers. He only changed his identity.
Football is no longer simply a hobby or a job for me.
Football is my life.
Eastwood had already risen from bed when the early morning sun still loomed behind the clouds. The rustling sound made as he got dressed, woke his wife up.
Sabina groggily looked at his busy husband and asked, “Didn’t you say you’re not playing?” What’re you doing up so early?”
“Going to ride the horse to warm up.” Eastwood’s answer was the same as when there was a home game.
Sabina heard this and sat up from the bed, “But you’re not playing…”
“Go back to sleep, Sabina.”
His wife ran her fingers through her messy hair on top of her head, shook her head and muttered, “I’ll make you breakfast.”
The faint sunlight shone at an angle through the window. Dust motes danced within the column of light, and the dusky stable appeared very quiet. The silence was soon broken by the squeak of the door.
Eastwood stood at the door, took a deep breath, and sniffed the familiar scent.
The creature in the stable sensed that someone was here. It gave a snort as a way of greeting.
“Blanc.” Without the lights on, Eastwood waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness of the interior before he walked in.
It gave another snort.
Eastwood stopped in front of a black horse. He reached out his hand to stroke the black horse’s neck. His caress was gentle, as if he was touching his lover.
The black horse, Blanc also leaned his head next to his master and stamped its hooves affectionately.
Eastwood did not answer his wife’s question just now. He just told Sabina to go back to sleep Because he could not explain to his wife the mood he was in—he would only ride Blanc in his own field in the early hours of the day when he had a home game. Otherwise, he would not do it. So why did he want to do that today?
He was not muddled. He knew he was just going to the stadium to say goodbye before the game today. He was not going to play football. But his body wanted to do some laps by riding Blanc at this time. Was it a physical habit?
Eastwood untied the strap to hold the horse, put the reins on Blanc, and slowly led it out of the stable.
The outside was clearly brighter than the interior. He and the horse looked at each other. Eastwood looked at Blanc with a smile and said, “Hey, old friend. I’ll retire today, so you’re retired too. Shall we ride one more time?”
While he was still at Grays Athletic, he rode the nine-year-old Blanc on the road to warm up. He lived in a modernized caravan and parked his home inside the woods within the green belt. Everyone else had looked at him in a strange way. But he never cared. He prided himself on being a Romani. Now that he had money and children, he did not have to live in a caravan, but he still kept the strange habit of riding early in the morning of every home game to warm up.
A reporter once interviewed him before and asked why he could always score winning goals at the most critical times to help the team win. He always gave his lucky pony, Blanc as the reason.
Today, the “lucky pony” had become the “lucky old horse” and he himself was also thirty years old.
Eastwood patted Blanc on the back and stepped on the stirrup to straddle.
“Let’s go, old friend!”
He lightly patted the black horse’s behind, and Blanc trotted off with his master.
The cold morning breeze blew in Eastwood’s face and Blanc’s mane fluttered in the wind. Eastwood felt a long-lost comfort. He was eager to give a whoop on the horse.
“Oh, oh. Blanc! You gallop really hard! In fact, you can still run, you’re not old, right!”
Blanc ran around the track, and then Eastwood simply loosened the reins. He threw his arms open, leaned his body back, and closed his eyes to enjoy the wind blowing around him. Lost in a trance, Blanc became his legs. He ran on the field as much as he wanted and tirelessly. No matter how fierce the collision was, it could not stop him in his pace. He ran and ran like this, leaving all his pain and sorrow behind him. As he ran, he threw the sound of the out of his head. He kept on running…
“Freddy, do you want to play professional football?”
In the cold wind, a few water beads spilled from Eastwood’s face.
His young daughter, Chartwainay, heard a clanking sound coming from the kitchen when she got up to use the bathroom. Curiously, she went downstairs only to find out that it was her mother.
Still sleepy-eyed, she rubbed her eyes at the door and asked, “Mom? Where’s Daddy?”
Sabina turned and saw her young daughter. She said with a smile, “Daddy went horse riding.”
“Does Daddy have a game today…” The six-year-old young daughter did not know much about her father yet, but she knew only one thing—once her father was out riding in the early hours of the morning, he must have a match in the afternoon or evening. Then she would have to wait to watch her father in front of the television.
“Yeah, the last game.” Sabina came over and gave a kiss on her daughter’s young face. “Go back to bed. You’re not wearing your slippers. Be careful to not to catch a cold.”
“Mommy, have you seen my new football boots?” The voice of her eldest son, Llewellyn came from upstairs, followed by the sounds of urgent footsteps.
“Why are you all getting up so early today?” Sabina looked at her two children in front of her and asked. “I did not see your new boots. You always throw your things around. You can’t find them when you want to use them, can you?”
“I asked my friends to play football in the morning.” The eleven-year-old Llewellyn reached for a slice of bread on the table but was speedily slapped away by Sabina.
“Go brush your teeth and wash your face!”
“Where’s Dad?” Llewellyn did not get on with it immediately. He turned and looked around. “Did he go to the stables early to chat to Blanc?”
“No, he went riding.”
Llewellyn whistled. Then he turned around and headed upstairs to wash up.
“Llewellyn, bring your sister’s shoes down with you!” Sabina shouted from downstairs.
“Got it!”
Sabina picked up her well-behaved little daughter and placed her on a chair to keep her bare feet from touching the cold floor.
It was a pity that her efforts were in vain.
The sound of the door opening sounded outside the dining room. Chartwainay jumped out of her chair excitedly and ran barefoot to the door.
“Daddy—”
“Chartwainay! Good morning, my little beauty!”
“Good morning, Daddy!” The little girl gave her father a kiss on his face.
“Go wash your face and brush your teeth, Chartwainay. Llewellyn! How long more do you have to dilly dally? Quickly bring down your sister’s shoes!” In this house, it looked like Sabina was the head of the family. Eastwood, on the other hand, did not manage anything but eat.
“Coming! Coming!” The eldest son ran down like the wind. He tossed the shoes in front of his sister and ran up again. “Good morning Dad!” The sound of his greeting came by time he was upstairs.
As the family of four gathered to eat, the father announced a decision, “Llewellyn, Chartwainay, you guys will come with me to the City Ground stadium in the afternoon.”
Chartwainay did not object. At a young age, she was happy to be with her dad. She did not have much time to socialize yet. Llewellyn was a little surprised and said, “I’m going to meet Hesher and Andy…”
“Llewellyn.” His mother’s stern voice rang, “Your father wants to be with you all at that time.”
Llewellyn Eastwood looked at his stern mother and at his smiling dad again, before he nodded and said, “Okay, Dad.”
His sister was still young and might not know what retirement meant. But the eleven-year-old Llewellyn could definitely understand. It was really more important than going out with his mates.
Eastwood reached out and rubbed his son’s head. “Thank you. Llewellyn. To make it up to you, I will spend more time playing football with you in the future.”
“You must mean what you say, Dad.” Llewellyn felt that his father seemed to prefer to spend time with Blanc. The horse had long been a regular member of the family. When he was not yet born, his father already had Blanc. Their relationship was rock solid. Sometimes he would feel aggrieved when he thought of this— exactly which one of them was his father’s son?
Eastwood smiled and gently pinched his pouting son’s cheek and said, “Cross my heart.”
The City Ground stadium in the became livelier earlier than usual. The Nottingham Forest fans was informed by the various media outlets earlier that today’s game was different. Their favorite striker, Freddy Eastwood wanted to bid farewell to Nottingham Forest before the league match against Arsenal.
Although Eastwood was not a player cultivated by Nottingham Forest, he had been here for ten years and it could be said that he had devoted all his career to Nottingham Forest. It had long been forgotten that he was once a member of the West Ham United youth team.
The first half hour of today’s game belonged to Eastwood and no Forest fan wanted to miss it. They arrived more than half an hour earlier than before and waited to say goodbye to the Romani striker who had brought them two UEFA Champions League trophies.
As the players from Nottingham Forest and Arsenal warmed up on the pitch, Eastwood, wearing a casual jacket, brought his family along to chat with the club’s chairman.
“It’s a shame to retire so early, Freddy.” Evan Doughty said as he patted his former player on the shoulder and shook his head, “I still remember the way you reported at Wilford the first day. Towing a caravan with a horse and bickering nonstop with your wife at the entrance… You gave me a fright. Haha!”
Evan laughed, and Eastwood laughed as well. But when he recalled that time, his smile was a little wry. He was only twenty at that time…
“I’m glad you accepted the coaching contract Tony gave you. To be honest, I always felt that the club owed you a lot.”
Eastwood shook his head and said, “Please don’t say that, sir. It was an honor to play for Nottingham Forest. When I played for Grays Athletic, I never thought I would be able to lift the Champions League and Premier League trophies. Never mind twice.”
Because it was the official farewell to Eastwood before today’s game, everyone was in low spirits. Although Eastwood agreed to be the team’s coach, everyone had more affection for Eastwood as a player.
Even the boss who always liked to say something before the game was not himself today. He just sat at the door without saying a word. No one knew what was on his mind.
The atmosphere in the locker room was a bit awkward.
George Wood was probably the quietest one of all. He kept adjusting the captain’s armband on his arm. He would put it on, take it off and look at it in his hand. Then he would put it on again, and take it off again…
He seemed to have a lot on his mind.
Twain looked down at his watch. The uncomfortable silence finally ended.
“Okay, guys. It’s almost time. Go on out there. We still have to say goodbye….to Freddy.”
Wood was the last player to come out of the locker room. Since he was the team captain, he should normally be walking at the forefront.
After the two teams came out of the tunnel, they did not line up to take team photographs, exchange team flags, do the coin toss or shake hands… They lined up outside the tunnel, waiting for a person to appear.
Arsenal was very accommodating at this time as an opponent which had nothing to do with Eastwood. To show full respect to a legendary striker who was leaving, Twain was grateful to Arsène Wenger for his willingness to do so. Perhaps he should be glad that the game was not played against one of his archrival team…
Eastwood stood in the tunnel, surrounded by the staff who were responsible for maintaining order. He was currently holding his eleven-year-old son, Llewellyn in his left hand and his six-year-old daughter, Chartwainay, in his right hand, as he waited nervously for the signal.
A unified voice had rang out in the stands outside. All the fans were chanting his name in unison which could be heard clearly.
“Daddy? They are shouting your name.” Chartwainay listened for a moment and said to her father.
“Yes, Chartwainay. They’re calling Daddy’s name. Do you like what you’re wearing?” He touched Chartwainay’s forehead with his nose. He was referring to the red Forest jersey worn by his daughter, with his name “Eastwood” and the number “11” on the back.
“I like it!”
“Why?”
“Because it has Daddy’s name on it!” Chartwainay said excitedly.
Compared with Chartwainay’s excitement, Llewellyn was silent as he held his father’s hand. He did not think it was a very interesting thing like his sister. Although his father would have more time to spend with him after his retirement, in his heart, he still liked his father running, scoring goals and cheering on the field. His friends would always be envious when they mentioned his father and said to him, “Llewellyn, you have a hero for a father! If only my dad were like your father…””Llewellyn, your father scored again in yesterday’s game! That goal was so cool! A lob!””Llewellyn, please help me get your father’s autograph…”
He pressed his lips together. The more he thought, the worse he felt. Tears pooled in his eyes as if they were going to fall at any moment.
My father is a hero! I’m a hero’s son, I can’t cry!
He thought hard.
Feeling his son hold his hand with force, Eastwood turned to his left. He looked at his quiet son with his head bowed and smiled.
After a segment of music was played, the announcer’s voice rang out on the live broadcast, “This is not a happy news for us. Our Romani star player, Freddy Eastwood has decided to say goodbye on this day…”
The staff at the entrance signaled to Eastwood, indicating that he could go out.
“Let’s go, Llewellyn.”
Eastwood then led his son along and carried his daughter as they walked out.
When Nottingham Forest’s number 11 led his two children wearing his jerseys as they walked out of the tunnel, a tsunami of shouts erupted in the stadium.
“Freddy! You’re our hero!”
“You’re amazing, Romani!”
“Goodbye, Freddy! Goodbye!”
“Change your change, Freddy! Please!”
“Don’t go, Freddy… Look around you, are you willing to leave this?”
“Freddy, we need you! Tony needs you! You can’t do this!”
…
With a smile on his face, Eastwood let go of his son’s hand, and waved goodbye to everyone. But there were already two lines of tears on his face.
The Arsenal and Nottingham Forest players stood next to him and applauded him. Some people even gave him thumbs-up.
Chartwainay watched the scene curiously. She might not understand the feelings of these people. But she knew her father was very popular. The expression on Llewellyn’s face looked worse. He was almost going to cry in public.
Sabina stood up in the box to applaud her husband, like everyone in the stadium.
In this way, he walked all the way to the middle of the field, bent down to put his daughter down, and took the wireless microphone from the staff.
At this, the sounds in the stadium gradually subsided. They knew Eastwood had something to say, and they did not want to miss every word he said.
“Thank you… thank you very much everyone.” Eastwood curbed his emotions and tried to get his trembling voice back to normal. He spoke slower so that everyone could heard his words clearly. “When I was still an amateur player, I never thought I’d have such a farewell one day. I’m so happy that you’ve all come to see me off…”
After a moment’s silence, Eastwood tried not to let himself cry on the spot. No matter how he forced himself to smile, he had no desire to smile in his heart at this time.
“I want to thank the Nottingham Forest Football Club and my teammates. More than anything, I would to thank Manager Tony Twain. If it wasn’t for him, I would never have the chance to stand here and say thank you to you all.
The telecast gave Twain a close-up. He stood in front of the technical area with his arms across his chest and a serious expression on his face.
“My professional career had only lasted a decade… But I don’t think it was short. In these ten years, I had received all the honors I had thought of or never thought about. I am very satisfied and happy. I am happy every day of the ten years I’ve played at Nottingham Forest because I’m doing what I love and in the environment I love.”
“But now it’s time to say goodbye to you and my teammates.” Tears streamed down uncontrollably from Eastwood’s eyes. “Ten years ago, the chief once told me that I would be a legendary striker for Nottingham Forest… I’m really sorry, Chief, to disappoint you, I’m sorry…”
Eastwood stuffed the microphone into the hands of the staff and leaned down to hug his daughter, Chartwainay.
“…” Kerslake heard Twain swore under his breath next to him, “You’re a bloody legend, Freddy.”
The Englishman, who always shouted at the top of his lungs and played the role of a stern assistant manager in front of the players, could not help but burst into tears.
“Daddy? You’re crying…” Chartwainay looked oddly at her father. That familiar face was wet.
“Daddy is not crying, Daddy is… happy.” Eastwood forced a smile on his face, “I’ll have more time to spend with you, Chartwainay. Are you happy?”
Chartwainay looked at her father for a moment and then opened her mouth to chirp, “Happy!”
“Let’s go back.”
He picked up Chartwainay again and took Llewellyn’s hand.
“Freddy Eastwood, once an amateur player who had a broken leg before when he joined Nottingham Forest on January 1st, 2004, was in his twenties at the time.” Motson, who was responsible for the commentary on the match, said enthusiastically, “He’s now in his thirties. He’s taking his family to say goodbye to the Forest fans. He said that he was not a legendary striker, but in the minds of the Nottingham Forest fans, no one is more legendary than him.”
“An amateur player who scored the winning goal in two UEFA Champions League finals to help Nottingham Forest regain the Champions League title after a twenty-eight-year hiatus. His right knee suffered a serious injury before he became a Forest player, but he had been dragging the injured leg on the pitch to play for Nottingham Forest for a decade, scoring a total of one hundred and thirty-seven goals. He is not the player with the greatest number of goals scored in the history of the Nottingham Forest Football Club, but he is definitely a player who scored the most valuable goals in the history of the team! Two goals scored and two UEFA Champions League titles! His experience was enough to be made into a movie for all the football-loving kids out there. He showed people that even if you had been seriously injured, even if you had been drive out of the team you once played for, even if you had fallen into the amateur league and had to sell second-hand cars, as long as you did not give up on your ideal of the heart, you could still create a legend!”
“We salute the legend of the decade! Goodbye, Freddy! Goodbye, Nottingham Forest’s Mr. Buzzer Beater!”
As Eastwood led his children slowly down the tunnel, the fans’ unified singing voices rang out in the stands. They were singing a song dedicated to Eastwood. It was after Eastwood scored a crucial goal to help the team overcome AC Milan to regain the long-lost UEFA Champions League title after twenty-eight years. The fans composed a hero’s song for him.
“With the game down to the last minute, do you think it’s over? There’s little time left as the referee looks at his watch and your heart goes, ‘Forget it, we still have the future.’”
“The cheering song gradually loses its voice, and some people begin to leave early. A bunch of beer cups are strewn about in the stands, and it’s a mess!”
“The opposing players laugh at our final struggle, and the opposing fans celebrate their victory in advance!”
“The Forest team’s number 11 steps forward and he said, ‘No! The game isn’t over yet! Don’t be too happy!’”
“Don’t be happy yet!!!”
“He’s like Robin Hood. His arrow shoots through the enemy’s heart!”
“The enemies scream in horror, “Who is he?!’”
“Who—is—he!!”
“His name is Freddy Eastwood! He’s the Forest team’s Mr. Buzzer Beater!”
“His name is Freddy!” He never gives up!”
“Freddy, Freddy! The privilege is yours to fall under his arrow!”
“La la la! Freddy! La la la! Robin hood!”
“La la la! Freddy! Freddy! La la la!”
Whenever Eastwood scored another crucial goal, the song would ring out in the home stands. Eastwood would run wild on the pitch with open arms, with the number on his back flying like a flag over the City Ground stadium and the number “11” on the back like two sharp arrows. He was indeed the “Robin Hood” of Nottingham Forest.
But this time, Robin Hood was shot in the knee by the poison arrow of fate. He could no longer stand up to continue the fight. He fell under the great oak tree where he had once gathered with his comrades-in-arms to rise up to fight. He bade farewell a little unwillingly to those brothers whom he had fought side by side with, leaving behind a legend to let future generations look forward to the future while they fondly recalled the legend—while he was still around, what a heroic time it must have been….
The stirring singing voices sand continuously until their Robin Hood disappeared into the tunnel.
Tears glistened on the faces of the fans present. They applauded “Mr. Buzzer Beater” of their hearts one last time and bade farewell to another legend of “Robin Hood.”
...
Chapter 828 - Not Friends
During Eastwood’s farewell game, all the Nottingham Forest players were stirred by the scene of Eastwood’s tears at the stadium. As if they were collectively doped on performance enhancing drugs, they crushed their arch-rival, Arsenal by 2:1 at home. It was a farewell gift for Eastwood.
But everyone did not care much about the result of the game. In the post-match press conference, the reporters asked more questions about Eastwood.
Nottingham Forest was rumored to have offered Eastwood a staff contract. He would remain with the Forest team. The reporters seek confirmation on the validity of the news.
Twain told them it was true that Eastwood would remain in the team as part of the First Team coaching unit.
A reporter was also concerned whether the loss of a leading striker in the middle of the season would have an adverse impact on the team’s prospects. After all, the team’s results were not ideal. It was almost December and Nottingham Forest was in sixth place in the league tournament.
Twain rebuffed this statement. While Eastwood’s departure was a big blow to him, it was not enough to ruin his plans for the entire season.
The atmosphere of the press conference was good. Twain did not take his anger out on the reporters just because he had lost his cherished player. He tried his best to answer everyone’s questions, and his good attitude surprised everyone.
But if it continued to develop in such a manner, then it would not be a press conference with Tony Twain present.
Finally, someone stood up and asked a question that angered Twain.
“Mr. Twain. Do you agree with the view that Eastwood’s retirement today was already conclusive before he joined Nottingham Forest? If it hadn’t been for George Wood’s ferocious foul at the time, the Romani’s career could at least last until the age of thirty-four.” The man who stood up and asked the question, had a smiling, but his face looked extremely ugly in Twain’s view.
The man who asked such a vicious question was Twain’s old nemesis, Carl Spicer, who still had a shaved head to this day….
There had been media reports of this matter before. They think for Eastwood to choose to retire so early, the culprit was George Wood and not in Michael Dawson. To that end, they listed out Eastwood’s career information when he played for West Ham United’s youth team, proving that what they said was true.
While Twain did not blame Dawson as the killer for cutting off Eastwood’s professional career, he strongly disagreed that Wood was the culprit. The reason why he did not have a war of words with the other media in his column to refute the issue was not because he had a guilty conscience, but because he did not want to get caught up in the media’s treachery. It would not be a good thing for Wood and Eastwood as well as the entire team if the matter was blown up.
However, now it was clear that some people were not happy about Twain’s silence.
If you don’t want to say it, I’ll force you to say it in front of everyone!
The reporters were in an uproar when they heard Spicer ask such a question. Actually, many people wanted to ask such a question except they knew Twain’s limit. It was a difficult question to ask and they absolutely could not receive an answer if it were asked. There was nothing good in it for themselves to ask it.
Now the “hero” in their hearts had appeared! Carl Spicer clearly did not expect an answer from Twain. He asked the question for a simple reason—he was trying to make Twain angry, and all the source material for his news came from it. He did not care whether Twain answered the question or not. As long as Twain had a reaction, there would be good material for this evening’s [Football Matters].
Twain glared at Spicer. He currently very much wanted to throw the microphone in front of him at the other man, then get up, grab the chair, pounce over, push the other man to the ground and use all his energy to smash—he did have the urge to kill the other man.
He managed to restrain himself and did not really do so. He just stood up slowly and pointed to Spicer. He spoke slowly so as to try to make it as clear as possible for the man who asked the question and other people, “There’s one thing I agree with, Mr. Carl Spicer.”
“What is it?” Spicer smiled and asked, waiting for Twain to answer.
“You’re a stinky bastard who deserves to go to hell!”
Twain finished scolding and turned around to leave the press conference.
His answer made the reporters present unusually excited, while Wenger, sitting next to him, smiled wryly. He served as the background in the battle between the reporters and Twain…
When he heard Twain swore that dirty remark with gritted teeth, Carl Spicer was delighted instead of being angry. He raised his fist and said happily, “Fantastic!” Then he turned and looked at the cameraman on his show to ask, “Did you record it?”
The cameraman nodded.
Spicer gave his partner a thumbs up. He got the result he wanted. He did not attend the press conference in vain.
“Eastwood’s retirement was painful for the Forest fans. But even the most hardcore fans can’t deny the fact—who was the one that had led to the early retirement of the promising Romani striker? It was none other than their most beloved team captain, George Wood.” On the evening show, Carl Spicer spoke frankly with assurance in front of the camera. Perhaps the thing he regretted the most now was that Twain did not punch him in the nose on the spot, so that he could rely on an attention-grabbing shiner to wordlessly denounce to the viewers that Tony Twain was a dangerous violent man.
“Am I talking nonsense? Let’s take a look at the evidence.”
The frame cut into the afternoon’s press conference at the City Ground stadium. Carl Spicer looked urbane on camera. When he threw out the question, what answered him with Twain’s vicious face and uncouth language. The images of the two men were really different.
“Okay. First we need to answer the question of why Mr. Tony Twain was flustered and exasperated after hearing my question. Will anyone believe that he did not have a guilty conscience? Obviously, like me, deep down inside him, he thinks I’m right, and absolutely agrees with my comment. That’s why his reaction was so intense—we all know Mr. Tony Twain is all about keeping up appearances and has a strong ego. He may agree on some things, but he won’t express it. Like this matter.”
Spicer smiled with delight. He felt the dagger thrown had hit the bull’s eye. The footage timely replayed with the scene of Twain’s swearing at the press conference.
“Of course, we have to look at things separately. George Wood’s foul that happened while he was still in the youth team, did lead to Eastwood’s early retirement. But without his kick, Eastwood might not have had such a successful career—he might be in another team and not have met Tony Twain as well not come to Nottingham Forest…”
It seemed that Spicer exonerated George Wood but in fact it was just a ploy he used habitually to package himself as a “fair and objective commentator.” He often did that when he needed to disparage a person.
For example:
“So, and so’s performance on the field was so bad, I wonder if he went to a nightclub last night to have fun. Of course, it’s normal that young people need to vent. After all, playing in a powerhouse team is very hard. Whether physically or psychologically, he needs to find a way to let out the built-up pressure ..”
From the looks of it, there was not a single word that was sensitive, and it sounded like he was considering the player. But the “rumor” about so and so’s outing with a prostitute the night before a game became true.
So now when he framed it in such a way, it was about making the matter of “Wood was the culprit who caused his teammate to retire” fait accompli.
He never hid his loathing of Tony Twain. As a team with Tony Twain’s deep imprint, the Forest team naturally did not please Mr. Carl Spicer. If his remarks and the episode could throw the Forest team into disarray, he would be happy to do so.
“You fell for his trick again, Uncle Tony.” Shania, who was watching the television at home on the couch, complained to Twain.
“I did it on purpose.” Twain shrugged.
“How could you purposely fall for his ploy?”
“It would really piss me off if I didn’t dare to scold him on the spot for fear of being used by him. Of course, I had to admonish him. I didn’t stand to lose that way. As for his tricks, I have my own ways.” Twain said it like it should be expected as a matter of course.
Shania pouted. She knew Uncle Tony was reluctant to admit his mistake and did not have his own way to deal with it. He just gave into his impulse at the time. From the time before they were married, she had lived with Uncle Tony for ten years. She was extremely familiar with the man beside her.
Twain did not want to hear Spicer talk drivel on the public broadcast, so he took out the remote control and changed the channel.
“I still feel that I have not scolded hard enough. I can come up with at least fifteen different ways of scolding him now.”
“You’re like a little boy, Uncle Tony.” Shania laughed when she heard him say so, “Why are you squabbling with him?”
When it came the handling of the media, the younger Shania’s was was more mature than Twain’s. Perhaps it was because she had been trained as well as influenced by her own mother, also a model, from a young age. No one could be liked by everyone in the world. A charismatic star like Shania also had people who did not like her. When these people in the media talked a lot of nonsense about her, she always ignored them and continued to do her own thing.
Twain did not answer. After a series of questions and answers with Shania, he started thinking about ways to reduce the impact of Spicer’s recent episode on the team.
He knew that Spicer was definitely not talking nonsense because Wood’s performance had fluctuated recently. He had always been constant like a pool of stagnant water with no outflow nor new inflow of water. Now a lot of ripples frequently emerged.
I hope this is not a sign of an earthquake…
“Uncle Tony?”
“Yes?”
“What exactly is the relationship between Freddy and George?” Shania’s sudden concern about the team slightly surprised Twain.
Shania had always been jealous of football. Although she was a Brazilian, she was not very fond of football due to the reason that football robbed her of Uncle Tony’s love. Naturally, her level of concern for her husband’s team was also superficial and limited to knowing the good or bad results.
Twain thought about it, because he was also thinking about what the relationship between the two men. In the team, apart from having to perform his duties as the team captain, George Wood rarely spoke and was a man of action. Eastwood, on the other hand, was talkative and the joker in the locker room. But the two of them rarely talked alone, and if they had to say something, it would be related to the team.
Twain knew Eastwood had a sore point and was unwilling to greet Wood with a smile on his face. He also knew Wood’s character. Because of his life history, his reticence seemed to be the outer shell of his fragile self-esteem, which made him seemed a little haughty. “Proud” was a nice way to put it. Therefore, Wood could not be expected to take the initiative to look for Eastwood and reach his hand out to him to say, “Hey, Freddy. The incident was my fault, I’m very sorry and regret it… But now that we’re teammates, I hope we can still get along well…”
The both inferior and proud, sensitive and taciturn George Wood was absolutely incapable of doing such a thing. Now that Eastwood had made it clear that he did not like him, he would not put down his pride and try to get closer.
As a result, the relationship between the two men appeared to be atypical in the Forest team, famous for its harmonious atmosphere within. Fortunately, they were men who attached importance to the bigger picture and would not deliberately pick a quarrel with each other in the team.
“Well… They are not friends in any case.” Twain thought for a while and did not know how to explain it specifically, “They’re almost never together alone and say more than three sentences to each other.”
Shania tilted her head and looked at Twain, “Then why don’t you create an opportunity for them to talk alone?”
Twain stared blankly for a moment.
That’s right. All along, he had thought that he could not let the two people feel awkward and not to inflame the conflict. So, he turned a blind eye and thought that it did not endanger the team’s internal atmosphere anyway. He should just let them be as they were sensible people.
Now obviously it could not go on like this…
George Wood’s ups and downs in his condition had affected the team’s performance. This was what Twain wanted to see. Also, if the issue were to go on, someone the team might really think so— it was the team captain who harmed Eastwood. Because Eastwood’s popularity was good, it could be scary if this thinking were to spread. It could shake the foundation of the team’s unity. When a captain no longer had prestige in the hearts of his teammates, it could cause a chain of adverse effects.
The matter must be settled.
Shania had given him a good idea.
Twain came up next to Shania and moved his body over.
Shania was alert, “What are you going to do, Uncle Tony?”
Twain smiled, “To thank you, Shania!”
Shania rolled her eyes and said, “Your naughty smile gave you away, Uncle Tony. Are you thinking about that again?”
Twain put away his smile and looked serious, “I suddenly got a little jealous of Freddy when I saw his two kids. I want a baby, Shania.”
They had been married for five years. No matter how hard they tried, Shania’s body had no respond at all. Although Twain never showed it, Shania knew he was anxious and even had some worries. What could she do as a wife? She could only use her own gentle and young sexy body to comfort her husband. She had secretly went for a checkup when she was in America. She had no problem physically at all…
Uncle Tony had suddenly mentioned a baby again. He was apparently motivated by Freddy’s two children. Eastwood’s son and daughter were really adorable. Everyone would want a child like that.
When she heard Twain say so, Shania raised her head and kissed him first. The two of them made passionate love on the couch…
The next morning, when Twain drove to Wilford, Eastwood was already waiting for him.
“You don’t have to be so early, Freddy.” Twain look at his watch. It was only eight-thirty. He usually came early. He did not expect Eastwood to come earlier.
“Ha, chief! It’s the first day of work, I have to be proactive, don’t I?”
Twain glared at him and said, “Don’t call me chief. You’re now one of the coaches in the team now, like me.”
Eastwood shook his head in disbelief and said, “Actually, while I was waiting for you here, I had been thinking about how to address you. Then I realized that I still like to call you ‘chief’ the best. I’m used to it. Aren’t you used to hearing it, Chief?”
Twain helplessly acknowledged this address and no longer continued to get hung up on the detail.
“Well, chief… This is my first time as a coach. What kind of work would you like to assign to me? Or… what do you think I can do?” Eastwood put his hands together. His new identity still made him a little awkward. “Even though I train with the coaches every day, I don’t know much about it.”
Without his wife’s advice from yesterday, Twain had originally intended for Eastwood to work with and learn from the other coaches and not to take care of specific matters yet. Then he could simply take coaching classes at the League Managers Association to get ready for his coaching license test.
But now there was clearly a more urgent job for him to do.
“Well… it’s like this, Freddy. What are your thoughts on…George?” Twain thought over and asked.
Eastwood paused for a moment. He did not know why the chief asked the question, but he knew that the chief was definitely not having a casual chat with him. He thought it over before he replied, “Not a friend.”
Twain laughed. He recalled his answer to Shania last night.
“Well, I can understand why you would think that, Freddy. But now I hope you can help…actually it’s not considered a help. Since you’re now a coach, you have to treat everyone equally. I want you to do one thing for the team as a coach…”
“Does it have anything to do with his recent poor form and distracted performance?” Ever since Carl Spicer pitched the question at the press conference, the media began to follow suit. In their view, such a piece of gossip was clearly more entertaining and attention-grabbing than to reminisce about Eastwood’s career.
“It’s so easy to talk to smart people.” Twain exclaimed, “Yes, that’s it. No matter what you think of him, I hope you can let go of this part of the relationship. It’s okay even if you temporarily let it go…Get the steadfast and hopelessly wooden block back for the team.”
This was an unexpected “mission.” Eastwood had never done the job of “psychological coach.” Not to mention, he had to face his “enemy” who caused his current predicament… But he also knew that his current identity did not allow the interferences from his personal feelings. The chief strongly stressed teamwork. This request was not limited to the team. It also applied to the coaching staff.
It was a really troublesome job.
“Okay, chief. I promise. But … You have to make me think about how best to go about it.”
Twain let out a long breath when he saw him agree and smiled, “Of course, but don’t think about it for too long. Our team’s current ranking is not very optimistic.”
“I know, chief. Don’t worry, I won’t let you down.”
Eastwood said goodbye to Twain and then turned to walk away.
Twain stood in the office, looking pensive.
...
Chapter 829 - Whoever Started the Trouble Should End It
Twain threw an extremely thorny problem of acting as a psychological counselor to George Wood to Eastwood.
Eastwood seriously thought back on it, and he found that Wood almost never had such an experience. Sometimes it really made people wonder if his heart was really oaken, as hard and stubborn as iron.
All along Nottingham Forest relied on such an oaken heart, operating at a steady and high speed. Now that the heart had issues, the team’s performance was naturally affected.
Eastwood was troubled by his own inexperience. Never mind that he was a little upset with Wood. Even without this matter, he did not know what to do when faced with Wood.
He contemplated on the matter all day long. From his frown during the day, it seemed he did not come with a good idea.
Eastwood had intended to look for Wood directly and get straight to point to say, “Let’s talk about your recent decline…”
But he had second thoughts about doing it in this way, which seemed to be ineffective. He could not determine if Wood would even listen to him at all.
Feeling vexed, he ended his first day as a coach.
Back home, he still had a worried frown on his face, which alarmed Sabina. She asked, “Did something make you unhappy in your first day as a coach?”
“Nothing made me unhappy but there was an annoying matter…” Eastwood recounted the task given by Twain.
Sabina looked at her husband with a seemingly smiling face, “You men are such strange creatures. Freddy, do you really hate Wood?”
Eastwood thought for a moment. He did not hate him to the core. Otherwise he would not play in this team until retirement. But it would be a lie to say that there was no feeling. Anyone who had encountered such a thing, could not treat it as if nothing had happened.
“Hate? I don’t know… But I certainly don’t like him.” Eastwood shook his head.
“Did you ever have a quarrel with Wood in the team? Had you ever come to blows with him or been in conflict?”
Eastwood wondered why his wife asked such questions. He said, “Don’t you know me, Sabina? I’m not that kind of person… I just don’t talk much to him.”
Unknowingly, a deck of cards appeared in Sabina’s hands as she asked, “Would you like to consult the cars?”
Eastwood quipped, “Save that for the tourists, Sabina.”
Sabina ignored her husband as she played the cards in her hands. A moment later, she looked up and said to Eastwood, “I think you should look for Wood and have a fight in person.”
“Is that what you’ve figured out?” Eastwood felt he really should not have discussed work with his wife.
“That’s why men are stupid creatures.” Sabina slowly fiddled with the cards on the table, “If Llewellyn makes a very serious mistake, I’ll just give him a beating and not treat him coldly. And he would be happy to accept the beating, rather than not talk to his mother for the rest of his life.”
Eastwood dismissed his wife’s remarks and said, “Llewellyn is your child. But George Wood is not my son.”
“Sometimes men and boys have something in common. If you feel embarrassed to fight in person, you can make an appointment with him to find a time and place in private, like a knight throwing down his gauntlet.” Sabina snapped her fingers and kept the cards. “I’ll go see if Chartwainay is asleep.”
Eastwood was left alone in the living room. He had ridiculed his wife’s rotten idea at first. But after he mocked the idea in his mind, he found that there seemed to be some truth in this approach…
Since I don’t know how to talk to Wood, it’s better to take the tough approach right away.
Based on his understanding of Wood, the other party was not a man who beat about the bush. If I say a lot of highfalutin stuff, it will be ineffective and a waste of efforts.
All right… I’ll look for an opportunity.
Eastwood kneaded both hands and his joints made cracking sounds.
Before going to Wilford, the next day, Eastwood rehearsed his “ferocious” expression in the bathroom mirror for a long time.
He was a mild person and popular. He always had a smile on his face in the team and joked with the people around him. Everyone also liked such an optimistic and cheerful teammate, so few people would ever give him an attitude. Thus, the impression was Eastwood was a nice man who would never be fierce to anyone.
It was really hard for him to play the role of villain now…
“Wood! What are you doing?!”
Eastwood shook his head. His tone did not seem to be aggressive enough.
“Didn’t you eat last night? Don’t you have any strength in you?!”
“Look at your movements. Are you really training?”
“All right, actually your performance is not good enough… No, no! It’s terrible! Bad! It sucks!”
…
Eastwood finally shook his head and walked out of the bathroom. If he still did not come out, his daughter, Chartwainay, who had called him for breakfast, would knock till the door was broken.
Sabina kept smiling at her troubled husband during breakfast.
When she sent him off for work at the door, Sabina kissed him on the cheek and said, “Good luck.”
“I don’t feel confident that…” Eastwood spoke without certainty.
George Wood changed his clothes in the locker room with a black face. He had been in a bad mood lately. People around him did not dare to talk to him. Even an old friend like Bale tried not to provoke him at this time.
Everyone knew what kind of pressure the team captain was under. The outside media were going crazy in their speculation that George Wood was responsible for Eastwood’s early retirement. It was as if they wanted Wood to step forward and take responsibility for Eastwood. If this were to happen in South Korea, it was reckoned that they would all directly ask George Wood to cut off his finger as an atonement…
Actually, everyone was aware that Carl Spicer was right in that the first time Eastwood was seriously injured, it was due to Wood’s foul. However, all in all, it was an unintentional mistake. It was too mean to bring it to the surface again after ten years… To put it more seriously, it was done with malicious intent.
The media would not delve into the reasons behind the injury at the time. They only knew that this matter was very newsworthy, so they did a lot of follow-up stories…
As for the readers, they also lacked basic judgment. Or they simply did not want to judge who was right or wrong. They just wanted to watch the drama and feel that life was good.
To make matters worse, the next game was the tenth anniversary of when Tony Twain officially took charge of Nottingham Forest. The team was keen to pay tribute to the boss with a win in that game. But the team’s current condition and a mighty opponent like Liverpool had made that game looked bleak.
Liverpool was also keeping a close eye on the Forest team’s developments. Benítez must be pleased to see that cracks and unrest had emerged within the Forest team. Because he and Twain had fought each other for so many years, he had found that the easiest way to beat Twain was to hope that something would go wrong inside the walls of the indestructible castle.
George Wood’s form was up and down. This was indeed a great and rare opportunity…
Liverpool’s local media had already harshly spoken out that they wanted to upset Tony Twain’s tenth anniversary at Anfield.
“How long he has coached the Forest team has nothing to do with us. We just want a victory.”
Wood was the captain and of course he was aware that his form affected the team. But he just could not let the matter go like it was air. He did feel guilty about Eastwood, and he had felt guilty for the last ten years. It was just that he was not good at showing his emotions, especially after he became the captain. He always wanted to leave his teammates with the image of a “dignified” team captain. Some words were not easy to say out loud again.
Wood spent the day in training with a heavy heart again.
Kerslake looked anxious at the side. He said to Twain more than once, “I think George listens to you the most. Why don’t you speak to him in person and it will all be okay? Why are you doing this?”
Twain put on a profound expression and said, “There is a saying in China—whoever started the trouble should end it.”
“What do you mean?” Kerslake did not understand Mandarin.
“As a man sows, so he shall reap. The two of them are a doomed pair.” Twain sighed, “They are entangled with each other.”
“What are you doing, Tony? You’ve got another knock on the head?”
“Oh, you just wait and see. No one can get involved in the matter between them.” Twain finally said something that Kerslake could understand. “It’s so tiring to talk to you!”
“All you have to do is to just talk sense.”
After the training, Wood routinely gave himself another half hour of practice. The rest of the players went back to the locker room. The members of the coaching unit had long been used to the scene, so no one stayed on the field to watch Wood.
When Wood was alone on the field, he decided to forget the troubles for the moment and train carefully. The quiet environment helped him to do so.
Just as he was about to start, a football hit him in the back of the head.
The knock to the head was not light. It could be a volley shot in a game. Wood was a little dazed from the impact. He put his hand on his head and turned around to glare at the “culprit.”
“It looks like I still have my footwork. Should I consider withdrawing my decision to retire and return to the field?”
Eastwood completely ignored Wood’s angry glare and stood in place as he stroked his chin, talking to himself.
After he saw that it was Eastwood, Wood’s anger suddenly began to dissipate. It had always been the case in the team. Eastwood always gave Wood a little bit of attitude, but Wood was fierce toward Eastwood.
“Don’t look at me. It was no accident. I did it on purpose.” Eastwood stormed over to Wood, picked up the bouncing football on the ground, and shook it in front of Wood with one hand.
“I never hide my dislike of you, have I?” Eastwood asked. He did not expect Wood to answer, but Wood nodded. It surprised him a little.
“Well… All right. I don’t have any interest in knowing what you think of me. It was really a miracle that we could play together for ten years. You know, every time I see your face looking like nothing has happened, I just want to pounce on you and give you a punch. That thought became especially strong when I was last injured… Unfortunately, I’m no match for you.”
Wood did not defend himself, nor did he retort. He just listened quietly.
Eastwood was actually quite nervous, too. He was reciting the lines he had spent a day preparing… At the same time, he had to make his tone sound like it was a complicated mixture of anger and disdain. It was the best method that he could think of and do—to have a good talk with Wood without having to fight like a man. But he could still express his anger like a man and make Wood feel it.
“You’re so physically strong…” Eastwood appraised Wood up and down, “You’re never tired and never know what an injury feels like, and how it feels after the injury. No one can hurt you and can make you miserable. You’re basically not a human being… If someone else wants to assault you, he’s the unlucky one in the end. While you nonchalantly wonder why the other person is hurt…” Eastwood became more agitated as he spoke. At first, he just tried to make himself look angry, but he became really angry in the end.
That’s right! Why is everyone human while you, George Wood can have such an enviable physique? And I, Eastwood have such fragile knees? Why!!
“You… You think I willingly choose to retire?” The football in Eastwood’s hand was long gone. He stepped forward, closed in on Wood and glared at the other man. “I’m only thirty years old! The golden age of a professional footballer is not over yet. Why should I retire? Do you think I’m satisfied to stand in the middle of the City Ground stadium, enjoy the final cheers and say some moving bullshit? I don’t want this shitty farewell! I’d rather play football all my life!”
He had completely deviated from the lines he prepared…
“Then when I look at you again! Look at you again!” Eastwood suddenly grabbed Wood’s collar and growled with his mouth open, “You have such a healthy body, so enviable …but you’re playing like shit! If I had such a healthy body as you, do you know how hard I’ll train and play? How grateful I will be? You bastard! You suck! Are you mocking me? ‘Look, I have a strong and healthy body but I’m deliberately playing like shit, just so that I can sicken a fool like you who have to retire at the age of thirty!”
“I…”
Wood finally opened his mouth and wanted to say something.
But his voice was drowned out amid Eastwood’s raging storm.
“Now I really want to beat you up! Even if I can’t defeat you, I want to fight you!” Eastwood gave a hard push with both hands and really shoved George Wood to the ground. He glared furiously and trembling all over. He raised his fists, but he did not smash down in the end.
“I’m really a f**king coward…. I’m a coward who gave up his professional career for fear of getting hurt again. I’m afraid to keep playing football.” Eastwood seemed to be drained of all his energy at once. He bowed his hand and muttered, “I’m only thirty…”
He suddenly looked up again and stared at Wood, lying on the ground. He said, “Do you know what it’s like to be hurt there? The part below the knee doesn’t seem to belong to your body anymore, you can’t feel anything. Lying in bed in the middle of the night, when I remember that I can’t play football anymore… Do you know how that feels?” At this point, he suddenly paused, and a look of realization dawned on his face. “Yeah, why am I telling you these? Why am I saying all these to a robot that has never been hurt? Am I confused from the anger?”
He shook his head. He was going to turn around and walk away.
“Not only am I a coward, I’m also a fool…”
“You…”
Wood got up from the ground and said somewhat helplessly, “Why don’t… you hit me? If it can… allow you to… feel good…”
Eastwood suddenly turned around and rushed toward him. He almost stuck his nose in his face and roared, “What is this? A winner’s sympathy for a loser? I don’t f**king need your sympathy!”
He took a step back again and continued to stare at Wood as he said, “I chose to retire. It f**king has nothing to do with you! Why are you pitying me? You’re a scumbag! What’s with the look on your face? Is this how you look when you see a pitiful idiot? You think I’m pathetic, don’t you? Ah, I know, I know what you’re thinking—it’s so sad that he can’t play football…”
“No, I don’t…”
“Shut up! So, what if I retire? So, what if I can’t play football? I’m the coach now. You’d better watch out, you bastard! If you dare continue this kind of shitty performance, next time I will cuss you out like the bastard you are in front of the whole team! You think I won’t do it?” Eastwood gave a cold laugh, “I never like you. You’d better not let me get the chance, boy.”
After his harsh words, Eastwood quickly left the training ground. If he did not leave, he was afraid he would burst into tears.
He really hated Wood, not because Wood had injured him in a tackle. He hated that Wood had such a healthy and strong body and yet his own knees were so fragile… He hated the injustice of his fate and his powerlessness.
When he grabbed Wood’s clothes and roared, there was also a voice in his heart that roared, unwilling to resign to his fate:
I want to keep playing football! I want to keep playing football …
Why? Why am I retiring at the age of thirty? Why can’t I have a healthy body like that bastard? Why… Why should I say those nonsense to him here?
Eastwood, who was back in his car, did not drive away. He sat in the driver’s seat and hung his head, feeling deeply tired.
Meanwhile, George Wood stood on the training ground and looked at the football that Eastwood threw at his feet in a daze.
...
Chapter 830: Tony’s Decade
On December 12th, 2003, Tony Twain, one of the greatest managers in Nottingham Forest’s history, returned to the post he was best at after six months of silence and appeared in the home team’s technical area at City Ground stadium. When he returned, there was no talk of his luckless predecessor, Collymore. It was as if the City Ground Stadium’s position was for tailormade in advance for Tony Twain.
It was an ordinary Football League First Division game (there was no English Football League Championship at the time, so the Football League First Division was the second-tier tournament). After losing six games in a row, Nottingham Forest met Crystal Palace, a team that was ranked a spot lower than them but aggressively determined to beat them, at home. Nottingham Forest first fell behind and then reversed the situation to end an embarrassing six-game losing streak.
He had not left his post since that game. Tony Twain had been the manager of Nottingham Forest and this team had been branded with his arrogant and untamed mark. Even during the six-month period when he was in recuperation from a heart attack, the team was not short of his influence. He led his Forest team to sweep across Europe and won two UEFA Champions League and two Premier League titles.
Up until now, Nottingham Forest, one of the world’s first few established professional football clubs, had two of the most glorious periods in its history. The first glory days were when Brian Clough came to Nottingham Forest. Under the leadership of one of the most individualistic managers in English football, the previously unknown Nottingham Forest soared to the skies and won one of England’s top league titles, two European Champion Clubs’ Cup, one European Super Cup as well as created an unbeaten record of forty-two games in the English topflight tournament. That record was only surpassed by Arsène Wenger’s Arsenal record of forty-nine games twenty-six years later.
The second glory days undeniably began on December 12th, 2003. Tony Twain, a former nobody, led the Forest team to stir up a red whirlwind at the City Ground stadium. They had won two Premier League titles, two UEFA Champions League trophies, two UEFA Super Cups, one FIFA Club World Cup, two Football Association Community Shield titles and one EFL Cup. But in terms of the number of championship titles, he had surpassed his predecessor, Brian Clough. Clough had already passed away while Tony Twain was only forty-five years old. His age was considered young as a manager and he still had a long way to go. People believed that under his leadership, the Forest team could continue to be brilliant and go on to create one of the most glorious Forest dynasties in history which was imminent.
Ten years had since flew by.
As the only manager who could be on par with Brian Clough in the history of the club, his ten-year anniversary as a manager was well worth a big celebration. The club had decided to present a commemorative award to Twain. But unfortunately, on December 12th, the Forest team’s game was not at its home ground, so the trophy could not be presented in front of tens of thousands of spectators before the game.
December 12th, 2013, in the 17th round of the English Premier League tournament, Nottingham Forest challenged Liverpool in an away game.
It was a decade after Twain officially coached the First Team. Although he became the Forest team’s acting manager as early as January 1st, 2003, he was only an “acting manager” and was dismissed by Evan Doughty midway through. It could not be counted in his formal coaching career. Even Twain was reluctant to count half of that season’s failure into his own decade even though that half of the season occupied a very important place in his life which left him with countless precious memories.
The local media, such as the [Nottingham Evening Post], had published special issues as a retrospective of Tony Twain’s past decade. For the people of Nottingham, the past ten years had a lot of things worth remembering. It was like they had a wonderful and long dream. If someone were to say to them ten years ago, “Your team can get back to the top,” they would think that the man had deliberately mocked them. But now those honors were quietly placed in the club’s honors room, telling them this was not a dream. It was a reality.
Everything was thanks to this forty-five-year-old man. As a manager, he was only forty-five years old and very young, but his honors had made him the envy of many managers older than him. But as a man, forty-five years old was considered middle-aged. The biggest wish for all Forest fans was that he could hopefully continue to be the manager, the longer the better.
A book publisher came to Twain in the hope of publishing an autobiography of this worthy time period. Twain’s writing was rather good. He often wrote in his column in the newspapers, but it was too time consuming for him to write a book. The manager of a Premier League club was already busy enough. How could he have the time to write a book? So, he handed the matter to Pierce Brosnan, the reporter who knew him best, stating that he would dictate and Brosnan would take notes. In fact, he did not have to do much. Brosnan had used all the material he had gathered and recorded over the past ten years to put together the entire book. The only thing that was likely to be Twain’s creation was the title of the book.
[Ten Years].
Well… Strictly speaking, even the title of the book was not of his creation. When the publisher asked him to think about the title, the title of a song by Eason Chan coincidentally popped up in his mind. He thought it was a kind of destiny, so he used it.
At first the publisher thought the name lacked grandeur and too low-key. It was completely incompatible with Tony Twain’s “madman identity.” He wanted Twain to change to another, such as “The Forest Emperor”, “Lionheart”, “The Godfather of Champions”, “We Are the Champions” … these kinds of straightforward and common titles which could be easily comprehended when written.
But Twain refused.
“Since I am a madman, what kind of madman I will be if I can’t even insist on a book title?” His question left the publisher speechless. He was definitely egotistical…
“Tony, I’ve thought about it. Shall we present you with the award at a press conference in Nottingham the day before the game?” Three days before the game, the club’ chairman, Evan Doughty came to Twain.
“Why?” Twain was surprised because the original plan was to present it after the game.
“Well, I’m worried that if you lose that game, you won’t be in the mood to receive the award in front of the media…”
Twain laughed.
“Don’t laugh, Tony. We have to prepare for both eventualities, don’t we?”
Twain continued to laugh, “Ha! If you present me that crystal award before the game., how’s that preparing for both eventualities? Before some important games, the media always have Plan A and Plan B, but they do not declare the loss for a team ahead of the game. Don’t worry.” Twain patted Evan on the shoulder and said, “The situation which you are worried about, won’t happen because we will not lose. I don’t want to lose the game and then receive the award too.”
“It’s going to be hard to play in Liverpool’s home ground…”
“It’s not that we had not beaten them at Anfield. Don’t tell me it’s because it’s my tenth anniversary that they suddenly become a fortress that is the most difficult to conquer in the world?”
“But with our team’s recent performance … plus George Wood’s form…”
Twain shook his head and interrupted his doubt to say, “No problem. There are no issues with him and the team.”
Twain pushed back Evan’s doubts and said, “Believe me, Evan. This is my tenth anniversary. How could I allow someone to mess it up? I have drinks for friends who come and bullets for enemies who approach.”
“Anfield is the most devilish home ground on the planet!” Christopher Beesley, a senior correspondent for the [Liverpool Echo] predicted in his column the game about to be held two days later. “Our relationship with Nottingham Forest is not too good and there is no reason for us to let Tony Twain enjoy his anniversary celebration at Anfield.”
The man had once listed in his own column the top ten wishes for the 2009-2010 season, one of which was “Hope that Tony Twain has a heart attack to completely say goodbye to the position as the Forest manager.” In addition, he wanted Abramovich to go bankrupt and for Chelsea to have no choice but to sell Lampard to Barça and Terry to Liverpool. In that way, the “Premier League can start a fair and reasonable competition.”
It was obvious that he was a staunch Kopite and did not like Chelsea nor Tony Twain.
In fact, without him adding fuel to the fire in his column, few Liverpool fans had any favorable impression of Nottingham Forest and Tony Twain.
Liverpool, which was confined to the UEFA Europa League for several years in a row, had become the laughingstock among Europe’s powerful teams. It was all due to Tony Twain’s Nottingham Forest. Going back a little further, the question was: whose was it that Liverpool, once a giant that dominated Europe, was beaten by the same opponent in a year and eliminated from the three tournaments, League Cup, EFL cup and the European Cup?
The answer was: Brian Clough and his Nottingham Forest team.
With the added layer of relationship, both were the “red camp” in English football, but every fight seemed to be a derby. Liverpool wanted to prove they were no weaker than Nottingham Forest with a league win and why they could play in the Champions League whereas Liverpool could only compete in Europa League. Nottingham Forest, on the other hand, had always pursued the principle of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Since you’re upset with me, I naturally do not need to be polite to you.
Furthermore, with regards to the debate as to whether Gerrard or George Wood was England’s best midfielder at the moment had never stopped between the two teams’ supporters. In the past, the Chelsea fans had also joined in to support Lampard. As Lampard grew older and lost his place in the national team, the Chelsea fans also discreetly left the fray.
The Liverpool supporters saw Gerrard as more comprehensive, immaculate and flawless. He was undeniably the core player of both England and Liverpool, which certainly made him the best in England. While George Wood was slightly better defensively than Gerrard, his offense was far too inferior. His goalscoring ability was night and day as compared to Gerrard. He could not be placed on par with Gerrard. In the England team, George Wood had emerged more as a player to assist Gerrard.
Nottingham Forest’s supporters thought Wood’s midfield defense as matchless in the world. His offense was quickly improving. He was younger and had plenty of room to rise. Instead, Gerrard was already stereotyped. Moreover, Liverpool was always kept under by Nottingham Forest in the league tournament. The team’s results were not ideal, and Gerrard’s achievements were largely set. On the contrary, Nottingham Forest, led by Tony Twain, had repeatedly won championship titles. George Wood continued to update his honors list. He was certain to achieve more honors and achievements in the future. He could definitely reach the heights of which Gerrard had never reached.
The fans, pundits and reporters who supported their respective teams, stuck to their own teams and regularly engaged in such debates. But the controversy did not affect the relationship between Gerrard and Wood. The national team saw no negative impact caused by these kinds of debates. Wood’s dynamic duo with Gerrard was clearly better than his partnership with Lampard. Wood was a midfielder who could partner with anyone. He could attack and defend, be a playmaker and to assist, which was what Capello liked most about Wood. So, while he and Gerrard played at the same time, it must be him to assist Gerrard. However, in the national team, anyone’s position could be rotated, only Wood could not be. Gerrard sometimes needed to give his position to another player to partner with Wood, but there had never been any media hype about “who is going to partner Gerrard.”
Wood was not a man who liked to compete for the false reputation of “who the big man is in English football” and Gerrard clearly did not need to fight for the top spot. His status had long been cemented.
Such an argument was nothing more than an excuse for fodder among the fans and for the media to speculate about the two teams’ match.
“Nottingham Forest has been in poor form lately. Their core and team captain, George Wood seems to be having problems. I’m not going to hide my feelings that I’m very happy to see this happen. I just want my opponents to have their own problems.” Beesley continued to state in his column, “The competition schedule is terrible for Tony Twain. His tenth anniversary will be played at the devil’s stadium. If he were to be at City Ground stadium, he might still be able to accept the club’s award before the game. That must be a glorious thing, but now Manager Twain can only fantasize about it in his mind.”
“To be able to disturb the anniversary of this arrogant man, that’s what I’m looking forward to the most in this game. I make no secret of my dislike of Nottingham Forest and my love for Liverpool. Every Kopite who knows Liverpool’s history in the late 1970s and early 1980s should agree with me. We are going to settle the score with new enemies and old hatred on December 12th night at Anfield!”
...
Chapter 831 - Trust
When Nottingham Forest arrived in Liverpool, many journalists tracked them down to their hotel in the hopes of getting some pre-match updates up close. Thus, the local media in Eastern Liverpool naturally got the updates first. They gathered outside the hotel, waiting to interview every Forest player who would come out of it.
George Wood was clearly the most high-profile player. Recently, the media hyped his feud with Eastwood, which brought out days from his youth team when he was still new. Majority of the media thought George Wood should take responsibility for the retirement of Eastwood, who pretended to be very angry at his team-mate’s retirement, but Eastwood did not even mention it, questioning whether the atmosphere in Nottingham Forest was really as harmonious as what Twain had preached….
This time, many Liverpool journalists who went to ask Wood directly about Eastwood’s retirement. These Liverpool journalists clearly calculated when they did this — they knew the reason behind George Wood’s poor form.
Now that you had been injured here and the wound has not healed, then we do not mind shoving a knife on your wound and then spill salt onto it….
Actually, resorting to any means for victory, was not something only Twain was capable of.
“Wood, the media said that Eastwood’s retirement was related to you, are you planning to comment?”
“Hey, George. I heard your relationship with Eastwood has been bad, was it because of that?”
“It was said that you two are not friends, how do you two get along usually?”
…
As soon as he showed up, it was a group of journalists flocking up to throw such questions. At this time, Wood would then lower his face and look as gloomy as he could, not wanting to answer any questions. No matter how the reporters harassed him, he just did not speak.
Eastwood became part of the coaching staff. He also went with the team, and the same media ran to ask him similar questions. Being a Roman player was very much courted by the media because he loved to talk and was very cooperative in answering the questions from the media. But today Eastwood acted as if he was possessed by George Wood, blackening his face and keeping his mouth shut. He turned a deaf ear to the reporters’ questions.
That was enough.
Those who wished to create a scene was satisfied with this moment. They did not really expect two people to stand in front of the microphone and talk, as long as they could capture the faces of two people had in the face of the problem, it was sufficient for them to write articles about.
Soon, a report about George Wood and Eastwood’s falling out appeared in the media. Their expressions were placed together. Even if there were not any texts, it was still clear.
After these media renderings, in the eyes of outsiders, Nottingham Forest seemed to have been amongst themselves to the point of being disbanded at any time.
At a press conference the day before the game, Twain pointed to the media and scolded, “I know what you all are trying to do. But it’s a shame that what you’re doing is useless. ”
And in response to the media’s disinformation, Twain, who used to refuse to show his roster list until the last minute, announced the starting lineup a day earlier. George Wood’s name was still inside.
He used this action to show his support for his captain.
He did not know what Eastwood’s conversation with Wood was about, but he believed in Eastwood. And also, only he could accomplish this affair. He also believed in George, that he could be able to get out of it and he could wait for Wood to become something close to a robot. He was the team’s guarantee of victory, the lamp that would never go out, the tower of power.
“Coach Tony Twain insists on sending George Wood, but Wood’s form in the recent games was really bad and the team’s performance had been affected. This was obviously because Eastwood retired, Carl Spicer might be right this time.”
Before the game, while announcing the starting line-ups for both teams, the narrator was analyzing for everyone.
“We all know that Tony Twain is a very grumpy, self-centered person. He always insisted on things that people disagree on, he was right the past few times, but will he still be right this time? You must know, his opponent this time is Liverpool, who is recently on a five-game winning streak.”
Meanwhile, Twain was making a final change in roster for the team in the locker room.
“Liverpool has won five in a row recently and are second in the league. They are a difficult opponent to deal with. But we only won one game in the past five games.” Twain raised his finger for the players to count. “They are second in the league and we are seventh, which is far behind. They are delightful but our situation is not optimal… However, what I am about to say has no relations to all this. ”
He made a gesture, “What does it have to do with this game if they are doing well? Nothing at all. Each game is independent of another. Arsenal, who was unbeatable for 49 games still lost their 50th game, so Liverpool, who have won five in a row, might not be able to win a sixth. Gerrard is a key figure. George, your job in this game is to freeze Gerrard for me and also assist in the attack.”
Wood did not nod or shake his head. He did not say anything. Others turned to him, looking worried.
After Twain delegated George’s duties to him, he turned towards Gago. “Fernando, your job is not to defend but to attack.”
Gago was stunned. He thought the head would allow himself to assist Wood in defence. After all, Wood’s recent form was poor, and if Wood had a problem, the opposing offense would face the back line directly. In the last six games, that was what happened most of the time.
Twain saw his concern, but he did not explain anything, he just continued to assign tasks. “Play to your strengths and do not stop running. Do not be afraid of the ball being intercepted, leave everything behind to George. You only care about the offense, you understand?”
“Oh… I understand, coach…” Gago answered with hesitance. Was there really no issue with this arrangement?
It was a bold arrangement, and if Wood was in good shape it was no issue. But it was no surprise to what Wood was only able to do now. What is the difference between this arrangement and suicide?
Seeing Gago’s hesitation, Twain added, “Offense, offense, offense…You just need to have offense in your mind, Fernando. Don’t think about anything else, even if there is a mistake, it will not be your responsibility. ”
Gago nodded. “All right, coach….”
Actually, he was still hesitating on the inside. He was definitely not the only one hesitating inside.
After deploying the duties of others, Twain clapped, “All right guys. Everyone knows what to do. But that’s not enough. It’s far from sufficient to just know what to do to win a game. You have to trust your teammates. Football is a sport played by eleven people, so no one can do without anyone. Right now in the locker room I can talk to you about tactics and tell you what to do and where not to go, but when it comes to the game, things change rapidly. Who can you count on? Anyway, it would not be me who is sitting outside.” Twain spread his hands. “It’ll be your teammates around you. Partners. Look into their eyes, you are together in the same trench, you can only choose to believe each other. You know what I mean? I know some people are worried that George’s form will affect the team, but even if that’s the case, you still have to trust him. Because you can only trust him on the pitch. ”
This was a bit unreasonable, but it was also Twain’s style. Everyone got used to it, so everyone nodded.
“Let’s play. ”
The players got up and went out. And George Wood was lagging again. Twain looked at him, smiled at him, as he also looked at Twain. The two did not say anything.
When Wood also left, Eastwood offered to find Twain, as if trying to say something, “Coach, I….”
Twain interrupted him, “Keep me in suspense.” He winked at Eastwood. Eastwood understood Twain’s meaning, as he nodded and walked away.
“Players on both sides are out! George Wood is at the front of the line and he still wears the captain’s armband. Tony Twain trusted Wood like a stubborn idi*t, but in the first few games Wood didn’t give back his trust as he did a poor job. So in this important game, will Twain’s trust be rewarded?”
In the press, Beesley was listening to the commentary coming from the television above his head, while typing up on his laptop the manuscript for today. He had already written the post-match press release in advance.
“…It’s great that Twain has chosen to continue to trust Wood. We don’t have to feel guilty about disrupting Twain’s anniversary. He’s asking for it….”
He looked up at the TV as a close-up of Wood’s face appeared on the screen.
“Look at his face, you’d think Forest lost the ball. Haha!” He pointed to the TV screen while laughing with those around him.
Wood shook hands with Gerrard and stood next to the referee for the coin toss.
“It’s a direct conversation between two of the best midfielders in English football today. This game is bound to be very eye-catching. Of course, Wood has been in poor form lately and Gerrard may be taking advantage of it. ”
During the coin toss, Wood lost to Gerrard.
“Gerrard with a lead, ha!” Beesley laughed upon watching this scene.
After Twain appeared in the coach’s chair, several media outlets gathered around him, blocking him in his seat, and the camera siphoned off. He was the most high-profile focus of the game. It was a ten-year stint in charge, in which he had won eight titles, big and small, and was one of England’s most successful coaches, ranking in United Kingdom’s “Coach Hall of Fame” as one of the top 20 and being a top 10 in England’s “Coach Hall of Fame”. The most important thing was not these honors, but him being only forty-five years old, as a coach, he was still “young and handsome”, there was reason to believe that his legend was far from ending yet.
Twain sat in his seat, enjoying the star-studded treatment. This was the honour he deserves, and he need not be ashamed.
The only regret was that it was not at the City Stadium, otherwise he will have a chance to accept the club’s award on the field and enjoy the scene of his name being sung by tens of thousands of fans and cheers for him. Maybe the Nottingham Forest club would still need to put a crown on him, putting on the big coat and let him hold the cane to collect the prize.
As Twain got up from the coach’s chair, reporters dispersed with a warning from security guards. The game has begun.
Liverpool took advantage of the home side’s advantage to attack Forest’s core from the start. They were really not intending to give Tony Twain to win on his anniversary day in this stadium. And as George Wood’s form was not ideal, they intended to use him to expose Nottingham Forest’s goalmouth.
“Steven Gerrard! Beautiful long shot!”
Akinfeev struggled to lift the powerful long-range shot off the crossbar and, after climbing up from the ground, he shouted to his team-mates to pay attention to the defence in the middle. Although he did not name names, everyone knew that the range of Gerrard was under George Wood’s responsibilities.
Gago was a little annoyed. Although the coach did not want him to care about defending, and only regard about the offense. But seeing how Gerrard almost score with this long shot, if they lose the ball, how can they even attack?
He decided to help Wood before he got into form.
Liverpool’s corner kick did not go straight towards the goal, but was instead passed outside. Gerrard came again for a direct goal, although it was off, but this also indicated that he was excited about the game. An excited Gerrard was definitely a danger and Nottingham Forest had to be careful.
“Watch out for Gerrard,” Kerslake could not sit still outside the match, he ran to the side of the field and reminded the players. “Don’t give him so many opportunities for long shots!”
Liverpool came back again. Gago hesitated. Under the training in Real Madrid, he still ran towards the midfield to prepare to guard Gerrard.
“The actions can be more exaggerated, the Premier League is not La Liga, if necessary, you can also foul…” He was muttering as he welcomed Gerrard.
But there was a man faster than him.
George Wood started his attack.. Heading towards Gerrard, the two men bumped into each other. Gerrard was hit by the bump and the football was lost. Wood was going to get the ball, but he heard the referee’s whistle.
“Foul!”
Huge boos were booed at Wood in the stands at Anfield.
Wood ignored it, as if he did not hear it. He turned and made a down-pressure gesture to Gago, “Let me handle it from here.” He pointed to the front again. “You advance.”
Seeing Wood’s expression, Gago nodded. From the first day he came to Forest, the boss told him to trust George as the captain in the game. He had always followed that as he was happy through these two league seasons. This time it would not be a mistake right…
As soon as he thought so, he heard a familiar voice shouting his name, “Gago! Gago!”
He turned towards the coach.
“What are you doing? Did you forget what I said before” Twain waved his arms with much effort. “Your position is in front. Go forward! Go even more forward!”
Gago gave Twain a thumbs-up, indicating he understood.
“Don’t get behind George, or else who can he pass the ball to?”
“I know, coach,” Gago had to answer out loud, otherwise he was afraid that the coach would keep saying that.
Nottingham Forest were not in a 4-5-1 formation but instead in a 4-4-2 formation. Gago and George Wood’s position were not on the same line. Wood’s position was slightly behind, and Gago was staggered in front. It was not a diamond midfield, a disc-shaped midfield, or even a parallel midfield.
Such a formation had already made it clear how the roles in the midfield was distributed – Gago being the main attacker while Wood being the main defender.
Benítez saw this but he did not know why Twain dared to use this formation on an away field, but he was sure of a point——this was an opportunity that can be exploited by yourself.
It seemed like he was correct in attacking midfield, if he continues, it would not be a surprise that the defensive line of Nottingham Forest will collapse!
...
Chapter 832 - Gerrard’s Challenge
Rafael Benítez realized 15 minutes into the game that he was wrong to think of George Wood as the weak spot that Liverpool could capitalize on.
George Wood’s poor performances from previous games had not been carried over to this game.
Gerrard ran into trouble in the midfield. George Wood’s resolute defense made it hard for him to progress any further up the pitch. Left with no other choice, Gerrard passed the ball over to Mascherano.
Mascherano was not having an easy time either, because he still had to deal with Gago’s attacks.
The two were teammates in the Argentina national football team. Mascherano was regarded as a ‘guaranteed’ starting player in the team, whereas Gago was a player who would start in some games and sit on the bench for others, and he has not been able to perform very well.
Contrary to his performances in the national team however, Gago has been performing brilliantly as a Forest player. This could be attributed to a difference in tactics used by the manager of the Argentina national football team and Twain.
In Nottingham Forest, Gago is able to receive overwhelming protection and support from George Wood. However, he does not get to enjoy the same benefits in the Argentina national football team. In the national team, Gago has to focus on defense more. This causes him to not be able to go on the offense, because he was not the kind of player who could attack and defend at the same time. He could only focus on one thing at a time.
Mascherano believes that Gago is at his best when he plays for his club rather than his country, because he is forced to sacrifice some of the things that he is good at in order to play in games for his national team.
However, Gago is only able to perform well on the premise that George Wood is playing well too.
Wood had not been able to perform well during the past few games, and Gago’s performances also became rocky as a result.
It looks like Forest’s No. 13 has come alive in this match?
Liverpool focused on attacking down the middle of the pitch as per Benítez’s pre-match instructions, but their attacks proved to be futile and ineffective.
George Wood ran about tirelessly in the midfield and was also able to make sharp judgements as to where he should run to in order to intercept the ball. He not only made use of his strong physical build to engage in physical battles with the opposing players, he also knew when he needed to commit fouls to stop Liverpool’s offense. It was as though he had regained his form overnight.
Liverpool was hardly able to attack the area that Pepe defended as a result, and Akinfeev had nothing to do in the match so far either.
Benítez realized that he had made an error of judgment. Hence, he walked to the side of the pitch and gestured for the team to change the way they attacked Forest. He wanted them to carry the ball forward down the flanks instead.
Nottingham Forest’s offense started becoming livelier after the shift in strategy by Liverpool led to less pressure on George Wood to defend.
Wood made pass after pass to Gago for him to initiate the attack. This move might look insignificant to some, but it was actually very crucial.
A team’s offense always starts from its defensive midfielders, and this makes them very important assets to the team.
It did not matter how good a striker or winger a team might possess. They are not able to do anything if the defensive midfielders always end up losing the ball when trying to pass it forward. The defensive midfielders’ inability to pass the ball forward would not only cause the team to encounter issues in their offense, it would also lead to frequent counterattacks by the opposing team.
Thus, a defensive midfielder who is able to snatch or intercept a ball is only considered to be decent at best. In contrast, a defensive midfielder who is able to snatch the ball, control it and pass it over to where it should be passed to is world class.
George Wood is a player who is capable of the latter.
As for Gago, his passing accuracy would drop significantly every time he focused on defense. Additionally, he is poor at maintaining possession of the ball as well, and his opponents are often able to snatch the ball from him. It is easy to see why Gago is unable to become a regular starting player in the Argentina national football team…
Gago had to face off with his teammate from the Argentina national team, Mascherano, after he received the pass from Wood. However, Gago was not afraid of battling with Mascherano, because he knew that his teammates would help him to snatch the ball back if he lost possession of it. Hence, he concentrated on trying to make passes that relied on technique and awareness, such as crossing the ball over to the empty space at the flank by using the outside of his foot, or performing a feint to get the ball past Mascherano before making a long pass into the space behind Liverpool’s defense.
If Mascherano tries to snatch the ball from him aggressively, Gago would pass the ball back to Wood and then act as a ‘decoy’ by running forward. Doing so would attract Mascherano over to him and it would provide Wood with the opportunity and space to move forward and attack.
If Mascherano did not follow after him, then Wood would just pass the ball back to Gago.
In a nutshell, both Gago and Wood are capable of attacking and defending, but the former is stronger at attacking, whereas the latter is better at defending.
Simply defending against Gago or Wood would not be enough to stop Forest’s offense. However, it would be too exhausting to defend against both of them at the same time. Thus, the best strategy to stop Forest’s attacks is not to battle with either Gago or Wood in the midfield, but rather to freeze Forest’s strikers or wingers, who are positioned nearer to the goalpost, in their tracks. This is because they are the ones who will put the finishing touch to the team’s attack by shooting at the goal.
Whenever Twain employs a 4-5-1 formation in a match, the players who needed to be marked would be the player positioned at the forefront as well as the attacking midfielders, because they might sometimes be playing as a ‘second striker’. However, ever since Eastwood’s retirement, there has not been another player who is able to play as a ‘second striker’.
Twain’s 4-5-1 formation often becomes a 4-3-3 in the match. Hence, the player who is most likely to score a goal is not the player playing at the forefront. Their attacking and side midfielders were the threats instead, because they would play in a way that a winger would.
The formation that Twain employed in this match was not a 4-5-1, but a 4-4-2 instead. The onus of scoring a goal rested on the shoulders of the forwards.
Benítez gestured for his team to pay attention to Forest’s two forwards. However, it was a difficult task to accomplish for the Liverpool players, because the two forwards that Twain employed in the match were not easy to deal with…
One was the 1.88m tall Ibišević who has been nicknamed ‘Super Ibi’, and the other was the 2.02m tall Aaron Mitchell.
This combination would give any manager in the Premier League a terrible headache…
Ibišević was accurate with his shots and was the more complete player between the two. Mitchell, on the other hand, would easily dominate in the air against any other player, and he also possessed great technique and was also good with headers. His only flaw was that his shooting was still slightly poor.
Sometimes, all Nottingham Forest needed to do to score a goal against their opponents was to bring the ball forward down the flanks and then pass it into the middle.
It was rare for Twain to play both Ibišević and Mitchell in a match, but when he does, the combination almost always brings victory to the team. Clearly, Twain does not intend to let Liverpool jeopardize his important day today.
Liverpool’s center back, Martin Škrtel, who stood at 1.91m tall, was assigned to mark Mitchell.
It was a job that made Škrtel feel immense pressure.
Mitchell was no longer the inexperienced youngster who made his debut during the match against Barcelona. He has grown more mature and reliable ever since, and Twain has also stopped banning him from showing off his techniques during matches as well.
It would be a mistake to think that Mitchell was less threatening when he tries to control the ball at his feet. He might not be good with the ball, but he was still capable of getting past defenders and making passes to his teammates without losing the ball.
Ibišević was positioned close to Mitchell for support. Daniel Agger was the Liverpool player assigned to mark Ibišević.
Mitchell performed a feint and made it seem as though he wanted to pass the ball over to Ibišević, who was heavily marked by the Liverpool defenders. However, his real target was Fernández, who was running down the flank. After passing the ball over, Mitchell started to make his way into Liverpool’s penalty box.
This was how Forest typically carried out its attack. The forward would pass the ball over to the flank before making his way into the penalty box without the ball at his feet. The winger would then pass the ball into the penalty box, and the forward would fight for the ball and try to shoot for goal.
Liverpool was very familiar with Forest’s attack pattern. Agger charged towards Mitchell the moment he made his way into the middle of the pitch. Both he and Škrtel closed in on Mitchell from the front and the back, and they tried to make it difficult for him to jump up and fight for the aerial ball.
Liverpool was going to defend against Forest like they always did in the past, since the latter was also making use of an attack pattern that they always have as well.
Unfortunately, they had forgotten that Forest was not playing a 4-5-1 formation, but rather a 4-4-2 instead…
Mitchell tried his best to fight for the ball despite being surrounded by two burly center backs. He successfully attracted the attention of all the Liverpool defenders. Even the goalkeeper, Pepe Reina, had turned his body towards him.
They had all forgotten that there was another Forest player dressed in yellow behind Mitchell…
Mitchell was not able to reach the ball due to the interference from both Agger and Škrtel. Likewise, both center backs were not able to reach the ball either due to interference from Mitchell.
The ball flew right over their heads…
Ibišević jumped high into the air. He saw the frenzied look on Reina’s face from the corner of his eye.
“Ibišević has headed the ball!”
There was no way he could miss. The goal was right in front of him…
“The ball has gone in!” The commentator roared. “It has only been 21 minutes since the start of the match, but Nottingham Forest has managed to take the lead! 1:0! The away team leads!”
Tony Twain, who had been sitting at the technical area, jumped off his seat and raised his fists into the air. He then turned and waved his fists at the spectators standing at the stands behind him. It was his way of demonstrating his might before the Liverpool fans at Anfield.
It looks like you are not capable of ruining my banquet later!
His actions were met with deafening boos from the crowd.
Benítez felt like he was truly down on his luck. His team had only committed one error during its defense, and Forest had capitalized on it right away.
It was as expected of Forest. They have always been known to be a highly efficient team.
Despite being a goal down however, Benítez did not make any adjustments to his team’s formation or tactics. He believed that his team would be able to stay strong and make a comeback, because they were a team that had gone through even more difficult situations in the past.
Chris Beesley had only just typed the words, “Nottingham Forest’s attacks do not appear to be threatening. They are playing their usual boring tactic of passing the ball into the middle from the flank…” when he saw Forest score the goal from the press box.
Thereafter, he heard loud cheers coming from the television situated above his head, “GOOAL!”
He raised his head to look at the scenes of Ibišević celebrating the goal wildly with his other Forest teammates on the television screen, before looking down at the very last sentence he had typed in his Word document.
He swore under his breath, then proceeded to delete the words that he had just typed.
The screen subsequently cut to a scene of Twain performing provocative actions before the Liverpool fans.
“Stop being so cocky!”
He pointed his middle finger at the Twain in the screen as he held a cigarette in his mouth.
Not far away from him, the reporters from Nottingham were all cheering for the goal with both hands high in the air.
The match restarted soon after, and the song ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ resonated throughout Anfield. It was as though the Liverpool fans were singing the song to hit back at Twain for doing provocative actions at them earlier.
Their voices increased in decibels gradually. The Liverpool players appeared to have been motivated by the song, as they began trying to attack Forest even more vigorously than before.
The match completely turned in Liverpool’s favour from that point onwards, and Nottingham Forest was being dominated completely.
Many of the Forest players were still immersed in the ecstasy of the goal from earlier. They did not expect the Liverpool players to get back in the game as quickly and as ferociously as they did.
The song was clearly a source of strength for the Liverpool players.
George Wood found the Gerrard before him right now to be much more difficult to deal with. The latter’s actions have become much faster than before, and he seemed to be much more relentless as well.
Perhaps the thought that they are currently losing has set him off?
Gerrard was well-known for his mental toughness in England’s footballing scene. He has a tendency to perform better in times of adversity. As a result, Wood did not dare to let his guard down around him.
“A battle between George Wood and Gerrard!” The commentator became excited.
This was the kind of scene that viewers wanted to watch. Many people are not able to understand the brilliance behind the tactics used in a match, but they would undoubtedly get excited when they see two football stars get into a battle with each other.
Gerrard did not pass the ball away when he met resistance in the form of Wood’s defense this time round. He behaved in a way that suggested that he wanted to try and force his way through. Wood decided to retreat slightly to establish a distance between himself and Gerrard. Doing so would prevent Gerrard from making his way past him.
Gerrard was able to see through Wood’s plan. It was too obvious.
He was indeed intent on trying to force his way past Wood earlier, but he had changed his mind now. He was going to shoot from a distance instead!
George Wood did not expect Gerrard to perform a long shot at goal. He was at a loss and failed to respond to Gerrard’s actions. He watched as the ball flew by before him.
Akinfeev did not think that Wood would allow Gerrard to shoot at the goal that easily. Fortunately, Gerrard’s shot flew straight at him. He clumsily blocked the shot and sent the ball out of bounds.
“Hey, George.” Pepe shouted behind him. He was worried after watching Wood’s performance earlier.
Wood waved his hand at him to signal that he was all right.
He then turned around and tried to locate Gerrard, but he realized that the Liverpool player had already made his way into the penalty box and was preparing to fight for the ball in the air.
Wood quickly ran over to mark him.
However, Gerrard suddenly retreated right before the corner ball was kicked.
Wood had a foreboding sense of danger.
He did not have the time to warn his teammates. He chased after Gerrard straight away.
But, he was still a little too slow…
Both Agger and Škrtel rushed into the penalty box. Their actions made it seem as though they were both trying to join in the attack. However, Liverpool’s corner was not kicked into the penalty box. Instead, it had been kicked to a spot outside of it!
Gerrard waited till the ball was right over his head. He then looked up at it, before adjusting his body towards the goal.
Wood charged past the crowd of players in the penalty box and headed towards Gerrard at full throttle. He was confident in reaching the ball and stopping Liverpool’s attack after Gerrard stopped the ball at his feet.
Don’t even give me a second, Gerrard! You’d be finished the moment you do!
All right. I’d do as you wish.
Gerrard raised his right leg with his eye on the ball.
Everything was in place.
The ball.
His foot.
And him.
“Gerrard has shot at the goal with the ball still in mid-air!”
The ball flew past Wood’s face at breakneck speed. Wood felt his cheeks tingle in pain due to the wind that had been induced as the ball whizzed by.
The shot from Gerrard was just like a cannonball. It smashed its way past Forest’s defense and all the players standing before the goal. The ball was already in the back of the net before Akinfeev could even react…
“A worldie! An absolute worldie! That was utterly fascinating! The captain of the Reds has finally unleashed his prowess! He has won the battle between him and George Wood!”
Gerrard did not run to the side of the pitch to celebrate after scoring the goal. Instead, he stood rooted at the spot, raised his fists and roared.
It might look like he was celebrating his goal, but his eyes were fixated on George Wood the entire time.
Is that a challenge?
Wood clenched his fists.
...
Chapter 833 - Don’t Be Happy Yet
“World class ball! World class ball! The captain for the Reds has finally exploded into life! He has drawn first blood in his duel with George Wood!”
Gerrard stood where he was after scoring and pumped his fist towards George Wood after scoring.
Even though he didn’t like to compete for the status of England’s best player, he didn’t like to concede defeat in a match against any opponent either. The media was right to keep mentioning him and Wood together. He also thought that George Wood was an opponent that could compete with him. It was very satisfying to go one on one with Wood and beating him.
George Wood had a sullen and unfriendly expression on his face. He was responsible for the goal that they conceded and he was not going to shirk the responsibility.
Since it was his own responsibility, he had to think of a way to make up for it then…
“Ah ha ha! Beautiful!”, Beesley shouted after seeing Gerrard’s goal from the press box, he stood up from his seat and waved his fists excitedly.
After cheering for a while, he sat back down and typed on his keyboard, “…Gerrard scored a world class ball to announce that he’s the best midfielder in this country… No, perhaps I should remove the word ‘midfielder’, he’s the best player in England… George Wood might be good defensively but his goal-scoring ability is lacking…”
At this point, he glanced at the field and found Wood. Wood was standing at the same spot, but he could not see his expression.
“What a pity, it must be quite a sight…”, He shook his head, muttering with a cigarette in his mouth.
However, he smiled again later as he saw Tony Twain on the TV screen.
The live broadcast of the match was showing a replay of Tony Twain’s reaction in the technical area at the moment when the goal was scored.
When the ball was unexpectedly passed to Gerrard, his butt left his seat and his upper body extended outside the technical area as he paid attention to what was happening. When Gerrard finally shot the ball into the goal, he sat back down into his seat and waved his right hand with some disdain.
“Ha ha!”, Beesley laughed happily after seeing Twain’s performance. “Where do you think you are? Mister Twain? This is our home ground! It’s Anfield! This is the most devilish stadium in the world! Listen to this singing! You’ll never walk alone, Liverpool!”
Beesley was a little crazed then. But his behaviour is nothing special as there were many people in the Premier League who found joy in watching Tony Twain make a fool of himself. None more than the host of Sky Television’s “Football Matters”, mister Carl Spicer.
The beautiful goal by Gerrard boosted morale and the singing from the stands boomed even louder.
“When you walk through a storm, hold your head up high—”
“And don’t be afraid of the dark. At the end of the storm. There’s a golden sky, and the sweet silver song of a lark—”
“Walk on through the wind, walk on through the rain—”
“Though your dreams be tossed and blown—”
“Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart—”
“And you’ll never walk alone—”
“You’ll never walk alone—”
In Heysel, in Hillsborough and in Istanbul in 2005… This song has encouraged the Reds on countless occasions and tonight will be no exception.
All the Reds’ supporters, even the Reds’ players think so.
For a long period of time after that, Liverpool was in cruise control as they bombarded Nottingham Forest. The singing of their fans were like a conductor’s stick, commanding the team to attack. The singing became louder every time the team attacked and when the team was building up to attack, it became softer.
“This is an exclusive view that you can only see at Anfield!”, the commentator exclaimed, “Nottingham Forest seems to be finding it difficult to hold their grounds. Tony Twain obviously did not prepare well enough for the stubbornness displayed by Liverpool in this match. What was it that he said before the match? ‘Nobody can trouble me.’ That sounds like a joke now…”
Twain stood up, he could smell the stench of danger from the relentless attack displayed by Liverpool.
Liverpool was determined not to act as a foil for Twain’s ten-years-anniversary indeed…
George Wood wanted to make up for his mistake by attacking, but he could not even lift up his head under the fierce attack of his opponent. Even Gago had to gradually dropped back to help out in defense. Forest really could not catch a break in attack at all. The Liverpool players felt like they were all on stimulant. They were in every position, all their passes were able to reach their teammate accurately and every shot seemed like it would penetrate the Akinfeev’s goal… As the saying goes, “when things go well, everything you try will come off”, Liverpool was already in that state then.
“Bastards…”, Twain cursed on the sideline. He really did not expect the whole Liverpool team to have such a change from just a beautiful goal.
And that song!
Twain was actually quite envious of Liverpool because they have an anthem that the whole world knew about. Whether the team was performing well or not, the Liverpool fans would sing this song. This was more effective than any cheer. A pity. Nottingham Forest did not have something like this…
In terms of team culture, his own team was miles away from the opponent’s…
The Forest players finally hung on till half time and they walked out of the pitch with their heads low right after the referee blew his whistle for the end of the first half. They also felt embarrassed about their performance in the first half. On the other hand, the Liverpool players took in the song and cheers of the fans with their heads held high on the pitch.
“There’s nothing to feel disheartened about…”, Twain told his players in the changing room, “We’re still level now, what’s there to feel disheartened about? As long as we score in the second half, we’ll still be the ones leading. You have to think of it this way…”
When Twain was giving his team counselling in the changing room, a bunch of die-hard Forest fans gathered outside the drinks stall, drinking beer while sighing because of the first half.
“We completely lost!”, said Skinny Bill as he waved his arms forcefully. “Our voice could not even compare with theirs… Look at the team’s performance in the first half, I believe their poor performance had something to do with the lack of support from us.”
“If it’s on our home ground… We’ll definitely make Liverpool go back crying!”, someone in the group shouted indignantly.
What he got in return was more sighs. No matter how you look at it, they looked like a bunch of defeated cocks who could only talk tough.
“Say… Tony’s ten-years-anniversary…would it end just like this?”, someone finally asked what everyone was worried about.
“How is it possible?”
“No way!”
“Don’t be ridiculous!”
The bunch of them rejected the idea quickly, but in truth, the idea of this result was growing bit by bit in everyone’s mind, from a blur to a clear picture, from “ridiculous” to “reality”.
“I feel disgusted when I think about the gloating faces of Spicer and Beesley if we lose this match…”, Bill said, the strong tone that he used was unable to cover up the uneasiness in his mind.
Fat John, who had been silent all this while, passed him a beer.
“I’m not done with this yet…”, Bill said as he lifted the cup in his hand. He did not even manage to take a sip of his beer because he was talking all the way.
“Have another. Wet your whistle, pal.”
“What idea did you come up with now?”
“Isn’t it just singing? We can’t sing just because we have less people? We’ll fight them head-on in the second half!”, John said fiercely.
After hearing this, Bill took the cup and drank it in one gulp. The others drank their beer after watching him do so and threw the disposable cups into the rubbish bin at the side.
“Sing our song!”
“Okay, don’t think about the significance of this match.” Twain said. He knew that some people might bear some unnecessary burden because of how special this match was. “You guys must not fall back just because Liverpool is attacking just like what you did in the first half. Are you afraid of conceding? If you’re afraid of conceding, then attack! Score a few goals and we’ll see if they still have the capabilities to attack. Gago, your positioning is too messy in the first half, you were in front for a while then at the back. Didn’t I tell you that your position is a little bit in front of George’s?”
Gago had no answer. He was responsible for the first part of the first half but it was not his problem in the second part.
Wood had a very strong desire to score in this match, that was why he moved forward so often that he snatched Gago’s position. Gago realized this later and he followed what the boss wanted in training—”Two of you, no matter who’s attacking, there must be one covering at the back”—and he retreated until he was behind Wood. This caused his position to be not fixed and confused his own teammates…
” Wood stood out and said, “It’s my responsibility.”
Twain looked at him. Would Eastwood be effective if he’s introduced now? He was not sure yet, although he could see with his own eyes that Wood’s performance in the first half was like a roller-coaster ride.
“Do you want to say something about your performance in the first half, George?”, Twain asked.
“Yes.” Wood nodded and said, “After Gerrard scored, I became a little agitated and snatched Fernando’s position.”
“Yes, I can see that. Can you tell us why you were so agitated?”, Twain asked.
Wood stayed silent for a while before saying, “Gerrard’s goal was my responsibility…”
Twain smiled and said, “An agitated George Wood, you don’t see that often. Are you unhappy that Gerrard scored such a beautiful goal right in front of you?”
Wood nodded.
Mm, that’s why you tried very hard to attack…”, Twain mumbled. “Let’s do this. We’ll make some adjustments. In the second half, George, you’ll stay in front, Gago at the back. You’ll be in-charge of attacking and Gago will be in-charge of defending, any questions?”
Wood was surprised and he looked at Twain.
Gago at the side said, “No problem, boss.” Of course there was no problem. That kind of adjustment was nothing new. Twain would often ask the two of them to switch positions in previous matches, after all, they were players who could both attack and defend.
“Is there a problem, George?” Twain did not want to let it go without getting an answer from Wood.
“I…have no problems with that.”, Wood replied.
Twain snapped his finger and said, “Remember your mission, it’s not to defend, it’s to attack. If Liverpool realized that we made this kind of adjustments, they will definitely tighten the marking on Aaron and Ibi, as well as on Bentley and Fernández.” He told the whole team, “I hope the four of you can be more active in front and run more. Try to draw the attention of the Liverpool defence to focus on you, then…”
Twain took out a marker and drew an arrow from the circle representing Wood towards the opponent’s goal.
“My personal advise under this situation, shooting is more effective than passing.”
After the second half started, the song “You’ll never walk alone” continued to be sung from the stands and Liverpool continued their excellent performance from the first half and kept Forest pinned in their own half of the pitch.
Twain kept waving his arm on the sideline, indicating for his team to press up and not be cowards.
Beesley’s fingers flew around the keyboard of his laptop, covering Liverpool with all the praises that he could think of. There was an undisguisable smile on his face, which he did not try to disguise either, as he anticipated this match to go towards the ending that he expected.
Maybe they were tired, the song “You’ll never walk alone” finally stopped. At this moment, there was another song that rang out from the stands. It was not very loud, but because it happened when the Liverpool fans are resting, it was very clear.
“With the game down to the last minute, do you think it’s over? There’s little time left as the referee looks at his watch and your heart goes, ‘Forget it, we still have the future’—”
“The cheering song gradually loses its voice, and some people begin to leave early. A bunch of beer cups are strewn about in the stands, and it’s a mess!—”
“The opposing players laugh at our final struggle, and the opposing fans celebrate their victory in advance!—”
“The Forest team’s number 11 steps forward and he said, ‘No! The game isn’t over yet! Don’t be too happy!’”
“Don’t—Be—Happy—Yet!!!”
A few thousand Nottingham Forest fans shouted this line together and they gave the Liverpool fans a scare.
Twain cocked his ears and listened for a while, then turned to look at Eastwood next to him.
Eastwood was obviously entranced, he looked up and opened his mouth in surprise. He did not expect to be able to hear this song again.
Wood heard the song too and he felt goosebumps, deeply affected by it.
“Do you think I’m happy to retire?!”, he felt like his collar was being held by Eastwood as Eastwood berated him and he found it a little hard to breathe. “I still want to continue playing!”
When George Wood was still in a trance because of this song, the other players of the Forest team were similarly being affected by the “Song of Eastwood”. The scene of Fred’s farewell in the City Ground was still unforgettable for them. Their best comrade had no choice but to leave them because of injury. With the match in such a situation, Fred, who was seated in the coach’s seat must be kicking himself for not being able to play himself! They clenched their fists and stared at Liverpool’s goal and they were itching to score.
“Press up!” shouted Akinfeev behind everyone, “Boss wants us to press up! Don’t make me the leading man!”
Gago entrusted the ball to Wood. Boss was right. No matter how the captain performed during the previous few matches, he had to trust his captain , he could only trust his captain.
After Wood received the ball, the one who came up to defend him was not Mascherano but Gerrard.
Wood feinted a pass to his teammate supporting him at the side, then kicked the ball forward suddenly— he was going to dribble through!
Gerrard put his body close to Wood to force him to slow down and signalled for Mascherano to come help. He realized that it was a little bit difficult to defend Wood, who was determined to attack, by himself…
With Gerrard on the left and Mascherano on the right, the two of them were like bodyguards, “escorting” Wood forward. Gerrard disturbed him from one side while Mascherano waited for a chance to tackle the ball from the other. Gerrard was not afraid that Wood would take a long shot. Once he was poised to shoot, that would be the perfect chance for them to intercept the ball. As long as he can stick close to Wood, the Forest team’s attack this time would not cause them any problems…
Aaron Mitchell and Ibišević ran towards the two flanks in support to pull the defenders away from the centre. Agger and Skrtel did not dare to leave them alone. Furthermore, they saw there was both Gerrard and Mascherano defending Wood and thought that even if they leave the centre open, there would not much threat to the goal guarded by Reina.
Wood still had no intentions of passing and continued dribbling forward. He continued tussling with Gerrard and Mascherano while running forward, preventing the ball from being stolen by them. He had the basics training that he did everyday for the past ten years to thank for his solid dribbling. Mascherano and Gerrard could not find any chance at all…
Then…Gerrard looked up and he was shocked!
The penalty area is just ahead! Since when were they so close to the penalty area?
A terrible thought flashed through Gerrard’s mind—he was tricked by Wood. He thought that Wood only knew long shots but he actually wanted to break into the penalty area to have an one-on-one with the goalkeeper this time!
His dribbling is good, it’s not easy to intercept the ball, he can only foul him now… At this position, it’ll be too late if he doesn’t foul him now!
Gerrard did not hesitate anymore and tackled Wood from diagonally behind him. At the same time, Mascherano gave Wood a strong push from the back. They obviously have the same thought—we have to foul him now!
Wood suddenly kicked the ball away and Gerrard did not manage to get the ball. However, that was okay as he was not going for the ball anyway.
He tackled Wood but he was not able to bring him down. The push from behind by Mascherano became a force that allowed Wood to move forward… He managed to dodge the fouls by the two of them and even though he was still unbalanced and his steps were unsteady, he did not fall and lose the control of the ball.
The referee had the whistle in his mouth but he did not blow for a foul by Gerrard or Mascherano, instead, he allowed the match to continue.
Right when Wood kicked the ball out, Reina was alert and moved. This might be the best opportunity to do so but Wood’s explosive power was too scary. Reina barely ran out from the goal and Wood only took two steps to catch up with the ball. Even though his steps were still unsteady, it did not stop him from shooting…
It was like a volley with all his might. When the ball flew past Reina, he did not even see the ball clearly. All he heard was a “whoosh” and then a “clang!”.
The ball hit the inside of the post and bounced into the goal! The goal was still vibrating…
Reina felt a chill all of a sudden—if this shot was to hit his face, would he go into a shock on the spot?
From less than ten meters away from goal, the ball was shot with the strength of a long shot and the goal happened in a flash. Reina might be the only one who could understand the power of this shot. He knelt on the ground, a little dazed, and he did not even turn back to look at the ball inside the goal.
The song “You’ll never walk alone ” which was ringing in the Anfield skies disappeared and only another voice continued to roar out:
“The game isn’t over yet, don’t be too happy! Don’t be happy yet—!!”
...
Chapter 834 - Happy Tenth Anniversary
“George Wood! Goal! Gooal! Gooooal!!”, screamed the commentator, “Nottingham Forest lead again! Ahh! This is an amazing goal! George Wood started dribbling from midfield and went straight for goal! Even though he was under pressure from both Gerrard and Mascherano, he still managed to score! This midfielder doesn’t score often, let alone a beautiful goal like this!”
After watching Wood shoot the football into the goal behind Reina, Mascherano hammered the ground with his fist. He regretted not pushing Wood hard enough just now…
Did Gerrard regret not going for Wood’s leg with his tackle earlier?
Wood was stunned for a moment after scoring and seemed to have forgotten to celebrate. When Aaron Mitchell and Ibišević rushed forward to celebrate with him, he pushed them away and ran straight to the technical area.
Twain was already standing up when Wood broke through Gerrard and Mascherano’s defense into the penalty area. His fists were clenched as he waited to celebrate the goal. When he saw Wood running towards him, he rushed out of the technical area as well with his arms wide open, waiting to have a passionate hug with Wood.
Wood was the one who saved his tenth anniversary so Twain had to thank him properly.
“Ah ha! Come on George! Let me give you a passionate hug!! You little darling!”, Twain exclaimed while he poised himself in front of everyone, waiting for Wood to jump into his embrace.
But Wood passed him by like the wind without even looking at him, as if he was air…
“Hey…”
Eastwood was standing not far away from Twain. He was happy that the team regained the lead of course, even though this goal was scored by Wood. But he still got up from his seat to celebrate with his colleagues around him. Right at this moment, Wood jumped straight at him and gave him a hug.
“Hey!”
“Ah!”
Everyone around were like birds that got frightened by Wood as they dispersed.
Eastwood could feel that Wood was hugging him very tightly and he was still exerting more force, causing him to have difficulty breathing.
“W… ood…”, Eastwood could barely speak, “Are you… are you… trying to suffocate me…”
Wood had no intention of letting go as he buried his head in Eastwood’s shoulder, muttering something under his breath. However, the environment was so noisy that even if Wood was right next to his ears, Eastwood could not tell what he was saying.
What is he saying? What is he doing?
Eastwood’s head was filled with questions like these then.
Twain stretched out an arm and patted Wood on the head, shouting, “Enough, George! Are you trying to murder your coach cum ex-teammate?”
As expected, the Boss’ words were most effective. After Twain said that, Eastwood could feel the pressure on him loosening. Wood let go of him then looked at him and said, “Sorry.”
Before Eastwood could appreciate what he said, Wood turned and jogged away.
He never did gave the main star of this match a “passionate” hug, but Twain did not mind.
“Ten years late.”, Twain smiled in front of Eastwood as he said this. “But he has always been an awkward person.”
Eastwood looked at the view of Wood’s back, nodded and said, “That’s right, an awkward person…”
“Wood ran over for a hug with Eastwood after scoring, what a heartwarming scene! This hug between them squashed any rumors about any internal conflict within Nottingham Forest that was spreading previously. The rumors that George Wood caused Eastwood’s early retirement can stop now…”, the commentator said with a sigh after watching this scene.
Just like how the world-class ball by Gerrard was able to boost Liverpool’s morale, George Wood’s goal and his hug with Eastwood after scoring similarly was able to boost Nottingham Forest’s morale. If the Forest team was like a huge family, then everyone in the family would be just like a friend. When there was an argument between friends, even if it did not affect them directly, as a member of the family, they would feel bad and be affected by it too.
The reason why this incident between Eastwood and George Wood caused the team to perform badly during the past few matches was not because Wood was in a bad form.
So when everyone saw Wood gave Eastwood a hug in public, they were finally able to put down the rock that was in their hearts. The effect of this on the team’s morale was much more obvious than Gerrard’s world-class ball.
In the match later, the captain who had regained the trust of his team led Nottingham Forest to totally suppress Liverpool on the field. Tony Twain’s adjustment to make Wood the focal point of the attack was totally out of Benítez’s expectation. What was even more out of the expectations of the Liverpool players was Wood’s resolve when attacking. There was a feeling of “Do-or-die” in his movements. Must score, must succeed, must win!
In the 77th minute of the match, Nottingham Forest scored another goal. The scorer this time was Aaron Mitchell. He received the ball from Wood in the penalty area and used his long legs to his advantage as he evaded Skrtel’s defense before striking the ball unexpectedly. The ball took a deflection off Agger’s leg and took Reina by surprise.
3 : 1!
However, this score line was still unable to let Twain stay in his seat at ease. Everyone knew what kind of a team Liverpool was, they were well-known to be good at mounting comebacks. Furthermore, this was their home ground—Anfield Stadium. More than forty thousand fans would forever be their staunch shield, their twelfth man on the field.
As long as the match was not over, even if they were leading by two goals, Twain could not claim that they had the match won.
Luckily, the players on the field also knew what kind of team Liverpool was. They started to draw back and played a counterattacking game which made Liverpool unable to go all out in attack.
This move did make things difficult for Liverpool.
Liverpool only got some good chances during the last five minutes of the match when they gave up on defending. After all, during the last five minutes, there would be no difference even if the opponent scored ten goals if they could not score themselves. The whole team pressed forward and bombarded the Forest goal under the encouragement of the song “You’ll never walk alone”.
In the 89th minute, they managed to score a goal. There was chaos in front of the Forest goal then and nobody knew who kicked the ball, or if the ball hit someone, but the ball flew into the goal. Akinfeev made a diving action but he was still too late.
This goal boosted Liverpool’s morale and they wanted to go from strength to strength and level the match. However, Nottingham Forest did not give them another chance like that. The situation was tense but Forest eventually managed to defend the score line.
When the referee blew the whistle for full time after the four minutes of stoppage time, boos rang out on the stands against Tony Twain — This bastard managed to grind out a win again and escaped unscathed during his tenth anniversary.
Twain appeared to be very happy as he stood up to shake hands and hugged everyone. They congratulated him on his victory in this memorable match.
Next, Twain walked towards Benítez with his hand extended out from quite some distance away. The smile on his face was as if a cherry blossom had blossomed.
Benítez really wanted to avoid Twain at that moment, but under the watchful eyes of the public, where could he hide?
“Congratulations, Mister Twain.”, Benítez said, as he had no choice but to shake hands with Twain.
“Ha, thank you. This was a good match. You guys did well.”, Twain replied with a smile on his face.
Their hands touched lightly and it constituted to be a handshake. Benítez turned and walked away while Twain returned to embrace his players on the field, thanking them for their efforts to make this wonderful night a success.
He put his arms around Wood’s neck and pulled Eastwood over. Facing the crowds of reporters, he said loudly, “Sorry to disappoint you!”
“Hey, Tony! Regarding your ten years here, do you have anything to talk about?” The reporters were not bothered by Twain’s taunting. They were used to his temperaments after working with him for so long, he loved to talk on the spur of the moment.
looked at Wood in his arms, then looked at Eastwood by his side before proudly saying, “Look for yourselves, my ten years are all here.”
Some reporters got close to ask Wood about that embrace and he resumed his cold expression and replied simply, “Goal celebration.”
The reporters added, “How did you come up with the idea of hugging Eastwood to celebrate your goal?”
Wood replied, “I ran over and I saw him, then we hugged.”
Twain heard Eastwood mumble very softly at his side, “How awkward…”
He smiled.
Back in the dressing room, Evan Doughty and Allan Adams were already waiting there to present a memorial trophy to Twain.
“So sorry, Tony. We couldn’t present this trophy to you in front of so many people on the field.”, Evan said while passing the crystal cup to Twain.
“That’s not important, Mister Chairman.”, Twain replied. In front of the team, he was still very formal. “I’m already very satisfied with winning the match. My team has already given me the best trophy.”, he said in front of the whole team, in response, he got the cheers and applause of the players.
At this moment, Eastwood stepped up and told Twain, “Boss, the team has another gift for you.”
As he was still a player in the team not long ago, coupled with his popularity within the team, Eastwood’s main job after becoming a coach was to link up the players with the coaches and act as a bridge between them. He was elected as the spokesperson of the team now.
Before Twain could understand what was going on, Eastwood snapped his finger and both Bale and Pepe came in with a big cake in the shape of a crown. There were ten red rubies made of cherries on the crown which represented the ten seasons that Tony Twain stayed in the Forest team. In the middle of the crown, written in red jam was:
Just ten years, just beginning.
“Boss, we hope that you can stay for ten years, and ten more years after.”, Pepe spoke of the whole team’s wishes when he presented the cake.
Twain had tears in his eyes. This was unexpected to him and he thought these players were too adorable.
Thank you.”, he choked a little on his reply.
“Okay, don’t make the atmosphere so gloomy!”, Kerslake shouted at the side as he gave a look to a few people at the side.
Wood and Eastwood held on to Twain on both sides while Pepe, who was still so warm and touching earlier, suddenly smashed the cake onto Twain’s face…
“Happy tenth anniversary, boss! Ha ha!”
The reporters waited for a long time for the Nottingham Forest manager who was late. However, his appearance gave everyone present a shock, including Benítez who was getting a little impatient…
Twain’s face was white and there were only two eyes which could be seen. At first glance, everyone thought that a skeleton had entered. His dark red suit were smeared with white and red paste-like substance and his hair which were dyed black became white again.
“This is cream.”, Twain explained matter-of-factly to the shell-shocked audience as he took his seat. “There was a mini ‘war’ in the dressing room earlier… As revenge for what they did, I decided to come out looking like this, to let you see what I’ve been through! You have to write this in your reports and scold them on my behalf. This is concrete proof of the internal strife within the Nottingham Forest dressing room!”
While he was talking seriously, some reporters on the ground could not take it and laughed. Even Benítez could not help but to smile while shaking his head.
However, some reporters felt embarrassed by what Twain said. Even an idiot could tell the sarcasm behind the last sentence that Twain uttered. He was mocking the media whom reported that the Forest team was not united internally previously.
Channel bbc5 “Match of the Day”used this scene as this week’s special behind-the-scenes footage at the end of the program. Lineker laughed very happily as he watched Twain complained about how his team treated him on the screen.
“This is Tony Twain’s tenth anniversary. Nottingham Forest managed to take down the toughest fortress, Anfield, George Wood and Eastwood seems to have put down their differences, he received a crystal trophy from the club as well as the ‘special gift’ that his team gave him… Ha!”, Linekar laughed.
The report that Beesley published in his column was totally different from what he wrote when he was enjoying the football on display at Anfield. The draft that he wrote in the stadium had been deleted by him. In the report that everyone could see, he congratulated Tony Twain on his victory and he thought that Forest deserved their victory. However, at the end, he was still a little bitter as he wrote, “Nottingham Forest is Tony Twain’s team. With Tony Twain, they’re invincible. But if Tony Twain’s not there… Nottingham Forest may want to consider the shrugging off the “Twain Dependency Disease” in future…
However, the Nottingham Forest fans obviously would not be willing to consider this issue. To them, Tony Twain would be like Ferguson and work in the City Ground his whole life, retiring only when he was too old to continue working. Then everyone would build a life-sized bronze statue for him outside the stadium. Even if he was no longer the manager, his influence would still be around every inch of Nottingham Forest.
This should be the curtain call that a Forest King should have.
Everyone believed that this ten years was just the first step of Tony Twain’s legacy in Nottingham Forest. He was only forty-five years old, he still had a second ten years, a third ten years, even…a fourth ten years.
...
Chapter 835 - Do Not Touch the Tiger’s Ass
In public, December 12th was perhaps a memorable day Tony Twain because it was the day he returned to the Forest manager’s position and led the team continuously for a full decade. But Tony Twain had two identities. So, in actual fact, January 1st was the day that left a more indelible mark on him.
It was eleven years since his transmigration on January 1st, 2014…Perhaps this day could not be considered as an “anniversary?”
Regardless of the outcome, a thing like transmigration was not worthy of remembrance. Because it meant that he had obtained a lot of things, nevertheless he had also lost some things forever. The gains might not feel precious, but the losses were irretrievable.
Therefore, on January 1st, Twain was still busy working and preparing for the FA Cup in three days’ time. It was the first FA Cup game of the premier league teams this season.
In Twain’s mind, he had won almost all of the titles he could get, but he had one regret—as England’s oldest and most important tournament, his record as a championship manager was blank in terms of the FA Cup. It was out of step with his current status.
Hence, he made himself a fresh New Year’s wish on January 1st. One of them was that, regardless of the results of the other tournaments this season, he must win the FA Cup!
The other was—I want to have a baby in the new year.
Having been married to Shania for four and a half years, the most important thing they must do was to “make a baby” whenever they had the chance to be together. Although once they were pregnant, it would certainly affect Shania’s career. Shania herself did not care about this kind of thing. However, in the last year, Shania rarely mentioned “baby” and focused on her work.
In fact, Twain knew that Shania’s desire for a child had not really diminished. She just did not want to put the pressure on herself …if his wife were to be infertile. In most cases, the responsibility laid with the man. On more than one occasion, Twain had the impulse to go to the hospital to for a checkup himself. But he balked when it came down to it. It was better for him to still have the delusion that everything was fine. The problem must not lie with him. It must be that he just had a little bad luck. It’s not as if I’ve never missed the mark. During the military training in high school, I did not hit any of the rounds during target practice in the shooting range. The guys next to me shot ten rounds and scored 101 points—I did score ten points with one shot but it hit the target next to mine…..
At times, Twain also wanted to call Dunn, who lived in the same city, and use an indirect approach to ask if he had any of these conditions before or a family genetic history. But in the end, those thoughts were just in his head. He could only delude himself now, “The problem must not lie with me, it must be just some bad luck…”
If he won the FA Cup as he wished, he wondered if his wish of having a baby would come true…
Twain did something today that would look strange to outsiders. He found a piece of paper and wrote on it: “I want a baby, it can be a boy or a girl, as long as he/she is healthy. Regardless of which higher being is listening, please help if you see this request!”
Then he folded the note carefully and put it in a small glass bottle. He buried it under a tree in his garden. When he was burying it, he even muttered the words, “I plant a seed in the spring and come autumn, I’ll have a child …”
Fortunately, Shania was not around. Otherwise she would be infuriated by Twain’s actions—since you had time to “plant a child”, it would have been better to “sow your seeds” in me.
He must have been really desperate to try anything…
Twain only thought having a baby occasionally. He would not be able to bear it if he thought about it every day. The matter could not be rushed. Having a baby and winning a championship title were two completely different things. Once winning the championship title was set as a goal, then the whole team could just work towards the goal. The matter of having a baby would not necessarily be effective just because they worked hard. Countless couples hit the mark accidentally because they did not wear a condom on the day while those husbands and wives, eager to have children, might not necessarily produce results after years of putting in the effort…
The opponent of Nottingham Forest’s FA Cup first round was the English Football League Championship team, Leeds United. The original “youth guards” team was not as good as before. Currently in a financial mess and its results were also up and down, it was almost relegated back to League One in last season’s EFL Championship. In the eyes of outsiders, it was their misfortune to have encountered Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup. But in fact, it was one of the opponents that Leeds United most wanted to meet—the match was held at Leeds United’s home ground and the ticket revenue would go to Leeds United. Nottingham Forest was now a team with star players. Just Tony Twain alone was attractive enough to lure people in, not to mention the famous star players. They were guaranteed to sell tickets. For Bates, who was not a wealthy man, every pound mattered. He would never refused money.
The opponent for the game was not strong. Twain deployed half of the First Team and half of the youth team. The result was a 3:0 easy win over Leeds United.
Adriano Moke was named the best player on the spot after the game. He contributed a goal and two assists. The Forest team’s three goals were all connected with him. His sharp breakthroughs on the flank and dazzling skills made it impossible for the opponent to defend effectively and also the spectators cheered in delight.
Although Lennon’s departure made Twain a little unhappy, Moke lived up to expectations and grew up very quickly. It seemed that the years of wandering outside had helped him a lot. Twain believed the saying that trials and tribulations made people grow, so he deliberately made Moke’s career not so smooth sailing. Now it looked like the efforts had paid off and it was time to reap the rewards … He just hoped that Lennon had a good time at AC Milan.
The FA Cup was the first game the Forest team played in the new year. Twain placed a lot of importance on the opener. The score of 3:0, complete victory, and the other team’s failure to score a goal seemed to bode well for the new year.
The following month also confirmed his hunch. The former enmity between Eastwood and George Wood had been dispelled and the team’s atmosphere returned to its happy harmonious state. The morale was high, and everyone was united.
Nottingham Forest had a proud record of four consecutive victories in the league tournament in the four games played in January. Twain was then named manager of the month, and Nottingham Forest was named the team of the month while George Wood was named the best player of the month. The Forest team was also back in the top tier of the league table to place fourth.
As the time went into February, another important tournament began. The UEFA Champions League resumed with Nottingham Forest as one of the top sixteen teams. It would face Eindhoven in the round of 16. The opponent was the weakest opponent the Forest team had faced in the first round of the Champions League knockout stages in recent years.
Did it look like the UEFA was giving preferential treatment?
Eindhoven played first at home. They held on tenaciously for a draw against Nottingham Forest at home and managed to keep the Forest Team from scoring. The failure of Aaron Mitchell, Ibišević and the other strikers, who dominated at the Premier League, to break Eindhoven’s goal, made Twain angry. He roared for five minutes at the group of players in the locker room and admonished everyone for five minutes till they dared not raise their heads.
At the end, he even said viciously, “You’d better pray that it’s not going to be another draw at our home ground, especially a tie with goals scored!”
This frustrating game of 0:0 made many people gleeful. Tony Twain was too arrogant in European football. Everyone wanted to see him fall. To be forced into a draw in the away game against the “weak” Eindhoven and not score the most important away goal, the Dutch people and media had issued optimistic predictions that Eindhoven’s elimination of the Forest team to advance to the top eight was not impossible. The football world had a lot of upsets and surprises. The powerful teams might not necessarily deserve to win. Didn’t Nottingham Forest start as the dark horse in the beginning? Not to mention, strictly speaking, Eindhoven was a powerhouse and not a dark horse.
“Our goal: The top eight!”
Before Eindhoven set off for Nottingham, the local media in the Netherlands posted such a striking headline.
Twain responded in Nottingham, “Their goal is only top eight? Good-for-nothing…”
Even though he talked tough, he could not be sloppy with the behind-the-scenes preparation. Twain gave up the previous league game for this match, in which his team finally stopped its winning streak. Those people, who were anti-Twain, would certainly see this as “Nottingham Forest recently has a poor run. After the defeat in the Champions League, they also stopped their winning streak in the league tournament. It looks like they’re not doing very well in in the recent days…”
Twain ignored it. They would only find out if the recent situation was bad or not after they tried.
Before the game, Twain instilled a belief in his players that they must win.
“If you’re eliminated by Eindhoven at your home ground, you can imagine for yourselves what the consequences will be.”
This remark was more effective than to yell at them thousand times over that “we will win, because the other side is shit!”
An unseen fear was the true fear.
No one wanted to be scolded in the locker room for more than five minutes and no one wanted to be jeered at after a loss to Eindhoven. Even more so, no one wanted to lose a game or a championship title. This Nottingham Forest team was one with a tradition of victory and championship titles. They had long been used to winning and glories. Losing? They hated failures.
Eindhoven’s manager, Huub Stevens was still clear-headed. He was not stirred by the media. He still sent the defensive counterattacking lineup used at home. He expected Twain to be eager to attack because he wanted to advance to the next level, so he only needed a defensive counterattack to unexpectedly score one goal and it would meet his target. He had that kind of confidence because his team had managed to hold on for ninety minutes at home.
As expected, Twain did display the aggressive offensive at his home ground. With Mitchell, Ibišević, Bentley, Fernández and Şahin, Twain’s 4-4-2 formation only had one defensive midfielder. Gago and Tiago did not play in this game. Wood led the midfield alone to play against Eindhoven’s counterattack.
Stevens smirked when he saw the starting lineup. But his smirk was wiped off within ten minutes.
Nottingham Forest already had two shots that hit the goalpost. The Eindhoven defenders, who had excelled in the first leg, simply could not withstand the attacks from the Nottingham Forest attacking players.
Amid the home fans’ non-stop singing, Nottingham Forest finally cracked open Eindhoven’s goal in the 27th minute. The goalscorer was Ibišević, who scored with a powerful header that knocked aside the Swedish goalkeeper, Isaksson.
It was like a moment of carelessness had led to a calamity. Following which, Eindhoven feel like a house of cards and was destroyed by Nottingham Forest’s surge of offensive.
In fact, the lineup was the same as the first leg but Nottingham Forest, which was unwilling to lose to Eindhoven, broke out with unexpected energy like a nuclear bomb exploded, and buried them with shock waves. No one in the opposing team survived …
In the 40th minute, Mitchell’s header yielded a goal. 2:0! The Forest team’s high aerial bombing tactics were quite successful in this game. Eindhoven’s defenders were at a loss between facing Ibišević, who stood at 1.88-meter-tall, and Mitchell, who was 2.02 meters tall.
Stevens was restless and anxious on the sidelines. Two goals behind, it was not easy to play this game… Eindhoven needed two goals… But looking at the Forest team’s momentum, if they rushed to attack, they could still score goals. However, what was the point if they had to concede a lot of goals?
The Forest team continued their ferocious offensive from the first half and did not intend for Eindhoven to catch a breath. It appeared that Twain was obviously provoked by the comments of those outside media. He was certain to let everyone see whether this tiger’s ass of his could be touched.
In the 51st minute, Nottingham Forest scored again. This time the goal was scored by Bale, who relied on a direct free kick to score.
The goal completely crushed Eindhoven’s fighting spirit.
It looked like the tiger’s ass really could not be touched…
Eindhoven then lost the initiative completely on the pitch. They tried to counterattack, only to give the Forest team more chances to fight back.
In the final moments, the Forest team entered the penalty area with a set piece and the defender’s header error gave the ball to Mitchell, who unceremoniously grabbed the gift, extended his leg and kicked the ball into the goal to seal the win at 4:0.
“Look at the performance of the Eindhoven players. Perhaps there’s only one thing in their minds right now, and that’s to get out of this noisy stadium as soon as possible!”
Despite the big score, the Forest fans in the stands at the City Ground stadium did not let go of the Eindhoven players. A burst of hissing waited for them whenever the visiting players took the ball. They could not catch a break unless the football was on the Forest team’s side.
When the referee considerately ended at the three-minute injury stoppage time at one and a half minute, the entire Eindhoven team was relieved. After such a game, perhaps their disgust at Tony Twain and his team was even greater…
In the post-match interview, Twain was very cool. He did not waste his breath. When someone asked what he thought of the victory in the game, he just said, “I’m sorry to disappoint some people!”
Who were the “some people?” Those people with the guilty conscience would know.
...
Chapter 836: The Loser Eats A Table
Having advanced to the top eight of the Champions League, Nottingham Forest coached by Tony Twain, also made a historic breakthrough—they passed the quarterfinals to reach the semifinals. It was the best result they had in the FA Cup since Twain was in charge.
But by the time the FA Cup reached the sixth round, Twain had abandoned the strategy of grouping half of the First Team and half of the youth team to play. Instead he deployed a full First Team lineup. The change was never seen in previous seasons, so much so that their sixth-round opponent, Manchester City, was surprised and eventually lost the game. The change also boded well for Twain’s emphasis on the FA Cup this season—Nottingham Forest had always been eliminated early in the tournament and become spectators. This time they wanted to be the ones with the last laugh at the FA Cup.
However, in this way, with the team competing in three tournaments, the players were bound to be affected in terms of their physical fitness and state. The Forest team’s ranking in the league tournament had always hovered between the third and fifth places, which appeared to be a little far from the top of the league.
By mid-March, there had been media analysis that Nottingham Forest’s goal this season was not to defend the title but to win at least one title in the Champions League and FA Cup.
“I think the Champions League can be counted as the tournament Tony Twain is traditionally strong in… At his most brilliant, he led the Forest team to two consecutive championships titles, and he also became famous for reaching the finals and almost defeating Barcelona in his first time leading the team in the Champions League. Almost six years have passed since he first won the tournament. If he still prides himself as a successful manager, he must not be willing to extend the six-year gap…”
An expert in a television program analyzed seriously. It seemed that everything he said was clear and logical and people could not help but nod in agreement.
“So, for the sake of the Champions League, Manager Twain will give up the league tournament… he only needs to secure a top-four finish in the league tournament to qualify in the next season’s Champions League.”
Could Twain really give up the league tournament?
On March 16th, Nottingham Forest drew 0:0 with Manchester United at home and the reporters mentioned this question after the game.
Twain laughed at the question when he heard it during the press conference. He did not answered the other person’s question head-on. Instead, he smiled and asked, “Do you want to bet with me? Bet that Nottingham Forest can win the league tournament.”
The reporter shook his head and said, “I’m not interested in betting on this kind of thing, Mr. Twain. Your team is six points behind the league’s first placed team, Arsenal…”
Before he could finish, another man raised his hand and stood up to state, “I’m willing to bet!”
Everyone present looked at the man. After clearly seeing who he was, hearty laughs rang out.
“I’d like to make this bet with you, Mr. Twain.”
“So, it is Mr. Carl Spicer. What’s going on? You didn’t lose enough the last time you lost your hair?” Twain could see Spicer’s big bald head at a glance.
Spicer did not mind. He rubbed his shaved head and shrugged, “I failed the last time. Now that I think of it, twenty goals were actually too few for a season… But this time it’s different. You’re six points behind Arsenal and there are three teams between you and Arsenal. Furthermore, you’re going to compete in three tournaments. If you can still win the league title, I…”
“Are you going to eat a table?” Twain suddenly interjected. The remark made everyone laugh.
Spicer did not expect Twain to say that. He stared blankly for a moment and then laughed with the people next to him. He said, “You always come up with these weird and wonderful ideas, Mr. Twain. But I think it’s interesting. If I lose, I’ll eat a table. Are you going to eat a table if you lose?”
Twain spread his hands and said, “Of course, if I lose, I’ll eat a table. I’ll guarantee it on live television, there’s no going back on my word.”
Next to him, the Manchester United manager, Martin O’Neill was taken aback. He thought Twain was just joking with the other side. He even wanted to remind Twain to ask him to mind his words.
There was also a commotion among the reporters—eat a table? Was this something that a human being could do? Some reporters want to help smooth things over. Such as Pierce Brosnan wanted to divert everyone’s attention by asking questions. But Twain smiled and met gazes with Carl Spicer. He turned a blind eye to Brosnan’s raised hand.
“Very well, I accept the bet.” Carl Spicer seemed to think he would never get a chance to eat the table, so he nodded and agreed.
Twain snapped his fingers and said, “That’s great. You just get ready to eat the table, Mr. Spicer.”
Spicer also talked tough, “I think you should consider looking for an excuse to put off the bet of eating a table when the time comes.”
“You need not let that bother you, Mr. Spicer.” Twain made a please-sit-down gesture.
The reporters were in a disarray. Now they did not care about the boring 0:0 game. They just went through the routine of asking O’Neill questions. Everyone wanted to end the less important press conference early and rush to release the news of “A bet never seen before since the establishment of the English Premier League.”
There was no shortage of bets in the Premier League. But betting to eat a table was something that had never been done before… How did one eat a table? Whether it was made of stainless steel, aluminum alloy, wood, stone or glass… There was simply no way to eat it.
Therefore, people preferred to believe that the bet would eventually develop into the losing party trying all ways to deny the bet, or simply shut up and not mention it at all. As for the winning party, he would do everything possible to humiliate the loser. You must eat the table! If you don’t eat it, I’ll send you a table and help you contact the media…
The two of them opposed each other measure for measure and would end up in this way. Anyway, everyone had news to write about and money to earn, the readers had interesting news to read, what could anyone have anything against it if everyone was delighted and satisfied?
As to what would happen to Tony Twain and Carl Spicer, they were all smart people. There must be a way to get past it. No one needed to worry about it …
In fact, without these media to help promote, Carl Spicer had already hyped the story on his own show that night. The cameraman he brought with him filmed the whole process and even filmed the reactions of others in the room as they heard the matter. The edited clips were interspersed throughout like a montage most commonly used in movies. It was as if the audience were not watching the news but a movie with one climax after another.
On the show, Spicer proudly analyzed why he dared to accept such a bet, “….. Tony Twain’s team is now six points behind the top-ranked Arsenal. The point difference may not seem much but in the last eight rounds of the league tournament, the strong teams the Forest team will need to face are Chelsea and Arsenal. In addition, two of their eight opponents are on the edge of relegation. You know what that means? Chelsea need to fight hard to qualify for the Champions League as it is now fifth in the league table. They won’t let Nottingham Forest go easily at home. While Arsenal is at the top of the table, there is no reason why Wenger will give Twain a chance to ‘win six points in a game.’ We often say that in the final stages of the league tournament, the most dangerous opponents are not the title contenders, but those teams fighting to avoid relegation. The fight for the title is only for honor, while fighting to avoid relegation is about survival. Those teams which fight for survival are always the ones to break out with unexpected energy at the most critical moments…Does Mr. Tony Twain think his team can easily beat the number 17th ranked Portsmouth and 18th-placed Sunderland? In comparison, Arsenal’s last eight opponents are much weaker. Poor Nottingham Forest needs to compete in three tournaments in the final sprint… In fact, what I want to see the most is for Nottingham Forest to reach the final in the FA Cup and the Champions League, but to lose all of them. And for them to finish fifth in the league tournament because of a physical breakdown—to play in the UEFA Europa League next season. That will lend Mr. Tony Twain a hand. He still hasn’t won a title in the FA Cup and the UEFA Europa League, has he? This will be a good opportunity, which will not always happen to Mr. Twain’s team…”
“Then I’ll order Mr. Twain a table of the best quality in the latest style at IKEA. I hope he’ll like it.”
Twain did not get involved in the war of words. He only wrote about playing against Manchester United and wishing Martin O’Neill all the best at Old Trafford in his column. Manchester United’s current poor form and inability to rank first was not the manager’s responsibility. Any team with an excellent tradition that had gone through a change of managers, would undergo a long or short painful period. Manchester United was currently going through this period.
Twain sent his well wishes to Manchester United, and the former Manchester United manager also sent him his blessings. Ferguson, who was retired at home, spoke about Twain and his bet with Spicer in an interview. He expressed support for Twain.
“… I don’t have anything to say except to remind everyone of Carl Spicer’s hair and Mark Lawrenson’s beard…”
The implication was that Tony Twain would win every bet.
“The bet to eat the table” had even been disseminated through the developed media network to spread abroad. An Italian television program also talked about the bet to eat a table between Twain and Spicer. One of the guests also talked about Twain’s bet with the Italian media at the time.
“He bet he would jump in the Aegean Sea if he lost the Champions League final. I’d say it was a blessing that no one on our side came forward and bet that he would jump in the Aegean if the Forest team won.”
The host laughed, “It was a shame that we lost a very creative and compelling live broadcast.”
In China’s online forums, someone also expressed his own views on this, which won a lot of people’s approval and was popular. He said, “I think when Tony Twain says, ‘Do you dare to bet with me’, it should be forbidden. It’s like when someone in those hot-blooded animation movies suddenly says, ‘After I finish fighting in the battle, I’m going back home to get married.’ Those words should not be uttered. Spicer is going to be in trouble! This post is evidence of it.”
Below a group of Forest fans posted their comments, “I f**king salute you, the original poster! I’d never like Spicer, this big SOB! Let’s see how he eats a table in person!”
The Arsenal fans, on the other hand, were a little mixed in their views, “Oh, I don’t like Spicer, but I’d love to see Uncle Tony eat a table… Well, I admit I don’t want my team to lose the championship title because of a table. That would be such a shame ah hahaha!!”
“A congratulatory message from a Manchester United fan, this matter is none of our business…”
“Just a message from a Kopites group passing through, we are all happy no matter who eats the table.”
“A hello from The Blues fan! If I remember correctly, the Forest team and Chelsea still have one more game, right? At that time, heh heh heh…”
“They can eat all they want. If there are not enough tables, there are the chairs. When the chairs are gone, there are the couches, floors… Anyway, I am an AC Milan fan. Internal strife in the Premier League is the best. I’ve already hated to see those Premier League teams dominate the Champions League all these years!”
“AC Milan fans have no business being here. This is the English Premier League forum, nothing to do with Serie A! And I’m all for Twain eating the table! This arrogant SOB irks me!”
“Dear cousin from next door, calm down, mind your manners…”
“Who say I’m a Inter Milan fan? I’m a Barça fan!”
“Yo, so you’re a silly Barça fan. Since it is the Premier League forum, what are you doing here and not in La Liga?”
“A yapping dog shouldn’t come out and disgrace yourself!”
The original poster of the online thread finally showed up, “F**k, this thread has completely gone off rails, Loudly Crying Face…”
…
Well, it was just a small episode, a tiny episode…
Such quarrels happened countless times on the Chinese internet, but they did not affect the far away United Kingdom.
The bet on eating a table was just a matter of conversation for everyone. Even within the Forest team, people talked about it. Kerslake would joke about this matter with Twain, but no one at work was disturbed by this matter. Because they were all influenced by Twain’s self-confidence. During the interview, the players also saw it as a disguised form of motivation from the boss.
“Bet to eat the table? The boss has never lost a bet, so I’m not worried…” Bale shook his head.
“It’s actually a form of motivation . . . The six-point gap is nothing. We have never said we will give up the league title. If we can win the championship title, why give up? Now’s not the time to give up. There are still eight rounds left in the league tournament and I think we have a chance to win the title.” The defensive player, Pepe looked very confident.
“In order for Mr. Spicer to eat the table as he wishes, we will try our best to win the league title.” Eastwood politely said with a smile.
George Wood said, “Even if there’s no bet, we’ll win the championship. Our goal is to win the championship title.” He voiced out the heartfelt wish of the entire team.
The next day, the [Nottingham Evening Post] published the headline: “We win the championship title and Carl eats the table.” In short, it showed the Forest team’s confidence in winning the title.
...
Chapter 837 - Lost the Game and Money
No matter how resounding the catchphrase was shouted, no matter how tough Twain talked, Carl Spicer’s analysis made sense..
With eight rounds left in the league tournament, it was indeed a difficult situation in which Nottingham Forest had to compete in three tournaments.
Their physical fitness was bound to be affected and their condition would fluctuate. The team could only grit its teen in terms of physical difficulties and stick to it, while the adjustments in their condition depended on the standards of the coaches. It had to be said that the few psychologists Twain had hired for Şahin’s a few years ago, came in very useful at such times. Many players would go to the beautiful and gentle psychologists to chat for a while after the end of training to relax their tense nerves.
On March 22nd, the 31st round of the league tournament, Nottingham Forest took on Aston Villa in the away game with a final score of 3:2. Nottingham Forest won, but it was a tough win. The Forest team was 0:2 behind in the first half and only reversed the score to 3:2 in the second half. All three goals were scored in the last ten minutes. The match was the most thrilling game in the current round of the Premier League. Both teams scored five goals with another goal declared invalid by the referee. In addition, there were one red card and six yellow cards. The conversion between offense and defense was very fast. Both sides made a lot of errors and the game was very lively. But it was not so “exciting” for Twain’s heart… If he lost the away game to an opponent like Aston Villa, he would have to stop his bold rhetoric about fighting for the title toward the end of season.
So, when Cohen crossed the ball after a last-minute forced breakthrough and assisted Şahin to grab a point to break the goal in that moment, Twain did not jump from his seat and crazily celebrate. Instead, he sat in his seat, closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. His heartbeat was really fast just now… which made him think his nuclear-powered heart was going to collapse.
Eastwood began by hugging his teammates to celebrate, and then he found one person missing next to him. He turned around to find that man still sitting down and did not get up. He saw from Twain’s expression that something was wrong. He looked lethargic and tired, completely unenthusiastic. He hurried over to ask, “What’s wrong, chief? Is it your heart?”
Twain shook his head and smiled, “Heh heh.”
“What do you mean by ‘heh heh?’”
“I’m very glad we’ve won in the end…” Twain reached his hand out to Eastwood, who pulled him up. Twain gave him a hug by the way.
“It’s good that we won, Freddy.”
Eastwood’s eyes flickered as he thought of the bet between the chief and Spicer—it would really be embarrassing if he were to lose with that kind of wager…..he said, “Is it necessary for you to do this, chief? Why must you make a bet with someone else? Eating a table is also set by you… In fact, chief, I don’t understand. Why do you like to make that kind of bet which will be very embarrassing if you were to lose?”
“I’m a lazy person, Freddy. If I don’t give myself a little pressure, I’m afraid I won’t be motivated to move.” Twain patted Eastwood on the back and let him go.
Then he raised his hands and opened his arms to welcome the others.
“Ah, David! Come! Let’s hug it out! Cohen and Şahin did a great job!”
Eastwood shook his head behind as he looked at the chief who suddenly restored all his firepower.
“Tony Twain had a narrow escape… His luck is always so good. A goal from Aston Villa was invalidated by the referee during the game because they were in an offside position. If this goal was not in an offside position…it would be hard to say what the end result would be. He made a bold statement a few days ago that he would eat a table if he lost in the fight for the league title. Now he has pushed himself to the brink and cannot afford to lose a game… No, not to mention a loss, he can’t even afford to tie a game.”
The football commentators on the television were analyzing the just-concluded round of Premier League matches for the viewers. He stated in this way when he spoke about the game between Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa.
“But it was so hard to win this game that it was worrying if his team had the ability to turn it around. I can say that this win was entirely due to Twain’s luck. But what about the next one? The next game is against Chelsea. Will Tony Twain have any luck left?”
“Rijkaard’s Chelsea team has played beautifully in recent years and I think they are in a unique situation in the Premier League, like Wenger’s Arsenal. To play football so beautifully and yet not able to win the championship title… I think Mr. Abramovich must be at a loss. What’s that? You’re asking me why he is at a loss? I mean, just imagine a man dressed gorgeously, holding a pure gold bowl and going to the streets to beg…”
Twain dynamically fired the first shot in the psychological warfare against Chelsea in the media.
Rijkaard, who was familiar with what Twain was like, ignored him. Seeing that the other party did not respond, Twain fired a second shot in the media.
“Even though the team is going to officially move into the new stadium next season, I prefer the old stadium. Why is that? Because it’s small enough to allow the fans’ voices to reach the players on the pitch in the maximum extent possible, which naturally also bring great psychological pressure to the visiting team. We have four more home games at the City Ground stadium. I hope we can bid farewell to the City Ground stadium with four wins and one championship trophy.”
Rijkaard still did not voice any comment.
“I don’t mind making this game into a rugby match permitting the extent the rules. I’ll ask the team to try to put pressure on the opposing players as much as possible. Won’t that be rough? No, no, no, I don’t think so. It’s just normal tactics…”
That was the third shot.
Twain was such a loathsome person. He was always trying to hover in front of his opponents to provoke and annoy them. He would win once they were really provoked.
Before this game, Twain talked about the tactics he would use against Chelsea. He was not afraid that it would prepare the other person in advance. He knew Rijkaard’s character, so he was not worried even if he let him know it. Rijkaard would stick to his style of football at the City Ground stadium and Twain would stick to his style.
As the saying went, there was a rock to every scissor. Tony Twain was Rijkaard’s natural enemy.
A raucous City Ground stadium and a fierce Premier League game was under way.
“Forest, Forest! Nottingham Forest! Ra ra ra ra ra, we triumph in every battle and win every fight! We are the best team in the world! Ra ra ra ra ra —”
The Forest fans in red jerseys were cheering their team in the stands at the City Ground stadium, which could hold up to thirty thousand people.
The score displayed on the score board was 0:0. Nottingham Forest and Chelsea were tied for the time being.
Twain stood on the sidelines, watching every detail of the game closely and nervously.
Wood had just overturned the Chelsea striker, Obasi. He was given a verbal warning by the referee. Now he was making hand gestures to his teammates to signal that everything was fine, and to keep doing what the boss had instructed.
Twain studied the characteristics of the referee when he was developing the tactical play before the game. Philip Dowd, the referee of the game, had produced a total of twenty yellow cards in nine Premier League games this season and no red cards. He was a lenient referee. So, he worked hard on this point and asked the whole team to be a little rougher with their movements.
Wood’s foul was in fact a test of the referee’s limit in his enforcement measures in the game.
He directly shoveled Obasi but was only given one verbal warning. Twain chuckled in his seat. It looked like the Dowd man was really soft.
He was relieved in that case.
Subsequent the game officially entered Nottingham Forest’s orbit. The Chelsea players repeatedly dropped the ball during “physical contact” with the Forest players and the referee did not consider it a foul, but a “reasonable collision.” This left the Chelsea players a little disgruntled and their mentality to be off balanced on the pitch. Even their manager, Rijkaard, was also angry at the referee’s many decisions. On several occasions, he rushed to the fourth official to protest the Forest players’ rough actions.
He even said, “Tony Twain said before the game that he was going to use rough tactics against us, and now he’s doing it! Don’t tell me you have no objections to this?”
The fourth official shook his head to indicate that the referee alone held the criterion for the game. If he thought the Forest players had not committed a foul, then there were no fouls.
It was not until the 31st minute of the game that Bale was shown a yellow card after the Forest team did a series of vicious fouls. Rijkaard was so angry that he applauded the referee’s decision off the pitch, only to invite the fourth official’s special attention when he said, “Mr. Rijkaard, you’d better pay attention to your conduct.”
Rijkaard was like Tony Twain, who dared to fight the referees to the end. After being warned, he retreated to the technical area. He only hit the side of the barrier in the technical area in a show of exasperation. As a result, …
With a crashing sound, the hard-plastic barrier came off the frame after being smashed by him and fell to the ground.
Rijkaard did not care. He was so angry now. So, what if he broke the barrier? Or perhaps he did not see it happen at all. Anyway, he did not look at the “incident” that happened next to him and continued to complain in the technical area.
Twain saw the scene happened next to him. He clapped and laughed, “That’s great! After the game, we should sent a personal bill to Mr. Rijkaard to ask for compensation on behalf of the club.”
Kerslake nodded next to him to show that he remembered.
Shortly after the yellow card, the Forest team took the lead. Gago scored a goal from a long shot which Čech could not save. He could only look at the “ball” and sigh.
“Yes!” Twain raised his fist and cried excitedly on the sidelines.
While not far from him, Rijkaard was going to hit the side of the barrier again. But this time, he only struck the air and almost sprained his back. It was only when he noticed that the barrier around him was gone. “Damn it…” He could not help but swore when he saw the empty frame and the barrier on the ground.
The commentator for the game also noticed this small detail and looked at Rijkaard’s look of surprise and displeasure. He laughed and said, “It looks like the City Ground stadium, which has been in use for one hundred and fifteen years, should really be retired. Even the barrier in the visiting team’s technical area is not solid. Rijkaard had only gently knocked on it and it just fell off … … Ha!”
The singing in the City Ground stadium became louder after the lead. The fans took turns singing the songs they often sang during the games in the stands. There was the Nottingham Forest team song “We’ve got the whole world in our hands.” There were George Wood’s song “He’s Our Saint George”, Tony Twain’s song “Long live Tony”, a song for Bale “Little Monkey”, Mitchell’s song “Seven Foot Zidane”, Ibišević’s song “Super Ibi” and a song “He’s Our Redondo” praising Gago…. Of course, there was Eastwood’s song “Robin Hood Forever.” Any player who was popular had a fan song. It was not unique to Nottingham Forest. It was a feature of all English teams. So, to determine a player’s standing in a Premier League club, all one had to do was to listen if there were any fan singing the song he had written for him during the game.
The Forest team gradually took control on the field during the fans’ concert, leading Chelsea by the nose.
Chelsea during Mourinho’s time was a very tough team. Twain would not have used the tactics he currently used to deal with Chelsea at the time because neither side would win. But after Rijkaard’s “hard work” over the years, Chelsea had now lost their former “blue collar temperament” and become “high level white-collar.” A new generation of Chelsea players was technically focused, playing as if they were Barcelona of yesteryear. They focused on ball control and were able to play wonderful set pieces. The star players could also put on a show of greatness. But they lost the “fighting spirit” Mourinho had always stressed upon.
This was why Rijkaard’s Chelsea was the team in the Premier League which could play the most beautifully, but always did not win the title—he could make Chelsea into another Barcelona, but the Premier League was not La Liga.
Without the fighting spirit, Tony Twain was not afraid at all of Chelsea with its showy appearance. After Twain’s encouragement during the halftime interval, the team continued to build on their rough tactics to curb Chelsea’s offense in the second half. The referee was really lenient. He only gave out four yellow cards for the twenty-seven fouls Nottingham Forest committed calculated at the end. There was no red card.
The Forest team relied on rough fouls and quick powerful counterattacks to score another goal in the second half to eventually accomplish a 2:0 home win over Chelsea, the first strong opponent they encountered on the road to the title.
After the game, Rijkaard was furious at the defeat. He believed that the referee’s many crucial penalties were decided in favor of Nottingham Forest. It was a key factor in his defeat.
Twain said sarcastically, “I fully understand Mr. Rijkaard’s displeasure because he broke our visitor’s technical area.”
A burst of laughter broke out among the reporters. The matter became the highlight of the game and was replayed several times during the live broadcast.
“But I’m not going to make any comments on the referee for the game. I believe the referee had his reasons for every decision he made. We just need to obey as a team….”
He did not say that when his team was treated unfairly by the referee, he would not say such things.
Rijkaard had wanted to refute, but he suddenly remembered that the man sitting next to him was Tony Twain, and not Wenger, Benítez or anyone else, so he promptly shut his mouth again.
He was resigned to his bad luck…
A day later, just as Rijkaard had just led the team back to London, he found a bill sent from the Wilford area of Nottingham in his house’s mailbox.
It was sent to him by the Nottingham Forest Football Club, demanding compensation for the damage done to the visitor’s technical area during the match.
The bill was accompanied by a short letter. It was stated in the letter that they hope he would be able to compensate for the loss. The tone was respectful but made Rijkaard grit his teeth as he read it—not only his own team had lost to the Forest team, he also had to pay for their visitor’s technical area…..was there any manager as unlucky as he was?
At that moment, he was so furious that he balled up the bill. But he immediately unfolded it again and read again helplessly.
He had to pay the money because he did damage their property…
It was just that if it had been Tony Twain’s team, he would have been willing to fork out the money and even felt guilty.
...
Chapter 838 - Three Battles
Including the bet Twain made with Carl Spicer, Nottingham Forest had won two games in a row in the league. After beating Chelsea, they beat Middlesbrough on away. It was as if they heard the motivating command and greatly stepped up. Perhaps every step was not so steady, there was also some fatigue and pain, but it was still progressive steps nevertheless. They also climbed to being third in the rankings, ranking between them and Arsenal was only Liverpool.
Then, on April 2nd, Nottingham Forest hosted Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-finals at home. Nottingham Forest would play Arsenal three times in a row in the next week. Them being two rounds in the Champions League, as well as a league game. This week would be a crucial week to decide what Nottingham Forest could achieve this season. The media has hurriedly played out “the final battle” as the hot discussion title.
“Tony Twain says he’s going to win the league this season, that was clearly a direct challenge to Arsène Wenger’s Arsenal. Coincidentally, they would also need to face Arsenal in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. The result can vary a lot, and any outcome would be interesting for us as the audience. Arsenal winning both games against Nottingham Forest, or Nottingham Forest winning both against Arsenal, Nottingham Forest being eliminated by the Champions League or Arsenal only winning the Champions League but allowing Nottingham Forest to win in the Premier League. Of course we cannot rule out Nottingham Forest giving up the league match to eliminate Arsenal from Champions League…
“…Tony Twain and Arsène Wenger have a good personal relationship, but this week they will surely forget about their relationship and fight each other for the league and the trophy. The game might be exciting….”
“…These are two teams who are meeting for the first time in the Champions League since the 05-06 season. Last time Forest eliminated Arsenal by a penalty shootout in the semi-finals. In the end they lost to Barcelona in the final. Will Arsenal be successful in their revenge this time?”
“…Arsenal are in good form now. They’ve won nine games straight in the league and their margin with Nottingham Forest is only six points, but we can’t look down on Nottingham Forest’s potential in the match. I think Tony Twain is a coach who excels in playing such elimination matches. His team has a momentum, and that momentum is perfect for elimination matches, so the ideal outcome would be for Nottingham Forest to abandon the league match and eliminate Arsenal.”
There was a lot of debate about the outcome of the two teams, and it suddenly seemed as if everyone had a point. That was for sure. The supporters of the teams must think their team would get the best outcome.
At the door of Wilford, Twain was blocked by a group of reporters.
“I don’t predict the outcome of the match the day after tomorrow.” Numerous microphones were pointed at him but Twain only waved his hand. “Yes, I have a good personal relationship with Arsène, he is a coach that I respect a lot. But that has nothing to do with the game. Don’t try to set me up, I’m a lot smarter than you all think.”
He was cautious because the team had been particularly physically depleted recently, and three consecutive enduring games in a week may have a negative impact on the team. For instance, a physical breakdown at the last minute. He did not want to be too negative or put too much pressure on the players.
Seeing that he was about to squeeze out the siege, a reporter anxiously shouted, “Will three consecutive games against Arsenal have a negative impact?”
“No, I think it’s a good thing to put all the trouble together to settle. After settling Arsenal in this week, we can concentrate on other opponents.” Twain was stubborn as a duck, he did not want to let others see his true inner thoughts.
Meanwhile at the Kearney training base in north London, Wenger was also surrounded by a similar number of reporters.
“I’m looking forward to playing against Nottingham Forest again. Tony Twain is a very capable coach as you would know from the number of championships he won. Arsenal would be careful in handling this battle…”
Some journalists were tired of such politically correct answers. He asked aloud, “After Alex Ferguson retired, is Tony Twain the only person you would regard as a worthy opponent, Arsène?”
Wenger looked up at the reporter who asked the question and smiled, “All the coaches are my opponents.”
“But will Tony Twain be that “special one?”
“He’s certainly the special one, and he is also a popular icon anywhere he goes.” Wenger dodged the controversial topic with a joke.
The spat between the two coaches did not start, much to the disappointment of the media. When Ferguson was there, whenever Nottingham Forest would play with Manchester United, Twain would not mind having a great trash talking war with Ferguson. But this was always the case with Arsène Wenger. It was so boring.
For Wenger, Tony Twain was still not that “special one”. Alex Ferguson, who had retired, was then the “special one”. It was like when Mourinho left England; Twain felt a little lonely. Who knew, maybe Wenger had also felt that way after Ferguson’s retirement.
Francesc Fàbregas, Arsenal’s current captain, was the flag bearer of the Emirates Stadium. He was now the core of the Spanish national team’s midfield and was already a superstar in the football world. But there was always a shadow in his heart that had not been mentioned before. That shadow was buried deep in his heart before he became famous. It was constantly reminding him that he was not the strongest person in this world.
He remembered meeting George Wood when he thought he was the best youth player in the world. There was no denying that the pitch that day was terrible and not conducive to his play, but on the other side was an unknown ordinary youth player. After the loss to Wood, he came back to collect information about Wood, and he was even more surprised. George Wood was a rookie who had only been receiving professional football training for less than a year! A total rookie!
The blow on him was big. He thought of himself as the best player in the World Youth Football Championship, which came out of Europe’s famous youth camp Ramasia, only to lose to a rookie who had only been training professionally for less than a year. He was even going to start doubting whether he was suitable for football.
This was clearly not what Wenger would like to see, and this time Wenger was good at coaching the strengths of young players. He counselled Fàbregas, telling him his loss to Wood was an accident because the conditions were so bad. You cannot doubt yourself, you can only say that the enemy was too cunning. As for George Wood, Wenger told Fàbregas, “Don’t be fooled because he keeps a low profile, he is actually a genius of the same caliber as Fàbregas himself. The fight between the two geniuses, both having victories and losses would be normal. There was no need to be depressed.”
This consoled Fàbregas, who also reflected again on his thoughts during his early fame, and the defeat when he went against Wood. In that sense, it helped him and became a valuable asset in his career. Maybe he would need to thank Wood? But he would never admit this publicly.
This was a good opportunity because Arsenal would be going against Nottingham Forest for three consecutive matches, he would have a chance during the competition to defeat Wood.
Four years ago at the World Cup in South Africa, then-European champions Spain lost to George Wood alone, where Wood then gained the title of “St. George”. The title was an honor to Wood, but it did not sound so pleasant for Fàbregas. He would always remember being knocked out, the year they had high hopes but instead they were eliminated early….
Two years later at the European Cup, both men were the main players in their respective national teams, but they had never met. Capello’s team stopped in the top four, Spain, on the other hand, were eliminated in the top eight.
Although in each year during the league season, they would have two chances to meet where both would win some matches, none of them were key games. Unlike this time, there were three games, where each game is important. Fàbregas was eager to destroy George Wood in this league season. He really looked up to Wood, and that would be why he would especially enjoy beating Wood.
George Wood did not know what’s going on in his opponent’s mind, and he would hardly have such worries like Fàbregas. There were too many opponents, but he treated them all the same, he would not treat a few people as a life-long opponent. His brain lacked the capacity for this level of thinking. The only thing in his football world was Nottingham Forest, and other teams and players were just labelled as “opponents” or “enemies”.
Arsenal was coming the day after? Well, let them come. We will see you on the pitch. This was George Wood’s whole mental activity.
If a reporter asked him the question he asked Fàbregas, his answer would be so plain that people would wonder if he was purposely trying to go against the media.
A reporter once conducted a poll in the media circle, “Who do you think is the most difficult person to interview in a Premier League team? Who do you think is the least newsworthy player in the Premier League? Who are the Premier League players you least like to interview?”
The answer that was ranked first in every question was only one person: George Wood.
A reporter complained about him being like his name, exactly like a piece of wood. He answered with no interest and added no hype. In this aspect, he was the exact opposite as Tony Twain. If both of them were asked “What’s one plus one?” Wood would simply answer, “Two.” Tony Twain’s reaction would be much more interesting, and he would instead rebut, “You don’t even know the solution to this simple question?” or “Maybe it’s 3?”
So on the Nottingham Forest side, journalists were more willing to interview Pepe, Bale, or other football players, George Wood was the only person they all did not want to contact.
It was like this since his debut. There were only a few interviews about him in the media. Any journalist would feel terrible when he confronted Wood. They did not get a warm response regardless of what they ask. The celebrity interview was actually like two people playing tennis. Someone would serve and the other would receive the ball, then this would repeat throughout. This way both the interviewee and the interviewer would feel comfortable. But the interview with Wood would be a one-man tennis game, the interviewer would effortfully serve the ball, but Wood would not receive or pick up the ball. So the interviewer needed to work as a player and the caddie, running back and forth between playing the ball and picking up the ball, so tired that he would be half-dead. Then he would look up to see George Wood’s stoic face. It was a really frustrating interview.
The media did not ask Wood much about the three-match stakes against Arsenal, only Nottingham Evening Post, which had the best relationship with Nottingham Forest, got an interview with him.
When Pierce Brosnan asked about the outlook for the game, Wood was not as cautious as Twain. He said bluntly, “We will win. ”
“Three games? Or the one on the day after tomorrow?” Bruce asked.
“All three. ”
Bruce laughed, “But your boss, Tony Twain, didn’t say the same thing.”
Wood shook his head, “Why else would we play if not to win?”
The answer sounded philosophical. Pierce Brosnan was speechless.
He then used the phrase in the title to inspire the team Nottingham Forest and their fans.
“The purpose of the game is to win,” Wenger could not help but laugh when he saw the article. “It was fitting of Tony Twain’s football philosophy.”
He was sitting on the bus towards Nottingham from Northern London. He did not need to continue analyzing their opponents at this time. Wenger was already far too familiar with Tony Twain and his team. Nottingham Forest’s home game against Chelsea in the first two weeks might have given him some references. His side also excels in ball techniques and Twain was sure to use that crude tactic at home to undermine Arsenal’s attack.
In this regard, Arsenal made specific arrangements.
At the City Stadium, Arsenal would speed up the delivery of the ball while minimizing the amount of time the ball spent at the feet of the players. If Nottingham Forest were to snatch the ball, let them be led by our noses, then at the end spend the last ounce of strength.
He knew that in the recent end-of-season sprint phase, Nottingham Forest’s fitness had a big drain. This was something he could take advantage of.
In Wenger’s mind, he did not look at this game alone, he was considering all three games and thanks to the schedule, he had a very good overall plan.
First of all, at home against Nottingham Forest, Wenger did not even mind losing to Nottingham Forest on away, as long as the difference was not too big. The main aim was to continue to consume Nottingham Forest’s fitness and let them do their best to win a game. And in the next league match and Champions League match, it would be home ground of Arsenal.
Wenger would then continue to press Nottingham Forest in that game in the league, forcing them to follow their own fast pace and further drain Nottingham Forest’s fitness. A draw would be the best result, because if they won Nottingham Forest on home ground, it might motivate Twain to put all of his season’s focus into the Champions League, so that if he has lost to Nottingham Forest in the first leg, the second leg would not be safe if it was the home side. If they lost to Nottingham Forest in the league, Wenger had also seriously considered this situation, which he believed was not entirely unacceptable. After all, his team and Nottingham Forest had a six-point gap, and between his team and Liverpool there was also a five-point gap, so he was not worried about losing a match in leading to losing the whole situation.
Finally, returning to Champions League match in the middle of the week, Arsenal would be at home with full firepower to face a tired Nottingham Forest that had been drained out by two high-intensity games in a row.
By that time, Nottingham Forest would be drained out, and they would be eliminated in the Champions League. Arsenal would then have one less formidable opponent to deal with.
...
Chapter 839 - The Real Target
A helicopter flew across the top of the City Ground Stadium. It then went past the Trent River before making a U-turn.
Looking down from the helicopter, one could see countless people that had congregated at the City Ground Stadium located south of the Trent River. The streets around the stadium were all heavily congested as well.
The walkie-talkie on a policeman’s shoulder continued to transmit static noises. He looked up at the helicopter that had flew over his head, before averting his gaze back on the ground.
A group of Forest fans walked past him while singing a song,
“Forest, Forest! We are Nottingham Forest!”
“Forest, Forest! We are Nottingham Forest!”
The sounds of people singing assaulted him from all directions, but they soon passed him by and surged into the City Ground Stadium near him.
“Forest, Forest. We are Nottingham Forest…” The policeman sang along to the song softly.
“… Bzzt… 0415. Report the situation at your side. Over… Bzzt…” Static noises interfered with the person’s voice.
“This is 0415. Everything’s normal. Over.”
“Forest, Forest! There’s no battle we can’t win! Forest, Forest! We are Nottingham Forest…” The policeman continued to sing along to the song before he turned around and switched on the radio in his car.
“… As we can see from the screen, the buses for both teams have been parked right outside the City Ground Stadium. The players are all making their way out of the bus right now. An exciting match will be presented right before you in 30 minutes time! Stay tuned after the break.”
“Go go go go!” Kerslake shouted at the top of his voice in the locker room. “I want all of you to start feeling tense! This is the Champions League!”
He then urged the players to go and get their warm-ups done.
The players ran out of the locker room right after they got dressed. None of them dared to waste even a second before their boss.
They knew very well what competition they were about to play in. They did not need the assistant manager to remind them at all.
The Forest this season harboured a far greater ambition as compared to previous years.
Twain ran into Wenger by the side of the pitch when he walked out. The two engaged in a small talk.
“This is my third time seeing you this week. I think I’ll get bored of seeing you.”
Wenger laughed. “I don’t quite like seeing this face of yours either.”
“The match schedule is sh*tty… Oh, right. I need to confirm something with you, Arsene.”
“Hmm?”
“Would we still be able to stand here and talk like this if I were to defeat Arsenal?”
“You are that confident?” Wenger did not answer his question. Instead, he asked Twain another question of his own.
“It is a possibility, isn’t it?”
“Ha! Save the talk for when you truly defeat me.” Wenger turned around and left.
In the end, he never answered Twain’s question.
It was a difficult question to answer for Wenger. He was not someone who could accept a loss wholeheartedly and congratulate another for their victory. Additionally, he was unwilling to think about losing, because the moment you thought about it, the thought would linger in your mind and continue to grow bigger. It was just like planting the devil’s seed inside of you. Eventually, you would not be able to shake off the thought: are we really going to lose?
Twain smiled to himself as he watched Wenger’s back.
15 minutes later, the team returned to the locker room after completing their warm-ups.
Twain looked at his players. The very first sentence he said caused them to burst out laughing. “Is there anyone here who thinks we are playing a league game?”
Laughter resounded in the locker room.
“Arsenal, Arsenal, Arsenal… This is our third time facing them in a match. I hope none of you got bored of it. Ah…” Twain sighed. “I know it’s not easy to face a tough opponent consecutively for three straight matches. But, I’m sorry, I will not go easy on any of you because of that. I would never say something stupid like ‘just try your best’ or ‘don’t leave any regrets’. What I want from you guys has always been very simple, and it has never changed either. It is…”
Twain drew a deep breath and was just about to say the words when the players roared in unison, “To win!”
Twain was dumbstruck. A moment later, he smiled and snapped his fingers. “Looks like I have to change my lines now. That’s right, it’s to win. I don’t want anything else but to win. It doesn’t matter how tough our opponent is. It also doesn’t matter how difficult a situation we are in. All I want is to win. Deal with all the opponents before you and become the champions of everything before you even think about resting and enjoying your holidays. Now’s not the time to relax yet.”
Twain paused in his words.
“I want all of you to keep this fight in you from today all the way till… Till the night of May 22nd. Don’t slack off for even a moment…” He lowered his head and went silent. He did not try to stir up his players’ emotions even more.
The players must think that their boss was a little odd today.
The silence ensued for a period of time. Everyone in the locker room was waiting for Twain to speak up once again.
Twain finally raised his head after a while. He flashed a smile before everyone and said, “Let’s create a season that none of you can ever forget throughout your entire footballing career. Let’s win… The. Treble.”
Twain’s final few words sent shivers down everyone’s spines. They felt like a ball of fire had been ignited within them, and it started to blaze.
The treble!
That was something that so many people craved for…
To achieve the treble, a club has to win its national league competition, its main national cup competition and a continental trophy, which would normally be the Champions League.
No other club in the whole of Europe has managed to achieve it ever since Manchester United in 1999. Liverpool fans have jokingly said that they have achieved the ‘quintuple’, but they are only referring to how they have won the Champions League five times in the past. Similarly, Barcelona has only managed to achieve the Double by winning its league competition and Champions League at its peak. They were unable to win the Copa del Rey in that same year.
It’s very challenging to achieve the ‘Treble’. Luck plays a huge part in it. But, it is also precisely why it holds so much prestige among all the European teams.
All the players’ faces lit up at the mention of the word ‘Treble’. They were envisioning the future in which they achieved it in their minds.
On May 11th, they would bring the Premier League trophy back to this stadium.
On May 17th, they would bring the FA Cup trophy back to this stadium.
And lastly, on May 22nd, they too, would bring the Champions League trophy… Back to this stadium!
The thought of those scenes would get anyone fired up.
When the players shook hands prior to the start of the match, Fàbregas felt George Wood exert force while shaking his hand, and he felt a little happy at the fact.
He thought that Wood was just like him and was full of a fighting spirit going into the match.
In truth, Wood was only being excited after hearing Twain say the word ‘treble’ earlier.
“The match has started. Nottingham Forest has made full use of their home advantage, and they are attacking Arsenal from all directions! They are very ferocious with their attacks! I completely didn’t expect them to go on the offense right at the start of the match…”
The commentator was surprised by how Forest had adopted an aggressive playing style at the start of the match. He did not know that the team was only acting that way because of what Twain had said before the start of the match. His words had stirred up the players’ emotions and they had gone into the match with a stronger drive to win.
Wenger did not look the least bit surprised as he sat at the technical area. He did not know what Twain had said to his players prior to the start of the match, but Forest being so aggressive with their attacks was a part of his plans.
He told his players that Forest would definitely attack them ferociously at the start of the match, and that it was all right to let them attack.
The moment Forest’s attacks weaken however, the stage would be theirs.
Forest would definitely go all out during its defense, and that would greatly deplete their stamina. Therefore, Wenger did not think that it was a big deal if Arsenal did not get a decent chance at goal. It also did not matter if they did not score a goal either, because it would be mission accomplished if they are able to deplete Forest’s stamina greatly in the first half.
However, Wenger did not get to see the scene that he was waiting for.
On the 21st minute of the first half, Arsenal committed an error in its defense. Bacary Sagna erred with the way he dealt with the ball when he was under pressure from Fernández. The pass that he made had not much power behind it, and it was quickly intercepted by Şahin.
Şahin then passed the ball straight forward, and Ibišević was deemed to be onsite when he received the pass. He was able to easily slip the ball past Manuel Almunia who had rushed out of the goalpost in an effort to stop him.
The goal sent the whole of City Ground Stadium into uproar.
Twain stood up and embraced the people around him as he celebrated the goal. He felt as though a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
“SUPER IBI!” Deafening cheers erupted at the stands.
The commentator excitedly announced, “That is his 20th goal of the season! The Bosnian striker is definitely Tony Twain’s most trusted striker!”
Wenger did not react in the slightest when Forest was celebrating the goal.
He had expected Forest to score a goal…
Forest tried to take advantage of the momentum that was in their favour and they continued to attack Arsenal’s half of the pitch mercilessly for a while. However, they were not able to break down Arsenal’s defense a second time. Arsenal was able to stabilize their defense after the 27th minute of the match, and that was also when they started going on the counterattack.
They played a kind of football that belonged solely to them. They controlled the ball at their feet exquisitely, and every pass that they made was fascinating.
Watching them play football was just like watching a classical music concert. The ball was like a series of musical notes that wandered about their feet. A beautiful melody would play with every move that they made.
As for Nottingham Forest, they could only go on the defense and follow the ball wherever it went. They tried to snatch the ball from Arsenal when the latter had made their way into their half, but the Arsenal players were able to make use of a succession of quick passes to deal with Forest’s attempts, and they did not let the ball stop moving.
Fàbregas was the core of Arsenal’s tactics for the match. He did not need to carry the ball forward and get past a bunch of players all by himself. He also did not need to shoot the goal into the goalpost. All he needed to do was to position himself in the middle of the pitch and help to distribute the ball. Every single Arsenal player would pass the ball over to him and let him decide where the ball should go, be it the front, the back, the left or the right.
He was just like a ‘super calculator’. All the information that needed to be processed would be sent to him for processing first before they are relayed to the rest of the Arsenal players.
He was undoubtedly the core player in the Arsenal team.
George Wood was the player who was assigned to mark Fàbregas in the match. This arrangement appeared to have fired up Fàbregas. There was a period of time in the match where he did not even let the ball stop at his feet for a single second. He was well aware of the positions of every single player on the pitch before he received the ball. Thus, he was able to pass the ball straight away after the ball reached his feet.
Wood would always go away empty-handed every time he ran up to Fàbregas to try and intercept the ball.
The commentator could not help but heap praises on Fàbregas. “His positional play and passing abilities are just works of art. His every move might look random to some, but they are actually deeply connected to the situation on the pitch at that very moment. He is able to grasp the positions of his opponents, and even George Wood can’t do anything to stop him! A turn and a pass! The ball rolls into an empty space and Sagna has moved forward to pick up the ball! How on earth has he managed to see what is going on behind him? This is absolutely fascinating! What a wonderful pass! Arsenal might have a talented young British midfielder named Wilshere on its team, but he certainly can’t hold a candle against Fàbregas!”
Fàbregas enjoyed the feeling of having complete control and understanding of the situation on the pitch. He would always smile inwardly every time George Wood charged at him after he had passed the ball away.
Arsenal performed exceptionally well during this period of time in which Fàbregas was on top of his game. Their passes and coordination dazzled and fascinated the crowd, but sadly, they were still not able to find their way past Akinfeev’s goalpost.
It might be an exaggeration to say that ‘Arsenal likes to pass the ball into the goalpost’, but it was exactly what Arsenal seemed to be doing at the moment.
It did not matter how well the Arsenal players could pass if they could not find the back of the net. They needed to shoot to score.
Carlos Vela was very agile as a player. However, he was a little too thin and weak, which caused him to be unable to gain an advantage in Forest’s penalty box.
Robin van Persie, on the other hand, did not seem to have brought his ‘shooting boots’ with him today, because all the shots he made were not on target.
Towards the end of the first half, Fàbregas suddenly changed what he had been doing all along. Instead of passing the ball to the other Arsenal players, he decided to shoot at the goal right before Wood!
Fortunately, Akinfeev was fully focused on the match. He pounced on the ball and sent it out of bounds. His efforts ensured that Arsenal could not level the score before the end of the first half.
“Fàbregas has stepped up to the plate at a time when Arsenal’s forwards have not been reliable. His shot… Nearly went in.”
The commentator was extremely disappointed at how things had turned out. Both teams had played good football for at least half of the first half, but they were only able to score one goal.
It felt very unsatisfying…
Arsenal’s attacks and coordination in the latter half of the first half was a joy to watch. It would make any spectator feel like he or she was enjoying a cup of tea while relaxing in the warm sunlight.
All that was missing however, was a plate of freshly baked cookies to go with the tea. It felt a little dull to simply be drinking tea.
Arsenal definitely deserved a goal with the way they have been playing.
At half-time, Twain commended his team for their performances in the starting few minutes of the first half. He did not criticize their performances in the latter half however, because he felt that Arsenal had performed very well then, and it would be unfair to criticize his players for their opponents’ good performance.
Twain decided that he had to change his tactics for the second half. If Arsenal were to continue playing the way that they did in the first half, then it would only be a matter of time before they scored a goal.
“George, you were not able to mark Fàbregas tightly enough in the first half. You can’t allow him to make passes that easily before you… The number of fouls that you created in the first half can be counted with my hand.” Twain raised five of his fingers. “Look at Fàbregas’ jersey when he walked off the pitch! It was as though he had just picked it up from the cleaners! What a disgrace, George!”
Twain was not displeased with his team, but Wood was the only one he did not show any mercy to.
Wood did not utter a word in response. He accepted Twain’s criticisms of him.
“In the second half…” Twain spoke in a low voice as he contemplated. “If Arsenal were to continue playing the way that they did… We would make our defense compact and force them to only be able to attack down the flanks. We have a goal on our hands after all.”
Twain laughed when he finished his words.
“Let’s see how Arsenal passes the ball into our goalpost!”
...
Chapter 840 - Regarding the Possibility of Exchanging Jerseys
The second half was just like what Twain said, Arsenal continued the performance of the later part of the first half, attempting to rip through Forest’s defense through quick passing.
After Twain’s criticism during halftime, George Wood became more energetic in the second half. Fàbregas wanted to keep everything under his control, just like the first half, but he realized it was not so easy anymore.
Wood’s man-marking was very impressive as he ran after Fàbregas as if he did not care about his stamina. As for the defense behind him, he left it to Gago. Forest was leading by one goal anyway; it did not matter if they sacrificed Gago’s attacking prowess. The key was to freeze Fàbregas out completely.
“Fàbregas receives the ball and he wants to pass it… Ah! Wood’s tackle is very timely, he poked the pass from Fàbregas away!”, the commentator said.
Fàbregas reacted very quickly after seeing his pass got poked away by Wood, moving to recover the ball immediately. Too bad Wood was faster than him as he blocked the Spaniard off with his body and cleared the ball.
Fàbregas was a little pissed as he gave Wood a shove from behind, but he could not move Wood at all of course. He did however, provoked Wood to turn back and look at him expressionlessly.
After that, Wood played as if he was stuck to Fàbregas.
Fàbregas changed his strategy when he realized that Wood was only making use of his exceptionally strong body to challenge for the ball. He stopped passing the ball straight after receiving it, instead, he controlled the ball, made a few feints before passing the ball.
It worked well initially as Wood’s inertia thinking allowed Fàbregas to skip past him easily, however, it did not work afterwards.
Wood had an ace up his sleeve.
He still went in for the tackle, but he kept a trailing leg behind and did not push his center of gravity forward totally. Fàbregas thought he got past Wood and as he adjusted his body in preparation for the pass, he lost his balance all of a sudden and fell to the floor.
Upon second look, he was tripped by Wood’s trailing leg.
He raised his hand to indicate that he had been fouled by Wood and the referee’s whistle rang out as he wished.
Wood made no appeals to the referee regarding his foul. He did not even give Fàbregas a hand up before running back to defend.
Fàbregas pushed himself up. Wood’s foul was not vicious, but it caused Arsenal’s attack to break down. Fàbregas felt helpless regarding the foul, he was already used to this after numerous face-offs with Wood.
Only when taking the free-kick, could he experience the freedom without Wood’s disturbance at his side.
Later, Wood used every methods in his repertoire to make things exceptionally difficult for Fàbregas… Fouls, cheeky moves, legal shoulder charges — even though he was not totally frozen out by Wood, he had to dedicate a huge amount of energy to go against Wood, causing his passing accuracy to drop till it was much lower than the first half, leading to a sharp decline in his contribution to the attack’s build up.
Not only that, he exhausted so much energy in the battle with Wood that he was panting in exhausting after that.
On the other hand, Wood was not even panting or flushed, everything was just as per normal. His physical attributes were so good that they were a source of hopelessness for his opponents.
Because of Wood’s sudden good performance, Arsenal had no choice but to leave the task of building up their attack to Wilshere.
The one defending Wilshere is Gago. In terms of defensive abilities, he was two levels below Wood.
As the one who could organize an attack the best amongst the midfielders of England’s younger generation, Wilshere was able to have quite a bit of space to perform under Gago’s watch as he gave three beautiful passes. It was a pity that the other Arsenal players were not able to take their chances.
Wilshere’s good performance meant the praises that the commentator gave Fàbregas were passed to him.
“It’s no wonder he’s being lauded as the most creative and technical midfielder in England after Gascoigne! He’s simply too much for Gago to handle! People say that Wenger has a habit of selling his players once they are past 30 years old. Fàbregas will be 27 years old soon, perhaps it’s time Wenger seriously consider about using Wilshere to replace Fàbregas’ position in the team…”, he said.
Arsenal’s high-tempo attack only stopped for a little before starting again. However, the focal point this time changed from Fàbregas to Wilshere.
The Forest goal was in danger again. Twain muttered as he sat in his seat, “Two focal points huh?”
He thought for a while. Fàbregas is getting exhausted very quickly under the torment of Wood, he won’t be able to recover so quickly. Wilshere is indeed talented, it is a rather difficult for Gago to mark him… Wilshere is the leader of England’s midfield in future after all.
This won’t do, we must stop Wilshere.
He walked to the side of the field and took a deep breath.
“George!!”, he shouted.
His voice was really loud… Maybe it was to cooperate with him, at that moment, the songs in the City Grounds suddenly became softer.
Wilshere suddenly felt a chill.
After that, Twain went back to the manager’s seat and Wilshere realized that the person standing in front of him had changed to George Wood…
Wilshere was a little overwhelmed as he turned back to look for his captain, Fàbregas. However, what he saw was Fàbregas bending over, panting heavily, and Gago standing beside him.
He had a bad feeling about it…
The commentator deeply understood that Wilshere was still some distance away from Fàbregas from the match afterwards… He did not mention anything about replacing Fàbregas with Wilshere anymore.
Under the close marking of Wood, Fàbregas was still able to pass the ball out to his teammates. Even though the success rate was lower than the first half, he still managed to pass the ball. Under the marking of his international teammate, Wilshere found it difficult to even get the ball. Under the physical challenges from Wood, he always lost the ball very easily.
Fouls, cheeky moves, physical challenges bordering on the lines of being unreasonable…
Wood did what he did against Fàbregas to Wilshere.
Wilshere conceded defeat before long. He did not dare to allow the ball to stay at his feet for too long, passing it to Fàbregas after receiving the ball. Without any instructions from Wenger, he returned the position of the focal point back to his captain.
Seeing that Wilshere had admitted defeat, Wood went back to mark Fàbregas.
After a long day’s work, Arsenal’s attack did not get better. Their bark was worse than their bite as they did not get any goals. The score was still 1:0, with the home team Forest in the lead.
Nottingham Forest pushed out for a while to fight for the ball, but drew back after seeing that the second half had more than half way more to go.
This change took Wenger by surprise. He had analyzed Tony Twain in detail, and he knew that Twain would never choose to defend when his team had only a one-goal lead. He would choose to keep attacking until they got another goal. Why were they defending when the score was only 1:0? And Forest did not seem to be in a disadvantageous situation on the field. Could they be giving up the opportunity to widen their lead just like this?
Twain had his own difficulties. He knew that Wenger wanted to break his team down using this high-tempo game because he used it on others before. That was why he decided to go with a defensive tactic to conserve some energy since they were already in the lead.
At the same time, he started to use his substitutes. Cohen coming on for Fernández and Moke for Bentley.
“Defend and counter!”, the commentator blurted out when he saw this in the commentary box.
It was too familiar, so much so that they could imagine how the match would go even with their eyes closed.
Nottingham Forest would defend in their own half, disturbing Arsenal’s defense line occasionally. Arsenal would surround the Forest penalty area. However, with a lack of good scoring opportunities… the time would just go by quietly.
Reality was not much different.
When Nottingham Forest drew back to defend, it made things difficult for Arsenal. Their impressive passing was ineffective when the Forest players were all crowded around the penalty area.
Wenger understood that they would be the one at a disadvantage should they continue surrounding the penalty area — Nottingham Forest only needed a counterattack and they might score another goal.
When he thought about this, he adjusted the team’s tactic. Instead of surrounding the penalty area, they started to build from behind and push forward slowly. They did not rush to put the ball near the Forest goal, forcing Forest to come out.
Forest then attacked reservedly without much enthusiasm. Defense was still their top priority.
The match went by very quickly when the two managers were engaged in a battle of their wits. In the blink of the eye, it was already in the 80th minute.
Now, Wenger was faced with a choice, should he let the match end just like this, or should he try for a goal in the final ten minutes.
Even if Arsenal lost the first round 0:1, it was acceptable. After all, it was just a goal’s difference, they could still turn it around when they were at their home ground.
If he went for it and got an away goal, the score would be 1:1. The team would already have a foot in the semifinals.
Both results seemed to be not bad…
Wenger fell into a deep thought.
The pro of the first choice was that the result for this match would be guaranteed. It looked like Nottingham Forest had no energy to go for another goal. If Arsenal was just looking for a slender defeat of one goal, it would not be a problem. The con was that whether they would advance to the next round would be based on the unpredictable future, that was not guaranteed.
The pro of the second choice was that he would be in control of his team’s fate after the first round. The con was that it was a real possibility that they would concede a goal instead of scoring. Even though Wenger had been researching Twain for many years, there was one aspect that he could never figure out. That was Tony Twain’s unpredictability. This person’s character had no pattern to speak about, and it was the same with his actions. He could not tell whether the exhausting that Forest showed earlier was a show with an intention of luring him to press forward… and then they would be successful in their sneak attack.
Just when he was unable to make up his mind, Twain made another substitution.
Wenger turned his head to check it out. The person getting his boots checked by the fourth official was Aaron Mitchell who was more than two meters tall.
And the person he was replacing was…
The fourth official lifted the electronic board:
Number 15 Nuri Şahin off. Number 9 Aaron Mitchell on.
Wenger uttered a “cunning” in his heart. If he had adjusted his tactics earlier and his team started to attack, Twain’s move now was obviously prepared for him. Removing an attacking midfielder and introducing a tall center forward would increase Forest’s attack. Simple and crude tactics such as going down the flanks to cross or long ball tactics were surprisingly effective during the last few minutes of the match.
Looks like Twain himself could not keep his cool anymore, he wanted to increase the lead at the end…
This change made Wenger decide to defend. Arsenal would rather lose the away match by a single goal than to let the one-goal defeat turn into a two-goals defeat at the last moment.
In the final ten minutes, the situation on the field turned right on its head. Forest were actively attacking while Arsenal fell back in defense. It was just as Wenger expected, Twain’s team went for high balls all the way in the last ten minutes. The crosses kept going towards the Arsenal goal, keeping Almunia and the Arsenal’s defense busy. There was also once where there was a dispute when Mitchell fell in the penalty area. The Nottingham Forest players were adamant that the Arsenal players fouled Mitchell when defending whereas the Arsenal players believed that that was nonsense. How could someone as tall as Mitchell fall so easily with just a touch? It must be a dive!
Both sides were caught in an argument and the Arsenal players had the intention to waste time. The referee made a final decision. This was neither a foul nor a dive. Ears piercing boos rang out from the stands.
Until the last second, the barrage from Nottingham Forest did not achieve any results. The commentator blamed it on their late burst. They only thought about attacking during the last ten minutes, that was too late. However, you could bare see any expression of unhappiness on Twain’s face. It seemed like he was very accepting of this 1:0 result.
When he shook hands with Wenger, there was a smile on both their faces. The friendliness made it seem like what just ended was not the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals, but a preseason friendly.
“See you at home, Tony.”, Wenger said as he extended a “warm invitation” to Twain.
Twain just smiled and said nothing.
When the match ended, Wilshere hesitated for a while and he decided to ask George Wood to exchange jerseys. Even though he was marked out of the game during the match, as fellow England players, he still looked up to Wood. What made him hesitate was that he knew Wood had a weird temper and he especially disliked exchanging jerseys.
But just when he finally decided to look for Wood to exchange jerseys, he was shocked to see that Fàbregas had already beaten him to it.
After the Arsenal captain made a gesture to exchange jerseys in front of the Nottingham Forest captain, Wood took off his jersey and passed it to him without saying anything.
It was so straightforward that Wilshere was dumbfounded.
When Fàbregas came back after exchanging jerseys, Wilshere approached him and asked in surprise, “Didn’t they say that he…”, he pointed at George Wood who was walking away, “doesn’t like to exchange jerseys with his opponents?”
Hearing this, Fàbregas looked surprised too as he asked, “Who told you this?”
“Er… Everyone says so.”, Wilshere replied. He did not know where the rumor came from, but he had this impression.
Looking at him, Fàbregas laughed, “He’d only refuse to exchange jerseys if Forest lost.”
Wilshere breathed a small sigh of relief.
Fàbregas read his mind as he patted him on the head and said, “Don’t be so happy Jack. You won’t have anymore chance this season.”
“Ah?”, Wilshere did not understand.
“We’ll win the two remaining matches.”, said Fàbregas confidently as he walked away with Wood’s jersey on his back.
...
Chapter 841 - Behind a Successful Man
The first round of the three round of matches between Nottingham Forest and Arsenal had ended. Forest won by one solitary goal. Wenger was not unhappy at all, the whole Arsenal team’s mood wasn’t affected by this defeat, that was why Fàbregas had the mood to exchange jerseys with Wood after the end of the match.
Twain was in a good mood too. He did not care what kind of tactics Wenger had in mind; all he knew was getting the victory was safest. He never believed in words like, “What are we going to do in future”, “what are we going to do in the next round”.
He had to temporarily toss the UEFA Champions League out from his thoughts, the league was just as important.
From early April to 22nd May, these two months were the most crucial period of the season for Tony Twain. Whether they were able to get any returns for the season’s hard work depends on these two months’ results.
They could be the glorious “treble winners”, or they could crumble at the last step and get nothing.
These are the busiest days for managers in the whole season. They would be so busy that they would not be able to care about anything. Because of this, every time Twain returned to his big, pitch black house, he would feel exceptionally fatigued. A manager who was living separately with his wife for the long term, one could probably count the numbers of them in one hand.
Good news finally arrived.
After completing her work in America, Shania rejected an interview and a banquet and returned to England ahead of schedule.
At this moment, Twain was holding on to his coffee as he leant on the door frame, quietly looking at Shania getting busy in front of the washing machine.
Fans who loved Shania would probably find it hard to imagine such a scene. The supermodel who shone on the runway, the superstar who was a maverick in the eyes of the media, would be tidying up a messy room like a normal woman at home, bringing out piles and piles of dirty clothes before tossing them into the washing machine. She then put on an apron to do the dishes and cooked.
Twain had no intention of helping, instead, he was enjoying the view. Watching his wife getting busy at home gave him the feeling that this was family.
“Uncle Tony.”
“Hmm?”
“What are you looking at?”
“At you.”
“Am I that nice to look at?”, Shania said with a smile, “after so many years of marriage, haven’t you seen enough of me?”
“It’s been quite a while, I want to watch to my fill.”
” Shania went silent for a moment before asking, “Uncle Tony, how about I quit my modelling job?”
Apparently, she was mistaken about Twain’s meaning.
“Ay, what are you talking about? That was not what I meant. I don’t want to do anything else now, I just want to look at you, that’ll do for me. Don’t think too much about anything else.”, Twain said.
Twain put down his coffee mug and walked in to help.
“But it’s good now, I have nothing until the Summer, I can stay by your side all the time.”, Shania said very happily. She looked forward to days like this too. On normal days, she was an high-profile star, yet she was not interested in the happenings of the entertainment circle and she did not yearn media exposure. She also seldom visit luxury shops, her favorite way to spend her personal time was to stay with her husband, even staying on the sofa watching dvds was better than going out to get photographed by reporters.
That was why the media said she was a maverick in the modeling world and Hollywood.
Twain smiled after hearing her say that.
To him, the biggest advantage was that he could focus all his attention on football without any worries. But to Shania, she would receive a little less love. What to do, this was the sprint of the season. They would be like this every season — Shania would go back to take care of Twain and enjoy their time together while Twain had to split his attention. Half of it to his wife and half to football. Shania thought this was a little unfair…
Luckily for Twain, he had an understanding wife. Other than the occasional complaints and jealousy towards football, Shania were not dissatisfied at all.
Every time he thought about this, Twain felt like he should thank Shania. The reason why he could enjoy the success he had now, he could claim half the credit while his wife had half. It was not easy to have a star for a wife, let alone one with a personality. But when Shania was with him, she would sacrifice her personality to fulfill his needs. Feminists might feel that Twain was too chauvinistic, but this was what married life should be like. Someone had to sacrifice a part of his or her benefits, compromises had to be made.
What was in Twain’s mind then was that he did not want to stay in this business until he was 70 years old before retiring, like Ferguson. Because that would leave him with not much time to spend with his wife. When he retires, he would give everything he had to compensate his wife for all the love that he owed her.
A model’s career is short and Shania had no intentions of having any great achievements in the reel business. So when Twain retires, Shania should most likely not be a model anymore. When that time came, the two of them should have a lot of time to arrange for their own life. First, Twain wanted to travel the world with Shania. Go places where they had never went before, to all corners of the world. To an utopia where there was no media or any conflicts, as if they were the only two left in this world, enjoying each other’s company…
Twain was lost in thought as he kept scrubbing the plate in his hands, water flowing.
“What are you thinking about, Uncle Tony?”, Shania asked, aware of Twain’s abnormality.
“Ah…”, Twain muttered as he looked at the plate that was long cleaned. He put it at the side and turned off the tap, smiled at Shania and said, “I’m thinking about our lives after we retire.”
Shania was also interested as she put down what she was working on and asked, “What did you think of, is it interesting?”
“I thought about travelling the world with you. Where do you want to go?”, asked Twain.
“Hmm…”, Shania looked up as she thought, “There are too many places that I want to go…”
“That’s okay, we have lots of time.”, Twain replied.
“Have you already decided when to retire?”, Shania asked.
“Not yet, but I won’t wait till I’m 60 or 70 years old. I’ll be old then and I’ll only be able to sit in our backyard, get a suntan, that’ll be pointless then.”, Twain replied as he wiped his hands dry before going behind Shania and gently hugging her. “When the time comes, we’ll go to places we’ve never been to. You love ice-cream, don’t you? We’ll eat while we explore and I’ll let you taste all the ice-cream in the world.”
Shania could feel Twain’s breath on the nape of her neck and it ticklish, causing her to laugh as she replied, “Aren’t you afraid I’ll eat so much that I’ll become fat?”
“An old man and his fat wife, that’ll be even more compatible.”, Twain said as he nuzzled Shania’s ears and hair from behind. “We’re very compatible, Shania.”
Shania did not argue with Twain’s “old man” and “fat wife” as she laid in Twain’s wide chest, enjoying this warm moment. Twain might find it difficult to endure when he was alone in England, but was it not the same for Shania in America?
She yearned to smell the breath of her man, feel the warmth of his body. After a day out at work, entertaining and doing catwalks, all she wanted when she returned home was to lie in her husband’s embrace like this, throwing all her troubles away and enjoying their quiet time together.
She closed her eyes slightly and rested her head on her husband’s shoulder lazily, not wanting to move.
Twain greedily smelled the scent of her hair as he hugged Shania.
Then, both of them smelled something burning at the same time…
“Ah! The egg!”, Shania exclaimed as she jumped up, knocking into Twain’s nose as she did so. “Uncle Tony?”, she said as she turned back in a panic to see Twain holding on to his nose in pain while he held onto the table at the side for support, tears coming out from his eyes. Looks like it was quite a strong impact. “Uh… I’m really sorry Uncle Tony…”
Twain held on to his nose with his left hand and pointed behind Shania with his right, indicating for her to switch off the electricity first.
She panicked as she switched it off, then tossed the fried egg in the frying pan into the dustbin. After she was done with that, she turned back to check on her husband. Twain had already recovered. He rubbed his nose and muttered, “I hate big noses…”
Looking at his moment of weakness, Shania could not help herself but to laugh.
“You’re the culprit and you’re still laughing!”, Twain said as he gave her a stare, wiping a tear off the corner of his eye as he gave her a fierce look. “Isn’t your head in pain?”
Shania continued laughing as she shook her head.
“The eggs are burnt, right?”, Twain asked.
“Mm, burnt.”, Shania replied as she glanced at the dustbin by her feet. The pitch-black fried egg was quietly lying there and she started to laugh even more.
“Let me do it.”, Twain said as he prepared to do it himself. Shania stopped him.
“Let me do it Uncle Tony. But this time, you must behave yourself.”, she said.
Twain shrugged innocently and said, “I was only hugging you.”
Shania gave a stern look and pointed at the dining table saying, “Now, sit and prepare to eat!”
Twain sat in front of the table like a good boy with a knife in one hand, a fork in another as he waited for his meal.
Only then did Shania smile and turn back to continue making her fried egg.
Both of them enjoyed a night like this.
With Shania back in England taking care of Twain, when he went to the training grounds the next day, Twain had a smile on his face and greeted every reporter that he met. Everyone felt that something was strange. The team was going to visit the Emirates Stadium soon. Was he putting on a show to show Arsenal that he was full of confidence?
Or maybe he really had a way to ensure victory?
The reporters would probably puke blood if they knew the truth.
Pierce Brosnan understood Twain the most after all. He specially researched the love story between Twain and Shania when he was writing Twain’s biography, that was why he knew the reason. He asked Twain when he greeted him, “Your wife’s back?”
Twain nodded and took his leave with a smile.
Pierce Brosnan stroked his chin and thought for a while. The people around him asked him what was he thinking of, and he replied, “I’m thinking that the element of uncertainty for Forest has been solved, Arsenal might need to take care at their home ground…”
The people around him could not understand what he was saying. Brosnan did not explain either, they would know during the weekends anyway.
The next day, an entertainment magazine from London, England, took a picture of Shania shopping outside. Shania was dressed rather normally in the picture, without the model’s disposition on the runway at all, and her clothes were not very fashionable either.
The editor of the magazine even mocked her saying,”…Shania was dressed like an old lady from the countryside. This would have displeased the various fashion sponsors she has as it was as if she was dressed in cheap clothes bought from the market in public. Those fans who loves her would be very disappointed to see these pictures. The superstar in their eyes did not have any branded clothes in her hands, instead, she had bread, cheese and egg. She’s just like a housewife…”
In the pictures, other than a pair of sunglasses, Shania did not try to hide her identity at all. And it seemed like she did not know she was targeted by paparazzi. She drove to the supermarket and came out with bags full of food and necessities. Later, she called someone and the magazine editor gave her the lines, “Tony, what do you want for dinner?”
They were actually quite accurate. Shania was indeed giving Twain and call and she did ask this question indeed… Twain was thinking about the Arsenal match then and was a little absent-hearted in his reply, “Don’t burn the eggs again.” This made him apologize to Shania for a very long time before he could eat dinner.
As everyone can see, just like how Tony Twain had not many friends in the media, as his wife, it was natural that she would be mocked by the others.
Later, when Twain brought the team to north London and prepared for the match with Arsenal, he found a few reporters for entertainment papers in the crowd.
The questions posed to him were naturally related to Shania. Twain felt weird that the media would suddenly ask about Shania.
“This has nothing to do with this match, right?”, Twain said. He was unwilling to answer personal questions during work.
“Will she come watch the match?” A reporter asked a question which he thought was relevant to the match.
“Is it any business of yours whether she comes?”, Twain said with an unfriendly expression, unwilling to cooperate.
In fact, Shania would come watch the match. Ever since Twain had a heart ailment, Shania would come watch the match whenever she had the chance. That way, she could be closer to Tony and had a better sense of security.
Wenger had to come cool the situation down, “Please do not ask any questions that are not related to the match, we have limited time.”
Without asking these gossip questions, they could only ask some very boring questions. For example, “How confident are you of beating Nottingham Forest at home?”, “Would Van Persie’s injury be a great blow to the team?”, “Would two away games in a row make you feel that the match is difficult?”, “Is there really no issues with the team’s physicality?”
There was no conflict during this press conference. Twain behaved properly.
The media left unhappily.
After the end of the press conference, Twain specially thanked Wenger for helping him out earlier.
The cordial atmosphere between the two made it difficult to tell that they were going to be engaged in a battle to the death here soon.
Wenger smiled and said, “I don’t want them to anger you. Who knows what you’ll do when you’re angry.” He put out his hand, “I hope you’ll be in the mood for a drink after the match.”
Twain took his hand and said, “I don’t drink, Arsene.”
“Juice would do too, as long as you are in the mood.”
“Why not?”
After saying goodbye to Wenger, Twain received a call from Brosnan. The mysterious tone that the reporter used on the phone made Twain think that he was very annoying.
“Hey, Tony. Um… Is Jordana’s return beneficial to your final sprint?”, he asked.
“Is this an interview?”
“Oh no, this is definitely not an interview, nor would it be publicly posted. I’m just a little bit curious…”
“Since when did you become so interested in gossips, just like those entertainment reporters, Mister 007?”
“He he…”, Brosnan could only give a wry laughter.
Twain sighed, it was not a big secret anyway, “Yes, are you happy now Mister 007?”
“Ah…Thank you! I understand now!” Brosnan hung up excitedly.
Twain shrugged as he looked at his phone.
Even though Shania was not technically a “good wife”, he still needed his wife to give him a push at the back during the sprint…
At home, Shania always liked to lie down in his arms, but during the sprint to become champions, he felt a gentle but firm person behind him. As long as that person was there, he felt like the road filled with thorns was flat and smooth and there was good weather ahead.
...
Chapter 842 - Collapse?
Nottingham Forest now looked like they were walking along a narrow path that only one person could go through sideways, with a deep abyss on the left and right sides. Following the movements of the footsteps, small stones would roll down and the echo of the crashing sounds could be heard in the abyss, growing gradually fainter.
In such an environment, slight inattention might cause one to lose his footing and fall. Then even one’s bones could not be found.
In short, Nottingham Forest now had no room for even a millimeter margin of error. They could not lose the Champions League and the league tournament. What could they do when their goal for this season was the continental treble this season?
Twain did not care about rotation for the away game against Arsenal. He deployed the strongest lineup possible.
Nottingham Forest faced a series of attacks from Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. Similar to the last Champions League game, Arsenal’s offensive was fast paced, leaving the Forest team struggling on the pitch.
With a need to win, Twain did not choose conservative tactics, unlike in the last Champions League game. Nottingham Forest chose to play defensive counterattack in the last Champions League game because they already had a one-goal lead in hand. Now the score was still 0:0, and it was of little value to play conservatively—he did not need a draw and could not accept any other result other than a win.
So, in this game, Twain asked the team to attack aggressively. Even if the Arsenal’s swift attack made them confused and disoriented, they could not retreat. Instead, they had to actively carry out interceptions in the middle and front field against Arsenal.
It was what Wenger wanted to see most. Nottingham Forest would consume a lot of physical energy in such a scramble.
Twain was aware of it too. Arsenal wanted to drag down the Forest team. But now he had no other choice but to try to wipe out Arsenal before they themselves were dragged down.
“George! George!” Twain kept shouting Wood’s name off the field, signaling for him to tackle a little fiercer and to not be afraid to foul.
Gago also gave his very best on the pitch. He had trained his playing style to be like “a brave man, willing to risk his life” at Real Madrid. Now that the Forest team transformed to learn from Redondo, Twain still intended to let Gago keep up with his spirit.
With the opponent using the same tactics, the Forest team played harder than they did in the last game. Apart from not choosing to play conservatively, Arsenal’s home advantage could not be ignored.
Wenger’s team in this game fully played to their characteristics of fine skills, good rapport and smooth offensive, and their continuous campaign caused the entire Forest team to be exhausted. In the face of Arsenal’s attack, the will was there, but not the strength.
Twenty-nine minutes into the first half, the Forest team’s defense finally revealed a crack, which was keenly seized by Arsenal. Fàbregas did a straight pass. Carlos Vela suddenly plugged in from the side and unexpectedly appeared behind the Forest team’s entire line of defense. He was not in an offside position!
“He’s not offside! Vela has the ball!”
Pepe was still raising his hand to signal that Vela was in an offside position while Akinfeev had already left the goal to strike. A huge cheer erupted over the Emirates Stadium.
Amid the cheers, Vela shot low!
The football past through Akinfeev’s underarm and struck the farthest goalpost to bounce into the goal…
“The ball’s in! A gorgeous onside shot! And a brilliant assist from Fàbregas!!” Amid the thunderous cries, the live commentator had to raise his voice to shout along with the fans, “Arsenal leads at home! This dealt a heavy blow to Tony Twain’s Nottingham Forest!”
Akinfeev was a little angry after the goal concede. He walked over to Pepe and shouted, “Asshole! Why didn’t you come back to defend just now?”
Pepe was clearly angry too. He brusquely pushed his teammate aside, “It was f**king offside!”
“Whether it was offside or not, you should have f**king come back! You bastard!” Akinfeev was a little angry that he and his question were pushed aside. Just as the two men were about to come to a head, their teammates around fortunately rushed up to separate the two men.
Twain nearly flew into a rage as he watched the scene from the sidelines. He kept swearing, “Those bastards! They actually display their shameful behavior on live broadcast!”
Next door, Wenger sat in his seat with a slightly hidden gleeful smile on his face. Internal stride within the Forest team? It was highly unusual. It looked like the Forest team was about to collapse under immense pressure.
Even the commentator was excited, “Oh, oh! The Nottingham Forest players have a clash. What more, it is a conflict between their own players! This is getting interesting! I’ve done commentary for nearly ten seasons of Premier League games and nearly fifty games with the Forest team playing, and I’ve never seen such a heated conflict between their own men! Tony Twain always boasts that his team is the most united team in the world, and there is really little negative news in the media about their locker room. But today … all this is happening openly before all of us. It’s a once-in-a-century sight! I’m already starting to look forward how Tony Twain is going to face the influx of reporters after the game…”
“What are you guys doing?!” Meanwhile, on the pitch, the Forest players were trying their best to calm down the two “angry bulls.”
“Calm down!”
“Don’t make a fuss. What’s wrong with you two?!”
Wood stood between the two men with one hand on each side to push them apart. But the two men tried to struggle free of Wood, unwilling to back down.
The Arsenal fans in the stands booed and jeered after a brief moment of shock— any fans of a team loved to see their opponents made a fool of themselves in front of them.
The laughter and booing sounded harsh in Twain’s ears. It was even more shrill than when he was on the ground scolding, “You son of bitches!”
He finally stopped muttering alone and rushed to the sidelines to yell toward the field, “It’s live broadcast. You damn idiots! Live broadcast!!”
His voice was drowned out by the loud boos at the stadium and he was not heard. However, it invited special attention from the cameras. The broadcast gave him a long close-up. In the camera, he clenched his fists and he was red in the face. Eyes wide with fury, he looked really angry.
Shania, who saw what happened from the box, also stood up nervously from her seat. Whenever Twain was excited, Shania would be so worried.
Twain roared in vain on the sidelines until he was out of breath and had to return to the technical area to get some water. He did not succeed. Kerslake handed him the water and muttered, “Is there too much pressure?”
Twain took the water bottle but did not drink from it. Instead, he stared blankly at Kerslake, which scared the latter a little. He suddenly did not drink the water, nor did he go to the sidelines to continue swearing. Instead, he sat down and stared at the field without saying a word, as if he was in a daze.
In the end, it was George Wood who unleashed his “power” as the team captain and grabbed the collars of Pepe and Akinfeev to make them calm down.
“We are playing a game now. If you want to fight, wait till the game is over!”
Even the referee stepped forward to intervene. He called the two men over to his side and gave them verbal warnings. He told them that even if they were teammates, he must give out a yellow card warning in the event of a violent physical confrontation.
The anger of the two men subsided a little. But they still did not look at each other.
They walked back to their own positions, without saying a word.
While the Forest team had the internal strife just now, Wenger got up and walked to the sidelines to beckon Fàbregas over and brief him personally.
“They have a problem themselves. This is our chance. Next up, continue to assist Pepe with that.”
Fàbregas nodded as he sipped water.
Back on the pitch, Arsenal did adjust their tactics and use Pepe’s position as the main offensive direction. Pepe was clearly affected by the goal concede and the brawl, because realistically speaking, the ball did slip past him, and he did not actively defend. Perhaps in that moment he opened up a small gap, or for some other reason, his mistake gave Vela a chance to shoot the ball in easily. For a time, the Forest team’s goal was surrounded by perils.
Twain saw this and got up from the technical area, shouting Wood’s name from the sidelines and using hand gestures to signal for him to cover Pepe’s position. Wood obeyed and went before the Forest team’s defensive line was able to regain its footing amid Arsenal’s stormy attack.
Fortunately, there was not much time left in the first half for Arsenal. Even if there was infighting within the Forest team, the stoppage time was only three minutes. The referee quickly blew the whistle to end the first half, which also upset the Arsenal fans, who thought the Nottingham Forest goal would be conceded again if Arsenal were to be given another minute.
Regardless, the Arsenal players were in a good mood when they were back in the locker room because they saw their opponent collapse—nothing was more demoralizing than a clash between the teammates in the game, because such an incident was humiliating….
They knew when they saw the way the Forest players walked off the field with their heads down. They could not wait for the game to be over so that they could fled the Emirates Stadium early.
Twain stayed behind. He stood alone on the sidelines for a moment and then slowly walked toward the tunnel.
His back view appeared to be very tired.
Shania saw this scene in the box and her face sank.
When Tony Twain who acted brashly on the sidelines and experienced such an intense game, he would suddenly age ten years when he went home. He had a heart problem and the pressure was so great … She was really worried.
The Forest players in the locker room were silent. Akinfeev and Pepe sat far part and did not look at each other.
Hearing the sound of the door opening and closing, people looked up and saw the boss.
They did not see an angry expression on his face. It did not even look like the calm before the storm.
Twain swept his gaze across everyone. His eyes slowly turned to look at them one by one which seemed to take several minutes. The locker room was dead silent. Kerslake was not one who could withstand such an atmosphere. He tried several times to open his mouth and say something, but he gave up in the end.
He did not think the atmosphere felt right.
Twain finally spoke up, “I think I’ve made a mistake—I happily made an exciting bet with someone, but I forget your ability to bear it. It wasn’t my intention to put you under the same pressure as I am. You all know … Well, I want to be able to put all the pressure on myself so that you can play without worry. Now it looks like I’m wrong, ridiculously wrong.” He kept shaking his head to negate himself. He looked pained and tired.
“So, I won’t put any pressure on you for this game. You just play at will … As for the matter on eating the table, you don’t have to worry about that. I have my own way.”
With that, Twain sat down in his chair and let out a long breath.
“Igor and Pepe don’t let this get to you both. I don’t blame you. I know you’re all thinking about the team, so … let bygones be bygones.” He put his hands together as if he did not really take it to heart.
“I now realize that the treble is not an easy thing to do, especially given our situation. It’s a pipe dream for us to want to win the treble. The outside world was justified to ridicule. I, Tony Twain, am used to talking big. But I want to thank you all, you always make my big talk become a reality every time… But this time, it’s not the same. The treble is indeed … very hard. All right!” He got up from his seat again and raised his voice, “I admit defeat! We’re not qualified to win the treble! Everyone will go home and sleep after this game. Don’t think about anything else. Let’s win either the Champions League or the FA Cup.”
“Let’s put the pressure down! It’s no big deal to lose this game to Arsenal! As long as we knock them out of the Champions League, revenge will still be ours to take!”
Twain finished speaking only to find that the locker room was still dead silent, even quieter than before. He asked strangely, “What’s the matter? Why are you not talking? Did I say something wrong? Hey, I’m doing this for the good of you guys! I’m trying my best to relieve the stress for you! Is this your attitude in response? What are you looking at me for? Why are you not talking?” He suddenly shouted, breathed heavily and stared at the crowd in the room.
“Say something! Like, ‘Okay, we gave up the league tournament!’ or something like that.”
“No.” Wood stood up and said, “I don’t want to give up the league tournament.” With that, he looked at Twain.
Pepe hesitated for a moment before he got up to say, “Boss … I apologize for what happened in the first half … I lost my cool when I saw the goal concede…”
“That’s why I’m here to relieve your stress, isn’t it?” Twain spread his hands and shrugged.
“But what I want is not for the pressure to be reduced in such a way…” Pepe shook his head and said, “Like George, I don’t want to lose the championship title.”
“Boss… None of us said we were going to give up the league tournament. Why would you say that?” This time it was Akinfeev who came forward and said, “I apologize to Pepe. I acted impulsively in the first half, but it’s all right now. We’re only one goal behind. Why give up now?”
More and more people stood up to express their wishes. No one wanted to give up. They all wanted to win the championship. At last everyone stood up and surrounded Twain in the middle.
Twain looked left and right.
“Strange. So, in other words, you suddenly don’t want to lose the game again?”
“We did not say we wanted to lose the game, boss!” Someone corrected the mistake in Twain’s words.
“Do you really want to win?” Twain asked incredulously.
“Does anyone want to lose?” Wood asked in return.
When Twain heard Wood, he put his hands up in front of his chest and lowered his head to signal for everyone not to speak first. He was silent for a moment, and then spoke up, “Very well, you’ll forget what I just said from now on. Forget those damn words like ‘give up the league tournament’, ‘go home and sleep.’ Let’s set up the tactics against Arsenal for the second half…”
...
Chapter 843 - This Season
It was silent in the locker room, and Twain stood among the group of players. He looked at each of them. Everyone stared at him wordlessly. He was the backbone of this team.
“Do you really not want to lose?” Twain asked, but he did not expect the men to answer. He raised his hands in front of his chest and bowed his head to signal for everyone not to speak.
“Very well. Then from now on you forget all of what I just said just now! Forget those damn words like ‘give up the league tournament’, ‘go home and sleep.’ Let’s set up the tactics against Arsenal for the second half…”
“We’re definitely going to win this game. A draw is unacceptable. We’ve put in our efforts and we need to be rewarded. So, we don’t have to consider defensive counterattacks…” Twain wrote and drew on the tactical board. He looked back to see everyone still standing and hurriedly wave for them to sit down.
“In terms of defense, we can refer to the last game. George, you have an important task. Freeze Fàbregas completely, leaving him too occupied to organize the attack. Arsenal rely on him to manage in the midfield. If he’s ineffective, Arsenal’s offensive threat will be at least weakened by half. Don’t wait, pounce on the first point. Fernando, you protect in the back.”
Gago and Wood both nodded at the same time.
“Your task is not to intercept their ball, but to delay the time and slow Arsenal’s pace down to buy some time for Wood’s defense. Remember, when they want to pass the ball, let them pass. You don’t have to run over. Guard the middle and leave the other positions to your teammates.”
Then Twain drew two lines along the sidelines on the tactical board.
“It’s going to be very demanding on the sidelines in the second half because not only do you have to attack, you also have to let go. The full backs have to assist with the offense and the wingers also have to defend. If the side midfielders are not active, then our defense will be in jeopardy. If the full backs do not assist in the offensive, then we can’t win the game. You’re the key to this game, guys.”
This time it was Bale, Rafinha, Fernández and Bentley who nodded.
Twain looked at Pepe and said, “Pepe?”
Pepe knew what he wanted to ask. He shook his head and said, “I don’t have a problem, boss. You don’t have to worry about me.”
Twain pointed to him and smiled, “Toward the end of the first half it was clear that Arsenal had used your position as the place to focus on breaking through. Now let’s make a bet. Do you feel…” He winked, “… that Arsenal will still think so in the second half?”
Pepe guessed what the boss wanted to do. He asked, “Boss, you’re saying they think Igor and I are going to fight in the locker room and continue to play abnormally in the second half?”
Twain wagged his finger and said, “I just think it’s possible, and Arsenal can think it’s possible. If I were Wenger, I would take everything into account. You had a big blowout with Igor in the first half. It looked like you have a vicious feud between you two…Heh.” Seeing the look on the two men’s faces, Twain laughed.
The two parties in the conflict bowed their heads a little embarrassedly. Now that they had completely calmed down, they were really ashamed of themselves for their outburst in the first half in front of tens of thousands of people and live television cameras. Who knew what went in their minds at that moment, and what rang in their ears?
“I think Arsenal will try to break through from your position in the second half. If they find that nothing has changed from the first half, they will concentrate all the attacking firepower on you. If it were me, I would do the same. It’s my favorite thing to twist another knife into the open wound and add salt to the injury.” As he said so, he did the action of stabbing with a knife and twisting it. The muscles on the players’ faces twitched as well. . .
Twain suddenly stopped talking and stuck his head out to look around. The people who were focused on listening to his instructions, were puzzled—what was the boss up to again?
“Tony, what are you doing?” Kerslake could not take it anymore and asked aloud.
“It’s a shame.” Twain shook his head and sighed, “The locker room in the Emirates Stadium is really clean. There is no dirt or dust at all…I wanted to slightly change your appearances.” Twain said to Pepe and Akinfeev, “Your faces are too clean now. It doesn’t look like you’re two enemies that had just fought a fierce fight.”
Some of the players who were first to catch the boss’ drift, laughed.
Amid the laughter, Akinfeev looked embarrassed again, but Pepe was brave enough to throw caution to the wind and lifted his head to say, “This is nothing, boss. Igor and I will continue to stare at each other. That’ll do.” Having said that, he specially demonstrated the action.
He stood next to Akinfeev but turned his head to the side and glared at the other man from the corner of his eyes with the muscles flaring slightly around his nostrils. The corners of his mouth tilted upwards, but it was not a smile. It showed contempt, disdain, and disgust. It was as if he really looked down on his teammate next him from the bottom of his heart.
Twain clapped right away as he watched from the side. He said, “You acted it out very well. I recommend you go to Hollywood after you retire, Pepe!” Then he looked at Akinfeev.
“I can’t act that well, boss. I can only avoid looking at him.” Akinfeev turned his body around and turned his back toward Pepe.
The two men’s performance made the locker room laugh endlessly.
Twain snapped his fingers and the laughter subsided.
“While we’re defending, the biggest headache is not how sharp the other side’s attack is, but not knowing where they’re going to come from.” As he said it, the defenders nodded and felt the same way. “Now the problem is solved.” Twain pointed to Pepe, and there was another burst of laughter in the crowd. “At the start of the second half, you act a little clumsy. Don’t worry, I won’t shout at you from the sidelines, Pepe.”
“Okay, boss.” Pepe agreed right away. It was also a challenge for him to be able to deliberately perform abnormally without making any fatal mistakes.
“Pepe can be a little bit clumsy, but you can’t, Igor.”
Akinfeev nodded hurriedly and said, “I know, boss. I’m the last line of defense.”
Twain knew the Russian goalkeeper was smart and did not continue the topic. He turned to the team now and said, “Now that Arsenal’s main direction is clear, don’t think that we can win just like that. Our opponents are living people, not bronze statues outside the stadium or computer data. They will adjust to our changes. Once they find out that Pepe is just a trap, they’ll make a change right away, or they’ll beat us at our own game…So, in fact, we are given very few opportunities. I ask you not to hurry to counter press after successfully defending and to make sure of the success rate. I repeat I don’t want to see you send long shots ahead after you intercept the ball. Try to keep the ball on our side and not give the ball possession back to Arsenal easily. If you lose the ball, then counter press. Don’t rush back to defend. You must remember, we don’t have many chances to deceive Arsenal. You have to treat it as our only chance to attack each time you take the ball! One goal!” He put up his right index finger and said, “As long as we have a goal, we can break the deadlock on the field and mess up Arsenal’s tactics. So, we have to take advantage of our one shot at the ball! This is an away game for us, everyone outside is our enemy, we don’t have a right to waste our chances! We will suffer if we waste any opportunities!”
“In terms of offense, you have to keep running, and every opportunity will emerge during running. Don’t be lazy and expect the football to be sent to your feet in front. Pull apart Arsenal’s defense. Their full backs also like to assist. Take advantage of that to strike their flanks! Ibi, you’ve got to be a little bit tougher! Keep them occupied. In that way, it also reduces the pressure on our defense.”
After everyone knew what they had to do, Twain was silent for a moment. Kerslake looked at his watch. There was little time left for the halftime interval. The halftime interval seemed extraordinarily short.
Twain was silent for a while before he continued to say, “I know that everyone is very tired recently. Honestly, I am also very tired. Everyone here is tired.” He pointed to the coaches around him. “You’re not the only ones fighting in the final stages. So are we. You are physically tired, and we are mentally tired. Anyway, we are so tired till we are going nuts.” Twain used the word “tired” a lot in one shot. He seemed to want to emphasize the feeling in particular.
“But it’s the 34th round of the league tournament now.” Twain pointed his finger and said to his players, “Four more games to go before the end of the season … No, it’s three and a half. We are six points behind Arsenal, a gap of two games. That means there are one and a half games left. If they win against us in this game, then there is a three-game gap. Even if we win all three of the last league games and Arsenal loses all of them, we still share the same points with them, but because we have fewer goals scored than them, we still can’t win the title.”
“I say these things to you not because I want to lessen the burden on you and not to make you feel like ‘things are still in control.’ I want you to know ‘Damn it, things are at a rotten stage! We are done for if we don’t work hard!’ Three and a half games! We don’t even have the slightest chance to make a mistake, just like life. Once you lose, you lose and there’s not another chance for you to re-do. So now I’m grateful for the competition schedule!” Twain gnashed his teeth and looked fierce when he said “grateful.””It gives us a chance to take our destiny into our own hands, even if this is our last chance.”
Twain raised his index finger, slightly trembling. It was a sign of him using too much force.
“One last chance. If we can’t grasp it, we can really declare that we give up. Even there are still three rounds until the end of the league tournament. We are not qualified to win the championship in that case! We have no right to laugh at the losers, because we will be the biggest losers! So, for me, for you, for all of us, this season actually has… only forty-five minutes left. If we can’t defeat Arsenal, we can’t win the league title! If we lose to Arsenal here, then we still can’t win against them in the Champions League game three days later! It’s how things are. If you have been tripped by the same stone, you will be tripped by that stone for the rest of your life. You can’t climb up. To you, that stone lying on the ground will simply be a mountain insurmountable to you! So, don’t believe the kind of nonsense that if we lose the league tournament, we still have the Champions League!”
Twain’s face was flushed again. This time it was not from anger, but from excitement.
“How many times in your career will you have the same opportunities as this season? The league title, the Champions League trophy, the FA Cup, we have three titles to fight for. We can win the ‘treble’ that tens of thousands of people admire! Twenty-two years since the establishment of the English Premier League, only Manchester United had ever done it! We would have a chance to be the second in twenty-two years, but it will be gone if we let it go here today! Who knows what’s going happen in the future? Who can guarantee that we can still win the treble next season? I can’t guarantee it in any case.” Twain spread his hands and added, “If such an opportunity is still not worth our whole team to grit their teeth to fight!” He brandished his arms and roared, “Then what else is there in this world that is worth us fighting hard for? What else?!”
The eyes of the players who had been watching him in silence, underwent a transformation. Balls of raging flame burnt in their eyes. Some of them were so excited that their lips trembled, fists brandished, and bodies shook. They could not wait to rush out now and fight Arsenal.
But Twain was not done talking. The fire was not fanned strongly enough!
“You’re tired, I know! You’re under a lot of pressure, I know that! But why are we tiring ourselves for and putting ourselves under pressure? It’s all for the first treble to be achieved since 1999 in fifteen years! If you’re tired, grit your teeth and bear it! If you’re feeling the pressure, grit your teeth and bear it!” Twain gritted his teeth and said as his knuckles turned white. “Hold up till May 23rd. At that time, we will have three championship trophies to prove that it is worth gritting our teeth and bear it! We will not do useless work. There must be a return for every bit of hard work and perseverance we put in. We, Nottingham Forest … are champions!”
“Champions!!” The players, unable to contain their excitement, finally roared out.
“On that day, everyone will Bow! Down! To! Us!!” Twain brandished his fists vigorously, as if he was going to smash a hole in the air.
A crowd of people followed suit and howled. The air in the entire locker room sizzled due to him, leaving everyone excited and eager to find an outlet for the fire inside their hearts.
They had already overshot the time. The staff came knocking on the door of the visiting team’s locker room to remind the Forest team it was time to play. Arsenal had been waiting for them on the pitch for almost two minutes. Unhappy boos had broken out in the stands. Those security guards were really worried that if the Forest team still did not come out, the fans in the Emirates Stadium would start to tear down the seats and smash the visitors’ technical area.
But when he knocked on the door, a group of people rushed out and nearly knocked him to the ground.
He staggered to one side to avoid and watched in amazement as the Nottingham Forest players, with their glares and necks flushed with anger, rushed to the pitch.
Then he saw Tony Twain coming out last. Twain also saw him, and the two men exchanged looks. Twain smiled and walked to the field.
...
Chapter 844 - The Crucial Goal
Once the second half started, it was as Twain had analyzed at halftime interval, Arsenal first tried out from Pepe’s position. They wanted to see if Pepe still had not adjusted back.
It was not just Arsenal’s concern. It was also an issue that the live television commentator was concerned about.
“Tony Twain did not replace his player. Pepe, who clashed with Akinfeev in the first half, still remained on the field. It looks like his anger has not dissipated. I really don’t understand … Tony Twain, who has always been known for his strict discipline, why did he not show any response to such a serious conflict? If they managed to settle the dispute during the halftime interval… Why do I feel that Pepe is still playing with anger? As a center back, he never communicates with the goalkeeper during the game and doesn’t even want to look at him. As for Akinfeev… When he directs the game, he calls the names of Bale, Rafinha and Woodgate, but he doesn’t look at Pepe . . . That’s weird…”
The commentator remained perplexed despite much thought. The Arsenal players could not care less. All they knew was that there were gaps within the Nottingham Forest defense for them to go through.
Everyone still remembered how, just before the end of the first half, Arsenal surrounded the Forest team’s goal with perils. Pepe was simply too distracted to play during the last few minutes. If it was not for Wood filling the position in time, or if Akinfeev was still doing his job conscientiously, they believed Arsenal should have brought a score of 2:0 to the locker room at the end of the first half.
Now, after a fifteen-minute break, it looked like the conflict between Pepe and Akinfeev remained unresolved, which was good news for the Arsenal players.
Wenger also thought the same. He stood on the sidelines and signaled the players to continue attacking. A score of 1:0 was not very secured. He needed to score another goal.
Fàbregas controlled the ball in the midfield and Wood did a fierce tackle. He had to get the football out as soon as possible. Against an opponent like Wood, it would be dangerous to let the football stay at his feet for one more second.
Wood pressed hard, but for Fàbregas, the situation was not the same as before. When Wood pressed him hard at the time, he needed to deal with Wood while also looking for the target and route to pass the ball. Having to multitask, it was easy for him to lose the ball at his feet.
Now he did not have to think about where to pass the ball. He knew Pepe’s position and so did his teammates. He just had to pass the football there …
Therefore, without any worries, Fàbregas kicked the ball into Pepe’s defense zone.
Now the test for Pepe was here.
How could he guarantee that he could perform poorly to convince Arsenal and yet not cause real trouble for Akinfeev behind him?
He slightly stumbled and was a little late by a step. Vela rushed ahead of him and grabbed the ball. It looked like Pepe’s form still had not recovered.
But just as Vela was about to go around inward, his body was entangled by a stronger and more powerful body. Pepe strode fast to catch up, and he pushed Vela out. He could not use too much force. He had to make Vela think his defensive rhythm was chaotic, so his strides alternated between hard and soft. Vela was so bothered by him that he could only pass the football out when he saw his own position was veering off. He passed behind him and Walcott appeared where Pepe should have been. He shot directly!
Akinfeev had already jumped to make the save, but someone’s leg flew across and the football hit the leg to bounce out of the end line.
It was Woodgate who saved the day. After he saw Pepe followed Vela, he took care to cover the gap left by Pepe because he knew that Arsenal would attack from here, so it was not difficult.
Twain heaved a sigh of relief when he saw what happened off the field. He was obviously very nervous.
“Your method is really risky…” Kerslake smacked his lips next to him. He was on tenterhooks just now.
“Heh heh.” Twain chuckled, “Taking risks come with great rewards.”
Seeing that the team’s goal was temporarily out of danger, Kerslake had a casual chat with Twain. He was impressed by Twain’s performance in the locker room and full of praises, “Hey, Tony, how did you come up with that idea to motivate the team?”
Twain was focused on the game and did not quite understand, “What?”
“First you deliberately look down on them, and then you stirred up their fighting spirit …That was an incredible move!”
Twain turned to look at Kerslake with an excited look on his face. He looked amused and said, “I meant what I said.”
“What?” This time it was Kerslake who did not understand.
“You think I said that to deliberately motivate them?” Seeing Kerslake nodding his head incomprehensibly, Twain smiled, “I’m telling the truth. I really wanted my team to give up. The pressure was so great to have cause my own men to clash in person during the game. I couldn’t take it that it hadn’t happened and forget about it. If that pressure was bad for the team, I did not have to keep going. It was only that the players’ own behavior went beyond my expectations, so I changed my mind at the last minute.”
“But something about your manner told me that it was not the case. You seem to have a card up your sleeve. It was as if you planned for everything…”
“Of course, I can’t let you see through me at a glance. I couldn’t let them think that I really wanted to give up as a manager. It would be blow to their morale. So, I had to let you think that I deliberately pretended. Look, you were deceived, weren’t you? If the players thought the same way, then a bad thing had turned into a good thing.” Twain smiled and explained to Kerslake, who wanted to give Twain a punch—he deceived everyone.
“Then why are you telling me this now?”
“They can’t hear us anyway.” Twain said and shrugged at the players on the field.
The Forest players on the pitch really could not hear the conversation between the boss and the assistant manager. They were all focused on the game. They were thinking about how to score one goal and score another goal to win the game.
Arsenal’s corner kick did not pose any threat to the Forest team’s goal. Fàbregas’ corner kick did not even get past the first point and was headed out by Wood in front of the goal.
After a chat with Kerslake in the technical area, Twain felt it did not look good if he was sitting comfortably in the technical area—if he was not happy with Pepe’s performance, if his team was in perilous situation, he should get up from his seat as the manager, pace anxiously back and forth and occasionally shout from the sidelines?
At this point, he left the technical area and walked to the sidelines to shout toward the field, “Fight back, fight back!”
He was really worried that the players would forget to fight back.
Nottingham Forest must cherish every attacking opportunity because they knew there were not many opportunities like this.
After Wood headed the ball out, it was Sagna who got the ball on the sideline when he came up to assist in the offense. He was going to pass the ball, but he was entangled with Fernández and could not disengage himself for a while. Then Wood rushed up and converged with Fernández front and back to intercept the ball!
It was a long-awaited chance for Nottingham Forest!
After Wood intercepted the ball, he looked up and did not follow up with a long pass to send the ball forward. Instead, after a feint, he dribbled the ball along the sideline.
Sagna rushed back to defend and intended to cut Wood off midway. Just as he was about to catch up to Wood, Wood braked and turned around to pass the ball to Gago, who had already plugged in.
At the same time, Fernández, who had just been entangled with Sagna near the end line, as well as Bentley on the other side, plus Şahin and Ibišević who defended against the corner kick in front of the goal, all of them rushed up at this time. When Arsenal finally responded, they had already crossed the center line first.
“Return to defend!” Fàbregas shouted to his teammates to run back.
“This is Nottingham Forest’s chance to counterattack! It’s rare to see such a scene in this game!”
Fàbregas was the first to rush up after Gago got the ball in the middle. The best defense was to end their offense now!
Gago did not go directly head to head against Fàbregas. He sent the ball back to Wood. Wood did not stop the ball and directly divert the ball to the side, which was received by Bale who plugged ahead and dribbled the ball along the side as he dashed!
Nottingham Forest’s attack was as fast as what Arsenal had done before. But they are more concise and direct than Arsenal. If Arsenal’s attack was like a classical symphony, then Nottingham Forest was more like rock ‘n’ roll.
The former made the neutral fans give a standing ovation, while the latter made their supporters to jump out of their seats and get carried away as they waved their arms high and shout.
Bale dribbled the ball along the sideline and Arsenal’s defensive center of gravity tilted toward his side. He did not force to break through and pass the ball to Wood.
Wood then moved sideways to pass to Gago.
Meanwhile, Fernández and Bentley suddenly retreated to the flanks from the sideline, leading Arsenal’s defenders to follow suit and adjust.
It was a tiny window of opportunity. Gago saw a gap between the two sides which he could pass the ball which could be received. He did not hesitate to send the ball to the right.
The Arsenal full back retreated to the flank as he followed Bentley. The side was temporarily empty and Rafinha took advantage of the move to receive the ball.
“Rafinha is completely unguarded! Arsenal has made a mistake!” The commentator exclaimed.
Clichy threw aside Bentley to run to the sideline to defend against Rafinha. The flank was handed to Walcott who returned to defend.
The Forest team’s attack was quick, and Arsenal’s defense was fast as well. If Rafinha were to force a cross pass, Ibišević was not absolutely sure he could have gotten the ball. Then the Forest team’s one opportunity to attack would have been wasted. That was not what Twain wanted to see.
So, Rafinha hooked the ball and passed it back.
Gago ran over to help him, and Wood moved to the middle. Şahin cruised in the flank to look for opportunities. Ibišević was at the forefront and tried his best to get the attention of the opponents.
Gago seemed to feel that a forward pass would not be effective. He intended to send it back. That was when he heard Twain growl on the sidelines, “Don’t pass it back, Gago! Forward! Forward! Attack!”
Gago could only pass the ball to Wood in front of him. Fàbregas immediately pounced on the ball, trying to tackle Wood’s ball under his feet.
But Wood protected the ball as well that he could not find a chance to make a move.
Wood continued to shift the ball.
The ball went to the left side again and Fernández took the ball in the flank. Bale plugged in from his back at a high speed which attracted Sagna’s attention. He pulled back a little and Fernández suddenly cut inward to enter the penalty area!
Nottingham Forest only passed the ball back and forth outside just now. It looked like their pace had slowed down and there was no threat. Now, in a flash, they were showing off their ability and giving fierce smiles to Arsenal.
Sagna raced back to defend in a panic, but Fernández gave the ball to Bale on the sideline in time.
Bale did not pass the ball but slipped into the penalty area along the end line!
“A breakthrough! What a beautiful coordination!”
Seeing that Bale had broken through and entered, it was suddenly pandemonium in front Arsenal’s goal.
Despite Sendero pulling him at the back, Ibišević struggled to squeeze forward and prepared to grab the ball.
And Arsenal’s defenders, too, rushed toward Bale, trying to stop him before he passed the ball or fired a shot, using their bodies to block the ball out of the end line.
Bale saw through their intentions. He would not be stupid enough to give them that chance. Before the encirclement had fully closed in, he swept the football with his left foot to the middle!
Ibišević crossed in front of Senderos but did not grab the ball. While the goalkeeper, Almunia who was disturbed by him, fell to the ground and did not touch the ball. None of the other Arsenal defenders touched the ball.
The football slipped past them like this, and then Gago rushed up to meet the ball and fired a shot!
The football flew into Arsenal’s empty goal unsurprisingly… Almunia was still lying on the ground at this moment and had not gotten up.
“Goooal! Nottingham Forest has equalized the score! It’s not even ten minutes into the second half! Gago scored his fifth goal of the season! This is the crucial goal!”
Gago was so excited after the goal that he turned to run toward Bale, who had passed the ball to him. The two men hugged each other tightly.
Off the field, Twain also raised and vigorously waved his fists.
He finally got the goal!
“The goal pulled Nottingham Forest back from the edge of the cliff! They have temporarily avoided the fate of failure! With three and a half games left in the race for the league title, this is their strongest opponent. This is also the Forest team’s best chance to close the gap in the points! Tony Twain certainly won’t allow his team to lose to Arsenal. Even if they face a strong opponent in an away game, he will tell the team that winning is the only goal! Now from the looks of it, Gago has done it!”
The Forest players looked so excited after the goal. They flocked to Gago, pressed him under their bodies and cheered to their hearts’ content.
The commentator did not exaggerate. The goal was too important for them. The risk of the duplicitous tactics set up by the boss during the halftime interval was too great and gave them only a scarce few opportunities. If the ball did not go in, nobody knew how the game would develop next. Everyone felt a great weight had lifted once the goal was scored.
The Arsenal players stood in place and felt a little helpless. They did not have any special feeling about this goal concede, which was like any goal concede in a normal game.
But if any of them listened carefully to what the Forest players were roaring about, perhaps their hearts would not settle down.
The Nottingham Forest players in the yellow away jerseys chanted endlessly:
“Treble! Treble! Treble!”
...
Chapter 845 - Qualifying for Championship
“Fernando Gago! He scored a crucial goal! That goal pulled Nottingham Forest back from the edge of the cliff!”
There was a loud cheer in the stands at the Emirates Stadium where the fans all jumped from their seats and cheered with their arms raised. Arsenal’s players were a little helpless, with Arsène Wenger sitting in the manager’s box but only bent his head backwards, expressing his displeasure.
Twain’s celebration lasted only a short time as he pulled over Mitchell when the crowd was still clapping and cheering. “The warm-up is over, boy.” Twain glanced at No. 9 in Nottingham Forest who was taller than him.
Mitchell nodded, and the expression on his face was calm. It had already been three years since then, he was not the rookie who had just made his debut in the Champions League.
“Our replacement is a little early, the opponent must not have predicted this. I want you to go up there and play a bigger role, and not just scoring goals. Do you know what to do?”
“I know, coach. It’s not the first time I’ve played. ”
Twain laughed when he heard that, “Right, you’re not a rookie anymore. Also, go up and tell them, Sagna and Criscito are very active in assisting and let them take advantage of that.” He pointed to both sides of the field and said to Mitchell. “Try to score another goal in a short time.”
Mitchell went forward after receiving the orders, Twain whistled as he walked to the side of the field, he used gestures to direct the team to continue the attack.
Wenger really did not expect the early substitution made by Twain. Not to mention that after they have just scored, it was reasonable to say that the team was doing well, and they should try to ensure the integrity of the line-up, not interrupting the rhythm of the team. This adjustment should have been made after they lose the ball.
Mitchell came on and replaced Şahin. Şahin was a little unhappy when he came down because it was too early. It was only fifty-five minutes.He had a dark look on his face as he clapped with Mitchell. Twain did not say anything as Şahin walked by, only raising his hand to touch his forehead.
From that goal, Gago seemed to be in good form in the game, hence Twain got Gago to get more involved in the attack with Wood defending at the back.
Seemingly aware of Twain’s intentions, Wenger got up and issued the newest instructions. The two wing backs of Arsenal then stop assisting the offense and stayed at the backcourt.
Twain saw this scene and called them “p*ssies” on the manager’s seat. The enemy was too cunning! He initially wanted to take advantage of Arsenal’s instability and score another goal to take the initiative in his own hands, but now it would become a stalemate.
Fortunately, Mitchell was able to control the ball on the pitch, so Nottingham Forest were able to play the possession game against Arsenal. But Twain still seemed a little worried…
From time to time, he got up from the coach’s chair to walk to the sidelines, or raised his hand to look at his watch and the score on the big screen. Time went by minute by minute, and Nottingham Forest’s attack still did not gain much. And Arsenal’s offense was not as active, it looked like Wenger was satisfied with taking a draw on their homecourt.
After all, they were six points ahead. Even if it was a draw, they would still be six points ahead. For Arsenal, maintaining the six-point gap would almost certainly ensure that they would win the league in the end.
Wenger did not want to exert too much energy for this game as there would be another Champions League game in three days. That was the most important thing, where losing was absolutely unaffordable.
For that, after 65 minutes, Wenger began to make substitutions. First, he replaced Fàbregas. As the core of the team, the captain, the absolute main force, his task had been completed this game, Wenger did not want to see him getting injured or exhausted in the last 25 minutes. Fàbregas did not express any displeasure, but he was by no means thrilled, because he wanted to keep playing against Wood on the court….
So after seeing the fourth official raise the sign, he hesitated, shrugged and pointed at himself, questioning the side court. Wenger nodded. He then turned his head and glanced at George Wood who was a distance away, and then slowly walked down.
Nottingham Forest fans were very unhappy with his move. He thought he was deliberately delaying the game and hence jeering at Arsenal’s captain on the stands.
Francesc Fàbregas remembered that he was still wearing the captain’s armband after walking halfway, and then folded back and handed the sleeve to Senderos as the jeers became louder. But soon the boos were drowned out by the applause of the Arsenal fans, who stood up to greet their captain.
On the sidelines, Fàbregas turned and turned to the pitch, raising his arms in response to the applause of the fans, but his eyes kept staring at George Wood who was standing near the center circle. He seemed to be looking at himself as well.
The two men met eyes as Fàbregas turned and walked back to the bench. He shook Wenger’s hand. Wenger patted him on the shoulder, signaling that he did a good job.
Twain was happy to see Fàbregas go off the field. He knew that there was hope for this game. Wenger has clearly chosen to be conservative as he switched to a defensive midfield——Denilson, the Brazilian who played the defensive midfielder.
Wenger’s idea was that even if Fàbregas were to go off-field, Arsenal’s offense would still have Wilshere, thus he was not worried about anything.
But in Twain’s view, Wilshere was not yet able to compete with Fàbregas. It was not a matter of talent, but instead a gap in experience.
Wood alone was more than enough to deal with him, and after Wilshere got frozen, the likes of Walcott and Berra would not be able to play their full potential and Nottingham Forest would have more energy to put into offense, as they sought more chances to score goals.
In the remaining time, Nottingham Forest gradually took the initiative in midfield and began to put pressure on Arsenal’s penalty area. Arsenal were on the defensive.
Nottingham Forest were aggressive but they seemed to have forgotten the requests of Twain at half-time. Rafinha fired a straight-out shot after receiving the ball outside the penalty area twice in a row, with one kick deflected and one shot flying. That upset Twain, who was watching the game, as he rushed to the sidelines and yelled Rafinha’s name.
Rafinha became more patient after that and he no longer shot away blindly.
Twain then muttered as he walked back to the manager’s seat, “It’s a waste of opportunity….Do they still think they’re leading by at least three goals?”
Francesc Fàbregas was substituted in the 75th minute five minutes later and Nasri was also replaced by Ramsey. Twain sneered at Wenger’s replacement, then he made his own adjustments. Bentley was replaced by Moke. Moke’s task on the pitch was simple, to use his technical skills advantage to create enough trouble for Arsenal’s left-field defence. Since Lennon left, Nottingham Forest’s right side was dominated by Bentley. Moke was still a little immature, but on some special occasions he had more use than Bentley.
Breakthrough! Breakthrough! Breakthrough!
Before the game, Twain pulled Moke and told him to forget everything else, leaving only one thing in his head, breaking through Arsenal’s defensive line after he went up. He did it very well. He was not fast, but his dribbling was really good as Arsenal’s defenders could not intercept the ball easily.
For a time Clichy’s side became the focus of Nottingham Forest’s attack, with Arsenal’s defensive core following the left, Nasri did not play long as he quickly became a defensive forward….
They managed to hold on against Nottingham Forest’s offense until the 80th minute.
Twain looked at the table. They were already at the eighty-minute mark and he had one last substitution left. Several people had some fitness issues and they seemed to need to be replaced for a rest. Bale, for example, was not efficient in his offensive assistance. After running forward, he no longer ran back actively to defend. Fortunately there was still Wood to make up for him at the back as he did not let Arsenal seize the opportunity to score.
Twain only brought Leighton Barnes as a left-back to come to play in the away ground. If he went up, the offense will definitely be reduced, because he needed Barnes’ defense.
Should he let Bale rest for the Champions League match three days later? Or substitute into an offensive player and continue to strengthen the offense?
Twain considered for a while as he called Agbonlahor from the bench. He was going for an all-in.
A minute later, the fourth official signalled for Nottingham Forest’s substitution as Agbonlahor replaced Gareth Bale. Removing a wing-back and replacing him with a striker, this was Twain’s gamble. As he told his players at half-time: if we lose here, we would not be able to continue to qualify for the title.
He wanted to use the replacement to remind the players that he had not forgotten his words, so he hoped the players on the pitch do not forget it. Victory would be their only goal.
Agbonlahor ran up onto the field, as the ball went out, he called everyone over as he raised his fist and shouted at his teammates, “The coach allowed us continue to attack, we must win!”
After hearing this, Nottingham Forest players all turned to look to the side of the field to look at Twain, with his stern face.
“What about defense? Bale’s down, Rafinha’s not made for a centre-back” Gago had some concerns.
“Don’t think so much. Think about it after a goal!” Agbonlahor cheered.
Wood said, “I would be in charge of the defense. You guys don’t worry about it. ”
He ended the argument as soon as he spoke and no one disagreed.
“That settles it. Be sure to score goals. Be sure to win!” Agbonlahor raised his fist to cheer up the tired players. “Guys, think about the triple champions”
Gago gasped as he nodded, “Ten minutes to go, find a way to get them a goal.”
The group of people set a goal and then dispersed.
After a minute later, Nottingham Forest attacked into the penalty area, but Ibišević collided with Almunia during the scuffle, and the latter fell to the ground with the referee summoning the team doctor to the pitch.
Nottingham Forest fans in the stands were still complaining that Almunia had deliberately delayed the game, as Twain did not have the effort to find the fourth official to reason. He took the time to call Wood to the sidelines and strategized.
“Cross! Pass the football through the air to the front of Arsenal’s door and to Mitchell! But it is not to let him score, he’s not the main striker, but instead let him grab the back spot and then swing the ball over. Do you understand? He’s not the main offense, but we want to make the opponent think that he’s the one who solves the problem.” Twain hurriedly used gestures to make up for the information.
Wood nodded, “I understand.”
“Tell them about the change, tell Gago if we succeed in a pass, then run into the penalty area and ignore the defense of the midfield. ”
“Do I defend?”
Twain nods, “Yes!”
“Okay, no problem.”
Wood ran back to the field and told the team about Twain’s adjustment.
Wenger called Senderos to the sidelines while Almunia was being treated to keep his eye on defending Mitchell. Senderos was the only one on the pitch which was able to compete with Mitchell for headers with his height in Arsenal. At such times, Twain would certainly use the simplest approach — a cross into the penalty area, allowing Mitchel to fight for the header — to try to score, so he had to mark Mitchell.
After the game resumed, Wenger began to take comfort in his previous arrangements. Mitchel did become Nottingham Forest’s main offense, as Senderos fought hard to get the top spot at the start and was not in the downswing.
But then things started to look different. Looking at his stamina, Senderos had been running for almost 90 minutes and could not keep up with Mitchell at all, who only joined in the second half. Tactically, Mitchell was not really the endpoint of Nottingham Forest’s offense.
When George Wood intercepted the ball successfully in the backfield, his position was on the right side. He did as he said he would, to guard the right-back as well.
At that time, Walcott was aiming to force a break with his pace against Wood. Unfortunately, Wood’s accurate position made it impossible for him to increase his speed, and the ball at his feet was easily tackled by Wood. He just tried to snatch Wood’s ball in front and ran back. But Wood did not pass the football to Gago in the midfield, as what the narrator thought, as he made a move that surprised everyone: he dribbled the ball straight through the sidelines!
Walcott did not expect Wood, being a temporal wing back, to bring the ball up like an authentic wing-back. He watched Wood run past himself as he was completely unresponsive.
When Wood crossed the middle line, the Arsenal defenders was still thinking he would pass the ball to Gago in the middle, or Fernandez in front. So everyone’s defensive attention was on the two at the back, so they watched Wood continue to dribble the ball along the sideline.
“Ah, ah! George Wood’s still dribbling the ball! There’s not a single Arsenal player going up to defend, they’re defending Gago. Some were focusing on Fernandez, some even on Mitchell. But no one were going up to defend George Wood. He was still dribbling!”
The narrator got excited, because whenever Wood did something unusual, things would get interesting.
“Don’t leave him alone!” Wenger roared as he got up from his seat, abandoning his calm facade. As an experienced veteran coach, he sensed danger from Wood’s unusual move.
Like him, Fàbregas got up from his seat as he got nervous. He has changed his clothes as he sat on the bench with a towel, chatting with his teammates. At this moment, he could not help but leave the bench, as he walked to the sidelines, staring intently at George Wood dribbling crazily on the sidelines.
He really has a lot of stamina.
That was Fàbregas’s first thought in mind. The second was: This is bad!
The manager’s loud reminder made Arsenal’s players change their minds, just before Sagna was preparing to leave Fernandez to go to defend Wood, Wood passed the ball. He passed the football to Fernandez.
When he saw this pass, Sagna suddenly had this wonderful feeling. He finally passed the ball!
Then he threw his head coach’s words away to Java as he turned around to pounce on Fernandez. In the inertial thinking of a lot of players, George Wood would never run to the sidelines.
But they were wrong.
Fernadez discovered that Wood, after passing to himself, did not stop running. Instead he continued to speed forward. He did not make any gestures to ask for a pass, but Fernandez felt that he should pass the ball instead of dribbling it himself.
So when the football came over, Sagna was still following from behind. He did not hesitate to pass the ball out again, the goal was to the space on the sidelines, Wood was running through at high speed.
“One-two?” The narrator’s tone was visibly surprised. Apparently he did not expect Nottingham Forest to play the game from there. Since Bale stepped down, the narrator repeatedly said that Tony Twain wasted one sideline. But the situation he was looking at now embarrassed him.
Wood’s style of play was very simple, the focus now was on handling the ball. He was not like other wingers who received the ball and passed it again, even though he had lost his best passing opportunity at that time. No one knew exactly what habit it was, perhaps it was simply to get the football to stay at his feet for a little longer. He was also not like other wingers who like to break through from outside.
He watched the football roll towards himself, as he did not stop the ball but instead immediately kicked the ball towards the goal.
Until this moment, many people at Arsenal were still counting themselves lucky. None of them went up to defend Wood, because they thought Wood’s passing technique would definitely be bad, because no one had seen him have any decent pass….
This time Wood’s pass still seemed quite bad….
It was very high.
Twain raised his head outside the field, as he squinted his eyes to stare at the silver-white football that was high in the dazzling light.
The people below even had enough time to compete for positioning.
Senderos looked up at the ball while he was grabbing Mitchell’s uniform to prevent him from slipping away.
Wood, who had passed the ball, lost his centre of gravity and fell down, sitting on the ground as he watched the ball fly past Arsenal’s goalmouth.
“Watch out for his header!” Almunia nervously reminded his teammates in front of the goal. “Watch Out for Ibišević!”
There were two center-backs, one of which was to defend Mitchell, and the other to defend Ibišević. Senderos and Mitchell jumped at the same time. The Swiss centre-back felt like he was stuck in position, but it was only half of it. Mitchell still found a little space, twisting his body in the air and pushing Senderos aside.
The football fell. Almunia gave up the idea of jumping straight into the air and competing for the ball. With a center-back, he did not want to risk a foul.
While in the air, Mitchell felt like he was flying, he always felt it whenever he jumped, and he enjoyed it. He saw the football in the air and he also saw Senderos’s forehead, then he discovered himself jumping a little higher than his opponent…
He was looking for someone. Ibišević was blocked, so he could not pass there.
Gago. Where was Gago?
A yellow figure appeared at the corner of his eye.
Whoever it was
Mitchell swung his head with much effort. Senderos hit nothing with his header at the front. Instead of flying towards the goal, the football flew in the opposite direction.
In the crowd, the yellow figure ran out. Even under the pull of Denilson, he still struggled forward, stretching his legs back and kick!
Gago felt he had kicked football, but what happened next, he was not sure.
Almunia realised he had made a mistake. He should not have put Senderos and Mitchell, two big men, to be in front of him, as he could not see what was happening in front!
When he saw the football flying over, his brain was still blank. He did not make any actions to dive for the ball, he just stared as the ball flew past him, and scored.
Was the ball in?
Arsenal’s players and fans were surprisingly calm in their heads at this moment, as they were just asking themselves. Did the ball really go in? When the match still had a minute before injury time and the ball scored?
The ball’s in! How could that be!
The Emirates Stadium, which had been dormant for a moment, suddenly became a crater of eruptions.
“Unbelievable! Unbelievable!” The narrator presses both his hands on the soundproof headphones and roared, for he was about to be unable to hear his own voice.
Twain rushed out of the coach’s chair with the screams of Arsenal fans behind him, his arms open, his teeth clenched and waved. He looked like deranged; it was hysterical.
Immediately behind him, more Nottingham Forest players and coaches rushed out of the coaching staff, hugging and kneeling on the ground to thank God.
Eastwood was crying with excitement, his eyes red, as he grabbed onto his clothes and roared. No one could hear clearly what the Romani was shouting about.
Gago, who was pulled down by Denilson, took a peek at the goalmouth by habit, when he really saw that the football was lying in the goalmouth, he went crazy.
His eyes were wide, with his pupils shrinking, as blood surged from his neck and into his head, dyeing his face red.
He clenched his fist as he felt himself grabbing onto fate by its throat.
“If we give up here, we won’t be eligible to win the championship! If we don’t win Arsenal, we can’t win the league! If we lose here to Arsenal, we won’t win the Champions League match three days later! If such an opportunity is not worth our whole team to grit their teeth to fight, what else is there in this world that we’re fighting for? What else!”
The passionate voice of their coach rang in every Nottingham Forest player’s eardrums. Now they could proudly claim to be the team that qualified for the title.
He got up from the ground, shook off the entanglement of his teammates behind him, and ran to the corner flag, taking off his jersey and throwing it to the sky. He did not care if the referee would give him a yellow card, as this time he was like venting everything he had. Gago was usually elegant, but this was the first time he stripped as a celebration after a goal, it really seemed that the Argentinian was really very excited.
Even George Wood, who had rarely let his emotions out, stood up from the ground, as he raised his fist and waved. Then he was hugged by Mitchell, who rushed forward.
At the Emirates Stadium, in front of 60,000 Arsenal fans in front of the enemy Arsenal, Nottingham Forest’s players were celebrating their last-minute goal, completely ignoring the home team’s mood and feelings, and venting as if they were the owners of the stadium.
The Emirates Stadium was silent. On the coaching seat, Arsène Wenger had his head in his hands, he held his head low as he did not want to see this scene in front of him.
He had nothing to say about the result. But there was still a thought in his heart: Champions League.
After three days, let us have a battle to decide it all, Tony, This time, it will be a true death battle!
...
Chapter 846 - One More Match Remaining
“Fernando Gago! Fernando Gago!” The commentator roared. “A goal in the dying minutes of the match! Nottingham Forest has miraculously gone into the lead! They have made a comeback against Arsenal! My god! Look at them… They have all gone crazy!”
The Nottingham Forest players have truly gone crazy on the pitch.
Even Twain had lost himself in his ecstasy. He began acting rather inappropriately as a manager by the side of the pitch, and his behaviour caused numerous cameras in the stadium to be ‘attracted’ to him.
He was not acting inappropriately so as to anger the Arsenal fans. He was truly fired up by the goal. He had told his players during half-time that they needed to win this match if they wanted to continue their fight to become champions, and they had done just that.
How could he not be worked up?
When his excitement and euphoria died down, Twain noticed that Eastwood was murmuring to himself by the side. He looked like he had just cried as his eyes were red.
He walked over and patted him on the shoulder. “Why did you cry?”
“I didn’t cry… Boss.” Eastwood stopped murmuring once he noticed that Twain was standing next to him.
“What are you mumbling about?”
The Romani’s face turned red, but he said nothing.
His reaction piqued Twain’s curiosity. He shook Eastwood’s shoulder and asked, “Go on, tell me. What are you being embarrassed about?”
Eastwood hesitated for a while before he went on to say, “I, uh, I’m trying to memorize the words that you said at half-time, boss…”
Twain was taken aback by his words. A short moment later, he burst out laughing. “What is there to memorize? It won’t do you any good…”
Eastwood chuckled. His cheeks were still faintly red. “Your words are just like the bible, boss. I feel full of energy every time I recite them, boss.”
It was Twain’s turn to be embarrassed. He scratched his messy head of hair and did not know what he should say.
“… How can there be anything else in this world that is worth fighting for if we don’t even want to fight for a chance like this?”
Eastwood grinned at Twain after reciting the words one more time.
“Well said, boss. We fought hard and we have attained victory. Do we have what it takes to become champions now?”
Twain looked at the smiling Eastwood. The latter’s eyes were still red.
He definitely cried earlier.
It suddenly dawned on Twain that if Freddy had not retired, then he could have become a player who achieved the treble in his career.
Those achievements mean nothing to him now…
Twain did not answer Eastwood’s question. Instead, he said, “Didn’t I say this before? I equate Nottingham Forest with the champions. Looks like you didn’t memorize properly, Freddy.”
There were three minutes left to play in the match. The Arsenal players could only pick themselves up and continue playing in the match.
Twain had left his happiness from earlier aside and was shouting at the top of his voice by the side of the pitch. He wanted his players to stay focused and not give Arsenal the chance to level the score in the final few minutes of the match.
After all, if Nottingham Forest is capable of scoring a goal in the dying minutes of the game, then who is to say that Arsenal is not capable of doing the same?
“Stay calm! You all have to stay calm!” Those were the words that Twain shouted the most in the final three minutes of the match. He was worried that his players would get too excited and that their emotions would end up affecting their performances.
Twain was right to be worried, as the players’ emotions did nearly get in the way. Luckily for them however, they had a captain who was capable of staying composed in all circumstances.
George Wood kept reminding his teammates verbally and through his actions on how they should be acting in the final few minutes of the match.
The Emirates Stadium was filled with deafening cheers. The home team fans were all supporting and cheering their team on.
Wenger might be thinking that it was all right to lose the match since they still led Forest by three points, but there was not a single fan who would want to see the team that they support lose a match.
Wenger got his Arsenal team to go all out with its offense. It did not matter if they were to lose by another goal since it would still be a loss. But, if they were lucky, they could score a goal against Forest and level the score.
Arsenal earned a corner after shooting at Forest’s goalpost repeatedly. It was Arsenal’s last chance to score in the match. Even their goalkeeper Almunia had run up to Forest’s penalty box.
The ball was sent into the penalty box from the corner.
Almunia actually managed to head the ball!
Unfortunately for him, his shot went wide. It flew right out of bounds.
There was no one guarding Arsenal’s goalpost right now. Akinfeev was not going to let this opportunity to carry out a counterattack slip. He ran over to the ball boy positioned behind the goalpost and asked for the ball. He planned on scoring a goal and making the score 3:1 by kicking the ball towards the empty goalpost before Almunia made his way back.
He did not get his wish, however. He heard three blows to the referee’s whistle right at the moment he received the ball from the ball boy.
“The match is over!”
The Forest fans at the stands all stood up with both hands raised to the skies, and they began cheering at the top of voices.
Their team had achieved victory in a challenging game. This win was worth six points in their hearts!
“Nottingham Forest has defeated Arsenal in an away game and they have obtained three valuable points. The gap between them and Arsenal is only three points now, and they have also risen to second place. In the match that kicked off before this, Liverpool drew with Manchester United and has dropped to third place. Tony Twain has taken another step towards a future where Carl Spicer has to eat a table.”
“It was a match that would get any football fan fired up. Gago scored a brace, and his second goal was crucial in rescuing Tony Twain’s heart. He is Forest’s biggest hero today. If Nottingham Forest were to end up becoming the champions of the Premier League, then Gago deserves a lot of credit for their success. His goal was extremely significant!”
When the whistle signalling the end of the match sounded, Twain stood to his feet and walked over to Wenger with his hand outstretched.
“I’m in the mood for a drink now.”
Wenger forced a smile as he stretched out a hand.
“I’m not in the mood for that sadly, Tony.”
Twain patted Wenger on the shoulder. It was his way of comforting him.
“There’s still one more match left to play between us. If you win, I’d wish that you can become the champions of the Champions League wholeheartedly.” Twain sounded sincere with his words. It was hard to discern even a twinge of sarcasm in them, and it was also hard to imagine that these words would come from a man whose goal was to become champions of the Champions League.
“Thank you.”
Wenger was the most influential manager in the Premier League after Ferguson retired. He has achieved many accolades during his managerial career, but the only thing that eluded him was the Champions League trophy.
“I too, would wish that you would become the champions should you win the next match between us.”
The two bade each other farewell. Wenger turned and walked down the tunnel, whereas Twain turned and walked towards the pitch.
Twain quickly made his way onto the pitch. He hugged each and every Forest player and thanked them for putting in a good performance earlier.
When he reached Gago, he gave the latter a tight hug with all his strength. The reporters surrounding them started pressing down on their shutters as they hugged, but neither Gago nor Twain cared about the attention that was on them.
“Well done, Fernando!” Twain patted Gago on the back forcefully.
Five minutes might have passed since he scored the match-winning goal, but Gago was still feeling pumped up. His lips continued to tremble, and he returned Twain’s hug with a lot of strength as well.
He was the main character in the stadium today. He was Nottingham Forest’s hero for the match, and he could very well end up being Nottingham Forest’s hero for the season as well.
He had definitely not expected things to turn out this way when he transferred to Nottingham Forest from Real Madrid.
He now saw himself as a member of Nottingham Forest completely. He did not have any lingering thoughts about his time in Real Madrid. It was all in the past now.
“The treble, boss! That’s what you said! We all tried our best…” Gago, who rarely got worked up, had trouble forming his words.
“That’s right. Like I’ve said, we would definitely achieve the treble.” Twain spoke softly by Gago’s ear.
Gago suddenly calmed down and stopped trembling after hearing Twain’s words.
Twain ruffled Gago’s hair affectionately before releasing him from his embrace.
“Enjoy this special night, Fernando.” He winked at him.
Gago was surrounded by countless reporters the moment Twain left.
“Can you talk about that very last goal of yours, Gago?”
“How do you feel to have scored two goals in the match, and one of them being the goal to clinch the victory for your team?”
“Can you tell us what you were talking about with Manager Twain earlier?”
“Let’s talk about the possibility of Forest becoming champions of the Premier League. You have just reduced the gap to just three points…”
“Hey, Gago…”
Twain, who had been making his way over to the tunnel, suddenly stopped in his tracks by the side of the pitch. He then lifted his head to look at the row of VIP rooms situated at the top of the Emirates Stadium.
He knew that Shania was in one of the rooms, though he did not know exactly which room she was in since there were people in each and every room.
He had gotten really worked up earlier, and he was certain that Shania must be worried sick.
Watching football matches is a great enjoyment to most of the fans who turn up at the stadium every week. It is a way for them to vent their pent-up emotions and to experience the highs and lows that watching football brings.
However, Shania was an exception. Watching football matches was a form of torture to her. She did not care about the exciting performances that the players put in, nor did she care about how the two managers are battling with each other through their use of tactics. She certainly did not care about whether a particular player is handsome or not either.
All she cared about was Tony’s performance in the match. She did not want him to overexert himself or get too overly excited, because she was afraid that those behaviours would affect his heart.
She did not care about how appealing football is as a sport, or how it is reckoned as the number one sport in the world. Some people even call it the ‘war’ within a peaceful era, or a ‘game between men’, but none of those things mattered to her…
She just wanted her husband and lover to be healthy at the end of each and every match.
Twain did not manage to see which room Shania was in but he waved his hands at where the rooms were situated, before pressing a hand on his heart.
He was sure that Shania would see this action of his, and that she would also know what it meant.
Shania did indeed see that action of his. She smiled and waved back at her husband from the VIP room as a response.
As for whether Twain saw her gestures…
There is no need to ask, is there?
Twain did not solely commend Gago’s performance during the post-match conference. He commended the team’s performance collectively.
The players shared the same opinion as him as well. All of them spoke about how the victory was only possible because the team had worked together as one during their interviews at the mixed zone. They also brought up how the words that Tony Twain said to them at half-time became their source of strength to pull off the feat.
Their comments piqued the reporters’ curiosity. However, neither Twain nor the players were willing to divulge what was said in the locker room. Therefore, ‘what Tony Twain said at half-time during the Arsenal game’ would most likely become yet another secret that no one knows the answer to for a long while…
Twain and the Nottingham Forest players were in a good mood during the press conference. Likewise, Wenger was also composed and did not throw a temper either.
In contrast, the Arsenal players did not appear to have been able to accept the outcome of the match.
Fàbregas kept shaking his head during his interview. He was clearly dissatisfied with the result.
“A loss is a loss. There’s nothing else that I can say about it… I have no idea what to say either. We’d focus on the Champions League next. We still have a chance. The initiative is still on our hands. We still lead them by three points…” His voice grew softer as he spoke before he turned and left. It was as though he did not believe what he had just said.
Wilshere did not approach Wood to request for an exchange of jerseys at the end of the match. He was not in the mood to do it. He finally understood what Wood must have felt when he refused to exchange jerseys when his team lost.
If another player were to go up to him and ask to exchange jerseys right now, he might not refuse the other person, but he would definitely not feel good during the exchange.
Fortunately for him, the Nottingham Forest players were too busy celebrating their victory, so no one went up to him to ask for his jersey. He left the pitch briskly, but was still stopped at the mixed zone. The reporters wanted him to say a few words about the match from before since he looked crestfallen.
“I don’t know if we are still able to become champions of the Premier League. They (Nottingham Forest) are right on our trail…” He realized that it was not appropriate to say such words after losing the match, thus he quickly added, “However, we don’t know what will happen in a match until the very last moment. Thus, it’s not the end of the world just because we lost a match…”
He left in a hurry after he said those words.
The way in which Wilshere and Fàbregas left after providing an interview to the reporters was subsequently adopted by all the Arsenal players.
None of the Arsenal players were in the mood to talk about the match after losing the match at their own home grounds. All they wanted to do was to get away from the stadium, take a nap, forget all about the match and start preparing for the second leg of their Champions League semi-finals match.
The Arsenal players were well aware that the best way to forget the pain of losing a match is not with the passage of time, but with a victory instead.
Their manager was of the same opinion as well.
At the end of the press conference, Wenger said, “To me, today’s match is already a thing of the past. I’d not think about it anymore. What’s really important is the Champions League match three days later. We’d be playing at the same stadium then, and we would not lose to Nottingham Forest again.”
His expression was solemn. It was a stark contrast to Twain’s smiling face.
The next day, the various media outlets all reported about how there was immense pressure riding on Wenger’s back, whereas things were easy for Twain going into their Champions League match.
Sadly, they were all wrong…….
...
Chapter 847 - Other Than Attack, it’s Still Attack
As it was an away game in the UEFA Champions League three days later in the same stadium, the Forest team did not return to Nottingham. Instead, they stayed at the Nine O’clock and prepared for the mid-week UEFA Champions League quarterfinals.
To help the players loosen up and relieve their stress, Twain sacrificed precious training time and gave the team a day off.
The players had the freedom to choose whether they wanted to sleep in the hotel rooms or go shopping outside. However, Twain still had to analyze the videos of the matches with his coaching staff to prepare for the final match.
The players might be able to relax, but as coaches, especially the manager, they would not be able to relax at all.
There was no time for Shania to even have a meal with Twain. He was that busy. Even when they had a chat on the phone, they could only have a quick chat. Shania could tell from Twain’s voice and replies that he was obviously very distracted. During this time, Uncle Tony’s body and heart were both not Shania’s, his whole mind was filled with “football”.
Shania was very jealous, but she could not do anything about it.
She would never really ask Twain to retire and accompany her for the remainder of their lives. That was because she could not be by her husband’s side half the time in a year due to her own career. So, when she could be with Twain, she did not mind sharing half of her husband to football. She even felt guilty and thought she let Twain down, so she had to accept a little unhappiness.
And so, she reminded Twain to take care of himself again and hung up.
Twain only managed to come out of his distracted state after Shania hung up and he started to think about whether he was acting too poorly earlier.
“Phone call from your wife?” Kerslake turned and ask after hearing the door opening in the midst of analyzing the videos.
Twain acknowledged.
“Actually, you should still have time for just a meal, isn’t it?” Kerslake turned and said to Twain, “Call her back and ask her out.”
“I do, but I’m afraid I’ll be distracted,” Twain shook his head as he rejected the suggestion of his assistant manager.
Kerslake smiled and said, “How I envy you, Tony. Look, my wife will never call me to show any concern.”
“You’ve been married for so long,” Twain smiled as he sat down beside him and continued to watch the videos.
“That’s precisely why I envy you… It feels like you’re enjoying the life of a newly wedded couple every day,” Kerslake said.
“That’s only because we don’t get to spend many days of the year together,” Twain said with a dry smile, “Okay, let’s not talk about women anymore, let’s talk about the match with Arsenal. Our physical fitness might not be a match for them now…
“Do you want to rotate the players, Tony?” Asked Kerslake.
Twain went silent for a while as he considered whether he really wanted to rotate the players. For a competition like the UEFA Champions League, he still preferred to use the strongest lineup available. However, he had already been using the strongest lineup for two matches in a row. This third match…
“Let’s make a few changes,” Twain said after much consideration, “Şahin’s fitness is poor, let’s switch him out. We’ll play with two forwards.”
“442?” asked Kerslake.
“Hmm…” Twain thought for a while again. Turning to his assistant, he asked, “Say, what formation do you think Wenger will expect us to use in this match?”
Kerslake frowned and thought for a moment. He took a rather long time to consider and so, Twain extended a palm without waiting for his answer and said, “Here, let’s analyze our advantages and disadvantages. Firstly, their fitness level is better than ours. They have two home games in a row while we have two away games in a row. Secondly, they have the home ground advantage. The referee’s judgement will definitely be affected by this and we’ll be under stricter scrutiny by them, whereas it will be the opposite for them. ”
At this point, Kerslake interrupted him, “Who asked you to always emphasize that our style is very rough and physical in front of the media. That even Rijkaard’s Chelsea will have to go back crying against us.”
Twain scratched his head, a little embarrassed.
He cleared his throat and continued saying, “Thirdly, hmm…thirdly, they’re only one goal behind after the first leg. This difference is too small, it’s so small that we can ignore it. Arsenal is an attacking team, a goal difference doesn’t mean a thing to them. I believe that it was Wenger’s intention to lose 0:1 in their away game.”
“What’s the fourth point?” Asked Kerslake.
“There’s no fourth point,” Twain clapped his hands and said, “These three points are enough to put us at a complete disadvantage. The media do not think we have much of a chance as well. Ever since the first leg ended, they have been reporting that Arsenal will definitely progress, and we can only be eliminated. Now that we beat Arsenal in the league, they’re looking for more reasons. Saying that we’re placing a higher emphasis in the league and giving up on the Champions League…” At this point, Twain burst into a short laughter and said a line in mandarin, “How can a sparrow know the will of a swan?”
Next, he continued in a language that Kerslake can understand, “I think that Wenger will be expecting that too. Since we’re lacking fitness and we’re playing away, I’ll definitely choose to be more conservative in my tactics and try to hang on against Arsenal. Even if they score once, we still have extra time and penalties. Anyway, if we want to progress, there’s no wrong in being conservative.”
When he said this, Twain suddenly smiled, “But I want to give him a surprise this time.”
In the team meeting at night, the players who have been relaxing the whole day gathered in the meeting room provided by the hotel and listened to the words of their manager.
Nobody was distracted by the freedom in the day and failed to return, and there was no problem with the team’s discipline.
“For the match on the day after tomorrow, we’ll not be playing counter-attack at all,” Twain said loudly in front of a bunch of players. The meeting room was rather large, and the team was not able to fill it up completely. He had to raise his voice or else it will be dispersed in this rather empty room and some people might not be able to hear him clearly.
“We’ll attack!” He said while waving his arm.
There was a minor commotion in the meeting room which died down very quickly. The players knew that Boss had his reasons for this arrangement, all they needed to do was to listen.
“Everyone else thinks that we’re exhausted, but we are going to tell them through this match that—we’re still going strong! They definitely won’t be expecting us to go for an offensive approach in the away game, that’s why we’ll give them a surprise! We’ll bamboozle them right from the start! So, our tactics for this match has to be simple and effective. For that purpose, I’ve decided to cut one of our midfielders,” Twain said.
Şahin knew that he’ll be the one replaced. Boss loves to use two defensive midfielders, and he places a lot of importance in the flanks too, so if he’s going to sacrifice a midfielder, it’ll definitely be him, the attacking midfielder.
“Aaron, you’ll start in Nuri’s place,” said Twain.
Mitchell and Şahin both nodded. They both accepted this arrangement.
“We’ll be using the 442 formation. With Aaron’s height in front of goal, we need to make use of the flanks more. Also, George and Fernando, you two have to actively push forward instead of staying back in defense. Pressure the Arsenal’s defense and make them lose focus. Take note, I’m talking about a very offensive approach. We’ll be attacking Arsenal from start to finish and not give them a chance to control the game, prevent them from implementing their rhythm on the game. Disrupt their game right from the first second,” Twain continued.
“If we can get into the match faster than them at the start, then we don’t have to worry about their attack at all!” Twain told his players confidently, “They will not have any chance to threaten our goal at all. So, both our full backs need to actively assist the attack too. Scoring first will be the key!”
“Leave Fàbregas to George. Fernando, you’ll have to pay more attention to the others.”
“Just remember, just attack for the match in two days’ time! Attack, attack, attack. Other than attack, it’s still attack!”
He rarely says this. He usually says, “Defense, defense, defense. Other than defense, it’s still defense.”
After the meeting, the players went back to their rooms. Along the way, they were discussing about this arrangement and they were also very interested in the Boss’ thinking. Fighting head-on with Arsenal in terms of attack? Few have tried that before. Against Arsenal in the past, Twain would usually pit themselves as the weaker side and choose to play on the counter. Make use of physical fouls and defense as well as tireless fitness to compete against Arsenal’s exquisite attack.
Because of this, the media had always demonized Nottingham Forest. Indeed, if you compare the footballing styles of the two teams, there would be a stark contrast—Arsenal’s football was pleasing to the eyes, like a classical musical, refreshing to the audience. On the other hand, Nottingham Forest’s football was much more utilitarian in nature, not as attractive or pleasing. Other than their own supporters, there were only very little neutral fans who liked Nottingham Forest.
Now, this situation might be changed in two days’ time. Tony Twain was finally giving up on the conservative ways and was going to compete against Arsenal fair and square in the Emirates stadium. The Nottingham Forest players have the chance to prove to the world that they were not inferior to Arsenal, and that they were not naturally conservative. Defeating Arsenal by attacking in their home ground no less, this was indeed a tactical arrangement that can inspire them.
For the next day and a half, Twain focused on some attacking training, flank attacks and midfield attacks. The media did not know about the contents of the training as Twain rejected all forms of interviews again.
This gave the media even more evidence to belittle him.
“…Tony Twain rejected our interviews and recording requests once again. He seems to be very nervous. Even though Arsenal is the team trailing, everyone favors Arsenal to go through to the next round. There are many situations that are advantageous to them and the nervousness of the manager, Twain, is compelling evidence.
“Twain is not confident himself, otherwise he would not have trained behind closed doors.”
“In the last league game, their own players clashed in the match and almost came to blows. Tony Twain must have been very troubled by this. A team will crumble when they are under too much pressure, I believe Nottingham Forest is not far away from crumbling.”
“I asked Pepe after the match, why did he clash with Akinfeev in the match? He said it was nothing, they were only gunning for victory and the conflict has been solved… Look, what a stereotypical answer. I’ve interviewed countless players, and I’ve seen many internal conflicts situations. Their answers are almost always the same as this, so much so that I’m beginning to suspect that they have the same template.”
“There are no problems internally for the Forest team? Only a fool will believe that! The pressure on Tony Twain is so heavy it feels like he’ll suffer from a heart attack anytime. His players even almost came into blows in a match. If not for their luck in coming from behind to beat Arsenal at the death, I really don’t know if Twain would be admitted to the hospital again.”
“Are there really no bad blood between Pepe and Akinfeev? Will their performance during the match really not affect the team’s morale? Is Twain really not going to “rest” Pepe by reducing him to the bench? There are too many talking points to watch out for in this match.”
“… No matter what, I think Arsenal would progress. They have too many advantages. Nottingham Forest? All I see is a group of wounded soldiers that have collapsed due to the pressure and fitness. Twain has used all his energy to think about how to make his team recover, how can he have the energy to think about any tactics?”
The media was so vocal in their voices and their abilities to mislead the people was so powerful that even the Nottingham Forest fans were unsure—is there really a big problem internally in our team? Are we going to be eliminated from the UEFA Champions League? Can it be that even a strong manager like Tony Twain can no longer control the Forest dressing room?
And so, Nottingham Forest welcomed the final match of the three matches against Arsenal in a row under such a circumstance, the concerns of their fans and the belittling of the media.
The final match that would decide their fate.
Nottingham Forest was standing with their backs to a cliff, they had no way to go other than forward. If they were eliminated then, all the hard work they put in earlier in the season, all the victories that they fought tooth and nail for would be for naught.
There is still the Premier League champion? So sorry, our target is the treble. The English FA cup, English Premier League and UEFA Champions League. All three of them. We will not accept any less.
On the night of the match, the Emirates Stadium and its surroundings were brightly lit. The fans from both teams entered the stadium full of expectations.
The official anthem of the UEFA Champions League was being broadcasted live. People who heard the anthem felt even more hot-blooded and they could not wait for this blockbuster match to begin immediately.
At the same time, in the respective dressing rooms, both managers were doing the final preparations for their teams.
Wenger looked at his players calmly and said, “We’ve lost twice, we can’t lose again. If we lose again, we’d have lost everything this season…”
Some people might find it strange, even if they lost the Champions League, did they not still have the Premier League? They are still leading Nottingham Forest by three points, how could they lose so easily?
But how could they have understood Wenger’s thoughts? He won many different trophies during his almost 18 years in Arsenal, yet he had never won the UEFA Champions League, that was his only regret. He was already 60 years old and he did not know how long more could he stay in this business. He was not willing to give up on any opportunity to lift the Champions League trophy. For this, he was even willing to sacrifice the Premier League…
“Arsenal has never won the Champions League before. I hope you can change this embarrassing history into real history this season,” he said.
On the other side, Twain was shouting with his team as he pumped his fists in the air, “We’ve just beaten them in the league, surely we can beat them again in the Champions League! Beat them three times in a week, make them shudder at just the sight of us in future! Remember your task—Attack, attack, attack! Other than attack, it’s still attack!!”.
...
Chapter 848 - Unexpected Advantage
“Arsenal is in trouble,” the commentator said, “It doesn’t seem like they ever expected Nottingham Forest to suddenly attack in full force in their home ground…”
The Arsenal fans in the stands kept booing to disrupt the Forest team.
From the situation on the field, Arsenal was indeed in trouble…
Just like what Twain said, Wenger did not expect that Forest would dare go against their normal behavior and attack in Arsenal’s home ground at all.
In the first five minutes of the match, Nottingham Forest had already threatened Almunia’s goal twice.
This caused Arsenal to be a little flustered, and their defense was full of mistakes.
Nottingham Forest firmly held on to the initiative of the match.
When the ball was under their control, Arsenal could only keep running, tiring themselves out. As they were not prepared for Nottingham Forest’s attack, they did not even know what to do. Some of them wanted to follow Wenger’s pre-match tactics and continue to attack, others felt that the situation was critical and they should defend before counter attacking.
With differing opinions, they were not able to work well together. When they could not work well together, there would be loopholes for the opponents to take advantage of.
Twain could see the gap between Arsenal’s front and back lines very clearly on the side. This was a massive opportunity for Forest to score…
He turned to look at Wenger on the manager’s seat. The Frenchman had no expression on his face, and he did not seem to have any intention to make any adjustment. Maybe he believed in his team? Maybe he was unable to understand Nottingham Forest’s intentions yet and did not dare to make any rash decisions?
No matter what, he would not be able to change anything no matter how much he thought about it. The matter of fact was Nottingham Forest had the advantage then.
Making use of the advantage that they got hold of in the opening five minutes, Nottingham Forest successfully turned an away game into a home game.
Next, they continued to launch their attacks deep into Arsenal’s territory. This was not a simple siege — In fact, a siege of the Arsenal’s goal was not what Twain hoped to see. Arsenal also launched attacks of their own and a good amount of them too. Forest controlled the game to create a situation where there were attacks from both sides, allowing them to have more chances of attacking. If their opponent did not come out of their own third, how could they attack?
Arsenal had no choice but to work hard to try and grab the control of the game back. That was why they had to attack instead of just defending. After about ten minutes of panic, there was a unified thought within Arsenal internally — attack!
That was what the Forest team wanted to see the most, Arsenal attacking along with them.
An intense attacking game started…
“Fàbregas! Beautiful pass, Vela receives the ball, shoot! Ah, what a pity!”
Akinfeev caught the ball tightly. He did not wait for the Arsenal players to go back into their defensive positions as he threw the ball back into play to launch their own attack. Gago got the ball and dribbled with it. After Wilshere came out to stop him, he did not stop to turn and try to dribble pass him, instead, he passed the ball directly to Cohen at the flank.
Cohen, who was playing in this game in place of Fernández, was a better crosser of the ball than the Chilean. Twain let him start because of this. This was because the starting forwards for Forest in this game are Ibišević and Mitchell, both good headers of the ball.
However, Cohen was not great at dribbling and the Arsenal’s full-back, Sagna, was quick to retreat. Therefore, Cohen changed the play directly from one flank to the other with a long pass to Bentley. Bentley received the ball and passed it to the middle where Gago was already approaching.
After receiving the ball, Gago passed the ball forward and it rolled into the penalty area!
Mitchell appeared from behind the everybody and just when he was about to receive the ball and form an one-on-one with the keeper, the ball was intercepted by the onrushing Almunia. Michell was a little unhappy to see the ball fly over his head, if only he was a little faster…
Almunia waited for Mitchell to get out of the penalty area before kicking the ball forward. Wood’s advantage in the air was obvious. There was no one in the Arsenal’s midfield who could compete with him for aerial balls.
Wood headed the ball in the air easily as he passed it to Pepe behind.
After witnessing this situation, Fàbregas made a sign with his hand to Almunia at the back, informing him to try throwing the ball out instead of pumping the ball forward so that they can build their attacks from the back.
Starting the play like this was akin to giving possession back to Forest.
Even though the ball was intercepted by Forest, Arsenal did not give up on attacking this time. They actively tackled and fought for the ball and successfully got it back from under Gago’s feet, starting their attack right then.
Wilshere dribbled pass Woodgate using his technique before feinting to shoot and passing the ball to Fàbregas coming from behind instead.
Under pressure from Nottingham Forest’s captain, the Arsenal captain took a shot but the ball flew just over the crossbar, giving the Nottingham Forest fans a scare.
Fàbregas was a little upset with this miss. He stood up and gave a clap out of annoyance.
Twain looked down at his watch, the match had started for 15 minutes. Forest had not scored yet, but on overall, they had the advantage. The Arsenal attack felt a bit messy under the strength of Forest, depending more on the individual brilliances of their stars. The main reason why Arsenal was at a disadvantage was because Wenger did not even play with any defensive midfielders in his attempt to attack Forest on their home ground, he picked an all attacking midfield. As a result, their midfield was being overrun by Forest’s midfield.
They still had to score as early as possible, otherwise this tactic of theirs would not be able to work if Wenger came around…
Furthermore, the fitness of the team was indeed a problem, they could not afford to drag the game.
Twain stood up from his seat and walked to the sideline. He did not say anything, but he believed his players understood what he meant by standing on the sideline.
We need to score, guys. What are you doing?
Arsenal was still working hard to regain control of the game. They were neglecting their defense a little, or more like they placed too much focus on attack. Wenger told them before the game that they had to score in this match. Scoring was the key. That was why the thought of scoring was ringing in their minds…
As for defense?
Even though they knew that their defense was in danger in the face of the Forest attack, all of them had a feeling of luck in their minds, thinking that they would be able to break through the Forest defense first before they concede.
This was simply a game to see who would score first. If Arsenal scored first, the game would be following Arsenal’s game plan. If Nottingham Forest scored first, Arsenal would not have the initiative.
That was why they kept thinking about scoring, so much so that they placed their defense as second priority instead…
Arsenal’s attack got intercepted yet again. George Wood and Pepe intercepted Fàbregas’ pass to Vela. After Pepe poked the ball away, Wood got to the ball ahead of Wilshere and stormed forward with the ball. His dribbling was very standard, and his form was good. Fàbregas gave up on trying to win the ball, choosing to disrupt him from the side instead.
Wood was only dribbling for a few steps when he realized that the Arsenal’s defense was not in position yet. It was very messy, some people assisting in front, some people rushing back, some people hesitating whether to go back to defend or go forward to fight for the ball…
There were spaces everywhere.
He decided not to dribble anymore, passing the ball to the flank instead. There were no defending Arsenal players there, wide open!
Cohen ran as hard as he could. He was not fast, but Wood’s pass was too good… He did not have to compete with anyone for speed. As long as he ran forward in a straight line, the ball would go towards him as it rolled. The opponent’s defenders might seem to be closer to the ball, but they would find out after a few steps that if they ran in a straight line, the ball would be just out of their reach, and if they ran in a slanted line, the ball would be further and further away from them…
As Sagna was still in a forward position and did not come back in time, a center back had to cover him for this ball. One of the two center backs, Kolo Touré ran towards the flank. He gave up trying to get the ball halfway in his run and chose to run along the path of the ball instead, blocking the path into the box, preventing Cohen from going in. This was the best choice he could have made under this situation.
It was a pity that Cohen did not even think about cutting into the penalty area at all. He allowed the ball to roll about two meters ahead of him, feinted a dribble, forced Touré to move back a little. When there was space, he went outside and crossed directly!
Cohen’s cross was good. It was unlike Wood’s cross in the dying moments of the previous game, high and floating. His cross was level, the speed of the ball was fast and there was an obvious curve to the ball. The ball was almost at the byline when the curve was at its strongest. The ball was going towards the goal but curved towards the penalty area when it was going to reach the goal. This curve caused Almunia to be at a loss about what to do. He wanted to come out to claim the ball initially, but just when he started to come out, the ball curved away.
So, he started to retreat and prepared to protect his goal. He just put up his hands when there was a shadow in the air.
“Aaron Mitch——ell!” Screamed the commentator.
The ball seemed to have been attracted by Mitchell as he headed it. The ball changed direction and flew past Almunia who could not react at all. The force of the cross, along with the momentum of Mitchell combined to give an effect of “one plus one is greater than two”. Right in front of goal, there was no goalkeeper who could have reacted to it.
The ball was headed into the goal powerfully by Mitchell.
Twain pumped his fist at the sideline towards the sky.
He looked at his watch, the match had started for 29 minutes. He finally got what he was looking for!
Wenger, who was seated on the manager’s seat, slapped his thigh forcefully, with an upset look on his face. He did not expect Forest to really score with this attack. Looks like the attacking form showed by Nottingham Forest until then was not just putting up a show, they were serious…
He miscalculated.
He did not expect the gambler, Twain, to dare gamble like this in this game.
The Nottingham Forest fans at a corner of the stands exploded into a loud cheer, drowning off the boos from the other side temporarily.
Mitchell ran over and gave Chris Cohen who assisted him a hug. The other players surrounded them as they celebrated the goal.
This goal by Mitchell not only gave Forest an away goal, it also gave them an aggregate lead of 2:0. If Arsenal wanted to progress to the next stage, they could not just win this match by a score of 2:1, they needed to score three goals!
No wonder Wenger was so agitated after conceding the goal. Fàbregas’ face turned solemn immediately.
Anyone with a clear mind knows that Arsenal would have a tough time for this game…
Replays of the goal was shown repeatedly on the screen as the commentator praised Mitchell’s movement and header, “…He appeared behind Arsenal’s Senderos just like that, unmarked as Touré was drawn out to the flank to defend Cohen. Ibišević’s movement was so good! His movement in front drew Senderos away and Mitchell, who was still outside the penalty area when Cohen was preparing to cross, suddenly sprinted into the box and leapt high into the air! He leapt higher than anyone else! He scored! All in one movement, beautiful! The planned movements that Forest demonstrated were key for this goal, but the individual capabilities of Mitchell was praiseworthy too…”
Ever since Mitchell became a member of the first-team and scored often in matches, his father became the happiest man in the stands. Every time his son scored, all the Forest fans around him would congratulate him and shouted his son’s name loudly. He loved this feeling of being a star.
The spot where Mitchell celebrated his goal was coincidentally just below the away end of the stands. A group of people shouting, “Aaron! Aaron!” made him, the father, passionate too.
As the players ran past the front of the technical area and back to their own positions after celebrating, Twain shouted at them from there, “Keep attacking! Continue! Don’t slack off, score as many as you can!”
Next, he pulled George Wood next to him and gave him some quick instructions, “Watch out for Arsenal’s fight back. If they’re going for long balls, we don’t have to worry. If they attack through the middle, pass the ball to the flanks immediately after intercepting their ball. We’ll counter their attacks and try for another goal in the first half! Tell Cohen and Bentley to take note of any opportunity to counter attack.”
Wood nodded and turned to run back to the pitch.
After everything, Twain turned and returned to his manager’s seat, took a seat and had a drink of water.
After drinking, he turned and gave Kerslake a silly smile.
Kerslake asked, “The pressure’s not that high anymore, right?”
“No, it’s even heavier now.”
“Huh?”
“Unless the game is over, otherwise my pressure would not be reduced. Before scoring, I’ll be worried that we won’t score, and the opponent takes the lead by scoring first. Now that we’ve scored, I’m worried that the opponent will score and level the match. I asked them to try for another goal before the end of the first half. That way, we’ll have greater leeway,” Twain explained.
As expected, Arsenal attacked Forest wildly after conceding, almost giving up on defense entirely. They did not want to lose at home, did not want to let Nottingham Forest complete a double over them in the same season. Attacking with all their might was the only way.
Forest performed steadily, getting into their defensive formation and dealing with the balls calmly, making full use of their advantage of having two defensive midfielders, controlling the all-attacking midfield set-up that Arsenal had.
Next up was the counterattack.
That was the Forest team’s forte.
40 minutes into the first half, there was an astronomical figure. A 2:0 lead with five minutes to go in the first half, 3:0 on aggregate.
This game was basically over…
...
Chapter 849 - To Win the Championship
Arsenal made an adjustment during halftime interval. Wenger brought off Wilshere and brought on Denílson. It looked like it was to strengthen the defense, but in fact it was to prepare for the counterattack. Unfortunately, the gap of three goals was too wide. If Arsenal wanted to advance to the next level, they had to score four goals in forty-five minutes and ensured that they did not concede another goal.
It was simply an impossible task.
At the start of the second half Arsenal did threaten the Forest team’s goal, but good times were always short-lived. They still could not shake Nottingham Forest’s advantage built in the first half. George Wood is certainly one of England’s most powerful midfielders today. Fàbregas’ errors in his passing began to rise under his close marking and his physical strength was on the decline.
Although he could also send out those incisive passes, the whole team was suppressed by the Forest team. What could he pass the ball to?
The game was a tactical failure for Arsenal and no matter how good Fàbregas was, it was to no avail.
When Arsenal still failed to score halfway through the second half, Wenger had already foreseen his defeat and begun to save his team’s strength for the league tournament.
Fàbregas was still running hard on the pitch, passing the ball or making shots himself. He was not willing to admit defeat at this time.
The Spaniard was a little impetuous on the pitch, while Wood was calmer. The boss instructed him to keep a close watch on Fàbregas, and he meticulously carried it out. As for who Fàbregas would pass the ball to, he did not care. Just as his teammates believed in him as the team captain, he believed in his teammates too.
It was this sort of tacit understanding that allowed the Forest team to play actively in the away game and gain the initiative in the game.
In the second half, Arsenal had very few chances and the Forest team kept threatening Almunia’s goal. The Nottingham Forest fans had not seen such an easy game at Arsenal’s home ground for a long time.
In the 80th minute, some Arsenal fans began to leave the stadium early. They already held no hope for the game and could only comfort themselves with “we still have the league tournament” as they left the stadium unhappily.
Seeing that the overall situation had been determined, Twain also replaced a few players who had been more tired recently. Bale was replaced by Joe Mattock; Bentley was replaced by Moke and Ibišević was replaced by Agbonlahor.
Every player who was brought off hugged Twain and celebrated their victory in jubilation.
Twain did not think there would be a chance of failure with a 2:0 lead and ten minutes left.
He could go back to Nottingham with a relaxed mood. He believed that Shania in the box could breathe a sigh of relief as well.
During the last ten minutes, Arsenal launched a frenzied counterattack on the Forest team’s goal. They had almost given up on the pursuit of victory, but the pride of the strong team made it impossible for them to be so cleanly defeated at home. They wanted to take advantage of the remaining time to score a goal.
Unfortunately, the Forest team did not let them get their way. The entire team retreated to defend and fully block the goal.
Fàbregas finally played a full game and was not replaced early. Unfortunately, his efforts did not help the team win and not even bring a face-saving goal for the team.
When the referee blew the final whistle to end the game, many of the Arsenal players sat immobilized on the pitch, with only their team captain still standing.
On the other side, the Forest players on the bench, led by the assistant manager, cheered as they rushed onto the pitch, hugging their teammates on the field to celebrate.
While Tony Twain tidied his clothes and strode towards Wenger with a smile on his face.
“I’m sorry.” He comforted.
“I wish you good luck now, Tony. I hope you can make it to the final. But I won’t let you have the league title.” Wenger wanted to appear gracious. But he had just lost the Champions League and could not really smile.
Twain smiled and did not speak.
Wenger shook his hand and turned to walk away. Twain looked at his back, and he did not say the words on his mind, “Of course I’m not going to ask you to let me have the championship title, Professor. I’ll take it myself.”
After shaking hands with Wenger, Twain was surrounded by the reporters.
“How does it feel to be in the top four again, Mr. Twain?”
“It feels great!”
“Is the Champions League title your goal this season too?”
“Who doesn’t want to win the championship?”
“Is it a bit of a surprise to beat Arsenal so easily in the away game?”
“No, it’s Arsenal which should be surprised, not me.”
There were reporters wanted to ask questions, but Twain raised his hand to refuse, “You can ask whatever questions you have at the press conference. I have to go be with my team!”
He pushed aside the crowd and walked to the pitch to celebrate the win with the Forest players.
“Acting all self-important…” One of the reporters muttered in a low voice.
“But he’s qualified to act like a big shot.” Someone next to him shrugged, “After all, he’s the victor, isn’t he?”
The defeat of Arsenal and advancement to the semi-finals had given the Nottingham media a few days of enthusiastic publicity. The Wilford training base was full of buzz every day, with hardcore fans coming to support the team and the news media came sniffing.
The Forest team, who reached the semi-finals, met with some good luck. Their semi-final opponent was not strong. It was the France Ligue 1 team, Lyon. In the other match, it was an El Clásico between Real Madrid and Barcelona.
The Spanish media were excited about the top four teams because they had two teams in the top four and a team which dominated the top four of the Premier League long-term. All the teams had been utterly defeated this season except the Nottingham Forest team representing the Premier League in the top four.
The foreign media took delight in the misfortune, claiming that the Premier League was finally going to hand over the claim to the top league. The Spanish media proclaimed that they were going to take the top spot and that La Liga was the top league in Europe.
Whereas the Italian and German media, as always, chose silence.
The English media were unanimous in their optimism about Arsenal before the game, cheering Wenger’s team. Now they were turning to Nottingham Forest like opportunists, blowing Twain’s team up as “English football’s only hope”, “a warrior fighting for the dignity of English football” and “the inheritor of English football’s glory.”
Twain did not care about these labels being put on him. He had to return his focus on preparing for the league tournament. He would only think about the Champions League when the time came.
Before the Champions League game, the Forest team had already experienced playing against two strong teams. In the end, neither Chelsea nor Arsenal were able to complete their task of stopping them. Twain’s team successfully advanced and were currently ranked second, one point ahead of the third-placed Liverpool and three points behind the first-placed Arsenal with fewer points and goals than Arsenal. Arsenal was still quite far ahead in winning. The latest odds issued by William Hill for the Premier League title win this season remained bullish on Arsenal.
In an effort to prove that he had the victory in hand in his bet with Twain, Carl Spicer analyzed the Forest team’s disadvantages on his show. In terms of the competition schedule, he stated that the Forest team would face two strong teams and two weaker teams. The Forest team had already played the strong teams. The weak teams were the real test.
Neither of the two teams was out of the relegation zone yet. Worse still, they had not been promoted early. This was a situation that any of their opponents feared—a team in or at the edge of the relegation zone could either relegate to the English Football League Championship before the three rounds of the league tournament or successfully secure a last-minute stay in the Premier League. Heaven and hell were right in between.
No one wanted to go to hell. Everyone wanted to go to heaven. Twain was the same. If he help the others succeed, he would go to hell. He was a saint or Buddha who had altruistic love for the world and willing to sacrifice himself. Therefore, the two games could be expected to be very intense and exciting.
These two games were in the 35th and 38th rounds of the league tournaments respectively.
In the 35th round, the Forest team would play against Portsmouth in away challenge. While in the 38th round, the last game of the league tournament, they would play Sunderland at home.
If Nottingham Forest could beat Portsmouth while Sunderland won, then the final round might not be so bad for either team—Sunderland had already successfully avoided relegation and Nottingham Forest would naturally no longer have to face an opponent who would fight desperately to survive.
It was the ideal situation for the future, but Twain did not think their luck would be so good.
Because in 35th round, Sunderland was up against Manchester United. How could Manchester United let Sunderland win at home in the fight to qualify for the Champions League? Sunderland only had one home game in the final four rounds and with two of the other three away games, they had to face formidable opponent. It was harder for them to avoid relegation than Portsmouth.
As a result, the media had already declared Sunderland’s death sentence ahead of time. In comparison, Portsmouth’s last four rounds only had the Forest team as its strong opponent. They appeared more likely to successfully avoid relegation.
Perhaps only the Sunderland people themselves had not given up. The local media constantly cheered the team on. They thought that they would be able to create a miracle if they were united. It had even been suggested that Sunderland should bring back the former manager, Keane who had performed a similar miracle—taking over the previous team at the bottom rank and leading the team to be successfully promoted to the Premier League after half a season. It was also Keane’s only brilliant performance as manager. His coaching career was not very smooth later on, so such a proposal was entirely a desperate attempt at anything in a crisis. Nor could Keane have promised to step forward and be the fall guy.
There was a seemingly reasonable interpretation.
“… Tony Twain’s team is currently competing in three tournaments. Their physical exertion is extremely high and there is a lot of pressure on the players. I don’t think Sunderland is at the point of surrender. As long as we haven’t dropped out before the final round, we may still have a chance to defeat the exhausted Nottingham Forest team… Think about it, the fatigue from three consecutive tournaments and the immense pressure of having to win the league title, or else their boss will have to eat a table… No team can play at a normal level under such circumstances…”
But any terrible suggestion would seem reasonable before anything bad happened.
In short, Sunderland was still struggling. Twain would not go easy on them just because he had loaned many young players to them on several occasions, as well as had a good personal relationship with their former manager, Keane. Just like he would not show any mercy to Portsmouth. He did not care about any opponents other than himself. As long as they were obstacles in front of him and became a stumbling block to his progress to win the title, he would ruthlessly kick them aside.
Nottingham Forest challenged Portsmouth in an away game on April 19th, the 35th round of the league tournament.
Portsmouth had the vigor of a team looking to avoid relegation. But it seemed to come up with only eighty per cent of strength. Because the news came from Old Trafford that Sunderland trailed Manchester United just three minutes after the start of the game. Sunderland falling behind lessened a lot of the pressure that was on Portsmouth. They wanted to win the game but was not willing to stake it all. After all, there were three rounds left in the league tournament. If they used all they had got against the Forest team, then they would probably watch as their opponent overtake them in the remaining three rounds to escape the depths of despair in hell.
It was dangerous to bring such a contradictory frame of mind to compete against Nottingham Forest, which was determined to win and catch up with Arsenal.
The Forest players did not have that many complicated ideas in their heads—They had to win the game. What about the next game? They played using their best in the game. What about the second half?
It was easy to them—once they won this game, they would continue to win the next game. They played using their best efforts in the game and they would continue to play their best in the second half.
In the 25th minute, Nottingham Forest broke the deadlock with a long shot from Rafinha. They took a 1:0 lead in the away game.
Portsmouth only stepped up their attack once they trailed behind, with their manager roaring from the sidelines to ask the team not to give up. Ten minutes later, Portsmouth used a corner kick to breach Akinfeev’s goal and the score was 1:1.
This time it was Twain’s turn to get angry on the sidelines.
During the halftime interval, Twain replaced the under-performing Tiago with Gago and continued to strengthen the offense.
The Forest team finally scored in the 71st minute. Wood’s long shot deflected off the Portsmouth defender’s body and bounced right to Mitchell’s feet. He swung his leg and shot the football right into the net.
Trailing once again, Portsmouth tried to fight back. But only three minutes later, Matías Fernández blasted the Portsmouth goal with a long shot that completely extinguished Portsmouth’s fighting spirit. The ensuing game was dominated by Nottingham Forest and Twain made substitutions to let more players rest.
The only disgruntled people were the Portsmouth fans watching the game from the stands. They protested by exiting the stadium early.
When the referee blew the final whistle to end the game, the latest news from Old Trafford was that Sunderland had lost to Manchester United. In this way, the situation of the two teams remained unchanged. There was still a risk of relegation and a possibility of a promotion.
As Twain got up to shake hands with the Portsmouth manager, Kerslake, who was next to him, said, “Arsenal won, too.”
Twain nodded and said nothing. With a smile still on his face, he extended his hand to the other manager.
The two teams were still three points apart. Nothing had changed.
Now, Nottingham Forest could only make sure that the team kept winning and then expect Arsenal to make mistakes.
But could Wenger and Arsenal, which had been knocked out of the Champions League and only had the league tournament to contend with for the season, make mistakes and give Twain a big present?
...
Chapter 850 - Sprint
After they defeated Portsmouth in the away game, the Forest team overcame another obstacle. Portsmouth, fighting to avoid relegation, did not cause them much trouble.
Following which, Twain temporarily shifted his focus from the league tournament to the Champions League.
In the semi-finals, Nottingham Forest’s opponent was the France Ligue 1 dominant leader, Lyon.
Although it had always been the France Ligue 1 champion and a well-deserved overlord, this team was the weakest in the Champions League quarterfinals. Their strength was not in the same league as Nottingham Forest. There was some element of luck for them to reach the Champions League quarterfinals this time.
The immediate consequence of Lyon, the dominant team in the France Ligue 1 was the lack of competitiveness from the France Ligue 1 team in the European arena—how good could a team be if the league was not competitive?
There was a consensus in the media that the Forest team would make it to the final, and the English media even guarantee Nottingham Forest a ticket before the game. They were already introducing the finals venue to their readers.
English football world was also bullish on the Forest team. Some people felt that there was no need to use full strength to play against Lyon. Twain should save up the energy to play against their league rivals.
Even so, Twain did not dare take it lightly. Instead, he was even more worried due to the media hype—he was afraid that his team would be influenced by the public opinion and be conceited enough to underestimate the opponent.
To this end, he put on a grim face every day, as if he was worried that his team would be eliminated. During interviews, he also changed his past arrogant and condescending style to appear cautious and never brought up remarks such as “they are definitely in the final”, “book your tickets for Bernabéu in advance.”
His behavior was so strange that people wondered if Twain was kidnapped by aliens and had a brain transplant…
“… Against a team like Arsenal, he dared to say before the game that he wanted to win. Against the weakest team in the top four, he was afraid to mention the finals instead… Maybe it’s a ploy to deliberately confuse his opponents?”
Twain did not care how the outside media viewed his actions and words. He just did not want his team to lower their guard and not to be overly conceited to underestimate the opponent.
Due to his and Wood’s influence, the entire team did not appear to take the opponent lightly. Twain instructed the team to play against Lyon with the attitude that should be taken against a semifinal opponent. Wood trained and prepared for the game seriously to set a good example. Twain’s prestige in the locker room was highly regarded and the power of George Wood’s example could not be ignored. Twain had nothing to worry about before the game against Lyon.
The first leg would be played in the away game.
It was the first time in the history of the Lyon football club that they had reached the quarterfinals of the Champions League. They even hoped to reach the final and lift the trophy. Therefore, Lyon’s spirits was flying high and also had the home field advantage. They launched wave after wave of attacks against the Forest team’s core like raging waves beating against the shore, which made the Nottingham Forest fans watched with their hearts in their throats.
Twain instructed the team to use defensive counterattack tactic in the away game because he predicted that Lyon’s momentum at home would be strong. According to the military tactic of “avoiding the sharp edge”, Twain would not be foolish enough to go head to head against Lyon. It would be victory for this game if he could obtain one point. It would be better if they could score goals.
Lyon’s idea was simple: to use its home advantage to aggressively attack the Forest team, score goals and to win the game in the end to lay the groundwork for the next round. After all, it was hard to play in the Forest team’s home ground. If there was a win in hand, there might be more leeway. No matter what, Lyon was tired of being the reigning champion at home. They wanted to make a historic breakthrough—to be a European champion.
But Nottingham Forest clearly had more experience playing in the Champions League semifinals than Lyon. Twain’s handling of it was experienced. On the contrary, Lyon appeared to be overly anxious. They attacked ferociously from the start. What if they did not score? What if they overstrained themselves?
Twain asked the team to stay firm, slowly wear Lyon out. They would grind Lyon’s fighting spirit and physical fitness. The Lyon players were overexcited and galloping around the field. They looked good playing like this. Those fans who did not understand also blindly cheered, thinking that Lyon had the absolute upper hand and scoring goals was only a matter of time.
That was not the case at all in the eyes of the professionals.
The match was played in France. As a Frenchman, Wenger, the manager of the already eliminated Arsenal, accepted an invitation from a French television station to comment on the match. When he saw Nottingham Forest being beaten back into the penalty area by Lyon, he asserted that Lyon would be the unlucky one if they continued to attack like this.
The French commentator was still doubtful and thought it was only a matter of time that Lyon breached the Forest team’s goal based on the situation in the field—“this is a passive defense. No matter how tight the defense is, there will be loopholes once the other side besieges. I don’t believe Nottingham Forest’s defense is impregnatable. The Forest team, not Lyon, will be under a lot of pressure if the game continues in this way…”
Wenger just laughed and did not speak. He could not argue with the commentator on the live broadcast, but he did not agree with the commentator’s words. He could only wait quietly until it was time to tell who was right and who was wrong.
Thirty minutes into the first half, it was mostly Lyon which besieged Nottingham Forest. The Forest team had only two shots, while Lyon had six shots and broken into the thirty-meters zone several times. Lyon was well ahead. The Lyon fans sang and danced in the stands in a happy and relaxed mood. They seemed to think that they had nothing to fear from Nottingham Forest.
Lyon’s rear defensive line also pressed closer and closer, with the center backs almost eager to dribble the ball into the opposition’s penalty area and shoot.
Just when everyone thought that Lyon’s next attack would be able to break the Nottingham Forest goal, the Forest team fought back.
Like a spring compressed to the extreme, once the pressure loosened up slightly from the top of the spring, then it would suddenly bounce up and its tip would pierce through the light in the night with chilling brilliance.
Akinfeev directly threw a handball to launch the attack, and Şahin quickly diverted the ball after he dribbled the ball to break through. After Agbonlahor, the starting right back used his own speed to force a breakthrough, he did not continue to dribble the ball on the sideline as the Lyon players thought, but suddenly cut inside and headed straight for the goal. He was going to shoot straight at the goal!
Agbonlahor was too fast and the Lyon players were ill-prepared for the Forest team’s counterattack. When Agbonlahor cut inside, there was only one goalkeeper in front of him.
What happened next was unsurprising.
Agbonlahor burst into the penalty area. Just as he was about to shoot, he was knocked down from the back by a full back returning to defend. Agbonlahor’s fall was slightly exaggerated, but the other side did indeed foul. The referee promptly awarded the Forest team a penalty shot. Not only that, he gave the player who fouled a yellow card.
Off the field, Twain did not let it go and thought that he had gotten off easy with a yellow card. He should at least be directly sent off with a red card!
His protest “won” a lot of boos from the stands.
The Lyon players were ill-prepared for the penalty shot. After a moment’s pause, they gathered around the referee to demand an explanation. They think Agbonlahor had dived.
And on the other side, Agbonlahor was hugging and high fiving his teammates in celebration. He did make the penalty shot happen on purpose. Otherwise he would never have been able to be shoveled from behind by his opponent with his speed. He just needed to jab the ball out and accelerate to get away. But in doing so, he would also lose the best angle and timing to shoot. Under such circumstances, a penalty shot was obviously the most reasonable thing. So, he dragged a leg in the back, waiting for the other side to shovel and then fall. In that way, the penalty shot was in hand.
The player in charge to carry out the penalty shot was Şahin. He succeeded with one shot and sent the ball into the goal. The goalkeeper misjudged the direction. He only found out that the football came from the middle to land in the position he had stood earlier after he pounced.
Seeing that the Forest team had scored, the commentator on the French television station lost his voice for a moment. Wenger kept his smile as usual, making it impossible for others to see his smugness.
Finally, the commentator gave himself a way out and said, “This penalty shot was a bit controversial, but the referee insisted on his penalty decision… the Forest team was lucky to have taken the lead in the away game…”
Wenger thought: How is this considered lucky? You haven’t watched a Premier League game before, Mr. Commentator. This tactic is one of Tony’s most commonly used tricks. You think he’s being beaten passively. In fact, none of them are actually hit… He’s just waiting for the right moment to fight back. If I were the Lyon manager and saw the Forest team play like that, I would ask the defenders to watch the defense and then pull back to lure them out again.
Unfortunately, Lyon’s lack of experience with Twain and playing in the Champions League semifinals was entirely exploited by Twain.
The leading Forest team played better and more easily. As Lyon continued to attack, the Forest team stepped up its counterattack. They almost scored another goal before the halftime interval.
During the halftime interval, Wenger chatted with the commentator about the game. When they touched on the second half, Wenger said that it would be difficult for Lyon in the second half if Nottingham Forest was given the lead in such an elimination game. This time, the commentator finally agreed with Wenger. After all, this manager was more familiar with Twain than he was.
In the second half, as Wenger had stated, Twain still used a defensive counterattack tactic to lead Lyon by the nose.
Lyon was desperate to equalize the scores, which gave the Forest team more chances to counterattack.
But it was clear that the Forest team’s fitness had indeed been affected by a series of high-intensity games. Their fitness in the second half also started to show problems. The power of the counterattack was modest. Despite Twain’s on-field demands for the team to attack repeatedly, the Forest players were lacking in strength even though they were willing. By then, Twain was resigned to the situation. He started to make substitutions and replace the exhausted starting players. He replaced them with the substitute players and focused on the defense.
The last five or six minutes were a tough test for Twain’s heart. With only one goal ahead and Lyon still pressing hard, all the efforts in the game would be wasted to him if Lyon were to score a goal— perhaps he might have accepted a 1:1 result at the opening ten minutes of the game. But at this time, he still had a one-goal lead, so he would never accept any result other than victory.
Fortunately, although the game was thrilling, Nottingham Forest finally held on. The referee blew the final whistle after four minutes of injury stoppage time. Nottingham Forest secured a precious away win and an away goal amid the home fans’ hissing.
With an away win and an away goal, it looked like Nottingham Forest had one foot in the Bernabéu stadium. The Forest team would be formidable and definitely not disappoint Lyon once it was back in its home ground.
Three days later, Twain led the team to a home win over Fulham in 36th round. A day later, Arsenal also won an away game. The gap between the two teams was still three points and there were only two rounds left in the league tournament. The bookmaker, William Hill was still bullish on Arsenal winning the title. And in the odds for the Champions League, Twain’s team was the second-to-last out of the four teams—with the exception of Lyon, they were the least optimistic about the Forest team.
Real Madrid was at top of the table as they tied 2:2 in the mid-week Champions League game with Barcelona. They scored two precious away goals and a good chance of reaching the final. Moreover, this year’s Champions League final was being played at their home ground, the Bernabéu. Once Real Madrid reached the final, they would unreservedly have a real home advantage. By then half of the championship title would almost be Real Madrid’s.
No one would doubt Real Madrid’s desire for the Champions League trophy. They had already been one title short of fulfilling its magnificent record of ten Champions League titles. This time it was also at their own home ground. There was certainly no reason to let go of such an opportunity. As it could be seen from their away game against Barcelona during the semifinals, their ferocious momentum completely suppressed Barcelona. Although the score was 2:2, everyone, even the Barcelona fans, who watched the game from the start, would admit that Barcelona was lucky enough to tie with Real Madrid…
Twain faced two fearsome teams in two tournaments, with both teams having an unlimited desire for the titles. Real Madrid, once the world’s number one football club, had not won the Champions League which they had once won nine times in twelve years. Wenger’s Arsenal also wanted to regain their title in the league tournament. They had already lost the Champions League to Nottingham Forest. They would not want to lose the league tournament to them again.
Three days later, Nottingham Forest crushed Lyon by 2:1 at the City Ground stadium and bade farewell to the City Ground stadium with a victory in the Champions League. They advanced to the final with a total score of 3:1, and then reached the final again after five years.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid beat Barcelona1:0 at home, edging out its archrival, Barcelona with a total score of 3:2. They successfully made the Bernabéu stadium, the main ground in the Champions League final, their true home ground.
Nottingham Forest reached the final against Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup. Nottingham Forest also reached the final in the Champions League and their opponent was Real Madrid. With two rounds remaining in the league tournament, they were still three points behind Arsenal.
Would Nottingham Forest, which was in the final sprint in all three tournaments, return to Nottingham with three championship trophies at the end of the season or would they collapse and ended up empty-handed in the end?
All would be revealed half a month later.
...
Chapter 851 - A Letter from The United Kingdom
“Aaron Mitchell! A beautiful bypass to shake off the defense. He swings past the goalkeeper who strikes and sends the football into the empty goal! The ball’s in! Nottingham Forest leads Lyon 2:0 at home. They have basically reached the final!”
The televisions in the home electronics section of the supermarket was showing the live broadcast of tonight’s Champions League semifinal game. There were not many people watching the game there because the semifinal game had nothing to do with their national team. The people who came to shop at the supermarket just glanced at it and left. Only one person stood in front of the television the entire time, watching the game.
Chen Jian forgot that today was the Champions League game at Nottingham Forest when he went out. He wanted to buy some daily necessities at the supermarket. However, he accidentally wandered to the home electronics section and did not move.
He had not watched a game at Nottingham Forest in a long time. He was in the Netherlands and only cared about the team he played for. Nottingham Forest was too far away from him.
He did not expect to encounter his mother team in the supermarket today.
So, he stopped to watch the Forest game.
He started from the 11th minute of the first half and stood to watch until now. The Forest team was 2:0 ahead of Lyon and he was going to stop watching. Nottingham Forest was certain to make it to the finals. There was no sign of Lyon turning the tables throughout the game. There was no suspense in the game and no need to continue watching.
Chen Jian carried the stuff he had just bought and turned to leave here. The televisions were still playing the clamor from the City Ground stadium. That sound faded into the distance and soon Chen Jian could not hear it.
Name: Chen Jian.
Nationality: China.
Age: Twenty-three.
On-field position: Midfielder, defensive midfielder, right back.
Current team: FC Volendam, Netherlands.
He was loaned out to Volendam from Nottingham Forest two seasons ago, when Volendam was still in Eerste Divisie.
In fact, Chen Jian was not a player needed by Volendam. At the time, Volendam needed strikers and defenders, not midfielders. Chen Jian was basically forced onto Volendam by the Forest team because Volendam was the Forest team’s satellite club. As Chen Jian had occasionally played as a right back, he was also barely in line with Volendam’s needs.
Due to this, he did not have a good time at Volendam at first. Or it could be said that he did not receive much attention at all. On the one hand, he was forced onto Volendam by the mother team. On the other hand, because he was Chinese, and as a player not from a country with developed football, his nationality worked against him.
Therefore, in the Eerste Divisie team, he could only play for a few minutes occasionally during garbage time to fulfill Volendam’s playing requirement for players on loan. Furthermore, he could only play in the right-back position which he was not very good at. He did not play very well. This strengthened the resolve of those who did not like him. Even the Chinese media gradually lost interest in him, and there was rarely news about him in the Chinese media. Chen Jian, who was originally a member of the “European Champions Team”, quickly lost the shine and had little news value.
Chen Jian spent the first half of the season under such circumstances. The change in his fortunes came when there were wide-spread injuries in the midfield. He was finally remembered by the manager that he could play in the midfield…
It was his first time in the starting lineup. More than two years later, Chen Jian could not remember the details of the game, but he still remembered that he was named the best player after the game.
He showed a remarkable intelligence during his performance in the midfield. His defense was clean and timely, and his offense was organized. Players who could keep a clear head on the pitch were rare, especially at the Eerste Divisie level.
Since then, Chen Jian’s position changed. He became Volendam’s main midfielder step by step. He returned to Nottingham Forest at the end of the first season. Following which, Volendam’s transfer application was sent over. But after Twain saw a video of his game in the Netherlands, he rebuffed Volendam’s transfer request, but said he could continue to put him on loan to them.
In this way, Chen Jian returned to the Netherlands when he had not even have time to end the lease to his rented apartment in the Netherlands.
The second season was a cause for celebration for Volendam. The team was successfully promoted to Eredivisie through a season of hard work. Because of Chen Jian’s excellent performance, they once again apply to the Forest team to purchase Chen Jian. Twain refused once more and said that he could continue to loan Chen Jian to them.
Then came Chen Jian’s third season with the team. . .
He had not even played a game for Nottingham Forest since he officially became a member of the team. He had never worn a Nottingham Forest jersey. It was accurate to say that he had a little sense of belonging to the Forest team.
He already did have much to do with the matters of the Forest team anymore. So much so that he was not anxious about which day Nottingham Forest was to play the Champions League semifinal. As the season entered its final phase, he must consider his future again. He and the club signed a four-year contract at the time. Three years later, there was still a year left. Where would he go a year later?
Volendam placed a lot of importance on him and hoped he could transfer to the team. Just a day earlier, the Volendam director had approached him and asked about the Forest team. He told Chen Jian indirectly if he was always on loan, the team could not determine and revolve the tactics around him. His position within the team would never be confirmed.
“… No team can use a player on loan as the core. You are very talented, and it has been three seasons. You fit very well with our tactics and there’s a high level of tacit understanding. We all love you, but…”
He did not need to say the next sentence and Chen Jian could understand the meaning. The director was right. If the situation continued, Volendam would have to abandon him. This season, Volendam was mired in in the quagmire of relegation and had a lot to do with Chen Jian’s ambiguous status.
After two seasons of hard work, Chen Jian had proved his ability and gradually became the midfield core the small team, Volendam. But it was not a good thing for Volendam because they could not make long-term plans. They could only play one season and see how it went for the next. How could the team do well in this way?
He was also a little lost. What should he do?
He felt satisfied with being able to play in the professional league in the past. But when he really played in the professional league, he wanted more and was unwilling to be a flash in the pan. He wanted to stay in this circle. He hope to receive a stable environment that neither Nottingham Forest nor Volendam could give him now.
He felt whether he should have given Manager Tony Twain an ultimatum and leave Nottingham Forest to go to a team that could provide him with this kind of environment. He had done well at Volendam. Several teams in Eredivisie and Belgian First Division A had asked his agent if he wanted a change of environment.
He also hesitated about this matter. It was reasonable to say that Nottingham Forest gave him patronage. If it wasn’t for Nottingham Forest, he must now be a security guard somewhere in China, rather than playing professional football to the cheers of the fans at least once a week.
But it was obvious that he could not go on like this…
Chen Jian was troubled by these problems. He had been a little absent-minded lately, and the manager had hinted that he would not make the cut for the starting lineup in the next game.
It was at this time that he happened to see the Forest team’s game in the supermarket, and the red jersey which he had not seen in a while, distracted him a little.
These guys were his teammates, but they had received a lot of glories while he was still adrift and not knowing where home was.
The next day, Chen Jian went to the training base to take part in the training and was called by the manager to talk alone. His words were the same as the director. He hoped Chen Jian could consider putting pressure on the club to transfer to Volendam. Although the situation of Volendam looking to avoid relegation seemed precarious this season, as long as Chen Jian transferred over, they could have a long-term plan and it would not be difficult to return to Eredivisie.
That was what the manager said but it was unclear how much credibility he could place in his words.
He also gave Chen Jian a small warning at the end of the conversation: next season, Volendam would not continue Chen Jian on loan. They would apply to Nottingham Forest for a striker and a defender instead of a midfielder. That was to say, Chen Jian had to find another way.
Chen Jian did not speak. After hearing this, he did not show his loyalty to the manager and say a lot of things like he loved Volendam, wanted to stay and help the team through the tough times.
The manager did not know what was on the Chinese man’s mind. He could only let him go and confirm that Chen Jian was not on the squad list for the weekend game before he left.
Well, he could at least have a good think about his future.
After the training, Chen Jian received a call from his agent, Mr. Xia. Mr. Xia wanted to talk to Chen Jian about next season and his future development. His contract with the Forest team expired in a year’s time and whether he wanted to renew his contract with the Forest team or changed to another place. These were the things that the two people needed to discuss.
Chen Jian agreed to meet.
The team had made it to the finals, and Twain was busy again—he was busy sending tickets to his own friends, like Gloria and his wife’s friends like Tom Cruise. He had also mailed it to Michael Bernard even though he had decided not to watch the game again. He did not plan for Michael to come, but he wanted to let Michael know that his favorite team had reached the Champions League final again.
Then there was also the adorable Gavin Bernard, whom he would personally go to Gavin’s grave and burn the tickets to him.
The rest of the tickets would be mailed out to those players on loan. It was a tradition that Twain had pursued in order to foster the players’ sense of honor and belonging for Nottingham Forest. In fact, the club’s specialized department could do this kind of thing but in order to express good faith, Twain insisted on doing it. Each ticket sent was accompanied by a short letter, written by Twain himself.
His concern for the players could be reflected from these small details and helped win people over.
He only wrote to the players when he got home. He switched on a lamp and laid out the paper to start writing to every wandering player who drifted outside, telling them that the team was always watching their performances and that they would have a chance to play for the Forest team as long as they performed well. He wished them good health and happiness always. That was basically the content of the letters with the names of different people filled in.
The Forest team had ten players on loan this season, with the youngest being seventeen and the oldest twenty-three.
After he finished writing a letter, he would fold it and put the ticket in an envelope with the corresponding name.
When he picked up the last ticket and looked for the name on it, he saw Chen Jian’s name in Hanyu Pinyin.
His hand stopped at the sight of the man’s name.
He still remembered when Chen Jian first came to the Forest team. At the time, he was the second runner-up in a talent show and was awarded a year of training with the Forest team. He also vividly recalled asking Chen Jian on the phone if he wanted to abandon his existing life to pursue his ideals in England and how Chen Jian answered. He also remembered how Chen Jian refused when he gave him his first professional contract to change his nationality.
These things happened like it was yesterday, vivid in his mind.
Now, three years later, Chen Jian had one more season left on his contract with Nottingham Forest. He had to consider what Chen Jian’s future should be like…
Should he renew the contract, or would it not be renewed when it expired? Would he continue to loan him out for training, or would he be brought back to the team and start playing in the reserves?
Although he did well at Volendam, Volendam’s strength was not comparable to that of Nottingham Forest, so his performance at Volendam did not mean that he could meet the requirements of Nottingham Forest. Twain believed that today’s Chen Jian was still not up to the standards of the First Team.
He put down the ticket and started to write a letter. He did not use English but wrote in Mandarin. He had not written in Mandarin for many years and was a little rusty. The problem of forgetting how to write some words caused him to stare blankly for a long time when he picked up the pen. In fact, the main reason was that he did not know what he should say to Chen Jian.
It was him who gave Chen Jian hope. But he could not keep Chen Jian for the rest of his life.
After he mulled over it for a long time, he only wrote this sentence on the A4 paper: “Foolish Old Man, how’s your digging going at the Taihang and Wangwu mountains?”
Then he folded the paper and stuffed it into the envelope along with the ticket. He patted it gently before he turned off the lamp and got up to go rest.
Shania was in bed and already got ready to “make a baby.” She casually asked as she watched Twain undressed, “Writing letters to those players you’re sending the tickers to?”
“Yeah.” Twain nodded, “It felt a little rusty to do that for the first time in five years, so I wrote a little slower.”
“I’m not in a hurry.” Shania laid lazily in bed and smiled at Twain, “You don’t look like you’re in a good mood, do you?”
Twain said as he got undressed, “I just wrote a letter to a silly boy. After thinking about it for a long time, I still did not know what to say. I want to help him, but I’m afraid he’s not up to scratch.”
“So, you’re bothered by this…”
Shania suddenly got up on her knees in bed and hugged Twain from behind, “You can give him a chance. Don’t you always say that? It’s someone else’s business to work hard and try, but it’s your business to give a chance.”
Twain felt the soft and gentle contact from behind him, and his lower body responded.
He turned around and threw Shania down on the bed, laughing, “You have a point, so to thank you…”
It was a room full of love and passion.
Twain handed all the written letters to the club’s staff the next day and they would mail them out. Each letter would be delivered to each corresponding person in person by courier and absolutely not be lost.
For the vast majority of players on loan, the letter in the same envelope as the ticket was nothing but an add-on. The manager said things that seemed to be warm but was in fact the same for everyone. No one was to be the special one.
“Dear so and so, I have followed your performance closely in the so and so team. I hope you can learn useful things from this loan… Tony Twain.”
All the letters were the same except for the names.
But for one of the people, he was the special one.
It did not start with “Dear so and so” and it did not end with a signature. The tone was plain and written as if asking about a very ordinary matter.
...
Chapter 852: The Foolish Old Man
It was a bright and sunny Sunday afternoon, with blue skies and cool breeze outside the window. Chen Jian had no interest in taking in the sun outside. Volendam during the weekends was not a quiet place. As a famous wedding photography spot and a tourist attraction in Netherlands, the place would be bustling and packed with tourists every weekend.
He was watching TV at his place at that moment while his agent, Mr. Xia had just arrived and was making coffee in the kitchen.
Chen Jian’s eyes were fixed on the live broadcast of the match between AZ Alkmaar at home against FC Volendam on TV. The match was only 10 minutes old and FC Volendam was already a goal behind.
“You’re still watching?” Mr. Xia said as he walked out of the kitchen with coffee in his hands, “This team’s standard is just like this. It’ll play for a while in the Eredivisie then go back to where it belongs.”
Chen Jian did not answer him as he continued watching the match.
Mr. Xia sat diagonally opposite Chen Jian and stirred his coffee with the spoon. After stirring for a while, making some clinking sounds, he asked Chen Jian, “Chen… Have you considered about the thing I told you about?”
Chen Jian turned to look at his agent, “I haven’t decided yet, Uncle Xia.”
Mr. Xia glared at him and said, “How long do you want to think about this? The season is almost over, this team is definitely going to be relegated.” He pointed at FC Volendam on the screen and said, “You say the manager said he’s not planning to loan you next season? I told him I don’t intend to let you stay at this place. You’re already 23 years old, when the new season start in the second half of the year, you’ll be 24. Do you really want to waste your golden period in this kind of team?”
Chen Jian fell silent again after these words.
“What’s the meaning from Nottingham Forest’s side?” Mr. Xia asked after having a sip of coffee.
Chen Jian shook his head and said, “I don’t know what do they mean.”
Hearing this, Mr. Xia could only sigh helplessly. Nottingham Forest was unlike FC Volendam, he could not scold them the same way he scolded FC Volendam. After all, they were soon-to-be one of the top teams, one of the hottest teams in Europe. Many people made every effort they could but still could not play in Tony Twain’s team. Yet his player was already part of the Forest team… Even though he had not played for Forest before.
After sighing, Mr. Xia thought about it and felt even more aggrieved as he complained, “Dong Fangzhuo at least put on the Manchester United jersey when playing for them and they brought him to South Africa, to Hong Kong to play for them. As for you… They did not say anything about you, neither are they excited about your prospects, nor are they not excited… What does Tony Twain mean by this? I’ve introduced so many Chinese players overseas but I’ve never seen your situation before.”
Chen Jian asked, “Uncle Xia, did you talk to Mr. Twain?”
“What’s there to talk about? He doesn’t care about me at all… A big shot manager is a big shot manager…” Mr. Xia was getting angrier the more he talked about it as he drank all the coffee in one gulp, “But this time…” He swallowed all the coffee, “I must have a talk with him. There’s only a year left on the contract. I must know what plans the club have for you. Otherwise I can’t plan your future for you. Chen Jian, do you know… I originally wanted to make you the example of Chinese players playing overseas because you’re a full-time player for Nottingham Forest. This was very exciting. But if you keep messing about in this kind of teams, it’s useless even if I boasted that you’re the combination of Maradona and Pelé. There are an Eredivisie team and two Belgium First Division A teams interested in you now, I believe this is an opportunity for you. You have to cooperate with me and convince the club to agree to a transfer for you.”
Chen Jian frowned. He was no longer focused on the match as he said, “I don’t think I can convince that person…”
“We’ll do it the hard way then! At such a crucial moment, we have to fight for a better future for you even if we have to burn bridges!” Mr. Xia said as he clenched his fist, as if he was very agitated, “Initially when you were loaned out, what did the club say? It was for you to train. It has been two years and you’re the main player for this team, leading them to the Eredivisie. If they still don’t have any reactions to that, I believe they’ve never really placed much importance on you. Just like Dong Fangzhuo…” He muttered, “In front of the Chinese media, they always say ‘We are not doing this for the Chinese market, that youth really has potential.’ But in reality? Chen, do you feel like you’re important to them?”
This was a difficult question for Chen Jian to answer. Was he not important? Coach Twain called Tianjin himself to ask to let him chase his dreams in Nottingham Forest, and he even set up a special training menu for him. When coach Twain was still in the Forest team, he took extra care of him. Was he important? After he was loaned out, the club almost did not ask about him at all. FC Volendam would report the performance of the player on loan to Forest once every quarter. Chen Jian knew that this was not a special privilege that he had. Every player on loan would have the same treatment. As for the reports that were sent back, would his be looked at a few more times? He did not know.
Mr. Xia looked at Chen Jian and waited for his reply.
Chen Jian did not know how to answer this question, so he resorted to the same old reply. He shook his head and said, “I don’t know…”
“You! You…” Mr. Xia was fuming at Chen Jian’s reply, “I’m trying to fight for your benefits, bro!”
Chen Jian knew that everything Mr. Xia was doing was for his own good of course… At least from a financial point of view.
Mr. Xia say down after he finished complaining and stayed silent. Chen Jian did not know what to say either. The room fell into an awkward silence. At this moment, there were cheers coming from the TV and their attentions were momentarily drawn by it.
FC Volendam had equalized.
“How stubborn…” Mr. Xia mocked.
“They have no hopes of escaping relegation even if they draw,” Chen Jian said calmly at the side.
This topic gave them another impetus to talk as Mr. Xia continued asking, “Can you tell me what you think, Chen? Do you want to stay at FC Volendam, or at Forest, or at another place?”
Chen Jian did not hesitate this time, “If possible, I wish to play for Nottingham Forest of course.”
“Why?”
“Because that’s the top league, the level is the highest, and… If I play in a team like that, my parents would find it easier to watch me on TV,” Chen Jian replied.
Mr. Xia grunted in reply, “This last point fits your personality. I also know that it will be great if you can play for Nottingham Forest. But…it’s too difficult.” He dusted his hands and shrugged his shoulders as he continued, “I think you should not hold on to impossible fantasies like this, Chen. The current situation is that Nottingham Forest is not interested in you. Obviously, I’m not concerned about you being dealt a blow by what I’m saying, Chen. You’re indeed not good enough to make them attracted to you…” At this point, Mr. Xia stole a glance at Chen Jian and found out that there were no signs of unhappiness on his face. He thought that he was a fellow who knew his own strengths.
“So, the plan I have for you is to train yourself in teams from the Eredivisie or the Belgium First Division A for a few years first, then transfer to a team in one of the four big leagues. First, you have to leave Nottingham Forest. They might be your parent team, but they are no help to your development at all, even hindering your progress.”
Mr. Xia started to list down the various wrongdoings that Nottingham Forest had to Chen Jian. At this moment, there was a knock on the door outside.
Chen Jian waved at his agent apologetically and went to answer the door.
There was a young man with a yellow cap and a yellow jacket standing outside. Chen Jian noticed the “dhl” printed on the cap. That was the logo for DHL Express.
“Mr. Chen Jian?” The man smiled and asked in English.
Chen Jian nodded out of reflex, he still did not know why the logistics company was looking for him. Could it be his parents sending food from China to him to add to his meals again? When he thought about that, he turned and looked behind the courier, other than the exclusive yellow dhl van with red stripes, there was nothing else. Could the item be in the vehicle?
After confirming the identity of the customer, the dhl staff took out an express delivery envelope and a pen.
“Please sign here, Mr. Chen Jian.”
“Eh?” Chen Jian felt strange looking at this letter.
“It’s for you sir, please sign here, Mister Chen Jian.” The dhl staff did not show any signs of unhappiness at the hesitation displayed by Chen Jian, instead, he repeated what he said earlier with the addition of honorifics.
Even though he did not know what it was exactly, Chen Jian still signed his name.
After ensuring that there was no mistake, the dhl staff passed the envelope to Chen Jian and politely took his leave.
Chen Jian stood at the door in a daze, holding the envelope until that van drove off.
Mr. Xia felt something wrong when he did not see Chen Jian return after so long and he stood up and walked towards the door, “What’s wrong, Chen, who was it?”
“Ah… A letter. But I don’t know who is it from,” Chen Jian replied as he turned around, waving the item in his hand.
“Open it up and you’ll know,” Mr. Xia said as he turned back, it was nothing serious, “You have to give what I said earlier some serious consideration, Chen. Nottingham Forest is really not suitable for you…”
He was still rambling on.
Chen Jian opened the envelope and found another red envelope inside. He flipped it over and saw the Nottingham Forest badge.
“It’s from Nottingham Forest,” Chen Jian did not hear what Mr. Xia was saying at all. He waved the envelope in his hand and continued opening it.
Two pieces of paper fell out from the envelope.
“They sent it to you? What did they send?”
Chen Jian did not answer his agent’s question. He bent down to pick up the two pieces of paper, one thin and one thick. The thicker one was actually a ticket.
“UEFA Champions League…Finals…Ticket?” Chen Jian read it out softly. He looked up at Mr. Xia in surprise. Nottingham Forest did not reach the Champions League final ever since he was loaned out, so this was his first time receiving a ticket from Forest, it was no wonder that he was shocked.
Mr. Xia had a sudden realization. He shrugged and said, “This trick again…” He explained to Chen Jian, “Every player being loaned out will receive this ticket when Forest reaches the Champions League Final. Tony Twain thinks that this is a way to cultivate the honor and loyalty of these players to Forest. As for the effect of it, I’ll not go into details. They’re not treating you any differently, Chen.”
Chen Jian looked down at the ticket in his hand. Then he saw that there was another piece of paper in his hands.
It seemed to be a letter, he opened it up. There was just one line on it, written in Mandarin:
“Foolish old man, how’s the digging of the Taihang and Wangwu mountains?”
This sentence struck a chord deep inside Chen Jian’s heart. He remembered how he answered Twain when he was at the Tianjin Justice Jingguan School then.
—Chen Jian, for you, when the road to your dreams leads to a dead-end, what do you think is standing in front of you? A wall? No, I’m telling you now, what’s blocking in front of you is not a wall, but a huge mountain! Then Chen Jian, if you want to fulfill your dreams, what do you plan to do? Answer me.
—Dig through it, sir!
Dig through it, dig through it… dig through it!
Chen Jian trembled slightly with the letter in his hands.
That voice had already became muffled gradually and there were times when he even forgot this conversation.
I always thought that I had succeeded because I’m playing professionally here and I have an agent, just like any other professional players… But I see, I’m still just digging through the mountain.
If I stop here thinking that I’ve already dug through that mountain, then I’ll be stuck here my whole life. I’ll look up and think that the sky that I’m looking at is the whole world. I won’t be resigned to this…
The agent, Mr. Xia realized that Chen Jian was acting weird and he asked, “What’s wrong, Chen? What’s written there?”
Chen Jian looked up, smiled and said, “Dear Chen Jian, the club has always been monitoring your performance very closely, please continue to work hard…something like that. It’s just as you said, Uncle Xia, beautiful words to win people over.” He folded the letter properly and placed it back into the envelope before showing Mr. Xia the ticket.
“I’ll go watch then.”
“Me too,” Mr. Xia took the ticket from him, had a good look and returned it to him, “I’ll book one online. I have to find an opportunity to have a good talk with Tony Twain.”
“There’s no rush actually. Let’s wait till after the Champions League final. You’ll definitely not be able to have a private talk with him before the final, Uncle Xia. He’s sure to be extremely busy then.”
Mr. Xia thought about what Chen Jian said and realized that he was right.
“Okay then, after the season is over, you’ll return to China to visit your parents and I’ll go look for him.”
Chen Jian nodded.
“We’re not done yet, Chen. You have to tell me about how you’ve planned for your own future? Don’t tell me things like you still wish to play for Nottingham Forest. That’s impossible, you know? It’s a delusion and empty delusions are pointless. You have to be realistic, your future lies elsewhere…”
Chen Jian waited for Mr. Xia to finish talking before replying calmly, “Sorry, Uncle Xia. I still want to play for Nottingham Forest, at least until the end of my contract.”
Mr. Xia put a hand on his forehead and exclaimed, “Why? To be a star? To let your parents see you on TV every weekend? To win more champion’s trophies? To earn more money? Why?”
This time, Chen Jian smiled and shook his head, “I don’t know.”
“You…you’re really an idiot!” To be stuck with a player like this, Mr. Xia, the agent, had no choice.
Chen Jian could only smile as he looked at him lying down on the sofa, unwilling to acknowledge him.
There are some things that you can’t tell an outsider so easily, Uncle Xia, very sorry.
...
Chapter 853 - The Old Guard is Still Standing Strong
When Chen Jian was debating with his agent in Netherlands about his future, Nottingham Forest was facing their opponent who was second from the bottom in the league—Newcastle.
This match took place at the same time as Arsenal’s visit to Tottenham.
The north London derby between Arsenal and Tottenham might be the toughest match that Arsenal had left in the remaining eight games of the league. That was because it was not an ordinary league match, this was a derby.
Twain was also paying attention to this match, Kerslake was listening to the latest match information on the radio with his headphones. If there was any new happening, he would tell Twain beside him immediately.
The Nottingham Forest players also understood what this match meant to them. They also paid a lot of attention on Arsenal’s game. The whole team could be said to be very distracted.
This was not a situation that Twain wanted to see; hence he had no choice but to keep reminding his players to focus before the game.
The match had entered the second half and the score line between Nottingham Forest and Newcastle was still 0:0. On the other side, Arsenal was leading Tottenham 1:0.
These scores were a little depressing.
Twain also felt that it was not good to keep caring about other people so he stood up from his seat, away from Kerslake’s “oral broadcast”, and shouted to the pitch for his players to focus and to score.
At the same time, on the other side at Tottenham’s home ground, White Hart Lane, even though his team was leading 1:0, Wenger was having a tough time.
Sometimes, the score did not reflect the actual state of the game, especially in games such as a derby.
Even though Arsenal was leading by a goal, they were under heavy pressure from Tottenham.
The Tottenham fans also knew the importance of this game. Some people even hung words of encouragement in the stands for Nottingham Forest playing in the north, “Leave the league to Forest, give us the FA Cup.”
As archrivals of Arsenal, they did not mind pulling Arsenal down nor do they mind watching Arsenal lose the crown. The opponent’s pain is their greatest pleasure and happiness.
Wenger stood at the sideline anxiously, constantly calling for his team to remind them to watch out for the counter. His brows touched from his frown and he looked very serious.
On the other side, Twain gritted his teeth as he glared at the pitch with his fists clenched and body tensed.
As managers, the pressure on the two of them were intense.
If Arsenal won this game, they would have basically won the league already. Nottingham Forest only had a mathematical possibility in theory—hoping for Arsenal to lose 0:8 in the last game and for Forest to win 6:0. The odds of that happening was too low…
Twain looked at his watch, there was 27 minutes to the end of the match. In other words, there was only 27 minutes to the end of the season.
Carl Spicer was at St. James Park himself as he wanted to witness Twain’s failure with his own eyes.
Twain was hesitating about whether he wanted to make a substitution. Newcastle was determined not to give Forest the three points in their home ground. They basically gave up attacking and defended with everyone. Bentley’s passes could not even get in. In this kind of situation, should he sub Bentley out?
Two more minutes passed, Forest laid siege on Newcastle’s goal. However, the bark is worse than the bite. Twain made his decision and he asked Kerslake to call Moke back from his warmup.
Newcastle was obviously defending against crosses, then let’s give them something different.
Moke ran to Twain and called out, “Boss.”
Twain who was watching the situation on the pitch turned to look at Moke then pulled him over. He pointed to the pitch and told him, “I need you to get on and use your penetration abilities to create some trouble for the Newcastle backline. Do you understand?”
Moke nodded, “I know what to do Boss.”
“Remember, you must cause chaos in their backline.”
“Sure thing, Boss.”
“Go!” Twain slapped Moke on his back.
The fourth official raised the LED board for a substitution on the sideline. Nottingham Forest making a change, number 7 Bentley off, number 17 Moke on.
At White Hart Lane, Tottenham Hotspurs also made a substitution. 34 years-old, old guard Michael Owen coming on for Croatian defender Corluka.
When they saw 34 years-old Owen coming on, some people from the visiting Arsenal fans broke into laughter.
Did Tottenham Hotspurs have no other players to use? They actually sent someone who could barely run on.
The commentator could not guess what Harry Redknapp wanted to do with this substitution either.
Owen was already 34 years old and he was frequently injured this season. He did not play many games for the team at all. Why would he send someone whose fitness and form cannot be guaranteed on?
“Hey, Tony, there’s a substitution over there,” Kerslake told Tony with his hands pressing on his headphones.
“Hmm?” Tony did not really care much about the substitution at White Hart Lane, he was paying attention to Moke’s performance. He dribbled the ball into a dead end again earlier, making his manager stomp his foot in annoyance.
“Tottenham’s substitution. Owen’s on.”
Twain was familiar with this name. He was stunned for a moment before coming back to his senses, “Owen? Michael Owen? The one who played for Liverpool and Newcastle before?”
Kerslake nodded his head.
Twain rolled his eyes and said, “Is he not retured yet? I thought he already retired since I’ve not seen him this season.”
“He’s frequently injured, He hasn’t even finished a complete match yet this season, “explained Kerslake.
“What’s old Harry thinking about? Forget it…” He sighed and pointed to the mini radio in Kerslake’s arms, “Keep that lousy thing. There’s no need to care about the others. We’ll just have to play our own game…and have no regrets.”
When he heard that the one who came on was that old guy Owen, Twain even had such a thought—Harry Redknapp is planning to give the League title to Arsenal. Therefore, he had already decided to take his revenge on Tottenham Hotspurs in the FA Cup Finals. Not only must he win, he wanted to give them a proper thrashing and shame them.
Kerslake moved his lips and put his hands inside his clothes, but he did not switch off the radio. Deep inside, he was still anticipating a miracle…
December 14th last year, Michael Owen celebrated his 34th birthday on the hospital bed. At that time, he just suffered a rather serious injury in training and everyone said that he would definitely retire then. In the end, he did not announce his retirement, instead, he claimed that he would do everything to recover and return to the field. Many people thought that it was a joke at that time.
But now, he had indeed returned to the field, even though the season had only one game and 21 minutes left.
The Arsenal goal was right below the visiting fans’ stand. He could hear the mocking coming from the stands clearly.
“Hey, old man! Why are you not retired yet?”
“Can you still run, Michael?”
“Be careful, don’t get injured again! If you must fall, remember not to fall in our penalty area!”
He ignored them.
He experienced peaks and lows in his professional career, and he had seen everything before. Such taunts could no longer affect his morale.
“This is really an aging strike force…” The commentator shook his head as he looked at this scene, “32 years old Pavlyuchenko and 34 years old Michael Owen. Could Harry Redknapp be planning to break through Arsenal’s defense with such a strike force?”
Wenger turned to take a look at the Tottenham Hotspurs’ manager Redknapp, who was standing at the sideline too. The old man looked calm and had no expression on his face.
He was behind but he seemed to be calmer than Wenger, who was leading.
Many Tottenham fans could not understand Michael Owen’s introduction too. They thought that Redknapp had given up on the game, otherwise, why would he introduce an old man? Boos targeted at Owen rang out from the stands.
To Owen, this was a betrayal…even his own fans were booing him.
Moke successfully broke though the defense of the Spanish left-back, José Enrique, but he had no intention of passing the ball. Instead, he continued to dribble into the area and this caused the Newcastle defense to fall into a state of panic.
Argentine defender Coloccini left Ibišević alone and came forward to cover. Moke did a quick stepover and pushed the ball towards the byline. Coloccini did not fall for the trick and simply followed him, not allowing him to cut in.
With his back towards Coloccini, Moke suddenly nutmegged the Argentine with a backheel and turned 180 degrees using Coloccini as a pivot and cut in near the byline!
Coloccini stretched out a leg to tackle the ball out of reflex but he saw Moke move the ball away in front of his eyes, and his foot managed to catch Moke’s foot…
One could have used guessed using his knees what happened next.
Coloccini felt a chill within him.
Moke fell with a shout.
The goalkeeper, Tim Krul grabbed the ball and he heard the referee’s whistle too.
“Penalty!” The commentator shouted excitedly. Nottingham Forest could not score after laying siege to the goal for more than 70 minutes, but they managed to get an opportunity to score from a dribble.
The Forest players on the field was just as excited as they rushed forward to hug Moke, pat his head and hammer his chest. Obviously, these people did not know that Arsenal was still leading on the other side yet.
In comparison, the Nottingham Forest technical area was much calmer, these coaches knew what was happening at White Hart Lane. Even if they scored the penalty as long as Arsenal was able to maintain this score till the end, Forest would still be unable to win the title.
“Forest got a penalty kick,” Wenger’s assistant leant towards him and told him.
Wenger smiled.
Even if Forest won with a penalty, it would be pointless. As long as they win this match, the title would almost be certainly Arsenal’s. He did not want to judge his opponent, certainly not one that was already defeated.
He remembered one thing though, Twain mentioned before that an one-goal lead is the most dangerous score line in this world. It was indeed rather dangerous for Arsenal to just be leading 1:0. He should remind his players to increase their attack and try for another goal. That way, they could celebrate winning the league title in their archrival’s stadium. There was nothing that could feel better than that in this world.
He stood up from his seat and he did not care whether Forest scored their penalty kick.
“Ibišević’s penalty! It’s in!!”
The commentators were very excited, but the celebrations in the Forest team’s technical area was very restricted. They merely stood and clapped, they did not even give each other a hug.
On the pitch however, the Forest players were very agitated as they hugged each other, they were only short of piling on top of each other.
Twain looked at his players and turned to look at Kerslake.
Kerslake knew what he meant and answered, “It’s still 1:0 on that side.”
Twain thought and said, “Don’t tell them about the truth.”
“But if they ask us…”
“Then say Tottenham equalized!” Twain snapped.
Ibišević freed himself from his teammates’ embraces and ran towards the sideline after scoring. He wanted to know about the situation on the other side.
“It’s level! It’s level!” Kerslake waved his arms and said, “Tottenham has drew level!”
Ibišević looked at Twain suspiciously because he did not see much agitation in his Boss’ face.
“Go back and continue the match! Why do you care about how other people are doing?!” Twain had to lecture him loudly, “Make sure you play your game properly first!”
Ibišević and the other players turned to run back onto the field, only Wood stayed there and looked at Twain, without moving immediately.
Even though the coaches told them that Tottenham had levelled, the surrounding people did not look happy and the Forest fans in the stands did not use any special actions to remind them. This “fact’ was very suspicious.
“I think we are very bad actors…” Kerslake complained as he walked back to the coaches’ seats.
Twain crossed his arms at the sideline, ignoring his complaint.
“Attack. Press up! Press up!” Wenger were gesticulating to his team from the sideline, “Both Owen and that Russian are not speedy forwards, don’t be afraid of their counter-attacks!”
Arsenal’s defensive line went further and further forward. They even forgot that this was a derby match.
Wilshere’s pass got intercepted but Arsenal’s defenders did not fall back to defend. They were waiting for their own midfielders to get the ball back and continue attacking.
Tottenham started their move. A streak of white flash ran past the Arsenal’s defensive line and received the ball from the air as Modrić pinged a long pass forward from defense.
“Michael Owen?”
Even the commentator was shocked as he questioned what he saw.
Owen turned to look at the Arsenal defenders behind him, then turned to look at the linesman to confirm if he was offside. The linesman did not do anything, only ran alongside him towards the byline.
Owen then looked forward, Almunia was hesitating whether to come out or to stay back.
Owen did not hesitate, he stopped looking around and dribbled the ball forward!
A deafening cheer exploded from the stands as everyone cheered for Owen at that moment. The Tottenham fans prayed that he could be 10 years younger and become the “Wonder Boy” again. The Arsenal fans, however, were cursing him to fall immediately.
“Michael Owen…” Kerslake suddenly stopped halfway back, listened carefully and mumbled under his breath.
“What?” Twain frowned as he asked.
“He’s dribbling the ball…onside…one on on…” Kerslake continued to mumble.
“He’s dribbling! He’s very fast, onside! Totally onside! What’s Senderos doing? Why is he raising his arm? Fall back! He’s one on one!” The commentator could not help but to complain, “This is not the sprinting speed that a 34 years-old old guard should have! Michael Owen! He seemed to have returned to 16 years ago for a moment…”
Owen was indeed very fast, so fast that Wenger was shocked too.
Almunia decided to come out because Owen was going to enter the penalty area.
He saw Owen’s right foot nudged the ball slightly while running just when he rushed out…
The ball flew over his head and ended in the goal behind him.
At that moment, White Hart Lane was silent.
“One on one… Almunia came out… Lob… Goal!! It’s a goal!!” Kerslake shouted all of a sudden and jumped up as if he was mad, “It’s a goal! Tony!! Tony! It’s a goal!! Tottenham has levelled the game! They’ve really equalized this time!!”
He turned and shouted towards Twain while pointing to the radio in his hand.
Twain did not ask, “Really?” Instead, he snatched the headphones from him and put them in his ears.
“…Beautiful lob from Michael Owen! Almunia could not react at all! I feel for him. The Arsenal team did not expect Owen to still have this kind of sprinting speed! One error of judgement of their defense gave Owen a chance like this. He dribbled with the ball for 30 meters and levelled the match at 1:1 with a beautiful lob!! I heard that Nottingham Forest has taken the lead at Newcastle with a penalty. Tony Twain’s team has a lifeline now!!”
At the same time, cheers suddenly rang out from the visiting stands. Those Forest fans who were closer to the pitch waved their mobile phones and radios in their hands and shouted towards the pitch.
“They’ve scored! They’ve scored!! Tottenham, Tottenham has scored!”
“Tony!” Kerslake clenched his fist and gritted his teeth as he looked at Twain, “A miracle has happened!!”
Twain did not smile, he was in a slight daze. Has it really happened? Arsenal really conceded an equalizer? Will there be a delay in reporting and Arsenal has already scored immediately? He looked around aimlessly and passed the headphones back to Kerslake, “The game is not over yet, it’s too early to celebrate.”
He turned around and shouted towards the pitch:
“Score another goal! Score one more! Seal the victory! Watch out for their counterattack… focus!!”
This time, the Forest players believed that Tottenham had really levelled the score and their morale was boosted. For a moment, they actually forced the whole Newcastle team to be stuck inside their own defensive third.
“Owen! Owen! Owen!” The voices from the stands at White Hart Lane boomed into the sky.
The old guard, Owen, extended both arms and ran on the pitch. It had been very long since he last enjoyed such cheers and felt the cool breeze on his face. He felt like he had wings and was flying freely in the sky.
When he got seriously injured this season, some people advised him to retire with dignity. But he said, “Injuries are like my wife. I’m already used to being with them all the time. I will not retire because I want to continue playing, I feel that I can continue playing.”
Everyone joked that he was in denial and being boastful then.
But now, everyone who mocked and laughed at him had shut up. What showed on their faces were shock, awkwardness, embarrassment and respect now.
At that moment, even injuries were defeated by this strong old guard. He gave those people who exclaimed, “Hasn’t this old guy retired yet?” a tight slap on their faces. The slap really felt good…
Wenger hung his head and nobody could see the expression on his face then. Annoyance? Anger? Regret? Doubt? Helplessness?
None of these mattered now.
Wenger had always believed that a professional player’s career and competitiveness would start going downhill after 30. That was why he always did what he could to cleanse his team of all the “old players” above 30 years old, why the young talents that he trained could have so much room for development. There was nothing wrong with that and Arsenal agreed with that club philosophy.
But this scene today was indeed rather ironic. He was defeated by an old guard whom he never placed much importance on. He was totally defeated and he could not even come up with a reason for it…
What could he say? What kind of expression should he show in front of the cameras?
He could only look down in silence.
The next day, when Nottingham Forest won the hopes of fighting for the league title again, and news of Arsenal settling for a draw after the goal from old guard Owen got published in the papers, Owen received a postcard from his own mailbox.
Written on it was:
Your goal saved the life of a person. Thank you, Michael.
It was not signed.
...
Chapter 854 - Our City Ground Stadium
The number of fans who travelled to the City Ground Stadium increased as the time for the last match of the Premier League drew near.
Twain would sometimes drive by the City Ground Stadium when he made his way home from Wilford, and he would see the entrance to the stadium surrounded by hordes of flowers and Nottingham Forest scarves that swayed gently in the wind.
He knew that all those items had been left behind by people who wanted to bid farewell to the City Ground Stadium.
The red City Ground Stadium was reflected on the clear surface of the Trent River. On the opposite end of the river was the Meadow Lane Stadium, which serves as the home ground for Notts County.
Twain and Dunn were working in two separate places that were situated very close to each other. But, the two have never met each other after they bade farewell a year ago.
There were two days left till the last match of the Premier League. Twain drove over to the City Ground Stadium after finishing his work for the day. The sun was close to setting by the time he reached.
There was a greater number of Forest fans who had made their way to the City Ground Stadium to say their farewells today. The fans knew that they did not have much time left on their hands. The City Ground Stadium would be demolished during the summer after Forest plays their final match in two days’ time, and a new sports and recreation center would be built in its stead.
Twain parked his car by the river and turned on the stereo. He listened to Dolores O’Riordan’s gentle voice as he admired the scenery of the City Ground Stadium against the backdrop of the setting sun.
A feeling of warmth surged up from within him as he gazed at the stadium. He would have felt nothing but coldness inside of him right now if he had not transmigrated and gone through the life that he did.
He had fought for 11 years in this very stadium. He had always complained about how small the stadium is, and how it is not able to house more spectators and thereby lead to greater pressure on their opponents.
Evan Doughty eventually came to agree with his sentiments as well. The size of the stadium did not reflect the results, standing and reputation of Nottingham Forest.
Twain did not change his opinion about needing a bigger stadium, but he still felt a little reluctant now that he had to bid farewell to it.
He did not buy flowers, attach a card to it and leave it at the entrance of the stadium like the rest of the fans did. All he did was to recline against the bonnet of his car and gaze at the stadium with his arms folded before his chest.
11 years might have passed since he transmigrated, but Twain still vividly remembers all the emotions that he felt in the stadium when he was first placed in charge as a manager.
He felt a sense of belonging to the City Ground Stadium when his team sent West Ham into a frenzy by scoring two goals consecutively. He liked the fervent atmosphere in the stadium, and he enjoyed the cheers and singing voices that came from the stands. He did not regard those sounds as cacophonous. To him, they were sounds that were even more pleasant to listen to than the best music in the world.
He was 34 years old back then, but he is 45 now. Those 11 years have become a part of his life that he is unable to erase.
To the City Ground Stadium however, 11 years is nothing more than a tenth of its ‘life’. It has quietly stood by the Trent River for a long period of time, and it has seen the rise and fall of Forest.
All the heroes who have left a name for themselves in history did so on its grounds, and it was much older than all the trophies in the trophy room.
It did not matter how arrogant and conceited Twain was as a person. Even he has to bow before the stadium.
115 years passed by in the blink of an eye. Everything that happened during all those years have now become nothing more than a part of history. The City Ground Stadium might be bathed in golden light right now, but its red exterior was still conspicuous even if viewed from a distance.
Countless people have left bouquets of flowers before it as a way of remembering and saying farewell to the stadium.
Twain was lost in his thoughts as he leant against the bonnet of his car.
Someone recognized him from afar and approached him.
“Tony?” The person who approached him squinted his eyes to look at him. He could not see properly due to the glare of the sun.
“Kenny. It’s been a while.” The person standing before Twain was the boss of the Forest Bar, Kenny Burns.
“It has definitely been a while since you moved houses.”
“What could possibly have led you to leave your bar behind and make your way over here?”
“How could business be more important than saying goodbye to a dear friend?” Burns pointed at the City Ground Stadium behind him.
It was only then that Twain noticed that Burns was holding onto a bouquet of flowers like the rest.
“Do you have the ticket to the last match of the Premier League?” Twain was going to give Burns one if he did not have the tickets.
“I’m a season ticket holder, Tony.”
Twain chuckled. “I’ve never seen you at a match before.”
“I will definitely go and watch the last match. Also, it won’t just be me. Some of my friends will be coming down too.”
“Brosnan told me that he’s trying to plan some farewell event for the City Ground Stadium, and that he was trying to gather some of the ex-Forest players for it. Looks like he has already reached out to you?”
Burns nodded his head. “I would’ve attended it without his invitation anyway. It’s a shame that the boss can’t make it.”
The ‘boss’ that he was referring to was not Tony Twain but Brian Clough instead. Clough was Burns’ manager back then.
“Mrs. Clough has also agreed to attend the event.” Twain said.
It was great that Mrs. Clough could turn up at the event, but both of them were well aware that Mrs. Clough would never be able to replace the boss. Neither of them meant to disrespect Mrs. Clough with those sentiments, but that was just how that felt.
The conversation died at the mention of the deceased Clough and a silence settled between the two.
Against the setting sun, Dolores gently sang,
“I had a dream, strange it may seem… Open my eyes, I realize, this is my perfect day… Hope you’ll never grow old. Hope you’ll never grow old. Hope you’ll never grow old. Hope you’ll never grow old…”
“Tony…”
“Hmm?”
“There’s something that I’ve been meaning to say. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Go on.”
“I have to thank you for not saying that you would get people to forget about Brian Clough even though you’ve achieved great results at this club.”
Twain snorted. “Ha! I’m not a fool. I really respect the boss as well.”
“It doesn’t matter how well the club is performing right now. To us, the boss and what he has achieved are irreplaceable. I suppose you can say it’s just us being obstinate.”
Twain smiled and said, “If you dare to say that there is someone who is better than him as a manager, then a stroke of lightning will flash across the sky and hit you on the head. I don’t want to be hit by lightning, and I’m sure you don’t either.”
Twain’s words caused Burns to laugh, and the slightly despondent atmosphere between them dissipated as a result.
Twain was actually alluding to something with his words. Several years ago, when a team led by Nigel Clough, or Brian Clough’s son, faced off with Manchester United in the FA Cup, a reporter asked if he agreed with the statement that Ferguson was the most outstanding manager in the British footballing scene, to which Nigel Clough responded, “It’s hard for me to say because of my family connections. If I said Sir Alex, a bright light might come crashing down from above and hit me on the head!”
“I wouldn’t say I was the best manager in the business. But I was in the top one.”
Those were the words that were said by Clough, and they have also been inscribed onto the base of Brian Clough’s statue that is situated at Old Market Square.
“You two are a little alike…” Burns shook his head as he looked at Twain. “I think he’d be proud of what you have achieved.”
“No.” Twain disagreed with Burns’ remark. “He’d have scolded the living daylights out of me on the papers. Just because I said that the referee was unfair.”
Burns smiled happily at Twain’s words. After a while, he averted his gaze back onto the stadium, and his mind wandered off again.
He began reminiscing his younger days where he fought with Manager Clough and his teammates. The stadium is still the same as the one that he played in back then, and even the cheers sound the same, but the people from back then are long gone.
Now, the stadium is about to be demolished, and the only things he has to remind himself of those times are the memories within his mind. But, there would come a day where he turns old and his memories get foggy.
When that day comes, what can he use as proof that his memories are real?
Twain’s mobile phone that he left in the car rang. He reached into the car to grab it.
It was a phone call from his wife Shania asking him when he would be coming home.
“Ah. I’m currently at the stadium, and I ran into Mr. Burns…” Twain explained to his wife over the phone.
Burns snapped out of his reveries and smiled at Twain. “Go back home, Tony. Your wife is waiting for you.”
Twain shrugged. “I still want to chat with you a little longer.”
“I’d definitely come down to watch the match during the weekend, Tony.”
“Are you trying to put pressure on me?” Twain turned and looked at Burns as he opened his car door.
“Are you telling me you are scared of pressure?”
Twain smiled. “We’d definitely win. But, as for whether or not we’d become champions of the Premier League, that still depends on the outcome of the match between Arsenal and Manchester City.”
“What an exciting season. I wish you all the best.”
Twain sat in the car. He then poked his head out of the window to wave at Burns. “I wish Nottingham Forest all the best.”
He then drove away from the City Ground Stadium while being bathed in the orange glow of the setting sun.
Burns, on the other hand, started walking in the opposite direction towards the entrance of the City Ground Stadium where all the other fans have gathered, with a bouquet of flowers in his hands.
The next day, the Nottingham Forest players saw Pierce Brosnan and a cameraman make their way into the training grounds under the accompaniment of Allan Adams.
Twain frowned when he noticed Allan Adams beside Brosnan, but he said nothing in response.
When all three individuals passed by in front of him, he smiled radiantly at them. “What a rare sight. I wonder what brings you here to our training grounds today, Mr. Reporter?”
Brosnan was about to open his mouth to speak, but he was cut off by Allan Adams.
“It’s like this, Tony. Mr. Pierce Brosnan is intending to do a feature article on the City Ground Stadium, and he hopes to be able to interview the team about their thoughts and feelings towards the stadium…”
Brosnan smiled and nodded his head by the side.
“Is that so… All right, go ahead. But, I must remind you not to let it drag on for too long. They have just finished their training and have yet to change into a new set of clothes. If they were to somehow catch a cold…” Twain pulled a face. “It won’t be good for either of us, right?”
Twain turned around and left after finishing his words.
Brosnan felt a little awkward, because the very first person he had to interview was Tony Twain…
Allan could tell that Twain was upset, and he knew the reason behind his bad mood.
The first-team manager has not spoken a single word to him ever since he intervened and forcibly sold Lennon to another club. However, Allan was unwilling to reveal the strained relationship between him and Twain before the media, so he quickly explained to Brosnan, “Don’t mind him. He doesn’t like to be disturbed, especially since there’s a big game coming up…”
“Haha! We understand, Mr. Adams.” Brosnan said with a laugh.
To Brosnan, Twain was not acting the way that he did because ‘a big game is coming up and he doesn’t like to be disturbed’. Rather, it was because Twain was just a temperamental person, so it was normal for him to treat a person well on certain days and coldly on others.
The interview went quite smoothly due to Allan Adams’ presence. The players were all well aware of Allan’s status and position in the club.
Twain stood at the side with his arms folded and watched on coldly.
Once Brosnan was done interviewing the players, he went up to Twain to ask for an interview.
Allan Adams did not follow after him immediately. He hesitated for a moment, seemingly intent on keeping a distance between him and Twain.
“Tony. Can you talk about the final match that will be played at the City Ground Stadium?”
Twain continued to pull a long face as he looked at the two reporters. “We will bid farewell to City Ground Stadium with a victory.” He did not go on to give an inspirational and passionate speech about how he would lead his team to become champions of the Premier League.
If it had been any other reporter interviewing Twain right now, he or she would have followed up with a question about why he did not say that he was going to bid farewell to the City Ground Stadium by becoming champions.
Brosnan did not ask Twain the question because he knew Twain well, and he knew how complex the whole situation was.
Even if Forest was able to defeat Sunderland at home, their fate of becoming champions would still rest on the outcome of the match between Arsenal and Manchester City.
The entire Nottingham Forest team surprisingly did not display even a twinge of optimism towards the possibility of them becoming champions of the Premier League. Even their arrogant manager, Tony Twain, refused to comment about whether they could become champions as well.
Carl Spicer announced in his show that he had ordered a new and trendy table from Ikea for Tony Twain.
Astonishingly, Twain did not say anything in response to Spicer’s comments. His lack of reaction left the media very disappointed.
However, there were still many other areas that the media could focus on.
Will the champions of the Premier League be Arsenal or Nottingham Forest?
Will the two ex-Forest players in Manchester City go easy on Arsenal due to their personal grudges against Twain?
Bendtner had spoken up regarding the rumor that he would go easy on Arsenal in an interview that was conducted a day ago. “I am a professional football player. What I care about is not who becomes the champions of the league. I only care about attaining victory for my team.”
As for Ashley Young, he confirmed that he would leave Manchester City for Liverpool at the end of the season. He indicated that he would like to bid farewell to Manchester City with a victory.
Neither player mentioned a word about Twain.
Fat John, Skinny Bill and their gang gathered at the Forest Bar a day before the kick-off of the final match of the Premier League to create the banners and flags that they would use during the match. There were several other Forest fans who also gathered at other bars to do the same thing.
The Nottingham Forest players went through their last training session at Wilford. Tony Twain set aside some time to analyse Sunderland’s game with his coaching team. They had already studied everything that they could about their opponent for the entire week, but they still wanted to analyse Sunderland a little more because they could not think of any other thing that they could do instead.
Perhaps they could somehow help Manchester City defeat Arsenal by analysing Sunderland on a much deeper level?
As the day approached sunset, the number of fans who gathered at the City Ground Stadium entrance began to dwindle in numbers.
The only things that remained were the flowers and scarves that continued to sway in the breeze.
Thompson Isaksson, who worked as a football ground staff for Forest and helped to maintain the grasses at the training grounds and at the stadium, appeared before the flowers that had been placed at the entrance of the City Ground Stadium.
If someone were to ask him whether the most memorable thing he ever did as a football ground staff was to help Forest defeat Barcelona by creating a ‘one and only’ stadium for Tony Twain, he would definitely shake his head and disagree.
To him, the most memorable thing that he did as a football ground staff was stepping onto the turf at the City Ground Stadium and maintaining it.
He had already decided to retire at the end of the season. He regarded it as an honor to be able to retire alongside the City Ground Stadium.
Today, he had come to say goodbye to the City Ground Stadium alone. The next day, he would return here with 30,000 other Forest fans, and he hoped to be able to witness the moment where Nottingham Forest bid their stadium of 115 years farewell by clinching the champions trophy.
Isaksson felt as though he was looking at his younger self as he gazed at the City Ground Stadium against the setting sun.
He stood quietly out in the open with a small smile upon his wrinkled face as a breeze caressed his skin.
“… This is our City Ground Stadium. It is as old as our granddad. It will still be here by the Trent River even when we all become granddads… It will still be here by the Trent River till the day we die… We will all die one day, but it will never grow old nor die, because it is our City Ground Stadium…”
There were not a lot of people who could still sing the song that Isaksson just sang. It was a song that the Forest fans dedicated to the City Ground Stadium when Isaksson was still young. The melody was simple and the lyrics were down-to-earth.
Sadly, technology was not as advanced back then. The fans were not able to record their songs by themselves, and there were no professional music companies who would help fans record their songs into CDs and then release them to the public either.
Darkness enveloped the streets, and the streetlights came to life.
Isaksson sang the song softly under his breath as he turned around and left.
...
Chapter 855: A Suboptimal Situation
“The weather is fine today.” On the Wilford training ground, Bale shaded his eyes with his hands and looked up at the sky. In his vision, his surroundings were clear as a crystal and the sun was vibrant. “We will play our last league game under such good weather.”
“That’s good. I hate the rain.” It was Şahin who said this and, as a technical midfielder, the pitch being wet was torturous for him.
The team had just finished a training session and was getting together to rest. The atmosphere in the Forest team had always been good, so even during the training break, they would get together and chat.
The conversation naturally shifted to the ownership of the league title. Nottingham Forest’s players were sensible and everyone knew that it was not their team that decides whom the league title belonged to.
“I called Bendtner yesterday.” Bale said, as everyone looked at him.
“I asked him if he was starting in the match. He was sure he was starting. And then I hoped for him to do his best to beat Arsenal…”
“You actually went to beg him?” Pepe said dismissively. Until now, there were still people in the team who could not approve of Bendtner leaving the team as a traitor back then.
So many years have passed…let bygones be bygones.” Bale pouted. “And I didn’t ‘beg’, I only wanted him to bring up his sportsmanship…”
“How did he answer that?” Some teammates were more interested in Bentner’s reaction.
“He did not agree or reject. ”
Pepe then snorted next to him, “Look at the way he is now, leaving Nottingham Forest, what did he get? No champion, no honor for so many years. Playing the Confederations Cup every year was his highest pursuit…”
Bale knew Pepe looked down on Bendtner, hence he did not go on.
“Don’t bother yourself with what happens to others, just focus on winning this match of ours,” said Wood, who had been listening. He was right, it was pointless, and was simply “nonsense”. Everyone had no interest in continuing to talk about the subject.
“If, and I mean if, if we don’t win the league, how would our coach eat a table?” Ibišević tried to make his tone sound like a joke.
But everyone stared at him.
“Well, okay, okay, let’s not talk about this…” Ibišević raised his hands.
“Hey, are you guys under a lot of pressure?” Tomorrow’s game…” It was Woodgate who said that.
“Are you under a lot of pressure?” Someone next to him immediately rebutted.
Woodgate replied honestly, “A lot.”
“I’m still ok…” Pepe lay on the grass with a strand of grass in his mouth,” As long as we win the game, being able to be the champion depends on the results between Arsenal and Manchester City. But I still want to say, putting my fate into other people’s hands, makes me unhappy.”
“I’m not happy, too. ”
“Me too. ”
The group of people echoed.
Pepe looked at the white clouds in the blue sky and muttered, “Our pressure is no greater than the coach. Every time I see the head, I think, I would never want to be a coach after I retire, at least not to be a head coach …”
As everyone heard him, they all looked over to see coach talking to the coaching team about something.
※※※
“I always thought the team was not very competitive…” Eastwood, as a coach who just switched over from a full-time player, was clearly more aware of his teammates’ mental states than any other coach.
Twain did not speak, he just looked over there. Chris Kerslake laughed, “So, how do you think it should be, Freddy? Should we get everyone together and shout slogans?”
Eastwood did not care about Chris Kerslake’s words, as he frowned and said, “Perhaps it was the reality that we are unable to guarantee victory even after winning the matches demotivates everyone…”
Chris Kerslake wanted to object, thinking that Eastwood was worrying mindlessly. Nottingham Forest had been with him for nearly a decade and he knew the team better than anyone else. But Twain opened his mouth first and said, “You’re right. Don’t just talk about them, sometimes I think about this reality, I also lose my fighting spirit …”
Chris Kerslake opened his mouth and looked at Twain in amazement.
Twain bowed his head as he stood silent for a moment before started talking again, “I f*cking hate this feeling, placing my fate into other people’s hands, and it’s even someone that I hate, it feels helpless.”
Eastwood looked at the coach and did not reply, he could understand this feeling because he was feeling the same way.
“I have a lot of ways to make sure we win against Sunderland, whether tactically or psychologically, but don’t feel very motivated now. Do you think Wenger will give us such a chance? Will they make mistakes? If I were Arsène Wenger, I would ask the team to defend once they scored a goal, as this time 1:0 and 5:0 were of no difference.” Twain told his colleagues, “The Football Association prepared for two scenarios, they took two Champions Trophy to both the Emirates Stadium, and us here. But the trophy that came to us is a replica, because everyone thought that Arsenal’s chances of losing the title are too small.
“A month ago I promised everyone a better tomorrow, that we could win the league, the FA Cup and the Champions League three times and becoming triple champions. But now it seems that the probability is too small, it’s no wonder they’re feeling unmotivated.”
Twain looked at the watch. Break time was over and his face immediately changed, “Well, forget what I just said, don’t let them sense anything unusual. Keep training!”
He was revitalized in an instant. Eastwood had seen a similar scenario once, that was after Nottingham Forest’s 3-2 win over Aston Villa in the 31st round. Twain was also tired initially and then instantly rejuvenated, seemingly two different people.
Was this his way of self-regulating?
※※※
“Well, this is the end of today’s training, I hope you don’t play too late and have an early break.” Twain spoke to the team before concluding the training. “Tomorrow’s game is very important. This season of hard work will be decided in the 90 minutes. But don’t be too nervous, it’s just a league game.”
Twain waved and let the team disperse.
He was the last person to leave the training base, and when he picked up his belongings before driving away, he saw Pierce Brosnan waiting at the door. After seeing him come out, Bruce waved to him frantically.
“Is there any issue, Mr. Journalist? I’m in a hurry to go home, it wouldn’t be nice of me to make my wife wait.”
“The media’s been quiet these two days. I would like to ask you, Tony, are you sure you don’t want to say anything?” Bruce came up and asked.
“What would you like me to say?”
“We all thought you were going to use psychological warfare again… Against Wenger and Arsenal, to put some pressure on Manchester City…”
Twain looked at Bruce, thought for a while, and said, “Okay, then. Just say that I celebrate preemptively for Arsenal for obtaining the title and, to be honest, I don’t think Manchester City poses any threat to Arsenal. They have already qualified for the Confederations Cup and have no additional desires. And you know Manchester City and us have shared a very strained relationship… I’m prepared enough to say that Arsenal’s win over Manchester City would be a definite thing, after all, the two teams are not on the same level. Of course against Sunderland, we will win as I said I would have a victorious match to bade farewell to the city stadium.”
Having said that, he pointed to Bruce’s little book, “Have you written it all down?”
“No more?” Bruce was a little surprised.
“No, that’s it. Just upload what I said without changes. There’s still a day left anyway.”
After dealing with Bruce, Twain drove away.
Bruce looked at his quick notes, as he really could not find anything worth hyping up … He was telling the truth. First of all, Arsenal and Manchester City were really not on the same line. Secondly, Manchester City did qualify for the Confederations Cup early and arguably had no desire for the last game. Thirdly, the relationship between Manchester City and Nottingham Forest was bad and that was true that they did not have to work hard to beat Arsenal in an unnecessary game to let Nottingham Forest reach the top, they were not the modern new citizens of the new century. Fourthly, now that McClaren was the Manchester City manager, this man and Twain’s personal feud was enough to write a book. What reason did he have to fight with all their might with Arsenal to help Twain? He might even deliberately send the three points to Arsenal and then watch gleefully as Twain suffered. Fifthly, Bendtner, Ashley Young and Twain’s relationship was not good either, and there was no need for them to help Twain’s team to win the title and try to beat Arsenal, even if Nottingham Forest were their initial team. But having left for so many years, that relationship was long gone. Sixth …
There was no need to analyze anymore. If he were to go any further, Manchester City not automatically scoring into their own goal was giving face to Tony Twain already.
“What kind of psychological warfare is this?” Bruce frowned. “When did the truth become a means of psychological warfare?”
※※※
“George, tomorrow is the last round of the league, right?” Sophia asked about her son. Wood nodded.
“I watched TV and it said your chances of winning the championship are slim?” Wood nodded again.
“Well…” Sophia hesitated, “Then wouldn’t Mr Twain have to eat a table in front of the media? ”
Wood looked up at his mother. “The chances are just slim, it is not a sure loss, don’t worry, mum. ”
“But if you and Arsenal both win, wouldn’t the championships be still theirs?”
“Arsenal could also lose or draw. They might not win fore sure. ”
Sophia wanted to speak more, but when she saw the look on her son’s face, she chose to shut up. She did not know much about football, and since her son said that there is hope, then she would trust him.
※※※
Gareth Bale recently found a girlfriend, but the girl was not a public figure, just an ordinary beautiful girl who was still a college student. The two met at a ball and fell in love. They were still dating, and the girls liked Bale’s star status, which makes her feel proud in front of her classmates.
Tonight, Bale had dinner with the girl at her place, and then, as the girl sat, dreaming that they were going to have a passionate night, Bale suddenly offered to go home.
“Go home?” The girl stared at Bale as if she had heard something ridiculous.
“Yes, I have to go home.”
“Oh, don’t be like that. Gareth. You’re not a child anymore, do you have to go home to sleep at 9:30 every night?” The girlfriend put her petite body on Bale in the hope that she could use her sexy body to keep her boyfriend. “Your parents are not with you, and even if you stay with me overnight, they won’t say anything…”
Yes, Bale had moved out of his home and was living alone, and it was not the first time he stayed at his girlfriend’s place. But tonight was special.
Bale placed his lips on his girlfriend’s mouth, but to her disappointment, he did not stick his tongue in, but instead only touching for a bit before leaving.
“Not today, Shannon.”
Bale escaped the girl’s embrace, as he could feel his girlfriend’s disappointment.
“Because tomorrow is the final round?” Shannon sat on the bed, looking at her boyfriend.
Bale looked back at her. As it was summer, Shannon was only wearing a sling dress, and now the sling had slipped to the shoulder, revealing a large area of her white swaying chest, if it was any lower he could see that reddish spot. She really had a good figure … Bale exclaimed in the mind. But such a temptation would be of little use to him.
Gareth Bale nodded.
Suddenly the girl became a little willful, as she asked aloud, “Me or football?”
Bale was stunned as he was asked upon such a question, he did not find the question difficult to answer, he just did not expect Shannon to ask such a low-standard question…
He looked at the beautiful girl, who had almost stripped everything, and shrugged, “From tonight till tomorrow, I love football more.”
Having said that, he opened the door and walked out.
The girl, who felt insulted, grabbed her pillow and threw it at the door, then threw everything that she could throw onto the floor, as she lay down on the bed and cried. She and Bale had known each other for three months, and it was the first time she saw him being so ruthless.
It seems like sleeping with him was not sufficient to understand him…
※※※
Bendtner and Ashley Young sat in a bar on the second floor of the hotel, where his teammates usually relax, drink, play billiards, chat and dance to the music. The team’s goal had been achieved this season, and this last round of the league was more like a walk-through. After 90 minutes of play, they can immediately pack their luggage to enjoy a holiday.
Bendtner knew that at another hotel not far from here, Arsenal’s players must have gone to the room early to rest under manager Arsène Wenger’s supervision. Compared to them, Manchester City’s team-mates seemed like they were on holiday in London.
A teammate walked past unsteadily with a beer in his hand and asked aloud, “Nicklas, how have you been in summer?”
“Go home.” Bendtner replied.
“You are really boring…”
The man muttered and poured a half-glass of beer, and then raised the glass to Bendtner. Bentner then raised his glass of wine out of courtesy, but did not drink it.
After the people left, Ashley Young who was beside Bendtner, then turned at said,”Look at what they look like… I bet we’ll lose at least three balls at the Emirates Stadium! There was a slight disgust in the tone.
“It’s normal to relax, it’s been a tough season and we got the League Cup early anyway.” Bendtner had no expression on his face.
Ashley Young heard Bendtner say so, but laughed out loud instead,”Ha! The goal of a team that claimed to be the richest team in the world was to only reach the Confederations Cup … You know why I am going to leave? Liverpool doesn’t pay me as much as I am paid here, but I long for glory, and Manchester City can’t give that to me. ”
The music was loud, Ashley Young was not afraid of people overhearing what he said.
“That is how it is here…” he laughs, pointing to his indulgent teammates, “when they move from other teams, they will constantly claim that ‘I will help Manchester City win the title’, ‘I’m not here to get a good salary’ … But the truth? It was still the money that was more practical. Without fighting spirit, the players in the dressing room are only concerned about how much they can get more the next time till they renewed their contract, where to play after the weekend game, how many beautiful women they will get in the post-season holiday. I also care about these, but I care more about the championship!”
“I’ve had enough. Even if Liverpool didn’t look for me, I would’ve asked to leave.”
Bendtner listened silently to his team-mates’ complaints and asked, “Can Liverpool give you the title?”
Ashley Young responded, and he knew what Bentner meant by asking that. As long as Nottingham Forest were present, Liverpool would have to be under pressure, they were initially second this season, but because of Nottingham Forest, they were forced to be third. Last season, Liverpool were top of the league until the 30th round of the league, but the last league title was given to Nottingham Forest, and then back to … Forget it, stop thinking about it.
“At least . . . There’s a bunch of players out there who want to win the championship, not a bunch of people like these … If they can get paid, even if they are to sit on the audience seating, they would be okay with it.” Ashley Young found the difference between Liverpool and Manchester City, as he specifically reiterates “professional players”.
This time it was Bendtner’s turn to be silent, Ashley Young was accurate, as he had nothing left to say.
The atmosphere in Manchester City’s dressing room had been poor all these years. Head coach McClaren was not the kind of iron-fisted coach who could hold down the dressing room. To be honest he lacked charisma and was too different from Tony Twain. Coupled with the fact that the Manchester City hierarchy are people from the UAE, there was a lack of desire to keep the players loyal to the club. Even Manchester City fans jeered at their players at home games, at those “mercenaries” who came just for the money. This team was really different in the Premier League: everyone knew that Manchester City had no chance to win any title, and coming to Manchester City was to say goodbye to the championships. But every year there were still a lot of players moving to Manchester City because they could get a higher salary than their former owners. Instead of going to places like Qatar to seek gold, they could stay in the sights of Europe’s top competitions and mass media.
The two people were silent for a while, perhaps realizing that it was not always good to think bad about their teammates.
Later, Ashley Young sighed, “I now think Nottingham Forest is really unlucky, the last round of the league their opponents are not strong, but Arsenal’s opponents definitely weak as well. The boss did not arrange for me to start, I would rather not play at all for the whole game, lest being a disgrace. The boss himself, perhaps is all looking forward to watching Nottingham Forest lose their championships…”
Bendtner glanced at him, “I don’t think the boss is that narrow-minded. He’s a decent person.”
“Yes, a good man. What a good person to be able to bring out such a dressing room… I would rather have an iron-fisted coach who could get the team in line with so we can get a big salary and the honor to fight out. How good would it be…”
Ashley Young poured the beer from the glass in one breath, then got up and left.
“I’m going back to my room to rest, this music is really awful.”
Bendtner watched his teammates leave, he did not return back to his rest but continued to sit in the same position, playing with a glass full of wine, but he did not drink it at all.
...
Chapter 856 - I Am Ready, What About You Guys?
11th May, sunny, the highest temperature after noon was 31 degrees Celsius. The final round of the English Premier League would all start at three-thirty in the afternoon.
Tony Twain got out of bed at seven in the morning. His wife was even earlier than him and she was already busy making breakfast for him in the kitchen.
He was not anxious to wash up and change, instead, he sat on the bed and dazed for a while. Was this day just like any other day? No, this was a special day. Not because the champion would be decided on this day, but because of the complexity regarding how the title is decided.
He remained dazed on the bed, as if he was still not fully awake yet.
After he stayed silent for a period of time, he rubbed his face and got off the bed.
A new day had begun. How would he feel when this day ended?
Shania went forward for a morning kiss after she saw Twain coming down. Twain pouted and said, “I haven’t brushed my teeth yet.”
Shania kept reminding Twain not to be too agitated over the course of breakfast, it was not a big issue if he was not able to win the league title.
Twain thought that Shania was being inauspicious by saying that and he said with a black face, “Can’t you say something nicer?”
Shania rolled her eyes and replied, “You’re being so nervous so early in the morning. What will you do during the match?”
“Me? Nervous?” Twain could not help but laugh. However, he would find it difficult to laugh very soon as he felt his heart beat much faster than usual.
Shania looked at him as she realized that Twain had fell silent again.
Twain laughed awkwardly, “Seems like I’m really a little nervous…”
Shania placed her forehead on Twain’s head, smiled and said, “I know you love to be the champion, but don’t make me too worried too.”
Twain nodded softly.
※※※
His teammates staying in the same room as him was still sound asleep when Bendtner sat up on his bed. It looked like they had a crazy night last night. The smell of alcohol in the room was proof of that.
Ashley Young’s concern might very possibly be a reality this afternoon —— This Manchester City team was totally incapable of stopping Arsenal. Even if Nottingham Forest demolishes Sunderland by a score of 90:0 at the City Ground, it would be pointless.
He turned and look at Robinho who was not always in line. The Brazilian’s nightlife was really rich… The fact that he was still sleeping here and not at the side of some other woman should have shocked him.
Bendtner jumped out of bed wearing only his underwear and drew the curtains. Bright sunlight gushed into the dark room immediately and fell straight on Robinho’s face.
Robinho blinked as he was woken by such a radiant beam of sunlight.
“Who turned on the lights?” He asked groggily as he covered his face with one hand and squinted his eyes.
“Robbie, it’s morning,” Bendtner replied loudly with gusto.
The confused Brazilian finally became a little bit more awake.
“It’s morning?” He blinked hard and saw that the light that woke him up did not come from the lights, but from the sun instead. He mumbled, “What the…what time is it?”
“7.30,” Bendtner smiled at him.
“Oh, for god’s sake…” Robinho flopped back down on the bed, “It’s so early! Let me sleep a little longer…”
“It’s time for breakfast Robbie,” Bendtner said as he acted dumb.
“You can go…” Robinho covered half his body with the blanket and waved weakly, muttering, “Don’t care about me…”
“What time are you planning to sleep until?”
“Until I wake up naturally…” Robinho fell asleep after saying that.
Bendtner opened his arms and shrugged his shoulders helplessly.
He believed that Robinho was definitely not a special case. Many of the Manchester City players were like this last night and McClaren could not care less. To him, the team had already completed their task ahead of time. The final league match was not important, and it was natural for him to let the players relax. As long as they did not go sleep around, why should he stop them from drinking? In the English footballing world, one could not say one was a professional footballer unless one could drink!
Robinho was going to start in this game…
After 11 years of arrogance, Tony Twain was finally going to receive his karma. The team facing Arsenal was a Manchester City team who had surrendered even before the match.
Logically speaking, he should be happy about it, but he did not feel any joy in his heart at all.
After washing up and changing, he saw Ashley Young yawning as he walked out of the room next to his when he exit.
“Good morning…Yawn——”
There was a drop of tear.
“Didn’t you sleep very early? Why are you not awake yet?” Bendtner asked, puzzled.
“Don’t even talk about it…” Ashley Young looked to be in pain, “Shaun was exceptionally excited last night and forced me to play poker with him. He’s the leader of the team and I couldn’t say no…” He yawned again as he recounted his tale.
“Who won?”
“I did…” But there was no traces of the joy of winning on Young’s face, “That bastard Shaun said that I can forget about sleeping until he won… But his card skills are really damn lousy! In the end, I tried very hard to finally let him win one game but it was already 3…”
Ashley Young’s pain made Bendtner sympathize with him. Good thing Robinho’s interest in alcohol and women outweighs his interest in gambling with his roommate.
Even the captain Shaun Wright-Phillips was behaving like this, one could just imagine the strength of the team.
Bendtner walked towards the elevator with Ashley Young, who was still half asleep, as they prepared to go for breakfast.
“Wake me up later on if I fall asleep on the dining table.”
“I think you’ll not fall asleep, you’ll stab yourself in the nostrils with the fork, ha!” Bendtner laughed, “You’ll be the first professional footballer in history to injure yourself with a fork during a meal!”
“So what… I’m not playing anyway, this might be better. If I injure myself, I don’t even have to go as a substitute…” Ashley Young mumbled as he entered the elevator.
They were alone in the massive elevator and it felt very empty.
“Yawn——,” Ashley Young stretched, “One more game and I’ll be free. Goodbye Manchester City, I won’t miss you at all! Hey, Nicklas, aren’t you going to plan about your future?”
Bendtner was silent.
Ashley Young was not expecting an answer from Bendtner as he leaned on the wall of the elevator. The icy cold feeling dissipated a little bit of his sleepiness.
He suddenly fell into a state of reminiscence as he thought about his days playing in a red jersey. His salary then was way lower than what he was getting now, but he was happier…
He wondered if Bendtner was thinking the same?
※※※
Wenger was enjoying his coffee slowly in the restaurant of the hotel he was staying at, taking a break with his assistants. The players just had an early lunch and were resting in the room.
His assistant manager, Pat Rice, brought him a piece of good news, “Someone told me that he witnessed the Manchester City players partying in the bar until way past midnight. We’re facing an opponent who has no desire to win. We’re definitely going to win this game!”
Wenger smiled and refuted him, “You cannot say something like this until the last second, Pat.” However, this refutation lacked conviction. Even he felt that Manchester City was so slack that they were not a threat.
Pat did not pay much attention to this warning as he said happily, “I’m now sympathizing with Tony Twain. His team is trying so hard to win their game, but they will never expect that our opponent will be a team like this. Even I think that we’re a little too lucky, maybe it’s really fated that we’ll be champions this year!”
After hearing what he said, Wenger thought for a moment and instructed, “Don’t tell the players about the opponent’s situation, and don’t let the reporters have any contact with them, these reporters will only mess things up. Let our players think that Manchester City is still as before, an opponent that requires us to give our best. Pride and underestimating the opponent, I don’t wish these to happen in this match.”
Pat Rice nodded. He knew about Wenger’s temperament. Arsene was not one to be highly conceited.
※※※
When Wenger and his assistants were resting in the hotel, talking about their opponent that afternoon, Twain received a call from Pierce Brosnan.
“Um, Tony… There’s something that I don’t know whether I should tell you…” Brosnan was being very hesitant on the phone.
Twain felt that everything was not normal today and he felt a little impatient.
“Just speak your mind, Mr. Reporter.”
“I heard that the whole Manchester City team was partying all night in the bar last night…”
Twain chuckled silently, “That’s not surprising, Mr. Reporter. The impact of your news is getting worse.”
“Aren’t you worried about the fate of you and the Forest team?”
Twain laughed out loud this time, “Am I supposed to fly to London, grab McClaren by the neck and force him to show some sportsmanship by doing his best?”
Brosnan had no answer to that.
“Mr. Reporter, I don’t care where you got this piece of news from, but I hope that you will not disturb my players with it. ”
Brosnan promised.
“Good, thank you for calling me specially to tell me this,” Twain hung up the phone after thanking Brosnan.
“Who was it, Tony?” Kerslake asked when Twain returned.
“An old friend concerned about the prospect of our title challenge,” Twain dodged the question. He pointed at the hotel lobby, “Tell security to help me chase all these reporters away. My team requires ample rest and I do not want to see any form of disturbance.”
Both Kerslake and the hotel security were not surprised by this sudden decision from Twain. They knew what kind of manager Tony Twain was. Fighting against the media was part and parcel of his life, as normal as eating or sleeping.
In the eyes of the media, Twain’s reason for doing this was obvious —— He was nervous. This manager who never showed any weakness in front of others finally had a moment of nervousness… This was something worth writing about.
Twain did not care about how the others perceived him. He had to ensure that his players were not disturbed by all this nonsense before they entered the pitch. No matter what happened on the other side, my team’s resolve to win the title must not be affected. Even if there is only a 0.00000000001% chance, we have to do our best.
※※※
The last round of the 13-14 English Premier League season would start together at 3.30 pm in the afternoon. 45 minutes before the start of the matches, four buses set off from four different hotels, going towards their destinations.
Two of them were headed to the Emirates Stadium while there other two were headed to the City Ground.
Nottingham Forest’s bus was a little quiet, unlike the atmosphere in the past when they were headed for a home game. Maybe this peculiar last round made everyone lose interest in conversation.
Twain also sat alone in the front seat, turning his head to look out of the window silently. Even him, the soul of the team, was acting this way, what more those under him.
The oppressive atmosphere in the bus finally got broken by Kerslake’s booming voice when they reached the stadium, “Get off quickly, get changed and prepare to warm up!”
Twain got off last. He took one look at the media and fans gathering around and entered the tunnel without waving at them nor accepting any interviews from the reporters.
※※※
When Bendtner got off the bus, all he saw around were Arsenal fans in their red and white jerseys. The Manchester City fans in blue were few and far between, whether in terms of numbers or strength, they were completely defeated.
The Arsenal fans were shouting at the Manchester City players, waving their fists, the slogans in their hands, their scarfs, in an attempt to create more pressure for them.
Bendtner wanted to laugh when he saw this.
There’s no need to work so hard, we’ve already surrendered…
Go cheer your team on, congratulations on winning the league title.
Bendtner walked forward and there was a reporter who attempted to rush in to interview him. He was blocked off by security and he shouted, “Bendtner! You almost joined Arsenal before. Do you have any special feelings facing Arsenal in the final round of the league now?”
This question made Bendtner stop, but very soon, he continued to walk forward, shaking his head.
How many years ago was that? That’s right, Arsenal wanted to sign him then, but he chose Nottingham Forest in the end. If he had chosen Arsenal…where will he be now?
This question was pointless, he could not be bothered with it.
※※※
Wenger looked serious and solemn as he told his players returning from their warmup, “We’re leading by one point, but I want you to forget about this one point. Manchester City is not a weak team, if you underestimate them, you’ll suffer a heavy loss. I’m not trying to scare you; this is a fact.”
“I don’t wish to see the English Premier League trophy flying to Nottingham after 90 minutes. The trophy that was brought to the Emirates Stadium is the real deal, keep it here!”
The cultured and elegant French manager, Wenger, was a little agitated. A rare sight.
※※※
On the other side, McClaren allowed the Manchester City players in the changing room to listen to music, do whatever they wanted. Bendtner sat silently on his seat after changing into his kit, resting with his eyes closed. Manager’s team talk? McClaren had never managed to say anything meaningful. He might as well rest instead of listening to him talk.
Robinho, who only woke up at nine, looked full of energy now as he juggled with the ball wearing only an underwear. His technique was indeed good, and he would often do moves that would cause his teammates to exclaim in shock. He could still move freely in the small changing room. The only question was how much of his form now could be brought onto the field later.
“Hey Robbie! It’s not time for a Nike commercial now, don’t be so excited!” Someone from the team shouted teasingly.
What he got in return was a nutmeg by Robinho after a stepover. The surrounding team members all laughed at this maneuver as they started to get noisy, booing their teammate who got nutmegged.
Ashley Young was among them. He was very relaxed as he did not have to start this game and he would be joining Liverpool next season. Nobody would work too hard for the game later. To them, the summer break had already started!
※※※
Sunderland’s manager, Roland Nielsen, was boosting the morale of his team loudly. The team seemed a little downhearted. Facing a Nottingham Forest team who had to win to ensure they had a chance of winning the title away was really the greatest misfortune that this team could have…
“Don’t give up! As long as we defeat Nottingham Forest, we’ll be able to escape relegation! Think about it, my friends! We’re way luckier than our opponents —— They might not even win the title even if they beat us! At the very least, fate is still controlled in our hands now. Don’t throw this chance away easily! Sunderland must not be relegated!”
“Don’t think that Nottingham Forest is undefeatable just because they are in second place now. In fact, as long as we take our chances, victory could be ours too… They have to defeat us at home to have any hopes of winning the title. This is immense psychological pressure for them. At the same time, even if they can defeat us, it’s up to the results of the match between Arsenal and Manchester City to decide if they can be the champions, their players are well aware of that… So, in reality, on one hand, Nottingham Forest is facing immense pressure, on the other hand, they have insufficient drive. This is our chance, grab it, defeat them! Let us stay in the Premier League!”
※※※
Tony Twain entered the changing room and closed the door behind him. The noise from outside lessened a lot. Everyone lifted their head to look at their leader, their captain.
“There’s something that you guys know a lot about, and I don’t want to repeat it here. What I want to say is…” Twain scratched his head out of habit. Because of this habit, his hair was always in a mess, “Don’t care about the situation on the other side, you have to play this game properly. Do you remember what I told you during halftime of the Arsenal match? If we can’t even win our own game, what rights do we have to fight for the title? This is still applicable now. If we lose to a team like Sunderland, then Arsenal doesn’t even need to play Manchester City to win the title.”
“This is not what I want to see. Us Nottingham Forest has always been a team that never gives up. We didn’t give up in the two Champions League finals, that’s why we’re the champions. It’s the same this time. Ignore what the others are doing, finish our job. Sunderland thinks that we can be bullied easily, then let’s show them what a big mistake that is.”
Fortune favors the bold. When the chance comes, I want everyone to be prepared for it,” Twain’s tone was not impassioned, but everyone could feel the strength within what he said.
“I’m ready, what about you guys?”
He asked the players in front of him calmly.
...
Chapter 857 - The Stubborn One
The starting whistle for all 19 matches of the English Premier League blew at the same time at 3.30 pm on 11th May. The last round of the 13-14 season of the English Premier League started together.
Every Nottingham Forest fan in the stands of the City Ground brought a radio with him, paying attention to two games at the same time. The first is the match between Forest and Sunderland happening in front of them, the other is the match between Arsenal and Manchester City all the way in London.
From the radio, Arsenal had all the advantages right from the start of the game whereas all the players from Manchester City were not on form at all. The Forest fans on the stands started to curse Manchester City and McClaren.
The game between Forest and Sunderland was more like a normal game. Sunderland was going all out in the away game with Forest for survival and Nottingham Forest was unable to get any initiative on the field despite being in a home game.
Twain sat on the manager’s seat with a stern look on his face, staring at the match in silence.
Kerslake’s task was not here. He was seated at the side, listening to the broadcast of the match on the radio with the headphones. The expressions of his face changing along with the commentary from the radio.
After five minutes, he took off the headphones and told Twain by his side, “Arsenal has all the advantages… Manchester City does not care about this game at all…”
Twain smiled and said, “That’s normal. Manchester City has no reason to go all out in this game at all.”
However, he was gritting his teeth in his heart: Damn you Manchester City! Watch how I destroy you the next time we meet!
He did a good job regarding security. None of the Forest players knew about the situation at Manchester City and they stepped onto the field with unlimited confidence and hope. He treated it as him lying to his players, but it was better than telling them the truth before the game and watching them lose motivation.
He only wished that Manchester City could have a little fight inside them, but it seemed like that was going to be too much to ask…
McClaren, Manchester City… He had met the worst combination that he could ever meet in a thousand years.
Ignore Manchester City, we can’t count on other people… Ask our guys to press on in attack. If we continue to let Sunderland drag the game out, the players’ mental state will take a turn for the worse…” Twain walked to the sideline after saying this. He did not shout, nor make any hand signals, he merely stood there with his arms folded. He knew that the players knew what he meant just by seeing him at the sideline.
After that, Nottingham Forest increased the intensity of their attack, committing more players forward in attack and the two full backs started to actively assist the attack.
The commentator kept saying that Nottingham Forest and Sunderland were not of the same level. Forest was way stronger than Sunderland, so there was no doubt that Forest was going to win this game. The only uncertainty was the number of goals that Forest would win by…
Following that, he commentated on this match but the topic of discussion switched over to London as he talked about the match between Arsenal and Manchester City. The players on the field might not know what was happening in the Etihad Stadium but the spectators were very clear. Even if the commentator did not say anything, the Forest fans would switch channels on their remote control frequently.
※※※
Ten minutes later, there was news of a goal from the Etihad Stadium. Nobody knew which side scored yet until the scrolling marquee at the bottom of the TV screen indicated that Arsenal had scored on the 16th minute, the scorer was Van Persie.
The City Ground burst out with a loud boo when they knew about this news. Even if the one controlling the ball was a Forest player, the booing still continued.
The players were stunned momentarily and they knew what the reason was.
Kerslake wanted to tell Twain about the latest situation but Twain stopped him with his hand, “I know by listening to this booing.”
Kerslake remained silent.
※※※
Van Persie sprinted like a madman amidst the deafening cheers in the stadium. Behind him, his Arsenal teammates were roaring with their fists clenched.
Wenger also ran out from the manager’s seat in agitation, jumping around.
Leading after just 16 minutes, he had a reason to be happy indeed.
The Arsenal fans from the stands swarmed forward in an attempt to get closer to their hero. Everyone were screaming Van Persie’s name.
On the other end of the field, the Manchester City players did not react to conceding this goal. They were expressionless. Rather than saying they were shell-shocked, it would be more accurate to say they did not care.
Ashley Young looked down as he sat on the substitute’s bench. He did not want the others to see the laughter on his face —— This was Manchester City. The same Manchester City who were so full of passion and drive to overtake Manchester United, Milan, and dethrone Real Madrid as the best club in the world!
McClaren was a little displeased, maybe the reason was just because they conceded so early. However, despite being displeased, he merely complained a little at the manager’s seat and did nothing, his butt did not even leave the seat.
Bendtner stood in the center circle waiting for the restart. Opposite him was Robinho, with a nonchalant look on his face.
※※※
“Manchester City resisted symbolically for ten minutes,” Kerslake described what happened to Twain after the booing stopped, “They committed very little players in attack, the forwards were isolated, the gaps between the lines were huge, as if they had no united tactics. The defense wants to defend, the forwards…” He stopped for a moment here, “The commentary kept mentioning Bendtner, his name popped up the most for Manchester City. He is very active but he could not get any support from midfield.”
Twain did not mention anything about Bendtner’s performance, he merely said, “Ignore what happens there, we’re still level here…”
Sunderland was very fierce in fighting for the ball, pressing all over the pitch without considering if their stamina could take it. Such pressing also gave the Forest team some considerable problems. Whether it was the defenders or the midfield players, they could not control the ball properly under such pressing, much less build up an attack. The energy that Sunderland was displaying in their desire to survive made things very difficult for Nottingham Forest.
And now that Arsenal was leading, for a moment, their morale was shaken…
Some would think : Arsenal is already ahead, what’s the point even if we beat Sunderland?
The others placed their concentration on the match between Arsenal and Manchester City. Even though they were physically in the City Ground, they were already at Etihad Stadium in spirit.
How could they continue playing a game like this?
Twain stood at the sideline and frowned.
“This is not a match that I wanted to see…” Twain muttered in his heart.
After that, he shouted for Wood loudly, “George! You’re the captain! Do something! Look at your team! Look at their eyes!!”
Wood heard Twain’s voice, turned to look back and realized that everyone was rather distracted.
He was not the type of captain that liked to shout or use motivational speech to inspire his team and its morale, compare to words, he preferred to express his meaning with actions directly.
So, when Sunderland attempted to continue using their high-press to push Forest back, George Wood returned the favor immediately with a foul. This foul gave his a yellow card and the combined protests of the Sunderland players, but he won claps as loud as thunder from the stands, as well as a different look in his teammates.
After watching his foul, Twain continued to shout. “Don’t just stand there! This is our match! It’s our own match! Score some goals! You bastards!”
Nottingham Forest regained their composure after being scolded by Twain and finally scored three minutes later.
The score was Bale. He put the ball in the Sunderland’s goal with a direct free kick. This fit the Sunderland tactics —— Frequent tackling will lead to more fouls, especially closer to the danger areas. This gave Forest many free kick opportunities. Bale already had three other free kick opportunities before this goal, putting two above the bar and hitting the wall directly with another.
This time, he finally grabbed his chance and took a beautiful free kick, over the wall and squeezing within the far post. The goalkeeper could not dive in time and could only watch as he conceded a goal.
The stands erupted in massive cheers. The oppressed feeling that the Nottingham Forest fans had finally had a reason to be released. They indulged in the celebration for the goal and did not want to think about the fact that Arsenal leading was still leading Manchester City.
“Gareth Bale! Beautiful free kick! No wonder what’s the situation between Arsenal and Manchester City, his goal gave the Forest fans some breathing space!”
Bale was being embraced by his teammates, however, all he was thinking was : I wonder if Shannon is watching this game…
This goal also relieved the tension that Twain was feeling in his heart. His team was leading Sunderland, that way he could continue to look forward to…a miracle.
The way he looked as he waved his fists on the sidelines made Shania worried as she sat in the VIP area…
※※※
After Sunderland fell behind, there were also cheers that rang out from another stadium. That was the home ground of Portsmouth. That was because the Portsmouth fans were very clear that the results between Portsmouth and Tottenham did not matter as long as Sunderland lost.
At this moment, all the Portsmouth fans were cheering for Nottingham Forest as they forgot to pay attention to their own game. They even hoped that Nottingham Forest could win the league title so that Portsmouth can stay in the Premier League, that was the best scenario.
In the Premier League, there weren’t many fans supporting Nottingham Forest. The Portsmouth fans would usually not forget how Forest scored six goals in one half and humiliated them 7:4. But this time, they were at the mercy of Nottingham Forest. At this time, they might be the only supporter for Nottingham Forest, an ally… They would be an “ally” who could only help to shout of some chants.
※※※
Since Forest was leading Sunderland, then if the situation continues as it was, Sunderland would not be much threat to Forest. The Nottingham Forest fans started to hope that Manchester City could try to make a good showing, even forcing Arsenal to a draw would be good, Arsenal was only leading by a goal after all. Did Tony Twain not say that a one goal lead was the most uncertain lead? Then let Arsenal have a taste of this uncertainty!
Too bad their hopes were crushed.
Before the end of the first half, at the 44th minute, there was news of another goal from the Etihad Stadium. The scoring team was still Arsenal. A long shot from Fàbregas helped Arsenal to a 2:0 lead before the end of the first half.
The commentator of the Forest game sighed after hearing this news, “The match has ended early, Arsenal has won the league title. It doesn’t matter how many goals Nottingham Forest scores against Sunderland now. I suddenly feel that Nottingham Forest is so solemn and stirring…”
Not just him, every Forest fan watching on the TV fell silent then.
It looked like there was no longer any hope for this season’s league title.
Twain stood with his head hung at the sideline when he heard the news, not letting anyone see his expression. He suddenly felt a wave of fatigue.
A man’s abilities are limited indeed. One does not always get the returns one wants just because one has worked hard…
He only realized that his shirt was totally soaked with sweat now.
He stood on the sideline, expressionless and silent until the end of the first half.
The stands were filled with boos for Manchester City and Arsenal, but what was the point of that? They would not be able to hear the boos from here anyway.
※※※
Bendtner felt annoyed at the cheers coming from the Etihad Stadium. They were not cheering for Arsenal, instead, they were mocking Manchester City’s uselessness mercilessly. As part of the Manchester City team, he was being mocked as well naturally.
But he did not accept this mocking because he had been working very hard all this while. He only lacked support…
He took a look at the substitute’s bench, Ashley Young was seated on the seat with his eyes closed, as if he was asleep. It was a little hot this afternoon, yet he could actually be so calm over there. Had he completely lost hope for Manchester City as he expected?
Bendtner thought about how he would perform in this game if he was also confirmed to be leaving the team next season.
It was hot, the sun was so strong that it made people groggy. Would he avoid running as much as possible? Would he show up for work but did not exert himself? Would he be full of imagination for his new life and did not care about this game?
It was a pity that he did not have the chance to verify it.
The whistle signifying the end of the first half was like music to the ears of the Manchester City players. They could finally return to the cooling changing room to rest for 15 minutes out of the direct sunlight. As for this game… Arsenal is already leading by two goals, do we have to continue struggling?
※※※
When the referee blew two whistles to indicate the end of the first half, Twain was the first person to turn towards the tunnel. The fans on the stands were still showing their displeasure at the match between Arsenal and Manchester City by booing. However, this booing sounded very unpleasant to the ears of Twain.
He felt very tired and wanted to lean on something.
If he gave up like this, he probably did not have to bear such torment.
No!
When entering the tunnel, Twain clenched his fist. He could even hear the beating of his heart clearly.
I love to make things difficult for myself!.
I will never give up until the last second! .
...
Chapter 858 - The Special One
Two stadiums, four changing rooms, yet the atmosphere were totally different.
In the home changing room of the Etihad Stadium, the Arsenal players were relaxed as they listened to music and discussed excitedly about how they were going to celebrate this league title that they worked so hard for. Not even Wenger thought that Forest could create a miracle again, even though he just found out that Nottingham Forest was leading 1:0 at home.
Manchester City’s performance in this game today did not surprise Wenger —— There was indeed no need for Manchester City to work hard for this game. Nobody wanted to get injured in the last game of the season after all. If they went all out knowing that their opponents were Arsenal who would do everything for the league title, it would naturally be difficult for them to avoid injuries. They might as well just show up for the game and then go for a vacation after that.
Meeting an opponent like this during the last match of the season was really lucky for them. On the other hand, look at Tony Twain’s situation —— Sunderland, a team who must beat Forest to be able to stay in the Premier League.
Under such circumstances, if Arsenal still could not become champions, Wenger did not know what other opportunities there could be for his team to win the league.
After two years, getting the league title back from Nottingham Forest. There would be no regrets even though they were knocked out of the Champions League by them.
※※※
At Sunderland’s changing room at the City Ground, manager Nielson was giving a passionate speech in the middle of his team with his fists clenched, “It’s just a goal! Arsenal is already leading by two goals. The Nottingham Forest players will definitely know about this news during the halftime break. What does this mean for them? It means their league title is gone! Their morale and confidence will both be dealt a severe blow, and this would be our chance… Defeat them and let us stay in the Premier League!”
The players all looked fired up by his speech. Boss is right, Nottingham Forest will definitely be affected by it, and that will be our opportunity, we just need to take the chances for a couple of counter attacks… For our survival in the Premier League, we’ll go all out for these 45 minutes!
If not now, then when?
※※※
Arsenal’s changing room was exuberant and relaxed, Sunderland’s changing room was filled with unrest and hope. Nottingham Forest’s felt more like the calm before the storm.
All the players enquired about the situation in the other stadium from the coaches and teammates on the substitute’s bench the moment they left the field. They heard loud boos coming from the stands twice during the match and they wanted to confirm if it meant that Arsenal was leading by two goals.
The answer were unanimous. Both the coaches and their teammates told them about this cruel fact with a helpless look and nodding motion.
For a moment, everyone grew silent as they sat in the changing room, not knowing what to say or what to do. They could only wipe away the sweat on their bodies like a machine.
Twain was in the changing room all this time; he did not say anything either.
The Forest players were all hoping that their boss would say something then, even if he was scolding someone. Otherwise, this silence would be too unbearable…
Bale opened his mouth to speak but stopped himself, he turned to look around and found that everyone had habitually looked down. He started to hate this action all of a sudden.
Are we going to just give up like this? Even Boss, who’s usually so arrogant, has accepted this result?
This unbearable silence lasted for five whole minutes.
※※※
Brazilian samba music was playing in the changing room. Manchester City had so many Brazilian players that it was becoming more and more like a Brazilian team. Robinho, Elano, Jo, Alex… All these players from Brazil were twisting and turning along with the music in the changing room, as if they were enjoying the fiesta again this year.
There were also people joining in, everyone’s thoughts were no longer on the game.
Bendtner was the only one who felt pain as these samba music were like extensions of the Arsenal fans’ mocking, reverberating in his ears. He felt as if his head would explode. He hated the atmosphere of the changing room and he would rather everyone sit squarely while manager McClaren kicked the door in to give all of them a scolding.
He might feel more comfortable if there were shouts and curses of, “What bullshit was that in the first half?”
He covered his head with the towel he used to wipe away his sweat, leaned on the wall, closed his eyes and tried his best to calm down.
But the noisy and happy rhythm of the music made his efforts for naught. All sorts of weird thoughts popped out in his head along with the music.
Are we going to continue like this for the second half?
Can I request to be substituted? Hmm… probably not, I guess? Then I should find a chance to get two yellows, or injure myself… Anyway, I don’t want to play anymore.
What kind of lousy game is this, we’ve already lost our will to fight before the match. Is it a proud and honorable thing to watch others lift the champion’s trophy in front of us? Are these people dancing in the changing room not ashamed of the current score line? Do they wish to fail? Didn’t we get together to form a team to win and be champions?
Bendtner lifted his head slightly, he saw Ashley Young watching the performance of Robinho and co with a smile on his face from under the towel. The smile was cold. At that moment, he started to envy Ashley Young, because… He is finally free.
Bendtner had a thought.
※※※
After allowing the awkward and unbearable silence to continue for five minutes, Tony Twain finally stood up from his seat. Along with his action, everyone’s eyes were on him.
“Everyone knows about the situation of the other game, I’ll not go into it. Is this result making you depressed? We worked so hard in the first half and we only managed a one goal lead whereas Arsenal got a two-goals lead so easily? I have the admit that this result is not to our advantage. I have no way of asking you guys to become champions because the way to becoming champions is not in our hands,” Twain said as he opened his arms.
“All we can do now is to play our own game. Forget about the championship for now,” Twain said. He looked at his players and realized that they did not have much reaction. He smiled, “Are you guys depressed because of what I said? You thought that I will stand here, wave my fists and shout that victory belongs to us and the championship belongs to us, didn’t you?”
The players did not answer, but Twain could guess from their expressions.
“I just want you to put down your burdens. I’ve been thinking about this question earlier, if we continue to play with the burden of being champions on our backs, we might even lose to Sunderland in the second half… Don’t, don’t look so unbelieving,” Twain pointed at a few players and said, “Your minds are filled with Arsenal, Arsenal, Arsenal… You don’t even know who our opponents are today, do you? Newcastle? Tottenham Hotspurs? Or… Real Madrid? Fellows, when you’re looking at the target far away, pay some attention to your feet. If you get tripped by a small rock, you’ll become the laughingstock of everyone. When that happens, not only would Arsenal win the league title, they can also mock us for our incapability without remorse!”
“Indeed, we’re behind Arsenal by one point. Arsenal has a very comfortable lead, that’s a fact too. But this should not be a reason for us to give up. Play this game against Sunderland properly, don’t give them any chance to come back, next…” Twain stopped when he reached here. What should he say next? Pray to God that they would become champion? Wait for the blessings of lady luck?
“No,” Twain shook his head, “Even if the whole world doesn’t believe in us, we have to believe in ourselves. Arsenal cannot announce that they’re the champions until the last second of the game! Similarly, you cannot announce that it is the end! Let me tell you guys, I have not given up yet, I’ve never given up! I’ve always believed that my team is the best team in the world, and we should logically achieve all the glory. Some people are worried for me, if I lose the league title, how am I going to eat a table? Let me tell you guys… I’ve never thought about this problem because I firmly believe that we will not lose!” Twain shook his fist with vigor, his tone suddenly becoming very passionate. “If you do not have the same state of mind as I do, you won’t be able to smile at the end of this intense fight! It is always better to believe in yourselves instead of believing in others! I’ve said it before, do you remember who your opponents are in this game? Let me tell you, it’s Sunderland! That unlucky team that is destined to be relegated! Crush them!”
If there was an apple in Twain’s hand now, he might just be able to crush it.
※※※
Nielson was making his adjustments to the tactics for the second half. He was confident that he found a Nottingham Forest’s loophole.
“Their state of mind is not balanced now. A one-goal lead is not enough for Twain. This is Tony Twain’s habit, he’ll definitely want his team to press more in attack, that will be our chance… The two Forest full backs were very active in the first half, they’ll probably be even more active in the second half. Everyone said that Tony Twain is conservative, but deep inside, he is a very crazy man, he can continue to press forward in the second half for victory. That’s why I want you to launch an attack the moment you intercept the ball, pump the ball forward. As long as we can enter the penalty area once, it’ll do!”
The tactics board was all messed up by him and he kept talking non-stop. He could not care if his players understood him, all he could think of now was, “There’s not much time left, I have to let them know what to do in the second half!”
“Continue to press them over the whole pitch and tactical fouls… Of course, try to foul them further away from our penalty area. Don’t be afraid of being exhausted, I’ll emphasize it again —— This is the last game of the season, if you don’t go all out, this will also be your last game in the Premier League. Run even if you’ve a cramp! If you cannot continue to create pressure for them, you’ll be the ones at a disadvantage!”
“Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, get the ball back if you lose it. Be more ferocious and they’ll be afraid of you! Think about what Forest is feeling now. Their championship is gone!” Nielsen even repeated this last sentence three times.
Nielson was not an impressive tactician, otherwise Sunderland would not have been in this situation —— The Irishman Quinn still had the backings of a rich financial group. But he was not an impressive speaker either, under the current special circumstance though, what he said still had some provocative effect. The Sunderland players’ eyes turned red and they were prepared to fight till the end in the second half.
Topple the arrogant Nottingham Forest and destroy their dreams of winning the title as well as ensuring their own safety. This season would be perfect.
※※※
The samba music finally ended, but Bendtner did not feel that his torment was over. Because McClaren was preparing the tactics for the second half…
Robinho was still bobbing his head on his seat, as if the music did not stop. He had already been substituted. At the start of the second half, the main striker was being substituted for the young striker in the team, the 20 years-old Jack Reed. He had only played five times for the team this season, all as a substitute.
McClaren was already training the rookies for the team.
As the top scorer of the team, Bendtner was still considered an important member and he would continue to play in the second half.
Bendtner really did not know whether this was a good or bad thing for him. When McClaren announced that Jack Reed would be replacing Robinho, he secretly stole a glance at Ashley Young and found out that he was also looking at him, only he could not hide the sympathy he had in his eyes.
At this moment, a sentence popped up in his mind.
People from Nottingham Forest were always a tough fit to the environment they were in. That was because that man was too special, so the team that he brought up was also too special, and people coming from that team would naturally be special too.
If Nottingham Forest were in the same situation now, that man would probably give everyone in the changing room a piece of his mind. He could not tolerate failure, much less failure without any fighting spirit like now. It was very tiring to play for him, seriously, it was as if he was being forced to run forward by a mace every day without stopping.
But one day, when they were allowed to stop and take a break, to catch their breath, they would find out that they had run up the mountain when they looked up. That was when they could finally straighten their exhausted bodies, take a deep breath and take a good look at their surroundings.
They could see all the mountains in a single glance…
...
Chapter 859: The Explosion in Silence
When the second half began, the Forest fans were still paying close attention to the latest developments in the other game. When they heard from the radio that Robinho had been taken off at the start of the half, they started to scold McClaren. Taking off the main striker for a young player, even an idiot knew what that meant.
Twain also heard about this from Kerslake and he shrugged. They could not depend on other people after all, they could only believe in themselves…
Sunderland started the second half as if they were on steroids and launched attacks after attacks on the Forest goal. The speech by manager Nielsen had the desired effect.
But did what Twain say had no effect?
Sunderland was very prone to unforced errors in their hotheadedness and their full pitch pressing, which meant they would “intercept the ball and lose it again.”
Forest took advantage of these unforced errors and launched a counter attack after intercepting the ball, threatening the Sunderland’s goal immediately.
The Sunderland players did not expect themselves to be the Forest team’s prey when they were dreaming of defeating Nottingham Forest once and for all in the second half. The Scottish international goalkeeper, Gordon, gave up after the second try.
Forest was launching an attack from the flank then. Bale came forward and played a one-two over the top with Fernández and crossed the ball. The ball was punched away by Gordon, but it did not go far. Gago took a long shot outside the penalty area and the ball took a deflection off the Irish defender, Paul Mcshane.
The ball did not deflect into the goal, but it fell to the Forest striker, Ibišević’s feet instead. The Bosnian did not need a second invitation and took a shot. The ball flew straight into the empty net.
“Nottingham Forest leads Sunderland by 2:0!!”
The second half had only begun for four minutes and Nottingham Forest extended their lead. This goal was a very heavy blow to Sunderland —— They wanted to score a goal, but they conceded a goal instead. So much for staying clear of relegation… It all looked like a joke at that moment.
Ibišević punched the air in celebration after scoring.
Forest could not control the match between Arsenal and Manchester City. The only thing they could do was to score as many goals as possible in the game against Sunderland and vent their anger on them.
However, if Manchester City could not draw or defeat Arsenal, it would not matter how many goals they scored, it would be a futile resistance.
Twain was not as agitated as before when his team scored. He merely waved his fist and sat back down to continue and wait for news from the Etihad Stadium.
※※※
“The two goals by Arsenal brought this match to an early rubbish period. This is not what we want to see… Manchester City appeared to have no motivation at all. If the second half continues this way, the officials from the Football Association can shake the hands of Arsenal’s chairman, Hill-Wood and congratulate him early,” the neutral commentator was obviously displeased that the heavily anticipated match would be so one-sided.
What he wanted to see was an exciting match, with both sides unwilling to surrender and fight till the final moment. Add that to the match between Forest and Sunderland in the other stadium, they would be able to see the fight to the death between these four teams keep the suspense of the league winner to the final second.
This would be a deserved match fit for the intense fight for the English Premier League earlier in the season.
If Arsenal were to win the title so easily, it would be so unfair to Nottingham Forest whom had been working so hard to play catch up… At the very least, Manchester City should work hard to give Arsenal some excitement.
The Arsenal fans definitely had a totally different thinking as compared to this commentator. They were singing and dancing on the stands, jumping around and they could not wait for the referee to blow the whistle to signify the end of the match now. The beer that were prepared to celebrate winning the title were already out and there were fans who could not wait any longer, lifting up the banners and slogans to celebrate winning.
The Arsenal substitutes were chatting in a relaxed manner on the substitutes’ bench. Wenger became the person who was paying the most attention to the match. He was not overly optimistic, even if there was a 99% chance of them winning, he did not want to appear too excited before the end of the match.
Pat Rice just told him that Nottingham Forest had scored again on the other side. They were like Arsenal now, having a two-goals lead.
Wenger laughed as he knew that Sunderland would not pose much of a problem for Forest. Even if they were to perform up to 200% of their abilities in their fight for survival, they still had 300% distance between them and Nottingham Forest, what good would that do?
That was why it was enough for him to have a one point advantage for his team before the game. What remained was very simple. Arsenal just had to play their own game, ensure that they did not make any mistake and not be forced into a draw by Manchester City, they would be champions. Rice were very concerned about Nottingham Forest, but he did not really care much about the circumstances that Tony Twain was in.
Jack Reed, whom was sent on by Manchester City in the second half did not have much experience. Other than being good at running, he was not a problem for Arsenal. Wenger could not be bothered to send someone to mark him. As for that Bendtner… He was still a problematic person.
Half of the Arsenal’s defense were already marking him, and he could still be as active as the first half. He was an abnormality in Manchester City.
What was he seeking exactly?
※※※
“There is still no information from Arsenal’s side. Arsenal has slowed down their game and have started to go for ball possession. Their fans have already started the celebrations early. Manchester City still doesn’t have many chances…”
Kerslake went close to Twain’s ear and told him.
Twain remained silent for a while, then shouted the names of his players for them to continue attacking.
He could only vent his frustrations on Sunderland now…
10 minutes later, Nottingham Forest scored their third goal. Pepe was the scorer.
It came from a corner this time. Bale took the corner and Pepe leapt for the ball and headed it into the goal close to the post.
Three goals down, Sunderland had completely lost their will to fight. Their lofty sentiments and aspirations from halftime had been dispersed by the two goals in the second half. It was to be Nottingham Forest’s time to perform next.
※※※
When news of Nottingham Forest going 3:0 up reached Portsmouth’s Fratton Park, there were thunderous cheers. The Portsmouth fans knew their team were sure to stay in the Premier League and Sunderland would take their place to be relegated to the Championship. Everyone were grateful to Nottingham Forest for their “magnanimous act” and hoped that they would win the league title as they wished.
The Tottenham fans also did not wish to see their city rivals lift the Premier League Champions’ trophy. Since the results of this game did not matter anymore, there was no need for them to continue facing each other with enmity on the stands. Therefore, the Tottenham fans cheered along the Portsmouth fans, congratulating them for staying up and cursing Arsenal to lose the league title at the same time.
The only thing lacking was the fans from both sides hugging each other and cheering together.
※※※
“67 minutes have gone in the game. Nottingham Forest is leading Sunderland 3:0 while Arsenal is still leading Manchester City 2:0. There are 23 minutes to the end of the match. Earlier I said that Arsenal had a 99% chance of winning the title, I have to correct myself, this chance is now 99.5%,” the commentator commentating on the Arsenal and Manchester City game said.
“The fourth goal is coming… It’s in! Nottingham Forest is leading Sunderland 4:0… Poor Sunderland,” the commentator commentating on the Nottingham Forest and Sunderland game did not sound that enthusiastic. He also felt that there was no point for Nottingham Forest to score so many goals. In his mind, Twain’s team had already lost their sense of reasoning and are now just venting their frustrations without care for Sunderland’s feelings. Not only were they causing them to be relegated, they were venting their anger at not being able to win the title on the poor Black Cats (Sunderland’s nickname).
The Forest fans were not cheering much for the goals now. Their attentions were all away from this match, they had already flown to London. If Manchester City did not buck up, it would not matter how many goals Forest scored.
Fat John stood there watching the game. His butt had left his seat ever since the game started and he was surrounded by his friends. All of them had the same feeling of worry for the future of the Forest team.
Someone even thought about the personal grievances between Manchester City and Forest.
“I heard that Ashley Young did not start and Bendtner is the only ex-Forest player on the field… Would that fellow throw the game on purpose?”
“Manchester City does not have a good relationship with us, it’s hard to say, something like this…”
“Is it because we’ve been too arrogant previously, making enemies everywhere…”
“Bullshit!” The direct Skinny Bill stared angrily at the person saying that, “The victors have the rights to be arrogant. It’s their problem for hating us, does that have anything to do with us? Damn it!” He was also worried for Forest and he frowned and did not care about that unlucky chap anymore.
“Actually…” The fatty started to speak. His voice was low, just like his mood, “We should do something to cheer the team on, but I don’t have any mood to sing at all…”
“Sing, John! Do what we have to do! Don’t let those rascals treat us as a joke!” Bill was angry again, he clenched his fist and said to John, “Even if Forest doesn’t win the title this season, we’ll walk out with our heads held high! Sing!”
John took one look at his partner and nodded furiously, “Sing!”
Following that, the songs cheering Nottingham Forest rang out from the stands. Their singing woke many indecisive fans up and drew their attention back to this game. More and more people joined in, the voices became louder and clearer.
“With the game down to the last minute, do you think it’s over?”
“There’s little time left as the referee looks at his watch and your heart goes, ‘Forget it, we still have the future’—”
“The cheering song gradually loses its voice, and some people begin to leave early. A bunch of beer cups are strewn about in the stands, and it’s a mess!”
“The Forest team’s number 11 steps forward and he said, ‘No! The game isn’t over yet! Don’t be too happy!’”
“Don’t—Be—Happy—Yet!”
“Don’t be too happy! Don’t be happy yet!”
The Forest fans seemed to be roaring at Arsenal.
※※※
The Nottingham Forest fans roared hysterically in desperation, whereas in the Etihad Stadium, the song “We are the Champions” rang out from the stands.
“…We are the champions, my friends! And we’ll keep on fighting ’til the end! No time for losers, ’cause we are the champions of the world!!”
Of course, there were some Arsenal fans who put out banners mocking Nottingham Forest to save their efforts.
Bendtner could not see their banners, nor did he mind them, but the some “We are the Champions” really agitated him.
His hard work served as the greatest contrast for the celebration banquet of others. He seemed like a clown for running his lungs out for 70 minutes.
What am I working so hard for?
Look around me, look at my teammates, they are all just putting on a show without having to suffer. Under such a hot weather, I’ve been running until I’m on the verge of cramping up whereas their jerseys are not even wet with sweat!
Bendtner felt unhappy about it, what kind of teammates were he playing with?
Why is he playing with these people…
When the Arsenal defenders were passing the ball back and forth at will in front of him, Bendtner clenched his fist.
Sweat dripped down from his forehead, down his cheeks. He felt that the inside of him was hotter than this weather.
Play if you want! I’m not playing anymore!
Arsenal’s attack ended. Joe Hart pumped the ball forward with and Bendtner worked hard to get the first ball. He headed the ball to Jack Reed at his side, the young man who just came on in the second half.
This kid could run, had speed and stamina, but his technique and sense were very lacking. He was already 20 years old and who knew if he had a future. He wanted to dribble by himself and shoot after getting the ball —— He already wasted so many such opportunities previously —— He wanted to prove himself in front of McClaren. Him, along with Bendtner might be the only ones left in the Manchester City team who still had the will to fight.
But he heard Bendtner roar, “Give me the ball!!”
To Reed, Bendtner was an authority figure in the team, and he was one of the steadiest strikers in the team. His status and authority were not something that a rookie like him could challenge.
Hence, when Bendtner roared like this, he could only pass the ball over as instructed.
But he kept running forward after passing the ball with the intention of playing a one-two with Bendtner. He did not dare to roar, “Pass me the ball back!” Like what Bendtner did, he only ran forward, hoping that Bendtner could understand his intention.
It did not matter if Bendtner could understand his intention, but the Arsenal defenders certainly did —— This pass and run’s intention was too obvious, only a fool would be fooled.
The Arsenals drew back along with Reed and there was a space in between Bendtner and the Arsenal’s backline. What was worse was… Bendtner was totally unmarked.
This kind of chances did not come often, especially when your opponent was Arsenal. It might be because Arsenal slacked off due to their two-goals lead and they thought that they could win easily, and that Manchester City would not be a threat to them. That was why there would be such a space in defense. Bendtner did not even have a chance to think about how that happened. He moved the ball forward, took a step and lifted his leg…
He was 32 meters away from goal…
An outstanding long shot!
Almunia dived and stretched his arm as long as possible, his body extended but he did not touch the ball. Nobody in the penalty area touched the ball.
The silver ball flew across the grass of the Etihad Stadium, across the players and penetrated the defense of Almunia’s fingers!
The ball hit the net ferociously with a “whoosh”.
“Ah… Ahhh! It’s a goal! It’s a goal!!” The commentator jumped from his seat and roared with his arms raised.
The Arsenal fans watching the game on the TV were a little unhappy at this outburst of his —— Why were you not so agitated when our team scored?
“Nicklas Bendtner! Nicklas Bendtner!! A beautiful goal! He shocked everyone! Including his teammates!”
After scoring, Bendtner ran towards the stands where there were the most Arsenal fans, put his left hand behind his back and planted a right finger on his pursed lips to make a “shut up” sign.
His teammates were all stunned where they stood, they did not expect the goal to come so suddenly, so much so that none of them ran forward to embrace him and celebrate his goal. Only when the loud boos from the Arsenal fans started did they react to it and rushed forward to embrace Bendtner tightly, patting his head and congratulating him for his goal.
Even though Manchester City had no desire to get anything from this game, it did not mean that they wanted to throw the game. If their teammate scored, it was still something to be happy about.
Facing his teammates rushing over to celebrate with hi,, Bendtner gritted his teeth as he wanted to get rid of them and continue his celebratory action. But they really embraced him too tightly…
※※※
“Tony!” Kerslake, who was listening to the radio, shouted suddenly.
However, Twain waved at him and made a “shh” sign with his hand. At the same moment, there was a loud cheer from the stands. Sunderland had possession of the ball then…
“I already know, David.”
Twain turned back and smiled at him.
David Kerslake was so agitated that he clenched his fist, almost jumping up, “Bendtner! It’s a goal by that kid, Bendtner!”
The name of the scorer surprised Twain a little.
The cheers were still continuing as the voice of the broadcaster came up over the live broadcast in the stadium, “73rd minute, Arsenal 2: 1 Manchester City, scorer… Nicklas Bendtner!”
Hurray——!!” The Forest fans shouted together, totally forgetting the hatred they had for this traitor when he left.
At that moment, they worshipped Bendtner as if he was still the Danish kid in red. Back then, he was still thought to be the main striker for Nottingham Forest for the next 10 years…
※※※
Wenger was furious about the goal that they conceded. He kept waving his arms towards his assistant manager Pat Rice as he sat next to him, complaining, “What’re our defenders doing? What’re our midfielders doing? Did they think we’ve got this in the bag? Five seconds before Bendtner took his shot, we had no one within a 10 meters vicinity to him!”
After he finished complaining, he stood up and walked to the sideline, putting up two fingers on his left hand and his index finger on his right as he shouted to the field, “The score is 2:1 now! 2:1!”
This score line made him nervous. The explosion of Bendtner after being oppressed for 70 minutes made him uneasy too.
He did not know why, after all, his team was still in the lead and other than Bendtner, the rest of the players in Manchester City were not a threat.
Yet his heartbeat hastened without warning. He was a very rational manager, but sometimes he would trust his instincts.
His instinct was: They could not let the Dane continue his performance!
...
Chapter 860: The Final Three Minutes
Arsenal might still be leading 2:1, but Manchester City’s goal has given Nottingham Forest an immense confidence boost. They felt like all the hard work they had put in up till that point was worth it.
The fans started singing Bendtner’s song and cheering for Manchester City at the stands. They had completely put their feelings of hostility towards Manchester City aside.
The Nottingham Forest players began to get even more lively on the pitch as well. They were relentless against a Sunderland side that had lost all will to fight.
The Forest players could not help Manchester City score goals against Arsenal. All they could do right now was to try and score as many goals as they could so as to boost their confidence and hopes of becoming champions of the Premier League.
If they could, they really wanted to score at least six goals against Sunderland in this home game.
Sadly, Forest was slightly down on its luck. Almost all the Sunderland players had retreated backwards to defend, and Forest was not able to score a goal at all.
The 3:0 score was enough for Forest to win the game. Thus, Twain slowly began directing his attention towards the match between Arsenal and Manchester City.
This final league match sure is exciting…
As a fan, he absolutely adored the excitement, but as a manager, he absolutely despised it.
The match entered its 80th minute. However, there were no further meaningful news regarding the match between Arsenal and Manchester City ever since Bendtner’s goal.
The Forest players and fans started getting tense. If the match were to end with a 2:1 victory for Arsenal, Forest would not be able to clinch the champions trophy.
Everyone hoped that Manchester City would work harder and turn the match around.
However, they could not decide the outcome of the match just with their thoughts or hopes alone.
※※※
Bendtner was tightly marked by Arsenal’s defenders. If one defender was not enough, then two would be employed to mark Bendtner.
Arsenal was hell-bent on ‘freezing’ Bendtner and not letting him have a chance to move about on the pitch. There were times where Bendtner could do nothing but stand rooted at a spot. He could not even retreat backwards to help with his team’s defense.
Even the toughest of men would feel exhausted after running about non-stop for 80 minutes under a scorching weather of 32 degree Celsius.
However, Bendtner did not want to make his exhaustion known, because he was afraid that McClaren would substitute him and take him off the pitch.
This was perhaps the most tiring match he has ever played in throughout his life. Not only did he have to battle with his opponents on the pitch, but he also had to battle with his own manager.
He was not giving his all because he wanted to help Nottingham Forest become champions. He just did not want to see the hard work he had put into the match so far end up being humiliated by others. If he were to get substituted, then everything would be over for him, and his goal would have been utterly meaningless.
In order to conceal his exhaustion, Bendtner forced himself to run all about the pitch. He tried to find a way to break through Arsenal’s defense, and also tried to act as a decoy so as to provide more space for his teammates to make their runs into the penalty box and shoot at the goal.
Sadly, Jack Reed was not able to capitalize on all the chances that Bendtner had created for him. If it had been Robinho, he would definitely have scored at least two goals by now.
Reed was eager to play in matches and prove himself as a player, but his techniques, experience and spatial awareness were not up to mark just yet, and he still had a long way to go before he could play like Robinho.
Wenger was slightly upset with Arsenal’s defense as he watched the match by the side. His team had focused all their attention on marking Bendtner, but they had missed out on marking the young player Reed.
Wenger began to throw a temper by the side of the pitch. At the sight of Wenger’s unhappiness, Philippe Senderos ranted to his team captain Fàbregas. “That lad doesn’t pose a threat at all… I think things would be much worse if we were to let Bendtner make his runs freely… The greatest threat in the Manchester City team is Bendtner. We’d be able to win this match as long as we mark him tightly. I don’t think we need to be scared of any other Manchester City player. I really don’t know what the boss is worried about… Even if Bendtner does manage to score a goal, we’d still win the match anyway…”
Fàbregas agreed with his views and told him to act as he saw fit. He would help in defending against Reed when the situation calls for it.
Senderos and Fàbregas were not the only players who thought that way. In fact, the entire Arsenal team thought the same way as they did. They were all exhausted and wanted to take it easy after running about under such a scorching sun for close to 90 minutes.
Why should they work so hard if Manchester City isn’t even going to threaten their goalpost?
They should slow down their tempo and not try to fight for the ball so aggressively like before. It would be all right to let Manchester City move up and attack them. All they needed to do was to mark Bendtner.
There were even some Arsenal players who started to fantasize about the scenes at the end of the match where they would lift the champions trophy, just like how many of the fans were as well.
Bendtner would have been disappointed if he were to overhear Senderos and Fàbregas’ conversation.
He thought that Reed’s liveliness on the pitch would help to take away some of the attention that had been placed on him by Arsenal’s players, but it was clear that Senderos was smarter than he thought and he did not take the bait.
Bendtner was slightly lucky to have scored with his long range effort from before, but Arsenal did not even give him the chance to be lucky now. He would be defended against when he is still about 10 meters away from the penalty box.
Manchester City relied solely on Bendtner for its offense. There was not a single player left on the current Manchester City team who could organize the team’s attacks after Elano was taken off the pitch.
Bendtner had to actively retreat backwards to pick up the ball and pass it about. He would not even have the chance to touch the ball if he continued to stand at the front of the pitch…
The match had turned into a battle between a single player and an entire team.
Wenger looked at the watch on his wrist. There were 10 minutes left till the end of the match. He and his team would become the champions as long as they pull through these 10 minutes.
For some reason however, the 10 minutes felt like an eternity to him…
He kept reminding himself in his mind: We would become the champions as long as we don’t commit mistakes. Our destiny is in our own hands.
※※※
Bendtner ran all over the pitch looking for a way to break through and shoot for goal. He tried attacking from the left, then he tried from the right, but they were both futile attempts. He lacked support from the midfield. Even if he managed to create a moment of a chance, the ball would not reach him on time, and all his efforts up till then would be for naught.
He had depleted a lot of his stamina by then, and his pants got heavier and heavier.
Looks like he can only rely on himself to score a goal…
Bendtner furrowed his brows under the sweltering sun. He was starting to feel a little dizzy from the heat.
He suddenly remembered his past, when he still wearing a red Nottingham Forest jersey and was not a Manchester City player yet. His main task back then was to provide chances for his partner van Nistelrooy to shoot at the goal by attracting the defenders over to him.
How he wished that he too, had a partner who could attract Arsenal’s defenders over to him right now…
In the past, he had always dreamed of becoming a solitary hero. He would be the star player in the team, and he would also be basked in applause from the crowd after each and every match. The media would constantly report about him, and he would be extremely popular and famous.
However, he has finally come to realize now that not everyone can become a solitary hero…
I am so tired…
Bendtner had lost all trust in his teammates. He had stopped passing the ball to them, and he would bring the ball forward himself.
However, the result was the same. The ball would be intercepted by Arsenal’s defenders.
Three minutes had passed. The entire Manchester City team had snapped out of their euphoria and excitement of scoring the goal earlier.
There were 10 minutes remaining in the match, but none of the Manchester City players was willing to fight with Arsenal to the death. It would be great if they could level the score, but it was not like they would die if they lost the match, so why should they try so hard?
※※※
Twain looked down at his watch on the 83rd minute of the match.
Kerslake was silent beside him. Twain did not know if he was not making a sound because he was paying attention to the radio, or if he was feeling dejected about how Manchester City had yet to score another goal.
Forest had just scored their fourth goal of the match, and they were leading Sunderland 4:0.
Twain decided to perform three substitutions consecutively and use up his quota for the match.
Ibišević was substituted by Nicolás Millán, Fernández was substituted by Cohen, and Gago was substituted by Tiago.
Both Millán and Tiago did not have much chances to play in games this season. Thus, Twain sent them onto the pitch so as to ensure that the two were qualified to receive a medal should the team end up becoming champions in the end.
As for whether or not they would really end up receiving a medal… No one knows just yet.
Wenger might have thought that time was passing by extremely slowly, but it was the opposite for Twain. He felt that time was passing by too quickly. The fourth official had already lifted the board to signal that there would be three additional minutes to the game, but he still did not hear any new updates about the game between Manchester City and Arsenal.
It was only then that Twain realized that he was about to reach the end of a 90-minute match.
The fans who had been singing and cheering earlier at the stands all went silent. Everyone felt disappointed.
It looks like Forest would not be able to perform a comeback at the end despite their efforts. The title of being Premier League champions was starting to slip away from them.
Twain stood by the side of the pitch. He had pressed his lips together tightly, and he had an awful expression upon his face.
※※※
The second half of the match between Arsenal and Manchester City had only kicked off two minutes after Forest’s match against Sunderland. Hence, it was only the 87th minute of the match for Arsenal and Manchester City when Twain saw the fourth official lift the board to signal the additional stoppage time.
McClaren used up his last substitution for the match on the 87th minute.
Ashley Young was a little surprised when he was called off the substitution bench.
He quickly finished his warm-ups, and before he even knew it, he was already standing on the turf in the Emirates Stadium. He had been pushed out onto the pitch by the coaching staff hastily and he was still feeling a little dazed from the sudden change in events.
He noticed that Bendtner was looking at him. Sweat was pouring down the latter’s face like a river.
Young understood why Bendtner was looking at him.
All right, looks like I’m the only person in the entire Manchester City team who can help him…
He ran towards his position on the pitch. Bendtner pulled him over and was just about to open his mouth in between pants when Ashley Young cut him off with a wave of his hands.
“I know what I have to do. I just need to pass the ball over to you, right?”
Bendtner nodded his head.
“Wait for it at the front.” Young patted Bendtner on the shoulder before running away.
Bendtner suffered a cramp shortly after Ashely Young got onto the pitch. He suddenly fell to the ground while he was trying to snatch the ball away at the front of the pitch. He pressed a hand over his calf, and his expression was one of agony and pain.
Ashley Young bolted over and helped to press down on his leg.
McClaren did not react to Bendtner’s injury, because he had used up all his substitutions for the game.
If Bendtner was not able to continue with the game, then Manchester City would have to play with 10 men.
Bendtner’s cramp was an unexpected event, but he was back on the pitch after the team doctor and his teammates helped him with his injury for two minutes.
Additional stoppage time was given as a result of Bendtner’s cramps. The fourth official held up a board, and the time that was shown was 5 minutes!
The Arsenal fans at the Emirates Stadium began booing in discontent. They wished that the match would end right away. Five minutes of stoppage time was ridiculously long to them.
Bendtner would limp a little every time he walked on the pitch, but it was impossible to tell that he was injured when he ran. He continued to run about the pitch tirelessly as he looked for a chance to break through Arsenal’s defense.
Ashley Young had the most stamina out of all the Manchester City players on the pitch right now. His pace troubled the Arsenal defenders, who were eventually left with no other choice but to split up their forces. Some of them had to switch from marking Bendtner to marking Young instead. Bendtner finally felt the pressure on him lighten a little after Young’s arrival.
Senderos also did not seem to be marking him as tightly as before either. Perhaps he did not deem Bendtner to be as much of a threat anymore after he suffered from a cramp earlier.
Ashley Young suddenly crossed the ball into the middle of the pitch!
Bendtner jumped up into the air to head the ball, but he headed nothing but air. The ball fell into the hands of Almunia who had rushed out of his goalpost, and Bendtner subsequently crashed onto the ground.
Almunia hugged onto the ball in his arms and refused to kick it away. He looked down at Bendtner, and was planning to only kick the ball away after Bendtner had made his way out of the penalty box.
Bendtner enjoyed lying on the ground, because it meant that he could take a rest. Nonetheless, he could not lie there forever. There was not much time left in the match.
Bendtner climbed to his two feet after sensing Almunia’s gaze on him. He then slowly ran away from the penalty box.
The ball flew over his head as he ran.
※※※
A queer silence filled the City Ground Stadium for the final three minutes of the match. Both the Sunderland fans and the Nottingham Forest fans did not care about the match that was being played before them. They had their minds elsewhere.
The Sunderland fans were busy wiping their tears at the stands after knowing that their team was going to be relegated. As for the Nottingham Forest fans, they were all engrossed in listening to the radio for the latest updates from the Arsenal match.
The referee’s whistle that signalled the end of the match resonated loudly and much more clearly within the silence.
“The match is over!” The commentator said. “Nottingham Forest has beaten Sunderland 4:0 at home. But, it looks like their dream of becoming champions of the Premier League has gone up in flames…”
The Forest players on the pitch quickly rushed to the side to ask for the latest news from their teammates regarding the match between Arsenal and Manchester City the moment the match ended.
They could not conceal the sadness and disappointment on their faces when their teammates told them the score had remained 2:1. The players then sat by the side of the pitch and waited for Arsenal’s match to be over. All they could do then was to wait.
Twain could not sit down like his players did. He still had to shake hands with Sunderland’s manager.
Nielsen was in low spirits given how his team had just been relegated. Similarly, Twain was also downhearted, and both managers only gave each other a simple handshake before turning to leave.
Nielsen walked onto the pitch to console his players, whereas Twain sat down at his seat in the technical area and spaced out.
The Sunderland fans began applauding their team’s efforts. They knew that their team had tried their best. It was a shame that they had to face Nottingham Forest, who were hell-bent on achieving a victory, for their final match.
The Nottingham Forest fans did not leave the stadium. They stayed behind at the stands and continued to listen to the news from the radio.
The FA officials who had been sitting in the VIP room stood up to shake hands with the chairman of Nottingham Forest Football Club, Evan Doughty. “It’s a real shame… This was an exciting match.”
However, Evan was not willing to admit his loss just yet. “The match over there has not ended.”
That’s right. There were still three minutes remaining in the match at the Emirates Stadium.
His words made the FA officials feel a little awkward.
There are only three minutes remaining in the match. Are you saying that a miracle could happen? It’s already quite the feat that Manchester City was able to score a goal in that match. It means that they did put in effort and they did try to compete against Arsenal.
The trophy that they had brought over to Nottingham was nothing but a replicate. The real one is in London right now.
Don’t tell me Forest still dreams of becoming champions?
Stop dreaming!
※※※
Arsenal’s substitutes had all crowded collectively by the side of the pitch. They were all waiting to rush onto the pitch and celebrate with their teammates the moment the match ended.
The Arsenal players on the pitch all had their heads in the clouds by then. What they wanted to hear the most then were the three blows to the referee’s whistle, and what they wanted to do the most was to hug their teammates and celebrate becoming champions of the Premier League.
Who cares about the match?
The Arsenal players certainly did not care. Manchester City was hardly even a threat against Arsenal ever since they entered stoppage time. Even their best player Bendtner was not able to create any chances for his team due to a lack of stamina.
Wenger sat nervously on his chair. He pressed a hand against his chin and stared at everything that was happening on the pitch.
Pat Rice, who sat beside him, did not share his nervousness. He started giving high-fives to the other coaches to celebrate their victory.
They knew that Forest had just ended their match with Sunderland and that they had won 4:0.
However, those things did not matter to them, because Arsenal was still going to become the champions.
Ashley Young made his way down the left flank. The Swiss midfielder on their team, Valon Behrami, passed the ball over to him.
Young did not pass the ball away. Instead, he brought the ball forward by himself and tried to force his way into Arsenal’s penalty box.
He then crossed the ball into the middle of the penalty box, but his shot hit Sagna on the body before flying out of bounds. Manchester City was awarded a corner as a result.
Manchester City’s defenders all rushed up towards Arsenal’s penalty box from the back. They instantly became players that the Arsenal players had to mark as well.
“I want all of you to defend this ball at all costs!” Almunia roared before his goalpost. He was feeling a little nervous. His heart was beginning to beat faster and faster as the match approached the end.
If they were to let in a goal… They would be finished.
Almunia could not shake off the negative thought.
Bendtner squeezed his way through the crowd. His head was hung low and he was panting heavily. He was so tired and he desperately wished that he could lean against the body of one of the Arsenal defenders for support.
Ashley Young walked over to take the corner. He carefully positioned the ball on the pitch, and even made sure that the Nike logo on the ball was pointed in the direction of the goalpost.
The players shoved and pulled each other in the penalty box. Before the ball could be sent into the penalty box however, someone fell to the ground. The referee immediately blew on his whistle to halt the match.
Deafening boos erupted from the stands. The player who had fallen to the ground was a Manchester City player. The Arsenal fans all thought that he was trying to win a penalty for his team by pretending that he had been fouled by the Arsenal players.
The referee did not award Manchester City with a penalty, and neither did he punish the Manchester City player for diving. He called the players from both teams over to him and spoke to them. He wanted them to calm down and avoid excessive physical contact.
The atmosphere in the stadium became tense in the final two minutes of the game.
Wenger stood up from his seat and walked to the side of the pitch. He had pressed both his lips together and was staring at the pitch anxiously with a clenched jaw.
After ascertaining that all the players were not misbehaving in the penalty box, the referee made his way away from the penalty box and signalled for Ashley Young to kick the ball.
Ashley Young did not raise his hand and then run up to kick the ball like what some other players would. He sent the ball straight into the penalty box the moment the referee signalled that he could kick the ball.
His shot had happened so fast that it caught all the Arsenal players off guard.
As the Arsenal players all stood dazed at the ground, one player had jumped high into the air within the penalty box.
Straighten your back. Exert force. Swing your head. Attack the goalpost!
The ball flew into the goalpost and all Almunia could do was to wave his hands, as though he was waving goodbye.
Goodbye, Premier League champions…
The Emirates Stadium fell silent.
The commentator was the only one who made noise amidst the silence as he roared, “Arsenal’s hopes of becoming champions have just been crushed by Bendtner! He has headed the ball into the net adeptly! He has scored a brace in the match! 2:2! Arsenal has now fallen a point behind Forest! How dramatic can this be? Even the best scriptwriters in Hollywood can’t write a plot like this! This is football for you! This is the football that so many people are crazy about!”
Bendtner ran towards Ashley Young after he scored the goal. The two hugged each other and began rolling about on the pitch. Their teammates rushed towards them and flung their bodies on top of theirs.
It was supposed to be a match in which there was a clear winner.
But, the efforts of one man has introduced suspense into the match at the end…
※※※
Twain stood by the side of the pitch and Kerslake stood beside him. It had only been three minutes since the match ended for them, but they felt as though three years had gone by.
The City Ground Stadium was silent. It was as though no one was present in the stadium and everyone had left.
Everyone in the stadium was waiting for the latest news from the match between Arsenal and Manchester City.
Everyone was hoping that a miracle would happen.
Suddenly, a voice was broadcasted throughout the stadium.
It was the voice of the commentator who was commentating on the match between Arsenal and Manchester City. His voice was hoarse, impassioned, and a little gibberish…
“Arsenal’s hopes of becoming champions have just been crushed by Bendtner! He has headed the ball into the net adeptly! He has scored a brace in the match! 2:2! Arsenal has now fallen a point behind Forest! How dramatic can this be? Even the best scriptwriters in Hollywood can’t write a plot like this! This is football for you…”
The City Ground Stadium regained life in a flash. Everyone lifted their heads to listen to the broadcast absent-mindedly. It soon dawned on them that whatever they were hearing did indeed come from the match between Arsenal and Manchester City, because they had just heard the same voice from their radios.
Deafening cheers erupted in the stadium thereafter.
Kerslake fell to his knees by the side of the pitch. He held onto the radio in his hands and tears streamed down his face.
Twain did not get worked up and jump into the air. He slowly sat back onto his seat at the technical area. He felt like his heart was about to fail him.
The players around him all started shouting at the top of their voices. The last minute goal excited them too much.
The voice being broadcasted throughout the stadium did not stop. Everyone in the stadium lowered their volume, because their attention had been seized by the commentator’s voice once again.
“… The referee has gestured for Manchester City to not drag on with their celebrations. Arsenal’s players are all protesting… The match starts once again… A long shot! Fàbregas has performed a long shot!”
Everyone in the stadium had their hearts in their mouths when they heard the commentator raise his voice abruptly.
“Brilliant save by Joe Hart!”
The Forest fans in the City Ground Stadium all cheered, “All hail Hart!” in response.
“A corner… This is perhaps Arsenal’s last chance to attack for the match. The referee is looking at his watch. The match might end the moment the ball fails to land in the back of the net after being kicked from the corner…”
Everyone’s hearts was in their mouths once again.
Twain lowered his head and covered his face with his hands. If he could, he also wanted to plug his ears…
Who is the bastard who came up with this? Whoever came up with it is obviously out to stimulate his weak heart!
“Almunia has rushed over to Manchester City’s penalty box as well…”
The Forest fans began to boo at the stands.
“All the players have squeezed themselves into Manchester City’s penalty box. Manchester City was able to level the score with a corner kick earlier. Can Arsenal win the match by doing the same?”
The boos grew louder in decibels. This time however, the fans were booing at the commentator’s words.
Don’t jinx it!
Twain was still able to hear his own heartbeat despite the cacophonous environment he was in. He suddenly felt like time had slowed down.
Why has the corner not been taken yet? Did they score or did they not? Just tell me right now, pal…
“Almunia was not able to head the ball… Senderos…!”
The commentator dragged out his last word as he shouted. His actions terrified Twain so much that he nearly jumped off his seat.
Twain might not have jumped off his seat, but there were many other people in the stadium who did.
“The ball has gone over the bar!”
For f*ck’s sake…
Twain wanted to swear at the commentator for scaring him. He was so frightened by the commentator’s words that his heart had really stopped for a moment back then.
Deafening cheers erupted from the stands. The cheers were like rolling thunder, and they electrified the stadium.
Everyone was certain that Forest had become champions of the Premier League, because the commentator went on to announce loudly, “The match is over! Nottingham Forest are the champions of the Premier League! They have successfully defended their title!”
The Forest players embraced one another tightly.
It was not easy for them to become champions this season. In fact, they might even have relied on luck a little. It was definitely much more difficult for them to lift the trophy this season as compared to the previous season…
※※※
The referee blew on his whistle to signal the end of the match.
Arsenal’s players could not believe what had just happened. They stood rooted before Manchester City’s goalpost. Each and every one of them was dumbstruck.
Fàbregas lowered his head. Van Persie raised his head to the skies and sighed. Wilshere balled his eyes out.
They were so close to being champions…
Arsene Wenger stood by the side of the pitch silently and was not able to speak for a long period of time. Behind him, the Arsenal fans could not believe what had just happened either.
The red Emirates Stadium was just like a volcano that had erupted for 90 minutes, but now it had stopped and was starting to cool down …
※※※
Evan Doughty reached out a hand towards the FA officials with a smile on his face. “Please make the necessary preparations to present the trophy to us, sir.”
“Ah…” The FA officials were feeling very awkward. They could not believe that the trophy would change owners in just three minutes.
“Uh, congratulations on becoming champions.”
Evan smiled merrily. He then raised his head proudly and accepted the well wishes from the FA officials.
※※※
Twain was just about to sit back down on his chair to rest when he was suddenly hoisted up into the air by his players. They then carried him about the stadium to bask in the cheers from the fans.
Twain sat on the shoulders of his players and waved at the stands.
It had not been easy for them to become champions of the Premier League this season, and it was perhaps the most unforgettable champions trophy he has ever achieved throughout his entire managerial career so far.
Twain smiled happily at the fans. Shania heaved a sigh of relief after seeing Twain’s smile from the VIP room.
15 minutes later, the players returned to the pitch to receive the trophy from the Football Association after changing into t-shirts that had been specially designed to celebrate the team becoming champions of the Premier League.
Twain and Wood were the two individuals who lifted the Premier League champions trophy high into the air.
The 2013-14 Premier League season came to an end amidst the cheers from 30,000 fans. Nottingham Forest has bade farewell to the City Ground Stadium by attaining their fourth Premier League champions trophy.
However, becoming champions of the Premier League was not a way for Forest to bid farewell to their season. On the contrary, it signalled the start of their journey.
Six days later, the FA Cup trophy awaits them at the Wembley Stadium.
11 days later, the Champions League trophy awaits them at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.
Becoming Premier League Champions was nothing more than the start of a great season ahead.
...
Chapter 861 - After getting the crown
For whole of 12th May, Nottingham was full of jubilation. There had been numerous reports in the local media about Nottingham Forest’s success in defending the league title, and countless media outlets had gathered in the central English city to interview the newly crowned Premier League champions.
On 11th May, the Football Association (FA) officials presented a replica of the trophy to Nottingham Forest, and local media were critical of the FA’s contempt for Nottingham Forest. As a result, on the next day, the FA replaced the replica with the actual trophy. This change was swift and it made them speechless.
After winning the championship, Twain gave the team a day off, but he reminded the players before the break that there were still two important games left so they could not go all-out and play.
The players were on holiday so Twain also gave himself a day off. On this day, he spent time with his wife. He did not go anywhere, choosing to rest at home instead. Shania enjoyed the time because on the last moments of yesterday’s match, she had really been scared to death.
Watching her husband get nervous for a moment, then excited, then finally devastated for a while. Even as a bystander, her heart could not handle the strain, much less= Twain who had previously underwent a heart surgery?
Fortunately, the nuclear-powered heart was very strong and there was no problem. Otherwise Shania would rather have Twain’s team achieve nothing at all the whole season than having her Uncle Tony suffer.
Shania still had a lot to worry about, even the next day.
Twain naturally knew this, so he had to make amends to Shania on this day. So he asked, “Where do you want to play? What do you want to buy?”
Shania came over and stuck onto him, blowing towards the tip of his nose and playfully said, “Don’t want to go anywhere, just let me hug you.”
Twain straightened his face, “I’m not your Totoro doll!”
Shania just ignored it, and hugged her husband like a doll, “Let me hug you, let me hear your heartbeat. I’m scared that this is all just a dream,” she murmured.
Twain did not struggle any longer, he placed his chin gently against Shania’s forehead.
“That’s a strong heartbeat.” Shania looked up and smiled at Twain. “I’m relieved!”
Twain did not roll his eyes, he gently rubbed Shania’s hair. There was much he wanted to say but no words left his lips which only twitched a little.
※※※
As Shania and Twain were hanging around at home, Bale was knocking on Shannon’s door with a gift.
The girl seemed to be still angry with Bale, so she only opened the door wide enough to see Bale but not let him in.So Bale, with gifts and flowers at the door, was waiting for almost the entire day when he finally convinced her to open the door and her heart.
“I don’t think you love me at all.” Although Bale had entered her room, her mouth was still unyielding.
Bell smiled and stuffed flowers and gifts into Shannon’s hand, then hugged her from behind and said, “Who told God to forsake me to be a professional soccer player? Sometimes you need to give in a little, you can’t be jealous. You should know about our coach? His superstar wife did not like him coming into contact with football because she’s worried about his heart.”
Speaking of Twain and Shania, the girls would give in. When Twain married Shania, who was twenty years younger than him, he had attracted many guys’ jealousy, but on the girl’s side, it was the envy of many people and Shannon was no exception. Although she was not a fan, but as a Nottingham citizen, she also knew about the story of Tony Twain.
She snuggled up in Bale’s arms, looking forward to her boyfriend being able to also give them an unforgettable romantic experience.
“Then… other than football, you are not allowed to love any other girl.” The girl started to act coquettishly.
Bale kissed her earlobe gently, “Okay, I swear. ”
The girl laughed with satisfaction, as she just followed Bale onto the bed without hesitation.
※※※
“The weather is nice, George.”
Sophia sheltered her eyes with her hands as she squinted up at the sky. She was being supported by her son for a walk outside to bask in the sun. Her pale face was coated with a warm color of sunlight, as she regained some spirit.
Wood hummed in agreement.
“It’s nice to win the league, aren’t you happy?”
“Hm, I am.”
“It’s good that Mr Twain doesn’t have to eat the table and make a fool of himself. . . In the last few minutes, I was really worried that he would suddenly fall on the sidelines. It was lucky that nothing unfortunate happened.” Sophia bowed her head as she said softly.
Two people walked till they were tired as they sat down on a bench to rest.
Sophia turned and looked at her son. He was looking at the walkers in the distance.
He looked like there was much weighing on his mind.
Sophia did not want to disturb him, as she leaned against the back of her chair to enjoy the sun. She felt like she owed her son a lot. At this time, his teammates must have been busy dating their girlfriends, going out shopping, going to nightclubs, bars or other entertainment venues. Only George himself needs to accompany herself as she was useless as a human being.
Perhaps it would be better for George if she died?
It was a pity that she could not bear to leave George behind. She loved George and thought she was the one who loved George the most in the world, and she did not want to leave George alone. Unless there was another woman in this world who loved George more than she does, she would always stay with him.
Wood was startled as he realized that someone was leaning on his shoulder. He discovered that the person to be his mother.
Her mother at this time was like a little girl snuggling up to himself. With her eyes closed, mouth slightly uplifted as it conveyed happiness. The morning’s rays were spilled onto her face, as a colorful glow was shown on her face.
Wood was a little stunned, as his mother has not had such a radiant expression for a long time. She was not well, so she had been in a bad state of mind. Maybe it was because of the sun?
He froze his body, and did not dare to move, in fear of disturbing his mother.
Maybe she was having a nice dream?
※※※
Kenny Burns was standing alone in Nottingham city centre square in front of the bronze statue of Brian Clough. A number of bouquets had been placed at the base of the bronze statue. It was a lot more lively now compared to before. It was all because Nottingham Forest had successfully won the championships and the City stadium needing to be demolished, which reminded everyone about the memories of the past.
Just as he was standing here, several other fans came to lay flowers. Without exception, they were white-haired old men.
What they did not recognize about the old man who stood next to them, was that he was actually one of the architects of Nottingham Forest’s first glory days, having won FWA Footballer Of The Year Award Today. Burns looked no different from an ordinary old English man, in which you simply cannot see the glory of the past that once belonged to him.
Just after yesterday’s game, he and his former companions came here again, as they shared a picture together. But that was only a well-arranged activity by the media. He returned here again today, because he suddenly had something to say to his coach.
“Three league titles, coach. There might be a third European title and a third trophy of the season … He’s really not bad right, coach? Maybe better than you, even…” Burns looked up at the sky. It was crystal blue and there was absolutely no chance of a bolt of lightning slicing onto his forehead.
After discovering his reflexive movements, Burns laughed, “Ha! ”
He remembered coach leaving them in September 2004 because of stomach cancer and died at the age of sixty-nine at Derby City General Hospital. The 69-year-old Ferguson was still leading the team to the Premier League and winning the Champions League. It was the second European Championship of his coaching career.
Now a decade was about to pass by in the blink of an eye.
Ten years ago, Nottingham Forest sent away the number one nobleman in the club’s history as they welcomed the second. The coincidence in the numbers were really signifying a cycle with a flavor of fate in it.
Ten years ago, Burns really did think he would be alive, as he could see Nottingham Forest re-emerge as if it were a dream. A rookie coach who was knocked out of the head by a player on the sidelines had suddenly become Europe’s hottest champion.
After standing for a little longer, Burns said goodbye to his coach and turned to walk away.
Behind him was Clough dressed in a cardigan, with his hands clasped together and his head raised. It was a scene when he decided to retire and bid farewell to tens of thousands of fans at the city’s stadium, which was now permanently fixed by metal.
Beneath the bronze statue, there were still fans who came forward to send flowers and missed the moments. Some people, like Burns, stood in front of Clough’s bronze statue and talked about the years of the past, and about their present glory. It was just like talking to an old friend.
※※※
Despite being waiting at London’s Heathrow Airport, Mr Bendtner, who was returning to Denmark, was still wearing sunglasses and still being able to be recognised. The “man of the round” of the round just made a huge appearance as he was unable to keep a low profile.
He was dragging his luggage to the gate as he was stopped by several people halfway through.
“Hey, Nikki!”
Those people were calling Bendtner’s nickname, as he could not help but stop walking.
“Ha, it’s Nikki! It’s really you!”
Several people came together, and Bendtner instinctively wanted to refuse the interview. But he found out that those were are not journalists, because they did not carry the interview bag, the camera in their hands were too amateur, their faces were very pleasantly surprised, this type of surprise was not the type of surprise when one seen a live news material, but the kind of joy that came directly from the heart.
He found it strange, did he have fans in London also?
Not wanting to disappoint the fans, he smiled as he waited to meet the other side’s signature and photo requests.
As a result, the four men had no intention of taking a picture with him or asking for autographs. They just gave Bendtner a thumbs up, “Well done, those two goals! We watched the show, they were really wonderful!”
“Yeah, well done, Gini . . . Cough, it’s been too long, I’m really not used to it…”
“To tell you the truth, I had no hope for you guys. But I’m glad I was wrong in the end!”
Several enthusiastic fans loudly praised Bendtner as they patted him on the shoulder and arms and then left.
Bendtner turned to look at their backs, they were walking on their heels as if they were flying. He then suddenly realised that these guys were Nottingham Forest fans!
After thinking about this relationship, he then grinned silently.
Last time, whenever he returned to the city stadium, what greeted him were the loud boos and rants of Nottingham Forest fans. Like Judas, he was written in a Biblical story for future generations to scold him hundreds of millions of times, and had no opportunity and power to appeal for himself.
Now the situation was completely reversed and he actually got a heartfelt compliment from Nottingham Forest fans. They even shout nicknames that were only used to be only called in the past, and even patted his shoulders and arms.
Nottingham Forest winning the title was because of himself, it was really a plot in a drama. He did not want to help Nottingham Forest win the championship, he just did not want to be looked down upon.
Standing in place and lamenting his fate, Bendtner dragged his suitcase and continued to search for his waiting area. Yesterday’s exciting game was almost left behind by him. The joy of the Nottingham Forest man was too far for him.
The red memories were already getting blurry, he had his own future, which was unrelated to Nottingham Forest.
※※※
After yesterday’s game, Wenger locked himself in a study as soon as he got home, he did not even want to get close to his wife. It was a special way for him to express and vent his anger — not wanting to eat or sleep, to lock himself up. No one knew what he was going to do, but when he came out from this isolation, most of it would show that his mood was back to normal.
This time, he came out from the study by dawn and gave his wife an apologetic smile.
His eyes were blood-shot, presumably from staying up all night. His wife was busy preparing dinner for him, as he sat alone on the sofa, keeping his eyes closed to rest.
After a night plus a day, the scene of failure was still clear, once he closed his eyes, he could remember it clearly. He had a higher chance of winning, but he lost the championship, what went wrong? Bentner was not marked down? He specifically called attention onto him, but he only needed to take two chances to score. This really could not be explained by common sense. Tactically he did not make a mistake at all, and it was reasonable to say that he should not have gotten that ending. But this was football, it was unpredictable.
Fortunately, his heart was a little bit tougher than Twain’s, and there’s nothing wrong with that stimulation. In fact, those that looked more civilized would have a bigger reaction than those with a worse temper, once they are under huge pressure.
He closed his eyes, trying to banish the scene in his mind, and gradually felt fatigue wash over him.
When his wife came to him with dinner, she found that her husband had fallen asleep and was snoring slightly…
She put down the dinner, pulled a blanket, and gently covered her husband.
※※※
Today, Shania was particularly passionate. She was moaning exceptionally happily as she closed her eyes while hugging tightly onto her lover, all ten of her fingers scratching marks onto Twain’s back. It was as if she was afraid that once she let go, her lover would disappear. Only whilst closely holding him tightly in her embrace, feeling his warmth and heartbeats, listening to his breathing, enjoying his every thrust, would give her the sense of security.
For Bendtner and Arsene Wenger, the intense season was over, no matter if it was effortless or devastating, they could only accept this outcome.
But for Twain who is still battling without rest in bed, it was only a start to his most exciting summer. His heart would still need to continue to go through relentless tests..
...
Chapter 862: Please Eat the Table
Nottingham Forest really managed to defend their title, this made someone feel as if he was sitting on a bed of needles.
When the Forest players were on leave for a day, Carl Spicer was in a very bad mood since he woke up. He had left his mobile phone switched off since the end of the game yesterday to prevent people from disturbing him as he would definitely receive many calls from the media asking him when did he intend to make good on his promise the moment he switched it on.
Eating a table?
You’ve got to be joking! Is that something that a human can eat? I’m not a mouse!
He had no time to regret his bet with Twain then, he had to rack his brain to come up with a way to avoid this embarrassment.
At this moment, he heard the doorbell.
A staff from a logistics company was at the door smiling at him, “Mr. Carl Spicer?”
“Er, I am.”
Spicer had just woke up not too long ago and he was not dressed properly yet, he had not shaved and the tired look made him look a little haggard.
“There’s something for you.”
The courier pointed to a large box behind him.
Spicer could already guess what was inside it. If Twain had lost the league title, he would have also received such a package at his door, the only difference would be the sender would be different.
At that instant, a trace of anger flashed over his face and he wanted to deny it, “Er, I’m not…”
Before he could finish, more than a dozen reporters armed with hand-held cameras and video cameras popped out from the bushes at the side and started to take pictures of him.
Someone held a microphone and shouted at him, “Mr. Carl Spicer! Let’s talk about your thoughts! Nottingham Forest has won the title…”
That bastard Twain!
Spicer cursed him ferociously in his heart. He was not a fool, he knew that this courier and the reporters who ambushed him were all arranged by Twain who just wanted to embarrass him.
He could not deny his identity now.
The courier was also shocked by the reporters who popped out of nowhere. He turned to look at the people behind him and smiled. He was a football fan and he knew about the differences between Carl Spicer and Tony Twain.
“Mr. Carl Spicer, please sign here,” he tried to keep a straight face as he turned to talk to Spicer.
Since denying his identity did not work, Spicer could only sign his name on the delivery order.
The courier had no intention of helping Spicer move the box into the house —— Spicer had hoped that he would do that so that the media at the door would not be able to watch the show.
But the courier left after receiving the signed document.
Spicer had no choice but to move the box himself and he realized that the box was too heavy to be moved by him alone. After a few tries, he looked at the reporters watching the show around him knowing that these people would never help him.
“Why don’t you open it, Mr. Spicer?” A reporter asked loudly.
“If it’s a table, it would be more convincing to eat it here.”
“If it’s not a table, we’re not interested to waste our time here either…”
Spicer had an uncertain look on his face. There was the sender’s name on the delivery order, what else could Tony Twain send him other than a table?
The reporters who only wanted to see chaos kept egging him on to open the box in front of them.
Spicer finally gave up, he could not escape this anyway…
He slowly opened the package. What shocked him was that the first thing that he saw was not a wooden or a metal table, but a huge cake box instead.
What’s this?
Spicer looked at the box which had a faint scent of cream in a daze. The reporters also did not expect the box to contain something like this.
Could Twain have custom made a huge cake for Spicer?
Spicer had already thought of something. He opened the top of the cake box and laughed as he saw what was inside —— Just as he expected.
A life-sized chocolate cake of a table which still had the smell of cream and chocolate in the morning air.
Even the reporters who were standing 10 steps away could smell it. They looked at each other as they did not understand what was going on —— If Tony Twain wanted to embarrass Spicer, why would he send an edible “table” to make things easy for Spicer?
Could they have decided to take advantage of this opportunity to reconcile their differences?
That was too boring!
Ferguson had already retired. Wenger had the intention to retire, Mourinho had not returned ever since he left and now Carl Spicer and Twain were going to reconcile their differences, were they trying to put the news worker out of a job?
Carl Spicer did not care about the feelings of the reporters, he was feeling very happy then, as happy as when he cleared his bowels which had been constipated the whole night early in the morning. He took a whiff of the tempting scent of the cake and suddenly felt hungry —— It was time for breakfast.
“Ha, it’s a very nicely baked cake!” Spicer laughed and rubbed his hands. He looked at the reporters and asked, “Care to join me for breakfast my friends?”
The reporters all shook their heads with an unfriendly look on their faces —— This was not what they had hoped to see. They could only wait for Spicer to have a bite of the “table”, take a picture of that and leave. They did not have the mood to have breakfast with him.
Spicer was in no hurry, he returned inside to make some milk, then tied a napkin around his neck and reappeared with a fork and knife in front of everyone.
“What a pity… I can’t finish such a big cake myself…” He even acted sympathetically with an expression that made the reporters grit their teeth in anger, he was really taking his undeserved gains for granted.
Just when he was about to enjoy the cake, he realized that there was a card next to it. It was hand-written by Tony Twain.
Dear Mr. Carl Spicer,
The best chocolate cream cake, I hope you’ll like it. I wish to take this opportunity to show you my token of goodwill and reconcile all our differences in the past. We’ll just be giving those reporters a show to watch if we continued to be at each other’s throats. Can you see them? They should be just in front of you, right? Look at their eyes, you have the same look in your eyes when you’re at a circus looking at the clown, don’t you? We have no need to sacrifice ourselves to entertain them. Finally, I would like to apologize for my comments towards you in the past.
Your dearest friend, Tony Twain.
Tony Twain was actually backing down!
This was sensational news and Spicer had already decided to flaunt this on his own show. Even though he was forced to eat a “table”, it would be good to take back some of his honor like this… At the same time, he was thinking —— Maybe Tony Twain was not so bad after all…
Spicer wiped the card clean and placed it in his shirt pocket before starting to eat with a smile on his face. He used his knife to cut a piece of cake then used his fork to put it in front his open mouth.
The reporters were very cooperative as they took out their cameras and video cameras to take pictures and videos of him “eating a table”.
When the reporters are doe with their pictures, Spicer put the cake into his mouth, gave a thumbs up as he chewed and raised his eyebrows. Even though he could not speak, he used his expression and action to praise the taste to the cake.
To prove that he was not faking it, he had a few more pieces before finally eating with his hands, sucking his fingers and licking the chocolate and cream off them when he was done. Next, he pointed with his index finger and played a fool in front of the reporters.
His expression was really annoying, and the reporters felt like they were pranked by Twain and Spicer together. They were not interested in watching anymore, there was no show to watch at all and they packed up and left.
Carl Spicer was so pleased that he brought a chair over and continued to sit in front of his doorstep, eating the “table” that Twain send him.
Looking at how satisfied he was, it was as if he wanted more reporters to take a picture of him.
※※※
The news of Carl Spicer eating a table as he promised appeared on the papers, news station and on the internet in the afternoon. Everyone was shocked to see Spicer sitting at his doorstep, enjoying the table cake. The news stated that this was specially sent by Tony Twain and the readers had the same question as the reporters then —— Why would Twain send an edible table to Spicer, did he not want to see Spicer embarrass himself?
To this, the media had their own guess.
“…Maybe Twain was tired of his spat with Spicer and wanted to take this chance to reconcile their differences.”
This was a logical explanation and many people believed it.
A small group of people insisted that Twain could never back down after winning a bet. In their impression, Tony Twain would always try to do bad deeds and still wanted to have a good reputation. If he had a hold over someone, then he could only prepare to die a horrible death, with his body strung up on the city’s gate and whipped for everyone to see. He loved to beat his opponent to the floor and give him a few hundred million stomps until his opponent were totally stomped into the ground.
That was why so many people hated him. He did not know how to give people a leeway, was arrogant, full of himself, considered everything to be beneath him, become arrogant once he had the advantage… It was really not easy for all these negative values to be concentrated on a single person. Yet many people loved to follow him and liked him, the reason is simple —— Because he would always win. He had the rights to be arrogant.
That the “table eating” incident that everyone was looking forward to ended so pointlessly was quite boring.
This incident was not newsworthy, and the media decided to let go of Spicer. He could finally switch on his phone again without fear of being disturbed by the media.
The first call he got after switching on the phone was from the producer of “Football Matters”. He said laughingly to Spicer, “Looks like you got away this time Carl. Okay, enough about this, there’s not much value in this anyway. Come in to prepare for tonight’s live show. It’s the end of the season special, there are many things that you need to decide on.”
Spicer hung up and drove out, satisfied.
In the end of the season special, the champions were the stars of the show. Nottingham Forest would have a lot of air time since they were the champions. Luckily for him, Twain gave him a way out this morning, so he was in a good mood. He decided to cut down on his mocking of the new league champion as a favor to Twain.
He decided to feign sincerity and congratulate Nottingham Forest even though he planned to place the emphasis on the match between Arsenal and Manchester City as that was the match that ultimately decided the winner of the league title. The match between Forest and Sunderland had no suspense at all, nothing worth paying attention to in particular.
※※※
After 300 rounds in bed with his wife in the afternoon, Twain fell into a deep sleep, only waking up when the lights came on. Shania was making dinner in the kitchen.
She heard his footsteps and did not even turn back before saying, “Go watch some TV, dinner will be ready soon.”
“Do you need help?”
“No,” Shania turned and smiled at him, “You have a good rest today, you don’t have to do anything.”
Twain smiled back at her and left the kitchen to the living room and switched on the TV.
Looking at the time, it was already almost eight.
This was the golden period of the TV station as all kinds of interesting programs were aired at this timing. However, Twain was not interested in most of the TV program, with the remote in hand, he switched channels aimlessly. If he saw something that he vaguely had some interest in, he would stop to watch for a while before losing interest and switching again.
He switched channels for a while before his muddled brain that just woke up finally cleared up a little.
He remembered something. This was a very important thing.
So, he switched channel to Sky plc’s sports channel.
Then looked at his watch.
The TV was still showing advertisements. He had already forgotten about dinner…
※※※
If possible, Carl Spicer would really love to put his job down and rush to the toilet —— Even though this was already his eighth time there, he could not stop the desire to defecate that stemmed from the depths of his stomach.
The producer looked at the pained look on Spicer’s face worriedly. He knew what was wrong with his host of course, he got food poisoning, but he had no choice. This was a live show, he could not possibly cancel it at the last moment just because the host had an upset stomach otherwise the sponsors would have him for lunch.
“I’m fine, I’m fine…” Spicer continued to read the script for the night.
The producer slapped him on the shoulders, “It’ll start soon, you can go once more.”
Spicer rushed out immediately once he said that.
There was a scream from a lady that got knocked down and Spicer’s apologies coming from a distance outside the door.
When Spicer reappeared in front of the producer with an exhausted look on his face, the producer did not say anything. He merely gave him a pat on the shoulders and indicated that it was time for him to go out.
Spicer suddenly had a look of a person entering his execution ground. He gritted his teeth and walked into the broadcasting room with determination.
In front of the camera, when he hosted the show with his habitual sardonic smile, his lower body kept shifting around on the chair while his stomach kept making gurgling sounds.
“…Tony Twain’s team won the league title as they aimed for… Their… Hmm… Their journey to the title was very thrilling. Even after their match had ended, the league title still belonged to Arsenal…”
The attentive audiences must have already noticed that the Carl Spicer who was normally so good with words and spoke so quickly that he could overwhelm people who second-guessed him, was especially slow with his speech today. He tried his best to make it look like he was deep in thoughts, but in the eyes of the audiences, they only felt that something was off with him today, yet they could not tell what was wrong.
“…Nobody expected Bendtner… to score in the final moment to help Manchester City grab a draw with Arsenal. Nottingham Forest won the title dramatically… At this point, I have to congratulate Nottingham Forest…”
Spicer said while grinding his teeth. At the same time, he was scolding and screaming hysterically in his heart.
“Damn bastard! Tony Twain! What was in that cake that you gave me?! You despicable, shameless, devil who deserves to go to the 18th level of hell and cut by a thousand knifes! I curse you to never have any offspring!!!”
His stomach suddenly made another gurgling sound. Hearing this, Spicer’s face turned green…
※※※
The audiences in front of the TV would not know why was Spicer acting weird tonight. But one man knew, because he was laughing very happily in front of the TV.
“What are you laughing at, Uncle Tony?” Shania asked out of curiosity after hearing the laughter. Then she saw Carl Spicer on the TV screen.
“Oh, that man… Didn’t you send him a table cake? Why do I get this feeling that he looks rather unwell?”
Twain explained to Shania as he laughed, “Ah, I ordered that thing a few days too early. And you know, there is no refrigerator big enough to keep such a big cake. The weather is also getting hotter…”
Shania understood and a smile appeared on her face as she watched the show, “Ah —— Uncle Tony, you’re evil!”
※※※
The next day, Carl Spicer criticized Twain’s despicable and shameless move in his column furiously as he recounted his tragic experience of getting an upset stomach by eating expired cake.
However, not many people sympathized with him.
On the contrary, he became the new laughingstock of England.
There were even people leaving comments under his column asking if he shat his pants when hosting the show.
The evils that he brought upon himself were the hardest to bear
...
Chapter 863: A New Journey
A day’s rest was very short, and everyone made full use of the time to enjoy a momentary break because they were going to face two intense finals soon.
On the day they returned to training, Twain was waiting for the players at the training grounds with a smile on his face as he greeted every single one of them while observing their expressions. He was very satisfied with the results. The players did not go too crazy during their break and they still remembered that they had two finals waiting for them even when they were relaxing in their day off.
From the 13th to the 17th, the Nottingham Forest’s training was not focused on Tottenham Hotspurs. Twain was extremely familiar with their FA Cup’s opponent. They would have to play each other twice a year at least and there were no secrets between the two teams. The match would be very intense and exciting as they would not pull any punches.
While preparing for the FA Cup, Twain was thinking more about the Champions League final.
La Liga was not over yet, although it was inevitable that Real Madrid would win the league title. Even though they did not have the chance to win the Copa del Rey, it would be impressive to win the double nonetheless.
The Spanish media was already analyzing the odds of Real Madrid winning the 10th Champions League trophy in their club’s history. They gave an example from history to proof that this season’s Champions League belonged to Real Madrid —— In the year 2000, Real Madrid eliminated Barcelona before finally winning 3:0 against Valencia to win the eighth Champions League trophy.
The English media was not one to give up without a fight and the historical case study that they pulled out was equally compelling. During the times of Brian Clough, Nottingham Forest successfully defended their UEFA Champions League trophy at the Bernabéu. It can be said that Real Madrid’s Bernabéu stadium was their lucky ground.
Everybody seemed to care very little about the FA Cup.
For Tottenham Hotspurs, things were much simpler. The FA Cup was the only trophy that they still had a chance to fight for, it would be a good thing for them if Nottingham Forest did not pay much attention to it. They could focus all their attention on winning the FA Cup and getting the rights to compete in next season’s Europa League. Their league placing was not up to their expectations that season and if they wanted more glory and earnings for next season, they could only fight for the FA Cup.
There were even some Tottenham Hotspurs fans who indicated that the ideal result would be for them to win the FA Cup and Nottingham Forest to win the Champions League.
But…how could a sparrow know the will of a swan?
※※※
The match was not for a few more days, but Twain could not bear the loneliness and initiated the war of words. When taking an interview with a reporter, he kept talking about the Champions League, about Real Madrid and the Bernabéu, but he did not mention the FA Cup or his FA Cup opponent.
In the end, the reporter interviewing him could not take it anymore and he asked, “What do you think about the upcoming FA Cup final Mr. Twain?”
Twain thought it was weird and he asked, “Do I need to think about it? It’s an opponent that we meet twice a year at least, we’re very familiar with them. I don’t think that a FA Cup final can make them change into a team of a higher level like Arsenal. There’s nothing to worry about.” He smiled at the reporter confidently.
This attitude and opinion infuriated Tottenham Hotspurs. Their fans must be kicking themselves for supporting Forest to overcome Arsenal to win the league title during the last round together with Portsmouth.
Harry Redknapp was an old timer in the English football scene, and he could be considered as someone with reputation. Now that his team was humiliated by someone of the younger generation, he had to show up and say something.
“Of course, I would hope that Tony Twain thinks that way. Because that would give us a higher chance of being the Champion. In fact, I can’t wait for Twain to continue thinking this way.
He expressed his displeasure by taking the initiative to show weakness.
His players were not so cultured though.
Fabian Delph, a talented player formally from the ranks of Leeds youth team joined Tottenham two seasons ago. Now, he was already one of the key players of Tottenham. He told reporters, “I’ve always looked forward to competing against manager Twain during such an important match. I don’t want to high my thinking… I want to defeat them!”
“A team of Arsenal’s level? A team of that level lost the league title too. Why would we want to become a level like that? Tottenham is Tottenham, we don’t have to become anyone else to defeat Nottingham Forest.” Ledley King, whom have been playing for Tottenham all this while, not only rebutted what Twain said, he even made use of the chance to mock Arsenal for losing the league title. A Tottenham old guard indeed, his hatred for the Gunners was deeper than anyone else.
“We’ve defeated Arsenal before, and we can defeat Nottingham Forest now too!” Brazilian goalkeeper, Gomes, also hoped to get his first champions’ trophy since he joined Tottenham.
There was actually some history between Tottenham and Forest because there were two ex-Forest players in the Tottenham ranks now. One of them was center-back Michael Dawson and the other was Jermaine Jenas.
The latter did not have much feelings for Nottingham Forest because he left the team before Twain took over. Initially, he had the title of “England’s highest valued youth player”, but he did not particularly do very well and was now a peripheral player in the team. Michael Dawson used to be a center-back with bags of potential, but he was too injury-prone and lost his position in the national team. However, he was still better than Jenas in the sense that he would still be a key player in the club if he was not injured.
Jenas did not feel much for Twain and he participated a bit in the war of words. Dawson was grateful for Twain’s part in developing him as a player and he did not participate. However, he would not think that way during the match. He would definitely do his best for Tottenham and defeat Nottingham Forest.
※※※
After poking the hornet’s nest for Tottenham and causing so much chaos, Twain left. He was acting during the interview. Not only did he not look down on Tottenham, he thought very highly of them. In these few days, other than analyzing Real Madrid, the team did trainings specially catered for Tottenham.
If one had to find something special about the FA Cup, it would be because it was the final match and their opponent would have even stronger will and energy than usual. These energies could cover the distance between the powers of these two teams. If Forest was not careful, they might still lose due to carelessness.
Since Twain was going for the treble, he definitely would not allow losing due to carelessness to happen.
When it was only two days to the match, he wanted the whole team to watch the videos of the last five Tottenham games, to familiarize themselves with their opponents while he analyzed every single detail for them, including Tottenham’s usual tactics, the technical specialties and loopholes, how to make use of these loopholes, their method of doing so…etc.
The training durations were deliberately shortened for these two days and watching videos became a compulsory activity for everyone.
Who said that Twain was underestimating his opponent? If his opponent really thought so, they would be in for a show.
Watching the videos familiarized the team with their opponents and get themselves ready.
Next, Nottingham Forest only needed to wait for the match to start.
※※※
On May 15th, the Forest team set off from Nottingham on their bus towards London and stayed in a hotel to prepare for the FA Cup final on the 17th. That was the first time Twain led the team to the FA Cup final and the club treated the game with utmost importance. The chairman even put down his work and specially rushed over to London to cheer the team on. He also announced that there would be a cash prize if the team won the FA Cup.
The club chairman motivated the players using money whereas Twain used discipline to ensure that the players would be in their best form. He requested everyone to sleep before 11pm and wake up before 8am for breakfast. There must be a break of one hour in the afternoon and there was to be no pork in all their meals, and no alcohol for the two days. These regulations were not just for the players, the coaches had to enjoy the same “treatment”. It was still okay for them to have a set timing for bed and to wake up, but asking these Englishmen to not drink felt even worse than killing them.
Twain told the coaches during the coaching staff’s internal meeting that there was no better way to manage a team than to lead by example. If you want your players to follow the regulations that you set, then you have to follow them first in order to convince them. Take Wood for example, he was always the most hardworking one in training and he was also the most serious one in matches. That was why he was still held in very high regards in the team even though he was not good with his words. That was the power of “leading by example”.
He treated this FA Cup final very seriously and he would not allow even the smallest error.
This was Tony Twain’s first time after all…
He had experienced many first times in his life, but this first kept eluding him.
Even though he had already won many different champion’s trophies, he was still a little nervous when facing the FA Cup. It was as if he was a scholar taking the Imperial Examinations in the capital city in the past, he would not know whether he would be pass or fail the examinations the next day.
The other reason why he was so serious about the FA Cup was simple —— This was the second trophy in the treble. If they lost the FA Cup, they would have failed to achieve the objective that they worked so hard for that season. This was the same logic as with the league, there was no room for failure.
※※※
One day before the match, when the teams went to check out the venue at Wembley, both managers participated in a press conference.
No one could tell that the two of them were just engaged in a war of words when Redknapp and Twain sat together.
They were both very polite, Twain gave his senior in the industry enough respect while Redknapp seemed to have forgotten that Twain looked down on Tottenham previously.
They only talked about themselves and not their opponents. This press conference was so boring that it disappointed many people. Those reporters who came because of the news and wanted to incite some reactions between them were left wanting as the two wily foxes of different ages did not bite. They did not want to meddle with the other’s affairs.
If the reporters insisted to asking Twain about what he said a few days back, Twain simply shut up and did not answer. It was not his first time doing so and he did not find it difficult at all.
※※※
On May 17th, there was a slight drizzle in London since early in the morning. The temperature was four degrees lower than the day before and the atmosphere was comfortable. A drizzle should not have much effect on the pitch, however, Twain still requested for the coaching team to prepare two sets of boots for the players.
The rain was still coming down when they went to the stadium in the afternoon. Twain looked at the faraway sky before boarding the bus. The sky near Wembley was so white that it was shining, the rain would probably still fall for quite a while.
On the bus, Twain received a text from his wife reminding him to not stay out in the rain too long during the match in case he caught a cold.
The players were more relaxed and some of them even started playing poker at the back. Twain did not stop them, it was good for them to relax a little now.
Twain merely turned back to look at his players, then looked down at the message on his phone again.
If there was anything that could calm him down during this nervous moment which could trigger anytime, it had to be the care and concern of his wife.
When the Wembley Stadium appeared in the sights of everyone, the people who were playing cards, resting their eyes, listening to music, or texting, all looked up to witness England’s iconic stadium.
This was their final battleground.
Twain also looked away from his phone to look at the massive stadium under the overcast skies.
This was not his first time competing in Wembley, but it was his first time managing a FA Cup final. There should be not much difference.
He closed his eyes to go through every one of his opponent’s players once in his mind. He firmly believed that both him and his team were well-prepared, and the FA Cup would definitely belong to them.
The bus stopped at the exclusive lane and the fans nearby all rushed forward to witness the players at the earliest moment.
Kerslake was the first to alight, and he said in the rain, “Get down, get down!”
The players alighted one by one and they even had the mood to react to the fans’ cheers.
Twain was the last to alight and he was stopped by the reporters who insisted that he reply some questions.
Twain remembered Shania’s message and he put on a stern face and said, “No questions about prediction of the match, no questions about prediction of the score, no questions about the tactical arrangements, no questions about the starting lineup…”
“What can we ask about then?” One of the reporters protested.
“Oh, so there are not other questions? I’ll be leaving then,” Twain turned around and left after making a fool out of the media. He had no intention to stay out in the rain with the reporters who were in raincoats and holding umbrellas.
“Hey…”
“Mr. Twain, please stay…”
“He got us again!” Complaints from the reporters rang out all around them.
“Fine, he better pray that his team doesn’t lose in the FA Cup final, otherwise I’ll not let him off easily in the papers!”
“I think he better pray that his team will keep winning, otherwise none of us will let him off easily…”
Twain did not hear the vicious cursing of the reporters as he hurried into the tunnel to prevent himself from being drenched.
Even if he heard them, he would not pay much attention to them. It would not be so easy for those reporters to get the goods on him. He would not give his opponents a chance so easily.
Want to watch me embarrass myself? Not even in ten thousand years!
...
Chapter 864: One More Needed
Not everyone would be seated on the stands waiting for the match to start before the match.
When the referee blew the whistle signifying kickoff, there were still people entering the stadium, looking for their seats.
Just when these people were still looking down in the rain, looking for the seat numbers that corresponded to the numbers on their tickets, they heard a booming cheer coming from next to them. It felt as though a tsunami was coming, or an earthquake was occurring at that time and they could not even maintain their balance.
“Boom——!!”
These people looked up in a daze, saw the people surrounding them jumping around with their arms raised and they looked towards the pitch.
What did they see?
The team in red sprinting in excitement!
There was a voice from the live broadcast which drowned out the cheers, “1:0, Nottingham Forest takes the lead! The scorer is Aaron Mitchell!”
These people finally realized —— When they were still busy looking for their seats, Nottingham Forest had already scored!
“This is really too fast! The TV broadcast wasn’t able to keep up with it… We can only look at the replay. After the kickoff, Şahin passed the ball back to George Wood, who distributed the ball to the flank… Fernández continued forward after an one-two with Gago and Gago lobbed the ball forward very accurately and beautifully! Fernández received the ball… He crossed it! Aaron Mitchell’s diving header! The ball’s in —— It’s a goal!! Barely 20 seconds into the game! This is the record for the fastest goal in the FA Cup final, it’s also the record for the fastest goal for a cup final played in Wembley!!”
The commentator roared in excitement.
Twain pumped his fist in the rain and celebrated the goal with the people around him.
Back in the changing room, he told his players to get the first goal, a quick goal would bring the match towards their rhythm, but he did not expect the team to give him such a great surprise —— They actually scored after 20 seconds.
“No matter what’s the results of this match, Nottingham Forest and Aaron Mitchell have already etched their names in the history of the FA Cup with this goal!”
Mitchell sprinted towards the stands where the majority of Forest fans were at in the rain. He egged them on with his arms, asking them to shout louder and louder. He loved to hear this kind of cheers.
Tottenham did not expect Forest to score so early in the game. The match had just begun, and their defense were not organized yet. Forest took advantage of this small window of opportunity and hit Tottenham where it hurts.
Harry Redknapp’s face was darker than the London skies then. He could not say anything about conceding a goal like this at the sidelines.
He had thought that Forest would take it slow in this match after a sequence of high intensity matches, using a strategy of drawing their opponents out before hitting them on the break.
He did not expect Tony Twain’s team to be so determined in attacking right from the start, that was totally beyond his imagination.
Such an early goal had some element of luck of course. However, what was the point of saying that his opponent was just lucky at this point in time?
It’s a fact that they were trailing, and that their opponent was leading. There would be peculiar changes in the match due to such happenings.
The worst thing that could happen in a match against Twain’s team was to give them the lead. Forest could choose to continue attacking next or play a defensive game and hit them on the break. No matter what they do, it would be akin to torture for their opponents.
How should Tottenham deal with it?
Attacking?
Redknapp was not that stupid. Pressing up in attack would be like opening their doors for a few more Forest goals. He decided to shore up their defense first. After all, trailing by a goal was nothing, they just needed an opportunity to level the score.
He had to stabilize his players’ state of mind first, they must not lose their cool and panic, they must not give Forest another opportunity to take advantage and score another goal. This match would be difficult if they were to trail by two goals.
He stood at the sideline and shouted towards the pitch, asking his players to calm down with hand signals at the same time.
※※※
After 17 minutes, Tottenham levelled the score from a corner kick. The scorer was Michael Dawson. He did not show any mercy against his former club with an accurate and powerful header. Akinfeev did not even react to it as a group of people watched the ball fly into the goal. Some of the players even got their eyes blurred by the water splashing up.
Tottenham levelling the score made the fans doubly excited. When they were trailing earlier, these people were worried that the trophy would be given to Forest just like that, but it seemed like Tottenham did not want to give up yet.
Twain had no intentions of shoring up his defenses after Tottenham scored. Instead, he encouraged his two full backs to continued attacking from the sideline.
Redknapp could tell Twain’s intentions too. Since Forest was attacking, there would bound to be spaces behind. That was why Tottenham had to attack too, how else could they take advantage of these spaces?
One of the most exciting battles in the history of FA Cup finals has begun.
In the 39th minute, Tottenham Hotspurs took advantage of an opportunity to attack after Forest’s right-back Rafinha did not manage to rush back in defense in time and launched a quick counterattack. Pavlyuchenko made a feint when one-on-one against Akinfeev which made Akinfeev lose his footing and lost the best opportunity to dive on the ball. Pavlyuchenko rounded Akinfeev easily and put the ball into the empty net.
Tottenham had come from behind to lead 2:1!
The cheers of the Tottenham fans rang out from the stands. When Forest scored right at the start of the match, they could not imagine that Tottenham could come from behind to lead in the first half.
However, their cheers only lasted two minutes. In the 42nd minute, Mitchell used his individual skills against three Tottenham defenders, but he got pushed to the ground by Dawson. The referee blew for a direct free kick in the attacking half for Forest.
Bale stood on the ball and the Forest fans started singing the “Song of Bale”.
The ball was about 28 meters away from the goal and the wall was very compact. As a team in the English Premier League, everyone knew about the threat of Gareth Bale’s free kick.
George Wood and Gago did their best to squeeze into the wall, positioning themselves near the near post of the goal. It looked like Bale would be shooting from this angle towards the goal later, hence the Tottenham players pushed towards the near post, trying their best to squeeze the two Forest players out.
When the referee blew the whistle, Wood and Gago left the wall as expected, but the empty spaces left behind were covered by Tottenham players almost instantly… However, nobody expected Bale to not go for the near post, choosing to shoot towards the other side instead. The ball flew around the wall from the other end straight into the far corner of the goal!
That was obviously one of the free kick routines which they practiced countless times.
The goalkeeper Gomes was deceived by the wall and the tactics of the Forest team. When Bale took the free kick, he even moved his center of gravity towards to near post. As the ball flew towards the goal from the other side, he could do nothing but watch the ball fly into the far corner of the goal!
“2:2!! The first half is not over yet and there are already four goals between the two teams! What an exciting first half!”
The Tottenham fans kept mum, this time, it was the Forest fans who sang in the rain.
Of course, there were also some Forest fans who thought that it was weird. Tony Twain usually did not find it hard to resort to conservative tactics in important matches, why did he suddenly choose to play an attacking game against his opponent? They were worried that if this went on, Forest might fail instead.
Twain’s thoughts were very simple. He wanted to make use of this match to check on his team’s attacking prowess. Against a team like Real Madrid, it would not be sufficient to be able to defend.
When the first half ended, the two teams were level with the score at 2:2. The match was played in a very quick rhythm from the start and the fans got their money worth.
Many people did not expect such an exciting match to be played out in a FA Cup final. Nowadays, football had become more and more practical and finals were usually a boring affair. Especially so if Nottingham Forest was involved in the final.
They did not expect Twain to suddenly have a change of heart which made it difficult for everyone to get used to it.
Was he going to raise the flag of attacking football and play an open game with Tottenham?
Redknapp must have thought so, because he told his players during the halftime team talk to continue pressing the attack and take advantage of the spaces behind when Forest attack in the second half.
However, at the same time, in Nottingham Forest’s changing room, Twain smiled and told his players, “We’ll play on the break in the second half.”
※※※
The changes in the situation of the second half were beyond Redknapp’s expectations too.
His team pressed up in attack, but he soon realized that Nottingham Forest did not come forward in attack too. Instead, they retreated to the back and started to position themselves to play on the counterattack…
The commentator was very disappointed at this change and started to insult Twain again, “Tony Twain must be afraid, afraid that his team might continue conceding goals and lose morale or even the game if he continued to play an open game with Tottenham. I think he can’t take this failure and therefore chose to play a more conservative game… What a pity, only the first half of this final is exciting…”
Redknapp was not dumb. He knew Twain was going to play on the counterattack when they drew back their defensive line, if he continued pressing forward, he would have been asking for it.
Hence, he drew back too.
No wonder the commentator sighed and said that the first half was more exciting.
After 20 minutes of boring football, Redknapp finally could not take it and launched the attack first.
They bombarded the Forest goal for ten minutes without any result while the Forest team turtled in a total defensive formation.
Just when Tottenham was going to take a breather, the dagger that was hidden in Forest hands suddenly shot out!
Akinfeev did not pump the ball up, choosing to throw the ball out to start the attack. This was a counterattack with a purpose.
Gago sprayed a long ball to the flank after receiving the ball. Moke received the ball quickly and he did not continue bringing the ball forward. Instead, he took a look at the situation in front and chose to play a direct, diagonal ball towards the front of the penalty area.
Mitchell followed the ball with his long legs with Michael Dawson following him beside him!
The pass that Moke played was a rolling ball and it was very fast on the wet grass. Mitchell was not a fast player, but he was still fast enough when compared to a center back, and he had long legs which was a very useful advantage. For example, now…
Moke’s pass was a little bit forward, it was difficult to receive such a ball, let alone control it.
However, Mitchell did not even think about controlling it!
When the ball reached the arc of the penalty area, the 2.02 meters tall Mitchell suddenly jumped and slid towards the ball!
Michael Dawson did not expect this tall fellow to slide towards the ball from outside the penalty area! He was stunned momentarily and lost track of his target just like that.
Gomes originally wanted to come out for the ball but dropped back after realizing that Dawson was following his target also did not expect Mitchell to choose and slide after the ball from outside the penalty area…
Why is he sliding the ball? He’s not a defender!
The football told him about Mitchell’s plan in the next second.
Mitchell successfully reached the ball and the ball flew directly towards the goal after changing direction!
Earlier on, it was established that the ball would roll especially fast on the wet grass. Gomes did not expect Mitchell to shoot directly…a sliding shot from outside the penalty area!
Gomes could not dive in time and the ball rolled past his fingertips! It rolled towards the goal on the grass very quickly…
Dawson ran past Gomes and ran towards the ball, planning to clear it.
He was just a step too late and he kicked air as the ball rolled past him, hit the post and went into the goal.
“3:2! A brace for Mitchell!”
Mitchell became the hero of the Nottingham Forest fans. He raised his arms and thanked God for giving him such an opportunity —— To score a brace in the FA Cup final!
His childhood dreams were being fulfilled one by one.
The Nottingham Forest’s players were all very excited as they surrounded Michell, slapping him on the head and shoulders.
Their target this season was the treble. They had already won the league title and they were leading Tottenham by 3:2 in the FA Cup final with victory in sight. Two trophies would definitely improve their morale and confidence greatly.
But Twain was only happy for awhile before shouting at his team to focus and not let out in their attack. A lead of one goal was not safe…
Redknapp knew that Twain would do that. Taking the chance of Forest scoring, he waved his hand —— Tottenham was to continue attacking. They must score before Forest scored again!
He almost succeeded.
A long shot from Modric was out of Akinfeev’s reach but it came back off the crossbar and out.
The Forest Fans broke out in cold sweat from the shock.
The rain started to fall heavier.
Twain had already forgotten his wife’s instructions before the match. He stood straight on the touchline and allowed the rain to drench him with no intentions of moving back. He encouraged his team using this method.
His players were playing in the rain, as a manager, he had to brave the rain with them.
The teams started to play an intensive game after 20 minutes of a quiet game as the match became more exciting.
It might be because of the weather condition, the excitement of the match deteriorated. Mistakes became much more abundant following the drop in energy level and the match after that was difficult to watch.
However, Twain and Redknapp were still very focused. They were not looking at what was happening on the surface, but what was happening on a deeper level. Everyone was making mistakes, it was all about which side could capitalize on the other side’s mistake now.
On the 81st minute, Nottingham Forest capitalized on Tottenham’s mistake first. Agbonlahor, in as a substitute for Mitchell assisted from the flank and Şahin followed up from the middle and fired the ball into the goal.
This goal basically pronounced the death sentence for Tottenham.
Following that, Tottenham struggled for a while more, but they could not break through the Forest goal. This was because Nottingham Forest shamelessly played with everyone in defense after taking a two goals lead and did not give Redknapp’s team any chance at all.
When injury time started, the Forest fans started to sing and dance on the stands in the rain. They were singing Queen’s “We are the Champions”, announcing their victory ahead of time.
When the referee blew the whistle for full time, the fans’ singing became thunderous cheers.
The Forest bench rushed onto the pitch with Twain leading them as they embraced the players on the pitch.
“Congratulations, Tony Twain! He finally got the first FA Cup trophy in his managerial career! In all the competitions that he had participated in, other than the UEFA Europa League, he has won all the trophies that he could win! This is really a historical moment! The most successful manager in England for the past decade has etched his name on this trophy with the longest history in English history! His team and him are creating history!”
Twain was lifted by his players above their shoulders and paraded.
He extended his arm and pointed towards the sky —— Just one more trophy!
※※※
The day after the match, the media used a photo of him doing this, with a caption:
Nottingham Forest, pointing their sword towards the UEFA Champions League!
...
Chapter 865 - Confess
When Tony Twain returned to Nottingham with the Football Association Challenge Cup, everyone knew what his next goal would be. At this juncture, he would be letting the two previous championship titles down if he did not win the Treble.
Like the league tournament, Twain gave the team a day off after winning the title to allow the players and coaches to have a break before they got ready to take on a strong opponent.
Having won two championship titles, Tony Twain once again became the focus of media attention. The reporters were unwilling to give up any opportunity to get close to him and interview him. Even if he was on vacation, he still had reporters who wanted to interview him.
Pierce Brosnan was one of them. He had one advantage over the other reporters—he had Twain’s personal cell phone number, and he could contact him anywhere at any time, while the other reporters did not have that privilege at all. Twain disliked the media. Even though he would not have been successful and arrogant had it not been for the media, he still would not show face to the media. Therefore, when the other media wanted to interview the manager, Tony Twain exclusively, they could only submit applications to the club and then wait for a reply. Their applications usually did not receive a positive response, so Twain had been called “England’s most difficult manager to interview” and ranked first on the “reporters’ most unpopular manager list.”
Brosnan planned to contact Twain on his private line today to request for an interview.
But he made three calls in a row from 8 o’clock in the morning, and Twain’s cell phone was turned off.
Brosnan shook his head in puzzlement. He thought for a while and could only put the reason down to Twain must still be in bed with his wife, either sleeping or making love and so he did not turn on his cell phone.
It looked like it was difficult to interview this man…
※※※
Brosnan thought Twain must be doing a morning exercise with his wife. But in truth, he was wrong.
At eight o’clock, Twain went out alone in his car while Shania was still asleep in bed after a night of passion.
Even if Shania had awoken, Twain would not bring her along. For the place where Twain was going and the matter that he needed to settle, he did not want anyone else to disturb, even if it was his wife, the most important person in his life. In order not to be disturbed by others, he even turned off his cell phone.
The place he was heading to was south of Nottingham, near Clifton. Like the north of Nottingham, there was also a large dense forest. Behind a church on top of a hill was a cemetery hidden from view in the woods.
Gavin Bernard, the first fan in George Wood’s life, laid in rest here.
In fact, Twain came here, not long ago. Although he was Briton, he still had not forgotten some of the traditional Chinese customs deep within him. For example, every year on the Qingming Festival, he would come back here to make offerings to Gavin. On this day, Twain would certainly take time out to make a trip here. If the team had a game on day of the Qingming Festival, he would come here a day ahead or the day after the game. The people around him did not quite understand why he chose to visit Gavin at this time, because there was no Qingming Festival in the Western countries.
Coming back here again in a little more than a month, Twain brought Gavin two pieces of good news.
“The league tournament and the Football Association Challenge Cup .” Twain stood at Gavin’s gravestone and said to him, “Everyone out there is going nuts with happiness. Do you know how many years it has been that Nottingham Forest have not won a Football Association Challenge Cup ? Fifty-five years. It’s half a century. Heh, to be honest, I didn’t think of this issue before the game. But when the reporters asked about it after the game, I only found out then that we had not won the Football Association Challenge Cup for so long. All is good now. Fifty-five years of resentment is finally over.”
“Have you watched those two games? It was so hard to win the league tournament. I almost gave up… Truthfully speaking, I’ll only say these words to you alone, Gavin. No one else knew… I really wanted to give up in the final three minutes. I even figured out how to deal with the nasty reporters. To eat a table?! I’ll easily eat a table made of chocolate cake. Anyway, I did not state the material of the table! Ha!”
Twain laughed smugly.
“It’s really tiring to be a manager. I almost ended up down there to accompany you. But I’m tough. So many people want me to die but I refuse to die. So, I’m still alive, and I’ll continue to win championship titles for you. But …” Twain thought for a bit, “There’s something buried in my heart for almost a year, and I didn’t tell anyone, not even my wife. Now I’m going to tell you, because I know you won’t blabber to anyone… I’m going to give them a big surprise when the time comes!”
Twain turned to look around. There was no one else in the small cemetery but himself. The wind blew from the forest through the cemetery and the sound of rustling leaves was the only sound that could be heard.
Twain got down on one knee and held the gravestone as if he were stroking Gavin’s head. He bent his head down and wriggled his lips beside the tombstone, but no sound came out.
With that, he stood up again, with a smile on his face and said, “What do you think of the idea? I really look forward to seeing their surprised expressions by then. But I have to say I’m sorry to you… Well, you’re not going to be the chairman of the Nottingham Forest club anyway. If you really could, I would still be in that position even if I were to be ninety-eight years old. Sometimes I look forward to that day and I’m excited just thinking about it in my mind.”
Twain cocked his head, as if he was fantasizing about a future like that.
“But…” He looked away and his gaze focused again on the tombstone. “I can only think about it in my mind.”
“There’s only one championship title left.” Twain sighed, “I suddenly have a kind of tiredness that appears at the end. Do you feel that way, Gavin? After you’ve run a marathon and saw that the end is near, but your body doesn’t feel right—you don’t want to run, your legs are running out of energy, you can’t breathe as if you’re just going to stop. Because you’re tired.”
Twain simply sat down, face to face with the tombstone.
“I really don’t want to run, but I can only say this to you here. I can only whine to you. If I really were to fall before the finish line, I’ll kill myself. Regardless of the outcome of the next game, at least I can’t give up until the end of the game. You know what, Gavin? So many people are looking to me. My players, my colleagues, my boss, my supporters, my opponents… Countless eyes are on my back and I can’t make any mistakes. My supporters will be disappointed if I make a mistake while my opponents will clap their hands in delight. You’re going to say why do I have to go head to head against so many people, don’t you? I can’t help my lousy temper. I really can’t pretend….to be a nice guy. A tepid-like character is not suitable for me. I’m extreme. Either I die or they die…I’m forty-five years old and still act like a child.”
“Well, actually I’m not that old…” Twain coughed. He felt uncomfortable once he stated the age. “I’ll tell you a little secret, which is something that not even the closest person to me knows about. I… Well…” He looked up and glanced around. There was still no one else around. “I came from another time and space. In that time and space, I’m not the Forest manager. I’m not even English. I’m very ordinary, and I don’t know you either. If I hadn’t come here, you wouldn’t be lying here, would you?”
Twain shook his head and said, “Let’s not talk about this. I will lose my fighting spirit after talking too much about some stuff.”
While he was still chatting to Gavin as he sat on the ground, a person had turned in from the entrance of the cemetery.
※※※
George Wood bought a bunch of flowers outside the church and asked for a card. He wrote on it with a crooked handwriting, “For Gavin, your George.”
He only wrote “George” the best, which was trained from signing autographs all the time for the fans.
As he wrote on the card, he remembered how Twain had laughed at his ugly handwriting.
“Look at the words you wrote. It’s worse than a grade school student’s handwriting!”
Wood inserted the card into the bouquet and picked it up as he went out of the florist.
It was at this point that the owner of the florist dared to ask him in a whisper, “Are you really George Wood?”
When Wood walked in through the door, he thought he was seeing things.
Wood did not say much. He just picked a bunch of lilies, asked for a card, paid, and left. The entire proceeding took less than a minute from the moment he stepped into the shop and he only spoke two sentences.
“Please give me a bouquet of lilies and a card.”
“Thank you.”
Wood did not have a habit of wearing sunglasses to hide his identity when he went out. But he would not take the initiative to expose himself either. The florist did not react at first because he did not think that George Wood would come to his little flower shop. It was not until Wood left that he reacted.
“What’s he doing here?” He frowned and muttered in puzzlement.
※※※
As Wood walked into the cemetery, he saw a man sitting in front of his destination, as if he was saying something.
When he got closer, he recognized the man sitting on the ground and it was the boss.
Twain also realized that Wood was nearby. Neither of them was surprised to see each other here.
Twain stood up and gave way to Wood, who stepped up to put the bouquet in front of the gravestone, close to the bouquet that Twain had placed before him.
“Do you want me to give you some privacy?” Twain was going to leave first.
Wood shook his head and said, “No. I have nothing to say.”
“You’re so heartless, George.” Twain began to tease George.
Unexpectedly, Wood replied, “I don’t know what to say.”
Twain stared blankly for a moment and then waved his hands. He said, “Then let’s go. I’ll give you a ride back.”
Wood nodded his head.
The two men glanced at Gavin Bernard’s gravestone at the same time and turned to leave.
“Aren’t you going to buy a car, George? You’re now a big star. People may laugh at a big star without a car.”
“I’ve no use for it at the moment.”
“You have such low expectations in life… Are you not going to find yourself a girl? How old are you, George?”
“Twenty-seven.”
“Twenty-seven and you still don’t want to look for a girl. Do you want people to say you’re gay?”
“I love my mother.”
Twain turned to give Wood a glance and said nothing.
No one would believe it if it was known that a twenty-seven-year-old star was still single. But it was to be expected and reasonable when it came to George Wood. There seemed to be room for only one woman in his life, and that was his mother. The child with an Oedipus complex could never imagine how it would be like to have another woman share his love. Even Twain had a deep-rooted belief that it would be a strange sight if one day a woman who was not his mother, were to be by Wood’s side…
※※※
When he sent Wood home, Twain met Sophia.
Sophia was also delighted to see Twain. Her face was even flushed. She wanted Twain to stay for lunch, but Twain tactfully declined because he had to go home to spend time with his wife. Shania must have made lunch and waited for him.
Sophia was a little disappointed, but her look of disappointment was soon covered up.
Twain did not even go inside the house. He would be in a complicated mood every time he faced Sophia. He knew how Sophia felt about him, but he was a man with a wife, and he did not think it was appropriate for him to be with Sophia. In order not to continue to let Sophia labor under this delusion, sometimes he deliberately kept his distance. It would certainly hurt Sophia a little. But it was better that than to lie to her.
While Sophia was urging Twain to stay for lunch, Wood stood at the side and said nothing.
Twain recalled Wood’s words and felt strange. He did not linger and directly said goodbye to the mother and son.
In his heart, he only hoped that Sophia and George would live on happily.
※※※
Pierce Brosnan intended to call all day. However, Twain’s cell phone was always turned off. He was confused. Twain’s cell phone was rarely switched off. Even at two or three o’clock in the morning, a call to him would still go through. Of course, it was also unsurprising that he would be scolded by him after the call had connected and then be hung up on.
He thought of a lot of possibilities in his head. The more he thought, the worse it got, and he decided not to think about it.
He did not get through until after 9 p.m.
When he heard that the sound coming from the line was not prompting him with “the number you have dialed is not in service” message, but the “beep-beep-beep-beep” tone of waiting to answer, he almost felt the impulse of excitement.
“I’ve been calling you all day, Tony!” Brosnan cried excitedly on the phone.
“Are you trying to woo me? Unfortunately, I don’t like men, Mr. Reporter.” Twain joked with Brosnan.
“I wanted to ask you for an interview. Now that you are a red-hot star, I was afraid that I would be too late, and you would be snapped by someone else …”
“I’m not a merchandise… All right, I promise you, but not right now, not tomorrow, and not the day after tomorrow… I will not take any interviews until the Champions League final. I have rejected all the applications sent to the club for interviews. You’re no exception as well, even though we have a good friendship .”
“Is it so that you can prepare for the Champions League final with a peace of mind?”
“Of course. Actually, I’m doing you a favor, Mr. Reporter. When I win the Champions League, it’s going to be difficult for you to ask me for an interview.” Twain said seriously on the phone.
Twain was putting on airs, but Brosnan did not care, as long as Twain had promised him an interview.
“Well, that’s great. I wanted to confirm this… Well then, I’ll leave you guys be…” Brosnan hurriedly hung up because he heard Shania’s laughter on the other end of the line.
※※※
Shania could not help but laugh when she saw that Twain’s straight face as he put on airs.
Twain put down his cell phone and opened his hands to Shania.
Shania immediately came closer and leaned in her husband’s arms.
“Where do you want to go this summer, Shania?” Twain gently smelled Shania’s hair and asked.
“Aren’t you going to be busy? Is BBC asking you to do the commentary for the World Cup in South Africa? When the World Cup is over, the team should be training again, shouldn’t they?” Shania asked strangely.
Twain smiled instead and said, “Who can say what’s going to happen in the future? Where do you want to go?”
Shania curled her body in Twain’s arms and closed her eyes as she enjoyed Twain’s caress while she muttered, “Anywhere is fine, just as long as I’m with Uncle Tony…”
Twain lovingly stroked Shania’s hair and said nothing.
...
Chapter 866: Madrid
The team flew from Birmingham to Madrid after undergoing training for four days at their training grounds at Wilford.
Twain was very familiar with Spain’s capital. He has been in Madrid numerous times before.
The moment the team stepped out of the airport, they could tell that the city was gearing up for the Champions League finals.
Promotional banners and posters were hung on the walls by the sides of the roads all the way to the hotel that they were staying in.
The team might not have stepped foot in the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium yet, but they could already envision the sort of scenes that they would see there.
Besides the promotional banners and posters for the Champions League finals, the respective team flags of the two finalist teams were also hung in the air.
There were significantly more Real Madrid flags than Nottingham Forest flags. That is to be expected, since they were playing in Madrid, and this is the home advantage that Real Madrid gets to enjoy. If they were to be playing in a ‘neutral’ venue however, the number of team flags should be the same for both teams.
The entire city of Madrid was basked in excitement over Real Madrid’s qualification for the Champions League finals. The Real Madrid fans all believed that their team has a 85% chance of winning the match.
Their beliefs were not unfounded. Real Madrid would be playing on their own home grounds, and the fact that they are playing in the Bernabéu Stadium would undoubtedly spur the players on and make them play at their best. After all, it is not often that a team gets to play on their own home grounds in the Champions League finals.
As the bus that Forest rode on drove past the downtown area of the city, the team saw numerous Real Madrid fans congregating around the streets. Such sights could be seen throughout the city, and their numbers would only increase as the day for the finals draw close.
The Real Madrid fans waved at them upon seeing the bus. They did not appear to be hostile, and there does not appear to be tension in the air either.
However, Twain knew very well that the expressions on those fans’ faces would change the moment his team creates trouble for Real Madrid in the finals.
It was not as if he has not heard the ear-splitting boos from the Real Madrid fans in the Bernabéu Stadium before. He knew that they are capable of showing hostility towards opposing teams.
Nonetheless, boos would not perturb Twain in the slightest, since he was someone who attracted boos wherever he went, and he has grown used to them.
“Look at that. Look at how they are smiling at all of you. Wave back, lads. You are not going to see such amiable smiles during the match for sure.”
Twain said to his players, and laughter instantly rang out within the bus.
The bus turned and stopped before the entrance to the hotel. There were many reporters who were already waiting before the doors.
The reporters from all over the world have all gathered here in Madrid to provide the fans with timely updates regarding the Champions League finals.
The Forest players have all grown used to being in the spotlight and seeing large crowds of reporters surrounding them. Thus, they paid the reporters no attention when they alighted from the bus, and they walked straight into the hotel.
Some of the more popular players were still stopped by the reporters, however. They were asked a few questions, but the reporters quickly changed their target when they noticed that Tony Twain had finally alighted from the bus after everyone else did, and they collectively flocked over towards him.
Twain felt as though he was looking at a pack of drooling wolves when he saw the reporters charge at him. He whistled in response.
“Mr. Twain. Is this your first time playing a match in the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium?”
“I don’t know. I don’t remember.”
“Can you predict the results of the match?”
“Sorry, I have never predicted the results of any match.”
Twain might have said that, but the reporters did not think that he was speaking the truth. They had their ways to make him talk.
“Mr. Twain. Firstly, I’d like to congratulate you for achieving the Double by clinching both the Premier League trophy and the FA Cup trophy. So… Are you confident of clinching your third trophy?”
“We made it into the finals. How could we be fighting for second place?”
Twain flung his hands out.
He said he was not going to predict the results of the match earlier, but didn’t he just predict the match with those words of his?
The reporters laughed in satisfaction.
“How would you describe Real Madrid as a team? They too have won the league title this season…”
“Real Madrid is a very strong team. They are the strongest team in Spain. I am very happy that we can face such an opponent in the finals, and not some other never-heard-before team.” Twain appeared to have shown enough respect for Real Madrid.
“Are you worried that the stress of achieving the Treble would affect your team’s performances now that you are so close to achieving it?”
Twain smiled. “I am worried about them not being able to sleep well at night. I’m also worried that they will get injured during the match. And, I’m also worried that our plane back to England would be a little late… But, I’ve never worried about them performing badly on the pitch. Performing badly? What the hell is that?”
Twain oozed of confidence as he dealt with the reporters’ questions with ease. If there were any fan girls of his standing by the side right now, they would have shrieked in joy at his behavior.
“You look like you are full of confidence, Mr. Twain. We all know that Franck Ribéry was a player whom you brought over to England from the French Ligue 2. But he has betrayed you now…”
Twain cut the reporter off. “I’m sorry. This is something that happened many years ago. Please do not ask questions that have nothing to do with the match.”
“Uh… Are you worried that he would score against you in the finals?” The reporter hesitated for a moment before phrasing his question as one that seemed to have something to do with the finals.
“He is a Real Madrid player right now. Would it be surprising if he scored against me?” Twain looked at the reporters who had anticipation written all over their faces and paused. “He is a brilliant player and he has performed well in Real Madrid. I am very pleased to know that I didn’t make the wrong judgment back then.”
When he finished his words, he pushed away the reporters and thronged towards the security guards. He was then escorted into the hotel by them.
“Mr. Twain! I still have another question…”
“Manager Twain! Manager Twain!”
The question about Ribéry caused Twain to remember the past, and that upset him, because he did not like to reminisce about the past before the public.
Twain ignored the shouts from the reporters behind him and he briskly made his way into the elevator. When he turned around, there was not even a twinge of a smile on his face. His expression remained unchanged right up till the moment the elevator doors closed before the horde of reporters.
The expression on his face was a clear sign to the reporters that he was angry and that the interview was over.
In truth, he has almost forgotten about Ribéry ever since the latter left the club for Real Madrid. The two have not kept in contact since then, and the last time the two communicated with each other was when Ribéry left Twain a letter after his departure.
However, that very letter had been ripped up and scattered into the morning breeze at Wilford by Twain himself.
The British media is very egotistical. They would not report about a particular player once he stops playing in England. They show total indifference to the footballing matters that happen in other countries, but they are willing to report about even the smallest of things related to British football. Hence, it is not easy to read news reports about a particular player who is playing in La Liga.
When Twain first learned of their opponents in the Champions League finals, he thought of Ribéry.
He feels a mixture of emotions towards the lad. He really likes Ribéry as a player, since he was the one who brought him over to England from France, and he was also the one who personally groomed him into the player that he is today. However, he still resents him for abandoning him and the club back then.
There might not be many players left in the club who used to play in the same team as Ribéry right now, but Twain was still intent on teaching Ribéry a lesson for what he did all those years ago.
Despite being 31 years of age this year, Ribéry is still able to find a spot as a starting player for Real Madrid. His pace might have gone on the decline over the years, but his technique, experience and fight makes up for his lack of pace.
The fact that Ribéry is still able to play as a starting player for Real Madrid when van der Vaart left years ago is proof of the difference in status between the two players during their time in Forest. Ribéry was the core of the team, whereas van der Vaart was just a starting player for Forest.
Twain took the elevator to the 11th floor. Kerslake was waiting for him at the lobby, and he waved the room key at Twain when he walked out.
“Your room’s 1101.”
Twain received the room key from Kerslake.
Kerslake asked, “Have you thought about what you are going to say to Ribéry when you see him?”
Twain shrugged. “If his team loses to us, I’d hug him. If they win… Ah, damn. It’s bad omen to talk about such things before the match!”
He walked into his room with the room key in his hand.
※※※
Ribéry was receiving a massage in the physical therapy room at Valdebebas due to a slight back ache. The team doctor did not make any comments about his back ache, but Ribéry insisted on getting a massage for it because he did not want to jeopardize his chance to play in the finals.
He lied on the bed and quietly enjoyed the masseur’s service. A while later, he suddenly felt tired and he closed his eyes a little.
The memories in the recesses of his mind began surfacing against his wishes when their opponent for the finals was decided, and they have been surfacing a lot more actively these few days with the finals drawing close.
He remembered those days when he was in Nottingham Forest.
His footballing career prior to being a player at Nottingham Forest was not worth remembering. In fact, he has almost forgotten about them by now. He would certainly not disagree if anyone were to say that his professional footballing career only started when he joined Nottingham Forest.
Nottingham Forest, Nottingham Forest…
How many years has it been since I left? It’s been almost 5 years.
Ribéry has not faced off with his former team on the pitch ever since he left Forest. He could not believe that the very first time he is going to meet them would be in the Champions League finals.
Destiny sure is cruel.
One cannot think of Nottingham Forest without thinking about its leader, or their boss Tony Twain.
Ribéry was certain that the current Forest members still refer to Twain as their ‘boss’. Over here in Spain however, footballers do not refer to their manager as the ‘boss’.
It is a feat that his ex-boss is able to stay and manage Forest for the past 10 years, given his temper. It is truly something that only happens in England’s footballing scene.
Twain might not really understand the life he has had in Madrid since, but Ribéry has been paying attention to everything that Twain has done. For example, he knows that Twain got the last laugh in his bet with Spicer in which either of them had to eat a table upon losing, and he also knows that Forest just won the FA Cup.
It was not difficult for him to learn about news regarding Twain, because the media frequently reports about him. The Spanish media does not report about footballing matters from other countries often, but Tony Twain is an exception. He has always been able to attract interest from the various media outlets, and the reporters are always on his trail.
Actually, Ribéry is looking forward to facing off with Nottingham Forest. He has always wanted to go against his ex-boss at least once. There is a strange feeling within him that makes him long for a battle against his ex-boss and his team, but Ribéry does not quite know what that feeling is exactly.
Just when Ribéry was about to doze off, the massage ended.
The masseur gently patted him on the shoulder, and that jolted him out of his half-asleep state.
“Franck, all the best for the match two days later!”
※※※
Twain noticed an interesting phenomenon that can highlight the kind of image that others have of him.
This image of his would only change a little when he faces off with Juventus in a match, because the Old Lady was just like Nottingham Forest when it comes to playing style. They were both teams who played counter attacking football, and they were also teams who were very solid with their defense. Their defense would always frustrate their opponents to no end.
Many pundits all over the world have made appearances one after another on TV to express their opinions about the Champions League finals match over the past few days.
Some of them claimed that Twain’s team was like a thief, “… What those thieves care about isn’t football. It’s about winning. To them, the only thing that they want is victory, and they will use whatever method they can to achieve it. I believe that this kills the game of football… It’s a shame that we’d see such a thief in the Champions League finals this year.”
Others were in favor of Real Madrid simply because their style of football was much more pleasant to the eyes.
“Míchel González’s style of football is truly one that is pleasant to watch. As a member of the La Quinta del Buitre and an ex-manager of Real Madrid’s youth academy, he knows very well what Real Madrid’s football is all about… It is clearly much better for a guy like him to be in charge of Real Madrid as compared to any of those world renowned managers. When Míchel first took over Real Madrid two years ago, he was hailed as ‘Real Madrid’s Guardiola’. I’m very glad that he is currently walking down the path that Guardiola once walked on. I might be a Barcelona fan, but I have to applaud the kind of football that Real Madrid is playing right now.”
The person who made the aforementioned comment was Barcelona’s ‘godfather’, Johan Cruyff. His team might have been eliminated by Real Madrid, but he still praised and applauded them as a team. Clearly, the kind of football that Real Madrid plays is brilliant.
Real Madrid might have taken a detour for a while, but now they are back on the right track.
Their offense is made up of five talented attacking players. Firstly, they have Franck Ribéry, an ex FIFA World Player of the Year and recipient of the Ballon d’Or, who transferred to Real Madrid in the January transfer window in the 2008-09 season. Next, they have Cristiano Ronaldo, who transferred to Real Madrid in the 2012-13 season.
Besides those two superstar players, Real Madrid also has 31 year-old Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, 26 year-old Benzema, and 26 year-old Higuaín in their team.
All these players form the foundation needed for Real Madrid to play an attacking style of football.
Not only does Real Madrid possess the ability to attract the world’s superstars to play for them, they are also a team who is able to play an attacking style of football. It is no wonder that Cruyff praises the football that they play as a team.
If we were to look at Forest however, their star player at the moment would be George Wood, and what the Spaniards find hilarious is the fact that the team’s star player is playing as a defensive midfielder. It accurately sums up Forest’s playing style and strength…
Ibišević is the top striker in Forest, but he cannot hold a candle against the likes of Benzema and Huntelaar.
As for the midfield…
It would be better if we do not bring it up.
How can such a Nottingham Forest team compete against the star-studded Real Madrid team?
How can they expect to win without relying on counterattacking football?
If Twain actually dared to go head-to-head with Real Madrid at the Bernabéu Stadium, then everyone in the world other than him would think that he was just digging his grave.
But, the moment Twain chooses to play counterattacking football, all fingers would be pointed at him and they would criticize him for his playing style.
What logic.
Nobody thinks there is anything wrong for thinking the way that they do, because ultimately, they are things that are happening with a person named Tony Twain.
Which should Twain choose? Becoming champions or gaining reputation?
Twain tossed the newspaper aside.
The question was too stupid, and he refused to answer.
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Chapter 867 - Red Cloth
Raúl González had some regrets – if he had retired a year later, he might have been able to use the club’s 10th European Champions Cup as a gift for his retirement. Now he is the manager of Real Madrid, mainly responsible for communication between the senior management and the players, hence many times he was still within the team, just like a player who wore a tuxedo.
When the team was training, he stood on the sidelines and watched with Coach Michels, he usually do not express his opinions unless Michels tells him to.
But today he had more things to say.
“Michels , for tomorrow’s game…” Raúl started to frown.
“Do you want to ask me how sure I am to win?” Michels smiled. “I don’t know. ”
“No, I was worried that Nottingham Forest’s style of play would restrain the style we were good at.” Raúl shook his head gently.
Michels heard what he said, and hesitated for a little, then said, “It’s a problem… But that was what Real Madrid’s football is all about, no matter what opponents we face, we would still use our usual style to contest. What suggestions do you have, Raúl?”
Raúl obviously had no good advice, as he shook his head and stopped talking.
“Our scouts had come up with the latest information about Nottingham Forest, they had also used all-out tactics in the first half of the FA Cup final against Tottenham Hotspur and I think that might have something to do with us.” Michels was still talking to himself. He suddenly turned his head and looked at Raúl, “Maybe Twain wants to fight offense with us in Bernabéu.”
Raúl, who was focusing on watching the team’s training, was taken aback by his claims.
“Fight in offense against us?” As soon as the remark repeated, he started laughing. “That’s crazy. ”
Yes, there are few teams in the world that dare to play against Real Madrid in Bernabéu, maybe Barcelona is one. But definitely not Nottingham Forest.
“I don’t think that is likely … Nottingham Forest’s playstyle is defensive counter-attack, and Coach Twain had always believed that championships are won from defense. He fight against us head on in an offensive battle in such an important game, a defensive counterattack has high odds though.”
Michels smiled at Raúl and said, “Why didn’t you choose to be the head coach after you retired, Raúl?”
“Me?” When asked upon suddenly, Raúl didn’t respond, “I don’t think I’m fit to coach.”
“Not as a head coach. You can be a youth training supervisor… If you want to do it, I can recommend it to the head manager.”
“It’s not the difference between a head coach or a coach.” Raúl thought about it before saying, “At Real Madrid, I think it’s too tiring to be a coach…”
He didn’t continue afterwards, but Michels already knew what he was trying to say. He nodded silently.
Raúl mentioned the key point. Do not look at the fact that Michels had done a good job at Real Madrid over the years, he had always been subjected to checks and balances at the top of the club, which was a tradition in most Spanish clubs, but in an elite team like Real Madrid, the restrictions on a head coach is especially high. For an introduction and transfer of a player, he had only the right to advise, but not the right to decide. There are too many factors for a club like Real Madrid to buy a person to consider, hence the competitive aspect did not feel as important.
In the management of the dressing room, the manager’s actions were also limited. Dressing room factions were inevitable for any big team, but in this aspect the Premier League manager were better than them, because the Premier League manager had absolute authority, the factions in the dressing room does not triumph over a head coach, the authority of the Premier League manager comes from their football tradition and the support of the club’s senior management. The players are in awe of the head coach like a bunch of kids under their captain. The coach of La Liga would have it worse, if they have a tiff with any faction in the training room, then his authority would be greatly challenged. Coupled with the small actions behind the backs of the top management group, the head coach is sandwiched between the higher management and the players, where both sides would be unhappy with him.
Michels was doing well at Real Madrid because he has met a good general manager, Valdano. Think of the former Mijatović, any head coach under him would be torture. Valdano knew fair authority delegation would be beneficial for the club, hence he would not pick on the transfer list that the head coach proposes. And hence came the revival of Real Madrid.
Otherwise, this team might be still be continuously stuck in the top 8 which would be the laughing stock of everyone.
Both Michels and Raúl had put these problems behind them, as they do not need nor have the capacity to have such troubles now. Otherwise they would not have been able to reach the Champions League final. Tomorrow’s game was a good opportunity, a game to prove Real Madrid’s value to the world, an opportunity for Florentino to rebuild his Real Madrid empire. Such a game cannot never be lost.
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Twain did not have time to complain to others about the chores of a head coach, he was taking the team through the tactical drills of free kicks. In such an important game, free kick is definitely not something to be neglected. Twain had predicted that the match in Bernabéu with Real Madrid, the team would face tremendous pressure, perhaps free kicks would be the key to crack Real Madrid’s door.
After all, there was such an excellent free kicker in their team called Gareth Bale.
Chris Kerslake was explaining the coordination in a free kick on the field, the coaching team designed many variations of strategies behind a free kick, hoping it would be useful during the game.
The team was training on the Bernabéu stadium, which was a suitable training ground.
The turf in Bernabéu was a lot better than the City stadium, but there was no obvious difference. And Twain did not dare to guarantee that the workers would not pour too much water onto the field on the second day…
The reporters had been ousted by him, and the team’s training content must not be known to outsiders. For this, he also emphasized to Bernabéu in particular that he did not want Bernabéu to have any equipment to film their training content, he knew this was home ground for Real Madrid, it was difficult to ensure that Real Madrid would not play tricks. His repeated reminders and persistence had angered the staff at the Bernabéu , who in their eyes Twain was totally questioning their work ethic. Real Madrid, was a club that valued its reputation, has made it clear that the Club is dismissive of doing such a thing.
Twain then shamelessly and reluctantly gave up his persistent pursuit.
It’s a typical petty man’s heart – He would always do it in his own city’s stadium, there was no reason other clubs would not do the same.
But in fact Real Madrid really did not place any cameras nor spies in Bernabéu stadium, as what the staff member said, the great Real Madrid were dismissive of the despicable use of this vile means to help the team to victory.
Twain was still looking into the stands, searching for suspicious people.
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At the afternoon press conference, Twain was “besieged” by the Spanish media.
The Spanish and English media were clearly divided. The Spanish media were keen to ask questions that would embarrass Twain, such as, “The outside world is optimistic that Real Madrid will win the title, will you be affected by this prediction?” ”
Another example would be, “The outside criticism of Nottingham Forest’s football is conservative and utilitarian, will you consider changing that?” ”
The Spanish media have apparently studied Tony Twain, knowing that he was a man with a bad temper and an unobstructed mouth. So they deliberately stimulated him to be able to receive the unique effects, allowing them to obtain groundbreaking news.
But their research was not professional, they only wanted to stimulate Twain, but had forgotten that Twain himself was not a porcupine, which would roll up as self-defense against such a siege. He was a cunning wolf, and if you dare provoke him, you need to get ready to take his anger.
For the first question, Twain’s performance was very dismissive: “If the outside world is optimistic about Real Madrid, then Real Madrid must win the title? Then, we don’t have to play in the Champions League final, let the outside world announce that Real Madrid won the title, okay? ” Twain opened his hand and coldly stared at the Spanish journalists.
This rebuttal made Spanish journalists look difficult.
As for the second question, Twain was surprised: “Why should I change this situation?” I can win the championship now, why should I give up the championship in order to satisfy the wishes of the outside world? I think… No one with a normal brain would make that choice, wouldn’t they? ”
When he said this, he stared at the reporter asking the question with a smile, as if to say to him, “Only someone as abnormal as you can ask such a mentally r*tarded question, Mr. Reporter.”
The Spanish journalist, was embarrassed for a while, as he finally sat down.
“But you don’t have to play well to win a championship, Twain.” Another reporter stood up.
Where is the press conference? This is clearly the Champions League version of the debate wars.
“I don’t have to take a more risky approach to winning the championship. Besides, in my opinion, playing well is equal to the runner-up. ” Twain was intentionally provoking those Spanish who were arrogant because of their home ground advantage.
Fortunately, Michels had finished his press conference beforehand, otherwise if the two people sat together, there might be another conflict brewing.
“So do you mean your tactics tomorrow would be defensive counter-attacks?” A middle-aged bald man stood up and asked, his face slightly pale. He was trying to link the question to the Nottingham Forest’s second day’s tactics.
Of course Twain knew what he was trying, no way he was trying to get information on his strategies for the next days during this chaos! “That’s not certain, maybe tomorrow I’m going for a full-on attack or defence?” Twain showed his hands again. “Don’t you just think I’m going to do defensive counter-attack? Oh my, I think it’ll be interesting to fight offense with Real Madrid…”
“Don’t you want a championship, Mr. Twain?” The middle-aged man, without changing his face, continued to argue with Twain.
“Of course I want to. Why wouldn’t I? ”
“Then you said that playing well was the runner-up…” the man who thought he triumphed over Twain in this discussion, started to laugh. Around him, many people started to laugh as well, those were all Spanish reporters.
In their minds, it was a dead cycle – Twain thinks he cannot win a championship if he plays well, but he also wants to win the title, so he is definitely playing conservative football, but he does not want to admit to playing conservative football and says he’s going to play offense against Real Madrid. So let’s see how he talks this out!
They did not think that Twain would suddenly relax and said without hestitation, “Playing offense against Real Madrid, I still have confidence of winning.”
As soon as that was said, the journalists present, whether if they were from Spain or England, were taken aback.
A reporter wanted to continue asking, but Twain stood up and signaled the press conference to the end.
“Mr. Twain…”
“Mr. Twain, please wait! ”
“Coach Twain…”
“Hey, Tony! ”
A group of reporters panicked, so what were they doing before? Arguing with Twain, in the end what they gotten was only some useless information.
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David Kerslake was sitting in his room, sipping the fragrant coffee and flipping through the newspaper with his glasses. He knew nothing about Spanish but luckily there were several pictures, it was better than nothing to pass time.
“Half football, half bullfighting, Spaniards’ hobbies are really limited…”
The assistant coach muttered, as he suddenly heard a soft noise from the lock, and he looked up alertly, staring at the door. He only saw the door slowly slide, which opened a gap, and then a hand reached in, its fingers displayed a few stances, which followed by a quick shake, magically throwing out a scarlet cloak.
The door opened, Twain proudly raised his head, as he danced rumba on the way into the room, the mouth also humming “one dada two dada” in rhythm, the strong and firm body spun on the same spot for two rounds before ending with an aggressive pose, “Ah! Come! Madrid Bull!”
The poor assistant coach pounced forward, the coffee from his mouth flew into the newspapers and tables in his hands, while others flowed down the corners of his mouth and chin, dripping and splashing on the newspapers in his hands. The newspaper’s Ribery was opening his mouth to Chris Kerslake, as a drop of black coffee fell on his white teeth, it made his picture seemed like he was missing a tooth…
Chris Kerslake scrambled to wipe the coffee off the side of his mouth and his chin, as he used the newspaper to wipe the table, whilst asking Twain, “You went to watch bullfighting this afternoon?”
“No, I went to the press conference and bought this on the way back. ” Twain shook the cloak in his hand as it made a loud noise.
“Tourist souvenirs …huh? ”
Twain shook his head and smiled, “Isn’t the souvenir the Champions League trophy? This cloth has its special use.” After saying that, he did another signature move of a bullfighter. He waved to his left and his right as he elegantly spun a round, mimicking an angry bull just passing by him. The wind created by his waves blew Kerslake’s hair. “How do you feel about my learning progress?”
“I’ve never seen such an old bullfighter. ” Chris Kerslake finally cleared himself of the mess, and he looked at Twain and laughed. “What the hell are you going to do with it?” ”
“Secret, secret.” Twain blinked at him, as he chuckled again.
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Chapter 868: Chen Jian’s Troubles
After Nottingham Forest crashed its way through the semifinals, Chen Jian received a ticket to the finals. On the eve of the final game, he also received a round-trip ticket. The Nottingham Forest football club had taken care of everything so that not only did the players who came to watch the final game not have to worry about the cost of making the trip there, but they also did not have to worry about their accommodation. The club had arranged everything for them.
When they arrived in Madrid from various places, they would stay together in the same place and then head to the game together. Following which, they would choose whether to make the return trip or go somewhere else, when to go back and other return details.
Chen Jian’s agent, Mr. Xia, had booked his room in the hotel where Chen Jian was staying so that it would be easier. After the two of them arrived in Madrid, the capital of Spain, they took a taxi together to their hotel. After they deposited their luggage, Mr. Xia stayed in Chen Jian’s room to chat. Naturally, other than chatting about the Champions League final, the talk was certainly more about Chen Jian’s future.
“I asked around, Xiao Chen. They don’t want to think about the contract renewals for the players at the moment. Everything has to wait until after they have played the finals. Even Tony Twain’s contract renewal has not yet been signed…” Speaking of which, Mr. Xia frowned and looked worried.
Chen Jian did not make any comments. He was somewhat quiet. The topic about his future felt a little heavy. It was not good for him to make any hasty remarks.
“Never mind, there’s still one more year anyway…” Mr. Xia sighed. He did not know what to do. Now they could only wait for the Champions League final to be over before and see what happened next. “Nonetheless, if they’re still going to put you on loan to Volendam next season, you must remember to say no. Volendam has been relegated to Eerste Divisie. There’s already nothing for you to learn there and you won’t be able to gain any experience there.”
“Then where should I go?” Chen Jian asked.
“Go to Spain.” Mr. Xia thought for a moment and said, “Go to a team in La Liga. In fact, if it were possible, letting you play in the English league is the best option… what a pity.”
Indeed, if he wanted to develop more at the Forest team, then it was best for him to play in the English league. On the one hand, the Forest team’s coaching staff could get a closer look at Chen Jian, on the other hand it would let Chen Jian adapt to the style of English football.
As it happened, Chen Jian could not get a work permit …
Starting from when he was put on loan to Volendam, Chen Jian had been heavily hyped by the media for some time, during which time his fame at home was still very big. Any Chinese fans who were concerned about Chinese football and Chinese players who played abroad knew that there was such a young Chinese player in Volendam, the Netherlands. He could become the future hopeful of Chinese football. News about him might also gradually die down and he could fade into obscurity.
Although Chen Jian played at Volendam and hailed from the European champions, Nottingham Forest… the Chinese national team had not taken an interest in him. For more than two seasons, the national team had played in countless games and he had never been called up once. There was no shady business behind it. In fact, the national team thought that Chen Jian’s strength was not good enough, his level was not good, and he had not reached the level where he could play for his country.
Counting down the list more closely, there were a lot of Chinese players who went abroad to play. But most of them played in the middle to the lower stream teams in the lower-tier league tournaments. There was little attention. The levels of the teams and league tournament were not high. The national team would rather take those players who play in the country than to risk recruiting the players who played abroad. Because at least they were more familiar with the domestic players. They could also get together a few times a year to train together, so their tacit understanding was not a problem. As for the players who played abroad…they might consider those geniuses who appeared out of the blue and could play steadily.
When Dong Fangzhuo was at Manchester United, in order to make up enough number of appearances for the work permit application, the national team gave extra care to him. Chen Jian was also to play for the Forest team, but there was no treatment such as the one given to Dong Fangzhuo. Because unlike Dong Fangzhuo, he did not enough connections and relationships in the domestic football circle to help him establish contact through the upper and lower levels.
He was just an ordinary person selected from a commercial talent show. He did not receive training from any club at any level in the country before going to the Forest team. He also did not know this or that person in the domestic football circle. He was purely from the grassroots. Even though he was not corrupted by those bad practices in the domestic football circle, he also did not have the resources to climb up. Naturally, no one would run all over the country to help him get a work permit. Mr. Xia was also not a very driven agent. Otherwise he would not be Chen Jian’s agent.
As he was not able to be selected for the national team and unable to play in the international top flight tournaments, he obviously could not apply for a work permit and thus not able to play for Nottingham Forest, which was why Mr. Xia wanted Chen Jian to have a showdown with the club and leave on a free transfer. He did not care where Chen Jian wanted to play. He only cared that Chen Jian must play at a higher level of competition to boost his popularity so that he could make more money.
Ah, the work permit, the work permit… damn the Premier League rule. The English Football Association really had nothing else better to do, they are the same as the Chinese Football Association!
Mr. Xia cursed viciously in his heart.
At the thought of the work permit, Chen Jian was even more silent. Of course, he was aware that he won’t have a chance to apply for a work permit if he did not play for the national team. But the national team was not interested in him. So, what was the solution? He could not simply run begging to someone to recruit him into the national team, could he?
He was now suddenly pinning all his hopes on Manager Tony Twain. He felt that the omnipotent man must have a way of getting him a work permit. At the thought of the letter which Mr. Twain wrote to him, he vaguely felt that the eccentric man was very special to himself…
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Chen Jian did not expect to meet Twain so soon.
That evening, when he and Mr. Xia had finished dinner after they went shopping in the streets, they found that it was lively at the floor of their hotel rooms. Gathered in the hallway of the several rooms next door which belonged to the Forest team were the players who were out on loan. They all surrounded one man and Chen Jian must be familiar with that man, because it was Tony Twain.
“What is he doing here?” Next to him, Mr. Xia obviously did not expect to see Twain here.
Twain had just finished chatting with a few other players. With a smile on his face, he looked like an old friend who was very approachable at will. He could name every player here and knew these players’ positions and about their performances while they were on loan this season. It made those players happy. Twain had captured the hearts of some people. If there were one or two people within this group who could finally qualify for the Forest First Team, then they would certainly become Tony Twain’s most loyal supporters.
Chen Jian did not gather up but stood in the distance and quietly observed.
When Twain ended his conversation with those people, he turned to see Chen Jian, who was standing in the distance.
“I came to look for you first, but you were not there.” Twain came up and communicated with Chen Jian in Mandarin. The people around them did not understand what was being said, so they had to go back to their rooms.
“I had dinner with Mr. Xia and went shopping after…” Chen Jian introduced his agent to Twain.
Mr. Xia shook Twain’s hand and wanted to say something, but Twain stopped him from speaking first. He looked at Chen Jian and continued, “I want to hear what you think, Chen Jian. Do you want to stay with the Forest team or go somewhere else?”
Mr. Xia gave a hard-meaningful look to Chen Jian next to him. He hoped that Chen Jian would choose to “go somewhere else.”
Instead, Chen Jian said, “Of course I want to stay in the Forest team to play, but I have no way of obtaining a work permit…”
Twain nodded his head. The kid was telling the truth. He did not expect the Chinese national team to be so picky and not be interested in Chen Jian whom he had his eye on. With more than two seasons, three years would have nearly passed, and Chen Jian had not even played in a national team game. He had not even participated in the national youth team game. He was not even selected for the squad list.
“Well, have you given more thought to my suggestion of changing your nationality?” Twain stared at Chen Jian with a grin.
Chen Jian shook his head like a rattle-drum.
“In that case, I will choose to play somewhere else, Mr. Twain. Anyway, the contract is over in a year’s time. The club won’t offer a new contract for a player like me, will it?”
The answer was what Mr. Xia hoped to have. He now looked at Twain with great anticipation, hoping that Chen Jian’s unyielding words would successfully provoke Twain, and then the thunderous Twain would decide to let Chen Jian leave on a free transfer when his contract expired.
But he was disappointed.
The smile on Twain’s face was even wider. He seemed to like to tease the young man, only because the boy was extraordinarily stubborn.
“Well, actually, Chen Jian. I’m here today to offer you a new contract… A new four-year contract.”
Without waiting for Chen Jian to say anything, Mr. Xia eagerly stepped forward and said, “I’m sorry, Mr. Twain. Can I interrupt you for a moment? You offer Chen Jian a new contract, but how do we resolve his work permit?”
“He will be put on loan to the Netherlands or Belgium…”
When he heard Twain said so, Mr. Xia turned to look back at Chen Jian. The kid’s face was expressionless. While he himself was extremely disappointed.
“I’m so sorry, Mr. Twain. I don’t think my player can continue to drift like this. He’s already twenty-three years old. If he can’t get a First Team position in your team, then we’d rather find him a new team that is willing to give him that position, even if it might be in Europe’s second tier league tournament.”
Twain glanced at Chen Jian and found that his expression had not changed. It seemed that the agent was the one to make the decisions.
So he faced the agent and extended his finger to say, “I am offering Chen Jian a few options: First, to continue playing football in the Netherlands so as to reach the length of residence for a Dutch citizenship and then become an EU citizen to automatically obtain a work permit; Second, marry a British wife, change your nationality to receive the United Kingdom nationality and you can even save on applying for a work permit. Third, play football on behalf of the Chinese national team till you meet the standards to apply for a work permit and obtain a work permit. Fourth, appeal for a work permit through the special genius clause.”
Twain put up four fingers and showed one by one to Mr. Xia to see. He said, “These four choices, each more difficult than the other. Chen Jian has already lived in the Netherlands for three years, and he can apply for Dutch citizenship in another two years. By that time, he will be a citizen of the European Union, and he would not need a work permit to play in the English Premier League. Nottingham Forest can naturally recall him to come back and play. At that time, he will only be twenty-five years old, and he will be in his prime.”
“With regards to getting married to an English wife, I’m unable to give Chen Jian any advice on this sort of private matter.”
“Third, the summon of the national team … You haven’t played a minute for the Chinese team, have you? Chen Jian.”
Chen Jian nodded in reply, “No.”
“Maybe you can in the future. But it’s absolutely impossible to apply for a work permit for you now.” Twain’s straight face vividly conveyed how cruel this reality was.
“Fourth, the special genius clause … To tell you the truth, Chen Jian, you don’t meet the requirements of this clause at all. You have not participated in the national team competition, you have not been selected in the national youth team, there is no hint of you being a genius during your development and experience, I can’t find any famous footballers to vouch for you…Your submission was unconvincing and in the end, it was only denied by the Football Association.”
What Twain said was true, but it did not sound convincing in Mr. Xia’s ears…
“Since Chen Jian has no such potential in your eyes, why did you tell him to abandon everything to come to the United Kingdom in the first place?”
Twain somewhat disliked this agent, so the tone of his voice was not so friendly as he said, “I was very clear in what I said to Chen Jian at the time. It did not mean that he would certainly succeed when he came to the United Kingdom. I merely gave him a chance, but I couldn’t help him whether to make his dream come true.”
Mr. Xia was rendered speechless by his words.
“The master teaches the trade, but the apprentice’s skill is self-made.” Twain spoke of a Chinese proverb. “I gave Chen Jian a chance. And Chen Jian, you also successfully played professional football, but you are not satisfied with it. You want to have greater pursuit. As for the level you can reach… The decision lies with you, Chen Jian. Whether you finally decide to leave Nottingham Forest to play for another team or agree to renew your contract and wait for the opportunity, I have no problem. That’s your path. You have to choose your own way.”
Twain looked at Chen Jian as he spoke.
“You can call me after you think it over.” Twain stuffed a business card into Chen Jian’s hand and walked alone to the elevator.
After Twain disappeared behind the elevator door, Chen Jian was still in a daze with his business card in his hand.
Mr. Xia frowned next to him and said, “Do you see it, Xiao Chen? They don’t take you seriously at all. I tell you, don’t foolishly wait here and waste your youth. What’s the point of signing a four-year contract only to be put out on loan? You’ll always be a fringe figure. When you endure to the end…Can you make it to the end? What if you get a labor permit? What happens then? Well, even if your performance for the next two years suddenly let the Chinese Football Association, that group of people open their eyes, and they recruit you into the team to play as the main force. You get to play in enough games, and then get the work permit. How old will you be in two years’ time? Twenty-five and you’ve just got a work permit. Do you think you really have the ability to compete with George Wood and Gago for the main player spot? Do you think those big clubs will play the same set of lineups for ten years? And that they won’t go looking for younger and more talented players than you to develop? How long will you endure days like these before it is the end?”
As Mr. Xia spoke, the more agitated he got. If Chen Jian was determined to stay in the Forest team, his livelihood was basically over.
“Don’t be foolish, Chen Jian. The Englishman’s lies sound beautiful. Anyone can speak the general truth. But do you know what’s on his mind? He has lied to you for four years, and he wants to try and lie to you for another four years! It is already very difficult for Chinese players to land in England. Not to mention a championship team. Listen to me, have your head screwed on right and keep your feet on the ground… Shall we play football somewhere else?”
Mr. Xia looked at Chen Jian with great sincerity.
Chen Jian knitted his brows. He felt a headache. He was imbued with so much information at once that anyone’s head would hurt.
“Excuse me, Uncle Xia. I have a headache… Let me rest for a bit and think about it again?” Chen Jian rubbed his temples and had a pained expression.
Mr. Xia sighed and said, “Okay. I won’t bother you. You have an early rest. Let’s watch tomorrow’s game and talk again.”
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Chen Jian was lying alone in bed, tossing and turning. He could not sleep. He thought what Mr. Twain and Mr. Xia said were reasonable. But who should he listen to? His parents knew nothing about professional football and could not help him in that regard. So, he did not have to ask his parents for their opinions.
He had to rely on himself to make the choice.
He wanted to succeed in the Forest team, but Mr. Xia’s words seemed to have poured cold water on him – even if he obtained a work permit and could finally play for the Forest team, would the Forest team still want him to play at that time? New talent cropped up every day in the football world. Would Twain wait a few years for him alone? That was impossible since he was not the main character in a novel.
So where exactly would he go from here?
He really did not know.
The seventeen-year-old, who was initially bent on playing professional football, would never have such troubles in his mind. People grew all the time, and their ideals grew as well. Now he was not content with the simple dream of playing in a professional league. He wanted to play in a higher level of league tournament. He wanted to be a star player and not a meteor.
Putting aside Nottingham Forest’s background, could he succeed if he were to go play for an Eredivisie team or Belgian First Division A team for a few years? Was it also not impossible for him to completely decline, slowly end up in worsening situations, simply end up in the lower leagues, and then finally no one would remember him? Following which, he would simply run back to China, go to China League One and then China League Two to make a living. He did not know how he would feel at that time when he recalled the brief period in Nottingham Forest a few years ago. Would he feel numb, or unwilling to resign to his fate, or wonder about regrets?
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In order to keep his mind alert tomorrow, Twain went to bed and rest early. He did not receive any calls from Chen Jian until he went to sleep. He did not take it to heart either, because it was not something he should be bothered with. What the future held for a young Chinese player had little to do with him.
He only had tomorrow’s final game on his mind now.
It was the most important day of his life.
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Chapter 869: A Wonderful Night Begins
Fat John and Skinny Bill woke up from their sleep and realized that it was almost eleven o’clock in the morning. They rushed out of the door to knock on doors. Soon, the hallway went from quiet to noisy. A group of Englishmen yawned as they came out of their rooms in succession. They all drank too much alcohol last night and found that their heads was still somewhat throbbing in pain.Fat John and Skinny Bill woke up from their sleep and realized that it was almost eleven o’clock in the morning. They rushed out of the door to knock on doors. Soon, the hallway went from quiet to noisy. A group of Englishmen yawned as they came out of their rooms in succession. They all drank too much alcohol last night and found that their heads was still somewhat throbbing in pain.
“Damn it. It’s eleven o’clock? I’m going to be late for work this time…” Some people were still confused about where they were at the moment.”Wake up, Gary. We’re in Spain now! In Madrid!” John knocked on the muddleheaded fool’s head.
“Madrid?” That muddleheaded fool stared blankly for a moment, then held his head and cried out, “Champions League final!!”
The man next to him laughed when he saw him wake up from the daze.
The laughter also dispelled the rest of their sleepiness.
“Well, guys, today is the day of the holy battle! Rouse yourselves. Go wash up, and then we’re going out for a meal!”
This was not a high-quality hotel. A group of ordinary people from a small city in central England could not afford to stay in a four- or five-star hotel. But it was not even easy to find such a small hotel like this. The Champions League final was held in Madrid, which directly drove up the occupancy rate in the hotels here.
John and his group were staying in a hotel, south of Madrid, which was located in a relatively backward part of the city’s economy. The hotel environment was not very good, but the price was low. It was the best choice for those people who were not rich.
As soon as John and the others stepped out with Nottingham Forest scarves around their necks, they caught the attention of the Spaniards around them.
But the Englishmen were not nervous. They even shouted to those Spaniards, “Nottingham Forest will win!”
It was not a provocation, because they were not drunk. Rather, it was meant to curry favor.Then came the Spaniards’ response, “F**k Real Madrid!”
This was a group of Atlético Madrid fans. Even though they were Spaniards and people from Madrid, they wanted to see their arch enemy lose at home the most.
“We found a good place.” John laughed and said, “Come, let’s go eat, guys!”
※※※
Javier Thomas, a history teacher at a high school in Madrid, was a Frenchman. However, he was now a Real Madrid fan.
During Real Madrid’s most brilliant period ten years ago, he was still teaching in France and had no interest in football. At the time, Real Madrid had many superstar players. The team was star-studded and known as the ” Galácticos.” They won two European titles in three years and were unparallel at the time. It was the greatest team in the world.
He came to Madrid in 2005 to continue teaching. He had already heard of Real Madrid’s football fame before, but unfortunately the Real Madrid he saw was the one with the new lease of life after its calamity. It was like a once-golden palace that had now turned into a ruin with thick overgrowth.
But his social circles were still full of Real Madrid fans. He was puzzled and surprised by this. So, he decided to explore the root causes of all this. As he was a history teacher, he began to study its history. Real Madrid’s history was the worthiest of their pride. While he studied its history, had close interactions with the Real Madrid fans, personally went to watch the Real Madrid games live, the tall Frenchman who wore glasses and was refined in his manner, had since become a Real Madrid fan.
But what really made him fall in love with Real Madrid was not the glorious history, but the character and fighting spirit that Real Madrid showed in the following seasons. They could reverse the situation and take the title in a game trailing behind Barcelona with fifteen minutes left, showing the spirit of Real Madrid, which had been overlooked for years. When he saw Higuaín score a goal in the final minutes at the Bernabéu and reversed the game to win a 4:3 victory over the RCD Espanyol team, this mild-mannered and good-natured gentleman was also thrilled and could not help himself as he roared in the stands and hugged strangers around him.
Such an exciting reversal was far more than one or two games, and he had fallen in love with such a team ever since.
Today he was an unwavering and fanatical Real Madrid fan. He had a dual identity. Normally, he was a mild-mannered teacher in school and never argued with people. Even his body language was very gentle. But when the weekends came, he was transformed into an easily excitable dangerous figure, and everyone had better stay away from him.
Even his wife of twenty years could not understand his transformation.
She could only blame football for being a sport that made people crazy. Fortunately, their child was a daughter. If their child were to be a son, she would definitely keep him away from football …
“It’s finally going to be over.” The wife sighed as she watched her husband check the “preparations” done for watching the game this evening over and over again in the room. For her, her husband’s regularly intermittent mental illness could recover spontaneously. Her husband was just a Real Madrid fan and not a fan of the French national team nor a fan of the Spanish national team. So, the World Cup this summer had nothing to do with him. Today’s game would be Real Madrid’s last game of the season. Whatever the outcome was, her husband would soon be back to normal.
Her husband came out of the bedroom when he packed and got ready. He looked at his wife and daughter, who were sitting in the living room. He came up to stroke his daughter’s head.
“Don’t think about taking her to the game.” The wife became alert.
“I’m just touching her head.” Thomas laughed wryly, “Don’t look at me like you’re looking at a mental patient, Selena.”
“You’re a mental case on this day.”
Their six-year-old daughter watched curiously as her parents argued over what she could not understand. She liked her mother and her father, but she seemed to have two fathers and two mothers. On a day like this, her gentle and beautiful mother would suddenly become nervous, and her always smiling father would become bad-tempered. Her young mind sometimes remembered that her father would suddenly lose his temper and throw stuff. She did not know the reason. There were also times when her father would suddenly be very happy, buy her gifts, accompany her to play games till late, or hug her tight which made her a little uncomfortable. She also did not know why.
Thomas did not want to quarrel with his wife on such an important day. He chose silence.
His wife also did not want to deal with him. She sat on the side and held her daughter as she watched her favorite cartoon.
Thomas sat for a moment like this. He felt that the atmosphere was very awkward. He wanted to open his mouth to say something, but his wife would immediately glare at him. So, he simply decided to go out early, walk around, find a bar, drink together with the Real Madrid fans to discuss the evening’s game and set off together to the Bernabéu when it was near the time of the game.
Then in these two hours, he would completely forget that there was his wife and child at home. He could enjoy the football which brought joy to him and of course, there might be pain too…
He did not forget to kiss his wife and daughter on their foreheads before he went out. This time, his wife did not shy away.
“I’ll be back early.” Thomas finished saying this and opened the door to walk out.
※※※
“Ah… Madrid in two colors. You don’t often see the city like this. To the north is Madrid in white color and to the south is Madrid in red. Now they will all mingle here, even though the red color does not come from the south…”
A tour guide said to the crowd behind him in front of the Bernabéu stadium. A group of East Asian tourists with Asian skin tones and dark hair faces held their cell phones, cameras and digital videos took photographs and filmed the magnificent Bernabéu stadium continuously as they made sounds of exclamations. No one cared about what the tour guide said.
“Hey, look at those guys, they’re not Spanish, they’re fans from England… Don’t take photographs of them! Don’t point the camera lens at them!” The tour guide hurriedly gestured for the curious people to put down the camera equipment in their hands.
“English fans, God knows if each of them has just gulped down ten gallons of beer. Drunk English fans are the most dangerous!”
As if to coordinate his words, the policemen on duty around them slowly got closer to the group of English fans in red jerseys to separate them from those people around them. The English fans did not mind the treatment. They even saluted the policemen and shouted slogans in English.
“What are they shouting?” Some of the tourists asked questions.
The Spanish tour guide shrugged and said, “Nottingham Forest will win… something like that. It is the UEFA Champions League final tonight. But unfortunately, you don’t have tickets. Otherwise I’d be happy to bring you to a football match of the highest quality in Europe.”
In fact, he would very much like to watch the final, but he had to bring the tour group around …
“Mr. Martin, can we still get tickets now?” One of the tourists asked again.
Martin smiled at the person who asked the question and said, “The tickets for this game were sold out a week ago.” He pointed to a shady spot under a tree not far away, where a lot of people, differently dressed men and women, were standing. The only thing they had in common was they each held a sign with the words “I need a ticket.”
“Come on, ladies and gentlemen. Our next stop is Fuente de Cibeles…” Martin looked back at the Bernabéu in the afternoon sun, with its glaring white walls in the sun. He was really reluctant to leave. He was really sorry that he could not watch the game in person as a Real Madrid fan.
After settling the group down in the evening, he must find a chance to sneak off to watch the live broadcast.
There were also a few tourists who looked back at the Bernabéu longingly. They really came here at a bad time. If it was a day with no match, they would have a chance to get a glimpse inside the stadium in person, visit the hall of honor at the Bernabéu and see how it compared with Nottingham Forest’s hall of honor…
※※※
“The weather is great today. It won’t rain in the evening, and maybe there’s even a cool breeze.” Pierce Brosnan sat with a cigarette in his mouth outside the cafe across the street from the Bernabéu. Next to him was the assistant who had come with him to cover the game.
He appeared cool and laid-back, while his assistant was covered in sweat. Such an exciting match was approaching every second and minute, making him nervous and excited.
“Mr. Brosnan, do you think the Forest team will win in the end?”
“How will I know that?” Brosnan shook his head and said, “I am not a prophet, nor a magician with a crystal ball.”
“Why don’t we head to the hotel and wait. There’s no news to be covered here.” The assistant was exceptionally talkative. He looked really nervous and excited.
“You’ve worked for me for two years, Paul. Do you still not know the kind of person we interviewed?” Brosnan glanced at his assistant with a somewhat disappointed and displeased look in his eyes. He said, “On such an important game, Tony Twain will be sure to drive away the reporters who surround the hotel entrance, like he’s shooing away a swarm of flies. He protects his team like an animal nursing its young. He doesn’t allow anyone to walk near his team. You want some news? There’s nothing new to write other than to describe how rude and insolent Tony Twain is over and over again. The readers are long tired of reading about this.”
“In that case, we’ll wait here, have some coffee… and admire the scenery?”
Brosnan nodded and said, “Have a break and relax. You’re going to be busy tonight, kid.”
In front of Tony Twain, he behaved as if he were an intern reporter. But in front of a real rookie, he would still rediscover the feeling and dignity of “a journalist.”
The young man muttered a few words and drank the coffee a gulp. Then he turned to look at the growing number of fans in the streets. His eyes were gradually fixed on the minority of female fans. After half an hour of research, he came to a conclusion that Real Madrid had the majority of female fans and that the young female fans were also mostly pretty. He even saw female fans who were clearly not of European faces… These people were crazy, coming all way from the other side of the world to watch a final match.
By contrast, most of the Nottingham Forest fans were from England. They did not have the international influence like Real Madrid, even if they had won more titles. On the one hand, their football was not nice to watch and on the other hand, Tony Twain’s unique personality cost them to lose a lot of neutral fans. Thirdly, it was because Nottingham Forest was still a small club, with no money to expand in the global market and no money to spread its influence globally. The fourth reason was… Real Madrid could woo fans by constantly buying superstar players, while who was Nottingham Forest’s biggest player? George Wood, the serious and unsmiling robot…
It was really a contest of wide disparity… and Nottingham Forest is completely defeated.
The result was really frustrating – there are so few beautiful women in this group. The young reporter lamented in his mind.
※※※
After 5:30 p.m., two buses set off from two five-star hotels.
The white bus was followed by a group of media outlets, which closely followed the bus towards the Bernabéu, like the sharks behind the slave boats.
The red bus had nothing else other than a few police cars on the road. As Pierce Brosnan had stated, the reporters who surrounded outside the hotel were driven away by Twain. He did not want his team to be disturbed in such an important game. When those reporters cursed Tony Twain under the scorching sun as they left helplessly, Brosnan and his assistant contently sipped coffee under the shade of the umbrellas, admired the beautiful women and enjoyed a leisurely afternoon.
Brosnan looked at his watch, patted the assistant on the shoulder, and got up. He said, “It’s time to work, kid.”
In the square in front of them, a commotion suddenly broke out.
Very soon, a white bus appeared in people’s line of sight in the afterglow of the sunset. The milky-white body of the bus was dyed ivory yellow by the sun. The fans became excited, and waves of roars began to spread in the square.
These sounds ignited the excitement around the Bernabéu, and Brosnan finally felt the atmosphere of the Champions League final approaching.
The two men walked quickly across the road and ran to the square. His assistant was holding the camera and changing the lens while he was looking for the best position.
The bus in which the Real Madrid players traveled on slowed down in the square, with the players waving to the fans, triggering a burst of screams. It was as if everyone here was a Real Madrid fan.
“That’s the home-field advantage…” muttered Brosnan. The assistant next to him kept taking pictures.
Javier Thomas was also in the crowd, waving excitedly at the players in the bus.
“Long live, Madrid!”
Such roars were heard around the Bernabéu, where tens of thousands of Real Madrid fans gathered to witness the glorious night that belonged to them.
Soon after, Nottingham Forest’s bus arrived, and the Nottingham Forest fans who greeted them were about ten thousand people. Their voices were much smaller than the Real Madrid fans. Coupled with the fact that the police at the scene kept a tight grip on the extent of the English fans’ range of activity, they could not even get close to the Forest bus. They could only watch the bus from a distance as it moved unobstructed through the square before it turned to the parking lot behind the stadium.
John and Bill led their own people in the crowd and shouted a few sentences, “Nottingham Forest will win!” and shut their mouths. They looked at the unfriendly looking policemen and spat on the ground as they said, “We’ll teach you a lesson when the game starts!”
※※※
Martin could still hear shouts from the Bernabéu, even though his position was more than a dozen kilometers away. He was now worried about how he was going to get rid of a group of Chinese tourists and go watch the game. If the group of tourists came to him and wanted to check out Madrid at night after they had dinner, he really did not know if he should refuse.
As he was alone worrying in the bus, he heard the sound of knocking on the window.
A Chinese man in the tour group stood outside the bus and smiled at him.
“Have you finished eating? How’s the food? This is the best Chinese restaurant in Madrid!” Even though Martin’s face still looked worried in the last second, he smiled attentively at the moment. He said, “I’m not lying.”
“The food is really authentic. No doubt, it’s the best Chinese restaurant in Madrid, Mr. Martin. But tonight, we would like to…”
Martin’s mouth twitched for a little bit. His worst fear came true. Ah, ah! At the thought of not being able to watch such an important game made him hate his career. In the Champions League final at the Bernabéu, one of the participating team was his favorite team, Real Madrid! How many times could he meet with such an opportunity in a lifetime?
“Ah I see, where would you like to go? How about going shopping on Calle de Serrano? It’s the best famous street in Madrid! If you don’t want to go there, you can still go…” Martin interrupted the other person and began to gush with recommendations, doing his duty as a tour guide.
The Chinese man quietly listened to Martin introduce all the places worth visiting in Madrid before he shook his head and said, “We don’t want to go to those places, Mr. Martin. We actually discussed and want to look for a cheap but lively place to spend the evening and experience Madrid’s most common nightlife. Especially on a night like this…”
The Chinese man had given enough hint and Martin was not a fool. He replied with a bright smile and said, “I have a good idea! How about taking you all to a bar with the best atmosphere in Real Madrid for drinks and to watch the game? There are beautiful and friendly Spanish girls, and more passionate than them are the football and beer! Ha ha!”
It was a truly wonderful night.
...
Chapter 870: The Heart of Champion
Martin, the Spanish tour guide who was proficient in Chinese, took a group of curious Chinese tourists into a pub near Bernabéu stadium.
When they walked into the pub, they saw a large team logo of Real Madrid on the wall in front of them.
They didn’t find noisy music and hot girls in this pub. Unlike the description of Martin, the tourists only found a big TV and many fans who were looking up and fixing their eyes on the screen.
“This is my uncle’s pub. All of you could enjoy…half-off here!” Martin made a decision before seeking advice from his uncle. If his decision was unacceptable for his uncle, he would make up the price difference with his own money. In order to watch a Real Madrid match in peace, he spared no expense.
After getting those Chinse tourists settled, Martin walked into the crowd and started to watch TV by throwing his head back after ordering a glass of beer.
On the screen, players from both teams hadn’t run onto the pitch yet. The grandstand was full of fans. Those who could enjoy the match in the stadium were envied by those who could only watch the match in front of TV. Martin kept smacking his lips as he watched the TV screen.
***
All seats in the Bernabéu Stadium which had room for up to 80,000 spectators were occupied. It was impossible to find even one empty seat in it. Although the match hadn’t started, the fans in the stadium were as passionate as flames. They were singing, cheering and clapping their hands loudly. The entire stadium was noisy with voices. The pitch was lit up by those towering spotlights. Field staff were busy tiling the round flag of the logo of UEFA on the center circle. The journalists were waiting for the players from both teams at both sides of the corridor. A trophy, which was shiny silver, was placed in front of them. It was the highest honor of all European clubs – the European Champion Cup.
It was not a replica in a club’s trophy room. It was the genuine “Big Ears”.
***
After the completion of warm-up, players from both teams had gone back to their clubhouse. The managers of both teams were making final preparations for the most important match of this season.
It was not the time to talk about the tactics again. And they didn’t have time to do that now. At this time, some managers preferred to keep silent and leave time to the players. Some managers kept chattering without stop. The result of the first 45 minutes of the match was always decided in a few minutes like now. Therefore, it was inevitable for any players who were about to take part in such an important match to feel nervous.
Even the players from clubs like Real Madrid and Nottingham Forest were no exception.
Unprecedentedly, Raúl González walked into the locker room. He had never entered the locker room before a match since his retirement. But he did that today, which meant the match was very important for him.
Michels stood on one side and said nothing. It was the time for Raúl to make a speech. This former captain was still quite influential in the locker room.
Raúl’s speech was not long. “This is my long-cherished last match. It is a pity that I can’t fight shoulder by shoulder with you in the pitch!” He said as he looked at his former teammates affectionately. “But I am very glad that my teammates could stand here at last! When I look at you, I really hope I could be 10 years younger…It has always been my dream to pick up the 10th European Champions Cup for our club. Now, I hereby request you to realize this dream for me!”
After saying that, he said goodbye to Michels and walked out of the locker room.
Then, the locker room of Real Madrid dropped into silence. As Raúl’s teammates, they couldn’t forget how unreconciled Raúl was when he decided to retire in the last season. That year, Real Madrid lost the champion of domestic league and failed to get past the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League. It was the intense pain before Real Madrid’s reinvigoration, which should be deemed as the darkest hour before the dawn. It was a pity that Raúl had to experience those difficult days.
Raúl would have a chance to sign a one-year extension. But he decided to retire at the last moment. If he renewed his contract for 1 more year, he would be 37 and he really didn’t know what he could do in the pitch. Would he become a pet doll who sat on the club’s bench to receive the reverence from his fans? He was not a man who was reconciled to sit on the bench. A man with a heart of champion would never accept a fact like that.
So, he would rather retire.
Now, he might have some regrets…as long as he could take part in a match like this, he would be willing to sit on the bench for an entire season!
However, these were just people’s speculations. Nobody knew what Raúl was thinking about now.
After leaving the locker room, he walked into the VIP box on the stand alone, where he would watch the match with his family.
***
Unlike Real Madrid’s solemn locker room, the atmosphere in Nottingham Forest’s locker room was a little bit more casual. The players, who were sitting or standing in the room, fixed their eyes on their boss who was leaning against the wall. Like a group of soldiers who were about to step into the battlefield, they expected their officer to motivate them loudly by telling them everything would be OK when he was there. And they could go home after this battle.
Twain was standing against the wall. When he looked at these players in front of him, an unusual feeling welled up in his mind. He felt he was not leading a team but an army. Among his soldiers, some veterans had fought north and south and hadn’t been home for many years. From their unshaven face, the cigarettes in their mouth and their cynical expression, he knew these veterans gave no thought to life and death. He also saw some baby-faced rookies who were so nervous that they couldn’t even grasp their gun firmly. Their lips were trembling as if they were murmuring to themselves or praying to God. His army was about to fight a crucial battle in the war. Their victory would result in the reversion of the war. His main force would attack Berlin directly. His armored force would crush all obstacles on its way. But if they lost this battle, none of them would go back alive.
There was a moment that Twain fell in to a trance. He just wanted to say, “Stay alive and I’ll take you home after this battle!”
Twain shook his head to dispel the illusion in his mind.
Everything in front of him became clear again. The men in front of him were his players instead of sloppy Allied soldiers of World War 2 who wore tattered uniforms and shabby helmets. They were not in a dirty and stinky trench but a bright and modernized locker room in the Bernabéu Stadium.
However, the feeling of battlefield didn’t dissipate but became more intense.
Twain said as he scratched his head, “Actually, I really don’t know what to say! Just now I had a dream which only lasted for a short time. But I can remember it clearly till now!”
His words attracted those players’ attention immediately. I didn’t see our boss was sleeping just now. How could he say he had a dream? Is it possible to have a dream when people sleep standing up?
“I found we were in a battlefield. Fighters were roaring above our head!” Twain continued to say as he made a gesture, “We could hear the engines of our tanks behind us. Shells were exploding around us. The battlefield was very noisy! All of you were standing around me like now. Our enemy had taken a high ground. We had to fight them off by launching our last charge. If we could take the high ground, our main force could press forward to the enemy’s capital. If we failed, all of us would be buried there!”
“It seems to be a quite absurd dream!” Twain waved his hand to dispel the misty dreamland. “But that feeling is still lingering in my mind and tells me it is not a dream! Several minutes later, the most important match in our career will begin. This is a life-and-death matter for us and I am not exaggerating. We can pick up the trophy alive, or…we will and be forgotten by the world!” He said as he shrugged, “That’s it! We don’t have a third way to go! In the battlefield, we will face Life or death. Here, what we have is champion or loser! Think about how we could come this far! And forget the 2 champions we have won! They are useless in today’s match!”
Twain said as he pointed at the luxuriously decorated locker room, “This is the locker room of the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, which is more beautiful than the locker rooms of the City Ground. But don’t you be fooled by its shiny appearance. We are now in the hell. Guys, please trust me. We might be beaten the living shit out here. Or, we could do our best to win glory!”
Twain stopped looking around and started to stare at the players in front of him in their eyes.
“We could walk out of this hell by holding our head high. But I can’t do that for you now. In fact, I am too old…” he said as he touched his grizzled sidebums. “Sometimes I could even be frightened by myself in a mirror when I forgot to dye my hair!”
Actually, a 45-year-old man was not old at all. However, Twain used to have a cardiac disease which consumed too much vital force. Since then, Twain looked older than his age…
“When you grow old slowly like I do now, everything will leave without you, even those trophies. In fact, this is a part of life. When you lose something, you will know how precious it is because it is an irreplaceable memory in your life! No matter how many years have passed, you could still tell people proudly, ‘I took part in that match and we won at last!’” Twain said proudly with his chest out and jaw squared.
“This is the way of life. And it also applies to soccer. I mean we shall never give up any moment of glory no matter in our life or on the pitch even we have to pay dearly for such a moment! This is a war, guys! You shall do your best in each offense and defense and fight in every minute! Yes, I admit we don’t have a shiny all-star formation like Real Madrid. Compared to them, we are just like hillbillies coming from countryside. But soccer is a sport of 11 people! It is a team-working sport! So, our advantage is that we are a unit! We are a team! I believe everyone in this team is willing to sacrifice his life to achieve victory for the team! And you will fight restlessly for each ball!”
Twain started to say with emphasis as he waved his arms.
The players were motivated by his words and their eyes were filled with flames.
“I know the winner of every battle will be those team-workers who dare to sacrifice themselves! This is also the way of a soccer match. You will be unstoppable in this world when you are united and your heart is filled with the belief of triumphalism. I also know we are 100 times more powerful than that glittering bulb, because we are a team! I know even better that teamwork is the watershed between a winner and a loser! It is also the watershed between life and death!” Twain’s players also started to yell by following him.
“Let me tell you a truth. People who care about teamwork will always win at last!” Crack! He broke off the marker pen in his hand suddenly. The sound was echoing in everyone’s mind.
“If you are in a state of disunity, you will end up like this pen! When you are in trouble, when you have to confront the most powerful enemy in the most disadvantageous situation, you can always count on your teammates around you! Now, look at your teammates! Look at them, look at them in their eyes! They will be your most trusted men in the next 90 minutes! You are comrades-in-arms who share a foxhole and go through thick and thin together! When you are running off the ball, you know they will pass the ball to you. When you lose possession of the ball, you know they will grab the ball back. When you are facing your opponents’ offense, you know you are not alone, because they are just behind you! If you give up, you will put them in peril. You are willing to sacrifice your life to protect and help your teammates. This is not my request. It is because you know when you are in danger, they! Your teammates! They will also do that!!” His words were sonorous and forceful like a war drum. Everyone was motivated by his words and gestures.
“This is…teamwork! Gentlemen!”
Twain spread his hands as he looked at his players. His tone was softened. His heart-stirring speech reddened his face and made him pant heavily. However, it seemed his nuclear-powered heart was still quite efficient. Now, his life was not in danger.
Hearing his exciting words, the players started to look at their teammates around them. From their eyes, a message was quite clear – Hey, buddy, we are teammates!
“Now, you have an opportunity to leave the most precious fortune to your life. You have an opportunity to fight for the same goal together with the best professional footballers in the history! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. You will never have another opportunity like this if you miss this one! Fight as if this is the last match in your life!” Twain said as he pointed at the door of the locker room, “No matter how powerful your enemies are, they can’t rival you! They are just a heap of loose sand. And you are the best team in the history!”
“We are the best!” A player, who couldn’t restrain the excitement in his heart, shouted at this time.
“I love soccer! I love this sport so much! Because of you, I can always relive my young years. When you are running and fighting on the pitch, I know my life is meaningful because I can still enjoy this passion! This is my career motivation! I hope you can still take me back to my young years tonight…don’t worry about my heart!” Twain said and shook his head as he placed his hand on his left chest, “It is still beating vigorously, like you! It longs for a victory and a champion, which has never been changed! Remember, guys, this is a nuclear-powered heart of champion! And you are the energy source of this heart!” Twain said as he pointed at his heart and the players in front of him.
“I heard people said…Nottingham Forest is not qualified to win the championship and the Treble! Because we don’t have star players and we look weak! Now, I am very glad that we have the opportunity to mock at their ignorance and stupidity to their face!” Twain said with a smile, “We are born to stand against others. If we are not qualified to win the championship, who else can do such a thing?” Twain looked around as he widened his eyes, “Who else? Who else is more qualified to win the championship than us?”
After taking a short break, he continued to say, “Now, let’s win our championship and let them say what they may. I have finished talking. What are you going to do?”
The players who were sitting stood up. Then, all players started to shout as they raised their arms, “Win the championship! Champion! Champion!”
“Treble! Treble! We will win the Treble!”
Huge roar, which was echoing in the locker room, was kept amplifying in this confined space. Also, it was echoing in everyone’s heart. Twain looked at those excited players with a solemn look.
Even George Wood who was always apathy turned around and looked at his overexcited teammates with his lips pressed together tightly. Raging flames could also be seen in his eyes. Actually, the flame was even more blazing deep in his heart.
At the very beginning, he played soccer to earn money to cure his mother’s sickness. Now, he enjoyed this passion of pursuing success very much.
As Twain said, he loved soccer because he enjoyed this passion! It was just like drugs in his life which was totally irresistible…
***
Florentino Pérez shook hands with Evan Doughty on the podium of Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. In his stadium, although he was courteous and ceremonious, he couldn’t conceal the sense of superiority and pride from the depth of his heart. After all, he was the most successful President of Real Madrid in the past 20 years. Compared to him, Ramón Calderón, Vicente Boluda and Lorenzo Sanz were just like clowns.
Indeed, Nottingham Forest was not on the same level with Real Madrid. In this dazzling and shiny white palace built with marbles, he was just like a proud king who was waiting for the audience of a visitor in his throne quietly.
Evan Doughty was like a foreign diplomat who was humble and inferior.
Evan didn’t like this feeling at all. In this place, almost everyone was looking forward to the victory of Real Madrid. Nottingham Forest had better be an excellent opponent to bring out the 10th champion of Read Madrid. It was just like the relationship between the red flower and green leaves.
Evan Doughty felt very lonely now. Even Allan Adams who was sitting beside him couldn’t bring him any sense of security. At this moment, they were just like 2 sheep who were trapped in a wolf pack.
When Evan saw Tony Twain came out from the corridor and walked to the coach seats of the visiting team, his discomfort disappeared gradually.
We are not making a pilgrimage in the greatest club in the 20th Century now. We are not interested in paying a visit to the 5-star toilet in this place. Tony, remember that and never forget it! Don’t let me shake hands with Florentino like this after 90 minutes!
Pull him down from his damned throne!
***
...
Chapter 871 - The Final Game Kicks Off
Huge Real Madrid emblems and silhouettes of the Champions League trophy appeared in the stands at the Bernabéu. They were collaborations made up of cardboard pieces held by the fans. Every Real Madrid fan would find a piece of cardboard of a different color in his seat. They just needed to lift the pieces of cardboard up to form a giant image that covered the entire spectator section. The atmosphere created at the stadium was feverish, and the confidence in Real Madrid’s victory at the Bernabéu was full to bursting.
The poor Nottingham Forest team did not receive such treatment as they were truly playing in an “away game” this time.
The Nottingham Forest fans huddled in a corner of the stands, clad in their red jerseys and were surrounded by white squares everywhere. Real Madrid’s anthem was also played in the stadium.
It was a scene that was not commonly seen in the UEFA Champions League finals. Real Madrid took full advantage of their home-field advantage. Their relationship with UEFA’s top brass was good, and Platini also acquiesced to their behavior which was “contrary to the spirit of fair play.”
“Long live! Madrid!! All Hail! Madrid!!”
Seventy thousand people roared at the same time, emitting a deafening noise. Amid such a continuous roaring sound, the players from both teams came out.
※※※
In fact, the players on both sides had been waiting at the Bernabéu for several minutes. The Bernabéu’s tunnel was different from the one in the City Ground stadium. The tunnel had a wall made of iron fences that separated the two teams. The players from both sides could see each other through the open mesh but could not engage in further physical contact.
Standing next to Gago was Higuaín. The two Argentines were engaged in a conversation. They were once sworn enemies in the country, and then they became members of Real Madrid. After which, the two men took two completely different paths. Higuaín quickly matured and seized the opportunity to secure a position as Real Madrid’s main striker, while Gago, due to overcrowding in Real Madrid’s midfield and was unable to be put in an important position, left Bernabéu and went to Nottingham Forest. The two of them were bound to have something to talk about when they got together.
But the two of them were actually not as close as people thought. The two men would only chat briefly before Gago would stop talking.
He used to be familiar with this particular tunnel. He previously stood on the other side, wearing white.
Now he stood in his red jersey on the opposite side of those players wearing white jerseys.
It was his first return to Bernabéu since he became a member of Nottingham Forest. He did not know how the Bernabéu fans would treat him when he took the ball on the pitch. Instead, he had seen the kind of treatment received by a lot of players who used to be part of a particular team and had returned to their mother teams’ home game after they left the teams.
He was mentally prepared for that.
Higuaín could see Gago’s concerns across the fence. He smiled and said to Gago in Spanish, “You can rest assured that the people here won’t treat you that way. After all, the team you have joined is not Barcelona or Atlético Madrid.”
Gago glanced at Higuaín and did not pay any mind to his words. He said, “What if we lead you, or defeat you?”
Higuaín almost laughed and said, “Fernando, to be honest, I don’t think you guys can beat us.”
Looking at his former teammate, who was flushed with success at Real Madrid, Gago rolled his eyes and said, “We’ll wait and see.”
Having said that to Higuaín, he suddenly found himself completely unconcerned with what kind of treatment he would expect during the game. Because he had figured it out. He was no longer related to Real Madrid now. So, if that was the case, why should he be concerned about how they were going to treat him?
※※※
Ribéry was not as worried as Gago was because he was playing in his team’s home ground. If he were to return to the City Ground stadium, he would definitely receive deafening boos. There was no doubt about that. He certainly knew that when he had chosen to leave during the period when the boss had a heart attack, it was a form of betrayal in the eyes of the Forest fans.
But for him, it was the only chance. A one-time chance in which the king had lost control.
He did not talk to his former teammates in the Forest team due to his ill-timed departure in the past. No Forest players would come forward on their own to speak to him as well. He hid within the Real Madrid team, bowed his head and kept quiet.
Across the fence was his former teammate, Pepe.
Pepe looked down on Ribéry’s departure. Knowing that none of them had chosen to leave at the most difficult time for the boss and the team, Ribéry had become a deserter. He gave Ribéry a sideway glance and then suddenly leaned his head over to speak to the Frenchman with a smile, “Franck, you’d better be careful during the game.”
Standing in front of Ribéry, Sergio Ramos heard Pepe’s words. Although he could not understand the words, he felt Pepe’s smile was unfriendly, so he turned his head back to glare at Pepe.
Pepe spoke in English, which Cristiano Ronaldo understood. He shot back, “Hey, boy. Mind your words. Are you trying to intimidate us?” When he was at Manchester United, he did not get along with the Forest team. The two teams did not meet when he was at Real Madrid. But in the current environment, the feeling of being mortal enemies came back to him.
Pepe showed no signs of weakness. He widened his grin at Ronaldo and said, “Portuguese dude, you are not my target.” He leaned his head towards the front of the line. Standing with his back toward everyone and not speaking was the team captain, George Wood.
Ronaldo certainly knew what he meant. He was fearless but just a little restrained around George Wood. He stopped talking.
Bale stepped forward to act as the peacemaker. “All right, don’t get worked up. It’s no good if we start quarrelling now. If the boss knows about this, he’s going to scold you all.” He said to Pepe since he knew that Pepe looked down on Ribéry and Bendtner as well. This man had well-defined likes and dislikes. To ease the atmosphere, he even took the initiative to greet Ribéry, “Hello Franck.”
Pepe still looked at Ribéry with a smile. His smile contained traces of ridicule.
Ribéry smiled at Bale, somewhat helplessly. He said, “Hello… Bale.” He had wanted to say, “little monkey.” But when he thought of his present identity, he forcibly changed it to “Bale.” He appeared to be a little unfamiliar in this way, but it was so as to prevent other people from needless assumptions.
Higuaín noticed the small disturbance in front of the line. He probed his head up to look around and asked, “What’s going on?”
Gago also lifted his head to looked over and realized what happened when he saw Pepe’s look. He said, “It must be Pepe putting blame on Ribéry…”
“Putting blame? Why?”
“When Ribéry chose to leave Nottingham Forest at the time and join Real Madrid… you knew about this, didn’t you?”
“Oh, I thought what was the big deal? Isn’t this kind of thing normal in the world of football? One player leaves one team and joins another team… What’s the point of holding on to a grudge like this?”
Gago, who only joined the team later, did not know much about that matter in the past, so he shook his head and said, “I’m not too sure either. Maybe that’s the Forest team’s style…” He had seen the “treatment” that Bendtner received when he went back to the City Ground stadium. Stop short of throwing a pig’s head down, the Forest fans scolded Bendtner in the stands in many various forms. They even composed a song live on the spot to humiliate the “traitor” who had betrayed the team.
“The English teams seem to be like this…” He added.
Higuaín smiled and shook his head, somewhat disdainful. “I wonder why you were so worried. It’s because you’ve seen too much of that in England. Don’t worry, this is Spain, this is Real Madrid.”
Pepe continued to stare at Ribéry with a smile.
Ribéry could only pretend that he did not see this person, and then simply closed his eyes.
Bale poked Pepe at the back and said, “Enough is enough, Pepe. Focus your energy on the game!”
George Wood looked back, and only then Pepe averted his gaze.
“It’s time to play.” Wood said to the people behind.
※※※
The Real Madrid players and Nottingham Forest players appeared at the same time. The stadium erupted in thunderous cheers. The home fans cheered for Real Madrid, while the away fans cheered for the Forest team. The cheers lasted only a short time. When the live broadcast began to announce the name lists of the two teams’ lineup, warm applause and cheers broke out when the names of the Real Madrid players were called while sporadic hissing rang out in the stands when the names of the Forest players were announced.
Twain looked up at the stands around him. He opened his mouth and laughed, “I’m really surprised by the scattered boos.”
“We’re not Barcelona.” Kerslake said beside him.
“We’re also not Atlético Madrid.” Eastwood added.
“Ha!” Twain barked out a laugh, “It doesn’t matter. Very soon, they’ll think we’re more detestable than both of those teams.”
※※※
The players from both sides filed onto the pitch and stood together to be photographed by the reporters. Then the visiting players took the initiative to shake hands with the referee and the home team players. When the players of both teams parted, the captains exchanged the team flags and did the coin toss to pick the side.
Casillas was now Real Madrid’s captain. He lost to Wood in the coin toss and Wood was given the right to pick the side while Casillas was given the right to kick off.
Seeing the result, Twain gently shook his head off the pitch and said, “I want the right to kick off… Letting the other side control the ball first is not good for our tactical layout.”
“We just have to hold off their five-minute offensive and we’ll be okay.” Kerslake felt it was nothing since the ball was going to come back to the feet of the Forest team anyway.
“You’re very confident.” Twain turned to look at Kerslake next to him and chuckled.
“After working with you for a long time, I have to be confident. If not, I can’t keep up with your footsteps.” Kerslake laughed too.
The feeling of tacit understanding rose from the bottom of two people’s hearts.
Kerslake did not hear Twain laugh heartily and openly. Instead, Twain nodded to him and said, “Thank you, David, for staying with me for so long…”
This caught Kerslake a little off guard. He cleared his throat and did not know what to say.
Twain patted him on the shoulder and said, “The game is about to start. Hopefully, as you said, we’ll be back in control after holding on for five minutes.”
※※※
Wood walked back after he shook hands with the three referees, as well as Casillas. He made a gesture and his teammates immediately gathered around.
“We’re not here to be first runner-up.” Wood put his hand out and put it in the middle of the circle.
“Neither am I.” Bale put his hand on top of his.
“This is the most glorious moment of my career.” Pepe pressed his hand on top.
“For the Treble.” Akinfeev’s big hand covered the palms of several people underneath.
The different skin tones and different sizes of palms piled on top and the pile of hands became higher.
After everyone put their hands on top of one another, Wood looked at everyone, and everyone looked at him. As the boss said, they were comrades in a trench through life and death. They supported each other all the way through countless baptisms of war. And now they stood on the last battlefield, ready to meet the last and most powerful enemy.
“I’m not good with words…” Wood said, “In any case…. I’m very happy to play football with you guys. Let’s win the championship together.”
Hearing him say so, everyone’s hands pressed down with force.
“Champion!!”
※※※
On Real Madrid’s side, they also formed a circle. Everyone came together to do the final battle mobilization.
“This is Bernabéu, partners.” Casillas’s eyes swept through the faces of every teammate as he said, “We absolutely cannot fail here. Seventy thousand people in the stands are all our motivation. We are Real Madrid! The glorious Real Madrid!”
He brandished his hands with great force.
“Don’t give your opponent any chance! Win the tenth UEFA Champions League title with all the energy we’ve got!!”
※※※
As the players from both sides stood in their respective positions and waited for the kick-off, the noisy Bernabéu stadium fell into a momentary silence after more than half an hour of clamor. The noise disappeared for a moment and everyone held their breath as they waited for the game to begin.
The referee stood in the center circle, looked at the watch on his wrist, and looked at the fourth official on the sidelines. After getting the signal for the kickoff, he blew a crisp-sounding whistle.
After Huntelaar passed the ball to Benzema, he ran forward. Meanwhile, Aaron Mitchell who had been waiting outside the center circle, headed straight for Benzema with the ball.
Benzema did not give him a chance to intercept the ball in place. He turned around to pass it to Lassana Diarra at the back as he brushed past Mitchell.
Twain did not put Ibišević in the starting lineup for the game. Instead, he deployed Mitchell who had score two goals alone in the FA Cup final and was in excellent form. It was also the first time he had played in the Champions League final. But Twain was not worried that the kid could not handle the pressure. The kid sometimes looked lively and he had his own set of methods to reduce stress – which was to use his imagination and release all the pressure through his imagination.
Mitchell ignored Benzema and continued to rush towards Diarra.
Diarra then passed the ball toward the back and gave it to the Argentine center back, Garay. Mitchell then ignored Diarra and continued to pounce toward Garay.
Garay did not pass the ball this time. He finally figured it out. If he continued to pass back to Casillas, the big guy would rush over without any hesitation, like a robot which was programmed with a way forward in advance and would go all the way!
He passed the ball ahead to Ramos on the side, and Mitchell finally stopped sprinting.
Ramos had just received the ball and found that Fernández had already rushed in front of him. He hurriedly hooked the ball in an attempt to flash past the Chilean.
Fernández was more difficult to deal with than he thought. Instead of flashing past the other party, he was entangled by him.
“Don’t dawdle, get the ball out!” Casillas could clearly see the situation on the pitch at the back. If Ramos still wanted to continue to play in the rear defensive line, he would be in trouble. From his position, it could be clearly seen that Nottingham Forest’s overall formation pressed forward along with Real Madrid’s every return pass. Huntelaar, who had just run up, was already in an offside position.
What was Nottingham Forest going to do by pressing so hard in the away game?
With Ramos closed in tightly by Fernández, he chose the most appropriate approach – he drove the ball forward with a long ball.
The long ball, which appeared to be blindly sent out, flew to Huntelaar instead.
Huntelaar lost his position in the fight for the header with Pepe. He was completely unable to compete with Pepe in strength. Pepe headed the football back.
In the midfield, Gago lifted his leg to hook the football down from the air and Ribéry pounced on empty space. But as soon as he turned around, the Frenchman leaned in closer again.
Seeing him like this, the Forest fans in the stands booed. Only two players would be booed vehemently by the Forest fans after leaving the team. One was Bendtner and the other was Ribéry.
Ribéry interfered with Gago at the back, but Gago was no longer the young boy who could not even hold on to the ball and was always intercepted from behind by his opponents. He defended the football and looked up to find a way to send the ball out.
In the end, he chose to give the football to Bentley on the sideline.
Ribéry was still pestering him, and the side was emptier. Bentley took a few steps forward after he received the ball. Diarra and Real Madrid’s left back, Marcelo both got their eyes on him.
It was at this moment that Rafinha stepped in from behind Bentley at a high speed and skimmed past Marcelo.
Bentley passed an over-the-head high ball and sent the ball over Marcelo’s head to Rafinha who plugged in.
Rafinha beautifully unloaded the football that flew in from behind. Marcelo turned around a little slower, and Garay rushed up. Rafinha did not appear to look like he was going to do a feint. Instead, he swept the ball straight into the penalty area. A low pass!
Şahin appeared like a shadow behind Mitchell. Mitchell had attracted the attention of another Real Madrid center back, David Luiz, but the football escaped past.
Şahin directly did a slide shot on the line of the goal area!
The commentator had not had time to finish reading the two teams’ list of appearances before Nottingham Forest’s first shot at the goal had already been made.
Nottingham Forest’s beautiful coordination suddenly put Real Madrid’s goal in jeopardy. The only player who could be depended on at this time was their “Saint Iker”
Good thing that Casillas acted almost at the same time as Şahin. When Şahin did the slide shot, he threw himself over to pounce toward that side, and the football was pushed out by his hand!
“What a – fantastic save! Casillas completed his first save of the game. He saved Real Madrid’s goal!” The commentator roared excitedly.
“Ah!” Twain held his head in his hands off the field. He looked incredulously at what had just happened in front of the Real Madrid goal. He did not expect Nottingham Forest to turn from passive to active and get such a good chance to shoot from the start. But he did not expect Casillas to be able to block the shot so close at hand…
This man is a monster!
“What kind of defense is this?” Casillas jumped from the ground and yelled at his teammates. He was much more proactive than before now that he was the captain.
Şahin sat on the ground and could not believe that Casillas actually blocked his must-have shot. One must know that when he shot, Casillas was still in front getting ready to defend against Mitchell’s grab point. He should not have seen him … Could it be down to a goalkeeper’s instinct?
Applause broke out in the stands for Casillas. If it were not for their captain’s heroic performance, Real Madrid might have conceded a goal in the opening thirty seconds of the game.
The Spanish reporters in the press box were even more terrified in their hearts. They could see clearly it from up there.
“The bastard… Do you really want to go head to head with Real Madrid?”
※※※
Twain got up from his seat and applauded the Forest players on the field to offer encouragement and appreciation for the team’s faithful execution of his tactical arrangements.
The group of Spanish reporters guessed right. He was going to go head to head with Real Madrid in the game.
Real Madrid had always been better at offense than defense. If the opponent were to play defensive counterattack against them, they would only suffer themselves in the end. To hand too much of the initiative in the home ground to Real Madrid was nothing less than a slow suicide.
That was why he wanted to use a more aggressive and more proactive attitude to deal with Real Madrid. He wanted the entire team to press ahead and counter press so as not to give Real Madrid too much time and space. They would not allow them any opportunities to show their footwork skills. Once the game started, they would seek to intimidate Real Madrid with fierce offensive, making them somewhat apprehensive and unable to attack at full strength.
He gently waved to the players to signal that they should continue to do so.
Let this proud team experience the difficult and dangerous situation we create!
...
Chapter 872: Own Goal?
Neither the Real Madrid manager nor the players could have expected Nottingham Forest to actually have the gall to attack Real Madrid this aggressively at the Bernabéu Stadium. They looked intent on going head-to-head with Real Madrid.
Real Madrid was only able to shoot at the goal once in the opening 10 minutes of the game, but the visitors Nottingham Forest was able to shoot at the goal twice in the same time. Their very first shot was the best chance in the game so far, and it nearly went past Casillas.
“Real Madrid has consistently proven something to us over the past decade, and that is that their defense is made up of only one person, and that person is Casillas. As long as Casillas is in the team, all the other defenders can be disregarded.” It is unclear if the commentator is praising Casillas or ridiculing Real Madrid’s defenders with his words.
Real Madrid’s defense did pale in comparison if compared against its star-studded line-up at the front. The star player in their defense is most likely their right back, Sergio Ramos. The performances of Ezequiel Garay and David Luiz have been mediocre thus far, and Marcelo is much stronger offensively than defensively. The best position for him to play in is probably as a left wing-back rather than a left back.
Fortunately for Real Madrid, in addition to Casillas, they now also have Lassana Diarra in their team. The French midfielder has improved Real Madrid’s defense significantly, and his arrival could mark the start of Real Madrid’s journey to glory.
If Diarra’s arrival could not even improve their defense however, it would have been a complete joke for Real Madrid to claim that they want to reign over the whole of Europe, because it would mean that they are in fact a weak team.
This match between Real Madrid and Nottingham Forest is also a battle between two of the world’s most talented defensive midfielders. Unfortunately, the Spanish media was not interested in discussing about such a topic. They were more interested in predicting what sort of exciting performances the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Ribéry or Real Madrid’s front three would put in.
As the manager of the team, it is only natural that Míchel thinks differently from the media. After noticing that his team was at a disadvantage in the game, he immediately stood to his feet and walked to the side of the pitch. He then called out to Diarra and gestured for him to intercept the ball more frequently so as to protect their midfield.
Míchel was not afraid of Nottingham Forest going head-to-head against his team. In fact, Forest not going head-to-head against his team would scare him more.
There would be space left behind every time Forest moves forward to attack, and that would be something that Real Madrid could exploit after all.
Offense was certainly the least of Real Madrid’s worries. Míchel was confident that Real Madrid would come out victorious in a battle of goals scored.
※※※
Gago tried to put together an attack after he received the ball. His role in the match was to move forward and attack, while Wood was responsible for protecting him.
Diarra ran up to Gago. As a defensive midfielder, Diarra had a good sense of balance, was flexible, had explosive force and was also quick in his movements. There was nothing to pick on regarding his overall physicality either. His only flaw was that he was not very good with headers…
The French defensive midfielder pressurized Gago from the side. He was swift with his movements, and Gago was unable to keep up with him.
Gago eventually lost his balance and gave the ball away!
“A wonderful interception!”
Applause and cheers directed at Diarra rang out from the stands. The Real Madrid fans have grown fond of the lad from France. His presence in the team allows Real Madrid’s superstars at the front to attack fearlessly, and in turn the fans are rewarded with the attacking style of football that they love to see.
The Real Madrid fans are knowledgeable about football. They can boo teams that play defensive or conservative football, but they also capable of commending their defensive midfielder when he performs well.
However, it would seem that they were too quick with their applause and cheers.
Diarra had only just intercepted Gago’s ball when another player came charging into him from the side. The collision nearly caused Diarra to lose the ball at his feet.
The player who charged at him did not give up in his pursuit. It was clear that the player would continue chasing after him till he passed the ball away.
Diarra knew who was on his trail without even looking back.
“George Wood has gone after Diarra! This a direct confrontation between two gifted defensive midfielders! Diarra has done well to maintain possession of the ball. Wood cannot do anything to him for now…”
Diarra certainly possessed good techniques as a defensive midfielder. He is often able to bring the ball past several players all by himself before he passed it to his teammates. He has confidence in his ability to control the ball at his feet.
Being able to maintain possession of the ball is undoubtedly a beneficial skill to have, but it is also his weakness, as he would hold onto the ball much longer than what is expected from a defensive midfielder…
George Wood watched as Diarra carried the ball forward. When he noticed that the ball had been kicked slightly further away from Diarra’s feet, he instantly swooped in and tackled the ball.
Diarra instinctively sensed danger and tried to kick the ball away, but he kicked nothing but air.
The ball had been tackled away by Wood by then, and his kick landed on Wood’s feet instead. He then fell onto the ground.
The referee blew on his whistle to signal that Wood had fouled Diarra during his tackle.
Wood was upset with the referee’s decision, but he did not explain anything to the referee. He simply climbed back to his feet while shaking his head.
Twain saw everything that had happened up front. Wood’s tackle was clean and had not touched Diarra in any way. He was upset with the referee’s decision and kept complaining under his breath, “Home advantage… Home advantage…”
No one cared about his complaints. The fourth official did not even bother to send a glance his way.
It did not matter if Wood had fouled Diarra or not. What was more important was that Nottingham Forest had managed to stop Real Madrid’s quick play. In addition, the events so far have proven that Twain’s analyses of the Real Madrid’s players were accurate.
During the pre-match tactical briefing, Twain analyzed the strengths of each and every Real Madrid player for his team. He told his players that Diarra was a player who liked to bring the ball forward a lot. He did not play like a defensive midfielder would. His actions were more like one that an attacking midfielder or wing-back would do, and that was also something that his team could exploit.
As long as his players marked Diarra tightly, they would definitely find the chance to intercept the ball and go on the counterattack. When that happens, Real Madrid would be sent into a frenzy over how their defensive midfielder had lost the ball!
This time round, both Real Madrid and Diarra were lucky that Wood’s clean tackle had been viewed as a foul by the referee. There did not seem to be anyone associated with Real Madrid who had noticed that the events from earlier was a warning flag yet.
Their luck would definitely not be as good the next time…
Twain ranted for a while by the side of the pitch before he walked back to his seat.
“It’s game over for them.” Twain told Kerslake, who sat before him, as he opened the cap of a bottle.
※※※
Real Madrid utilized a 4-4-2 formation for the match. Diarra was the player in charge of defending the midfield. He had to run all over the midfield, and he also had to receive the ball, pass the ball and intercept the ball…
Given all the things that Diarra has to do for his team, he should be the player who is regarded as the core of Real Madrid instead of Ribéry.
Ribéry also plays in the midfield, but he was positioned further up front. Real Madrid’s midfield was shaped like a rhombus. Ribéry’s role in the team was to organize the team’s attacks and make use of his ability to shoot from far to threaten the opponent’s goalpost.
Cristiano Ronaldo was positioned on the left and Higuaín was positioned on the right. The two would switch positions frequently, making it hard for their opponents to keep track. They were two players who possessed pace and technique, and they also had the ability to break through their opponents’ defense.
The two players positioned at the front were Huntelaar and Benzema. Huntelaar was a pure center forward. He would wait for the ball to get passed over to him by his team mates, and he would then try to find a way to get the ball into the back of the opposition’s net.
Benzema, on the other hand, was more flexible with his position on the pitch. He would position himself either next to or behind Huntelaar and act as the bridge between the midfield and the front of the pitch. He was not the kind of striker who needed to score every time he shot either. He was all-rounded as a player, and he could provide chances or assists to his team mates as well.
Such a combination at the front of the pitch was flawless and immensely powerful for any football team. It could even be considered to be a masterpiece.
Sadly, such a wonderful piece of art had to go against the metal slab that is George Wood.
Real Madrid initiated an attack once again. This time, Diarra did not maintain possession of the ball for long. He passed the ball over to Ribéry the moment he noticed Gago charging after him.
Ribéry was able to continue to maintain possession of the ball as he turned his body around. His entire movement looked natural and effortless. The spectators might not have cheered wildly in response to his movements, but it certainly demonstrated the level of technique he possessed as a player of his age.
Twain could not help but shake his head after seeing Ribéry’s actions. Ribéry had transformed from a winger into a playmaker. This was a transformation that did not materialize during his time as a Forest player, but now the transformation was complete at Real Madrid…
Ribéry had only just gotten the ball under control at his feet when Wood charged towards him.
Pepe had threatened him before the start of the match to watch out for him, but sadly, there were not many chances of them going against each other in an actual match. The player that he had to watch out for was not Pepe but the captain of the Forest team instead.
The Frenchman gave up on trying to bring the ball forward by himself the moment he saw Wood charge at him.
It was a wise decision to make as he did not have the confidence to win Wood in a one-on-one battle.
He passed the ball over to Ramos who was running down the flank. Ramos had successfully attracted the attention of Bale, and this allowed Higuaín to speed up and pass the ball into the middle of the pitch without reservations.
Huntelaar jumped into the air to head the ball from Higuaín.
It was Akinfeev’s turn to perform next. He jumped into the air from where he stood and stretched out his right hand. He managed to get a hand on the ball and he sent it over the crossbar. His entire movement might look effortless to the spectators, but professional goalkeepers would know how difficult it really was.
A jump that is made without a run-up would always be slightly shorter than a jump made with a run-up. In addition, Huntelaar’s header had happened very close to the goalpost, and it did not give the goalkeeper much time to react.
The goalkeeper would need to rely on his instincts, split-second reaction and also God to be able to defend against such a shot.
Akinfeev was successful in his attempt to get the ball away. He was able to send what looked like an unmistakable goal from Huntelaar over the crossbar.
Applause rang out at the stands. The Real Madrid fans were all applauding the team’s attack, whereas the Forest fans were all applauding Akinfeev’s incredible save. His save was just as good as one that Casillas would make.
“They are both around the same height, and they have both played as a goalkeeper for roughly the same amount of time. Even their names are similar, Igor and Iker. The battle between Casillas and Akinfeev has not disappointed us. This is truly a match with many things to watch out for!”
In truth, Casillas’ performance had set Akinfeev on fire. He did not want to humiliate himself before his idol.
※※※
“It has been a game whereby both sides have attacked one another so far. The football that has been shown in the match up till now can be considered to be brilliant. I’m very pleased that Tony Twain did not choose to play defensive football in such a game. His decision has allowed us to watch an exciting match. But, I’m worried that such a scene would not last for long… The moment Nottingham Forest goes into the lead, they would definitely move backwards and make their defense compact. They would then switch back to playing defensive football. Twain’s strategy is predictable and lacks creativity… I hope that Real Madrid is the team who goes into the lead first so as to maintain excitement throughout the match…”
The commentator was bad-mouthing Twain once again, and that upset several Forest fans.
“Don’t spew nonsense!”
“Shut your damned mouth, bastard!”
The fans who were unable to head over to Spain to watch the match raised their fists before the television screen. Some of them were holding onto their beer mugs, and the beer had spilled over onto others due to their vigorous actions.
However, no one complained. Everyone was busy roaring. It was as though they believed that their chastisements could really reach the commentator on the other end of the screen.
“Hey! Tony! Don’t let that bastard be right!”
“Score a goal against those Spaniards!”
“Go into the lead! It doesn’t matter that they are playing at their home grounds!”
The drunk fans then started cheering for Forest once again. Their mugs were half empty by then, but none of them cared. They could always order more beer when the time comes.
What was more important to them now was that Real Madrid did not go into the lead in the match. They would lose their appetite for beer if that were to happen.
※※※
Míchel’s team was hellbent on scoring a goal in the match. 15 minutes had passed, but the score remained 0:0, and it did not look like Nottingham Forest was at a disadvantage either. Such a situation agitated the Real Madrid fans.
The Real Madrid fans have always been like this since the past. Intermittent boos would ring from the stands every time their team fails to score within 20 minutes of the match at the Bernabéu Stadium. Boos would then erupt throughout the stadium if the team fails to score after 30 minutes of the game. Their boos would always add immense pressure on the Real Madrid players.
Twain disliked coaching a football team under such an environment. He could not tolerate how the fans would boo their own players. If he were the manager of Real Madrid, he might point his middle finger at the fans.
However, he enjoyed the boos from the fans right now as the manager of the opposition team. He knew that the Real Madrid fans would become the 12th player for Nottingham Forest. Their intermittent boos would start resonating within the Real Madrid players’ hearts, and they would then start to pile up…
Eventually, one player amidst the Real Madrid team would not be able to hold it in any longer, and he would explode like a time bomb.
His players have been following his tactics dutifully. They have been going all out to intercept the ball, and their actions have helped to create a tense atmosphere on the pitch. This atmosphere has made it difficult for the Real Madrid players to perform at their best. The players have continued to commit one error after another despite their exceptional techniques. The team has not been able to coordinate well in their attacks either.
Forest’s constant interceptions and counterattacks have also forced Real Madrid’s defenders, especially Marcelo and Ramos, to stay at the back of the pitch.
Twain made his players target Marcelo during their attacks. He knew that Marcelo was a player who emphasized offense more than defense. It was also impossible for Míchel to not let Marcelo go on the offense, as it went against his philosophy as a manager.
One of the trademarks of Real Madrid was how they made use of their full backs to attack, and it was also one of their strengths this season.
But, Marcelo was unable to perform at all in the match thus far. He could not move forward to join in the offense, and he committed numerous errors during his defense as well. If it were not for Diarra’s assistance, Forest would have been able to break through Real Madrid’s back line by now.
“Here they come!”
The commentator shouted at the top of his voice.
“Here they come again, f*ck!” Marcelo cursed in his heart.
The combination of Bentley and Rafinha agonized Marcelo immensely. Ronaldo would track back to help Marcelo in defense, but ultimately, Ronaldo was not a defensive player. His main role was to attack.
Marcelo was left with no choice but to retreat backwards when Rafinha ran past him. He then watched as Bentley passed the ball into the middle of the pitch towards Gago instead of Rafinha.
What else could he do?
If he did not retreat backwards, Bentley would have passed the ball over to Rafinha, and Rafinha would have crossed the ball into the penalty box from the byline.
Rafinha stopped his run when he noticed that the ball had been passed into the middle of the pitch. He positioned himself near the byline, and did not appear to have the intention to run forward towards the penalty box.
Marcelo then moved towards the center of the pitch to try and limit the amount of space that Forest could exploit near their penalty box.
Right as he ran however, Gago passed the ball away.
The ball flew over the top of his head towards Rafinha!
Marcelo felt as though he was a monkey being toyed with by the Forest players. He turned around and ran back towards Rafinha.
Rafinha passed the ball over to Bentley. Ronaldo had tracked backwards to join in the defense, and Bentley passed the ball over to Gago through the gap between Ronaldo’s legs.
Diarra stopped being an onlooker. He charged towards Gago to defend against him.
Gago passed the ball over to Wood.
For a period of time, Nottingham Forest continued to pass the ball about before Real Madrid’s penalty box, and the Real Madrid players did not even manage to touch the ball once.
It was a massive humiliation for Real Madrid.
The boos from the stands grew in decibels.
Diarra left Gago behind for Wood once Wood received the ball.
It was difficult to play as a defensive midfielder. Diarra has to run all over the pitch non-stop. He has to run from one end to another end, and he would often end up defending against one thing and missing another…
Wood turned around and passed the ball over to Bale who had run up from the back.
Bale did not bring the ball forward down the flank. Instead, he made his way past Higuaín and moved towards the middle of the pitch!
Bale’s actions caught Ramos off guard. Ramos was initially going to wait for Bale to run up towards him from the flank, but he did not expect Bale to change route midway.
However, Ramos could not run over to defend Bale, because Fernández had moved forward and was positioned near the byline where he was currently standing. Ramos was afraid that the ball would be passed over to Fernández the moment he ran over to Bale.
Ribéry retreated backwards to defend and he charged towards Bale in the middle of the pitch.
Bale did not even turn to see who was charging towards him. He simply passed the ball over to Wood beside him and continued running forward.
Wood did not stop the ball at his feet after receiving the ball. He passed the ball back to Bale straight away.
The two players performed a quick one-two right before Real Madrid’s penalty box!
Ramos could not stay and guard the flank any longer, because Bale had nearly made his way into the penalty box. He left Fernández behind and charged towards the penalty box. He was going to team up with Garay and they were going to work together to keep Bale away from their penalty box.
Bale, who had been sprinting towards the penalty box, slammed into Ramos and fell to the ground inside Real Madrid’s penalty box.
Fernández raised his hand to gesture at the referee that Ramos had fouled Bale. It would be a penalty if the referee deemed Ramo’s actions to be a foul.
However, the referee did not give the foul, because he did not notice that Ramos had obstructed the path of Bale. Instead, the referee placed both arms before him to signal for play to resume. He was giving advantage to the attacking team, and the match will go on!
Bale had already passed the ball away before he collided with Ramos.
Mitchell was positioned in Real Madrid’s penalty box, and Şahin had also made his way over as well.
Who did Bale pass the ball to?
“George Wood…!”
Wood raised his muscular right leg at the edge of the penalty box right as the commentator hollered.
Casillas reacted the moment he saw Wood raise his leg. He pounced towards the right side of his goalpost. His intuition and experience told him that Wood would shoot for goal straight away, and that he would shoot this way!
He was right!
Wood had shot for goal straight away without stopping the ball at his feet!
There was not any spin on the ball as it flew straight towards Casillas.
“Whooo…”
Wood’s shot was so quick it even created a sound as it whizzed by…
No, perhaps that was a sound made by the Real Madrid fans during their booing.
Wood’s shot travelled very quickly, and Casillas was still a little too slow in reaching the ball.
The ball would fly past before Casillas hand can reach it.
Wood’s shot slammed against the goalpost and made a loud thud.
The sound allowed the jittery Real Madrid fans to breathe a sigh of relief.
But, a dramatic turn of events soon ensued…
The ball deflected backwards towards Casillas after hitting the goalpost. Casillas had only just managed to reach the ball at this moment. The ball then hit against Casillas’ back as he landed, before flying past the goal line and into the back of the net…
“Unlucky Iker…” The on-site commentator cried out as he sprawled over his work desk.
Nottingham Forest has managed to find their way into Real Madrid’s goalpost at the Bernabéu Stadium on the 23rd minute of the match! And, the person who had scored the goal was…
The player regarded as Real Madrid’s most resolute rampart, Saint Iker Casillas!
However, the commentator from England did not agree with the view that it was Casillas who scored the goal. “Own goal? No no no! That was a goal by George Wood! What a brilliant goal! How can that be considered as a goal by Casillas? George Wood has scored his second goal in the Champions League this season! His goal has helped Nottingham Forest take the lead over Real Madrid for the time being! You have to remember that this is the Bernabéu Stadium, and this is the home grounds of Real Madrid! How remarkable! The combination play leading up to the goal has left Real Madrid in a complete frenzy! Listen to the boos at the stadium! Those boos are the best form of compliment to Forest!”
...
Chapter 873 - This Looks Bad
”A series of beautiful combination through the middle with a continuous one-two! George Wood’s——powerful volley! The ball hit the bottom of the crossbar, flew downwards and hit Casillas on the back and bounced into the goal… Nottingham Forest takes the lead in the Bernabéu Stadium just like this!”
“The captions indicated that this is an own goal by Casillas, but we have to give credit to George Wood for his impressive contributions to this attack. It was his long shot that caught Casillas off-guard… In fact, after the ball went in, the Forest players surrounded Wood to congratulate him.”
George Wood was indeed in the middle of his teammates’ embrace. The match would be much easier now that they were able to score first. That was why they did not care whether this was an own goal, the important thing was that they are leading Real Madrid 1:0.
Waves of jeering rang out from the stands. One could not tell whether these jeers were directed at the Nottingham Forest players or at Real Madrid for conceding a goal.
Poor Casillas had to pick himself up, turn around to retrieve the ball from his goal and kick it towards the center circle, mumbling as he did so. He must have been complaining about his bad luck for the ball to bounce out when he dived and for the ball to coincidentally hit him, then changed direction and flew into the goal after that…
He did not even know why that happened. When he was performing admirably in front of goal, saving shots that was impossible to be saved, the fans referred to him as “Saint Iker” and it was as if he was possessed by God. But at this moment, both the God and the Holy Light had left him.
It was a good thing that he was a goalkeeper as goalkeepers usually had very strong mentality. He shut his mouth after grumbling for a little and did not mention this matter anymore.
Michels was a little unhappy about the fact that Real Madrid conceded the first goal. After watching the goal go in, he jumped out of his seat and could not stop complaining while waving his arms. He was complaining about the problem in Real Madrid’s defense in the middle, and also their rotten luck…
The Nottingham Forest players were still celebrating the goal, ignoring the thunderous jeers while Michels pulled Ribéry to the sideline and instructed him about the things that he had to pay attention to in the match later.
“…They’ll play on the break after taking the lead, their defensive line will drop back, we have to press up in attack.”
Ribéry nodded in agreement. He did not have any opinions actually; he would follow whatever the manager said.
“Be more committed when attacking, if you lack support from your teammates around you, take a long shot!” Michels pointed at the Forest goal as he said, “George Wood is marking you; you can pull him away from the middle and tell Lassana to go forward more.”
Ribéry understood that he was to be the distraction then. Diarra’s attacking prowess was pretty strong too, with good passing and dribbling abilities.
“They know how to suppress our flanks; we shall do the same. Suppress their flanks and force their flanks to be on the defensive. Tell Ronaldo and Higuain to be more committed, don’t be hesitate, if they want to dribble, do so! Go!”
Ribéry went after receiving the instructions.
Twain sneered as he watched Michels pull Ribéry back alone to adjust his tactics. This kid had become a core member of Real Madrid, he was doing quite well for himself.
※※※
“If we look at it from another angle, it might be a good thing to concede after 23 minutes. At least Real Madrid has 67 minutes to comeback and win the game.”
The match restarted as the trailing Real Madrid launched waves of vicious attacks on the Forest team. Their momentum forced Nottingham Forest to pull back their defensive line and go into the defensive.
The commentator was a little pleased with himself as what he said earlier came true, “I said that if Nottingham Forest were to take the lead, they would play on the counter. I wasn’t wrong, Tony Twain has pulled back as expected. The excitement of the match next depends on when Real Madrid can penetrate the Forest goal…”
Ribéry became the focal point of Real Madrid’s attack. He was in charge of starting the attack, and he would also take some long shots to test Akinfeev’s focus on the match once in a while.
Pepe was abnormally excited today. There were a few times when Wood had already closed in on Ribéry and yet he still rushed forward to mark the same target.
Twain simply took it as a demonstration of Pepe’s excitement and did not put it to mind. After all, the pincer defense of him and Wood did make Ribéry a little flustered and made it difficult for him to start the attack.
Until the 31st minute, when Pepe brought Ribéry to the ground just outside the penalty area and the referee awarded a direct free kick to Real Madrid, Twain then slapped his thigh and complained, “Is he trying to break Ribéry’s leg? That bastard! He needs to watch what he’s doing!”
He received a yellow card because of this foul. That was a tackle from behind, bringing Ribéry, who was guarding the ball down.
The Real Madrid fans directed their jeers at Pepe while Ribéry held onto his ankle in pain on the ground. Michels stood up to denounce the violence of the Forest team furiously whereas Twain only scolded Pepe in private without any other actions.
Ribéry eventually picked himself up and walked around with a slight limp. He did not glare at Pepe like the other players, moving to one side instead.
Pepe did not let him off easily as he continued to glare at him.
Bale pulled his arm from the side and said, “Relax, Pepe!”
“I just don’t like the look of him,” Pepe said as he stared at Ribéry with a fierce look in his eyes.
“Look at where you committed the foul,” Wood walked over and said to Pepe with a stern look on his face.
Pepe took a look at it and pouted.
He committed the foul just outside the penalty area.
“It’s nothing, this is too close, it’s not a good distance for a free kick,” it appeared as though he made sense too.
“It better be so,” Wood turned to stand in the wall with no emotions on his face.
There were many people who thought the same way as Pepe. The Forest players all thought that this was too close to the goal and was not a good position for a free kick.
The commentator thought so too, “18 meters from the goal… This is too close, the ball would either hit the wall or fly over the crossbar.”
Cristiano Ronaldo stood over the ball. It seemed like he would be the one to take this free kick.
Ronaldo was adept at taking long distance free kicks, this seemed to confirm the everybody’s thoughts.
Pepe’s foul might seem dangerous, but it might in fact be the safest move?
The Real Madrid players did not attempt to squeeze into the Nottingham Forest wall, as though they did not have high hopes for this free kick too.
Aaron Mitchell had wanted to stay in the frontline to prepare to launch a counterattack, but he got asked to stand in the wall by Wood. His 2.2 meters frame was an eyesore in the wall. Wood arranged for him to stand at the most dangerous spot, blocking the far corner of the goal which was furthest away from Akinfeev.
When the wall was ready, the referee indicated that Real Madrid can restart the game.
Ronaldo stood in front of the ball, feet apart. He took a deep breath and started his run up.
His run up was quite long and everyone thought it would be a fierce shot, hoping that it would penetrate the Forest wall. However, when he reached the ball, he lifted it with the tip of his foot!
The calf moved rapidly but the thigh did not move much.
The ball flew above the wall and it did not go towards the far post, going to the near post instead!
Akinfeev did not expect Ronaldo to take the free kick like this at all. He originally chose to dive towards the far post and the center of gravity of his body had already moved towards that side before he realized that the ball was flying towards the near post. He wanted to readjust his position but he was already wrongfooted as he could only stand on the spot and watch the ball fly just above the wall and straight into the goal.
This…
Akinfeev momentarily lost his balance and all his strength as he fell backwards into the goal, as if he got hit by the ball.
Pepe stared at the ball inside the goal in disbelief too. Behind him, the Real Madrid players were celebrating.
“Damn it” Twain cursed on the sideline.
Michels ran back to the manager’s seat in excitement as he embraced his assistants.
“Ronaldo scored with a direct free kick!” The commentator roared in excitement. This time, he was really feeling happy for the goal scored by Real Madrid——Nottingham Forest could no longer play on the break, this match would be even more exciting now!
Twain would have definitely felt wronged if he knew what the commentator was thinking of. That was because he had no intentions of playing on the counter after leading…
“A beautiful direct free kick! This was actually not an especially good chance of scoring, but Ronaldo’s unique free kick’s arc still flew over the wall and into the goal! Akinfeev was totally bamboozled as he did not react at all!”
The Bernabéu stands finally erupted in cheers this time. The long-awaited moment for the fans in white to hold their heads up high had finally arrived.
“Twain was still rambling on, “This kind of goal… This kind of foul… And he even got a yellow card! I really don’t understand the benefits of that foul!”
Eastwood could only give a wry smile at the side. He believed he knew why. There were some things that would only be spoken amongst the players. No matter how close the boss was to them, or how high the players held him in regard, he would not be able to understand all the thinking of every player.
For example, Pepe had mentioned not just once that he looked down on Ribéry in the changing room privately. The reason why he looked down on him was not because Ribéry moved to Real Madrid for money, Pepe was no saint, he understood that the reason for playing professional football was to earn money. The reason why he looked down on Ribéry was because he chose to leave the team when the boss and the team were in a difficult moment. He had always been looking for an opportunity to get back at Ribéry and this final finally gave him the best opportunity.
※※※
Real Madrid seemed to be even more fired up after levelling the score. The two flanks completely woke up and suppressed any signs of a counterattack from the Forest team. Under the waves of cheers in their home ground, of which each wave was louder than the previous one, they launched attacks on the Forest goal continuously. There were times when they managed to reach the goal of the Forest team, making things very awkward for the Forest defenders.
Twain left the manager’s seat after Real Madrid scored. He stood on the sideline, making different kinds of body language as the situation changed on the field. When Real Madrid was getting close to the goal, he would clench his fist, straighten his back and leaned forward, as if all the muscles in his body were tensed up. When Forest had the ball and countered, he folded his arms and gave his team the feeling that their manager had everything under control, having the effect of stabilizing his team’s morale.
The tv broadcast also kept going towards Twain. Sometimes, his performance on the sideline was really a better show than the match.
Actually, Twain did not do that to hog the limelight on TV, he was just nervous…
No matter how much he acted as though he was unaffected, arrogant… He could not deny the fact that Real Madrid had a big advantage playing at the Bernabéu stadium. This kind of advantage might sometimes be decisive in a final, that was why he had to handle it carefully. Scoring first was a good sign as it reduced the pressure, but he did not expect Real Madrid to level the score within 10 minutes. Now, Real Madrid’s morale was high, and Forest had just been dealt a blow. Under such circumstances, if he was not careful, the situation on the field might be overturned.
Now that Forest was doing their best to not let Real Madrid overrun them, George Wood was once again the star that shone the brightest in the team. His tireless running, vicious yet clean defense, aided the team to barely stay level with Real Madrid.
In the eyes of most of the outsiders, Real Madrid had the advantages. Especially when coupled with the home ground atmosphere, it gave people a feeling that Real Madrid could penetrate the Forest goal at any time. Real Madrid’s combinations were pleasing to the eye, as though they could receive any kind of passes, and there were many different kinds of attacking plays they could pull off. On the other hand, Nottingham Forest found things to be a little difficult. After Şahin was restricted by Diarra, the Forest midfield became a pure workhorse midfield. Their functions were not to start the attack and link the backline with the frontline, but they were to think of ways to destroy Real Madrid’s attack… When there was only destruction without any creation, how would that be good enough?
Evan Doughty’s expression became darker and darker as he watched from the VIP box. He only smiled when Forest scored, and he watched the match with a long face after that. The match became even worse after Real Madrid levelled the score… By his side, Florentino watched the whole game with a smile on his face. He did not even frown when Forest was leading.
He was an old and crafty person indeed. His culture and shrewdness were some things that Evan Doughty could not be a match for.
※※※
When the first half ended, the score was still 1:1. Even though Real Madrid had the advantage, they could not penetrate the Forest goal again as the Forest defense system passed the test. Twain was not concerned about his own defense; he was concerned about spending too much energy on defense that his offense would be stunted. The key to this match was no longer defense, but attack…
Twain entered the tunnel first, thinking about ways to salvage the situation in the second half.
The commentator felt pity for Real Madrid, “I bet, if the first half was five minutes longer, Real Madrid would penetrate the Forest goal again… Or have the initiative of the game completely. This is the Bernabéu after all, it’s their home ground. This halftime break saved Twain. We can look forward to the adjustments that Tony Twain will make during halftime.”
...
Chapter 874 - Countermeasures
In the dressing room, Nottingham Forest’s players were resting on the bench. The latter part of the first half was not the best period they played, and so nobody was in the mood to chit-chat. For a moment, there was just the sound of heavy breathing in the changing room.
Twain did not speak either. He had his back turned to everyone while he stared at his tactical board and he fell into deep thought. He imagined the tactical board as Bernabeu’s stadium and replayed what happened in the first half on the board.
Real Madrid had a strong sense of attacking hierarchy. The striker line, the forward line, the back line were all very excellent and consistent. Twain had a feeling while looking at the game in the first half — it was as if when the Real Madrid players were fighting for the header at the first ball landing spot, the second landing spot would always be in their perimeter, and it would be the opposite for Nottingham Forest. They could compete for the first landing spot, but had no control over its second landing spot, this then directed Real Madrid’s offense to be consistent and endless, while Nottingham Forest’s offense would a one-time affair.
This was determined by the quality of their midfielders and the tactics of the whole team.
Real Madrid, on the whole, were indeed stronger than Nottingham Forest, after experiencing their darkest years, the reformed Real Madrid finally found the path they were most familiar and excelled in. So what was the way to crack that?
Continue on the offense? No, they had to be diligent on defense as well. Defense is the foundation of everything, if the defense was not good, it would be futile no matter how many goals were scored. The morale gain from scoring a goal could not be compared to the morale lost from losing a goal.
They could not just focus on defense either, because if they expended all their resources on defense they could stop Real Madrid’s offense, but if they themselves were not able to score, the situation would only become more beneficial for Real Madrid as more time passed.
In reality, he thought of a way and although this approach was likely to be used by the outside world as a reason to attack him. But if he lost the game in the end, the pressure that he would have to bear would not be as much as simply losing the championships. Those voices criticizing him being “disgraceful because he lost the competition” would overwhelm him.
But he did not care what the outside world thought of him, because his reputation had been in tatters for a long time.
He turned and looked at his players.
“We would slightly adjust a little bit in the second half.” He opened his mouth and immediately attracted everyone’s attention. Their eyes were filled with a sense of trust and security that were sincere from their hearts. Yes, that was how much they trusted their coach. As long as he was still there, it meant it would not be a huge deal and that there was no issue. Tony would always have an idea to help them escape from a tricky situation. After so many years, they were long used to putting our sights on their captain whenever a dangerous situation occurred, to see what he was going to say.
“After the first time, I hope you guys confirmed this much: Real Madrid’s potential is a lot higher than our expectations.” He saw some uncertainty in the eyes of some players, hence he laughed, “Don’t try to deny it. After playing for 45 minutes, you guys still haven’t noticed the difference?”
Those uncertainties soon disappeared. It was really a situation which ruined their motivation and spirit, but they had no choice. Their own midfielder could only intercept and destroy, but the opposing midfield could reconstruct as easily, destruction with the same caliber as reconstructing would be one of a lower standard.
“It is now very obvious that compared to group offense, our midfielders excel more in intercepting and disrupting. This is our advantage and that is not available to Real Madrid. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.” Twain shook his head. “And I don’t think that’s a weakness. In fact, that’s the advantage we have and since it is a positive trait, we have to utilize it to the maximum.
“First of all, most of Real Madrid’s attack is on the ground, and they have more ground passes, midfielders often use the triangle formation to carry out their passes. Ribery is their core character and a lot of the ball goes through his feet. ”
Twain began to draw Real Madrid’s line-up on the tactical board. He repeated several strokes in the circle representing Ribery, making the circle extra thick and black and outstanding compared to the other circles.
“Next I want everyone to remember and do this on the court.” Twain poked the tactical board with his pen. “Whether it’s against Ribery or anyone else, and other than in the penalty area, I hope you guys are more rough with your actions. Don’t be afraid of fouling, kick their ankles.”
Some of the players whistled.
“Kick their ankles, knock into their thighs, pull their jerseys… Whatever you do, don’t let them take the ball easily.” Twain punched in the palm of his hand. “Completely disrupt the rhythm of Real Madrid’s game and don’t let them get comfortable with our play style.”
“This just destroys their defense, what about the offense, Chief?” Mitcher asked. He was a center-forward and he’s more concerned with scoring the ball in the game than defense.
“Don’t worry, Aaron. I’m getting there. Break their rhythm with fouls and rough moves, then when their midfield is in a quagmire, it’s our turn to take control of the situation. Let’s stick with our flank tactics. The wing-back, continue to advance. ”
In the end, the midfield was the key to everything. If the midfield lost control, it was useless no matter how sharp the side flanks were or how powerful the strikers we, just like a tank without fuel. It could only be a stationary cannon which would be beaten up by surrounding people. Once the midfielder was controlled, then it did not matter if it was defense or offense, it would be all simple. There would not be pressure on defense and there would be a lot of ways to attack.
“Nuri.” Twain called Sahin’s name and Sahin stood up to look at him. “Be a little more active In the second half but it’s not about being the core of the organization, it’s about attracting opposing defensive players … especially Diarra’s attention.”
Sahin knew what Twain was going to do, and he nodded. “Okay, coach.”
Twain then turned to Gago, “Fernando, in the second half you will organize our attack.”
Gago looked up at him. The jeers directed at him were limited in the first half since the Real Madrid fans did not target him in particular. But his performance in the first half was also bleak and Real Madrid fans thought he did not even deserve to be jeered at.
“Nuri would draw their defence from you and we’ll pass you the ball.You decide the way the team attacks. Is there any issues?”
Gago did not agree as readily as Sahin when he nodded, “Okay, coach.”
He was in a dilemma.
“This isn’t anything new, why are you hesitant now?” Twain asked.
“There’s no problem. I’m fine, coach,” Gago replied hurriedly.
Twain gave him another look and turned to Wood. “George, protect him.” For Wood, Twain’s order was much more simple and succinct.
Then Twain said to the team, “Try to be as simple as possible when attacking. I don’t hope to see my players still passing the ball when they’re still in front of an empty goalmouth. Don’t forget our Nottingham Forest’s tradition: substance over style. Passing the ball into the goal is not a great idea.”
“Then we’ll talk about something else.” Twain stared at everyone. “It’s a tough game because it’s the finals. None of you guys should even think about relying on luck. You won’t win if you don’t fight. ”
“We have 45 minutes left. I don’t know what adjustments Real Madrid will make,” Twain said, pointing to the group of players. “But one thing I’m sure of is that they’re not willing to settle for a draw here. This stadium is a regular venue for us in the finals, but for Real Madrid their home side means a lot of pressure for them. As long as we can cause them enough trouble, it will somehow stress them out. That’s our chance, be sure to seize it! Make them more impatient!”
When he saw Pepe’s eager expression, he glared at him. “Yeah, Pepe. About that missed the ball in the first half…”
Hearing what he said, Pepe’s eyebrows were immediately pulled down. His expressions immediately switched.
“You’ve got a yellow card now and in the second half you’d better be more decent. Things like kicking ankles, you’ll refrain from them in this half. I don’t care about your history with Ribery, I just want you to remember this is the final match!”
Pepe nodded hurriedly.
Twain clapped. “Guys, this is the last game. We’ve worked so hard this season and we’ve won two titles. There is no reason to give in in this last championship, what do you guys say?”
The team nodded in agreement, “Yes! ”
“I don’t want to mention that word, but it has to be in your mind countless times now. Each of you know what our target is, right? ”
“Yes!” The chorus of answers became even louder.
“Opportunity is in sight, what reason do we have to let it go? At Real Madrid’s home ground, snatch that championship tile back for me! ”
“Get it back!!”
Nottingham Forest’s image was inextricably tied to robbers. The media always advertised that they were Robin Hood’s heirs and their haters would angrily called them “a bunch of robbers”, using vile and despicable means to defend and snatch the championships which supposedly belonged to someone else. For instance, on the Argentinean forums, some people said, “Those who entered the finals are a bunch of thieves”.
Twain did not think there was anything wrong with these nicknames. Instead, he liked what people called them. Because when they are shouting that “Nottingham Forest are thieves and robbers”, their tone could not hide the fear they had. No matter how hard they tried to express their disdain, it was evident that their fear was bone-deep. The only ones who did not notice were them.
But it did not matter, Twain would soon make them realise why they once hated Nottingham Forest so much. There were only so many championship segments, but there were plenty of ambitious teams that wanted to win those titles. Yet when the Nottingham Forest appeared, the European football field which had seemed to be dead and monotonous, had started a bloody rainstorm. Nottingham Forest rose in the west as a rookie and soon swept England and continental Europe. “When they were in their prime, their name had basically been replacing champions. Today, after being dormant for a few years, under Twain’s leadership, Nottingham Forest have revived, and their aim was still going for the championships.”
Those people were afraid because Nottingham Forest wanted to get back what belonged to them: the championships.
※※※
When the team walked out into the field, Twain called Gago over. There were words he wanted to say to the Argentinian alone.
The other teammates had already ran out, and Twain accompanied Gago at the back, while walking and saying to him, “Fernando, I don’t care what ways you use. Now your task is simple: to find a way to get the football to the feet of our players. You’re in a more defensive position than Nuri, but a little ahead of George. So you don’t have to be afraid to lose the ball, the other side’s defensive attention at the beginning would be on Nuri.”
Gago nodded frequently, this time he could not add any additional comments. The coach spoke very fast and loud, and the scene was noisy. Even if he wanted to say anything, he would be overwhelmed by the coach’s speech.
“I want you to hide behind Nuri, try as many through balls as you can. Real Madrid’s defence is not the best and they lack enough protection behind them. Ramos and Marcelo, in particular, are two wing-backs who love assisting the offense so much that they will only attack more often rather than defending in the second half. You have to make use of the space between them and the full backs which is behind them.”
“Pass more balls towards that space?” Gago finally got the chance to interject his opinions.
Twain nodded. “Yeah, there are two of our wingers there, and the spot you’re passing to is the most awkward place in their defence. Ramos and Marcelo like assisting the offense and you can take advantage of their back…”
“Okay, coach. But you said that just before this.”
“In short, your passing direction would be towards the two wingers and the assisting strikers. Let Nuri take charge of the middle road. Don’t hold the ball for too long, being a defensive midfielder, you need to be more instinctive. If there is a chance, just pass forward, if not, just pass the ball back. Regardless, don’t let the ball stay under your foot for too long. ”
“I see, coach. ”
Hearing what Twain said, Gago felt a little more secure.
“Also, help me pass word to George and the others.” Twain suddenly laughed, “Stick close to Diarra and snatch the ball, upon the snatch, just start the counter attack!”
Gago was not a fool, he naturally understood why. Diarra loved to take the ball into the midfield and he also had the issue of hogging the ball. When Gago was still at Real Madrid, he had already seen this issue. Most of the time this habit did not bring any much trouble, and instead it might let others feel that his tactics were impressive, while being excellent on defense, he could also be capable of mid fielding.
But if he came across a team whose midfielder was able to intercept the ball, then he would be simply looking for a death wish. Intercepting the ball from the defensive midfielder, the opposing could immediately face the defensive line, or sometimes even facing the goalkeeper.
Gago nodded firmly. “I know what I’m supposed to do, coach.”
Twain patted him on the shoulder and pushed him out onto the field. “Then go!”
※※※
Evan Doughty repressed the idea of going to the locker room to find Twain. His brain was still clear. He knew that it was a big taboo to get into the dressing room at this time.
But he could not suppress his inner displeasure.
At the end of the half, Florentino shook his hand. His attitude was basically even more arrogant as compared to himself before the start of the match.
A few years ago, he would not be treated the same way when Nottingham Forest had been dominating in the European region. Even if his team was playing against Real Madrid, the Real Madrid coach back then, Calderon respected him.
Now that Real Madrid had a different chairman, they were back on their feet. His team, on the other hand, experienced a low point after Twain’s heart attack, with much less influence in European region than it used to be.
This was a very realistic world that only respected the strongest.
No strength meant no position.
Evan did not growl when he was angry, he would just find an empty corner and rage in silence.
Alan accompanied him. In fact, he was also worried. what if Tony Twain’s team lost to Real Madrid? He did not dare ask the question, as he knew Evan was still in a fit of anger. He was usually smiley and harmonious so if he were to actually get angry, it would turn out very nasty.
Just then, as soon as the second half began, Evan then said to Alan, “Come on, Alan. Let’s go back. ”
The two men left the rest area and walked to the podium outside.
By the time they came here, the players from both sides had already started to have players walking out onto the field. Florentino’s position was still empty though.
Until the start of the second half, his side’s position was always empty.
He did not know what Florentino was doing, and he did not want to care what the man was doing. But he still felt that he, himself was humiliated.
If this was a match against Barcelona in Derby, would Florentino dare to be late in front of La Porta? He probably would hate to miss even a minute of the game.
Nottingham Forest’s capabilities was a little weaker. To him, such a team would not be able to threaten Real Madrid so it would be alright and perfectly fine to miss a few minutes of such a competition. This match would definitely not be as important as what he was currently busy with.
As for what he was busy with, no one knew. Maybe he simply wanted to go to the bathroom, maybe he was talking to someone, maybe he forgot the time while he was resting.
In short, when Nottingham Forest went on the pitch against Real Madrid and launched a counter-attack, the space beside Evan Doughty was still very empty.
(To be continued, if you want to know what happens next, please log in to www.qidian.com for more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading! )
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Chapter 875 - A Wonderful Goal
The camera was turned to the rostrum of Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. It was just a routine act. However, when they found that Florentino was not in his position, the camera stopped moving. The commentator also started to talk about it with a tone of ridicule: “Florentino is late. He is late in the second half of such an important match! No matter what the reason is, it will definitely make Evan Doughty have some ideas…”
Then, the camera gave Evan a close-up shot. He was looking at the pitch with a blank look. Displeasure couldn’t be seen in his face. However, people knew that what the commentator had said was right when they saw Evan’s straight face.
***
Twain was standing on the sideline at this moment. The tactical adjustments he had made at halftime had worked.
The players of Real Madrid were not used to the ferocious tackle of Nottingham Forest. Within the first three minutes of the second half, Forest had two fouls for ankle-kicking.
The two victims were Ribéry and Ronaldo. In this way, Real Madrid’s offense was contained. When the players of Real Madrid were thinking about the situation on the pitch and possible countermeasures, the hidden wolves of Nottingham Forest had launched their attack.
At halftime, Míchel had asked Diarra to take on more work in offense because Ribéry had been marked by Forest. If Ribéry was snuffed out, Diarra should run the offensive.
Diarra had always said that he was a great offensive and defensive player. It was a pity that most of the time he had to act as a defensive midfielder. In this match, he found plenty of opportunities to satisfy his craving in organizing the offense. And he decided to put on a good show this time.
In front of Wood’s defensive block, Ribéry hesitated a bit and passed the ball to Diarra behind him.
After receiving the ball, Diarra turned around and shook off Gago, who was trying to stop him. Then, he continued to run forward with the ball.
This time George Wood left Ribéry and started to rush towards Diarra.
Seeing that, Diarra didn’t pass the pall immediately. It seemed that he was still trying to control the ball, so that he could find a better chance to pass it.
When Wood rushed towards Diarra, it was the best time for Diarra to pass the ball. It was a pity that Diarra didn’t do that. Twain, who was standing on the sideline, smiled when he saw this scene. He grinned from ear to ear and almost laughed out loud!
When Diarra saw Wood, who was running towards him at a high speed, he used his old tricks to turn around after a sudden stop. He liked this trick very much, and always used it on the pitch. As a defensive midfielder, he was strong enough to keep his opponent away from the ball. Then, he would fool his opponent by adjusting his body’s center of gravity. In this way, he could abruptly turn around in the opposite direction and shake off his opponent. So, the key point of this dribbling was to keep the opponent behind his back. If he could do that, his trick would be half done—a defensive player was always good at boxing out his opponent on the pitch…
Unfortunately, he was facing George Wood this time.
Before Diarra had enough time to turn around, Wood had rushed up and appeared in front of him. Then, Wood bumped Diarra aside, and Diarra lost control of the ball immediately. Now, both of them had the opportunity to touch the ball. If Diarra tried to box out Wood forcibly, he would have a blocking foul…
Diarra tried to get his position back by pushing back his opponent with his body. However, he didn’t expect to be boxed out by Wood, unable to move a step.
At last, George Wood managed to take the ball away from Diarra. Then, he passed the ball to Gago.
The fans of Forest on the grandstand clapped their hands for Wood’s successful defense. Meanwhile, Twain was also applauding on the sideline. He believed his team would score a goal soon if Real Madrid continued to play like this without making any tactical adjustments.
Gago, whose intention to pass the ball forward was quite obvious, was intercepted by Ramos.
Real Madrid launched an offensive again.
As expected, the ball was passed to Diarra again, as well.
And again, Diarra didn’t pass the ball to his teammates immediately.
Seeing that, Twain continued to smile coldly.
Now, Wood was standing in front of Diarra calmly once again.
This time Diarra didn’t turn around. He planned to move the ball to one side and dribble past Wood by outrunning him.
Unfortunately, he underestimated the reaction speed of Wood’s body…
When he had just moved the ball out, Wood’s left leg had bounced out like a compressed spring. The next moment, Wood touched the ball first!
Diarra, who couldn’t stop his body, bumped into Wood. Bentley, who was beside them, got the ball.
Now, Twain smiled even more.
Diarra realized that Bentley had gotten the ball. At this moment, he was being stopped by George Wood. So, he was terribly frightened.
He was not a fool, because he knew what would happen when a defensive midfielder lost possession of the ball in the midfield…
He left Wood and rushed towards Bentley immediately. Like a cheetah, he was so agile that he caught up with Bentley, who was 10 meters away from him, within two steps.
It was a pity that his opponent didn’t like shaking off one defender after another. When Bentley saw Diarra rushing towards him, he passed the ball to Wood.
Diarra turned around and was about to intercept Wood.
Wood immediately passed the ball to Gago, who was in the front field.
Real Madrid’s offense had just been stopped. Ribery and Diarra were still in the half court of Forest at this moment. Now, only 3 defenders of Real Madrid were still at the rear…Ramos had run across the halfway line because he planned to set up the offense.
When Şahin saw that the ball was under the control of Gago, he prepared to receive the ball immediately. He rapidly ran diagonally in the front court and gave Gago a sign, so that Gago could pass the ball to him.
Garay knew that Forest’s offensive midfielder was the playmaker of the team. So, Garay started to run after Şahin and tried to catch up with him. Luis was marking Mitchell, who was over two meters tall. For a moment, nobody was trying to stop Gago.
Gago found an obvious passing lane. Ramos had run forward to assist the offense. Behind him, there was a big gap which would disappear soon. If Gago failed to take this opportunity, he would have to wait for the next time…
Matías Fernández also saw that gap. So, he shook off Ramos and started to run forward rapidly.
Ramos also noticed that something was wrong. He turned around and started to chase Fernández. Ramos was confident that he could stop Fernández because he was not a “pacey” player.
However, when he fixed his eyes on the Chilean, he didn’t know that someone was sprinting behind the two of them like a shadow…
Suddenly, Fernández cut inside, and Ramos did the same by following him.
Just at this time, Gago passed the ball out.
A slightly curved ground ball went past Fernández. He and Ramos, who was running behind him, failed to touch the ball.
Was it a bad pass?
No!
Ramos saw a figure rush up from one side of his body and receive the ball. Then, the figure changed his direction. In this way, the figure managed to make a break in front of Ramos.
“That’s Gareth Bale! What a fantastic break!” the commentator shouted excitedly. The second half had just started, less than five minutes ago. Nottingham Forest got a good opportunity again.
“Gago’s pass broke Real Madrid’s defense! It’s wonderful!”
After receiving the ball, Bale cut inside and dashed towards the penalty area. The defenders of Real Madrid got flustered. Garay left Şahin and rushed towards the Wales fullback.
Bale took this opportunity to pass the ball to Şahin, who was free from defenders.
However, the pass was misplaced. Although Şahin received the ball, he had lost the chance to shoot immediately. Even worse, in order to receive this ball, which was poorly passed, he had to put his back to the goalmouth…
Diarra was running back, and was about to intercept Şahin, who was still outside the penalty area. So, it was okay to foul him. Şahin’s gesture reminded Diarra of Forest’s goal in the first half. If he passed the ball back to George Wood…
He couldn’t even think about it!
Diarra tried his best to catch up with Şahin. Now, he had overwhelmed his opponent on the momentum.
However, Şahin didn’t want to pass the ball to Wood or Gago. Also, he didn’t turn around to shoot. He just glanced over his shoulder as he kicked the ball out with his foot.
It was a back heel two-versus-one pass!
After passing the ball to Şahin, Bale didn’t stop, but continued to rush forward due to inertia. If Şahin decided to make a two-versus-one pass, he would pass the ball back to Bale. Otherwise, Bale could still attract the attention of Real Madrid’s defenders by rushing forward…
When he was running side by side with Luis, he looked sideways and saw the silver-white ball rolling towards him.
At this time, the best choice would be to shoot with his right foot. But Bale was a left-footed player. So, he leaned sideways to let the ball past him. Then, he swung his left leg and gave the ball…a volley shot directly!
The ball drew a small curve and flew rapidly towards the near corner of the goalmouth.
Forest’s counterattack was so fast that the defenders of Real Madrid had no time to react. When Bale and Şahin had finished the two-versus-one pass, nobody was marking Bale, who was facing the goalkeeper of Real Madrid directly…
Casillas did his best to make the save. But he was still a half-step slow. The ball flew into the goalmouth through the gap between his fingertips and the goalpost!
The ball sighed as it collided with the goal net. There was also a sigh in Casillas’s heart…As the No. 1 goalkeeper in the world, he didn’t expect he could lose two balls in one match!
“Oh-oh-oh!” The English commentator started to yell crazily. What did he see? “This is the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium! Nottingham Forest took the lead twice against Real Madrid!”
“2:1! Nottingham Forest took the lead again!”
“Casillas could do nothing to stop that! In front of Nottingham Forest’s well-planned offense, one man’s effort was really…insignificant!”
Tony Twain jumped up as he saw the goal on the sideline. Then, he started to yell together with the fans as he waved his arms crazily. It was just like Luciano Pavarotti singing “Nobody Shall Sleep Tonight” in front of tens of thousands of audiences members! “Vanish, Night! Set, stars! Set, stars! At dawn, I will win! I will win! I will win!”
***
Florentino’s lateness was not caused by unexpected events. Just now, he had had a few simple conversations with Spain’s Prime Minister. The Prime Minister was commending Real Madrid’s good performance tonight as he held Florentino’s hand. Therefore, it was impossible for Florentino to walk away and leave the Prime Minister out there, because he didn’t put on airs in front of others deliberately.
He talked politely with the Prime Minister about some issues with Real Madrid. The No. 2 leader of the Spanish government, who was second only to the King, was a devoted fan of Real Madrid. He even had a membership card for Real Madrid. The Prime Minister joked that he had elected Florentino as the President of the club. Hearing that, Florentino could do nothing but smile obsequiously.
The former Prime Minister of Spain, who had been a 100-percent fan of FC Barcelona, disliked Real Madrid. During his term of office, Barcelona had hit its peak. However, Real Madrid had had some shaky moments during that period.
Now, they had a new Prime Minister. and good luck had also started to favor Real Madrid. They had managed to enter the Champions League final, and were quite likely to pick up the club’s 10th championship trophy club. It was really a joyous time!
The Prime Minister was nosy enough to ask Florentino about Real Madrid’s possible star player recruitment plan for that summer. Who would be able to catch the eyes of the new Galácticos this time?
In this way, the two of them talked…for five minutes.
When the Prime Minister realized that he second half had started, he ended the conversation apologetically. Then, the two of them walked towards the corridor of the grandstand side by side.
While Florentino was still in the corridor, he heard a cheer coming from one side of the grandstand, which was not very loud. Then, a cheer which was much louder came in.
His heart hitched abruptly—did this mean that Real Madrid had taken the lead?
At this moment, he tried his best to control his pace to outspeed the Spanish Prime Minister. However, the Prime Minister, who seemed to be more anxious, walked up to the grandstand in quick steps.
Then, he was surprised by what he saw. On the spacious pitch, the players in red were gathering and cheering in front of Real Madrid’s goalmouth!
Apparently, a goal had just been scored. And the scoring side was definitely not Real Madrid…
The Prime Minister just stood there, frozen in his stance. At this time, Florentino Pérez walked out. Instead of checking what was happening on the pitch, he tossed his eyes to the big screen on the other side of the grandstand. The latest score of the 2 teams could be found there.
It was 1:2.
The home team was at the front and the away team was at the back…
The team which was taking the lead was not Real Madrid!
A look of surprise came over Florentino’s usually smiling face for the first time. This might have been his only change of expression that day. He turned to the pitch and saw that the players of Nottingham Forest, dressed in red, were celebrating the goal. The players of Real Madrid were rooted to the spot in despair.
“What…happened just now?”
***
Evan Doughty got a feeling of exaltation at this moment. Florentino, who was always smiling ritually, was not sitting beside him now. So Evan wouldn’t need to congratulate him with a toothy smile if Real Madrid could level the score again.
At this time, he stood up from his chair and cheered for his team as he waved his arms without restraint. He kept shouting in English, “Well done! Well done! Pull them down! Pull them down!”
Allan Adams, who was sitting beside Evan, was surprised by the crazy reaction of his old friend.
Luckily, the Spanish around them didn’t understand Evan’s American English. Also, Florentino was not here…otherwise, they would have been totally embarrassed at this moment.
Evan Doughty, who had just finished his cheering, turned around and said to Allan in surprise, “I didn’t expect you didn’t cheer for this f*cking wonderful goal!”
“Eh, I cheered for it just now, and have just sat down…” Allan was even more shocked when he heard Evan’s dirty word.
“It is really a pity!” Evan glanced at the empty seat beside him. “I really want to know what that old guy’s expression is like now! Tell me, can he still keep his iconic smile now, Allan?”
Allan turned around to have a look. Then, he said as he looked at his old friend with a smile, “I don’t know. But if you are interested in that, you can check it for yourself! He is just over there!”
After being reminded by Allan, Evan Doughty turned around and easily found Florentino, who was in a daze. He also saw Florentino’s puzzled expression.
Then, Evan sat down as he smiled delightedly. Meanwhile, he said as he smoothed the collar of his suit, “I am ready to shake hands with that guy. Then, I will tell him with a smile that he has just missed the best goal of the match!” When Evan said that, his eyes were glowing in his face.
***
“In the Champions League final of the ’13-’14 season, Gareth Bale of Nottingham Forest scored a goal! Now, Forest is taking a 2-1 lead against Real Madrid! For Tony Twain, this is definitely a wonderful night!”
“I don’t agree with you, Jerry! The second half just started five minutes ago. Real Madrid still has 40 minutes. I believe they will be 200% powerful in their familiar home stadium. So, it is still too early to say that Nottingham Forest has dominated the match…”
“OK! Then, let’s enjoy the second half of this exciting match—which has just begun!”
...
Chapter 876 - A Dramatic First Act
To Madrid, this little slip-up was not a nail in the coffin. With 40 minutes left to the match, they were confident that they could still come back.
Coach Michels did, however, note a potential problem: With Diarra spending so much time dribbling in center field, the safety of their goal seemed to be in jeopardy.
So, as Nottingham F.C. celebrated their goal, he called Diarra over for a word.
“Listen up, I think you’ve been holding on to the ball too much, and for far too long. Your puppy-guarding might have cost us that goal.” He stared solemnly at Diarra as he spoke.
The player realised his error and replied. “I understand, coach. So you want me to hold on to the ball less?”
Michels shook his head, replying “No, it’s not like that. If you hold on to the ball less, how’ll you move it around the field for us? No, what I want is for you not to keep it under your feet for so long.” And then he demonstrated what he meant, and as he did so, he was suddenly reminded of a rival player, George Wood. But when he opened his mouth again to speak, this name didn’t come out.
“All I mean to say is that the defense they’ve set up in the center field is pretty tight. If you cut down on the time you’re keeping the ball underfoot, it’s more likely you’ll manage to break their defense, and less likely you’ll get intercepted.
Diarra listened to this and nodded. “Alright, I got it, coach.”
Michels then continued, deciding that now he had voiced his criticism, it was time for some reassurance. “Listen, don’t take that goal to heart. We’ve still got forty minutes, and that’s plenty of time to make a comeback. If you see Gago breaking into the others’ formation, I want you to pay attention. Make sure you work with him.
Once Diarra had gotten the idea, he ran back out onto the pitch.
Then, standing at his post beside the field, Michels began clapping heartily, in support of his team. He was clapping in the hopes that they would stir themselves back into motion; that they would remember their strength and their vigor. He wanted for them to regain hope; to not be trodden down by their lost goal.
※※※
Florentino finally snapped to his senses and ran back to his position. As he went Evan Doughty, the big-shot from Spain, approached him wearing a smile. Florentino was tempted not to shake the man’s hand and instead say something provocative — but in the end, reason prevailed, and he decided to bury the hatchet, at least for the time being.
He passed Doughty by, wearing a steady expression on his face. It seemed as though he was simply still focused on figuring out how he had lost the ball, and hadn’t noticed Doughty whatsoever.
The two of them sat simultaneously, and focused their attention on the game as it continued on.
※※※
Once again, Nottingham F.C. took dominance over the pitch. They surrounded Real Madrid’s goal and targeted it with an unrelenting blitz of shots, leaving the opposing team little time to breathe. Unfortunately for them, Casillas was on top of things, and after successfully blocking three separate goals, he came out victorious.
However, he had some things to say about the holes in his team’s defense. Picking himself up off the ground, he called them out:
“Don’t let them get shots in so easily! I don’t care if they’re right up close or far away!”
“Watch out for Gago’s back plug!”
“Remember: the wings and the ribs!”
And finally, under his guidance, Madrid’s defense snapped back into action.
Nottingham Forest tried multiple times to break Madrid once again, but each time they were unsuccessful. Eventually, they began to draw back in order to regain their strength.
Then, the game fell into a stalemate. Both sides attempted to break through the other’s defenses, but were unable. So, the game was very much trapped in the midfield.
Diarra stayed true to his word and abandoned his preferred play-style. Instead of holding on to the ball, he got in the habit of holding it for no more than a second before passing it off again. This time, Nottingham wasn’t prepared, and it showed. Gago dove for the ball, but ended up kicking thin air. Diarra’s strategy also had the effect of exhausting Nottingham’s defense, keeping them ever on their toes with his rapid, unpredictable passes.
Dunn too noticed this sudden change in tactics, and he glanced over at Michel.
The Real Madrid coach was no ordinary man. He has seen the problem and not only had he solved it, but he had also managed to turn things to his advantage… Now, Dunn needed to find someway to open Madrid’s defenses again.
His only option was to temporarily take Gago off of Diarra’s back, thus solidifying Nottingham’s retreat and furthering the stalemate.
As long as Diarra kept on immediately passing, the other team would not bother him. But as soon as he held on to the ball for even a second too long, Gago would be on him like a hawk.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the pitch, Ribéry stayed glued to George Wood. Ronaldo and Higuain lay idly to the sides on their wing positions. Madrid’s new “shoot from the ankle” tactics were garnering plenty of boos and hisses from the audience. Their opponents, meanwhile, were given three yellow cards, but despite this, things didn’t look too bad. Madrid had obviously still not fully adapted to their new strategy. Huntelaar and Benzema had resorted to taking the middle field, where their threat on the enemy goal was too little.
※※※
Time went on slowly, second-to-second and minute-to-minute. Soon enough they had reached the final 30 minutes of the second half, and neither team had managed to break the other’s defenses.
Nottingham, on their part, certainly were not worried. Sure, winning with a one-goal lead was not an absolute guarantee, but given the fact that they were playing in the finals, it seemed relatively likely. Dunn’s team decided upon a strategy of consistently diffusing Madrid’s attacks, whilst waiting for opportunities to fire back.
Real Madrid steadily began to lose their patience. They were playing a home match and were still down one point, while only fifteen minutes remained on the clock. Losing this match would mean failing to win a cup in their own Bernabéu Stadium.
In other words, it was something that they could absolutely not let happen.
Michel went to work, making some bold changes that not even Dunn could have predicted. Instead of substituting in any players, he opted to move around the players he already had out on field. Marcelo was sent midfield, Higuain was sent to the front, Ronaldo was returned to his much preferred right side, and Ramos was sent backfield to be a rear guard.
And thus Madrid’s formation changed from a 442 to a decidedly more aggressive 343.
When Dunn saw this he wore at first a look of astonishment, which then turned into a smile, and he began to chuckle to himself. Surely these kind of all-in offense tactics were not suitable to Real Madrid and Michel Gonzales! It seemed hasty; not a terribly well-planned move.
Dunn thought a moment, then decided on a strategy: They would not pursue any immediate goals and would instead play heavy defense, tiring out Madrid’s players. Then, at the last moment, they would bear down and score one final, fatal goal.
He whistled to his players and began to convey this with hand signals.
The changes on the pitch were plain to see: all of a sudden, Madrid’s offense had strengthened considerably, and Nottingham’s counter-offence had all but ceased. Madrid’s fans, who had earlier been silent and disappointed, has been reinvigorated and had returned to cheering and chanting their team on. They were elated again, and they yearned for victory.
One reason that football is such a wonderful game is that no matter how carefully the coaches on either side arrange their teams, and no matter how methodically they plan their strategies, there is always a tendency for the unexpected to prevail, and for the game to rocket off into some unforeseen direction.
Take, for example, the plan set forth by Michel Gonzales. He set his team forth on an all-or-nothing offensive strategy, and for a time, it did work. However, Nottingham F.C. had a decade of hard tempered will on their side. An aggressive front line did nothing to scare or intimidate them. They kept their heads.
Five more minutes passed, and some intermittent hissing could once again be heard from the audience. Hearing this, Dunn started to laugh once more. So, Madrid’s fans are ready to start crying? Then let’s put the pressure back on their team!
※※※
Ribéry lay on the ground again, rolling around in pain from taking a vicious kick. The offending player from Nottingham, Rafinha, was given a yellow card; his team’s fifth accrued throughout the match. Madrid, on the other hand, had a squeaky-clean slate: no cards the entire match.
Pepe came over to investigate, peering at the man as he lay there on the ground — he was sure that the Frenchman must be faking!
But he stayed by his teammate Woodgate’s side. It was a fortunate thing that Woodgate had such a quick grasp. Otherwise, if Pepe had been allowed to descend aggressively on the downed player, what sort of trouble would he have attracted? Surely Madrid would have played up the offense enough to earn Pepe his second yellow card, thus taking him out of the match.
Pepe’s energy had been undeniable throughout the match, so naturally, all eyes were on him.
“Bastard! You’re faking!” Pepe yelled, still at Woodgate’s side.
Ribéry pulled himself up off the ground, but did not respond. Instead he headed off, with a slight limp still visible in his step. It was unclear if the limp was genuine or not.
But this was just a brief episode. In a final match, when tension is high and emotions run blurry and intense, such fights are expected, and quickly forgotten. The match continued on.
Ribéry took his free kick on Nottingham, and he gave their keeper, Akinfeev, quite a hard time indeed. Ronaldo descended, sending out an inner pass that darted straight towards the goal box. He thought, if another player could just come up from midfield at just the right time… we could have a goal in no time.
But no such player came, and soon both teams flocked in on the ball all at once, generating a tangle of scrambling players. Akinfeev darted in and kicked the ball, hard.
The ball flew up and away from the goal, but all was not over yet. Right as the ball was careening away, a Madrid player was seen on the ground where the crowd of players had formed. From the stands, bellows were heard. “Penalty kick! Penalty kick! Penalty kick!”
The referee said nothing, but the player who had fallen, Christiano Ronaldo, attracted a furious glare from his opponent, Bell. The man came over and got very close to Ronaldo, his eyes blazing and his nostrils flaring as he sputtered angry abuse at the downed player.
Akinfeev and two Madrid players quickly dashed in and separated the two.
“That’s a penalty kick!” Benzema yelled at the referee while shoving Bell away.
“Why don’t you go kick your mother?” Someone yelled back. It was Rafinha, still seething after taking a yellow card.
Seeing the building conflict, the remaining clear-headed players on each team rushed in to deescalate.
Because there was no direct physical violence between many of the players, the referee decided not to give out any cards. Instead, he called Rafinha, Benzema, Ronaldo, and Bell aside, and he gave them all verbal warnings. He tried to get them to shake hands and forget about their conflict, but the four men turned their backs and sauntered away, paying him no further attention.
He shook his head in disappointment. This game, it turned out, would be no different from all the others: both sides were reflexively hostile, and they would be til the end. He just hoped no one would overstep their bounds… if that was even possible.
The referee stood still awhile in the same place, his expression reading equal parts disappointed and angry. But, he knew his best option was to turn the other cheek, and let the game go on. The players were set in their hostile ways, and there was little more he could do about it but to try and bear through the rest of the match.
Dunn watched this from the sidelines, wearing a smile. Go ahead and keep whistling, he thought, and stretch the final ten minutes out with more injury time!
Michel saw Dunn’s expression and knew what he was thinking. He jogged up to the side of the field, not showing the usual elegance of a big-shot coach, and he yelled out to his team, “Come on, get back in there! Let’s get this going! We’re still behind!”
His shouts prompted Real Madrid to drop their anger with the referee, and they snapped back into the mindset of playing the game.
Seeing this, Dunn blew his whistle. Sure enough, he thought, he isn’t a complete dunce. Maybe he isn’t so stupid after all.
※※※
The match continued again, and the energy from the stands was not lessened at all. Real Madrid’s fans and players alike all felt that the referee had been unfair, and the anger of both teams was quite apparent as time went on. Nottingham Forest had taken to shooting from the heel for nearly 45 minutes, and Madrid’s fans were getting noticeably angry.
Both teams’ plays started to get bigger and more dramatic, and pushes for goals became much more frequent.
Ultimately, the referee had no choice but to give Madrid a yellow card, which soothed tensions on the pitch a little. Since this was the team’s first yellow card in the match, Dunn stood up and clapped for them. The mocking nature of this gesture was quite clear, though, and he was chided by a fourth official, who called out, “hey, watch it!” The official came over and said to him “you need to mind the way you conduct yourself, Tony Dunn.”
The game was at 87 minutes and the score was 2 to 1, with Nottingham Forest F.C. in the lead.
Nottingham’s benched players all stood at the side of the pitch, buzzing excitedly. They were eagerly awaiting the moment when they would at last be awarded their Treble, for which they had waited so long.
Even Dunn’s co-coaches were up, and they stood with the players, just as excited.
Dunn was excited too, but he had to hide it. If his team were to see him looking happy already, they would get smug, and then they would get sloppy. Even if there were only five minutes left, plus a few more for injury time; he knew that they could still be in serious danger if they didn’t have their wits about them.
At this point, he knew that it would be no good to keep striving for more goals. Instead, it would be best to play defensively, thus keeping their lead for the remaining time. At the 80 minute mark, he had traded out Sahin for Kompany, who joined up to make a three-point defensive line. The coach conveyed this new strategy to the rest of the team.
Gago’s strategy was to change as well. Instead of being there to assist, he was told to work with Wood in the midfield, such that they could pull apart Madrid’s offense.
The indignant murmuring of the crowd grew and grew, and increasingly it became hard to tell whether they were angry at Nottingham, Madrid, or the referee.
Up on the stand, the two men there were unable to hide their feelings. Florentino wore a grave expression, and Evan Doughty had an unmistakable grin. Undoubtedly, he was smiling because at long last, it seemed as though the great Real Madrid would be forced to bow its head.
He cheered internally for Tony Dunn, and tried not to look too visibly arrogant… wow, he thought, this is hard.
※※※
Michel stood to his side, almost appearing as though he no longer had a plan. In the last 10 minutes, he had switched out two players: Diarra had been replaced by De la Red, and then shortly after, Vallejo had replaced David Luiz.
Seeing these two substitutions, Dunn couldn’t help but grin. He figured Michel must be crazy after all.
We’re right at the final stretch, he thought, you can’t kill me now! Don’t you see that it’s I who shall kill you?
A man who is barefoot doesn’t fret wearing shoes, but the opposite is not always true. Now, it appeared that the great and dignified team Real Madrid, practically royalty, would have no choice but to get its feet in the mud.
Seeing that Real Madrid was beginning to play more aggressively, and with more imposing strength, Dunn began to doubt his team’s safety. Their only option, he told himself, was to keep on retreating. The game was getting ugly, and he needed to maintain his team’s safety.
All they needed to do was hold out for a few more minutes… a few more minutes…
Dunn repeated those words to himself over and over in his head, not realising that he had now clenched both of his fists. Sweat dripped down his brow.
※※※
Real Madrid’s sudden shock-and-awe, almost lunatic tactics succeeded in finally frightening some of Nottingham Forest’s players. Three forwards, five midfielders, and two defenders had managed to encircle the team onto one half of the pitch.
Real Madrid had abandoned shooting from the ankle, and they held their position on Nottingham’s half of the pitch with strength and persistence. They were no longer worried about how Nottingham would play the rest of the game — as long as the ball kept coming to them, they kept launching attacks. They were relentless.
As this transpired, Nottingham F.C. shrunk back into their shell, like a threatened turtle
On the stand, Evan Doughty’s smile had begun to fade. Next to him, Florentino watched the match as though he was just a fan. His gaze darted around nervously, paying no attention to the people around him as their expressions began to change.
The fourth official stood to the side, holding up his electronic board. He thought to himself, it looks like I’m going to have to call injury time soon.
Dunn shot glances at the fourth official, wishing he would stop standing around, looking cute. The sooner he got onto the pitch and called injury time, the sooner they could end the match. He knew they couldn’t be that far off from the 90 minute mark.
Call it, he thought, just call injury time! We’ve been here for 90 minutes, haven’t we? Don’t tell me there’s still more time left on the clock!
Inside, he cheered himself and his team on, deciding it would do no good to keep obsessing over how much time was left. Then, he looked over and saw that unexpectledly, Ribéry had finally broken past Wood in a sudden attack!
Wood’s face wore an expression of utter shock. Not long before, Ribéry had been limping, his foot apparently injured. It was for this reason that Wood had slacked a bit when defending against the player — he didn’t expect the guy would suddenly spring back into action!
In that period of time, Ribéry had already closed the distance to the penalty box.
Pepe immediately rushed in, and yelled “They’re in! Come on, they’re in! Wake up, you old geezers!”
But he was moving just a little too slow, and Ribéry was already getting too close, almost ready to line up a shot. Pepe reached out and lightly pushed the player’s shoulder with his hand…
Ribéry, who had just a moment earlier been darting like a rabbit, all of a sudden came crashing down like a bomb.
He crashed to the ground and sprawled out on all four limbs.
Everyone was totally shocked by this sudden development.
Tony Dunn was standing now.
“Penalty Kick! Penalty kick! Penalty kick!” Now it was not just the crowd who was yelling, but the commentator had joined in as well, sounding outraged with what he had just seen.
Everyone turned their gaze to see the referee, who was running out onto the pitch, gesturing with his hands… for a penalty kick.
Up on the stand, Evan Doughty’s expression had shifted to something akin to one who has just eaten a plate of live caterpillars. How exciting, he thought, how very exciting it is, this match… (To be continued! Head to www.qidian.com to read more, support the author, and to show your support for real writing.)
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Chapter 877 - Conflict
When Ribéry fell in the Nottingham Forest’s penalty area, Evan Doughty, who was seated in the Executive Box, had a very interesting expression on his face as he looked like he ate a plate of caterpillars. But the exciting event was happening on the pitch and not off it.
Pepe thought that he pushed Ribéry very softly and it would interrupt Ribéry’s action for a little, thus preventing him from having an opportunity to take a volley. However, he did not expect Ribéry to take advantage of it and fall inside the Forest penalty area. That was a penalty kick!
Pepe suddenly flared up while watching Ribéry lying on the ground, a surge of fire rushed into his head and his eyes turned red immediately.
First, he gave a direct kick to Ribéry’s leg with so much force that he lost his balance too and fell next to Ribéry.
The matter was not over yet. He then pressed onto Ribéry’s head and roared into his ears while gritting his teeth, “You’re a lying, shameless scoundrel!! Bastard! You…son of a b*tch!”
He wanted to continued screaming but he realized that Ribéry’s face was crushed so much that its shape had changed under his full force.
This scene was really terrifying for anyone witnessing it.
Pepe was not aware of it at all. He was still using force and he was still screaming. Even after he got up, he was still trying to aim a kick towards Ribéry.
“Pepe!” Bale tried his best to stop Pepe while Woodgate stood in front of Pepe, preventing him from lunging at Ribéry.
Ribéry was still on the ground.
The Real Madrid players had already rushed over to defend Ribéry. Higuaín went forward to argue with Pepe, but Pepe launched a punch towards Higuaín’s face across Woodgate!
Pepe was totally different from the usual impression of a benign and uncontentious person that he gave people. He was as furious as a thunderstorm and everyone standing ahead of him had to be prepared to receive his wrath.
“Damn it, he’s trying to punch people!” Benzema rushed over to try and exact vengeance on Pepe. He watched Higuaín squat down clutching his face and it looked like it was not a light punch.
He was cordoned off by the Forest players before he could go over.
The players from both sides clustered together in that small area, pushing and shoving each other while spouting vulgarities. For a moment, it was a totally chaotic situation.
Even though Bale and Woodgate were holding on to Pepe and trying to separate him, Pepe still kept trying to escape their hold to go towards Ribéry. At the same time, he kept shouting, “You liar! Don’t dive if you have the guts! Damn traitor! Diving for a penalty, useless fellow! Son of a b*tch!”
“Enough, enough!” Bale was holding on to Pepe from behind and he felt that it was very exhausting. Pepe was like a raging bull that he was trying to stop, “Stop scolding, Pepe! You’re in big trouble! You’re about to be sent off!”
“So what!” Pepe was in so much rage that he did not care if he would be sent off. All he wanted to do then was to teach that diving traitor a lesson. He gave his shoulders a powerful shrug, managed to escape the hold of Bale and Woodgate, and it looked like he was going to continue rushing forward.
Just then, George Wood grabbed him by the throat with one hand and stopped his cursing before they left his throat. Nobody saw where Wood came from, and nobody saw him make his move.
He looked at the stunned Pepe with a cold look, “Calm down.”
Veins popped out on Pepe’s neck as he competed with Wood in strength. Too bad he was unable to defeat his captain who was way stronger than him, and he could only grit his teeth and stare straight at Wood.
Wood exerted some force and pushed Pepe back, “Get out of here!”
“Damn…it!” Pepe gave a low growl.
“This isn’t a boxing ring,” Wood stared at Pepe and lunged at him after saying that, holding him tightly as he dragged him off the pitch.
“Let me go, let me teach that weak traitor a lesson!”
Pepe was still struggling, but it was to no avail. He could not beat Wood and he was dragged to the sideline eventually.
Just when Pepe was still struggling, the referee wriggled out from within the group of impulsive players and ran towards Pepe before showing him a direct red card!
The Real Madrid fans directed their jeers toward Pepe while the Nottingham Forest players booed the diving Ribéry. At that moment, there were only jeers ringing out from the stands.
After Wood dragged Pepe to the sideline, he pushed him out with one hand. Pepe did not return to the pitch this time. He merely shouted at the linesman assisting the referee who flagged for a penalty, “Bastard referee, my advice to you is to get a pair of glasses! No, you’d better bring your brain along!”
The assistant referee did not take it lying down as he returned fire, “You’re a violent person and you have no rights to be telling me how to do my job.”
Pepe did not pay any attention to him as he walked towards the tunnel, spewing curses such as “damn you”, “damn him” and he was still scolding them as he walked in front of Twain. Twain gave him a slap on the back of his head.
“What are you doing?” Twain stared at the startled Pepe angrily, “Look what you’ve done! We’ve given away a penalty kick and we’re also one man down!”
Pepe tried to defend himself, “I didn’t commit a foul, that was a dive…”
“Even if it was a dive, can’t you f*cking calm down? Bastard!” Twain pulled Pepe towards the tunnel, “Think about it carefully in the changing room!”
Pepe refused to accept it and he pointed towards the pitch and shouted furiously, “Even if I’m calm, as calm as the damn ice mountain! The referee will also give me a yellow card. Boss, I already have one!”
Twain was shocked by Pepe’s sudden explosion. He looked at Pepe and opened his mouth without saying anything.
“I hate that bastard Ribéry! I hate him! But I did not just hate him just now! I hated him to the core! He used an unscrupulous dive to get a penalty kick and get me sent off! This was the plan of that damn bastard! I want him to pay for it! I won’t accept this!”
Pepe shouted with his fists clenched.
“But the price that you made us pay now…” Twain opened his arms and his tone was not as agitated as it was earlier.
Within the players’ tunnel where nobody could see them, Pepe finally calmed down amidst the jeers from outside. He went silent for awhile before losing all his strength as his shoulders relaxed.
“Sorry. Sorry, boss…” He muttered in a low voice, as if he was a child who recognized his mistake and was begging his father for forgiveness.
Twain moved to touch his bald head, “Franck is already a Real Madrid player, it’s natural for him to think from Real Madrid’s point of view. The two of you are just enemies in this match, not sworn enemies for life. If you wanted to make him pay, you should work hard to stay in the match and defeat him and his team, lift the trophy in front of his eyes,” Twain sighed as he said that, “But it’s useless saying anything now, you’re already sent off. Go back to the changing room…”
He did not expect Pepe to shake his head and said with conviction, “No, boss. I’ll stay here, I want to watch our team defeat Real Madrid.”
Twain shrugged his shoulders, “It’s up to you.”
Then he turned and walked out of the tunnel and back to the manager’s seat.
The conflict on the pitch had already ended at that moment. After George Wood pushed Pepe out of the pitch, the people involved in the altercations had already dispersed. The referee gave Mitchell and Benzema who both threw punches in the conflict a yellow card each, putting the blame equally on both parties. However, this did not reduce the tension between the two teams. The Nottingham Forest’s players still stared at the Real Madrid players with anger in their eyes.
Franck Ribéry, the culprit who started everything, was surrounded by his Real Madrid teammates. Everyone around him was smiling happily, agitated even, but Ribéry himself had a forced smile on his face and he was not feeling especially emotional.
Of course, he knew he was exaggerating when reacting to the force of Pepe’s push. That push was so light that if he wanted to, his center of gravity would not even move a bit. But if he did that, he did not have absolute confidence to score. If that was the case, why insist on it? Almost 80% of the attacking players would choose to fall with no hesitation under such a situation to cheat a penalty kick…No, this was no longer “cheating”, it was making use of the rules logically…
When he thought about it that way, the guilt he felt deep inside lessened a little. He left the penalty area and waited for his teammate to take the penalty kick.
If this ball went it, Real Madrid would be pulled back from the cliff side. The suspense of the match could continue, and the Real Madrid fans did not need to leave early.
He stood outside the penalty area and watched Higuaín place the ball on the spot. There was sweat all over his palms.
※※※
Kerslake saw Twain walking back and he asked, “How is Pepe?”
“I think he has calmed down,” Twain looked towards the pitch while walking back, “Higuaín is going to take this penalty I see…”
“Honestly, Tony… Pepe gave me a scare just now. I’ve never seen him so furious before.”
“Me neither,” Twain looked at his assistant, “But…perhaps there will be something for everyone that cannot be provoked, something that they will never tolerate…”
To be honest, Twain had to thank Pepe. If Pepe did not explode with rage, he might have been the one who would be sent off. When he saw Ribéry dive, he almost cursed before he saw Pepe go berserk. And so, Twain naturally stopped himself from cursing as he was stunned by Pepe. Later on, Pepe attracted the attention of everybody else and he did not need to step up…
※※※
“Watching the replay of what Pepe did earlier…it’s really shocking,” even though Pepe was already sent off, his performance earlier still shocked the commentators, “Pepe is very good-tempered in Nottingham Forest and his defense on the pitch has always been clean. He did not even get a red card in this season, and most of the time, he would not be involved in any of the altercations on the pitch. For such a goody two shoes to act as if he was insane. It might be the pressure of the final…”
“His foul gave Real Madrid an opportunity to level the game just before the end. He might have exploded because of this. Looking at the slow-motion replay, there was no doubt that Pepe did push him, but Ribéry made the most of it too… For such a light push, he actually fell as though he was hit by a truck…”
The commentator did not say that it was a dive, but they too, felt that Ribéry’s acting was very exaggerated. Nottingham Forest could feel a little aggrieved at conceding this penalty kick…
※※※
There was no point feeling aggrieved. Even if Ribéry really dived, the referee had already given the penalty kick, naturally, it could not be changed. The Nottingham Forest players all looked like they could not accept it as they stood outside the penalty area, waiting for Higuaín to take the penalty kick.
When Higuaín was taking the penalty kick, the away fans behind the Forest goal kept jeering in an attempt to affect the Argentine striker’s mentality.
Under massive pressure, Higuaín calmly sent Akinfeev the wrong way and put the ball into the net.
The stands exploded and it felt like there was an earthquake.
The depressed emotions that the Real Madrid fans were keeping within them for so long could finally be released. They waved their fists and sang to their hearts’ content. At that moment, there was only one voice that could be heard in the huge Bernabéu Stadium.
“Viva la Madrid!!”
※※※
Akinfeev was totally duped by Higuaín’s eyes. He only realized that he went the wrong way after diving, and he turned back to see the ball fly into the center of the goal when he was still in mid-air…
Before Higuaín took the penalty kick, the Forest players and fans still had hope in their hearts——Under such massive pressure, maybe the Argentine might put the ball over?
Unfortunately, Higuaín’s mental strength was definitely stronger than Lǚ Meng from the Wu Kingdom.
Higuaín ran to the part of the stands where the Nottingham Forest fans were gathered after he scored and made a “shut up” sign. What he got in return was massive boos of course.
And Akinfeev kicked the ball which bounced back off the net towards the center of the pitch in frustration. Conceding a goal at the final moments of the match was really too damaging to their morale.
Michels stood at the sideline and applauded this penalty kick. On the other hand, Twain stood with his arms folded in front of him and did not say anything.
One could tell what the two managers were thinking about from the looks on their faces.
Michels must be celebrating the narrow escape that him and his team just experienced and Twain must have been cursing in his heart regarding this unexpected penalty kick.
The Real Madrid players were still celebrating the goal while the Nottingham Forest players looked crestfallen. Right after the goal from the penalty kick, the fourth official announced the injury time from the sideline.
Because of the conflict caused by Pepe, the injury time was a full five minutes.
Both sets of fans from Real Madrid and Nottingham Forest were satisfied with this amount of injury time as they did not want to give up on the match and go to extra time directly.
The Real Madrid players seemed more fired up about it. Their morale was high as they just levelled the score and they could not wait for the match to restart so that they could attack straight away.
Whereas Nottingham Forest was shell-shocked by this goal. There were still players surrounding the referee, attempting to explain what happened in the penalty area to him.
Twain watched this unfold and he knew that it was almost impossible for his team to score another goal to send Real Madrid into the abyss. He decided to give up on the thoughts of going for it.
“Tell them that we’ll play on the counter in the last five minutes,” Twain waved his hand without much strength as he told Kerslake beside him. Then he turned and walked back to the manager’s seat and sat down.
Eastwood was a little worried, he approached Twain and just when he was about to speak, Twain interrupted him and said, “I’m fine Freddy. Let me be alone for a while, I need to think about what to do in extra time…”
He looked down as he rubbed his temple and fell into deep thoughts.
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Chapter 878 - The First Half of the Overtime
When Real Madrid was awarded a penalty, Shania, sitting in a VIP box of the Bernabeu Stadium, squeezed her hands together before her chest. Lowering her head, she was praying in a low voice, as if she was speaking to herself. Her pretty face was a little pale. A cold sweat broke out on her forehead. Although her eyes were shut, her long eyelashes were slightly shivering.
“Almighty God, I don’t expect my sins to be forgiven. Neither do I want a great fortune. I only hope my husband will stay healthy, forever healthy…”
With her eyes closed, she kept murmuring like that. As to what was happening on the football field, she did not care about it at all. She only wanted her husband to finish this game safe and sound. Whoever wanted to be the winner, just let them be!
※※※
While Shania kept praying, Twain was sitting in the coaches’ seats, trying to calm himself down with his head lowered. He could feel how fast his heartbeat was. He had to slow it down. He knew it was already impossible to end the game in ninety minutes.
He still had two substitutes available to use. At the moment he felt fortunate that he had replaced Şahin with Kompany so that the team would have three midfielders. Even if Pepe was penalized with a red card, they still had two center backs. There were enough people on the defensive line.
Real Madrid only had one substitute left to use. They were less exhausted than Real Madrid. Should they make an effort to score a buzzer-beating goal to defeat Real Madrid in the thirty-minute overtime or drag Real Madrid into a penalty shootout?
Twain did not want to curse the referee at the moment. He did not have the time, but of course he would do it some other time. If it were not the goddamned referee, he would be thinking about how to pose for the awarding ceremony. But he would wait until the end of the match. No matter whether he won or lost in the end, he would have to curse that guy anyway. He swore he would not give face to anyone by then to skip the curse. Even if it was Evan Doughty who tried to talk him out of it, he would not be persuaded.
Twain gave it some thought. In the end, he decided to seek to score a goal in the overtime. He absolutely would not adopt a conservative strategy. He wanted to show Real Madrid that even though they only had ten people, Nottingham Forest was still a hard nut to crack.
※※※
After bringing the scores level, Real Madrid’s morale increased a great deal. When the game had started again, they dominated the match and did not stop attacking the rival’s goal. Since Nottingham Forest was playing ten against eleven, all of them had to go back to the backfield to defend. They even left a thirty-meters-long empty zone space behind, in which Real Madrid could move around freely. They only wanted to continue defending to the last minute of the match.
Nottingham Forest’s defense deserved its fame. Although Real Madrid’s morale had been boosted, they did not get any chance to score. The five-minute injury stoppage time passed rapidly. In the boos from the audience, the referee finally blew his whistle to indicate the end of the ninety-minute match.
The two teams only had a five-minute break before the overtime. This little time was hardly enough for them to walk back to the changing room. So, they were all resting on the field. The players of both team gathered in front of the coaches’ seats of their respective team, enjoying massage and relaxing while listening to the head coach deploying tactics for the extra time.
Nottingham Forest’s players sat in a circle, while Twain was crouching at the center of it, looking around.
The players looked kind of exhausted. However, due to the unfair treatment they received, they were also angry, which made their exhaustion less obvious.
“I’m relieved to see you with such faces,” Twain said, nodding.
He was right. If he had seen a team of frustrated players, the overtime would be extremely difficult and he would need to change his plan for it. But fortunately, he knew he did not have to do it.
“We only have ten people, but it’s all right. This shouldn’t be the reason for us to give up the game. I don’t believe you want to give it up, don’t you?”
“No!” someone responded loudly.
“Who the hell would want to give up the game? I’ll show Real Madrid how great we are!”
“Exactly. We’ll give them hell!” Twain closed his fist and waved it at his players. “Only thirty minutes left! I need you to do more than defending. Advance a little bit to crack their defensive line. Try your best. Go get them in the overtime!”
“We need new blood on the field. Bentley, you take a rest.”
Bentley was unwilling to accept the coach’s arrangement, but he could not refuse it, so he just nodded slightly with reluctance.
Moke was called back while he was warming up. This was his first UEFA Champions League final. He was kind of thrilled. Sitting on the ground, he still could not calm down.
“Moke, your job is to give their defensive line a hard time, to make trouble for them. When you receive a pass, if there are gaps ahead of you, try your best to advance. Pass the ball if there are no gaps. You’ve got better stamina than their Marcelo. This is an advantage we should take good use of.”
Moke kept nodding.
Throwing him a look, Twain went on, “If Mitchell is in the penalty area, pass him the ball after advancing. I don’t care how you pass the ball, but you must pass the ball to him, a header or a kick, whatever.”
Moke kept nodding. If he also stuck out his tongue, he would totally look like a loyal hound.
“On the defensive line, our full backs should assist a little bit less, at least in the first half. Our plan is to continue with the defensive counterattack in the first half of the overtime. Focus on defense. Let Real Madrid attack, so that their energies will be consumed and ours will be saved. You shouldn’t let them score any goal in these fifteen minutes. It’s absolutely unacceptable. This is the most important thing. You must bear it in mind. Next, in the second half, we’ll start to attack. Don’t hesitate when it’s time to do it. Be audacious. Get more people involved in the attack. Full backs should also penetrate. Don’t be afraid to do it. We did practice penalties yesterday… but we don’t really want to see that happen. If you can nail it in one hundred and twenty minutes, just do it!”
Twain punched into his palm of hand.
“George and Fernando, you attack in turn in the overtime. Since Nuri was replaced, the task of playmaking will fall on your shoulders.”
“Okay, boss,” Gago said.
Wood just kept nodding.
The tactics had all been deployed. Twain stopped for a break. Not much of the five minutes was left.
“Okay, guys. This will be the last thirty minutes. The last thirty minutes of the season. We received some unfair treatments just now, but listen to me, for such unfairness, the best revenge is not to attack the referee on the pitch, but to win. Our victory will be a slap in their faces! We can say whatever we want to say when we win. If you want to revenge against them, win the game first!”
“If you feel tired, just gnash your teeth and hold on! I don’t want to see anyone give up the ship at this moment. You must know you are a team. Each of you is indispensable in the team. If anyone of you gives up, your teammates will be in big trouble…”
In this moment, Twain suddenly thought of Pepe, who was sent off the pitch due to impulse. Did that mean he gave up before anyone else did?
Twain was gazing at the players before him. Some of them looked exhausted, since they had been running for more than ninety minutes. Forest had one player less than Real Madrid. In the next thirty-minute match, he was sure it would be more tiring for them than for Real Madrid. He was really worried that the team’s stamina would not be enough for them to hold on until the last minute.
“Eh…” He smoothed back his messy hair. “Pepe’s disqualification was an accident…” He was afraid the other players would put the blame on Pepe. “An unretrievable accident. You remember what I said before the match? Compared to Real Madrid, we are a team. Now the team lacks one person. What should we do? It’s very simple.” He extended his hands. “You, who are still on the pitch, should run a little more than usual, should do a little more than usual. These extra distances you run over and these extra things you do will accumulate!” Twain closed his hand, as if he had grasped something, and squeezed it with effort.
“We are still playing eleven against eleven!”
His conclusion put everyone hot-blooded. The match had been difficult for them because of the lack of one person, but by then they found their confidence back again. The boss was right. As long as each of us ran a little bit more and did a little bit more, we would be able to compensate for the disadvantage caused by Pepe’s disqualification.
What was team spirit?
They were experiencing it right at this moment.
This was what was called team spirit!
Twain looked back at the passage. He saw Pepe’s figure there. As expected, that dude did not go back to the changing room. He was still staying close to the pitch, paying attention to everything happening there.
Although his impulse put the team in a very difficult situation, Twain could not blame him. More than that, he had to prevent the team from blaming him, too. Forest must stay together. Otherwise they would not be able to climb onto the peak of Europe. Neither would they be able to achieve the great treble.
Kerslake came up to him, “Tony, it’s time…”
Not until then did Twain get to his feet. “Come on, guys. Don’t forget you are eleven men… No, twelve… No.” It took Twain a second to think. “The coaches’ seats, the substitutes’ benches, those fans sitting on the spectator’s stand, and the Forest’s fans who couldn’t come to Madrid but are watching this game on TV, we are with you, and they are with you. You have a lot more people than Real Madrid does. What can be scaring for you, guys? It’s them who should feel scared!” Twain pointed at Real Madrid’s players next to them, who were also getting to their feet one after another to prepare for the start of the extra time.
The players burst out laughing. They had nothing to fear indeed. They felt the influence of the heavy blow caused by Pepe’s disqualification had been gone for some time.
“All right. Go onto the pitch to teach them a lesson!” Twain clapped his hands and then walked off the pitch.
He saw Pepe again, who was craning his neck to look towards him. The rule forbade him to go back onto the pitch, not even to the sideline of the pitch. As a result, he could only stay at the entrance of the passage, as sneaky as a thief.
If Pepe had managed to calm down back then, Twain would be the one doing what he was doing at the moment instead.
※※※
After the start of the overtime, Real Madrid’s morale was really boosted. They kept attacking Forest. They had had several attempts on goal. It seemed they were still excited about the equalizer. However, Twain was not worried. He was just watching Real Madrid attacking Forest’s goal on the sideline.
Nothing was unexpected for him. Overtimes usually go this way — you attack for half of the time and I attack for the other half.
In the first half, Nottingham Forest would focus on defense. They must defend themselves from Real Madrid’s attacks. No matter how ugly the game looked, it did not matter.
During this time, Real Madrid never stopped attacking. Once the football even hit the goalpost of Forest. They almost scored a goal.
Another time Ronaldo hit a sharp-angled shot after dribbling past Rafinha. The ball hit one side of the goal net. The entire audience, including those on the spot and those watching the game on TV, mistook it for a goal. Fans were cheering on the spectator’s stand. Even those commentators blurted out, “Goal!”
At that moment, Twain felt his heart had stopped beating. Fortunately, then he saw Ronaldo holding his head in hands, very frustrated.
“Damn it…” Twain swore feebly. “What are you excited about? It was only netting…”
In the first half, it was even extremely difficult for Nottingham Forest to advance to Real Madrid’s half. Each and every one of Real Madrid was advancing. All of them were attacking Forest’s goal again and again under the cheering of the home ground fans.
The fans of Real Madrid on the spectators’ stand were exclaiming in one voice, “Illa, illa, illa, Juanito maravilla! Illa, illa, illa, Juanito maravilla!!”
This cheer was supposed to appear at the seventh minute of each game. By then it appeared again at the seventh minute of the overtime. The arrogance of Real Madrid’s fans had been obviously gone. They had given up the idea that it was easy-peasy to defeat Nottingham Forest. At the moment, they needed the support from the spirit of Juanito.
Juan Gómez González, known as Juanito, used to be the number seven of Real Madrid. During the seventies and the eighties, when Real Madrid was not playing well, Juanito’s spirit was the symbol of Real Madrid. He always fought to the last minute and never gave up. To gain victories, he even had the nerve to kick assistant referees and punch Matthäus… He died in 1992 in a car accident. Real Madrid held a grand funeral for him. The scale of his funeral could be compared to that of a king’s funeral. Throughout the history of Real Madrid Club, before him, only the great president Mr. Santiago Bernabeu had a funeral of this level.
At the moment, Real Madrid’s fans felt threatened. They knew the enemy they were facing would not be defeated just by great footwork, back heel passes and artistic characters. Premier League teams always have a spirit that can intimidate the rival.
Real Madrid’s fans wanted to show Nottingham Forest that artists were not the only thing Real Madrid had and they did not only know fancy footwork. They wanted to show Nottingham Forest that they were hot-blooded as well and they also knew how to fight!
Gago received a pass in midfield, but he did not pass it quickly enough, and Higuaín hauled him down from behind him.
Lying on the ground, Gago raised both hands to signal the referee that Higuaín had fouled. Higuaín had run back fast. Watching him running away, people could recall George Wood easily, because the latter also always turned around and ran away immediately after fouling, without paying attention to the rival’s protest.
So, even a nice person like Higuaín went amuck.
The Spanish commentators completely abandoned a fair and justified standpoint which commentators were supposed to have. They kept encouraging and cheering for Real Madrid.
“Go Madrid! Nottingham Forest has a passing error! This is a great chance… Ah! The ball isn’t stopped well enough. It goes into Akinfeev’s arms directly. What a pity!”
“Only five minutes left in the first half of the overtime… Real Madrid is attacking Nottingham Forest’s goal… This is a handball offence! Why doesn’t the referee penalize it for handball? This is obviously a foul!”
“George Wood hauls Ribéry down. He should get a red card! Even if he only gets a yellow card, he will be sent off! Nottingham Forest’s football is so ugly!”
“If Forest wins, I’ll have to say such a champion isn’t convincing at all. Look at their performance in these ten-odd minutes! They are all defending in the penalty area. Is this the way football supposed to be played? And they are fouling again and again and again… If you want me to describe this match, I would say ‘ankle kick, ankle kick, ankle kick, and another ankle kick!’ What else is there? Nothing at all!”
“Deliberately hurting people, attacking assistant referees, ugly tactics… If such a team wins UEFA Champions League, it will be an insult to this supreme honor!”
These indignant Spanish commentators almost swore at Twain and called him a son of a bitch.
On the other side, the English commentators felt rather worried for Nottingham Forest. Real Madrid’s attack was too fierce, and Twain was doing nothing but defending. What if the defense failed and the team ended up trailing behind Real Madrid? It would be a heavy blow for the team’s morale.
“I insist that Forest should fight back properly, but it looks they can’t even go beyond the midfield…”
“After all, this is Bernabeu. Twain should not have underestimated Real Madrid’s energy in this stadium. Real Madrid has been driven up the wall. Listen to the cheers of their fans on the spectators’ stand… What are they screaming? It’s Juanito! A famous hard ass in the history of Real Madrid!”
“I’m worried about Tony Twain’s heart. Will he be able to stand still facing such attacks?”
In fact, Twain could stand just fine, and even very steadily as well. Real Madrid’s attacks were fierce indeed, but Twain had acutely found that few of these attacks were really threatening to their goal. It was what called much cry and little wool.
The first half was ending. If Real Madrid still could not score a goal, they would be doomed in the second half. They had consumed too many energies. And their morale was declining as well.
Twain was wearing a cold smile. He finally heard the referee blow the whistle.
“The first half of the overtime has ended. Tony Twain’s heart finally can get some rest! There will be no break. The second half will start right away. To some extent, these are the last fifteen minutes to decide who to win. If neither team can score a goal, we’ll see a penalty shootout! Real Madrid was thought to be stronger than Nottingham Forest before the match and they were supposed to win. However, the final has stretched into one hundred and five minutes. I have to admit I’m kind of surprised.”
“Forest still doesn’t look good to me. Fifteen minutes passed. With only ten people, how much stamina does Forest still have? This is something worth some attention. Michels evidently saw it, too. In the first half of the overtime, every player of Forest was running like crazy to compensate for the disadvantage of Pepe being sent off. By far, Nottingham Forest hasn’t lost any goal. It’s thanks to its players’ hard work. However, they are humans instead of machines. How much more time can they hold on in such an intensive competition? Five minutes? Ten minutes? I dare say as long as Real Madrid continues intensifying their attacks in the second half, Nottingham Forest will crumble sooner or later!”
Without an exception, the commentators were all predicting the second half of the overtime. Not even one of them felt optimistic about Nottingham Forest, with only ten players and exhausted.
Even a tough guy like George Wood took the chance of switching sides to run to the sidelines to ask for water. He looked he had been worn out. His football shirt was so drenched in sweat that it looked as if it had just been taken out of water. He was gasping for air and pouring water into his mouth when he was not doing that.
“George.” Twain approached. In order to not draw any attention, he did not stay too close to Wood.
Wood heard the head coach’s whisper. He looked back at Twain.
“Eh…” Twain smoothed his hair with his hand. “I’ve got a question which I’ve kept to myself for ten years.”
Wood tilted his head, gazing at Twain puzzledly. He had no idea what kind of question that could be, or what it had to do with him or the match.
“Eh… Do you remember, that you gave my wallet back to me and it was through that wallet that we knew each other? Okay. What I want to ask is, there was a kid who bumped against me and stole my wallet the day before that day… Any chance that was you?”
Wood’s facial expression changed. The puzzle on his face was gone. It was replaced by wariness.
Twain grinned broadly at Wood, waiting for his answer.
The referee must have noticed them. Wood threw him a glimpse and was going to go back onto the pitch. However, before leaving, he did not forget to answer Twain’s question, “Yes, it was me.”
Then he ran away.
Twain stayed there, watching him running away and laughing. The view of this man and the view of the kid who stole his wallet overlapped. The way he ran had never changed. Even if ten more years passed, Twain was afraid it would still remain the same…
If you had not stolen my wallet back then, would I have missed a talented player as well as the ten years’ great life after that?
Robin Hood, a wallet thief… Twain suddenly found what the media said was quite fair — this was a team made up of thieves indeed.
All right then. So, let’s steal that trophy in the presence of those eighty thousand people and the television audience of billions of people in a stately manner.
Twain looked towards the “big ears” with a silver glitter, which was placed at the exit of the passage.
His eyes were shining. It was the light of greed.
...
Chapter 879 - The Clinching Shot
Wood did not quite understand why the boss asked about something that happened eleven years ago at this time, but he was not in the mind to guess the reason behind it. He only had the opponent on his mind once he threw himself back in the game again.
Real Madrid also intended to take advantage of the favorable situation to continue to attack. He absolutely could not allow it. Nottingham Forest must regain the initiative on the pitch in some way. Although they kicked off in the second half, the football fell to the feet of the Real Madrid players at some point.
This time, George Wood stepped up and helped the team regain possession of the ball with his excellent defensive ability.
By the time the game reached the 105th minute, the players on both sides were close to exhaustion. George Wood was only slightly better off than them. But he was the team captain, so he could not show fatigue.
“We’ve had a very intense season. From the last-minute sprint till now, even George can’t bear it somehow…” Kerslake was worried about Wood’s fitness for the first time ever.
“You can rest assured that he can hold on.” Twain comforted the assistant manager next to him.
※※※
Casillas kicked a long ball from the goal and the ball flew into the midfield. George Wood and Ribéry both jumped at the same time to compete for the header. The football was headed by Wood and Ribéry missed his shot.
No one at Real Madrid could beat George Wood when it came to control of the high aerial balls.
But they got the second point of fall. De la Red received the ball below after Wood’s header. It was supposed to be Gago’s turn to defend forward at this time, but Gago was exhausted. De la Red’s change in direction caused Gago to lose his center of gravity and fall to the ground.
Gago, who fell to the ground, held his calf in his hands and rolled in pain – he had a muscle cramp.
The Real Madrid players did not plan to stop attacking. Everyone was in a frenzy at this time. No one would kick the football out of the sidelines because the opponent fell to the ground and. Anyway, there was no rule provided for this, so they pretended not to see it.
De la Red continued to dribble the ball, while the Nottingham Forest fans in the stands kept booing. Adriano Moke, the thin and small player who rarely engaged in physical collisions against his opponents, rushed up and pushed de la Red along with the ball out of the sideline.
His foul yielded him a yellow card.
The Forest players were disgruntled and surrounded the referee, pointing to Gago, who was still lying on the ground, to show him what the Real Madrid players had done.
The referee just shook his head and did not impose any penalty on de la Red – there was no rules in the book for this.
When the other players gathered around the referee to seek answers, George Wood ran up to help Gago press his leg down.
Gago laid on the ground and looked unhappy. He also appeared to a little listless.
“I can’t do it anymore, Captain. I can’t hold on… Both of my legs hurt.”
Wood lowered his left leg, lifted his right leg, and continued to press down.
“Get a substitute, Captain.” Gago whispered, in a tone of reluctance and not ready to give up. “I will only hold everyone back if I stay on the field…”
Wood kept pressing his legs without a word.
At this time, the team doctor, Fleming ran over here to check on Gago’s condition and decisively gestured to Twain for a substitute.
Twain still had a substitution spot in hand. He had been unwilling to use it before as he was afraid of an unexpected situation in the final moments. Now, he could put it to use.
Twain scanned the substitutes’ bench and did not call up Tiago, who was also a midfielder in the end. Instead, he chose the striker, Ibišević.
“Score more goals!” Twain held his fist up to Ibišević and said, “Aaron alone is not enough. You go up and continue to put pressure on Real Madrid’s rear defensive line.”
Ibišević nodded. Although he had long been famous, this was his first time playing in the UEFA Champions League final.
“Nottingham Forest is making a substitution because the exhausted Fernando Gago, who has collapsed to the ground with a muscle cramp, is being brought off the field. And his replacement s… Vedad Ibišević! Twain takes out a defensive midfielder and brings on a striker… It looks like he’s going to break Real Madrid’s goal in the last ten minutes!” The commentator’s tone revealed an undisguised shock.
The Real Madrid manager, Míchel González was also equally surprised by this. When he realized that the man standing on the sidelines was Ibišević, he turned to look at Twain, as if he wanted to see through Twain’s mind.
Now, both teams had used up all the substitutions, the managers did all that they could, the rest depended on the players themselves.
Míchel did not expect Twain’s last substitution to stake it all on the offensive. Did he still want to end the fight within a hundred and twenty minutes? Originally Míchel thought that when Twain was going to make a substitution, he would have brought on a player who was good at executing penalty shots at the last minute and compete with Real Madrid on penalty shots.
Ibišević was pushed onto the pitch by Twain, who made a forward gesture to the players.
His meaning was obvious, which was to get everybody to attack.
※※※
Even players like Moke dared to collide with the opponent. With an all-out effort, Nottingham Forest regained the initiative of the game. In the next period, everyone seemed to see the first half of the overtime game again, but the attack and defense of the two sides were exchanged.
Nottingham Forest compressed the entire Real Madrid team to the thirty meters zone, combining the breakthroughs on the side and long shots from the middle to make Casillas become the busiest player on the pitch.
Every time the Forest team controlled the ball and attacked; loud boos would break out in the stands. But the Forest players were not disturbed by these distractions. They were used to hearing boos. Such a scene did not scare them. They seek Real Madrid’s defensive cracks over and over again which they could then take advantage of.
Míchel had replaced too many defenders, so now Real Madrid could only withdraw its formation and defend against the Forest team’s attack with its advantage in the number of players in the local section.
But how long could they hold on?
※※※
“George Wood’s long shot bounces out after it brushes across the crossbar!”
“Casillas kicks the ball forward with a long ball, but Huntelaar basically can’t control the ball at all. The football falls again to Nottingham Forest. Moke breaks through Ronaldo on the sideline! Beautiful technique… Oops, it’s a pity that the pass is a little too wide… Wait a minute, Fernández runs up. He stops the ball near the sideline! He passes the ball again!”
Mitchell leapt high. He jumped higher than Garay, and then gave a powerful shake of his head!
“Casillas!!” The Spanish commentator roared excitedly, “A divine save!”
A header attack, close at hand, was actually kept out by Casillas’ single palm. The Real Madrid captain’s performance deserved the title of the world’s number one goalkeeper.
When Mitchell jumped in the air without any interference, the Forest team’s coaches and substitutes’ bench rushed to the sidelines, ready to celebrate the goal. Unfortunately, Casillas’s save extinguished the fire in their hearts. A group of people held their heads in their hands as they returned to their seats.
“The header was too direct!” Twain complained below. Then he clapped his hands toward the field, offering praise and encouragement.
Nottingham Forest’s corner kick did not go straight to the goal but instead it was played in a set piece. Bale executed a quick corner shot and kicked the ball to Fernández, who had come forward to receive the shot. Then Fernández dribbled the ball diagonally. After he shook off a defender, he dribbled the ball horizontally along the edge of the penalty area. Then, just as the Real Madrid players thought he was going to directly shoot, he suddenly passed a direct through shot. He and the ball turned the forward direction ninety-degrees into the penalty area. Bale, who had just made the corner kick, appeared there and swept the ball straight inside after he received the ball.
This time, Ramos was successful. He blocked the ball out of the end line before the ball could fly into the goal area and added another corner kick.
Nottingham Forest obtained corner kicks in a succession and everyone’s hearts were on edge.
Twain took the time to look at his watch. Only eight minutes were left before the end of the overtime period. Time passed by really quickly. Half of the fifteen minutes were over in a blink of an eye…
Instead of continuing to play tactical corner kicks, the Forest team continued to change their corner kick tactics. This time the ball was kicked to the top of the penalty arc with a long pass.
George Wood was already waiting there.
He stopped and pushed the ball upward with his chest to just send it over Ribéry’s head. When Ribéry found that Wood went around behind him with the football, he had wanted to reach out and pull. But he suddenly remembered that he was still near the penalty area. It was too dangerous to foul in this position. He could only drop it.
Even though Wood had stopped the ball and bypassed Ribéry, it was not good for a straight shot because the football was too high. He could only turn around with his back to the goal and control the football in the air as he made plans again.
It was at this time that Ribéry’s chance came. He turned around and hooked Wood’s ball away!
“Real Madrid’s chance!”
The commentator’s voice had not ended when Ribéry’s ball was snatched back by Wood again.
Despite regaining possession of the ball, the Forest team also lost the chance to shoot straight at the goal and Wood could only pass the ball to the sideline before he launched another attack.
Moke received Wood’s pass and made a feint to look like he was going to pass the ball. In fact, he suddenly hooked the football and actually shoved the ball past Marcelo!
He entangled with de la red after he broke into the penalty area. Then both of them fell to the ground.
The Nottingham Forest players believed that de la Red had fouled, and they should have been given a penalty shot. The Real Madrid players insisted that Moke dived and should be given a yellow card. In that way, Moke’s two yellow cards would turn into a red card and he would be directly sent off.
Twain was a little angry off the pitch as the referee ultimately failed to award the Forest team a penalty shot. However, the controversial referee did not give Moke a yellow card. He let Casillas send out the ball – there were no consequences.
Two more minutes passed.
As time went on, the intensity of the game on the field decreased. Everyone could not run anymore. On several occasions, the players on both sides would have fought to the death for the ball if it were thirty minutes ago. But now they could only look on helplessly as the other side took the ball while their minds were willing, but their bodies could not move anymore.
The Forest team’s energy began to decline after a period of fierce attack and the momentum of the attack was not as fierce as it had been before. Real Madrid was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief and pressed out to look for opportunities. It was probably the only area that Twain had miscalculated – he arranged for the team to attack in the second half of overtime but did not expect the physical impact to be so great. After all, they had one player less than Real Madrid. Real Madrid was able to besiege the Forest team throughout the first half of overtime, but the Forest team could not replicate that in the second half.
He stood on the sidelines and was extremely nervous. He could only secretly clench and release his fists, and then clench and release again. The muscles of his whole body tightened again and again with this action.
His wife, Shania was also as nervous as he was. Since the overtime, her eyes never left Twain. She did not care much about the game. She was not interested in football anyway.
※※※
The players from both teams did not want to waste time here, but they did not have the physical capacity to push for a new wave of attacks. Time passed for another three minutes amid the slow pace. The whole game had gone on for one hundred and eighteen minutes.
“The score is still 2:2. Maybe the managers of the two teams should think about the penalty shootout.”
Míchel was compliant. He directly turned around toward the assistant manager to ask for the list of players for the penalty shootout, ready to arrange the order, and then handed it over to the fourth official.
Twain stood on the sidelines and did not move. He was not really to reconcile to this.
Indeed, he was not willing to go into the penalty shootout like this. He was unwilling to hand his fate over to the illusory luck.
But he had done all that he could. The players were constrained by their stamina and unable to play to their full strength. So, what if he could not accept it?
Without Gago in the midfield, Wood’s burden was even heavier. Not only did he need to defend, he also had to organize the offense. Without Gago and Şahin there, both the defense and offense depended on him. If it were not for his perverted fitness, perhaps he would suffer a cramp and collapse shortly after Gago was brought off the field.
Wood passed a straight pass forward, but Fernández did not run there in time and the ball rolled out of the sideline which gave the other side an out of bounds ball.
The Chilean made an apologetic gesture to Wood as well as to indicate that he was too tired and could not run anymore. It was not because he deliberately became passive in the game.
What could Wood say? Looking around at his teammates, and even his opponents, almost everyone had the same tired expression as Fernández.
Bale took advantage of the dead ball to put his hands on his knees and leaned down to take big gulps of air as sweat gathered to the tip of his chin and dripped down on the turf.
Even Ribéry seized the moment to take a break – he stood in place and was unwilling to move one step. His scarred face was devoid of any murderous intent and his expression was a little sluggish.
In fact, he was also tired, but he did not show it.
If George bent down like Bale, then their opponents would be delighted to use his position as a point of attack and fully take advantage of it. If he looked dazed and dull like Ribéry, he would not be able to give his teammates confidence and the whole team could collapse at the last minute.
He gritted his teeth and persisted.
After Real Madrid’s out of bounds ball was tossed out, it was Wood who rushed up to grab it. From his pace and movement, it could not be seen that he was a man who had been running for nearly a hundred and twenty minutes.
At this time, George Wood’s running distance so far in the game was displayed below the live television screen – twenty thousand kilometers!
The commentator was shocked by the number. He stared blankly for a while before somewhat stuttering, “Maybe he really should go train for a marathon … He ran and ran nonstop. He kept running. George Wood can still sprint at the moment!”
Indeed, he could still sprint! Wood intercepted Higuaín’s ball using the speed of his sprint to skirt around in front to defend. Higuaín stood in place and stared blankly. He was ill-prepared for Wood’s defense. He raised his hands as if to protest something, or was annoyed at his own performance…
Wood, who intercepted the ball, still selflessly passed the ball to his teammates. Unfortunately, once his teammate received the ball, it was then was intercepted again – he was physically unable to even protect the ball.
Twain shook his head repeatedly as he watched off the field.
He took a deep breath and then raised his voice to yell, “Geor—-ge—”
Wood heard his roar and turned his head over.
“Dribble it yourself!” Twain waved his hand forward.
※※※
Dribble it myself?
Wood looked around at his teammates. They were clearly exhausted. Or perhaps they were waiting for the whistle be blown at one hundred and twenty minutes. Akinfeev still had the strength, but could he rush out?
It looked like he really had to fight on his own…
Just as the Forest team was thinking about how to attack, Real Madrid used its save up strength to launch its first attack in the second half of overtime.
Having just past the midfield, Ramos suddenly lifted his leg and crossed the ball in the air to send the football toward the penalty area.
Woodgate jumped to compete for the header, but he missed!
“He missed the header! It’s Huntelaar’s chance!”
Lying in wait behind him, Huntelaar stopped the football with his chest while he turned around at the same time. This was an extremely difficult move – to stop the ball and turn around at one go. When the football descended from the air, he had already raised his leg to shoot!
There was no one around him at all. He could finish the shot without interference…
“Huntelaar! A deadly shot by a hunter!”
The Spanish commentator did not wait for the football to be kicked before he eagerly cried out. He had even got up from his seat and poked his head out to look down.
“What the damn hell…”
Twain only had time to curse such a foul language and the football was already shot out by Huntelaar.
He turned around and volleyed a shot. This shot was fast and hard. It looked like it was definitely going in!
But a person’s figure blocked in front of the football’s path. Its speed was too fast, and he could not use his hands in time. He could only lower his center of gravity and used his chest to block the football out!
“Akinfeev! This is Akinfeev’s wonderful save! He keeps the hope alive for Nottingham Forest! At this moment, the Russian was also the ‘Saint Iker’ of Nottingham Forest!”
It was the English commentator’s turn to be crazy. Just now, the moment Huntelaar made his move, their hearts all sank to the bottom, thinking that the game was over just like that. They did not expect Akinfeev to prove at a crucial moment that Russia’s number one was no weaker than Casillas. He also tried hard to save a desperate crisis.
“Bastard!” Míchel could not help but burst out with the foul words. He had thought that his team had won for sure just now. He did not expect Nottingham Forest to be so tenacious…
“Ha!” Twain opened his mouth wide and grinned, “Those who survive a catastrophe are bound to have good fortune later on. Real Madrid, you are dead for sure! Dead for sure!!” In fact, his heart had been beating wildly nonstop and it had not slowed down until now. His forehead and vest were covered in sweat and his legs were even trembling. He might fall down at any moment once he went soft in the knees – if he did not yell, he might turn out that way.
Damn it, almost scared me to death…
Twain secretly rejoiced in his heart. He admitted that he was terrified. Had it not been for Akinfeev’s decisive strike, the ball could have actually enter the goal…
Kerslake also had a bad scare. He ran to the sidelines and said to Twain, “We should defend, Tony! There’s still a minute left, defend…” He even stuffed the list of penalty shootout players into Twain’s hands.
Twain turned his head around and gave him a glance. Kerslake was stunned by Twain’s expression as he looked at him — he was frightened by it again. With gritted teeth, glaring eyes and ferocious expression, Twain said categorically, “No! We’ll continue to organize the offensive! Even if it’s only one minute, we’re going to try to score a goal!”
Twain threw the name list in his hand directly on the ground, like the Hegemon-King of Western Chu that cut off his means of retreat by burning his boats.
※※※
When Real Madrid did not score the goal, it seemed to have a slight impact on their morale. Instead of taking advantage of the momentum to start a second wave of attacks, they opted to withdraw instead. With only a minute left until the end of the game, there was no need to risk pressing out to give the Forest team a chance to fight back. Míchel had studied the videos of the Forest team’s games. He found that the tenacious team often scored at the final juncture of a game. It could be counted as a feature of the Forest team. All he had to do was not to give the Forest team the chance to play its special feature.
Real Madrid withdrew and the Forest team attacked.
After George Wood received the ball, he did not choose to pass the ball, but suddenly dribbled the ball himself.
When he faced Ribéry in the middle, he did a feint. He first made a move to look like he was going to pass the ball. Then his right foot hooked the ball and he twisted his body around to bypass Ribéry, who pounced from the opposite direction, along with the ball.
Next, he did not continue to dribble the ball in the middle. Real Madrid’s middle was currently a hub heavily guarded by its players. He took advantage of the moment he brushed past Ribéry to directly dribble the football to the sideline.
“George Wood starts to dribble the ball! Is he going to break through from the sideline and then do a cross pass?”
Seeing that he was dribbling the ball on the sideline, Ibišević and the already exhausted Mitchell both lifted their spirits to charge toward the front of the middle of the goal, intending to pick up his pass.
Higuaín came up to intercept Wood, but he was a step too slow and Wood blocked him at the back. He was no longer able to pose any threat to the strong Wood. After staggering a few steps at the back, he chose to give up – he was afraid that he would kick Wood from behind and get a yellow card. He already had a yellow card on him.
Wood felt Higuaín gave up after he gingerly kicked a couple of times behind his back. He would not conveniently take a dive and let the other team be punished with one player being sent off. He would rather dribble the ball on his own to the front of the other team’s penalty area. He did not hesitate and knew what he should choose to do when faced with such an option.
Wood felt the pressure behind him slightly lessened and he continued to dribble the ball forward along the sideline.
This time, it was de la Red and Ramos, the two players who came up. They wanted to cut Wood off.
Wood decided to force a breakthrough and rushed to dribble the ball out along with him before the other side cut him off.
But he was a little too slow. He had rushed past, but the ball was intercepted by Ramos.
“Intercepted! What a shame!” The English commentator shouted and expressed his disappointment in his speech.
“Well done!” The Spanish commentator could finally relaxed after being on tenterhooks just now. Wood’s breakthrough just now was so powerful that a sense of fear sprung up unbidden.
“F**k!” Twain waved his fists in anger after he saw the scene below.
Wood looked back at Ramos, who fell to the ground. He had collided with de la Red who crashed out of the sideline as he could not stop in time. Was it the end of this? Did he have to get ready to kick a penalty shot?
He suddenly saw Gareth Bale waving to him and shouting something. Unfortunately, the stadium was too noisy for him to hear clearly.
Lying on the ground, Ramos felt the danger. He could not get up in time, so he laid on the ground and wanted to sweep the football straight out.
Bale had already rushed over and extended his leg to block …
The football bounced back against his shin bone and went over Ramos’ head to fly ahead!
George Wood was there!
Garay habitually raised his hand while he turned his head to look at the referee at the same time. But he found that the referee did not make any indication, and he suddenly panicked. He turned around to rush toward Wood.
“Good shot! It’s in an onside position!”
“Is this an offside position… It is empty in front! The assistant referee has not raised the flag!”
Wood looked back at the football that was flying toward him. He moved sideways and raised his right leg to kick the incoming football inward… The football changed direction to bounce toward the penalty area. Then he accelerated to catch up with the football and continued to dribble the ball to charge into Real Madrid’s penalty area!
Ramos had already climbed up from the ground and aggressively pounced toward George Wood in front of him. This might perhaps be his last sprint.
It was also Wood’s last sprint.
Ramos, Garay, Marcelo and Ribéry also rushed from different directions toward George Wood at the same time.
Meanwhile, Casillas chose to abandon the goal to strike. Mitchell and Ibišević still had not run into the penalty area yet. Wood was simply too fast for his teammates to keep up with him… If he still did not make a move at this time, he could only watched as the opponent entered the penalty area and then had numerous choices!
Would he shoot or pass the ball? Would he shoot on the left side or right side? Would he break through or shoot directly?
At that moment, a lot of thoughts popped up in Casillas’ mind. Like a fork in the road, there was a network of several forks crisscrossing in front of his eyes, so that he did not know which side to choose.
George Wood also noticed Casillas, who had struck. But he did not have so many chaotic thoughts in his head. He did not have any teammates in his line of sight, only Casillas and the goal behind him. It was as easy as that…
He made his shot!
Wood naturally swung up his right leg as he dribbled the ball. It looked like he was just simply swinging his leg while running. However, he hit the ball fast in his next step!
The football drew a covert arc and suddenly sprang ahead.
Casillas saw the football suddenly fly over. He wanted to pounce but it was already too late. He could only reflexively reach out with his hands to block, hoping that his fingertips could brushed against the football.
He did brush against the football. But the speed of the ball was too fast, and that little bit of power was not enough to change the course of the football’s flight.
The football bypassed Casillas and continued to drill forward.
Marcelo changed his mind at the last minute when he saw Wood rush into the penalty area. Instead of pouncing on Wood, he ran toward the empty goal left by Casillas.
He was going to lift the siege!
But this position was a little uncomfortable… Even if he could hit the football, there was a ninety percent chance that he could kick the ball into the goal. Marcelo had no choice. He had to do it…
The Brazilian defender did a studs up tackle and the football seemed to be magnified in his eyes. Just a little more… just a little more and he could hit it! Just a little faster and faster!
Marcelo roared in his heart.
The football crossed in front of the tips of his toes…
Then it lightly crossed the white line of the goal area.
At that moment, time seemed to stop still, or it could be said that time no longer existed in the world…
From the moment the football crossed the goal line, everything came to a standstill.
Everyone on the field kept their previous last positions and was transfixed in that moment.
As if ten thousand years had passed, a sound came from the distant fog as it gradually strengthened and became clearer.
“GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL——!!!”
That kind of voice multiplied and finally gushed out, as if it burst out all of a sudden.
“The ball’s in!”
“It’s incredible! George Wood crashed through the goal alone!”
“This is truly the fatal shot that ends the game! A goal scored at the 120th minute! Nottingham Forest leads with 3:2!”
“Who would have thought of such an ending? Just when we all thought we were going to play a penalty shootout, George Wood stepped forward!”
“I thought George Wood could only shoot long shots hard and that it was down to luck whether his shots could go in or not. But I was wrong! This goal is so beautiful!”
“The Real Madrid team is stunned. They did not expect to concede the goal at the last minute!”
“This goal completely destroyed the proud Real Madrid!”
Amid these explosive voices, the football struck the net, which rolled it up, and then stopped.
Marcelo then slipped into the goal and was entangled in the net.
Casillas was half-kneeing on the ground. His hands were outstretched, and he even kept his posture from pouncing toward the ball just now. He looked back at what had happened inside the goal.
Ramos, who ran halfway, staggered and fell to the ground.
Garay simply stopped in his tracks. He already had tears in his eyes as he looked at the goal. He knew what the goal meant.
A living thriller was thus played out in front of the Real Madrid supporters. Everyone was too stunned to speak.
The entire Bernabéu stadium suddenly fell silent.
It was a suffocating silence.
A dead-like silence.
In such an environment, Twain lifted his head up high and opened his arms wide in front of eighty thousand people as he enjoyed the joyful impact on his heart brought by the success.
A Treble Win!!.
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Chapter 880 - Tony Don Twain
“George Wood’s dribbling the ball on the flank! He’s very fast… Oh, Ramos intercepted the ball! Wait… Gareth Bale, he passed the ball over again… Ramos can do nothing about it, George Wood got the ball again, he’s through!”
There was an excited voice coming from the TV, just like the “rat-tat-tat-tat” of a machine-gun and the voice even sounded a little distorted.
Compared to that agitated commentator, the Forest fans watching the game in front of the TV was a little quiet. Of course, that was not because they did not care enough about their team, instead, it was because they did not have the time to make any noise. The bunch of them were maintaining the same pose, holding a heavy beer mug with their mouths wide open, looking up at the television screen, giving all their attention to it.
“George Wood has entered the penalty area, it’s a one-on-one!”
At this moment, someone roared softly amongst the people, “Damn it… George, put the ball into their net! Put it in!!”
“Shoot, George! Shoot!”
“This is the final chance, it’s up to you, captain!”
When Wood finally took a shot, the bar immediately went silent at that moment. It was so quiet that it felt like there had never been any sound in the bar before.
Their hearts went to the throat when they saw Casillas touch the ball as they were afraid the ball might be diverted away from the goal. When the ball continued flying towards the goal, they saw Marcelo sliding towards the ball and their hearts almost jumped out of their mouths this time, some of them even covered their mouths with their hands.
Eventually, the ball rolled into the ball along with Marcelo. This bunch of people did not give a long sigh of relief, instead, they started to roar as if they had gone insane collectively.
“To hell with Real Madrid! We’ve won! We’re the champion!!”
“Gooooal! Gooooal!!”
“Forest Forest! Nottingham Forest!”
“Nottingham Forest, la la la la la la! Nottingham Forest, la la la la la la!!”
Nobody drank the deer as they were all thrown towards the ceiling.
“Woooooooooow——”
This was just the epitome of most of the bars in Nottingham. When Wood scored, half the Nottingham City went wild.
Some places even could not wait and started some fires.
At the same time, in the Bernabéu Stadium situated in the northern part of Madrid, the short silence was over.
The noise seemed to have come from underground, showing no mercy to the ear drums of everyone present.
The commentators on television did all they could to tell every viewer and listener what happened there.
There was a distinct difference in the emotions of the eighty thousand fans in the stadium. The Real Madrid fans displayed a very complex mix of emotions; disappointment, fury, unhappiness and disbelief. As these emotions gathered, their jeers appeared to be very messy too. For the Nottingham Forest fans, it was much simpler——Excitement, a reckless excitement! They showed this emotion on the stands without care; singing, screaming, hugging and kissing everyone around them, even those of the same gender.
Even the most cultured person would probably find it difficult to control their own emotions after experiencing 120 minutes like this. Much less Evan Doughty, who wanted to show his emotions in front of Florentino deliberately, to show him that this was the result of underestimating Forest!
That was why, after the goal, Evan immediately jumped out of his seat and shouted with his arms raised up high, as if there were nobody else around, “GOAL! GOOAL!!”
Next to him, the Real Madrid chairman, Florentino, could only pull a long face and endure the subtle humiliation coming from his opponent. Behind him, a whole bunch of Real Madrid officials and esteemed guests looked at the conceited figure with an unfriendly look in their eyes. They must have classified the chairman of this English football club into the “uncultured” list.
But other than judging him silently, could they do anything else? It was their team’s fault for conceding at the final moment.
Allan was one of the calmer ones in the Nottingham Forest camp. He did not let himself go and celebrate the goal like his chairman, choosing to applaud with a smile on his face.
On the sideline, Míchel González looked at the Forest players celebrating with a blank look on his face. Conceding at this moment meant that Real Madrid had failed. He stood at the sideline alone, silence covered the coaches’ seats and substitute’s bench behind him. The people from Real Madrid could not accept such a reality yet.
Next to them, the Nottingham Forest substitute’s bench and coaches were already hugging each other, screaming like girls.
Twain did not express his own emotions so openly like his colleagues because he was not as agitated as them. After watching Wood score, other than the initial excitement, what followed immediately was relief.
He merely maintained a pose where he opened his arms, lifted his head and leaned back a little. He did not even have the strength to open his mouth and shout anything.
There was a period of time where nobody disturbed him at all, so he stood there, maintaining this pose for very long. Until Eastwood suddenly approached and hugged him from behind.
“Boss! Boss! We’ve won, right? We’re the champions, right? We’re the treble winners, right?!”
This agitated voice felt more like an announcement, rather than questions.
George Wood, the goal scorer. After scoring, there was a rare sight of him pumping his fists towards the sky as he felt an urge within him to make him want to open his mouth and shout.
When he was pumping his fist and roaring, the other Nottingham Forest players gathered around him, their faces distorted with excitement.
“Good job, captain!”
“We’ve got this in the bag now, ah ha ha!”
“We’ve won the treble!”
Wood was forced onto the ground by his teammates and they shouted as they climbed on top of him. This was a rare opportunity. Wood was not a striker, so he did not score much, and the piling celebration was not one that could be used all the time.
Most of the Real Madrid players looked on blankly as the Nottingham Forest players celebrated wildly, they had already given up——A goal in the 120th minute did not give them any time to equalize at all, they had never heard of there being four or five minutes of injury time in extra time.
Ribéry was the only one who was complaining to the referee about the time spent by Forest celebrating. None of the Forest fans jeered him then, they were still celebrating and nobody had to time to pay attention to a failure.
Raúl, once the symbol of Real Madrid, their fountain of strength, the leader in the changing room, was seated in the VIP box then, looking at the pitch helplessly. Even if he was on the field, he would not be of any help in this kind of situation. The 10th Champions League trophy for Real Madrid was actually so difficult to obtain. He remained seated and sighed.
Ribéry’s protests got a positive response from the referee as he ran to where the Forest players were at and pulled them up, warning them not to waste time deliberately.
The Forest players ignored the referee’s warning, and they were still waving to the stands in celebration after they were helped up. At the same time, they jogged slowly back to their own half.
Twain did not know how long the injury time would be. Compared to his colleagues, his mind was still clear. When the players were running back to their own half, he shouted at them from the sideline, “Defend properly! Don’t be too cocky, pals!! The match is not over yet!”
“George!” He shouted Wood’s name, asking him to remind the players not to celebrate too early as the captain.
Wood nodded. The excitement of scoring was already gone from the face of this monster. The serious look on his face made it look like they were the ones who were trailing.
In fact, Twain was worried for nothing. When the referee indicated for the Real Madrid players to start the ball from the center circle, some of them were still rooted at the same spot and did not move——Conceding a goal at the dying moments had sapped these people of their morale.
Casillas wanted to rush into the Forest penalty area to participate in the attack originally, too bad his teammates did not give him this opportunity.
Ribéry raised his arm in the middle asking for the ball but Ronaldo ignored him, choosing to cut in from the flank directly and taking a long shot!
Akinfeev jumped and raised his hand as the ball flew over the crossbar.
This was Real Madrid’s final attack in the match, the final shot…
Akinfeev planned to waste some time and he acted as though he was displeased with his defence before turning to get the ball from the ball boy, but the ball boy had already threw the ball at him.
The most diehard Real Madrid fans still had some hope in their hearts, but the referee’s whistle broke their hearts cruelly.
“The match is over!!” The commentator dragged his voice during his announcement, “3:2, Nottingham Forest with the final victory! Due to the goal by their captain, George Wood, in the 120th minute, they defeated Real Madrid in the Bernabéu Stadium and won the 13/14 UEFA Champions League trophy!”
This was like a heavenly voice to the Forest fans and all the tension that they felt disappeared along with this voice. What followed was indescribable agitation.
The Forest players and coaches who were already waiting outside the pitch rushed in as the final whistle was blown, celebrating the victory that belonged to them.
But Tony Twain still remembered to shake the hand of the opposing manager after the match ended.
The reporters gathered around him, surrounding him. He had to push them away before he could shake the hand of Míchel.
“Congratulations, Mr Twain,” even though he lost the most important match of the season, Míchel still had a polite smile on his face. A man of noble birth had a much better demeanour than someone from the grassroots like Twain indeed.
Twain did not accept his congratulations with his nose in the air as Míchel expected. On the contrary, the smile on his face was not obvious. He shook the hands of the Real Madrid manager and answered, “This is an exciting match, thank you, Mr González.”
The two of them did not communicate further. Míchel had to go console his players while Twain had to face the interruptions of the numerous reporters and at the same time, he had to go be with his players.
“Mr twain, can you tell us about your feelings after winning the Champions League again?” The question came from the English media. This reporter was very pleased with the “again” in his question, he even thought about Twain’s reaction——Praising him while he laughed, “Again? I like it!”
But he was disappointed. Twain was a little bit abnormal today. He was not as excited and agitated as people expected him to be. He merely made his way out, not planning to answer any question.
“Mr Twain, is achieving the treble the most memorable thing in your career?”
“Mr Twain, do you have anything to say about George Wood scoring the decisive goal in the dying moments? Was this specially planned by you?”
“Can we talk about Pepe’s foul and red card…”
“Sorry, please save your questions for the press conference later, thank you…” Twain pushed his way out while waving them away. As the manager who managed the winning team, to the reporters, he was putting on airs again.
An obvious smile showed on his face only when he saw George Wood.
But Wood’s keen senses still managed to catch the change in his expression.
“You don’t look too happy?” Wood asked.
“Nonsense,” Twain opened his arms with a smile, “I don’t want to let those reporters who are easily turned by success to keep asking questions. For now, I just want to be with you guys.”
Wood believed Twain, then, he did something that nobody expected——He gave Twain a tight hug.
“Thank you, boss.”
Twain patted him on his sturdy back, “I’m the one who should say thanks, George. Thank you for your goal at the end…”
He was planning to say something else but he realized that he had lost his balance——Wood and the other players had already lifted him up.
“Woah!” Twain was shocked.
“Hey, boss, stop moving around! You’re the manager of the champions!”
The players shouted at him gleefully.
Yet again, for the third time this season, he enjoyed the treatment that was exclusive to him as the players lifted him up——Being adored by everyone.
The English commentator laughed when he saw this, “Ha! The King of Nottingham Forest!”
And the Italian commentator gave Twain a new nickname——”Don”. Mister, sir, but there was another meaning to it——Godfather.
“Tony Don Twain. He is fully deserving of the title of Nottingham Forest’s Godfather. He led the team to three UEFA Champions League, three English Premier League titles, one League Cup, one FA Cup and many other International and Continental trophies. He is the most successful manager in England after Ferguson. Since Ferguson is Manchester United’s Godfather, then he can be Nottingham Forest’s Godfather too,” there was no signs of the usual mockery when the Italian said this. For this person who suffered from heart diseases, coming back to manage the team despite the massive pressure and eventually leading the team back to the peak, no matter how arrogant he was, how much they hate him, how much he made them suffer and how much he wronged them, in front of the glorious achievements he had, they had no choice but to accept it——The Godfather of Champions.
He was Nottingham Forest’s Godfather, and the synonym of champions.
He could accept the nickname “Don” without feeling bad.
Twain sat on the shoulders of the players and raised his fist towards the sky. The Queen’s classic song, “We are the champions”, was broadcasted in the Bernabéu Stadium. Along with the fervent song, the figure atop the people became larger and larger.
※※※
...
Chapter 881 - On This Night
When Tony Twain stood on the podium in a drenched suit and looking somewhat sloppy, the person waiting in front of him to give out the award was the UEFA President, Michel Platini.
The UEFA’s number one figure had a smile on his face as he looked at Twain pulled his wet hair away from his eyes and did not rush him.
Twain had just been splashed from head to toe by the players with the water they normally drank, which happened after he was carried around the field for a round. Twain was caught off guard and cut a sorry figure. He also had to be thankful that the boys did not pour champagne on him. Otherwise, he would have been sticky all over his body, which would be extremely uncomfortable.
Platini had been looking at Twain with a smile as if he was looking at something amusing. It was not until Twain finally tidied his messy hair in front of his forehead, that he finally extended his hand and said, “Congratulations, Mr. Twain.”
Twain returned the greeting, “Thank you, Mr. President.”
If Twain had been loyal to UEFA in the beginning, the smile on Platini’s face would have been even more resplendent at the moment. He would have patted Twain’s face and kissed him on the cheeks like how the French did it and said, “Congratulations, my dear Tony.”
However, having to now award a trophy to a team from the Premier League made Platini unable to smile in his heart. Five years ago, the Premier League teams, represented by Nottingham Forest and Manchester United, had occupied the top four spots in the UEFA Champions League back to back, much to the UEFA’s displeasure. Therefore, every effort was made to curb the influence of the Premier League teams in the Champions League, including covert manipulation of the draw results and the appointment of the referees. Later on, when Tony Twain had a heart attack and Nottingham Forest was in decline, the Premier League whirlwind became a little weaker. Unfortunately, Ferguson broke through layers of encirclement and suppression in the Champions League final before he retired and won the title. The strength of the Premier League could not even be contained by the UEFA’s plotting and scheming.
Now it was even more so. Tony Twain came charging back with Nottingham Forest and once again lifted the Champions League trophy, leaving all the European teams to become onlookers. If it were to continue to develop in this way, the UEFA Champions League should simply be renamed as “UEFA Europa League.”
It was definitely not the future that the UEFA wanted to see. On their lips, they said that “it is not good for the development of football if a certain nation’s league monopolizes the Champions League quarter-finals” when in fact, their real idea was that “after a certain nation’s national league monopolizes the Champions League quarter-finals, it is bound to make the other league fans lose interest in subsequent games, which will affect the ratings, and then directly affect the TV broadcast shares. In short, it was all about the money.”
The UEFA was not a charity and had no government funding behind it. They had to be responsible for its profit and losses so naturally they had to act accordingly to how the money came.
If there were three Premier League teams and any other national league team to advance in the top four every year, even the most hardcore fans would suffer from aesthetic fatigue one day. What would they do when they suffered from aesthetic fatigue? They would not watch the games, so the television broadcasters would in turn scale back their shares and the advertisers would cut back on their investments. Finally, there would be less and less money.
Platini raised the gold medal in his hand. At this time, Twain should bow his head and let Platini hang it around his neck. But he did not do so. He had not done that for a long time. He was not used to bowing in front of others, even to accept a gold medal. He always took the medal from the other person by hand.
Platini looked helplessly at the unruly man and handed the gold medal to him to his hand.
Twain saw the displeasure in Platini’s eyes, even though it soon disappeared. He knew Platini was not happy, but he did not care.
After he received the gold medal, Twain put it into the pocket of his suit jacket straight away, looking unimpressed. The Real Madrid fans must have been furious in their hearts when they saw the scene – the highest honor which they yearned for was actually treated like this by the rude and uneducated English country boor.
Tony Twain carried the gold medal in his pocket and shook hands with a few of the officials behind Platini. Then he walked to the side of the stage and waited with everyone for George Wood to take to the stage.
It was the highlight of the award ceremony – to give out the trophy.
As George Wood stepped onto the stage, his teammates on the other side were making hand gestures at him and whistling. One by one was excited like they had seen a beautiful naked woman- at this moment in their eyes, the “Big Ears” trophy with its wonderful arc reflecting the light on its shiny shell was indeed a beautiful naked woman in a sexy pose seducing them.
Wood bent over to let Platini hang the gold medal around his neck and then he walked with the UEFA president to the podium where the Champions League trophy was set.
“Champion! Champion! Champion!” The Forest players were shouting in unison at the back. They did not care what the UEFA thought about them taking the title. They just knew that the championship title was theirs!
Platini’s attention was caught by the sudden outburst of shouts at the back. He turned around to look back at the group of players with a smile of praise on his face. Twain watched at the side as he said in his heart that this official was indeed self-restrained….
Platini lifted and handed the trophy to Wood.
“Congratulations to you all, George. You are the European champions!”
Wood took the trophy unceremoniously and then held it high. His teammates behind him roared as they did the lifting of the trophy action together, “All hail—-the champion!”
Meanwhile, countless red confetti burst forth from behind the podium, and many more alternating red and white ribbons streamed down from the roof of the Bernabéu stadium, accompanied by the sudden blaring of the music, “We Are the Champions.” In the enemy’s lair, Nottingham Forest was crowned as the king of Europe.
This time, they were the king of kings – the Treble winner.
“… We’re the champions, my friend! We are the champions, victorious in every battle…”
Amidst the sound of the music, under the rain of confetti, Twain looked up and watched the scene. Those ribbons of streamers fluttering in the air glowed under the stadium’s bright lights, as if they were fragments of memories, each with a face and a memory. Eleven years on, he had been living here for so long. Some people’s names and faces had faded in his memory, while the others were still clear in his mind. Was it going to end like this?
Looking at those confetti dancing in the night sky, Twain felt somewhat reluctant in his heart as he thought on.
※※※
The reporters at the press conference were getting impatient as Twain was slow to arrive. He had changed into a suit and his hair was toweled dry. He looked more put together than he did when he received the award. Furthermore, he suddenly shook out a red cloak on the stage and acted like he was in a bullfight.
“What do all the Spanish reporters here think of my training? Let’s hear some applause.” He smiled and said to the people below, looking smug. “We’ve just killed a giant bull.” He made a sword piercing action.
He grinned at the Spanish reporters below whose faces had changed color. He had been looking forward to the meeting today since the pre-match press conference. He was glad that he had the last laugh. The red cloak for the bullfight was not bought in vain.
The faces of the Spanish reporters below suddenly darkened considerably. No one gave him a standing ovation.
It was an open provocation, and the action also set the tone of the press conference – if you’re going to provoke, we’re going to pick a quarrel.
Míchel left after he finished the interview before him. The carnage that was going to happen next naturally had nothing to do with him. After Twain taunted the Spaniards, he took a seat, nodded to the host, who signaled that the reporters could ask questions.
All the reporters raised their hands. Twain did not carefully look at which of the Spanish reporters here were the ones who had treated him with disdain just now or which of the English reporters who might be partial towards him. He simply pointed at someone. The person who stood up was a reporter for the Spanish newspaper . A middle-aged balding man spoke with gritted teeth. Apparently, he was strongly provoked by Twain’s “performance” just now. He said, “First of all, congratulations on your team winning the Treble. Secondly, I would like to ask about Pepe and that red card. He may face a very serious punishment. Do you have anything to say, Mr. Twain?”
Pepe’s nasty and violent foul in the game was certain to be the focus of many media attention after the game. The Spaniards would use it to attack Twain and topple the results that Nottingham Forest had achieved. And now, they wanted to spoil the good mood that Twain had just now at the press conference.
Twain raised his eyebrows and put his smile away as he said, “I support Pepe. The impulse was understandable at the time. After all, Real Madrid equalized the score with that penalty shot in the final minute. It’s such a coincidence. If it were me, I would be angry.” Unsurprisingly, Twain chose to be fiercely protective of his player and he covertly scolded the UEFA.
“Do you support the beating? The Marca reporter followed with the question.
“Under those circumstances at the time, I could understand it even if he hit someone.” Twain replied expressionlessly. “If it were me…” Twain paused a little and with a sudden big smile on his face, he added, “… I might perhaps hit someone too.”
The reporter of the Marca newspaper looked unhappy and sat down in anger. He was probably figuring out how to write bad things about Twain in the newspaper.
The second person who was called upon was still a Spanish reporter. This time, it was the newspaper. The target was still directed at Tony Twain. But the reason had changed to be about the tactics. “Wasn’t it abnormal that Nottingham Forest had repeatedly attacked the Real Madrid players throughout the game, with thirty fouls in one hundred and twenty minutes?”
“It’s a normal tactical arrangement.” Twain put the responsibility squarely on himself and said, “I instruct them to do so. As you can see, Mr. Reporter.” Twain pulled the gold medal out of his pocket. A ray of golden light dazzled under the lights caused the reporter to turn his head to the side and slightly closed his eyes. “We are the champion.”
“How can such a champion to take the title?” The reporter was upset by Twain’s flippant behavior. What he said was already out of a reporter’s scope of questions and somewhat lost rationality.
Twain spread his hands with a look of innocence and said, “Why ever now? We didn’t steal or rob. We didn’t rely on the referees nor the UEFA and we didn’t have the massive home field advantage. We also didn’t have the help of a last-minute penalty shot. We’re one player short as compared to Real Madrid. Under such circumstances, we still have the championship title. If we had no reason to win the championship, then dear Mr. Reporter, you tell me, is there any other team in the world that had more reason to take…this one than us??” Twain swayed the gold medal in front of the reporter’s eyes again. He deliberately wanted to annoy the other party.
“All right, next person.” Twain ignored the Spaniard, who was red in the face and biting his lower lip and turned his head to call up someone else again.
It was an English reporter who stood up this time, but in a sense he was still Twain’s “enemy”– a reporter from The Sun.
The Sun reporter was well-versed in the way of reporters. He said a few words of congratulation to Twain and asked a few painless questions which were not their purpose. If he were to play along, he wanted something explosive. He was unafraid of attracting hate. If he did not attract hate from people, then he was mediocre. A reporter must have the awareness to not change his colors even if tens of millions of people spat on and cursed on him.
“Mr. Twain, I heard that your contract will expire on June 30th, but you still haven’t renewed your contract with the club until now. Is there anything…. you’re hiding?”
The authentic English paparazzi indeed did a great job. He immediately shocked everyone present. Not many people knew about the news that Twain had not renewed his contract with the club. It could be said that even the Forest players did not know about the matter. He did not expect The Sun reporter to find out about it.
Twain had no choice but to sit up and take notice of the man in front of him.
“It’s a shame that you didn’t go work for the Scotland Yard, Mr. Reporter.” Twain’s words were tantamount to acknowledging The Sun’s story. The discussion below became so loud that the host had to step forward to maintain order.
But the reporter definitely wanted to make things awkward for Twain. He continued, “In other words, you admit that this matter is true. So, may I ask the reason why you choose not to renew your contract?”
Twain was prepared ahead of time and came out with the excuse to deal with Evan and Allan. He said, “I did not want to be disturbed by the terms of the contract and the salary package before the Champions League game.”
“That means it will be renewed after the Champions League, won’t it? Ah, Mr. Twain, you have to understand the feelings of those who care about you and the Forest fans. They must all want you to renew your contract and continue the glory as the club’s meritorious manager…”
These words sounded dignified, but Twain knew that the asshole was not well-intentioned.
“You’ll know when the time comes, Mr. Reporter.” Twain was certainly not to deal with too. He replied and ended the question.
Perhaps because three people had picked a quarrel in a row and spoiled his mood, Twain did not picked casually this time. Instead, he chose Pierce Brosnan.
Brosnan clearly did not know that Twain had not renewed his contract with the club yet. It looked like Twain had indeed covered it up tightly. He looked a little distracted when he stood. He must still be thinking about what had just happened. The questions he asked were also generic and without any news value. There was nothing about the team’s tactical arrangements. He did not praise the performances of a few players to play or talked about the feelings of winning the Treble…
Twain had a ready answer to every question. The two of them seemed to have already rehearsed earlier. The question and answer flower quickly. The other reporters below were earnestly doing shorthand but were shaking their heads inside at the same time – it looked like the show was already over.
After he finished answering these questions, Brosnan suddenly came to his senses. He still wanted to ask, “Tony, is it true that you’re renewing the contract after the Champions League?”
Twain was stumped by Brosnan’s frank question and his face looked ugly all of a sudden. However, such a look only appeared on his face for less than a second. He immediately returned to a smiling face.
“You’ll find out at that time, Mr. Brosnan.”
When Pierce Brosnan heard what Twain addressed him at the end, sweat beads appeared on his forehead. He realized that the king of Nottingham Forest was angry. But it reinforced his doubts about Twain’s failure to renew his contract with the club.
A year ago, the media speculated about Twain’s contract extension with the club. At the time, the Forest Football Club offered him a new five-year contract and more than doubled his current salary. Not only did the salary figure put him up there in terms of accomplishments, it also bumped him up there in the ranks of England’s top managers in terms of earnings. Initially, the negotiations went smoothly for everyone and Twain was already ready to sign a new contract. But unexpectedly, Allan forcibly meddled and sold Lennon. Twain said nothing and immediately suspended the renewal negotiations. He even told Evan to wait a year later to talk about this matter.
What Twain did was high-handed at the time and both parties were unhappy. Word on the street and even rumors stated that Twain would leave to coach Manchester United that summer. Although Twain did not leave in the end, which surprised those who thought he should have left, the rumors of a conflict between him and the club were rife and caused a stink for a while. It directly affected the team’s summer preparations for the competition. The will of the players in the team was unstable and transfers also tended to stagnate. As a result, the Forest team started the new season slower than the other rival teams. Otherwise they would not have to chase Arsenal so fiercely at the end of the season to capture the title.
Brosnan was aware that Twain and Allan were at odds, but did not expect him to really not renew his contract with the club thus far…
After this final game, it was believed that Evan Doughty would be eager to come up with a new contract. At that time, which course would Twain take?
The Nottingham Evening Post reporter’s eyebrows knitted together. He suddenly had a bad feeling about it.
By this time, the man in his eyes had got up to leave, and the host hurriedly announced that the press conference was over. The reporters still wanted to ask questions, but Twain just walked out without even turning his head back.
It should have been a celebratory and joyous press conference, but there was hardly a trace of the festive atmosphere to be felt…
Pierce Brosnan looked around and had such an idea in his mind.
※※※
Instead of going back to the locker room, Twain went straight to the bus parked outside the stadium, where his team was waiting for him.
Twain stepped on the bus and waved his hands as he announced, “Let’s go back and celebrate, guys! The season is over, so don’t think about anything else. Let’s party to our hearts’ content! Let loose and play!”
He was greeted by a crowd of people cheering wildly. After a tough season and gritting their teeth to persevere to this moment, what was it all for? It was to hear the boss say these words!
Previously, the boss would always brandished the whip at the back and yelled, “Run! Keep running! Don’t let up!” Now that they were finally at the finish line, and also the first to meet the line, they did not have to care about anything. They could stop and take a good breath.
The bus was suddenly lively. Some people were discussing where to go relax during the holidays. Some people were busy calling their families and girlfriends. Some people simply laid back on the seats to take a nap.
Twain did not care how much of a din they made. He sat down next to Kerslake and let out a gentle breath.
“It’s finally over, David.”
“Ah yes.” Kerslake replied with a smile, “I’ve got to have a good rest for a long time!”
“Me too.” Twain nodded.
“You really have to have a good rest. Don’t worry your wife too much. You have worked too hard during this period.”
Twain gave a grunt of agreement and then adjusted the seat to lean his body back and closed his eyes, He said, “I’m going to sleep for a while. Wake me when we reach, David.”
The luxury bus slowly pulled out of the Bernabéu stadium as the stadium lights slowly went out and headed for the hotel where they were staying. Everyone was still making a din in the bus. Leaning next to Kerslake, Twain was already lightly snoring away.
The din had nothing to do with him anymore
※※※
When Twain was woken up, the bus was parked in front of the hotel, and the players had all gotten out of the bus, leaving only him, Kerslake and the driver in the bus.
“Huh? Ah, we’re here?” Twain rubbed his face and sat up from his seat. But he forgot to adjust the seat angle, so his back relaxed and he laid back again. The feeling of weightlessness scared him and the expression on his face changed. He only returned to normal after he leaned back to the seat.
When he saw him looking tired like this, Kerslake laughed, “Looking like this, where is the demeanor of a European championship manager?”
“I’m still not fully awake yet…Yawn – ” Twain gave a yawn and stretched his back before he sat up again and slightly moved his neck and shoulders which were a little sore from maintaining the sleeping posture. “I had a dream.”
He looked at the old partner who had been with him for ten years. The lights inside the bus had gone out, but his eyes flashed in the dark, as if reflecting the lights outside the hotel entrance.
“A good dream?” Kerslake asked, following Twain’s words.
“A beautiful dream.” Twain nodded with certainty as he got up and left his seat. “A rare beautiful dream.” He strode and stepped out of the bus.
There were still many reporters and hardcore fans of the Forest team waiting at the hotel entrance. A commotion broke out when they saw Twain walk down, leaving the security guards and policemen in charge of maintaining order to be on high alert.
Fat John and his group were already inside. When they saw Twain, they started shouting, “Tony! Hey, Tony!”
Twain heard the shouts and waved to them.
“Thank you, Tony! Thank you!” The group of people seemed to drink a lot and looked very excited. They kept shouting “thank you” to Twain. They were obviously thanking him for giving the Forest team the Treble that had never been won even in Clough’s era.
Skinny Bill drank the most. He was flushed from his head to the base of his neck. When he saw Twain, he wanted to break through the barrier set up by the security guards and policemen. However, he did not have much strength due to too much drink. He was unstable on his feet and was pushed back by the police. Amid the jostle, he also vaguely shouted out, “Tony… hiccup! Tony, next year… Next year, we’ll win… the Treble, the Treble… hiccup!”
Twain waved to him and said, “Certainly.”
Then he walked into the hotel lobby. The security guards and police officers were relieved and withdrew to the door. With the help of the favorable location, they kept the frantic fans and reporters outside.
The players did not wait for the boss. Instead, they went out in packs of two and three. They had their own ways of recreation and fun, which had nothing to do with the manager. Twain also did not want to join in the fun. He and Kerslake went straight into the elevator to get on the floor where his room was located.
As soon as they came out of the elevator, the two men saw Evan Doughty and Allan Adams standing outside.
Evan smiled and greeted Kerslake first. Then he turned to Twain and said, Tony, we’ve been waiting for you for a long time.”
Although Kerslake was usually carefree and loud, he was not a fool. He knew that Mr. Chairman must have come to look for Twain about something. So, he made an excuse and left first.
Kerslake discreetly left, and Twain continued to stand inside the elevator.
Evan looked at him and smiled again, “If you don’t come out soon, you’ll have to go back to the first floor.”
Twain touched his nose and walked out with his head bowed. He longed to go back to the first floor. Although the idea had been hovering in his mind for a whole year, he still felt complicated when it was really time to say it out. He was very hesitant.
On this night, it was the night of the Champions. It was also a sleepless night for more than half of the people in Nottingham.
The players who had worked hard for a season would also have fun and indulge without restraint on a night like this. It was a night of revelry.
As for the reporters who hurried back from the stadium and the hotel, it was destined to be a busy night of work.
And now, for the three people standing at the elevator entrance, it was… a night for a showdown..
...
Chapter 882 - Showing His Hand
“Shall we head downstairs for a drink?” Tony Twain asked the two people in front of him, as he pointed in the elevator’s direction.
Evan looked at Alan before shaking his head. “No, I believe it’ll be full of football players there at this hour, and it’ll not be suitable for us to appear. Let’s go to your room, Tony.”
Tony Twain shook the key card in his hand and replied, “Alright. However, I can’t offer you two anything else aside from a few bottles of mineral water.” He turned to speak to the two guests as he stood before the door to his room.
Evan smiled at him, but Alan remained emotionless. Evan, who was standing beside him, looked like his bodyguard.
Twain invited the other two in after opening the door to his room. He walked in last and shut the door after them.
“What an exciting match, Tony,” Evan congratulated him first. At the Bernabeu, Tony Twain was either surrounded by reporters, lifted up by his team and paraded around the stadium, or he was receiving his medal. Evan Dogerty had no way of getting close to him.
“We lost one man to a red card, and the match could have gone either way.” In Twain’s eye, even though the match was intense, it was not exciting. He took out three bottles of mineral water from the minibar in his room and tossed two of them to his guests, before twisting the cap of his own bottle open and emptying half of it down his throat.
“What matters most is that you won!” Evan replied happily. He was destined to become the most successful club chairman throughout Nottingham Forest’s 149-year history, and he might even be known as its “greatest” one. “Aside, how will you handle the matter of Pepe’s red card?” Evan asked, not in a hurry to get to the main topic at hand. “Will you appeal against it?”
Twain looked at Evan, who was purposely trying not to reveal his true motive, and laughed. “Appeal? That red card was justified, and it’ll be perfectly normal for UEFA to issue a fine. The club should accept whatever decision the officials make. As for the others…they’re not your concern, Evan. You wouldn’t enjoy battling out in a war of words with those media reporters,” he said, signaling that he would deal with things.
“Alright, I can guess what you’re going to do…” Evan said, shaking his head. “However, I should warn you not to go too far.”
“I know how far I can go,” Twain replied, gulping down another mouthful of cool Evian water.
“Your limits…” Evan laughed bitterly. It was all he could do; Twain seldom requested for the club to clean up after him.
Actually, come to think of it, since all these years, the club would never involve itself in Twain’s squabbles with the media and not bother itself with either party. Twain had succeeded in focusing the public’s attention on his temper and character, instead of linking the issues at hand to the club. In short, his successes were attributed to the club, but when his reputation suffered, it had nothing to do with the Nottingham Forest Football Club.
Twain walked up to the window and opened the glass window before turning the air conditioning off. The night breeze rushed in, causing the curtains to puff up. The wind on the 11th floor of this building was rather strong.
The noise of the crowded streets drifted into the room along with the wind. The mixture of cars honking and fans’ drunken chants became very vague in the wind and sounded a little unreal.
“How cooling,” Twain said as he opened his arms, as if about to embrace the night.
“Hey, Tony. Do you have any plans for your vacation? I’m not talking about stuff like heading to Brazil to give a talk about the World Cup, mind you,” Evan kept beating around the bush, skirting around the main topic at hand.
Tony Twain was not in a hurry as well and took his lead. “I’ll be with my wife and I’ll go anywhere she goes.”
“You’re really a great husband,” praised Evan.
Twain shook his head in disagreement. “I’m only able to spend time once a year with her. I’m not a great husband…in fact, I don’t even know if I have fulfilled my responsibilities as a husband.” If it were not for the fact that he had to portray himself as the authoritative figure of a head coach in front of his players, he would have brought Shania back to his room for some intimate moments.
They chatted aimlessly in this manner, with Alan Adams remaining silent during their conversation. He sat beside Evan like an invisible person, drinking mouthful after mouthful of mineral water.
Perhaps, after sensing that Twain was finally getting tired after the intense match earlier on, Evan finally broached the subject matter at hand. “In truth, both Alan and I are here to discuss about your new contract, Tony.”
Upon hearing the words “new contract”, Alan discarded his invisible armor and fished out a stack of paper from his attache case, passing them to Evan Dogerty.
Twain’s lips curled. What’s to come will come, and no amount of small talk will be able to stop it from happening.
“You told me that you don’t want to talk about contract renewal before the Champion’s League campaign is over. I’m pleased that it has concluded, and even more so that we’ve won it. Now, the club would like to offer you a new contract – an entirely new one that was drawn up after the competition ended, mind you…Alan put in a lot of effort into this.” Evan Dogerty knew that Twain and Alan were at loggerheads with each other, and he was trying to rekindle their relationship.
Twain did not look at Alan, nor did he reply.
“You’ll stand to gain much more benefits. If you sign it, you’ll be the highest paid manager in all of England!” Evan Dogerty said excitedly. He was not known to be generous, but he had a thorough understanding of Tony Twain’s significance to Nottingham Forest Football Club. If they could retain him, they would be able to recoup any amount of money they had spent on him – whoever heard of a champion who worried about finances?
Twain reached his arm out toward Evan. The latter hurriedly passed the contract over, while he continued describing the wonderful future Twain would stand to gain once he renewed his contract, “…we’ll move into a spanking new stadium next season, and our ticket prices will definitely be increased. However, Nottingham is too small, and we have plans to expand into overseas markets. You’ve won the treble at just the right time! Now, the transfer market is open, and our resources have been boosted. You’ll be able to get whoever you wish!”
Twain ignored Evan’s emotionally charged speech and lowered his head to browse through each clause in the contract. Evan was not lying; it was much more generous than all of his previous contracts. If he signed on it, his annual salary would be as high as 7.5 million pounds. Even though it would not make him the most highly paid manager in the world, he would be very far ahead of his peers in the English Premier League. Wenger’s annual salary of 5 million pounds would not be a threat at all.
That was not inclusive of the perks of being crowned champions. To the Godfather of Championships, winning titles was a piece of cake, as was obtaining prize money.
However, Tony Twain did not think much about all these things. Even though he did not value money highly, he had many ways of earning it. The salary the club gave him was only one of them…
Aside from his salary, he also had many endorsement deals with companies like Armani, the FM series of video games, Gillette razors and Ray Ban sunglasses. He had even signed a contract with BBC television station to work as a special guest analyst during the BBC’s live telecasts of the England national team’s matches, and it gave him another source of income. Also, sales of his autobiography “10 Years” was also pretty good, and it was ranked among the top three most popular books in England for five consecutive weeks. In fact, it was number one on the bestseller list for two weeks. Everyone was extremely curious about England’s most peculiar and mysterious manager, and compared to all of these activities, the fees he collected by writing essays occasionally for various media outlets was peanuts and not worthy of mention.
He had never asked for a raise while signing the previous long 8 year contract with the club, and he led the way for his players. His supporters thought of him as the only coach in commercial football that was not materialistic, and some people also thought that his passion for Notthingham Forest Football Club was not measurable in terms of money. In reality, it was because his 2.7 million pound annual salary was only one-tenth of his total annual income…
Twain glanced over the clauses mentioning his income quickly, hoping to see that he be guaranteed more authority. If they were written in black and white, he would still be able to produce proof to protect himself during the unfortunate event of legal issues with the club.
This would be the last chance he was giving the club.
He was disappointed, however. His authority as a manager was not stated in any clause in the contract. Perhaps, Evan did not think that there was a need to state the obvious, as managers in the Premier League wielded the most influence in the footballing world, even though it had been watered down since the last two decades. Or maybe, he did not want to state it in fear that Twain would use it to hold the club hostage in a dispute. There was also a likelihood that this was Alan Adams’ idea; didn’t Evan mentioned that Alan drafted the contract? Why would he include anything that would diminish his own influence in it?
Twain shook his head lightly and returned the contract back to Evan.
Evan did not expect that Twain would return the contract untouched back to him. Earlier on, he thought that Twain would sign on it without hesitation after looking at the figures he would be earning.
“Er, Tony?” Evan asked somewhat dazedly, not taking back the contract immediately.
Twain lowered his head, as if having made a very big decision. He used the same amount of effort to raise his head and smiled at Evan. “I’m not planning to sign the contract, Evan.”
Evan Dogerty thought he had not heard Twain clearly and stared wide-eyed at him, trying to deduce how much possibility that he was joking from his smile.
Twain guessed Dogerty’s intentions and replied, “Stop looking, I’m not joking.” He brought one leg on top the other, taking a good look at the still shell-shocked club chairman. He turned his gaze to the calm-looking Alan Adams behind Dogerty and pitied him…
Alan did not have any intention to speak, and Twain remained silent after saying his piece. Evan was still in a state of shock, causing the entire room to fall into a state of silence. It was not an awkward kind of silence, however, because all three of them were thinking about different things. Noise from the streets had died down a little. Probably, the cops, who were supposed to maintain law and order, had finally decided to act.
Time passed by and Evan had long recovered from his shock. He began to ponder why Twain would reject the offer, his expression continually changing. Of course, he may have already came up with an answer, like how Alan forcefully sold Lennon one year ago, causing them to become enemies…but how could he still be so focused on something that happened a year ago? Wasn’t this too petty? People have to look forward to the future, and let the past be the past. If he continues staying with us, what title or football star would he not be able to get? What was one Lennon compared to all that?
However, he did not know that Twain did not care about Lennon or Messi, but that his authority had been directly threatened and challenged. He was idealistic like that, and if such incidents happened once, they would keep occurring, and it would eventually drive him mad.
If those crazy Arabs who owned Manchester City forked out 100 million pounds to purchase George, Twain was unsure if he could make the star stay. This was because Alan would definitely get involved; from a purely commercial viewpoint, 100 million pounds could bring in three top-class midfielders who were only slightly less skillful than George. Why wouldn’t that be a good deal?
Businessmen would never get it; football was not a numbers game. Some things could never be purchased with money, and had Manchester City won a trophy with all its riches and splurging? They were losers who could not even win the League Cup!
Evan pondered and observed for a very long while. He noticed that both Alan and Tony did not have any intention of making peace with each other, and he began to speak. “I think there must be some misunderstanding about this, Tony…”
Twain shook his head. “I’m tired, Evan. All I want is some rest and to stay at home with my wife. I want to take care of her needs, just like a stay at home husband.” He wanted to show his cards and add, “I don’t see eye to eye with Alan, and we don’t have to force ourselves to work together if we have differing view points. Let’s just seek different paths in life from now on,” but he changed tack before the words were about to leave his mouth.
“You’ll have vacation time.”
“Less than a month’s worth of vacation time cannot repay Shania for what I owe her over the last 11 years,” Twain said very seriously, without any hint of sounding perfunctory. This was because they were the truth.
However, Evan did not believe the reasons that Twain had just gave him. He frowned and kept shaking his head, “Oh, please, don’t be like this, Tony…no manager has ever left his post at the age of 45 for such reasons. You’re still young, okay? You can achieve even greater things, as long as we stay as a team, don’t you agree? Of all clubs in the Premier League…no, in the entire world, Nottingham Forest is most suited for you to display your talents. We need you as much as you need us.”
“I admit,” Twain nodded, grinning. He spoke the truth.
There were a group of players who he cultivated personally here, and his most ardent supporters were also from the club. There were media people who praised him and played mind games with him, and a club chairman who did not have much influence and did not care about what he was planning most of the time…perhaps, he might only find two of these things in another football club. There was only one Nottingham Forest in the entire world, and it was entirely unique.
Alan Adams might have been the only bad thing in the club for Twain, but he was a lethal thorn in his side. Twain would never scream at Evan and force him to choose between himself or Alan, like a jealous woman in some eight o’clock soap opera on the television.
He knew how important Alan was to Evan, as a co-founder and friend for many decades. Even if it came down to choosing between the two of them, Twain was sure that a distant relation like himself would never stand a chance.
“I only wish to rest. So, even if Nottingham Forest is the only club that’s suitable for me in the entire world, I don’t have any objection, Evan.”
Evan believed that Twain would rebut him, and he was prepared to ask him if it would really be better to go to a club bigger than Nottingham Forest. After so many years, he had long discarded his initial plan of achieving G14 status for the club. Of course, this was directly connected to the dissolution of G14 by UEFA.
“I’m not going to Manchester United, Evan. I’m not going anywhere…hmm, maybe I’ll go to the States; Shania’s career is based there. However, I’m not going to coach there. Do they play football over there? I’m clueless about American Football,” Twain said, turning his palms up, showing a ‘relaxed’ pose.
Evan stared at the grinning Twain, as if he wanted to see through all of him.
Twain stopped talking.
Both of them stared at each other for a while before Evan got up from the sofa. “I hope you’ll take some time to consider, Tony. There’s still a month before your contract will be up, and this contract…” he patted it for effect before continuing, “…you can keep it.”
He was about to leave.
Twain got up to send his guests off. “Don’t waste your effort, Evan. Spend it to look for my successor. I’m quitting, I’m serious,” he said in a very serious tone.
Evan did not reply and merely left with Alan.
He remained silent until both of them walked into the empty elevator. He only erupted in anger after the elevator doors were tightly shut, “Fuck! How could he do something like that!!”
Alan remained silent by his side and listened to his old friend and boss unleash his unhappiness.
“Who does he think he is?! Does he think he’s so great after winning three titles? How could he reject an annual salary of 7.5 million pounds?!! Tell me, Alan!”
Evan Dogerty turned around in a flourish and stared at Alan Adams.
“Tell me, did I wrong him in any way? I was cleaning up after him while he spoke arrogantly! I fulfilled all of his requests, and he has basically become the Supreme Emperor of Nottingham Forest in the eyes of the media. Who still remembers that I’m the club’s chairman? But I didn’t care…I really don’t care about such things! I only want him to continue managing this football club, and to win trophies for us! Yet, he’s still unsatisfied, he…fuck him!”
Evan punched the gold plated walls of the elevator, causing it to rumble. The entire elevator seemed to be shaking.
“Alright, I know what he’s actually thinking about. What bullshit about accompanying his wife? He’s only trying to complain that he doesn’t have enough authority. How much does he want? Does he want to directly replace me as the club’s chairman? If that happened, no one will be able to control him.” Evan laughed coldly all of a sudden, before continuing, “The media has created an image of him as the ‘King of Nottingham Forest’, and he really bought it…laughable!”
The lift stopped moving with a ‘Ding!’ and the doors opened slowly. They were at the first floor now.
Evan did not turn to look at his companion, the rage long gone from his face. No one could tell that he had just unleashed a volley of vulgarities in the lift. “Alan, prepare a shortlist of potential successors. I want to see it latest by next afternoon. Then, we’ll start looking for the next coach,” he said calmly.
Alan nodded, before realizing that it would be more prudent not to show Evan that he was all-knowing. As such, he asked, “Aren’t we going to wait for June 30th any longer?”
“A new coach, new plan and new formation will take time to meld. It’ll be too late if we wait until then. We’ll have lost out to our competitors.”
Evan walked out of the elevator as he spoke, with Alan behind him. Both of them walked past the great hall and out of the entrance, before diving into a black sedan that had long been waiting for them, disappearing into the night.
...
Chapter 883 - The Storm before the Night
It wasn’t until noon the next day that Twain met all the Nottingham Forest team members in the restaurant, both players and coaches. There was no one having meals in the restaurant in the morning. Twain knew that these people went through a full frenzy night of partying so all of them must have slept in. Anyways, the season had already ended so he would not ask someone else to knock on their doors.
After the team lunch, they would take a flight back to England, then an open-top double-decker bus from Birmingham Airport into Nottingham. After they arrived, they had an interview with the mayor at the city square, after which they would climb onto the town hall balcony and meet the fans that would gather there. That was their itinerary for the day. There was no arrangement to celebrate during the evening at the City Stadium as the City Stadium was fully closed for final preparations before its demolition.
On the flight from Madrid to Birmingham, Evan Doughty and Allan Adams were in first class seating and did not come to find Twain, thought Twain did not want them to disturb him either. He leaned against his seat and texted Shania to ask where she wanted to go this holiday.
Most of the players continued to sleep on the plane. The beautiful air stewardesses were elegant and careful, but they were also helpless in front of guys who were continuously snoring.
After the plane landed in Birmingham, it was Twain and Wood who were carrying the championship trophy and the first to walk down the plane’s ladder.
Reporters who had been waiting there for a long time swarmed up. In an instant, there were several flashes and some players who were still drowsy almost rolled down the ladder when they looked up.
Twain was interviewed after disembarking and was asked to give an impromptu speech.
“This is a gift to all the Nottingham Forest fans.” He held up his trophy and the silver glinted in the afternoon sun.
Instead of an emotional and passionate speech, he simply waved to the camera, “I love you all.”
Then he got into the crowd and left the scene under police protection.
This left a few stunned reporters facing each other. It was not like Twain to give such a short speech.
Only Evan Doughty and Allan Adams knew why – when Twain has decided to leave the scene, there was not much meaning to what else he wanted to say.
Twain forced a smile in front of everyone, but he was not in a good mood. If he were alone, that smile would disappear and he would just stare into space.
He stayed like this, zoned out, until he ascended to the second-floor balcony of City Hall to face the tens of thousands of Nottingham Forest fans below. He only got up when he needed to show up, choosing to hide behind the other players most of the time, his gaze was constantly moving.
Because every time he saw the enthusiastic fans below, he had to think about how to deal with them after he announced the news. What would the people who once supported him think? Would they continue to support him or would they shun him? Would he need to wear sunglasses and dress up differently whenever he walked within the city of Nottingham?
And his players. How would they feel in their hearts if his most loyal players knew their coach betrayed them? Twain did not dare to think about this future. He felt sorry for the team, but he had no choice, he did not want to force himself to stay anymore. Leading the team to the club’s unprecedented Triple Crown may be his only compensation for these people, so this also allowed Twain’s heart to settle a little.
Twain did not tell Shania when he was making the decision, perhaps he could have sought Shania’s comfort and support. But that would also make Shania worry for himself. Twain did not want this to happen, so he chose himself to bear these burden alone.
“Coach! Hey, coach!” Bale called a few times from the side before waking up the daydreaming Twain.
“Ah?” What’s the matter, little monkey? ” Twain called Bale’s nickname.
“They’re all shouting your name.” Bale pointed to the crowds below.
Twain knew he needed to go forward and wave again, so he squeezed towards the front.
The fans below stopped shouting his name when they saw Twain reappeared, then came a huge cheer afterwards.
Twain waved to them with a huge smile on his face.
Wood handed him the microphone from his hand. It was not as simple as just waving his hand, he needed to make a speech.
Twain received the microphone and looked at the people below, his mouth opened but he did not know what to say. So he dazed out on the spot while holding the microphone.
As the cheers faded, Twain realized that he would be exposed to be out of state if he continued dazing. He coughed and began, “Thank you all so much for being here.”
Then he got stuck again.
“Well… Thank you again for this… One season of support. He almost said, “the support of the past 11 years.”
“We won three of the most important championships. ” Twain pointed to the three trophies of different shapes and sizes in front of him. They were the English Premier League Champions Trophy, the FA Cup and the freshly released European Champions Cup. “Here are three love letters for all of you. I love you all. ”
When he said this, Twain was not being pretentious and fake. He really loved this group of fans. After all, He has coached this team for eleven years, there were no fake feelings involved.
Someone passionately screamed from below, “I love you, Tony.”
There was no shortage of sexy hot girls within the crowds. The players behind him whistled.
“We wouldn’t have achieved those results without your support, ” Twain continued after the commotion. “I will firmly remember you guys, this day belongs to you, go and have lots of fun!” he gave the microphone to the people around him and stepped back.
“The head coach is a little weird…” Bale muttered to Wood.
Wood looked at Twain and did not respond.
“Maybe he was too tired…” Others were also aware about how weird Twain was as what Bale said. If it was like in the past, the head coach would surely deliver a speech here that would excite his supporters and incite fear in his opponents, then he would bring the atmosphere to its climax. But today’s head coach was like a poet. He was a little… sentimental…?
His statement garnered the approval from others. During these days, the head coach was really tired. Everyone saw this; it was definitely not fake. There were only players, hence they would at most be physically tired, but being the coach would involve being emotionally fatigued. If he was tired mentally, he would naturally not have sufficient strength to make an emotional and passionate speech here.
The revelry with the fans continued into the evening. Nottingham Forest’s players and the three trophies finally disappeared from the second-floor balcony. Their whole team went to the mayor’s dinner, and the fans were also leaving as they would continue to celebrate this great season in their respective bars.
※※※
On the same day, the media also started buzzing.
The Spanish media were not happy with the Nottingham Forest winning the Champions League. They did not think Nottingham Forest had any reason to win the championship and the trophy was stolen by them. Whether it was the team line-up, sports physique or the audience’s opinions, Real Madrid was more qualified to lift the trophy than they were.
In addition to criticizing Tony Twain for his lack of championship demeanor in his post-match press conference, they also talked about Pepe’s red card. A majority probably wanted to force Pepe to retire, if not they would not stop criticizing about it.
Real Madrid did not speak yet but Angel Torres, the younger brother of the president of Real Madrid, Angel Torres, who had a Real Madrid membership card, jumped out and publicly attacked Pepe, claiming that “Nottingham Forest should have expelled such violent players from the team”.
Despite Pepe’s public apology in the English media the next day and his tears of remorse, the Spanish people did not waver at all. There were still some Spanish media clamors for Pepe to be banned from matches forever. The reason being “In the final match of the European Champions Cup, in such an important, high-profile game, such violent actions were a disgrace to football, and such a person simply does not deserve to play football!”
Marca was concerned about UEFA’s reaction towards the incident. The UEFA’s response was swift — in fact everything regarding Nottingham Forest and Tony Twain, like penalty decisions were decided quite quickly. On the second day after the match they had already made a penalty decision: a 15-game ban and a fine of 50,000 euros for Pepe’s European-wide matches. That meant that even if Nottingham Forest reached the Champions League final next season, Pepe would miss all 13 games. On top of that, Pepe would be suspended for the European Super Cup at the end of August and then another match in the next season – that is, if Nottingham Forest could still qualify for European competitions, whether it is the Confederations Cup or the Champions League, or for the European Super Cup.
This was a rather severe penalty.
Nottingham Forest did not appeal against this. Instead, they quietly accepted the penalty, so the Spanish media had speculated whether the Nottingham Forest club would also impose penalties on Pepe… Unfortunately, they did not receive any news on this and Nottingham Forest Club did not announce any form of punishment for Pepe — he would not even have a smaller winning bonus.
Pepe was in a very bad mood at first because after calming down, he also felt that he had broken into a great disaster. He even thought about retiring in his mind. If it were not for the coach, he might have just gone ahead and retired.
It was the head coach who found him at lunchtime the next day, pulling him into the corner for more than half an hour and explaining to him about the club and his personal’s stance. Regardless of this matter there would be no further complications, so just let bygones be bygones. Twain on his end understood what he did at that time and would not impose any further punishment.
Twain’s tolerance and understanding made Pepe grateful and strengthened his determination to remain loyal to the Nottingham team. Now Twain was still dealing with all kinds of issues, and when he was free, he would rebut against those Spanish media on his own forums. These Spanish people would definitely have the opportunity to suffer Twain’s scolding.
Most of the English media were speculating about another event that had nothing to do with winning the title — whether the affinity between Tony Twain and Nottingham Forest have come to an end. Ever since the news was exposed, it was like a tropical rainstorm, sweeping the whole English media. As for Tony Twain leading the team to attain the Triple Champions, the news rather became more common and uninteresting in comparison…
The mayor also asked about this matter during the celebratory dinner at the mayor’s official residence. The Nottingham team’s trio laughed harmoniously at the mayor’s concern, as if there were no contradictions at all. Twain continuously promised to “settle down in a few days first then consider a contract extension” and Evan Doughty assured the mayor as he swore that the club would offer their meritorious coach a contract that would match what he had achieved so far.
But the mayor would never know what the three people were actually thinking.
There were players who heard similar news from other sources, running to the head coach during the party and asking if he was really leaving. This was what Twain thought was the hardest to deal with: He did not want to lie in front of his players, but then again, this was not the time to reveal everything. He only entertained them by saying, “You guys will know then.” He wanted to pretend to be mysterious so everyone would not blindly speculate.
At the end he simply hid outside alone to enjoy the cold breeze.
This was the corner of the garden of the official residence. It was very dark, and usually no one would come to this place. Twain hid here, thinking that he could get through the night, but he did not expect to meet yet an uninvited guest.
“If I said, ‘Hey, what a coincidence!’ You wouldn’t buy it, would you?” The visitor was carrying a wine glass and it looked like he was coming out to enjoy the cold breeze as well.
Twain looked at him and did not say anything.
The man continued, “You don’t have to be like this right, Twain? Since you have decided to leave, then the feud between us should be written off, shouldn’t it? ”
Twain voice seemed to come out of his nose, “Good evening, Mr. Allan Adams.”
Twain was finally willing to talk to him. Allan smiled, “I have not much opinions about you, Tony. Everything I do is based on the financial considerations for the club. It’s like everything you think is based on team results. The two of us… well maybe if we weren’t handling such matters, could be friends.”
“Maybe,” Twain said coldly. If it were not for the man in front of him, his affinity with the Nottingham Forest might not have been broken so fast.
“Can I ask you what you’re going to do after you leave here?” No, it’s not the question asking where you are going with your wife, it’s about football…” Allan waved.
Twain thought, then shook his head, “I don’t know, no plans. Maybe I’ll go some time without touching football.” Then he smiled coldly. “Are you still worried that I’m going to Manchester United to become Nottingham Forest’s enemy?”
Allan did not say anything, it was as if he was acknowledging it silently.
“I’m not interested.” Twain shrugged. “I can’t be too sure about the far future, but I won’t be coaching any Premier League team in the years to come. ”
He did not say why, but the reason was obvious. Leading the Nottingham Forest for eleven years, this team had long been integrated with him — both entities were one and the same. He was simply unable to imagine himself standing as the manager of another Premier League team and directing them against Nottingham Forest. When he was at Nottingham Forest, he managed to put the rest of the Premier League on the opposite side of Nottingham Forest and made them enemies of Nottingham Forest, so how could he now turn around and become the very enemy he created?
Allan seemed relieved. When they signed the contract with Twain, they had never thought of what was happening today, otherwise he would definitely write in the contract, “Once the two sides decide not to renew the contract, five years upon the expiry of the contract, Party B would not be allowed to coach any team within the same league.” At least now he was a little settled.
Was he afraid of Tony? To tell the truth, he was indeed afraid. He was afraid to become an enemy of Tony Twain. When this guy goes crazy, he throws everything out of the window, he would become a completely different person.
After confirming this matter, Allan had no more reason to talk about the past with Tony Twain, he used an excuse to leave the place, leaving Tony Twain alone behind. Twain looked at the brightly lit doorway, as the noise came out vaguely.
He suddenly felt a little lonely, but he liked this type of loneliness. If it was possible, it was best to keep him lonely until the end of the dinner party, and then he could go back and hug his dear wife.
After spending a moment alone in the dark, Twain returned to the lively hall. Chris Kerslake came to him, “Where have you been, Tony? I was looking for you but could not find you. ”
“Go outside and catch a breather. What are you looking for me for?”
“Well… I heard a little rumor.” Chris Kerslake looked at Twain.
“And you want me to give you validation?”
Chris Kerslake nodded.
Twain hesitated for a while.
“You’ll know by then, David. ” He was still using the same excuse to avoid the question.
“When? If you want to renew your contract with the club, it would be usually around these few days?”
“You’ll find out in a few days, David. “Twain patted his old partner on the shoulder.
He did not lie on purpose, but he really did not think about how to say goodbye to the people closest to him. After today, the team would be immediately disbanded and everyone could go and settle their own respective matters. Some would go on vacation and they would not meet each other until the next gathering. Because of the World Cup, the first to return to the team were those players who were not selected for their respective national teams, Twain needed to commentate on the World Cup, so the team would be led by his assistants on the time being. By the time the World Cup was over, his contract with the club would have long been expired.
He also knew that Evan and Allan would not really wait until June 30 to find his successors, and the news would not be able to stay hidden for a few days. Still, he wanted this to drag on, so at least he was able to think of ways to bade farewell to these people.
“If there are any developments, I’ll turn to you first to let you know, David.” Twain laughed.
“Okay…” Chris Kerslake sighed helplessly. “My handphone will be switched on twenty-four seven. ”
“Thank you, David.”
“What are you thanking me for? Sigh, I also don’t know why, but my heart feels a little uneasy. Maybe I drank a little too much?”
Chris Kerslake muttered and turned away.
Twain’s troubles weighed heavier and heavier.
“I’m sorry, comrades. I’m not going to continue to lead you to victory and championship. I have decided to resign automatically when my contract expiresd because of some conflict between me and the club. I wish you all all the best.”
There were so many people, how could he say all of them in front of them?
(To be continued, if you want to know what happens later, please log in to www.qidian.com, where there would be more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading! )
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Chapter 884 - A Storm Brewing
Twain was lying on the big bed at home. He was awakened by the morning sun.
“Good morning, champion manager.”
Shania laid next to him, drawing circles on Twain’s chest with her hair.
Twain squinted his eyes as he looked out of the window at the bright white sunshine and groggily asked, “What time is it?”
“9:47.” Shania glanced sideways at the small alarm clock placed on the bedside table and continued to play the game of drawing her hair around on Twain’s chest.
Twain watched Shania play the game on his chest, and felt a warm feeling rose within his heart.
This was the most important person in his life, so he could not hide this matter any longer.
“Jor.”
“Hmmm?” Shania was a little surprised, and she stopped her hand movements as well. One must know that although “Jor” was Shania’s official nickname, Uncle Tony rarely called her by that name. He had always called her by the name “Shania” since they first met.
“Have you thought about where we’re going for the holidays?”
Shania recovered her composure and continued to draw her circles as she said, “We can go to Brazil. Anyway, the World Cup is being held in Brazil and you have to do the commentary for the games. We can also visit my parents on the way, and then we’ll do our own fun things after. After which, you can go do your commentary and I’ll head to America.” Shania had already arranged for the future plans to be formed.
“That’s a good idea.” Twain also agreed with Shania’s arrangement. But he still had a question, “So what about after the World Cup?”
“Huh?” Shania stopped what she was doing again and looked up at Twain. “Don’t you have to be back in the team then? Your team starts to gather on June 20th…”
Twain smiled and watched Shania without answering. The more Shania spoke, the more she felt that something was off. Then she did not go on and stared at Twain, which implied –”Do you have anything you want to tell me, Uncle Tony?”
Twain reached out and gently rubbed his hand on Shania’s head as he said, “Well, my contract with the club is soon going to expire and I’m not going to renew my contract with the club.” His tone was calm, as if he was talking about something very common.
Shania’s reaction was not calm at all. This time she directly pushed her body up from the bed with both hands, opened her mouth, and stared wide-eyed at her husband in front of her.
“I’m going to have a lot of time to spend with you.” Twain smiled and spread his arms wide open to draw Shania into his embrace.
Shania laid on top of Twain’s chest and still trying to make sense of it. She said “This… You’re not lying to me, are you, Uncle Tony?”
“Today is not April Fool’s Day.” Twain pretended to be angry.
“Well… why are you doing this? You’ve just won the Treble for the Forest team…” Shania still did not understand. It was reasonable to say that having just won the Treble, this should be the peak of Uncle Tony’s career. How could he choose not to renew the contract at this time? “You’re not going to another team, are you? Like Manchester United or something…”
Twain continued to laugh, “Did I not just say that I’m going to have more time to spend with you?”
Shania turned her head sideway over so that she could see Twain’s eyes as she asked, “What’s the reason? I don’t understand why you choose to resign at this time.”
“Firstly, I can have more time to be with you. Secondly…” Twain hesitated for a little while before he continued, “Allan Adams and I have a contradiction. It’s a contradiction that can affect my work. But he and the chairman have a good relationship, so obviously I have to leave on my own.”
Shania knew that her husband was at odds with the marketing manager. When Allan Adams forced his way in to sell Lennon, Twain came home angry for several days, which caused Shania to worry for a long time for fear of the provocation to his heart. As a result, she did not have a good impression of the man. The reason was adequate enough that she no longer doubted that she was dreaming, or that Uncle Tony was pulling her leg.
“If you want to resign, just go ahead and resign. My Uncle Tony is the greatest manager in the world, and the people who want to hire him can line up from London to Paris.” Shania held her chin with both hands as she laid on the bed with both her feet swaying behind her.
“Hey, Shania. I’m talking about spending more time with you.” Twain reminded her with a little surprise.
Shania glanced at Twain and said, “If it’s true, then that’s fine.”
Twain wanted to explain himself, but Shania had already jumped out of bed. She said, “I’m going to cook for you. Are you hungry?”
After saying that, she skipped as she ran out.
Twain laid in bed. He did feel hungry. But what he cared more about than the noise rumbling in his stomach was that Shania obviously did not believe what he said…
He laid back on the bed again, feeling deflated, as he looked at the ceiling and sighed.
What a failure. He had gotten so many championship titles that he just had to say he was going to win a title, and the media and the fans and the players would all believe it. But when he wanted to make his wife happy, his wife did not believe him.
Ah, it’s easy to take the champion title but so hard to coax my wife…
※※※
Italian football’s Serie A was long over and Inter Milan, which failed to reach the Champions League final, was dismissed the day after the league tournament ended. As the manager of the team, Mourinho was even less likely to stay at Milan to continue working, even if he was a workaholic. At this point, he was basking in the sun on the beach in his hometown of Setúbal Municipality, Portugal’s third-largest port city.
With his upper torso naked and wearing only a pair of printed shorts, the world’s top-earning manager was lying on a white beach chair with sunglasses on. Next to him was a glass of whisky with ice cubes floating in it on a small round table. His cell phone was placed next to it and underneath the phone was an opened book.
There were plenty of tourists on the beach. Most of whom came here with their families for a holiday and to relax. However, Mourinho was alone, not because he was at odds with his wife. He just wanted to enjoy his time alone. Sometimes he liked to be this way. Whether he was contemplating a problem, or when he had nothing in mind, he felt it was great to have such a quiet time which only belonged to him and he could do anything without anyone to disturb him.
Unfortunately, the time left undisturbed today did not last long.
The cell phone on the round table rang.
Mourinho did not pick it up at first. He laid motionless in his chair, as if he were asleep. Anyway, he wore sunglasses, so no one knew if he was asleep with his eyes closed.
The phone rang for a while before it was automatically cut off. Mourinho did not even turn his head throughout the whole process. He was still enjoying his own contented time.
Very soon, the phone rang again, and it was not cut off for a long time. The man lying on the chair finally got up somewhat impatiently. Instead of getting up, he reached out to touch his cell phone, put the Bluetooth headset on his ear, and pressed the answer button to say, “Hello.”
“José!” It was the voice of his agent and good friend, Mendes. “I have the latest update which I think you’ll be interested.”
“Is it still about Manchester United?” Mourinho’s voice was languid, like the afternoon sun.
Before the end of the season, the English and Italian media were speculating about the rumor that Manchester United was interested in asking Mourinho to take over Martin O’Neill’s position. In fact, it was not a rumor. The walls had ears and no secret could stay secret forever in the world. Tony Twain could hide that he did not renew his contract with the club, but it did not escape The Sun. The affair between Mourinho and Manchester United was naturally harder to hide from the omnipotent reporter.
As Mourinho’s agent, Mendes did have closer contact with the Manchester United Football Club. Manchester United wanted to reconstruct its glory, so it obviously needed a big-name manager of high quality and prestige. O’Neill’s ability was not bad, but he could not control the locker room. Originally, Tony Twain was the most suitable candidate and was handpicked by the godfather of Manchester United, Ferguson, to be the successor. However, he had no interest in any other team except Nottingham Forest. Manchester United only then found Mourinho because they knew the relationship between Mourinho and Inter Milan was not inseparably close.
Although Mourinho had the world’s highest salary for a manager at Inter Milan, he had not been happy there. Italy’s football environment was completely different from the English Premier League. As a team’s manager, he had too many restrictions, like he was walking with shackles around his neck, wrists and ankles. He could not talk about a lot of things because once he said them today and the media embellished tomorrow, then President Moratti would come look for him to have an “intimate long talk” the day after tomorrow. The rival managers had always thought Mourinho was not that great and that he was just a regular manager who talked big and of an unorthodox background. He could get the highest salary only because he could package himself while the Italian academic type of managers felt that it was beneath them to do so. For them, football was football and not to be diluted by anything else. A manager’s job was to train the team, develop tactics and direct the game. To become the team’s number one star would be to upstage the main attraction.
Sometimes he really missed his time in England. Although there was a club president who liked to criticize or give orders summarily, he could still breathe more freely there.
Like the sea breeze here, the freedom belonged only to him.
“No, it’s not Manchester United this time.” Mendes’s voice on the phone sounded different from usual. Perhaps the signal was somewhat distorted during transmission, or perhaps because Mendes’ own mood had changed.
Mourinho soon knew the answer to that question.
“There is a football club that has joined the ranks to compete for you.” Mendes tried to keep the pace of his tone close to normal, but in fact he was a little faster than usual. It could be heard that he himself was very interested in this matter.
“Oh –”Mourinho did not even raise his eyebrows. His tone was still languid. He did not ask which team. Such things happened all the time, whether it was Real Madrid or Manchester United. Their interest in him had not been just a day or two anyway. What he was doing now was to reach out to get the wine glass on the table.
“It’s also an English Premier League team.” Mendes was still keeping it in suspense, even if Mourinho did not cooperate. “This team has just made headlines in the major sports media…”
Mourinho’s hand had almost touched the glass when he stopped. His other hand pushed his body up. It was his biggest movement up until now since answering the phone because he was surprised.
He certainly knew which team Mendes was talking about.
“Nottingham Forest? How is that possible?” Mourinho was so surprised that his voice became much louder. The laziness he felt just now had been swept away, all of which was cleanly evaporated by the afternoon sun.
Mendes smiled and was very pleased with his friend’s reaction. “I have another piece of news, which is related to this.”
“What?”
“The contract renewal talks between Tony Twain and the club had collapsed and he decided not to renew the contract. He will leave automatically at the end of his contract.”
Mourinho’s mood at the moment could no longer be described as “surprise.” Perhaps it would be more appropriate to use “shock.” He still maintained his posture from just now, with his left hand supporting his body and his right hand reaching out to the wine glass.
“The talks fell apart? Was the salary too low?” It was the only reason Mourinho could think of. As one of the most successful managers in the world of football, Tony Twain’s ultra-low salary had always been incomprehensible to people. Mourinho was the same as well.
“No. I got the news from another source that Nottingham Forest offered him the highest annual salary in the English Premier League history.”
The Portuguese coach was completely baffled. Twain was not even satisfied with the highest annual salary. What more did he want?
“If you want to know the reason why, you can call him, José. I only know these details. Twain has kept this matter as top secret, and now the media are waiting for him and the club to announce the success of his contract renewal.” As a friend of Mourinho’s, Mendes naturally guessed what he was thinking at the moment.
Hearing this last sentence, Mourinho’s lips curled up. He knew that Twain was playing with the media.
But he would not call Twain. As he had said many years ago, as long as they were both football managers, they could only be enemies, and not friends.
After he ended the call with Mendes, Mourinho laid back down again and continued to enjoy the time that belonged to him only. But this time his mind is no longer carefree, but in a turmoil like a storm in the sea.
That guy, Tony Twain actually left Nottingham Forest where he had been for eleven years… What the hell is he thinking? Nottingham Forest has just achieved a great accomplishment of the Treble win. It is now time to take center stage and lord it over others. But the manager leaves instead. What will be the future of this team? It’s truly worrying…
But in fact, Mourinho was not concerned about these things. He cared only about which team Tony Twain would take over after he left Nottingham Forest. In his view, Manchester United was undoubtedly the most likely. Manchester United had always been interested in working with Twain. Previously, it was because Twain did not want to leave the Forest team that they were unable to recruit him. And now…
After pondering for a while, Mourinho suddenly turned his attention back. Shouldn’t this supposed to be Tony Twain’s trouble instead? Why am I worrying about it for?
Just as he was clearing the mess in his head and preparing to continue his vacation, his cell phone rang again.
He thought it was Mendes with the latest news again, so he put on his earpiece to answer the phone. What came on was a familiar and yet strange voice, and it sounded excited, “Hey, José! I want to book an appointment for you and me to have a drink together!”
Mourinho stared blankly for a moment and then he realized that the caller was the man who was just on his mind – Tony Twain.
“Did you not quit drinking after the heart attack?”
“For some people, it is necessary to drink together. Other beverages will not do. Anyway, it’s just this one time.”
“I recall saying that unless we’re not enemies in football, otherwise…”
Twain interrupted Mourinho’s words to say, “Hey, I’ve already resigned from Nottingham Forest!”
“Manchester United has an open position.”
Twain smiled and said, “I’ve heard that they’re more interested in you. In fact, I’m actually not going to continue as a manager.”
Mourinho was stunned by Twain’s words. Then he figured it out again – it must have been because of his heart. “But I’m in Portugal now.”
“It doesn’t matter. I know you’re going to do the commentary on the World Cup for the Portuguese television station. So am I. We’ll meet up in Brazil!” Twain took it Mourinho’s words as he had agreed to his request for a drink.
Mourinho wanted to say something more, but Twain had already hung up the phone. Judging from his voice, Twain’s mood was quite good. It was really strange that he could still be in such a good mood after he left something that he had poured eleven years of hard work into …
He shook his head and laid down again. This time he succeeded in taking a nap without any phone calls to bother him again.
※※※
The next day, the media finally waited for the news they had been longing for – the Nottingham Forest Football Club was going to hold a press conference to announce the latest news of its contract extension with Twain!
It looked like Twain did not deceive them. He did indeed carry out the work on the contract renewal after the Champions League final. There was a result after just three short days.
However, when a large group of reporters came to attend the press conference in high spirits, they found that only Evan Doughty was on the stage without the other lead character, Tony Twain.
Discussions quickly broke out throughout the room. In the crowd, Pierce Brosnan had an ominous hunch which grew stronger with the discussions.
The press conference was brief.
With a grim face, Evan Doughty had announced the news that the contract renewal talks between the club and Twain had been terminated and that the two sides would not renew the contract. It instantly shocked all the reporters present. Even The Sun reporter who had already caught wind of the news earlier, was stunned after the rumor was confirmed.
Then Evan Doughty looked back on Twain’s contribution to the team and said that no matter what and where Twain did in the future, he was a man that was forever etched in the Nottingham Forest Football Club’s memories and he wished him good luck.
Having said that, Evan Doughty got up and went out, ignoring the reporters who were shouting his name in the back.
The reporters were, of course, full of questions. Why did the negotiations for the contract renewal fail? Which party was responsible? Nottingham Forest had just won the Treble but suffered a major change. What was going to happen in the future? Who would succeed Tony Twain? Where would Tony Twain go after he had left the Forest team?
But no one would come to answer these questions for them.
The venue suddenly became chaotic. Someone rushed out of the door and sped away to leave. He wanted to rush back to be the first to release this piece of news which would absolutely shock the world of European football.
While Pierce Brosnan pulled out his cell phone somewhat in a daze and dialed Twain’s number directly.
No matter how many times he dialed, all he heard was, “… Sorry, the number you have dialed is not in service…”
※※※
When a tropical storm formed over the Atlantic Ocean, Tony Twain was sitting on a recliner at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro. His wife, Shania, was frolicking in the water in a bikini in front of him, while he was earnestly writing a postcard with his head down.
His cell phone was placed next to it, but it was turned off long ago.
“Dear David: If you receive this postcard, you must have known what happened. Thank you very much for the eleven years you’ve spent with me. You’re a good helper and partner in my work. I’m very sorry that I had taken my anger out on you whenever I was in a bad mood. But from now on I promise I’ll never yell at you again. You’re a great assistant manager. You’ve done a great job in the team. I hope you can continue to do that. The team can’t survive without you. Please forgive me again for saying goodbye to you in this way, because I really don’t know how to face you all again…”
Twain stopped when he wrote to this point and looked up at his wife not far away. Brazil’s sunshine was so bright that he had to squint his eyes to admire her energetic sexy figure. He lowered his head again to continue writing.
“… I wish you all the best. Your most loyal friend, Tony. Twain.”
After he finished writing it, he picked up the next blank postcard and placed it on his lap. He continued to bow his head, and occasionally lifted his head to look at Shania’s figure for a moment.
The weather was good today. The salty and damp sea breeze brushed against the branches and leaves of the palm trees by the sea. The wind prompted wave after wave of the azure sea to surge on the pure white fine sand beach with the crashing sounds of undulating tides. The warm sunshine shone on each person’s face, showing their different expressions. Contrasted against the sapphire-like sky, the Copacabana Beach was bustling with activities and people. It was extremely lively.
This was a holiday.
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Chapter 885 - Traces of the Wind
The soap opera of last night was replaying on television but not many people were watching it. The television in bars was only left on to create a bit of atmosphere. Business here was slow in the afternoons, especially now that the football season was over. Burns was leaning on the bar table, wiping a row of glasses on it while John, Bill and the gang was gathered at a corner, drinking and just passing time.
“Days without football are so boring… Yawn——,” Bill yawned as he stretched his back, tears forming in his eyes.
“You’re like a drug addict Bill. And you’re still so skinny… Ha!” Someone teased him from the side.
“Even if I’m addicted, I’ll be addicted to football!” Bill glared at the person and continued to lie on the table, drawing on the beer mug with his nails, “The days after the football season is over are always the hardest…” He groaned weakly.
“Good thing the World Cup is starting soon. Who has tickets?” John asked next to him.
“Me!”
“I do!”
“The full set!”
Everyone raised their hands.
John laughed as he looked at them, “Great, we’ll be spending the summer together again! Ha ha!”
“Who knows, we might be able to meet Tony,” someone said all of a sudden, everyone chirped in after being stunned for a moment.
“That’s right, he’ll be in Brazil explaining the matches!”
“Oh no, what a dilemma… I want to watch the games live but I don’t want to miss Tony’s analysis…”
The group of people eventually started to chat about Twain.
At this moment, there was a flash on the television screen and the picture changed from an intense gunfight in the streets of London to the news station where a male news anchor with gold-rimmed glasses was seated.
“We interrupt your program to bring you a piece of news that we’ve just received…”
Bill was originally lying on the table, looking around aimlessly when he saw this change on the television. He took an interest to it and decided to look up and see what that news anchor was going to say.
The picture changed again, to a place that he was very familiar with——The City Grounds.
A reporter was standing outside the gate of the City Grounds holding a microphone, he pointed to the building behind him, and said while facing the camera, “Just earlier, Nottingham Forest Football Club called for a press conference. The club chairman, Evan Doughty, announced on the press conference that the contract renewal talks between Nottingham Forest and Tony Twain has officially ended. Twain will no longer hold the position of Nottingham Forest’s manager after his contract is up…”
Bill stood up suddenly, knocking over the chair behind him and the beer mugs on the table. The people around him was stood up in shock as they were afraid that the beer might drip on their pants.
“Hey! Bill! What’s wrong with you?”
“Have you had too much to drink?”
Bill did not react to that. He merely opened his eyes wide as he looked at the television, his mouth was open as if he was scared by something.
John turned back to look at the television, other than a couple of them who were still worried about their pants, the rest looked up at the television.
The television was replaying the scene of the press conference earlier on the screen.
Evan Doughty was seated in front of the table facing the numerous microphones and he said with a blank expression, “…We regret to announce this piece of information. As we were unable to reach an agreement with Mr Tony Twain regarding the extension of his contract, both parties have decided to end negotiations. When the contract is up, Tony Twain will no longer assume the role of Nottingham Forest manager. We thank him for all his contributions to the club in the 11 years he was here, and we are grateful to him for leading the team to 12 champions’ trophies. We wish him the best of luck.”
The bar suddenly grew silent. The sounds from the television was very clear. Burns also stopped doing what he was working on and looked up at the television.
The beer on the table dripped onto the pants of the people who were still seated, causing a wet patch on their pants but they did not even seem to notice it.
※※※
George Wood was taking a walk with his mother in the gardens outside to soak in the sun when his phone rang.
It was his agent, Woox, “Good afternoon George, what are you doing now?”
“I’m taking a walk with my mother,” Wood took a look at his mother leaning on him.
“I see, looks like you haven’t seen what’s on the television yet. I have a piece of news for you,” Woox stopped for awhile before continuing, “Tony Twain has quit.”
Wood did not manage to react to it at first because such a thought had never crossed his mind before. But he managed to clear his mind soon and asked, “What?”
“It was on the news just now. Forest and Twain failed to come to an agreement regarding the contract renewal, the contract is not renewed. So, come June 30th, he will no longer be your boss.”
Wood stopped. Sophia sensed something wrong with her son and she also stopped to look at him.
Wood did not speak again and he hung up silently.
“George?” Sophia asked softly, “What happened?”
Wood looked at his mother, hesitated before saying, “Boss has left Forest.”
Sophia exclaimed in surprise. She covered her mouth with her hands very quickly, but her eyes were still opened wide.
“Mr Twain…”
Wood nodded. His mother must have felt that it was inconceivable, but why did he feel so empty inside? As if he had lost something very important…
※※※
The English Premier League had ended so the English Football League Championship would naturally have ended too. Tang did not stay in England then, instead, he flew back to his hometown in Sichuan with his fiancée. He wanted to tell his parents about the most important decision in his life himself, it would not do to do it via a phone call.
Tang Jing rested her head on Tang’s shoulder, admiring the lush greenery of the Southern Sichuan’s scenery. The two of them were on a long-distance coach going towards their hometown from Chengdu. As the manager of the team which is the champion of England, Tang was not very well-known here and they were just like any other ordinary person on the coach.
Tang had never thought that he would be married when he was in his previous life, and with a Chinese woman no less. He felt that he had one person to thank for what he had then——Tony Twain, the person that was him previously, and him now. Even though Tony achieved success in his career, he himself managed to get a family and love. He thought that it was worth it, and he might even have come off better in this deal…
That was why Tang decided to give Twain a call to invite them to his wedding with Tang Jing in the summer, right after telling his parents about his marriage with Tang Jing and paying a visit to Tang Jing’s parents——He did not tell Twain in advanced, partly because Twain was very busy then in his pursuit of the treble and partly because he wanted to give Twain a surprise.
This couple who was headed towards a happy new life as a newlywed did not know about what happened on the other side of the globe, but they would probably know very soon.
※※※
The Champions League had ended long ago. Chen Jian did not call Twain, and he did not receive any other news about Twain. However, he felt that he had already made up his mind, especially when he felt fired up together with the team when he saw Forest lifting the Champions League trophy and he could not wait to be part of them.
He thought that he should give his future to this team.
But on the next day, Mr Xia kept dampening his spirits, asking him to not be muddled impulsively. Nottingham Forest is not a place that he could dream of at that time. Achieving the treble would only make them more inclined in buying well-known football stars, instead of developing their own players. Chen Jian would not gain anything by going there and he would finally realize his mistake after sitting on the bench for a few years before leaving dejectedly. That was his future.
He decided to pack up his stuff and return to Sichuan to be with his family. Maybe that would help calm his indecisive heart.
For a few days, Mr Xia kept calling Twain’s mobile phone relentlessly, but all he got in return was “The person you’re trying to reach is unavailable at this time”. He was infuriated and he left Chen Jian to fly to England alone. He wanted to catch hold of Twain and ask him directly about his plans.
Chen Jian returned to China alone.
Suddenly, he received a call from a stranger’s number as he was waiting for his flight carrying a large backpack in Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport.
“Hi, Chen Jian,” Twain’s Chinese accent sounded weird, but it was not easy for a Caucasian to speak mandarin so well so the minor difference in accent was nothing.
This phone call was from Twain.
“Where are you now?” Twain could hear that the background was a little noisy and he seemed to have heard an announcement.
“The airport, Amsterdam’s airport,” Chen Jian replied.
“Ah, you’re preparing to go home? Can you tell me about your plans for the future?”
Chen Jian fell silent for awhile before making up his mind, “I think, I would like to extend my contract with the club…”
Twain exclaimed softly on his side, before following up with, “I would advise you against doing it.”
Chen Jian was surprised, was the person on the other side not the manager of Nottingham Forest, Tony Twain? If he was, why would he not stand on the side of the team?
“You haven’t been watching the news lately, right? You’re not paying much attention to Nottingham Forest, are you?” Twain laughed, “I resigned.”
Chen Jian was so shocked that his hand trembled and he almost dropped his phone. This was too unbelievable… It was like meeting a ghost in the day.
Twain could guess the reaction of Chen Jian then. He left Forest too suddenly. The contrast between winning the trophy and leaving the team immediately after was so big that normal people would not be able to accept it.
“You should know, Chen Jian. I was the one who decided to sign you, because I had high hopes for you. However, who would have expected things to be like this now?” He was naturally referring to the matter of him leaving Forest, “I don’t know who my successor will be, and I did not recommend anyone to the club. So, I don’t know what kind of attitude the new manager will have towards you. I don’t even know whether the club will offer you an extension to your contract. If I were still here, I’ll definitely give it to you, but it was a pity you did not sign then, and you don’t have the chance to sign it now.” Twain smiled and said, “Your agent was right, Chen Jian. Nottingham Forest is a very materialistic club. They do not have the patience to wait for a young man to grow slowly, unless you’ve demonstrated extraordinary potential.”
But I don’t have this kind of talent. Chen Jian said in his heart. He knew himself best.
“Your dream is to play football professional, you can do that anywhere, no? I think it’s not time for you to go to Nottingham Forest now, just like what your agent said, moving to a small team and taking things one step at a time would be more beneficial to you.”
“You mean…to let me leave Forest for a smaller club?”
“I’ve heard that there are teams in Netherlands and Belgium who are interested you, even though those are not one of the top European leagues, it would help to train you too.
This suggestion made Chen Jian lose heart a little. He had finally managed to muster enough courage to face the new challenges in Nottingham Forest.
“Even if you extend your contract with the club, you’ll still be loaned out as you cannot play for Forest without a work permit. If you don’t play, you’ll be wasting your golden years. So my suggestion is for you to transfer to a club that’s interested in you, able to provide you with playing time, guarantee that you will be trained, and at the same time, you should be waiting for your national team to call you up, get more experience and fame as well as games for your national team…”
Chen Jian interrupted Twain, “Mr Twain, if I don’t intend to play for Forest anymore, why would I care about the number of games I play for my national team?”
“If your performance is good, what if there are other teams in the English Premier League interested in you? For example, teams like Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea… If you cannot apply for a work permit when they come knocking on your door, wouldn’t that be a pity?” Twain explained with a chuckle.
Chen Jian thought about it in his mind and he felt that it was a fantasy. However, he did not rebuke Twain.
“In short, if you think about it from your angle, Nottingham Forest is not suitable for you currently.”
Chen Jian fell into deep thoughts, everything he heard today was too shocking. Tony Twain actually resigned, and he even called him to persuade him to not stay in Forest… He even suspected that everything he saw and heard for the past few days were all an illusion.
This world is crazy…
“I… Er, let me consider, Mr Twain.”
Twain laughed again, “You don’t have to tell me that, I’m not in-charge of those things now… Make your own decision and be responsible for your own decision. I’m just giving you an advice; I’m not asking or ordering you to do anything. Think about it carefully, you have one more year on your contract anyway. Take the path that you’ve decided on yourself.”
After saying these, Twain hung up.
Chen Jian sat on the chair and spaced out holding his mobile phone. He was still digesting what Twain said in his mind.
He did not expect that just in the space of a few days, there would be a major upheaval in his future. Ever since he decided to leave the school, his homeland, his hometown for his dream of playing football professionally, he did not walk an easy path. However, he had never regretted it. He could only continue to walk on.
Chen Jian did not think for too long this time, when the broadcast in the airport reminded him to start boarding the plane that he was supposed to be on, he called his agent, Mr Xia.
“Uncle Xia, you don’t have to look for Mr twain anymore. I’ve decided, if there are any clubs in Belgium or Eredivisie interested in me, then give them a call. I have to board my place now, that’s all Uncle Xia. Give me a call when I land if there are anything you want to let me know.”
With that, he hung up and walked towards the boarding gate with his carry-on luggage.
A huge booming sound outside the window attracted his view. Outside the floor-to-ceiling window, a plane just took off into the blue skies and disappeared above it, leaving only a white trail behind.
...
Chapter 886 - The World Cup
When Dunn and Tang Jing in faraway China learned that Twain had resigned from the Nottingham Forest Football Club, just a day after the Forest Club announced the news, the advanced internet had already allowed them to know what happened on the other side of the globe, even in the remote town of South Sichuan.
And in within the day, the entire world’s sports media would treat this matter as a piece of sensational news to report.
In Italy, Sky TV’s newscaster had a strange look on his face as he announced the news. It was clear that even he could not believe that he spoke about how the “Godfather of Nottingham” had ended actually ended his glory in the Forest team in this way.
In Spain, the Spanish media, which were still complaining that Nottingham Forest had “stolen” the Champions League title through improper means, had collectively lost their voices – they did not know what to say in the face of such news.
A manager who just won the Treble for the team had suddenly resigned. Perhaps the term “individualistic” could no longer describe him simply. It was only during this time that the usually self-proclaimed sharp-witted reporters realized how poor their vocabulary was.
In China, there was even a web portal dedicated to Tony Twain as a special topic. It was immediately very popular with people posting messages. China’s CCTV Sports Channel also produced a forty-five-minute-long feature program that comprehensively reviewed Tony Twain’s eleven years of ups and downs at Nottingham Forest.
On the internet, the Nottingham Forest fans had long been stunned and left head-scratching. Some people wept in pain about Twain’s departure in the forum, indignantly denounced the club’s top brass for being ungrateful after getting what they wanted from him and getting rid of him now that he had served his purpose… And the other portion of the people expressed that they did not like the Forest team just because they were catching with the times and like Tony Twain. They chose to stand with the club’s senior management and thought that it was okay for Twain to be gone and it was not like the world revolved around him. Furthermore, there were a number of rumors that Twain was very dissatisfied with the annual salary and package that the club had offered, that he was fighting with Evan Doughty for the same woman, and Twain’s real character was not that great.
The most commonly expressed emotion from the fans of the other teams was one of gleefulness. To them, the most troublesome foe had finally come to an end, and the teams which they supported had regained hopes of winning the title. In addition, they were also delighted to see the usually arrogant Forest fans who walked with their noses up in the air were currently in a state of infighting.
In England, the news of Twain’s resignation even overshadowed the England national team’s preparations for the World Cup. As for the Treble winner, Nottingham Forest,… it was even more pathetic. The accolades that the media gave them a few days ago, were not to be seen now.
Carl Spicer apparently did not expect Twain to choose to leave at the team’s most glorious period. It suddenly left him with a sense of loss in his focus – he would not be able to find someone to scold in the future. How would his show stand out among so many football television shows without criticizing people?
Later in his special edition of BBC’s program, Lineker helplessly half-joked and said, “I really don’t know if this is good news or bad news. But I’m sure that’s good news for the other nineteen managers in the Premier League. Because their strong enemy finally left. For the others, this must be bad news, because the Premier League has since lost one of its most special features…”
Many reporters and friends wanted to find the leading man in the event and hear what he had to say. But whenever they made a call, the message always prompted that the phone was turned off. This time, even Pierce Brosnan, who had been considered a reporter exclusively used by Twain, also did not receive any first-hand information, resulting in him being given a dressing down by the newspaper editor. He experienced the feeling of when he first came to the newspaper as an intern reporter. In this way, the storm of all kinds of rumors intensified.
Until the end of the year, when the Associated Press selected the top ten sports news of the year, the news of Tony Twain’s departure from Nottingham Forest was ranked fourth, showing how much influence he had at the time.
There was another example. Capello joked in an interview with the reporters and said, “I should thank Tony Twain. Because of him, you guys bother my team a lot less.”
…
When the storm had swayed everyone from side to side till they were dizzy and helpless, Tony Twain and his wife were enjoying themselves all over Brazil. This time he really did not go near football anymore. Children could be seen performing or playing street football everywhere in Brazil, but as long as Shania was by his side, Twain was fully concentrated on her – he just stared at his wife, as if his wife was the only person in the whole world.
Shania enjoyed this kind of treatment very much. She did not wonder whether Twain’s sweet nothings of “from now on, I’ll only be with you till the end of time” which he repeatedly confessed to her, were true or not. She did not care whether those words were true or false words to just to make her happy. She just wanted to enjoy the time together.
If it had been for the World Cup, Shania would have wanted to have fun longer and crazier. She had never been so happy in the eleven years since she met Uncle Tony. Because she no longer had to worry about waking up one morning to Uncle Tony gone. Then only to find him lying in the hospital’s intensive care unit with marks from the insertions of tubes, nurses coming in and out to unhook the apparatus, and the doctor standing at the side almost having the “I am sorry” written across the face.
She often had such nightmares, especially when she was alone in the United States. They were particularly intense. She woke up terrified every time. Then she would gasp for air in the dim light of the lamp and her entire body would be soaked in sweat. Before, Shania would sleep without the lights on. Later, after Twain had his heart attack, she developed the habit of sleeping with the lights on, even when she was held in the arms of Uncle Tony in Nottingham.
This woman’s heart finally felt safe for the first time, which made her feel contented.
※※※
Good times were always short-lived. Although this World Cup was held in Brazil, Twain could not always stick to Shania’s side. If there was a game in Rio de Janeiro, Twain would be able to stay with Shania every night. It could not be helped if he went to the other cities. Unfortunately, only one of England’s three games in the group stage was played in Rio de Janeiro. If they wanted to continue to come back and enjoy the sunshine and beauties in bikinis at Copacabana Beach, then they must advance into the semifinals in one go.
During the run-up to the World Cup, the English media finally remembered that they still had a team playing in the World Cup. So, they were predicting the team’s future in the World Cup one by one. It was no different from any previous tournaments – “This is the best team in England’s history. It’s the favorite to win the title.”
Twain first met his short-term colleague at the BBC, John Motson in the lobby of the hotel he was staying in. This was also the first time since the matter that he had appeared in front of the media.
Motson looked at Twain with interest. Looking at him, he was unable to hold back and said with a chuckle, “It looks like nothing has changed. Just like the Tony Twain from before.”
“Nonsense.” Twain did not hold back either with a face of disdain. He said, “You only came to this conclusion after looking at me for half a day?”
Motson laughed even harder, “Ah Tony, Tony, you’re the number one sinner in the world of English sport…” He shook his head and patted Twain on the shoulder as he said, “The whole world is going crazy about you leaving the Forest team, and yet you’re on a scenic tour in Brazil with your wife. What am I supposed to say about you?”
“Then don’t say anything, John.” Twain shrugged. He had expected the media’s reaction. He was also satisfied with the kind of madness that happened because of him – even when I had left the position, I can still let the world tremble!
“Maybe I should exercise the power of my position and get an exclusive interview with you…” Motson mused as he stroked his chin.
“Don’t even think about it. The World Cup has started, and no one cares about what I’m doing now. It’s a shame, I’m already old news.” Twain smiled and spread his hands. But there was no trace of regret in his voice at all.
Motson snorted, “The paparazzi’s noses are relentless. They can smell what attracts them from your body. You wait and see. At that time, you’ll face reporters all day.” He glanced to the side.
It was the World Cup news center here. The media from around the world would gather here to manager the latest news from various games and training venues in Brazil, which they would then transmit back to their home countries to present to those television viewers, newspaper readers and Internet users.
Therefore, it was also the paparazzi’s home base here as well. Twain was really “deep in the tiger’s lair” this time.
He also noticed this point. There were already some reporters here next to him whose eyes lighted up when they saw him. The light was like the glint that radiated from a vicious gangster’s eyes when he set his sight on a large box of gold.
Twain looked at these people and also gave a snort. He harped on in Mandarin, “What’s there to be afraid! Different situations call for different action!”
Hearing him popped out with something he did not understand but knew which country’s language it was, Motson suddenly had an interest in Twain’s talent in the language. He said, “You speak Mandarin so well. I heard you even have a column in China’s sports newspaper. Why did a Chinese TV station not come to you to do commentary on the World Cup? You’re very eloquent.”
When Twain heard him say so, he suddenly shook his head like a rattle-drum and said, “No way. Be a commentator for them? They will replace me at halftime interval.”
Motson stared as if he had heard something of interest, “Is it the lack of freedom of speech?”
Twain continued to shake his head and said, “It’s culturally different. Some remarks are acceptable to the British, but it does not mean that the whole world can accept them. It’s as if the Europeans don’t ask ‘have you eaten’ when they meet, but the Chinese always used this in greeting.”
Motson gave a clap to signal that he understood him. He said, “It’s like how we always start with the weather.”
Twain did not shake his head this time. He gave a smile and then came up with a Chinese saying, “The young man is promising and still worthy to be taught.”
Motson did not ask what that meant. He smiled and patted Twain on the shoulder, signaling that they have to go. Their work was about to begin.
The World Cup was also about to start.
※※※
Brazil was a country brimming with passion, like the babes in bikinis who went shopping in the streets like no one was around. People from various countries came here to cover the World Cup, would choose to use this kind of local conditions and customs to open with. Twain was not interested in these. He and Shania had already covered all these things.
He seemed more dedicated than any of his colleagues. Completely leaving football for less than a month, his life was full of football. And he discovered a very important question – when he faced football again, his nuclear-powered heart was moving vigorously in his chest. Whenever he faced football again in the middle of the night, when all was dark and quiet, he could hear his heartbeat clearly as he laid in bed.
That heart seemed to have gone quiet while he was frolicking by his wife’s side. Twain could not feel its existence. And now, it seemed to be alive again.
The discovery surprised him as much as Columbus’s first discovery of America, while there was a fear deep down at the same time. Because he had just said not long ago that he would accompany Shania for the rest of her life. But now he could not resist the temptation his former lover, football. His heart was wavering, and a crack appeared.
When he was doing the commentary on a game, he would be distracted as he listened to the thunderous cheers and songs coming from the stands. His point by point commentary were not so sharp and nimble. Sometimes it would attract the puzzled glances of his partner, Motson.
In a trance, Twain seemed to be back on the small City Ground stadium, standing on the sidelines and clenching his fists as he cheered the team’s goal.
He thought of the big picture that had been hanging on the bedroom wall. He stood in front of the sea of people in red with his arms wide open, as if he was embracing that sea of rage. He had been in Brazil for so long that he did not know how much dust had gathered on the picture.
Maybe… There was something in his bones that was not so easy to quit…
Twain sighed in his heart and felt that he was too useless. Only a few World Cup games and the original resolute thought in his heart was already a little shaky.
Perhaps it was due to Brazil, a country filled with all kinds of passions customs. Their football had impassioned Twain.
The Brazilian women looked good, but the Brazilian football was even better to look…
In the end, England lost once again to the Brazilians four years later. This time their results were worse than the previous time. The last time they were in the top four, but this time they did not even make it to the top eight.
In the round of 16, England was unlucky enough to encounter the host, Brazil. After the game, the English media complained that Brazil had taken full advantage of the “home field advantage”, which was a covert way of stating that there was something wrong with the referee. But the Brazilians did not care so much. Why would a winner bicker about a loser’s complaints?
But in Twain’s view, the reason England did not go any further in this World Cup to reach the finals was not because they encountered the host ahead of time, and the unspoken words that implied Capello was old. It was simple, but also unimaginable – George Wood was not in good form.
After coaching Wood for ten years, this was the second Twain had seen him in poor form. The first time was when Eastwood had retired.
Motson wondered why Wood’s condition was bad. Twain was also puzzled. The media all over England wondered too. Twain even wondered if something was wrong with Sophia.
Capello liked and trusted Wood. It appeared he had the intention to let him succeed Gerrard. But unexpectedly, George Wood’s performance in Capello’s last World Cup was a disappointment, completely without the aggressiveness and ferocity that he displayed in his club’s squad. Up against Brazil’s Kaka, he was played with till he was confused and disoriented. Kaka was also bewildered as to why the constantly ferocious Wood played as if he was a hypnotized sheep in the game. He followed and ran after him several times but did nothing and let him get away. If it had been before, perhaps he would have already shoveled him from behind. Even though he might have gotten a yellow card, he could still make the opponent feel fear and shock. Then it would be much easier to defend. If he was met with a tough character, he would fight to death with the opponent and compete who was tougher in the end.
Used to such a George Wood, Kaka was really not used to George Wood being soft. As a result, for more than twenty minutes into the game, the Brazilian core player’s performance was not good either. In the beginning, the English reporters even thought it was to George Wood’s credit. Then they discovered that something was wrong. England was done once Kaka and Brazil realized it.
Wood was England’s first line of defense, like the body’s immune system. Now that the first line of defense had collapsed, even if England was a two-hundred-pound strong man, he had collapsed like a house of cards when the wind blew.
At the end of the ninety-minute game, there were tears in the eyes of his teammates around him. George Wood’s eyes were a little confused. On the big screen behind him, the score for the match was displayed as 0:3.
Boasted by the English media as the strongest ever England team, they were wiped out and completely defeated when they faced the last World Cup’s second runner-up team.
Twain did not care about England’s defeat. But there were some people among his colleagues next him who had wiped tears in their eyes. For them, the quadrennial dream was over again. Twain watched with a detached point of view. But in his mind, he thought these people could be intoxicated with the dream once every four years, but how many more years before the Chinese fans could dream just once? Would it really be like 2002 when they could try confidently for the first time forty years?
When he thought of it, his cold eyes turned into a sneer.
You sons of bitches do not know how lucky you are.
He was not sad or concerned that England was out of the game. What worried him was George Wood’s condition. Although he was no longer the manager of Nottingham Forest, he would still subconsciously think of himself as a member of the Forest team. Therefore, he did not feel proud that the performance of the Nottingham Forest team captain as well as the talent that he had personally groomed, was so bad.
He was also not in form for his commentary work in this World Cup commentary. The frequency of the usually popular wonderful and clever remarks was also not high, which was in some way related to Wood’s poor form.
But it was not clear why Wood was not in top form. He did not know, and he did not inquire either, because he was not anyone to Wood anymore, so there was no need to care everything about this person. He just wished that the terrible form had nothing to do with Sophia.
Even though England was knocked out, Twain’s job was not over. He was still in charge of working with Motson until the final.
After England’s elimination, the English media put the blame for the loss on two men. One of them was George Wood and the other person was Capello. So, the combative Twain dedicated to protecting these two men in his column. In fact, he mainly did it to defend Wood, but he did not want to be blatant about this kind of thing. So, he defended Capello as well and admonished those media in his article. He did not make much sense, nor did he analyze the data. Anyway, everyone in the industry knew that even if Tony Twain was reasonable, his reasons and arguments were preposterous. Rational people would not quarrel with him. People who quarreled with him were not fools and had other agendas of their own.
Amid the clamor, the pressure on George Wood gradually lessened – Twain was still fiercely protective of his young till now. And he did not care about Capello. What storms had the old fox not weathered? He did not need his help to relieve the pressure.
Twain’s only regret was that, because of his poor performance at the World Cup, George Wood was destined to miss out on this year’s awards for the European Footballer of the Year and FIFA World Player of the Year even though he had won the Treble.
As a defensive midfielder, the opportunity to be able to earn these personal honors was so precious…
At the thought of this, Twain gnashed his teeth, feeling somewhat resentful towards George Wood for failing to meet expectations and impatient to see improvement in him.
F**king George why are you in such bad form?!...
Chapter 887 - A Call from London
After England was eliminated, they could still comfort themselves, “We were at least eliminated by the champion!”
The host of the East, Brazil, finally had a shot at the cup on their home ground and this meant Kaka finally completed his World Cup dream – just like Ronaldo from before, when he first won the World Cup, he was only a side character. But this time, he relied on his own capabilities and hard work to become the core of the Brazil team, finally leading the team to get the championships. For him, this championship was of more value.
If it was necessary to ask him what regrets he still had after obtaining this year’s World cup, he would definitely mention out his regret of not winning George Wood in his best state. This made him a little discontent after winning the World Cup…
Just before the end of the World Cup, the England team had already spread the news of changing the roster.
Capello’s contract with the English Football Association was due to expire right after the World Cup, and with England’s performance during the previous tournament not being satisfactory to most people, the Football Association would not offer to renew his contract. Hence after the expiry of the deadline, Capello ended his job in England, as he returned to Italy and officially announced his retirement.
Afterwards, the Football Association would then start the selection of a new head coach for the team.
The media had made a list of possible candidates. The list, which had not been officially recognized, was compiled by the media based on their experience.
Tony Twain, who has just resigned, was in the list, but he had the lowest probability. The simple reason was that when he was still the Nottingham Forest manager, he gave the Football Association trouble several times, and in the minds of the Football Association officials, Tony Twain was a hard-to-discipline hedgehog, and he should be avoided whenever possible. Another reason was that it was rumoured that Manchester United and Twain were in private contact and that a preliminary agreement may have been reached between both parties.
Motson, who just ended his role as the World Cup commentary, also asked him about this, mainly asking whether Manchester United had really invited Twain to coach. Twain nodded as he did get a call from the top management of Manchester United, but he refused as he did not want to snatch Martin O’Neill’s job, and just like what he told Allen, he was unable to accept the fact that he needs to become Nottingham Forest’s opponent and play against Nottingham Forest in a competition.
“What about the England team?”
Twain shrugged, “The Football Association didn’t look for me, don’t listen to how media said that that was some list up for selection, it is all fabricated.”
Motson then laughed, “Okay, why not you just come and work for us on BBC 5 tv station, to analyse the game or start a special program in the show. With your eloquence and influence, you don’t have to worry about the ratings.”
Twain declined Motson’s kind offer, “I just want to be with my wife.”
Motson did not believe this, “Come on, I know you can’t live without football at all. ”
Twain touched his nose and asked curiously, “Why?”
“It’s very simple. I can’t imagine what else you can do after leaving the world of football…” Motson quipped. “After finishing the job and go relax? ”
“I have to go and reunite with my wife.” Twain smiled apologetically.
“You…” Motson pointed to Twain, shaking his head helplessly, “Never mind! ”
Instead of returning to the United Kingdoms with the people from BBC, Twain left directly for Rio de Janeiro to continue accompanying with his wife.
Although he was still a little concerned about Motson’s words, but after more than twenty days of separation from Shania today, he really wanted to put on wings and fly directly to the side of his wife.
After returning back to Shania, Tony Twain was way more passionate as compared to before the World Cup. This made Shania feel weird, but afterwards she just thought it was a show of “absence making the heart feel fonder” .
Only Twain knew that he was trying to refute Motson’s words with practical action, trying to deny that thought that was still struggling in his heart.
※※※
The $15 million mansion in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, was a shared property between Shania and Tony Twain. In previous years when Tony Twain and Shania decided to purchase it, it was during the economic global crisis which impacted the whole world, $15 million was already $4.5 million less than its original price, and even so, it was still quite expensive…
Twain did not want to live in such a mansion, he did not have the habit of hiring a housekeeper, so no matter how big the house was, it would only contain Shania and him, occasionally the house would be used to host friends from both parties. But the only reason why Twain was willing to buy the house was not because it was sufficiently huge, but because behind it was the Pacific Ocean.
Standing on your own balcony, he could enjoy the magnificent sea, it also had a private beach, such an environment deserving $15 million was not a scam.
Twain liked this type of an open environment, especially the sea. He was born within the city, hence during the first half of his life he did not genuinely saw the great ocean. So, today he wanted to mend this regret.
The house also had another advantage – it was close to his old friend, the Beckhams’ mansion in Beverly Hills, walking there would take at most 15 minutes. He could count them as neighbors.
Tonight, Twain and Shania are here to dine with the Beckham and Tom Cruise couple, along with some other Hollywood stars.
It was the second day they came to Hollywood from Brazil.
The journey-weary Shania was still in her bed, as Twain had already done his morning exercises on the beach behind the house. He sat directly on the beach, letting the sea continuously wash over his body, as he was looking out at the sea.
The ocean that had been sleeping all night was gently rippling in front of him, bringing a little smell of sea salt. He took a little breath to sniff it.
It’s nice not to get up in the morning and immediately think about how to lead today’s game.
That was what Twain was thinking.
Behind him came a slight “ssh ssh” sound, as Twain turned and got surprised. Shania walked out only in her three-point underwear, as she was still having sleepy eyes. She had something in her hand.
“It was too damn noisy, I can’t sleep at all… This call was made five times…” Shania handed the thing in her hand to Twain, as she pouted while sitting beside him, leaning her head onto Twain’s shoulder.
“Go back, don’t catch a cold.” Twain pushed her and looked at the unresponsive phone. “Is the call not coming anymore?”
“It’s hot inside and it’s much cooler here.” Shania pouted. “I promise there would be another call in less than five minutes.”
As soon as the voice dropped, Twain’s cellphone, in his hands, rang.
“You see!” Shania made a grimace face at Twain and continued to snooze on his shoulder.
“Hey, I’m Tony Twain” Twain discovered that the phone number was unknown and was never recorded in his phone book. “But I don’t care who you are, do you know what time it is in Los Angeles? Seven in the morning!” He was upset that this damn phone call had disturbed his wife’s dream. And since the caller was a stranger, that was no need to be polite.
“Ah, I’m sorry, Mr Twain. I didn’t know you were in Los Angeles, I thought you were in Brazil.” The caller was a man with a extremely low voice, although he was apologising, he did not sound humble at all. “I’m Shaun Barclays. I believe you must know who I am now right?” The voice started to laugh.
Twain was no stranger to this name, as it was the current executive of the English Football Association. Twain’s anger immediately reduced by half as this call really came out of the blue. Why did he even call him in the first place?
“Well, Twain, it’s about this. I have a plan here, I don’t know if you will be interested. ”
Twain rolled his eyes as he had already guessed what Barclays was calling him for. But he did not say it, but instead waited quietly for the other side to say it. As a successful coach, he had to be more reserved. But in his mind, the answer was already clear.
“As you know, Capello and our contract has ended. ”
“Yes, I’ve realised. ”
“We are now looking for the next manager of the England team. And I think you’ll be the most suitable one. ”
Twain acted surprised, “Why? I think this position and I should be very far away from each other. Although the surprise was pretended, but what he said was true. Twain knew what his image was in the Football Association, why would the Football Association look for such a disobedient head coach to manage the England team? At least before this call, he felt that it was weird.”
England’s leading figure laughed, “Championship. Isn’t the 12 championship trophies the Nottingham Forest team you led gotten enough to prove your worth?”
Twain was laughing in his heart. Mr Barclays was not praising him initially when he was discussing about him before.
When Shaun Barclays took up the position recently, there was a night press conference when he was asked about his review about Tony Twain, he pressed onto his temple while painfully answered, “If he could properly manage his mouth, I’ll thank the heavens.”
Later, Twain did not lessen his criticisms on the Football Association, so he often took a booking from the Football Association. Barclays’ name was firmly in his head. It was rumoured that whenever someone within the Association asked Barclays about his impression of Twain he would answer it with a hint of humour, “You mean the name that was always appearing in the booking?”
It was clear that the Football Association boss’s impression of Twain was not good.
Although today Mr Barclays’ attitude to him was much better, but Twain did not want to claim his sentiments. He said, “But you know, the club and the national team are two very different things, Mr. Executive,” he said. Success at the club does not mean success in the national team…”
The old fox, Barclays could tell the sarcasm behind Twain’s voice, and he did not show any disappointment or any emotion, but said quietly, “Don’t be in a hurry to refuse, Mr. Twain. You can think it over. The people and I agreed that the next England manager should be an Englishman. ”
Since the other party already gave him face, Twain also did not make enemies everywhere as he used to in Nottingham Forest to attract all the attacks onto himself. So he also gave face to the other party “Okay, I’ll consider this offer.”
After saying that he hung up the phone, as he looked down at his wife, who was still leaning on his shoulder.
“You actually did not reject him directly.” Shania’s words shocked Twain, he was about to defend himself, but Shania continued talking. “You don’t have to care about me, the key is what you want to do.”
She poked her head onto Twain’s shoulder.
“I won’t say yes, ” said Twain as he gently touched her hair. “That was just to not make Mr Barclays too uncomfortable and look too ugly.”
Shania sneered, “When did ‘Mad Dog Tony’ become so gentle? ”
“Who gave me that nickname?” Twain glared.
“Marca newspaper. They still hate you.” Shania raised her head with a smile.
Twain noticed that she was hugging her arms as he put her arm around her and brought her into the house. “Be careful not to catch a cold.” As for what the Marca newspaper said about him, he simply just did not care.
※※※
Although Twain thought he had already turned down the English Football Association, the English media did not think the same way. In an interview with the English media, Barclays personally admitted that the Football Association and Tony Twain had contacted, which pushed Twain, who was previously ghosting the media, back to the front stage.
Within a day, the media in England was crazily hyping Twain in the chance that he might take over the commander position in the England team.
Twain did not change his cell phone, so he got a call from Pierce Brosnan. Brosnan wanted to ask him if this was actually true. Twain admitted that Barclays had called him, but he did not agree to be the head coach. This made Brosnan a little disappointed as after knowing Tony Twain had left that world of football, he then knew how lonely he was.
“Actually, I think you can seriously think about it, Tony…”
“Why?”
“I think you should be a football coach… I can’t imagine you not doing something related to football. ”
This is the second time Twain has heard someone say that to him.
“Aren’t you seeing it right now?” Twain snorted, and then hung up in a hurry.
God d*amn it, why is everyone saying this? I just wante to accompany my wife…
※※※
The evening banquet was held as scheduled, as Hollywood celebrities from all walks of life carefully dressed themselves, and then brought their partners to the banquet. Shania was quite well-liked in this social circle but Twain usually only see many of these movie stars in the movies.
Outside the mansion gathered several United Kingdom and English reporters, many were reporting for an entertainment channel, while some were for sports. The sports reporters were clearly here to find Tony Twain. Beckham had retired long ago.
For the party, the Twain couple hired a team to take charge of the party, they did not have to bother with cooking nor waiting the tables. They just needed to entertain the guests.
The party was lively, but Twain’s mood was still affected by incident in the morning. On this day, the phrase “England national coach” would always suddenly appear in his mind and haunt him.
Beckham saw through Twain and thought he was distracted as he quipped, “What’s up, Twain? Are you jealous seeing Shania becoming the main lead.”
Twain glanced at the crowd who was surrounding Shania as she was entertaining everyone, “Why would I be jealous…” Looking at the good friend in front of him, the only guest here who has a common language with him, he suddenly thought to himself, “Maybe I can try asking David?”
“You look like you’re having something on your mind, what’s wrong?” Without waiting for him to speak, Beckham has already taken the initiative to show concern.
“I, uh… David. I got a call from the Football Association today morning. ”
“The English Football Association?” Beckham asked back, but he was not surprised.
Twain nodded.
The star on the other side started to laugh, “I am not surprised.”
This time it was Twain’s turn to be surprised, “Why do you say that?” ”
“If I was a Football Association official, I’d call you, Tony. Now that they’re all over the world looking for a new coach, how can they miss you out? ”
“But I’ve decided to leave football and just stay with Shania. ”
Beckham squinted as he looked at Twain.
“You don’t believe me?” Twain asked.
“Do you think anyone believes that, Tony?”
Twain would have liked to retort directly: “Why not?” But he suddenly remembered that Shania, Motson and Brosnan had expressed varying degrees of doubt about his thoughts. And compared to two outsiders, Motsan and Brosnan, the most vital thing is that even his wife who sleeps together with him every day did not believe this, this problem was really serious.
“Tony, I don’t doubt your feelings for Shania. But I, too don’t doubt your feelings about football. You’re born for football, and I can’t think of how you’re going to live after leaving from football. Beckham put his hand on Twain’s shoulder and said to him with a serious tone.
“But I’m still living fine.” Twain spread his hands.
Beckham laughed as he squinted his eyes.
“You don’t believe me again?”
Beckham patted him on the shoulder as he took back his hand. “Well, don’t think about that, just enjoy the night, I’ll introduce you to some new friends…”
He pulled Twain to the raucous crowd, where the lights were bright as a unforgettable night had just begun. (Unfinished, if you want to know what happens later, please log in to www.qidian.com, where there would be more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading! )
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Chapter 888 - It’s Not Easy to Find a Job
The deafening sound of the song reached his ears. Twain could not tell what they were singing as his ears were filled with a booming noise, as though there were waves hitting the shore.
There were tens of thousands of arms waving ahead of him and they looked like the lush Sherwood Forest.
Twain realized that he was situated in the familiar City Grounds. The stadium with a capacity of 30,000 people was totally full then. However, he was not in the manager’s seat at the sideline, he was on the stands instead.
On the pitch below, an intensive match was going on. He looked at the home team’s manager’s seat and he was stunned for awhile as he saw himself managing the team there.
What’s going on?
Twain looked at his hands, but he could not see anything from his hands. If that man managing the team on the side was Tony Twain, then who was he?
The other Tony Twain was standing on the sideline, a little nervous and a little excited. He leant forward with his fists clenched in front of his chest and paid full attention to what was happening on the pitch.
Twain looked beyond him and got a shock. He recognized the away jersey of West Ham United.
Why was it West Ham United?
Looking at Nottingham Forest on the other side, many of the players were unfamiliar to him. Twain did not see George Wood amongst them, no Gareth Bale, Eastwood, Pepe… He did not see those people, not even Albertini, van der Sar or Hierro from the earlier days.
What kind of Nottingham Forest was this?
Nottingham Forest was defending while West Ham was on the offense. Twain had to squint his eyes to look for a while before he could tell from the movements that the person holding the ball was Joe Cole. Was Cole not at Chelsea? When was this West Ham United from?
Joe Cole deliberately controlled the ball in midfield, or more accurately, he wanted to show off his dribbling skills in front of his opponents. When Twain saw this, he gave a cold snort and said, “Idiot!”
Under the press of the Forest players, he did not pass the ball, choosing to continue dribbling in an attempt to bring the ball out from within the surrounding Forest players. When the third Forest player came for the ball, Joe Cole lost the ball from under his feet.
The following scenes were very familiar to Twain, because these scenes happened in front of him quite often.
The Forest player who got the ball passed it to his teammate on the side and his teammate passed the ball forward. The third Nottingham Forest player ran forward from a position level with the opponent’s defensive line. The timing was perfect and even Twain himself could not help but shout, “Beautiful.”
And the fans around him had already raised their arms cheering long ago.
The Forest striker received the ball from behind the whole West Ham United’s defense and those confused West Ham United players were still raising their hands in protest to the linesman and referee to indicate that this player was offside.
The Forest striker calmly stroked the ball towards the far corner when one-on-one with the goalkeeper, the ball flew past the West Ham United’s goalkeeper and into the goal…
“Boom——!!” It felt like a ton of TNT exploded next to his ears.
“Forest Forest! Nottingham Forest!!!”
This was the only sound coming from the stands.
The massive soundwave not only crashed upon Twain’s eardrums, it also crashed upon his heart. He felt a dull pain in his left chest, and he touched it with his hand. He did not feel anything unusual, instead, he managed to feel the strength of his heartbeat directly with his hand.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
It was rather powerful, so powerful that it felt like it was going to jump out from his chest cavity.
With his hand on his heart, Twain’s gaze fixated on the man below.
That man was not as excited as the players on the pitch, at least that was what it looked like on the surface… He merely looked up at the surrounding stands. The Nottingham Forest team song rang out from the stands and Twain could even sing along to it——This rhythm was too familiar to him as he had heard it no less than 1000 times.
“We’ve got the whole world in our hands! We’re the best team in the land!”
After looking around, that man opened his arms within the songs and he leaned backwards, looking straight up into the sky and he seemed to enjoy this moment very much.
Twain seemed to have heard what that man was thinking.
I love this noise! I love this smell! I love this stirring spectacle! I love everything here! I love football!
In the stands, Twain also could not help but to open his arms and close his eyes, enjoying this choir that would probably sound like noise to normal people. This was really the most beautiful voice in the world…
When Twain opened his eyes again and the noise around him had completely subsided just like the tides, however, there were the faint sounds of the tides coming from outside his window. What he saw was not the green field and the spectator stands filled with spectators, just the white suspended ceiling above.
This was his home.
After about 10 seconds, he finally realized what was going on. He was not in the City Grounds Stadium. He was merely lying inside one of the bedrooms of his mansion in Los Angeles, Beverly Hills.
It was just a dream.
Twain gently removed his arm that was stuck under Shania’s head and then closed his eyes while covering his face.
He wanted to make himself sleep again, maybe he might be able to return to the City Grounds in 2003.
He remembered what match it was—— The FA Cup on January 3rd, 2003. Nottingham Forest, which was still in the English Football League First Division then (Later known as English Football League Championship), playing against West Ham United in the English Premier League. That was the first official match that Twain took charge of as the manager of Nottingham Forest, and they fell to a 2:3 defeat at the hands of the referee.
Twain did not know why he would dream of a match from so long ago. However, he would very much like to return to the atmosphere of that match.
That was because he suddenly missed that feeling——Embracing victory with open arms amidst the cheers of tens of thousands of people. It felt like the whole world was in his hands and he was the master of everything. It would not be wrong to say he was God at that time.
Unfortunately, his efforts were for naught. He was exceptionally awake after he woke up and he could not go back to sleep.
Twain was a little bit frustrated that he could not find the feelings he had initially. He tossed and turned in bed for a while but as he was afraid of waking Shania, he decided to get out of bed and walk towards the open windows in just his underwear. The sea breeze blew against the curtains and there were ebbs and flows on the curtains just like the tides outside.
Twain was lost in thoughts as he looked at the greyish sea outside the windows.
After some time, he felt a shirt being put onto him.
“Be careful, don’t catch a cold,” Shania reminded him while snuggling up from behind him.
Twain held Shania’s hands, feeling the warmth of his wife.
None of them spoke after that and they snuggled together quietly.
Twain broke the silence after some time, “Shania.”
“Hmm?”
“Sorry…”
※※※
In fact, even though the media had indeed been stirring up news about Twain becoming the new manager of the England national team for a few days, it was just to attract the attention of the general public, a publicity stunt. Any reporter who had any sense of reason would not think that Twain would really take that position. There were many candidates for that position that the media speculated on and Tony Twain was the one with the lowest probability. It was very simple, nobody believed that the Football Association would ask someone that they could not control to manage the England team. No matter how many trophies he got, it was not as important as being “receptive to command”.
The Football Association did not announce who the candidates that they were interested in were. When interviewed, they would only say things like, “He’s not a bad choice”, “He’s not a bad choice either”.
The media was very helpful as they gave the Football Association a list of the candidates. Every candidate had a probability of being chosen at the end. Tony Twain was at the bottom of the list with a probability of only five percent. The evaluation of the senior experts was, “Unless Shaun Harvey is crazy, otherwise, there is no chance that he will bring disaster upon himself.”
Shaun Harvey publicly said that they would choose amongst the Englishmen first for the position of England’s manager, so no matter how impressive a foreign manager was, he would have to wait for his chance. However, there were not many Englishmen who were suitable for this position. The only people whom the public thought was good enough for this position were Everton’s manager, David Moyes and the manager of England national under-21 football team, Stuart Pearce. Martin O’Neill was not a bad choice either, but it was a pity that he was from Northern Ireland.
McClaren was out of the consideration as he had already been deemed a failure. Even though he wanted to prove himself again, the Football Association took a lukewarm attitude towards him.
Venables were capable but he was already 71 years old, a little too old. He also clearly stated that he had no interest in the position of England’s manager.
The media combed through the whole English Premier League and they had no choice but to tragically admit that their football league was dominated by foreign managers… A high-level English manager was rare. When Tony Twain was around, people hated him, and now that he was no longer around, they finally realized that he was the only one that was holding the fort for English managers.
The media was not the only one who did not think Twain would be the next England manager. Even the Football Association did not think it was probably. Harvey’s call to Twain was just a formality——As the best local manager, even though he had already resigned, he still had a certain amount of influence. It would simply not do if he was not informed about England’s search for a new manager… So, even if they did not think it was likely, they still had to put on a show and when the media asked about it, they had to say, “We believe that Tony Twain is the most suitable candidate for England right now. 12 trophies in 10 years proves everything.”
In his mind, Harvey thought that if Twain really agreed, then it was either Twain who was mad, or the world that was mad.
※※※
“Why apologize to me?” Shania hugged Twain from behind and asked softly.
“Do you remember me saying that I would quit and keep you company? Now, I realize that I might…” Twain grew silent for a while as he was still very conflicted inside his mind, “…not be able to do it. So, I’m very sorry, Shania.”
Shania rolled her eyes as she leaned on his back, “I thought you were having an affair!”
“Er…” Twain did not expect this reaction from Shania.
“Did you really think that I fell for your lousy sweet talks, Uncle Tony? I did not believe what you said when you quit. If that was true, you would have quit when you had your heart attack.”
“I…” Twain realized that Shania was right, he had no answers for it.
“The real reason why you left Forest was because of your conflict with Allan Adams,” Shania let go of Twain, allowing him to turn and face her, “You’ve never thought that you would leave football.’
“No…” Twain wanted to defend himself.
Shania interrupted him again.
“Ok Uncle Tony. It doesn’t matter what you think, I’m already very satisfied,” Shania smiled at Twain, then changed her expression rapidly, and sighed, “From the moment I decided to fall in love with you, I’ve mentally prepared myself for this——The love that I receive will always be a little lesser.”
Twain hugged the woman in front of him.
“Sorry, Shania. Sorry…”
What could he say other than this?
He was indeed feeling guilty towards Shania. Because his love for football had not really disappear, that was why the love that Shania received would definitely be discounted.
“Are you going to call the Football Association’s executive?” Shania looked up from Twain’s embrace.
Twain shook his head, “No, at least not for these few days.”
“Huh? Didn’t you tell me these because you’ve decided to manage England?”
“I didn’t say I must manage England. That position is not for human…” Twain kissed Shania’s head. Harvey’s phone call merely served to make him really understand how much he loved football. It did not mean that Twain was interested in that position now. He did really take a good look at the invitations that he received previous now…
※※※
Shania and her husband left Los Angeles within less than five days and boarded a plane towards Spain.
There was a piece of news that was absolutely confidential. If the Marca or Diario AS knew about it, their jaws would drop.
The piece of news was that Florentino had already contacted Twain the day after the Champions League final, asking him to be the new manager of the Galácticos. Twain was contemptuous of that invitation then, but now… He had to give it a serious consideration and listen to the conditions that Florentino offered.
Both parties met for a meal, had a good chat, and Twain left Madrid.
It seemed like he was not fated to work with Real Madrid——Florentino was unable to satisfy the only condition that Twain had; Tony Twain must have absolute authority in building the team, nobody was to interfere with it, not even Raúl González.
The first condition that Twain put forward when he met the Spanish property magnate was this. Florentino considered for very long before shaking his head.
There was nothing left to discuss after that. If this condition could not be met, there was nothing left to discuss.
It was a good thing that this was not publicized, otherwise both parties would not be able to back down in good grace.
Twain and Shania flew back to England straight after leaving Madrid. This was the first time he was returning to England after resigning. He was not here to discuss with the Football Association’s executive about managing the national team. He was merely there to attend the wedding of Tang and Tang Jing, a very small and private wedding.
Twain was still joking at the expense of this pair of newlyweds on the wedding, saying that he was the real matchmaker and they should bow to him.
He had a lot of fun and it appeared as though he was not concerned about work at all.
In fact, other than Real Madrid, there were also invitations from Juventus and Bayern Munich on his hands. He had to make a decision quickly because the new season was going to start in slightly more than a month’s time, the Bundesliga had only a month left.
When he was in England for the wedding, he contacted both clubs on the phone. However, the conditions that both clubs offered were unable to satisfy Twain’s requirement. Either they did not want to give up full authority, or they could not guarantee enough transfer budget——Twain had enough of a tough life at Nottingham Forest. Now that he was changing a team, he did not want to experience life with a tight budget again.
Hence, he was unable to work with Juventus and Bayern Munich too.
When Twain looked at the job openings he had in his hands again, there was only the manager of the England national team left.
Who would have thought that someone of the Godfather of Champions’ caliber would end up like this, it was not easy to find a job…
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Chapter 889 - A Change of Manager
David Moyes was the first candidate to reject the English Football Association. He stated that he was happy to stay at Everton and did not want to change his working environment. Furthermore, it was too exhausting to be the manager of the England national team. The manager was under watch by the reporters three hundred and sixty-five days a year. There was no idle time twenty-four hours a day. And one also had to guard against those tabloids, such as the fake Sheikh incident and so on.
He did not like that kind of life. Therefore, he publicly rejected the Football Association. Everton later issued a statement on their website to clear up the earlier rumors and confirmed that Moyes would remain at Everton.
The English Football Association had offered an annual salary of up to eight and a half million pounds for the new manager, which made the position appeared to be a highly coveted and drool-worthy job. But in fact, it was actually a hot potato. The eight and a half million pounds salary was the annual salary of a manager which led the team to win the UEFA European Championship. In addition to the other incentives, the new England manager could earn more than ten million pounds a year. But all the managers knew how difficult the England manager’s position was.
Not only did he need to have enough fame and prestige to control those big-name star players who had been spoiled rotten by the media; he was required to have real ability and solid learning to withstand the questions from experts; Moreover, he also needed to have the awareness of an entertainment star, and could not gripe being under the magnifying focus of the media all the time.
After mulling over it for a period, Stuart Pearce also decided to give up the well-paid job. He said that he would prefer to continue working in the Under-21 youth team in response to questions from the reporters and that developing young players was the way forward for English football.
The two men’s consecutive announcements of their withdrawal left the Football Association in an awkward position – it was estimated that no one would take over the job within the scope of local managers.
They could only set their sights abroad.
There were a lot of good managers overseas, such as Scolari, Mourinho, Ancelotti, Hiddink and so on…
But the chief executive officer of the Football Association, Shaun Harvey still wanted to find a good local English manager. said the issue was “a good thing Barclay still wants a good coach from England. Foreign managers were not easy to manage. If there were still no results in the end, the Football Association would also be criticized that it was “because they chose a foreign manager.” A local manager was much easier to manage.
However, Moyes and Pearce were not interested. In particular, Pearce, who was specially cultivated by the Football Association, got cold feet at the last minute. He did not have the same drive as he did when he was a player which disappointed Harvey.
Just as he was worried about the matter, he received a surprise phone call.
“I’m in London now. I think we can talk about it in detail…” The man who said that was Tony Twain.
Twain was actually tempted. It would be impossible for the Football Association to stop halfway this time…
※※※
While the English Football Association was fretting about a new manager, so was Nottingham Forest. They had already made an overture to Mourinho, but Mourinho was not interested in them. It was not that he thought a small club like Nottingham Forest could not keep a big shot like him. Mourinho himself was a manager with a very individualistic character, so he did not like to go to a team with another person’s deep imprint. It would be too hard to get off to a good start. He was not interested in being anyone’s second generation and he certainly did not want to live in Tony Twain’s shadow.
No one wanted to come to Nottingham Forest after they searched outside for a successful manager. Hiddink had agreed to coach the Forest team, but the terms he gave were unacceptable to Evan Doughty. The legendary Dutch manager still wanted to remain as the manager of the Netherlands national team. Evan was not looking for a part-timer, so he would never allow him to have a foot in both teams. As a result, Hiddink’s encounter with Nottingham Forest was brief.
The other managers were very interested in the Forest team’s position and also keen on the annual salary figure, but the Forest team was not interested in them. These people were usually second-rate coaches. Evan did not think they could handle the current championship team.
In the end, after Nottingham Forest went through a lot of hard work in July, they finally poached the Manchester United manager, Martin O’Neill. The former Nottingham Forest manager was, by all accounts, the most suitable for the Forest team. Martin O’Neill had the ability and certain fame. And the most important thing was that he had a much milder temper than Tony Twain. Such a person was very easy to discipline.
O’Neill’s departure triggered a chain reaction. Manchester United stepped up the momentum of their pursuit of Mourinho after losing O’Neill and eventually persuaded Mourinho to switch teams from Inter Milan to join Manchester United. His arrival was seen by the Manchester United officials as a starting point for the Red Devils to rebuild its glory. It was mentioned on the same terms as when Liverpool signed Shankly, Manchester United signed Ferguson and Nottingham Forest signed Tony Twain.
For their part, Inter Milan could not do anything about it other than to express their regret. Manchester United was desperate, and even covered the penalty fee for Mourinho’s default in the contract. It looked like not having won a title for years in a row, made Manchester United, which was accustomed to winning titles during Ferguson’s era, a little flustered. They did whatever it took in order to get a good leader at the helm.
At this time, Inter Milan had to find a manager, so they contacted Tony Twain. Unfortunately, Twain had already reached an agreement with the English Football Association – he was going to officially coach the England national team.
He only had to wait now for the Football Association’s official announcement.
During the negotiations with Harvey, the two sides had agreed on the terms. Although the English Football Association was similar to the Chinese Football Association in some areas, they would not interfere with the manager’s work, which was the point that Twain was most satisfied with. He did not care about the other things. Some people were worried that after becoming the England manager, they would be kept under watch all the time. Twain was not afraid. He felt that fighting against fate and destiny was nothing compared to fighting against people because it was boundless joy to fight with people.
It was the case at Nottingham Forest, and it would be similar going to the England national team.
The Football Association’s idea was that they had let the word out that they must find a home-grown English manager this time lead the England national team. Since Twain offered to take the initiative, they had no reason to turn a blind eye or refuse. As long as everyone could reach an agreement, then they would let Twain be the manager.
The two sides hit it off, and the result was that the candidate whom the media thought of as the least favorite was the eventual winner, who was now with the English Football Association.
Two days later, the English Football Association held a press conference together with Tony Twain to officially announce the news at the meeting. At that time, a lot of people would definitely be taken aback by the news.
※※※
Martin O’Neill started his first day of work at Nottingham Forest today. He would meet his team for the first time. It was an ordinary meeting, but O’Neill was nervous and even restless. It was all because the last manager of this team was… too brilliant.
He and Twain were not considered close, but they were also friends. Because he never publicly said anything bad about Twain. It was enough to make someone like Twain think of it as a friendship. One must know that there were a lot of people who cursed and abused Twain every day.
Now he had to face the enormous influence left by his friend. He was also a successful manager and naturally was unwilling to live in the shadow of others.
Perhaps it could be said that how hard Martin O’Neill’s job was from another point of view.
While waiting for the new manager to arrive, the Forest players were changing their clothes in the locker room. But it was Tony Twain whom they were discussing instead.
“I read yesterday’s news that said a reporter had filmed the boss with that old man, Harvey. Do you think the boss is really going to coach the England team?” Bale asked.
“Who knows, I don’t think it’s very likely. The Football Association hates the boss…” said Mitchell, frowning.
“Hey, why do you care so much about that… I think we’d better think about how different the newly arrived Mr. Martin O’Neill will be from the boss.”
“How different are they? We can talk about it for a day and a night. The boss is the most unique and you can’t find another like him in the whole of England… No, no, in the entire Europe. Not even Mourinho can be compared to him!”
“Why do you think the boss wanted to leave…” Bale asked again.
All the talk immediately disappeared. Some people even sighed lightly. This question troubled a lot of the Forest players. They thought about a number of reasons, such as the boss’ poor health, a problem in the boss’ family, the boss and the club’s top brass could not get along, the boss was tired of coaching in the same team for eleven years in a row, or the boss had betrayed them…
Twain had never explained the reasons for his sudden resignation in the media, so there were a lot of rumors outside. Some of which were very close to the players’ speculation, so that they felt confused and did not know whom to trust.
The impact of Tony Twain’s sudden resignation was still very much present today. Some of them still did not understand why the boss chose to leave suddenly at that time, but they could clearly feel that the boss was gone. It felt as if the team had lost something very important and the will of the players fell apart. It would not be easy to gather together again.
Kompany had already been sold to Italy by Allan before O’Neill came to the Forest team. Without Twain’s obstruction, Allan could sell anyone, as long as the other side could offer the price that would tempt him.
Following immediately was the sale of Leighton Baines. He went to Everton in the Premier League.
These two players brought in a revenue of twenty-seven million pounds for Allan Adams. If Twain was there, he would surely berate Allan Adams but there was no one who could stop the businessman.
The Forest team was unhappy with the top brass for driving the boss away and also dissatisfied with the sale of two of their teammates. A growing number of people within the team had already lost faith in the team. Ironically, just two months ago, this team won the great Treble and became the only team to do so in the European football arena in fifteen years. At the time, they must have thought they could continue to create brilliance and become the strongest team to unify Europe. If football also took a leaf out of the NBA and had a championship ring, all ten fingers and even toes were not enough to hold them when everyone retired… A future of that kind was really beautiful!
Rome was not built in a day, but one night would be enough for it to collapse.
The dreary atmosphere in the locker room was interrupted by a man.
“Don’t dilly dally and let the new manager think you’re all professional players who like to be late.” George Wood was the one who spoke up. He had already changed into his training uniform, stood at the door of the locker room and looked coldly around his teammates inside the room.
He seemed to have recovered from the blow of his boss’ departure. His poor performance at the World Cup had also become a thing of the past. He was still the hardest working and serious one in training. He also spoke more words now than before. It was just that the expression on his face … had become colder.
No one dared to defy George Wood who was like this. They did not even look face to face at him. A group of people kept their heads down and changed into their clothes and shoes in a hurry. Some people who had clearly changed their clothes, also untied their shoelaces and tied them once again, as if it would be a little tighter this way.
Then the players rushed out and marched to the training ground in twos and threes.
Over there, David Kerslake was giving Martin O’Neill a basic account of the current situation. He tried to avoid mentioning Tony Twain’s name. He did not want the new manager to have any other ideas.
“… We have just sold Kompany and Baines before, but fortunately they were no longer the absolute mainstay of the team. Pepe and Woodgate are fit to play at as center back partners. We have Gareth Bale and Joe Mattock as the left backs. Bale can attack and defend. Mattock is younger and has more potential… Although our rear defensive line is the best in England, but I think it will be nice if we have another high-level substitute goalkeeper… Tiago is a little old and his form is slipping so fast that he didn’t have many chances to play last season. Tony said that if the team wanted him to… Uh.” He suddenly shut his mouth because he realized that he had inadvertently mentioned that person’s name.
O’Neill smiled amiably and said, “Tony was right. Some people don’t have to stay in the Forest team all the time. The Forest team has the most united and harmonious locker room in the whole of Premier League, but that doesn’t mean we are a nursing home here, what’s more, a public nursing home.”
Kerslake marveled inside that O’Neill seemed to be easy to get along with and he continued with the introduction.
By this time, all the players had arrived at the pitch. They had gathered on the other side and were doing warm-up activities under the leadership of the fitness coach.
O’Neill was observing quietly as he listened to the assistant manager’s introduction.
What gift would this team that had swept across Europe and made the enemies terror-stricken, have to give to the new captain for the first time? How long could he stay on this ship? O’Neill could not think about these things. There was only one person on this mind – Tony Twain. He was keeping his mind as close as possible to Twain’s, speculating about how Twain led the team so that he could find the fastest approach for himself to fit in with the team and turn the team into Martin O’Neill’s own team.
When the team finished its warmup, O’Neill walked over and said hello to them, “Hello, gentlemen. I’m your new manager, Martin O’Neill. I believe you’ve heard of my name, haven’t you?”
Some of the players in the team laughed, while the others muttered in low voices, “What did he call us? ‘Gentlemen?’”
It’s awkward. I still like to be called ‘guys.’”
“Shh, they have different styles. Be careful not to let him hear…”
In fact, O’Neill heard it. He had a smile on his face and acted as if he did not hear it at all.
He smiled on the surface, but he was laughing bitterly on the inside. It looked like it was not going to be easy to make this team his own…
Even though the Forest players were not yet aware of the difference between the new coach’s temperament and that of his predecessor’s, they soon learned the difference between how Manager Martin O’Neill led the team in training than that of the boss.
Twain always liked to leave the specifics and tasks to the rest of the coaching staff. He just stood on the side and watched. Occasionally, he would stepped forward and say a few words. He looked cool impeccably attired and wearing his sunglasses.
On the other hand, O’Neill wore a tracksuit and even personally demonstrated during training. It obviously had something to do with him being a great footballer once. Judging from the results of the training, O’Neill was better than Tony Twain. At least some of the players thought so.
Among the Nottingham Forest players was a stubborn “Team Tony Twain.” They would spurn the other people and coaches other than Twain himself. Although they did not give the new manager trouble on the surface, their hearts were full of contempt as they waited for the new manager to make a mistake so that it could become something they could hold and use against him.
The dyed-in-the-wool faction was reluctant to admit that O’Neill was more outstanding at training than Twain. They felt that O’Neill’s on-field command and mental ability must not be as good as the boss’s. Anyway, football ultimately depended on the outcome of the game, and not the training results.
After the morning training ended, everyone left, each with his own thoughts. Martin O’Neill went to see his immediate boss, the club chairman, Evan Doughty.
“How do you feel after your first day of work, Martin?” Evan asked with a smile.
“Very good. Everyone was very cooperative. It’s a great team.” O’Neill did not tell the truth. He lied to cover up those troubles.
Evan smiled and shook his head, “Don’t lie to me, Martin. I know this team. They’re like Tony Twain’s temper, smelly and tough.” He did not have a look of disgust on his face when he said this. He only gave a slight smile as if he was making a joke about an old friend. “I think some of them are not convinced by you, but it’s okay. They will know it after winning a few games. You must know the tradition of Nottingham Forest is quite simple – victory is ten million times more powerful than any sweet talk.”
Martin O’Neill muttered inside his heart: It’s also ten million times harder than sweet talk.
At this point, Evan shrugged. He suddenly remembered that this tradition did not have a long history because it was Tony Twain who brought it to the Forest team. Indeed, this man’s influence was really found everywhere in Nottingham Forest… like the ghost of an ancient castle which had not yet dispersed. He felt a little uncomfortable and changed his expression. His smile became milder as he said to O’Neill.
“You can make a purge list. We have to rebuild the team. Other than the core players who cannot be touched, you can do whatever you want with the others.
O’Neill was a little surprised to hear the club chairman say this. He looked up at the man in front of him, his eyes full of confusion.
“If you want a team that completely belongs to you, I think a proper purge is necessary, Martin. It’s time to reshuffle.”
O’Neill was silent for a moment and then nodded, “Very well. I’ll give you a purge list after I observe for a period of time. It will include the players who need to be sold and bought. It will all be there.”
With that, O’Neill took his leave of Evan Doughty and left the chairman’s office.
Standing outside underneath the sun, he suddenly understood why Tony Twain wanted to leave Nottingham Forest at such a glorious time. There were not many managers who had the capability to compete with club chairmen. Old monsters like Ferguson were rare. When the chairman of a club interfered too much in the affairs of the team, it meant that the team was dangerous.
It was the same when he was at Manchester United and now it was the case too at Nottingham Forest. It looked like the successful club chairman was confident about himself.
How long could he hold on in such an environment?
O’Neill did not know. He only hoped that he could regain his rightful place in the team with one victory after another.
Just like how his predecessor did, obtaining one victory after another, he would keep running forward and not give anyone a chance to stop and catch one’s breath. Even if he was tired, he had to grit his teeth and keep running.
Luckily, I do not have a heart disease.
O’Neill shook his head as he walked toward the parking lot.
...
Chapter 890 - The New Manager of The Three Lions
The noses of the media were very sensitive. Even though the English Football Association had not officially announced the news about them reaching an agreement with Tony Twain, the news had already been leaked by The Sun.
However, they phrased it as a question, “New head of the Three Lions?”
The picture next to the headlines was a photo of Tony Twain.
The first thing Twain did when he saw this news was to switch off his phone. Otherwise, he would be bombarded by countless annoying phone calls that day.
The Football Association would be calling for a press conference the next day anyway, they would be able to ask what they wanted to ask then.
※※※
Next day, At the English Football Association in London SOHO square, the Football Association and Twain attended a press conference here and officially announced Twain’s taking the role of England’s manager.
Media from all over the world gathered at one place to witness it.
Even though he had been the manager of a football club for 11 years, it was still his virgin experience as the manager of a national team. He specially wore a new suit today, and also wore a tie, a rare occasion.
When he reached the venue, there were countless camera flashes even before he said anything which stunned the Football Association’s executive, Shaun Harvey.
When the two of them are seated, Harvey officially announced that Tony Twain would be taking up the reins as England’s national team’s manager.
“We’re very happy to be able to get Tony Twain to take up the role of England’s manager. Amongst the many candidates, Tony Twain’s results was the key to him being chosen. His results when he was with Nottingham Forest are very satisfactory for us. We’re very confident that the England team will be able to welcome the new dawn under Tony Twain’s guidance.”
Twain and the Football Association signed a two-year contract. The target was to win the European Championship, and depending on the results of that competition, they would decide if the contract would be extended to the World Cup.
Next, it was time for Twain to give a short speech about him taking up the post.
“Leading the England team is a new challenge to me, and I like challenges.”
Once Twain said that, he sat back, and it meant the reporters were free to ask questions.
It was short indeed…
The first reporter to stand and present his question was from The Times. His question was still acceptable, “Mr Twain, the best result that the previous manager, Capello, achieved was fourth place in the World Cup. May I ask if you have a specific target?”
Twain was about to answer when Harvey interrupted from the side, “Our target is the European Championship.”
Twain glanced at him, then nodded and said, “Yes, the short-term target is the European Championship.”
The questions after that went further and further away from the topic.
The reporters were obviously more interested about the reason Twain resigned from his post as Nottingham Forest’s manager. Tony Twain did not give an explanation for it yet, and Nottingham Forest Football Club did not reveal more information.
The reporter from The Sun stood up and asked, “Mr Twain, what was the motive for you to leave Nottingham Forest when you’re at your most glorious moment?”
Twain looked at Harvey. The Football Association’s executive also felt very awkward.
Therefore, Twain opened his arms and said, “I’m sorry, this is the press conference by the Football Association regarding the new England manager, not a press conference by Nottingham Forest Football Club. You’re at the wrong place, Mr reporter from The Sun.”
This moment had finally arrived. The reporters were exceptionally excited. They had not seen Twain for a month, but Twain were still unfriendly to them. When he was at the club, he did not have a good relationship with the media. They should be under no illusion that things would change and they would work in harmony now that he was with the England national team.
The media used Twain to attract more attention and readers by provoking him whereas for Twain, going against the media was one of the greatest source of happiness for him. Being a manager of a football team comes with a lot of pressure, there had to be a way for him to vent it out. Going against the media was not bad way of doing so.
The reporters of The Sun wanted to continue asking but Harvey finally interrupted again, “Mr reporter, please ensure that your questions are relevant to the main topic today, otherwise we have the rights to not answer.”
“Alright, Mr Harvey. I have a question for you,” that reporter smiled and nodded, “As the English Football Association, you’ve undoubtedly chosen Tony Twain as the manager of the national team because of his results. Is the Football Association worried that Mr Twain’s big mouth might bring about some unnecessary trouble for the team and the Football Association?”
“Um…” Harvey secretly cursed under his breath, “We believe that Tony Twain will be mindful of his actions.”
Twain took over from him, “Don’t worry about this, I’ll definitely not bring any trouble to the Football Association or the England squad. In fact, I’ll only retaliate if someone else takes the initiative to provoke me. I also hope that we’ll be able to coexist peacefully in the days to come,” when he finished, he glanced at the reporter from The Sun with a look that suggested there was a hidden meaning within.
When it was known that Twain was attending the press conference, Pierce Brosnan was sent to London by the chief editor in the hope that his personal relationship with Twain would bring him some exclusive news. Too bad Twain had switched off his phone and he could only attend the press conference like the other reporters.
He was picked by the host and he stood up to ask his question. Like the reporter from The Sun, he really wanted to ask Twain why he left Forest, but he knew that he would not get any answers by asking that, all it would do was to destroy the relationship between him and Twain.
“Mr Twain, can you reveal some of the principles that you would build your team around?
“All the English players have a chance to be chosen into the national team. I do not care about their fame, or even what their names are, I’ll only look at their form and their attitudes. People who are lazy have no place in my team,” Twain replied indicated an “iron hand”, but that was within everybody’s expectations. That was the kind of manager that he was. He was like this when he was in Nottingham Forest, he would not take no for an answer and nobody could oppose what he said.
Brosnan did not continue asking and sat down. Another person stood up, “Mr Twain, when you were at Nottingham Forest, you thought that Forest was the best team in England. Would you build the team around the English players in the Forest team then?”
Of course, Twain knew that this person was questioning if he would be biased towards the English players in Nottingham Forest in a roundabout way. He did not bother to explain, “No, I won’t do that. I’ll be impartial in choosing my players,” This did not accord with his character and style.
He nodded and said, “If they perform well, why not?”
Appointing people based on favoritism is bad, but there is also a saying that says one should appoint people based on their merits. Compared to the players of the other teams, he was more familiar with the Nottingham Forest players, therefore the Forest players would naturally look to him for some help. Twain did not avoid this topic, in fact, he was prepared for it.
If the media were to criticize him, the reason for that would not be because he picked too many Forest players, but because he lost the match. Therefore, the national team was no different from the club, as long as one won, there would not be any problem.
After he understood the fundamentals of the problem, things became much simpler.
Twain handled the rounds of questions by the media perfectly, showing no weakness. After resting for more than a month, it did not look like it affected him at all. When the press conference ended, Harvey was very satisfied with Twain’s performance——He did not cause any problem in the press conference indeed.
He only hoped that it was not a rare occasion
※※※
After the press conference, news of Tony Twain taking up the role of England’s manager was on all major prints, television, radio broadcast and the internet. Twain became the hottest news topic.
His pictures were all over the newspapers.
BBC was planning to invite him for an exclusive interview.
Kerslake was having breakfast while reading the latest newspaper. He flipped to the sports section straight.
What he saw was a front-page picture of Twain. He was wearing a bespoke suit with a tie, a stern expression on his face.
Kerslake was reminded of the way he left Forest when he saw Twain’s picture. There was no doubt that Twain lied to him, promising him that he would be the first to know. In the end, news of it spread like wildfire amongst the outside media before he received a postcard with a tropical bikini lady from Brazil that Twain sent telling him that he resigned.
This was a sudden news, but Kerslake was prepared for it. Him, as an assistant manager, knew very clearly that Twain and Allan had a rocky relationship. But he did not expect Twain to really abandon the team that he had painstakingly managed for 11 years just because of this reason. He was really an enigma; one cannot predict what he would do using normal logic…
In Kerslake’s opinion, leaving at the highest point was a very difficult decision. However, he did not know that Twain had been considering about this problem for a whole year and he was still hesitant at the end. If Evan’s actions did not disappoint him so much, he might still stay in Wilford. Initially, he had the intention of leaving because of the row with Allan, but he eventually realized that Evan, with the smiling face, was also against him, that meant that he did not have to struggle anymore, it would be much easier for him to just leave.
Kerslake sighed at the way fate works while holding the newspaper before putting it down and continuing with his breakfast. At this moment, his phone rang.
Looking at the phone number, it was actually from Tony Twain!
“You finally called, Tony. Are you here to apologize?”
“I’m very sorry, David. I did not know that the club would call a press conference so quickly… I sent the postcard as soon as I reached Brazil,” Twain knew what Keslake meant by apologize and he did owe his partner an apology. He also had a favor to ask of him.
“Forget it, let bygones be bygones. Do you need me for something?” Kerslake did not want to dwell on that matter as it was pointless.
“It’s like this, David. You should have know that I’m now England’s manager, right?”
“I’m reading the papers, you look too stern in the photo.”
“Ha!” Twain gave a laugh, “I’m now a general with no army, there’s no one to help me… I intend to invite you to join England’s coaching team. We work well together, there won’t be any problem!”
Kerslake stopped eating and fell silent for a while.
Twain did not rush him, he knew that this was a sudden news and he had to give him some time to think, “You don’t have to give me an answer now, David. You can take a few days to consider and call me after that…”
“No, I reject your offer, Tony.”
“You can really take a few days to consider it, David.”
“I’ve already considered it just now,” Kerslake was firm in his answer, there was no room for discussion.
“Okay then… Can you tell me why?” Twain knew he could not persuade Kerslake because he did not like to force people to do things that they did not want to.
“I love Forest, Tony. After you left, Forest was in a mess. The new manager, Martin O’Neill doesn’t understand this team at all. I have to stay and help him get acclimatized to the team as soon as possible. Now that you’re gone, if I leave too, I don’t know what will become of this team…”
Twain felt his face flush a little when he heard what Kerslake said. He had been forcing himself to ignore news about Forest because he was afraid that he would feel heartache——The team of champions that he built himself had already sold two of the players, and word was they were going to keep selling. When the new season begins, how many of the original members would be left of the treble-winning Nottingham Forest team?
“If Tang was still here, I might have said yes. Oh yes, why don’t you ask Tang?”
Twain thought to himself that it would be pointless to ask him, the answer would be the same as Kerslake’s. He wanted to be a manager, and he was doing well in Notts County. Why would he leave the team that he had been leading to be an assistant manager for him in the England national team?
“Sorry that I can’t help you, Tony. I wish you all the best.”
After he hung up the call from Twain, Kerslake picked up the newspaper again. He was in a daze for quite awhile as he looked at Twain’s picture on the paper.
“Who was it so early in the morning?” His wife asked, wiping her hands as she came out from the bathroom. She was giving their son a bath.
“An old friend,” Kerslake replied as he put down the newspaper again, finishing up his breakfast.
※※※
Twain was troubled by the fact that he had no suitable coaching team now——Even though his coaching team was very good in the club, they were not willing to join the England team. When Capello became manager, he brought an all-Italian coaching staff. From assistant manager to goalkeeping coach, fitness coach, they were all Italians. When Capello left his post, these Italians left England with him, leaving nothing for Twain. He had to first build his coaching team before he built his team.
He gave Roy Keane a call next, hoping to invite him to be England’s assistance manager. As expected, Keane rejected him.
“I’m Irish, Tony,” Keane gave a strange laugh, perhaps due to the strange nature of Twain’s invitation, “How could I possibly be an assistant manager for the England team? Have you ever seen an Argentine being an assistant manager for the Brazil national team?”
Twain realized that he was not a very popular person. Other than a few friends, he was actually unable to find anymore potential partners. Those friends of his were all managers of a team, for them to drop what they were doing and be his assistant manager? They would have to be crazy to do so.
Even though the Football Association recommended a few candidates for him, Twain still hoped to look for one himself. That was because that way, the coach that he found would be the one that he really needed, and they would be able to work together and achieve more with the same effort.
He needed an assistant manager, a goalkeeping coach, a fitness coach and a psychologist. The most important one amongst them was an assistant manager. Twain’s managing style meant that he needed an able assistant manager to support him so that he did not have to worry much about the training, and he could focus more on the tactics and analysis of their opponents.
This assistant manager did not need to be very famous, just able and would listen to what Twain said. Twain was able to control the changing room himself, an assistant manager who had a mediocre character might even have a better effect.
Where would he find an assistant manager like that?
...
Chapter 891 - Old Partner
Stuart Pearce was on holiday at home when he received the call from Tony Twain.
He knew why Twain was looking for him and even though he already had an answer, he still listened to what Twain had to say politely.
“I’m very happy that you called me, Tony, but I think the youth team needs me more.”
Twain felt very depressed. Everyone that he approached rejected him, was it such a horrifying thing to be his assistant manager?
“But I need you too, Stuart.”
Stuart Pearce’s concern was that if he joined the England team, he would have to give up his job in the youth team. He had been working in the youth team for almost 10 years and he knew everything about it and everything had to go through him. If Twain’s contract was up, what would happen to him then? Manage the England national team? He was not very interested in that. The media pressure for that kind of job was too heavy. The youth team suits him best.
“If you can convince the Football Association to agree for me to still be the manager of the England youth team, I’ll agree to be your assistant manager.”
Pearce listed his condition.
Twain considered for a while and nodded, “Okay, I’ll try.”
He really talked to Harvey about it, but no matter what he said, Harvey would not agree to allow Pearce to take on two roles at the same time. He could be either Twain’s assistant manager or stay as the youth team’s manager. This was a single-choice question, not a multiple-choice.
“Tony, we’ve recommended so many coaches for you, are there none that can be your assistant manager? There are lots of talented coaches within the choices and they’re all the cream of the crop for their age…”
Twain was furious and he did not give Harvey any leeway and he said very firmly, “They are all not good enough to me!”
Harvey was more cultured than Twain and he merely shrugged, meaning Twain could go look for his own assistant manager if he did not like them.
Twain left the English Football Association’s office with a long face. It looked like he had to do it himself after all.
※※※
Des Walker was demonstrating how to defend in an one-on-one situation for his players on the training ground. All of a sudden, his phone vibrated in his pocket, causing him to lose his footing when dribbling. If not for the quick reflex from the player defending him, he would have made a fool of himself publicly.
Walker patted the player who held him on the shoulders, “You should intercept the ball and not think about giving me a hand.”
Next, he gave a look to his assistant manager. His assistant manager walked up and shouted, “Shuttle run 20 times, everyone!”
There was a commotion within the team, but it was silenced by the coaches very quickly. One for all, all for one. This was Walker’s training requirement. Even though that player attempted to help his manager out of goodwill, his action did not put him in the boss’ good books.
Only after every player accepted his punishment did Walker walk to the shelter next to the training ground and fished out the vibrating phone.
It was from Tony Twain.
“You don’t call me often, Tony.”
“Ha, we’re both busy most of the time, plus we’re not in the same city anymore…” Twain laughed awkwardly.
But Walker was not trying to be critical over this issue, in fact, he did not care about the reason at all, “But if you call me, there must be something. Do you need something from me? No!” Just when Twain was still figuring how to tell him, he broke the suspense himself, “Let me guess… You’re looking for an assistant manager, right?”
“You know me so well, Des,” Twain laughed from the heart this time.
“But what’s the use of you looking for me? I’m just the manager of a League Two team,” Walker said while looking at the team in training. He had parted ways with Ian Bowyer long ago. After Bowyer was fired by Hereford, he lazed at home for a period of time while Des Walker continued to actively look for a job. He had three different teams, from the manager of the youth team to the assistant manager to manager now. He went up the ranks step by step very practically.
However, the Oxford United that he was managing then was in the fourth tier of the English leagues. They were not very famous, was only a mid-table team in the league and their top target every year was to avoid relegation. That was why he thought it was weird that Twain called him.
“I don’t pick people based on their fame. You know that, Des.”
“Are you really asking me to be England’s assistant manager? Tony, are you mad?” What Twain said basically confirmed the reason for his call and Walker was shocked, “There are tens of thousand better coaches than me in England, why don’t you look for them?”
“For me, the best coach would not compare to a coach that suits me. Des, you were the first assistant manager I had after I became Forest’s manager. We work well together, you’re the one who’s most suitable for me, you’re the one I need,” Twain made it sound very passionate. If someone who did not know what they meant heard about it, they would have mistaken them to be a weird couple.
“Those coaches might be impressive, but they don’t know what I want, they don’t understand my thinking. Before I make the players understand my thinking, I have to make the whole coaching team understand me, that’s too difficult and inefficient. That’s why I need someone who knows what I want to do even before I say much as my assistant. Des, I can’t think of anyone more suitable than you.”
Walker was moved by Twain’s “passionate confession”, he did not reject Twain straight like the others, but he was stunned for awhile before stammering, “We, we’ve not worked together for, for 10 years, do…do we still work well together?”
“But we still keep in contact, right? You pay attention to what’s happening to me, don’t you, Des?
Even though this question made Twain sound like a narcissist, Walker still grunted a reply.
“We just need a little bit of grinding and lubrication and we’ll be able to work well together naturally. You know what kind of person I’m and I know what kind of person you are. You know what I need and I know what you can do. And in the past 10 years, you must have become better than before. Look at yourself, you’re already a manager… There’s nothing to worry about, it’ll be easier for you to be my assistant manager than to be an assistant to anyone else. And for me, with you as my assistant, things will be much easier. It’s a win-win situation. Besides, if we think of your future, it’ll be much easier for you to do anything next time if there’s this experience of “previous assistant manager of the England national team”, don’t you think so?
Twain was trying to make Des understand with reasoning while moving him with emotions. If he could not get Walker to agree, then he would be forced to accept one of the candidates that the Football Association recommended. Amongst them, there were even people who did not have a good impression of him… What kind of results would a combination like that bring the England team? Only God knows.
Walker went silent for a while, then asked hesitantly, “But I’m not very famous…” He was expressing his concern in a roundabout way that he might not be famous enough to influence those star players in the national team.
“You’re the assistant manager, Des. As an assistant manager, what’s important is your abilities, not your fame. When Venables was assistant to McClaren, the England team still listened to McClaren, at least on the surface.” Twain used the same roundabout way to express his opinion: The one managing the changing room is me, you don’t have to worry about it.
Walker looked up at the training ground, the team had already completed the 20 rounds of shuttle run and were resting at the side, waiting for the next training.
He knew that he did not have much time on that day, and he would not be able to be clear about everything. Furthermore, this was after all, a once-in-a-lifetime decision and he did not want to make a rash decision.
“My players are waiting for me, Tony. Let me consider it and give you an answer.”
Twain agreed very quickly, “Okay, no problem. For you, Des, I’ll keep my phone on all day, you can call me anytime you want.”
At the same time, Tony was screaming inside, “What are you waiting for, Des? Isn’t this much better than you being the manager of the League two team? You’ve already maximized their full potential by bringing Oxford United to the League two. They have no more potential to grow, you’re wasting your time by staying there!”
Even though this was the truth, if Twain had said that out loud, Des Walker probably would reject him directly without even taking a few days to consider. After all, nobody would allow anyone to criticize their own career.
When Walker place the phone back into the big and loose pocket of his sweatpants and return to the training ground. His assistant manager started to hurry those players that were still resting to continue to focus on training.
He was able to work very well together with his own assistant manager.
Was he going to give up his work here now for a work relation 10 years ago?
Which work was more important?
Des Walker could not make up his mind.
※※※
Twain called Walker, but he was not sure. Because Walker was spot on with what he said——”We’ve not worked together for 10 years, do we still work well together?”
What was the concept of 10 years?
For people who have never experienced it, they would probably find it hard to imagine the passing of time.
The youngsters who just entered high school 10 years ago, youthful and vibrant, full of hopes for the future yet being unwilling to grow up would step into the sanctuary of a marriage, and some might even become parents.
The young man who just stepped into society 10 years ago full of ambitions and determinations in pursuit of his dreams would become a middle-aged uncle who was waiting for death by bumming around in the blink of an eye, all his edges were smoothed by the flow of the society.
Not even the strongest man can defeat time. Even an arrogant man like Twain could not help but to surrender in front of time.
He was no longer that rookie whom did not know anything and required Walker to take care of everything 10 years ago. And Walker was no longer the inexperienced ex-player turned assistant manager 10 years ago who did everything using passion as motivation.
Both had experienced a 10 years period where they experienced the greatest change in their lives, would they still work well together?
Would they still know what each other meant without much words, using just an action or a gaze?
There is a saying in China, “the things are still there, but the people are different”, would this be applicable to them?
※※※
Des Walker was in a daze on the sofa. His wife called him three times from the dining room, but he did not respond. In the end, she walked out and stood in front of him with her hands on her hips, staring at him.
“Ah? What’s wrong?” Walker finally realized there was someone in front of him after a while.
His wife ignored the reason why she was there staring at him and asked, puzzled, “What’s wrong with you?”
“It’s nothing…” Walker tried to dodge the question.
“Trouble at work?” His wife decided to sit down next to him and held his hand.
Walker felt the warmth coming from his wife and he gently stroked his wife’s small hands which was no longer smooth, “Tony gave me a call today.”
“Tony? Tony Twain?” As Walker’s wife, it was not easy for her to actually remember that man.
“Other than that Tony, which other Tony could it be?” Walker laughed.
“He was definitely not calling you to catch up, right?”
“He wants to introduce a new job to me, I’m hesitating about it,” Walker looked at the ceiling, unable to focus his eyes, “I don’t know if I should agree. I feel that this is a gamble, and a big gamble at that…”
“England’s manager?” As the wife of an ex-player and current manager, a woman still knew something about football.
“It’s an assistant manager, dear,” Walker smiled at his wife.
His wife looked at him unbelievingly. As his wife, she knew her husband’s capabilities very well.
“I told him that I don’t think I’m good enough to be England’s assistant manager, but he said it was okay, I can do it,” he knew what his wife was thinking about.
“You’re tempted?”
Walker stayed silent, then nodded and said, “To be honest…a little bit.”
“If you go to England, you’ll have to give up your job here in Oxford.”
Walker continued to nodding.
“Des, I don’t have any opinions about this. Go if you want, if not, reject him,” His wife did not care much about her husband’s work matters. Over the years, her husband had changed a few jobs and they had moved from one place to another, she just followed him everywhere. As long as there were teams which wanted her husband to be their manager, there was nothing for her to worry about. As a husband, he just needed to inform his wife about it and he did not expect his wife to give him any ideas. Especially now that their child was all grown up, there was even less need to ask his wife for her opinions.
“Let’s go for dinner, I was here to ask you to come over for dinner, Des.”
His wife stood up and pulled Walker up.
Walker stood up too. After telling his wife what he thought, he had already made his decision.
It would just be another adventure, just like when he decided to leave Nottingham Forest for Hereford. He was used to a life like this, moving from one place to another, changing jobs again and again. Maybe when he is fifty, he’d have accumulated enough experience and settle down in a Championship team, or even an English Premier League club, and he started to draw a blueprint for himself.
Before that, he would have to follow different people to learn and accumulate the experience.
Tony was not a bad target to learn from… How to manage the players.
He was really looking forward to see how Twain manages the star players of England whom had been spoilt by the media.
...
Chapter 892 - Momentous Changes
After a night marked by restless apprehension and thoughts about Shania, Dunn awoke to some great news:
Des Walker called to inform him that Walker had just been approved to join the English National Team as their Assistant Coach.
Dunn was so happy that, as he held the phone in one hand, he punched the other into the air in a triumphant fist.
With the Assistant Coach piece sorted, the puzzle surrounding England’s team would become much easier to solve. The team generally sought Dunn’s recommendations, as he was a man with remarkable stamina, and had a great working knowledge of England’s coaches. Now he would just need to find a new Goalkeeping Coach, and things would be settled. Dunn had a degree of mistrust for the current coach, because under his supervision, England’s goalies had not exactly been performing well. In his eyes, this had to be the root issue.
For finding a Goalkeeping Coach, Dunn had focused his attention on two places: Germany and Italy. His thinking was that he could perhaps enlist the help of England’s former coach, Capello.
However, this matter was evidently not as important as finding an assistant coach.
※※※
Right as Dunn was facing his quandry around picking new coaches, Nottingham F.C. was going through some great changes of its own.
In Mark O’Neil’s opinion, if England were to keep their treble, they would need to filter out some of their more lackluster members and replace them with some fresh, outstanding players. If they could do this, he thought, they would regain a fighting chance at winning.
Evan had told him that when it came to buying players, money would not be a problem. With their stadium debts paid off, Nottingham F.C. had plenty of money to spend.
Tony Dunn had never been a big fan of O’Neil’s way of doing things.
After deliberating on it for a couple days, O’Neil finished up his list of names and handed it off to Evan. As he took it and began looking it over, he said to his friend Alan, “Martin thinks he has this whole team in the palm of his hand. He overestimates his own power, and greatly underestimates Tony’s.”
“How so?”
“The players he wants to sell are all subs or old-timers. With these changes, the core team would essentially remain unchanged.” He said. Alan snatched the list and looked it over.
As he read, Alan began to smile. “He’s trying to do this from the perspective of a coach. Every player has a record of some sort, and he’s trying to make sure that the team uses as many well-proven players as it can.
“But, if the team is in turmoil behind the scenes, then their treble status might as well be useless…” Evan said, letting out a slow sigh.
Once Dunn had left, even though the media was bombarding the team relentlessly, Evan was finally able to let out a sigh of relief. However, the team knew on some level that Dunn had not left because he wasn’t making enough money. Dunn’s recruits within the team were many, and they all felt a certain unease about losing him, as he was the one who had brokered their success in the first place. Evan knew what this meant. With their main backbone gone, there would be a question as to whether or not these players could remain on the team. Why else would he have given the task to O’Neil? It would be better to take the initiative and have him determine who should stay and who should go, rather than letting everyone remain safe because of their connections to Dunn. He figured that this was the best way to do things, as it would minimise the damage from the current mess.
“Tiago?” Evan said aloud, looking off and trying to picture the player’s face. “If he doesn’t survive a change of coaches, shouldn’t he be retiring soon? He’s getting a little old.”
“That’s what I’m saying. O’Neil must still be considering just sticking with Dunn’s dream team.”
The two men looked at each other, and they each smiled.
Alan began to look over the list again. Tiago aside, there was one person he was most concerned about — but he didn’t really think this person would be cast aside anyways. He and Dunn were likeminded in their regard of this player.
“So… what’s the deal with George?”
Evan knew who Alan was referring to — there was only one George on Nottingham F.C.
“I have no idea” Evan said, shaking his head, “Mr. Wokes still hasn’t gotten back to me.”
A sudden silence fell in the office. They both knew the deal with Mr. Wokes, with whom Dunn had once famously butted heads. This had offended Mr. Wokes, who was interconnected in England’s high society. His sexual orientation was unusual, but even this was not seen as scandalous in the world of the very rich.
“He’s not short on money.” Alan said aloud. He was stating this as a fact, but also appeared to be trying to console himself.
“He’s not short on money, but George is.”
“I don’t see how he should have any reason to doubt George’s loyalty.”
“There might be a problem yet, Alan” Said Evan, who stood up and began to pace. “After all, where does George’s loyalty really lie? With Nottingham, or with Dunn?”
Alan gazed at his old friend, looking lost for a moment. Then he said, “He’s only gone off to play for the English national team! That doesn’t mean anything! It’s not like next thing he’s going to run off to Manchester United, just to turn around and drive us into the ground.”
Evan stayed silent, still unsure if his fears had merit or not.
“The way I see it, the best thing we could do is write up a new contract with George, and give him a healthy raise to his weekly pay. Even if his contract is up in only three years, we need to d everything we can to ensure that Nottingham is the last team he ever plays in.
After Alan said this, Evan looked at him and replied, “we’ve only just given hi ma new contract last year — he’s already the highest-paid player on the team.” He knew that Alan was sensitive when it came to talk about money.
“Well, let’s make him the highest-paid player in the UK!” Evan said, with certainty.
Alan opened his mouth, but said nothing.
※※※
Wood looked at the man sitting before him, a man who rarely made visits in-person. It was Billy Wokes.
“So, George, what do you think?”
Wood shook his head. “I’m not going.”
“Come on. The salary they’ve offered you is huge, as are the perks and benefits.”
“My money right now is enough.”
“But George… there are so many better clubs you could be with! In fact, when you put it in perspective, Nottingham starts to look more and more like a quaint little group of countryfolk!” As Wokes said this, he beamed at his own joke, completely ignoring Wood’s stony expression.
“And have these other teams won more UEFA titles than us?” he responded.
This jab caused Wokes’s smile to flicker, almost imperceptibly. Then, however, it came back, and the man burst out in laughter, “Oh, George! Quite a wit you’ve got on you, asking a thing like that! As La Puerta would say, you’ve the tenacity of a Catalonian…. Hah! I must be honest, I hadn’t pegged you as the sarcastic type.”
Wood did not smile. He simply doubled his resolve, saying “I’ll go nowhere but Nottingham.”
“Real Madrid, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Man U, Arsenal… none of those catches your fancy?
Wood nodded. “I have a three year contract with Nottingham. While that’s in effect, I’m not going anywhere.”
Wokes smiled, and said slyly, “In three years’ time… you’ll be thirty-one. You’ll have a hard time going anywhere at all.”
“All the better, then. After Nottingham, I’ll retire.”
“Come now, George. Your man, Tony? He’s gone now. There’s nothing forcing you to pledge your allegiance to the team anymore. I don’t know if you realise this, but it’s only a matter of time before your mates, who you won so many championships with, start going their separate ways. With your old coach gone, and your old teammates as well… why should anyone feel obliged to stay?”
Wood was silent for a moment, apparently digesting what Wokes had just said. Then, he spoke. “Professional footballers will come and go. That is their choice, and their authority to do so. But me? I’m choosing to stay put.”
Wokes sank back, then, into the sofa on which he sat. He stared across at Wood. amazed. “Why are you going this? Is it because of your mother?”
“It’s nothing to do with my mother. Only me.”
“But why?”
Wood was silent for a time, apparently thinking. Wokes did not press him, and instead added some sugar to the cup of coffee in front of him, stirring it slowly with a small spoon.
As he got lost, then, focusing on the coffee, he heard Wood’s voice, “I don’t want to be anything like the man you want me to be.”
Wokes stopped stirring and stared at his coffee, as though there were something floating in it.
He had zoned out for a time, lost in his thoughts. When he came back, he fished his mobile out of his pocket, and began punching in a number.
“Hi, Santi. I’ve got some news to give you — an insider thing, very hush-hush. You want to hear, do you? Good, good.” Wokes nodded his head as he said this. “Ah, well, I cannot tell you right this moment. I’m with George Wood, we;ve just sat down for a spot of coffee… not terribly good, though. I don’t think I’ll be coming back here anytime soon… Yes, yes, okay, you’re busy, I understand. I’ll talk to you later. Bye bye.”
Wokes pocketed his phone and saw that Wood was looking at him, a questioning expression on his face.
“I was just calling an acquaintance of mine who works with the media. I’m going to tell him how you’re interested in quite a few clubs: Madrid, Barcelona, Milan, Juventus, the English top four — practically every great European team.”
Wood leaned forward, suddenly perturbed. He was looking at Wokes in an entirely different way. “Don’t you have any respect for me, and my wishes?
“Settle down, darling,” said Wokes, signaling for Wood to sit back down on the couch, “when have I ever disrespected your wishes? Only, since you won’t give me the good grace of a transfer fee, or a sign-on fee, I need to find some way of getting myself paid! You understand.” And with that, Wokes took his gold-rimmed glasses from the table before him and set them in their case — his sign that he was ready to leave.
“You are not to do anything. If the media comes to speak with you, I want you to be vague. Tell them nothing, except that you are loyal to Nottingham. Make your intentions unclear, and let the mosquitos drift over to me.” He reached out and lightly tapped Wood’s cheek. “Then, all you have to do is sit tight and wait for me. I’ll bring you a proper high-paying contract.”
“I’ve already signed one… last year.”
“Yet, if they come along and offer you more, who would you be to refuse? We came here today to celebrate your success, on the eve of becoming the highest-paid footballer in the UK. Next time we meet up to have a chat, why don’t we do it at your place? I’ll bet your mum makes a great cup of tea.” He stuck the glasses case firmly in his pocket and stood up. “Farewell, George. I do hope you don’t regret this day in the future.”
With the confidence of a jungle cat, the old man strode across the cafe and coolly walked out of the cafe door.
Wood, on the other hand, stayed seated where he was. He watched as Wokes climbed into an ash-gray Bentley, which then pulled out and disappeared in the daytime traffic.
※※※
When Wood was sitting down to his coffee with Wokes, Alan had already flown to Portugal and struck a deal with S.L. Benfica to write a transfer contract for Tiago Mendes. For six million pounds, Tiago would return to Benfica, and in all likelihood, he would remain there for the rest of his career.
In another decidedly ironic development, Real Madrid had unexpectedly come to fancy the Nottingham F.C. center rear guard — the Brazilian powerhouse, Pepe. Only a month prior, he had lectured a couple Madrid players out on the pitch, which had garnered intense animosity in the Spanish media. Yet, in a turn of events nobody could have expected, he had come back to Madrid a hero, with the press suddenly singing his praises.
In the previous season, Nottingham had scored on eleven free kicks. Because of this, their back defender, Gareth Bell, had become highly coveted by some big names in England, chiefly Manchester United and Chelsea. Manchester had gone so far as to offer Nottingham twenty million pounds to transfer Bell to their team.
Aaron Mitchell, who would be known as one of England’s best forwards for the decade to come, was also caught up in numerous affairs with clubs who lusted for his membership. Most notable amongst said clubs were A.C. Milan.
Nuri Sahin, the great midfielder of the Turkish national team, seemed on the verge of transferring to Bayern Munich, although Madrid also seemed quite keen to acquire him.
Wes Morgan, the third captain to be instated during the reign of Coach Dunn, also left Nottingham in favor of a new team — this time, Leeds United.
Bentley was being tempted along by Manchester City.
Rumours abounded that Fernandez was losing interest in Nottingham, and might return to play for a Spanish team once again.
Gago was on the verge of joining Inter Milan or Juventus.
Mourinho, dissatisfied with Manchester United’s goalkeeper, was rallying to acquire the Russian national team’s goalie, and current Nottingham player, Akinfeev.
When July first arrived, and the window for transfers in Europe officially opened, the media was flooded with stories and rumours that many of Nottingham’s players were soon to be changing teams. The masses were dazzled by the spectacular tales that began to spread, yet nobody knew what was true and what was fabricated.
Nottingham’s fans, collectively, were filled with worry about their team. It seemed that, with the departure of the Iron Fist, Tony Dunn, the lineup was being picked apart by more powerful teams. When they met in pubs and chatted on this topic, many fans pitted the blame on the incompetence of the team (despite its resounding successes in the past.) Others, though, psaid that the blame rested solely on Dunn.
He had brought joy and pride to Nottingham’s fans during his time as coach, but now that he had suddenly left, the fans had come to wholly resent him. Dunn had never explained why he had to leave, and this only made things worse. Misunderstandings about the man only got worse.
The man who was once the “King of Nottingham” had unexpectedly become widely resented. The club directors tarnished his memory, his hand-picked team was being pried apart by other clubs, and his once adoring fans had come to hate him. Could there be a worse fate?
※※※
While Dunn was still finding the right set of coaches for the English team, he was approached by the FA, who told him they wanted his team to come play a match.
“I haven’t sorted out my coaches yet,” he told them, slightly resentful of their decision, “let alone my players.”
Don’t worry, Mr. Dunn, it’s only a friendly match — nothing more. You can use the same roster from the last World Cup. The outcome of the match will not at all effect our evaluation on you.” Their decision was firm. They were the governing body, after all.
“This wasn’t in the contract.” Dunn said, discomfort evident in his voice.
“Mr. Dunn, this match was actually confirmed long before you were made head coach,” the official told him.
Dunn was at a loss for what to say. After all, who was to say that he could take it upon himself to be the slowest team builder in English history?
“Right. Who are we playing then, and where? Wembley? Or are we to go abroad?” He had a pen and paper in front of him, ready to jot down the details, lest he be messy and forget this new obligation.
“No need to go abroad, Dunn. You’ll be going to Nottingham, the City Ground. Your opponent is to be Nottingham Forest.” As the official said this, he tried to keep a straight face. He tried not to smirk. He failed to do so.
“Huh?” replied Dunn. He paid no attention to the smirking official, instead simply staring at the words he had just reflexively jotted on the paper before him: “Nottingham, the City Ground.” (To be continued. To follow up on this story and more, please visit www.qidian.com, where you can support the author, and support real, genuine literature.)
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Chapter 893 - An Exhibition Game
Actually, a promise was made between Nottingham Forest and the Football Association about half a year ago. To celebrate the completion of Nottingham Forest’s new stadium, the club invited the England national team to play in a friendly match against Forest.
Twain was aware that such a friendly match had been planned by the club, but he had forgotten all about it now that he has a change of identity.
The friendly match against the England national team is nothing more than one of the many celebrations that had been planned. The club also intends to hold a parade to showcase the various jerseys that had been worn by Forest players over the past century. They were also going to have an exhibition to display all their past accolades, a reunion of their ex-players and staff members, and many more. It was going to be a grand celebration.
Twain was supposed to be one of the focal points during the celebrations, but now that he has left Forest, he no longer had any role to play in the celebrations, even though half of the accolades that Nottingham Forest earned over the years had come under his guidance.
Twain was not in the least excited about returning to Nottingham. He did not know how the Nottingham Forest fans would view his departure.
The reason why he did not go public with the truth behind his departure was because he did not want to burn his bridges and make his relationship with Evan turn sour. It was not like he left Forest due to a personal feud with Evan. He left Forest simply because of a mismatch of ideals.
Another reason was because it was just a resignation. There was no need to blow things out of proportion.
Unfortunately, the fans would not be able to see things from his perspective. In their minds, Tony Twain is the ambassador of Nottingham Forest. Now that this ambassador has left, their entire world has come crashing down on them. Twain is well aware that there would be people who would not forgive him for his actions.
All he could do was to manage a wry smile.
Why was such a match planned? Destiny must be playing with him.
※※※
“A match against the England team?” John looked at Bill.
The new season was approaching and Burns’ Forest bar was starting to get lively once again. There was an increasing number of people who visited the bar to have a drink and chat. Business appeared to be booming.
“Have you forgotten about it?” Bill looked excitedly at his friend of many years. “To celebrate the completion of the new stadium, our team would be playing in a match against the England national team.”
“That’s interesting.” John was being evasive with his response.
“It’s not just interesting. It’s very interesting!” Bill waved his fists in the air. “I have to get back at Twain for what he did!”
“You are still complaining about that?” John thought Bill was being a fool. That was something that had happened over a month ago, and here he was still harping over it.
“Tony must have had his reasons.”
“Who cares about his reasons?” Bill shouted in a shrill voice that sounded a little like that of a hysterical woman’s. “F*ck! He betrayed us all!”
Bill’s comments were met with assent from some people around them.
John opened his mouth and wanted to speak, but he eventually decided to leave them alone. He lifted his wine glass and walked towards the bar counter. He then placed his glass before Kenny Burns.
“One more glass, Kenny.”
Burns wordlessly refilled his glass to the brim.
“They have forgotten about all the glory that Tony brought to this city, even though it has barely been a month since then.” John muttered under his breath.
“There are people who like him, and they would also be people who hate him. These are words that would always hold true now and into the future.” Burns’ smiled in a way that a philosopher would.
“I don’t really feel like watching that match now. I can’t bear to watch those people who used to stand up for him in the past chastise him now. I think Tony would definitely be heartbroken to see that too.” John was in low spirits.
“And that’s all the more reason for you to go watch the match in person.” Burns spurred him on. “You have to let him know that there are people who understand him.”
Fat John coughed once. “Actually, I was even more furious than Bill when I first came to learn that he was leaving. Bill was the one who gave me advice. How did things become like this?”
“Maybe they are so mad because of the ‘indifference’ that Tony has displayed towards Nottingham Forest?” Burns said as he continued to wipe the wine glasses that he would not stop wiping for another 100 years.
John froze for a moment, and then he remembered. Tony had not brought up the name ‘Nottingham Forest’ ever since he resigned. It was as though he had never coached the team in his 11 years as a manager. Perhaps it was this ‘indifference’ that angered Bill and the other fans.
However, John knew very well that Tony wasn’t being indifferent. He was just feeling complicated. Nottingham Forest is a team that he managed for 11 years, how could he possibly forget about it? But, he couldn’t possibly keep mentioning the team after he left, because it would bring immense pressure onto the new manager, and that would not help the team as they embark on their new journey. He was trying to weaken the influence that he had over the team. He was the one who groomed most of the players in the Forest team. The moment he says something to the press, the players would definitely put his words first, even if he is no longer in Wilford. How could Martin O’Neill possibly manage the team properly if the players would rather listen to Tony than him?
Sadly, not everyone understood that.
He turned around to look at the people who were discussing about the words that they would put on the banners to mock Twain. Another doubt began forming in his mind as he did. It was a doubt that he has always had in him for many days, and it was a doubt to which he had no answer for.
Why did Tony choose to leave if he knew this was going to happen? What exactly is it that you can’t solve and had to choose to leave instead? Many things have happened during the past 11 years. You also made it through your heart disease. Why can’t you make it past your 12th year in charge of Forest?
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“Some say that the reason behind Tony’s resignation was due to his conflict with Allan Adams. But, I must say this, haven’t the two of them always been at loggerheads with each other? Didn’t they manage to get by just fine for so many years? Why did he choose to resign now? Don’t tell me those men in suits have never thought about how the fans would feel?”
“What would happen to Nottingham Forest now that he has washed his hands clean of us? Is he going to be happy watching as our performance dip?”
“I know he must have had his reasons, but I don’t think it’s a big enough reason to justify his resignation. He has a lot more influence and power in this club than what other managers would get at other clubs.”
“If he really wanted to leave, he could have chosen to leave after this season is over. Why must he leave when we have just achieved the Treble? I really can’t describe my feelings then. It was just like being tickled by a person, then getting slapped twice by that same person a while later…”
Up till now, there are still fans who continue to leave comments expressing their views towards Twain’s departure on the article that had been published on Nottingham Forest’s official website, which wrote about Tony Twain’s decision to not further his managerial contract with the club.
Most of the comments written on the article were comments that would make Twain upset.
This is perhaps a scene that Nottingham Forest Football Club wishes to see the most. They quickly held a press conference to announce that they had failed to sign a new contract with Twain, and their actions highlighted how forthcoming they were with the whole situation. Naturally, the public would then think that the blame for the whole incident is on Twain, since he has been evasive about the situation the whole time, whereas Nottingham Forest was just like an innocent girl who was lamenting about what she had gone through.
Twain has never had a good image before the masses, and not many people liked him either. In the past, people defended him because they were all on the same side, but now that they were on different sides, it was only natural that he would get a lot more criticisms and animosity from others.
Neither Evan nor Allan wanted to be blamed for the departure of their most successful manager. Obviously, the only way they could avoid being blamed was to point the finger at the man who has never had a good reputation and image in his life thus far.
He was the one who wanted to leave. We gave him the best contract a manager can get in the whole of England, but he did not want it and was hell-bent on leaving.
To the ordinary people, Twain’s decision to leave Forest is hard to comprehend. However, when has Tony Twain been ‘ordinary’? The way he saw things was bound to be different from the ordinary people. If one were to judge him based on how an ordinary person would see and do things, then the only conclusion that one would get is that he is a ‘lunatic’. This is also why Twain is known as a ‘madman’ and a ‘manager with a personality’ before the masses. He was destined to be someone who most people would never come to understand.
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Nottingham Forest has five pre-season friendly matches planned for the summer. The match against the England national team was to be held in the middle of these five matches, and it would be the very first match played at Forest’s new stadium.
The match was supposed to be just a ‘show’. The England national team would certainly not practise several days for such a match, and many of the players on the national team were also players who had been brought together at the last minute as well. The national team could not even get most of the players who played at the World Cup previously to turn up for the friendly.
Such a match bore no value to Forest in their preparations for the new season.
But, the match garnered massive attention when Nottingham Forest changed its manager, and when their ex-manager Tony Twain became the new manager of the England national team.
Numerous media outlets would be coming down to Clifton, southwest of Nottingham, to report on the match.
Evan Doughty must be brimming with smiles right now, because Nottingham Forest’s new stadium has just been given free publicity thanks to Tony Twain, and it looks like the publicity would be much better in terms of effect and influence as compared to those promotional events that he had planned earlier.
Martin O’Neill, the new manager of Nottingham Forest, has his own thoughts regarding the friendly match against the England national team. His team had not performed well in the two friendly matches that they played in so far, with one loss and one draw. They have yet to win, and the media was already starting to question O’Neill’s abilities as a manager. He desperately longed to attain a victory and reduce the pressure that is on his shoulders.
The England national team would not be playing their best players. This is the chance to boost his team’s confidence.
There was one other reason that prompted O’Neill to feel like he definitely had to win the friendly match against the England national team.
The current manager of the England national team is Tony Twain, and this match would be the very first, and possibly the last face-off between Forest’s current and ex managers.
O’Neill needed to attain a victory so as to make the people forget about the name Tony Twain.
It has been close to a month since O’Neill took over as the new manager of Forest, and he has come to understand how big of an influence Tony Twain has over the entire team. Defeating Twain would be a good way to tell the media and the players that he is their new boss.
“It’s just some useless match, but the head is being so serious with his preparations…” Some of the players were distracted as O’Neill conveyed his tactics to the team.
“It’s always good to treat everything seriously.”
“But you’d get nervous when you get serious.”
The players began whispering among themselves.
“If our boss was here, I think most of the players who would be playing in the match would be from the youth team. He’d tell them to play however they liked because it didn’t matter anyway.”
Someone instantly raised his finger to his lips to signal the speaker to shut up.
The word ‘boss’ was one that nobody wanted to bring up. They refer to Martin O’Neill as their ‘head’ and not their ‘boss’. In Nottingham Forest, only special managers can be referred to as the ‘boss’, and Tony Twain was a special manager.
Tony Twain was a forbidden name that could not be brought up in Nottingham Forest right now. Nobody forced the players to not bring up his name, but it was an unspoken rule that all the players abided by.
O’Neill heard whispers coming from the players. He lifted his head to look at them.
The whispers vanished instantly.
O’Neill did not try to figure out where the whispers were coming from. Instead, he continued explaining his tactics to the team.
The players kept quiet for a moment before they leaned towards each other and began whispering among themselves once again.
“Hey, how do you think the fans would treat the boss when he returns? I’ve been hearing that a lot of people resent him…”
“Don’t you resent him?”
“Me? Hmm… At the start, I did resent him a little, but I’ve thought it through now… The players can transfer to another club, so why can’t the manager?”
“That does not sound convincing.”
“Shut up.”
“To me… Honestly, I don’t know what the boss is thinking. I think I’d feel a mixture of emotions when I see him. I still can’t get used to the head yet. I don’t feel at ease when there’s no one in the locker room to yell at us.”
“I don’t care what you guys think. I actually miss the boss quite a bit, so I’m very happy to be able to see him again. Maybe I’d hug him too.” The player who said these words was Pepe.
“Do you all think the boss has a chance of coming back to manage us?” Bale asked a question, and all the whispers disappeared in an instant.
Some of the players pretended not to hear him, while others looked at Bale curiously.
Bale shrugged. “All right. Pretend I never asked.”
Wood was the only player who did not join in the discussion when his teammates were whispering among themselves. He stared at O’Neill the whole time. It was as though he was focused on listening to the tactics that O’Neill was explaining to them.
But, in truth, Wood’s mind was in a complete disarray. He tried his best not to listen to the words being exchanged by his team mates, but they still managed to find their way into his ears, and the memories within him of that man were brought up forcefully.
That man sent him home and also encouraged him to attend school. That man was even more childish than he was. When that man met his mother for the very first time, he suddenly felt like there would come a day where he would lose his mother, and that ignited a sense of danger within him. When he had lost all hope in himself, the man opened up a new door for him by leaving him a note and asking him to go find him. When he encountered the very first failure of his life and was intent on giving up, that man grabbed him by the collar and told him not to give up and not to admit defeat, if not he was destined to be a delinquent for the rest of his life…
If someone were to write an autobiography for George Wood, then two-third of the book would mention that man’s name. That man was just his manager, but in his heart, that man was just like a father to him. Wood has never been able to experience fatherly love his entire life, but he managed to experience bits of it through his time with Tony Twain.
He did not know why that man chose to leave the club, because that man was someone who did not allow others to get close to his innermost thoughts.
Wood wanted to stay at the club. He wanted to prove to that man that his decision to leave was wrong. Or, perhaps, he was protecting something at the club.
Wood’s thoughts were all over the place. He did not even hear what the manager was saying earlier, but it did not matter, since his role would always be the same. All he had to do was to stop the opposition from attacking and to build a barrier in the midfield so as to protect his team mates. When the situation calls for it, he would join in the offense as well.
The role that O’Neill assigned to Wood was not any different from how Twain would play Wood. This cannot be seen as a lack of thought from O’Neill. Rather, it was that Twain had shown the world how best to make use of Wood’s abilities, and there was no need to change anything about Wood’s game.
If a manager really wanted to change Wood’s game, he could get Wood to focus solely on offense and get him to give up on defense entirely. However, the truth was that there would not be a single manager in the world who would ever do that, because it is a massive waste to not make use of Wood’s defensive capabilities, and wastage is utterly shameful.
O’Neill felt a little relieved after seeing Wood listen to his words earnestly. At the very least, the team’s captain was behaving positively. As long as the captain stands with him, the locker room would not be in a complete disarray.
In truth, George Wood was the player whom O’Neill was most concerned about when he first joined as Forest’s new manager. Everyone knows the relationship between Wood and Twain. There were even some media outlets who described their relationship as that of a father and son’s. O’Neill was worried that Wood would transfer to another club after Twain’s departure. If that were to happen, the future for the team would be bleak.
Fortunately, Wood did not leave the club. He even signed a new contract with them.
O’Neill did not care about whether the other players wanted to stay or leave as long as Wood had stayed.
O’Neill decided to talk about something else after he finished explaining his tactics to the team.
“I hope we can attain victory in this match.”
Silence ensued when he finished his words. The players finally locked their eyes on him.
Their gazes conveyed a multitude of meanings behind them, and O’Neill returned their gazes. “I know this is an insignificant exhibition game. But, I hope you guys can understand one thing. It doesn’t matter what kind of game you play in. You have to prepare for it with the intention to win. You guys are a champion team. You guys are a team who pursue victory. That’s all you need to remember.”
The players averted their gazes away from O’Neill.
In their minds, there was one thought:
Why does he speak like the boss…
...
Chapter 894 - England Team C
In the end, Twain did not get anyone from Germany or Italy to be his goalkeeping coach. He chose Clemence, who had been the goalkeeping coach for the England team for many years. He was an experienced goalkeeping coach and he represented England alongside Nottingham Forest’s goalkeeper, Peter Shilton, previously. Shilton was the one who called to recommend him to Twain. As someone from Nottingham Forest too, they should take care of each other.
Twain chose Jon Webb, whom the English Football Association recommended, to be his fitness coach. He used to work for Manchester City but was unemployed then.
When it came to coaching team, the experienced Steve Wigley joined the team. From 1980, he used to play for Nottingham Forest for six seasons. After he hung up his boots, he returned to Forest and served as their youth team’s coach, coach and he also served as coach, assistant manager and manager of various clubs. He understood the English players very much and was very capable.
The 64-year-old Tony Carr was the oldest coach in the coaching team. He had been the youth team’s coach for West Ham United since 1973 and he was also once the manager of the team. West Ham United’s youth development was famous in English football and there were many talents who came from the club. Tony Carr was the greatest contributor to that. He was a loyal warrior whom had only served West Ham United. Now that he was getting older, the English Football Association persuaded him to support Tony Twain, that was why he left West Ham United and joined Tony Twain’s coaching team.
The 55-year-old Steve Gatting used to be Arsenal’s youth coach but was also sent to Tony Twain to be part of his coaching team by the Football Association.
With assistant manager Des Walker, the coaching team was basically complete. This was the first time that the England team was using a psychologist. Twain successfully convinced 46-year-old Miss Emma to leave Nottingham Forest for the England team. This licensed psychologist would take up the role as the psychologist for the England team and her job was to solve any psychological problems that the players have.
This was a fully local coaching team and Shaun Harvey was very satisfied with it. He thought that Twain would most likely not pick anyone from the candidates that he recommended because of the way he likes to make things as awkward as possible. However, only the assistant manager was someone from the outside, even though Clemence was recommended to Twain by Shilton, he had been working with the Football Association for many years.
In general, other than Des Walker, who was slightly less famous, this coaching team were rather well-known in English Football. However, he was also once part of the England national team, he would still be able to hold his own.
After the coaching team was set up, Twain needed to think about the players.
Realistically speaking, even though the English Football Association told Twain that the line-up for this match could follow the one from the World Cup, it was impossible to do so. At that time, all the clubs were preparing for the new season, especially those teams who had the ability to fight for the title. They would definitely not let their core players play in a friendly for the national team. Even without thinking about the disruption to the preseason preparation, there was also the risk that they might be injured.
That was why it would be difficult for Twain to call up players like Gerrard, Rooney and Walcott.
Therefore, Twain decided to take this chance to observe. Calling up the borderline players who were usually seldom picked for the national team and observing their performances to decide if they would have a place in Twain’s national team in future. Even though there were lesser stars in the team, which would disappoint the crowd in the City Grounds, Twain had never been one to change himself because of the audience’s preferences.
This was a good opportunity. The results were not important for this type of matches and there were no pressure, hence Twain could call up the players who would usually not be able to be picked without worry. This was even the first time for some of them to be called up to represent their country.
As for those established players who were usually part of the national squad, Twain did not even ask. He did not want to ask them when he knew that he would be rejected.
It only took one day for Twain to announce the name list for this match:
The three goalkeepers were Chris Kirkland, Stuart Taylor and Andy Atkinson. This was the first time that Taylor and Atkinson were called up to the national team, but Kirkland was not much better, this was only his second time. They were the real borderline players.
In defence, Dan Gosling was a versatile defender who played for Everton. Even though he had made a name for himself at Everton, and was once hailed as a genius, his international career was less successful. Before Twain called him up this time, he had only been selected for the national team four times.
The son of the ex-Wimbledon player, Alan Cork, 25-year-old Jack Cork was once the future star of Chelsea. But he failed to make the breakthrough at Chelsea and eventually went to Southampton. Southampton did not have any impressive performance in the English Premier League which affected his international career. However, he had always been thought of as one for the future. The reason why Twain called him up this time was to see if the rumours were true. This was his first time being called up.
Gary Cahill was already 28 years old, but this was his first time being called up. He had played for many different English teams such as Aston Villa, but he eventually transferred to Lyon and had been one of the key players for Lyon. However, he did not attract the attention of England manager Capello previously because he was playing overseas, and in the French Ligue One to boot. For him to be called up by Twain, it might send out a signal to everyone——It did not matter if a player was playing in England or outside England, as long as you’re capable, the national team would welcome you.
The younger brother of Rio Ferdinand, 28-year-old Anton Ferdinand, made his debut with West Ham but was plying his trades at Sunderland then. He had never represented the national team before.
The Middlesbrough’s key central defender, David Wheater, selected for the national team six times. However, he was always overshadowed by the likes of Terry and the rest and was not favoured. His name appeared in the substitute’s list six times but he only managed to get on the pitch once——As a substitute in the 87th minute. Standing at 1.96 meters tall, he was a central defender with impressive aerial abilities and Liverpool used to be interested in him. He was only 27 years old then and Twain wanted to see his abilities and if he did well, he would definitely have a spot in the England team in future.
Paul Pepper was the latest academy product from Middlesbrough. He was still a young player, only 20, he had represented England in the U19 and U21 level, and he was the captain of the U21 team. He was a talented youngster with immense potential. When Twain was still with Nottingham Forest, he was interested to bring him to the City Grounds from Middlesbrough, but the asking price of 15 million meant that a deal was not to be. He was the key left-back of Middlesbrough and his specialty was a strong attacking prowess, kind of like Gareth Bale. This was also his first time selected for the national team.
30-year-old Glen Johnson was a familiar face in the national team setup. However, he did not participate in the World Cup held in Brazil this summer. That was because he sustained a serious injury two months before the competition and had to be out of action for three months, only coming back from injury now. The reason why Aston Villa agreed to allow him to play for the national team was because they wanted him to get some match fitness.
Ashley Cole might be the most famous player in the national team backline. However, he was already 33 and had gradually lost his place as the key player in the Chelsea team. That was why Chelsea agreed to let him play for the national team and he himself wanted to win back his position in the club through his performance in this match.
In midfield, Twain called seven players up.
24-year-old Fabian Delph was the most successful academy product from Leeds United in recent years, but he was part of the Tottenham Hotspurs team now. He was called up to the national squad thrice, and this was his fourth time putting on the national team jersey. His position in the team was on the right of the midfield.
West Ham United’s 27-year-old midfielder, Mark Noble, became a core member of the team’s midfield after Gareth Barry transfer to Liverpool. This was his 10th time representing the country.
Michael Johnson used to play for Manchester City, but he was now a midfield player for Tottenham Hotspurs. If not for the existence of George Wood, he might have been a key player for the national team. He was a very capable player and had already been called up 11 times. He also took part in the World Cup in Brazil this summer and came on as a substitute once.
James Milner made his debut for Leeds United 13 years ago. When Leeds was facing financial meltdown, he was sold by the team to Newcastle for 3.6 million to help with the financial situation at the club. Later on, he went to Aston Villa and he also used to be the record holder for the youngest goal scorer for England. Eventually, he moved to Chelsea and had been with them since. He had represented the country 15 times before this.
Matt Derbyshire was a 28-year-old attacking midfielder from Blackburn who could also play as a striker. This was his first time representing England.
Jose Baxter was the next future star that Everton developed after Rooney and Vaughan. He was only 22 and had already been in the national team once. He could play on either wing and also as a striker.
Joe Cole was the most famous star in the midfield line up. After many years at Chelsea, he just moved to Manchester City this summer. His abilities were without doubt, but his form was affected by his frequent injuries. The reason Twain called him up was because he wished that his technical abilities would be able to bring about more changes in England’s midfield.
Twain picked five strikers into the team for observation. Stars such as Rooney were all not part of the list of players called up.
The senior of Jose Baxter that was mentioned earlier, James Vaughan was part of the players called up this time. He was Everton’s main striker now and the personal relationship between Twain and Moyes played no small part in helping Everton release him for international duties. Also, Twain had to promise Moyes that he would only play Vaughan for only the first half before Moyes agreed.
26-year-old Fraizer Campbell was a talented product of the Manchester United’s academy, but he could only warm the bench at Manchester United now. It was not known if Mourinho’s arrival at Old Trafford was a good thing for him yet, but he might be able to take advantage of this call up to showcase his abilities to Mourinho.
Danny Welbeck, 23, also a product of the Manchester United Academy. However, he chose a different path from Campbell. Campbell was still struggling in Manchester United for a starting position while Welbeck left Manchester United for Sunderland long ago. He was playing regularly for Sunderland now and performed well, hence he was also called up to the national team.
The high-profile striker from Charlton previously, Darren Bent, did not perform up to his standard after transferring to Tottenham, but this did not affect Twain’s decision to call him up. No matter what, he was still an experienced player when compared to the previous three strikers.
The last guy was Aston Villa’s 23-year-old striker, Nathan Delfouneso. Even though his height was not that impressive at only 1.81 meters, he was good in the air and had good physical abilities. This was his first time being called up for the national team.
The 23 players above are the ones that Twain wanted to observe, and the club was willing to release. None of the major stars were here and Twain did not even give them a call. Similarly, there were no Nottingham Forest players in this name list as well as they were the opponents.
This name list was placed under heavy scrutiny by the English media as it was Tony Twain’s first national squad members after all. There were countless people trying to figure something out from there.
Some people thought that Twain was favouring youth, otherwise, why would he pick so many young players? There were many older players that were also on the brinks of the national team.
Some people thought that Twain was taking this opportunity how his iron fist. By calling up so many players on the brinks, he was issuing a “warning” to the stars, “In my team, fame counts for nothing. I’m only interested in your attitude.”
The other group of people thought that Twain had no choice——Most of the big clubs were not willing to release the players and the key players of England were preparing for the new season with their teams. It was not easy for him to find 23 players, who cares about the quality of the players?
No matter how the media analysed this name list, all the players on the name list received a call from the English Football Association asking them to be part of the England squad.
Some were surprised, some of them were calm, but all of them had their own thoughts about it. To the players who were still preparing for the new season with their teams, working with the new manager first would give them an opportunity to understand the personality of the new manager. This would be helpful in helping them gain a spot in the new national team.
※※※
“Don’t expect to see anything from this match, Tony,” assistant manager, Des Walker told Twain, an opinion that was shared by some other coaches. This was the day before the team was supposed to assemble, the coaches were having a meeting to discuss the team’s tactics, the opponent’s tactics… etcetera.
“We don’t even have time for a training session, the team will assemble tomorrow, and we’ll be playing the three days later. This feels like a friendly match and everyone would be afraid of injuries. They will be scared, and we’ll be scared as well,” coach Steve Wigley said.
Twain took one look at everyone and laughed, “They may be afraid, but we don’t necessary have to be scared.”
Walker, who knew him very well, muttered in his mind, looks like somebody’s going to get hurt…
...
Chapter 895 - Nottingham Forest and England
Twain’s heart was not calm when he learned that his first game was against Nottingham Forest. Similarly, the Nottingham Forest players were stuck in in turmoil knowing they had to go against someone who was once their master.
Freddy Eastwood still remembered how he reacted when he found out his head coach had retired. He was still pouring coffee into his own cup and reading the newspaper on the table. When he saw that Tony Twain’s 11-year relationship with Nottingham Forest had officially ended, he forgot what he had been doing and could not wait to continue reading the main text. He was in a trance until the hot coffee spilled over the brim of the cup and dripped down to his pants. He threw aside the empty coffee maker and looked down at his wet pants, then at the mess on his table. His mood then was much like the current situation: extremely messy.
He could not believe or accept this reality. The man who once smiled and said to him, “You’re going to be a legendary shooter and I’m going to be a legendary coach.” just upped and left his home ground which he defended for eleven years.
Fortunately, he was not the same person which needed the head coach whenever he needed to overcome difficulties. He could draw on his own strength and he wanted to live for himself and not for someone else.
He accepted the fact a little faster than the rest, within a day, but his former teammates were not as accepting as he was.
Gareth Bale had been on vacation when he heard the news. As a result, the well-planned vacation in Hawaii was filled with constant complaints from his girlfriend, saying that he did not actually love her and he was not even focused when he was out playing with her. The girlfriend even interrogated him, asking if it was her or Tony Twain that he loved. In the end, the girlfriend suggested a breakup with Bale and flew back to the United Kingdoms by herself. Bale stayed in Hawaii in a daze for another day, then he went home afterwards.
Bale’s form was also worrying after the team started training. After not seeing the cool-headed head coach in sunglasses at the edge of the training ground, he did not know what to do. Twain was like a father figure to him, and now his father is gone, his core was gone as well. He had no idea what he was going to do next. His father, too, was his agent asking about his intentions, and he just shook his head. Last season, Twain initiated the renewing of new contracts for most of the team’s key players, improving their treatment and updating their contract terms. Bale now had three years left on his contract with the club before he could leave the club but before that, he needed to continue staying here.
It was already July when he decided to stay. He had feelings for his head coach, but he also had feelings for Nottingham Forest as well. As a professional footballer he had to be clear about one thing — he was playing for himself and not for a coach. It sounded a little ruthless, but that was the truth.
Pepe’s reaction was the strongest among the players. The day after the news of Twain’s departure broke, he informed his agent, Mendes, that he would follow Twain if he went to coach at another club. All of a sudden, he forgot his hatred for Ribery. Maybe he hated Ribery not because he betrayed the team, but because he betrayed the head coach.
Now that the head coach had gone to coach the England national team, Pepe could not follow. He was so disappointed that he would choose to leave whenever he had that chance. Now that he was the player most speculated would leave, a lot of clubs had intentions to invite the world-class center over, but Martin O’Neill did not want to let this Portuguese leave.
Fortunately, Twain did not quietly leave without any greetings. All the Nottingham Forest players received a postcard from Twain when he was in Brazil. The postcard did not mention the reason why he did not renew the contract nor any expectations of the players, it only contained greetings and apologies – apologizing for not informing them first-hand and keeping them out of the loop.
Twain did not say what he was doing was inexplicable. Nor did he ask everyone to forgive him and understand him. It was not something he could do, and if anyone in the players still resented him after reading the postcard there was nothing he could do about that. He was still what he was in the past, not willing to let other people in easily, not willing to show others anything other than his glamourous side]. Even if he was leaving, he still wanted to do it in style.
He never mentioned Nottingham Forest on any occasion after returning back to the public eye, and when asked by a reporter about Nottingham Forest, he would choose to be silent or to look at him. Some people thought it was cold and heartless, so people like Bill would be angry and have a lot of resentment towards Twain. But in fact it was just a botched ploy for people who did not know how to hide their emotions better. He did not want the players to miss him because it would not be good for the new manager and Nottingham Forest should not be “Tony Twain’s Nottingham Forest”, whether was wishful thinking or not, he thought about this when he had his heart disease. A mature team should be able to maintain a high standard even if it changes its manager. Then, and only then, can it be called an “elite” team. Like Barcelona. Nottingham Forest will never be able to shake off the stigma of an “upstart” if it was relying on him.
He distanced himself from Nottingham Forest silently even though he often dreamed of returning to the City Stadium, returning to the moment when tens of thousands of people chanted his name. But when he was sober, his indifference was repulsive.
He was not a man who could be understood by just anyone.
※※※
Des Walker suddenly thought of something he was not entirely sure would be interesting. “Tony, when you return to Nottingham Forest, have you thought of the kind of treatment to get? ”
Twain pouted. “I don’t have time and effort to think about that.”
He was not lying. Today, he needed to think of how he was going to face the 23 people he was about to meet.
This time, Arsenal’s Kearney training base was requisitioned as England’s training base for a day. Twain would meet his players here for the first time. The New England players were changing their uniforms in the locker room and talking about how their new head coach would look like.
Tony Twain’s roster did not even include a single former Nottingham Forest player — it was a completely fresh roster. These people did not know as much about Twain as compared to those smaller reporters, hence for this head coach with this type of personality, he had several rumours.
“Hey, I heard Ashley Young said Tony Twain is the type to bear grudges. If you’ve offended him he would definitely find an opportunity to find revenge, whether or not you did it intentionally.”The man who said this was Michael Johnson, who had played for Manchester City, thus he knew Ashley Young opinion of Twain.
“You still need to spread rumours about this? The whole England knows the type of coach he is.”
“To be honest, I used to hate him… I never thought I’d be playing under him now…”
“Ha, Joe. It’s just temporary anyway, it’s better this way than to let him be Chelsea manager, right?”
“Do you think he’s annoying? But I think he’s great, a team like Nottingham Forest could win so many titles under him… It would not only by swearing, wouldn’t it? ” Just as there were people who hated him, there were also people who liked him.
Tony Twain’s controversial side, even in the national team, was also displayed clearly.
“I heard he would yell at people in the dressing room. I don’t like to be scolded anyway. ”
“Ferguson would, too, and I don’t think anyone at Manchester United is disgusted.” The speaker glanced at Fraser Campbell.
Campbell heard Manchester United being mentioned, so he had to come out and say a few words. “Although he is a little grumpy, everyone would still feel as it was normal. He had so many honors, how would his little temper matter? Anyway, I think there is nothing wrong, as long as you do not make mistakes, he will not scold you. I don’t know if Coach Twain would be like this as well… It’s a pity that we do not have anyone that was from Nottingham Forest.”
“He, we have a match against them on the day after next, how can there be anyone here like them here?”
“Don’t blindly guess, guys.” The oldest here, Ashley Cole coughed, “If we don’t go out again, I’m sure all of us will be scolded badly.” He reminded people of the time, and if there is no accidents, he would be wearing the captain band in this practice match. He played his role beforehand.
None of the people were skeptical upon hearing, some of them shrunk their necks and start changing their clothes faster.
Ashley Cole was the first player to run out of the locker room and into the training ground. Unsurprisingly, he saw the entire coaching staff on the sidelines, including, of course, the legendary Tony Twain.
Twain stood in the green field in his sunglasses, basking in the sunlight. He stood out even in that crowd and you could pick him out in just a glance.
Upon seeing Ashley Cole running out and looking over here, and he started to smile. Ashley Cole did not dare to confirm if the man was laughing because he was not able to see the man’s eyes.
“They must be in the dressing room, changing their training clothes while talking about what their new head coach is like. Otherwise the first person would not just appear now. “Des Walker was trying to joke about Twain.
Twain raised his wrist to look at his watch.
This move made Ashley Cole. It was a good thing he came out first; he was sure this devilish coach would not easily let them off if they were late. In fact, he did not know how early he had to come out to avoid being late because the former national team training time was not fixed.
Twain kept looking at the watch, as more and more players ran out of the dressing room and set foot on the training ground. They all moved quicker when they saw Twain’s particular action.
When the last player ran to the training ground, Twain finally put his arm down. Then he grinned at the players standing in front of him, revealing a mouth of white teeth.
“It’s good that you all just arrived before the time was up.” He said it with a smile, but some people felt a chill running down their spine. What would have happened if they had not arrived on time?
“Let me introduce myself. I’m Tony Twain, your head coach for the next two years if there aren’t any accidents.”
Some players bowed their heads and laughed. They all know what Twain meant. Poor performance by the team or a foul mouth would have a chance to lead to him being fired.
“I know you all were just talking about me in the locker room, and I don’t mind you talking privately about who I am. Actually, I get along very well, really. “At this point, Twain took off his sunglasses and gave everyone a smile that was even brighter than the sun.
This time no one laughed along with him. It seemed like there were excessive number of rumours outside, everyone were precautious against this head coach.
But Twain did not force these people to accept himself, anyway, they were all marginal figures who could become the backbone of the future England team, but they still needed to be under observation.
“No matter what you’re now thinking in your hearts, in short, I’ve become your head coach. The day after the next, the game, to your opponents, might be just a show for your opponents to celebrate the opening of their new stadium, but I hope you know one thing. For you guys, it’s not just an irrelevant show match. You should know why I didn’t call for a main national team player this time? ” Twain stood in front of the players and began to show these foreign soccer players his style of talking.
“Let me tell you, you all are the so-called marginal figures of the national team, some of you are capable, but you don’t have a chance to go one tier higher. How do you guys feel after watching England losing to Brazil at home? Ever thought that if you were there, you’d let the tragedy be avoided? Now the opportunity has come. I’m the new coach and I don’t know anything about the former England team and I don’t want to know anything about it. My eyes are for looking forward, which is why they are on the front of my head. The day after tomorrow’s game would be a chance for you: if you perform well, there would be a position for you in my future England team. I don’t mind building an England team without any superstars at all, as long as you guys really have potential within you. You need not bother about what the media says, your jobs are simple, it’s just to properly play the match the day after tomorrow. ”
Twain then waved as he said, “Go and warm up, don’t get injured.”
After the players listened to the head coach’s promise, some felt a sense of hope and were super motivated, but many more were sceptical. In particular, Twain saying, “I don’t mind building an England team which don’t have any big-shots nor superstars at all” was just too hypocritical. That was going against the whole of England, not just the media, but even the Football Association and the fans would never allow such an obnoxious act. So what if he was Tony Twain? Going against the whole world would have a very tragic outcome in the end.
During the warm-up run, a group of people gathered together and muttered, “Do you want to bet? I doubt Coach Twain would be here for a long time.”
“Just listen to the way he talks, it would be a miracle if he stayed for a long time. I don’t want to bet with you. ”
“He sounded so arrogant. The rumours are really true.”
“I’ve always thought it was a miracle that Mr Twain was able to survive in England for so long. He really does not act like an Englishman.”
“What is there to be surprised, what era is it now already. ”
“Cough, cough, he’s looking at us…”
※※※
Twain was observing the players, he knew it would not be easy to conquer this team and become England’s master. Maybe he needed to use a victory to start setting his foundation.
“Are you really going to go down?” said Walker.
“What?”
“Nottingham Forest.”
Twain turned his head and took a look at Walker.
“After all, you’ve been there for eleven years right?” Walker continued.
Twain shrugged, “It’s simple. I used to stand with them, and now I’m standing opposite them. ”
“I’m kind of curious about something all of a sudden…” said Walker, looking at the players who were warming up. “You’re not going to yell at them in the pre-match dressing room and tell them to tear up the Nottingham Forest bastards completely. You used to always call your opponent that. ”
Twain’s eyebrows jumped by a little.
After a long while, he then muttered, “It’s just a friendly match…”
A month and twenty-seven days after leaving Nottingham Forest, he was finally going back. It is just that this time he was going back as an opponent. How would the people there welcome him? There was no way they would roll out the red carpet and announce “Long Live the Majesty”. He knew the fans and the team he brought up too well.
Treat comrades as warm as the spring breeze, treat the enemy as ruthless as the autumn wind sweeps leaves.
...
Chapter 896 - The Days Since Twain Left
Kenny Burns’ Forest Bar had not been busy like today since the World Cup ended.
Once it opened for business since eleven o’clock in the late morning, people constantly pushed the door open to come in, ordered a beer, and then gathered together muttering in discussion.
By the time Skinny Bill appeared in the bar, the muttering sounds finally developed into a loud argument. The originally united fans had split into two factions at this time. No one was willing to give in to each other. Stop short of beer glasses being thrown and swearing, the atmosphere was unfriendly.
Burns continued to wipe the glass in his hands that could not be cleaned for a very long time. He had no intention of coming forward to stop it.
When John pushed the door in, the argument in the bar temporarily dissipated after seeing him.
John stood at the entrance and looked around the room. The fans in the bar stood clearly divided on both sides, with fewer people on the left side and more people on the right. Everyone was a little worked up as made fully evident by the flush in their faces under the influence of alcohol.
“Bill, what are you doing again?” John caught the main contradiction at once. He stared at Bill, who sat on the right side.
“Nothing. Just discussing how to ‘welcome’ Tony for tomorrow’s game.” Bill casually mentioned as he swirled the whiskey in the glass.
“Can’t you let it go? Tony has his own freedom…”
The fat man had just spoken when he was rudely interrupted by Bill. He suddenly stood up and stared at John with reddened eyes as he said, “Screw freedom! That’s right! We don’t care how many ordinary managers leave because they are worthless to us! But Tony Twain is different! It took him eleven years to prove that he belonged only to Nottingham Forest! A Nottingham Forest team without him is not our favorite Nottingham Forest team. He is also not the Tony we like…when he’s without Nottingham Forest!”
John waited for him to finish roaring and then he still calmly said, “You said you like Tony, but do you understand him? He was not happy working there. He should at least have the right to choose to leave, shouldn’t he?”
“Ah ha, he was not happy at work, so he had the right to choose to leave. So, we also have the right to choose to hate him!” Bill changed his tone and spoke sarcastically, “He made himself scarce and walked away. What about us after he abandoned us? What about the players who followed him wholeheartedly and the fans who trusted and supported him so much that they called him king? Did he ever think about how they felt when he left? Did he empathize with them? We saw him as the man who could get Nottingham Forest to the top, and this was how he treated our expectations?”
John felt that Bill had fallen into a frenzy. There was no way to communicate with Bill like this. He shook his head and ignored the hysterical Bill. He went straight to the left side and sat down. Then he raised his hand to ask Burns for a beer.
Burns personally served the beer. But John stared blankly at the drink and asked, “A disposable paper cup?”
Burns smiled at him and replied, “So that I don’t worry about any fatalities when you guys start fighting in a while.”
John heard this and suddenly was in a bad mood. Before he and the people across were good buddies who watched the games together. They would run around and follow Nottingham Forest’s glorious footprint. They would come back here to celebrate when they won a game. They would also be back here to drink to drown their sorrows and curse when they lost a game. No matter what happened, they never had an infighting like they had today, not even when Michael left.
But Tony Twain was gone unexpectedly, and they split up. That man is the devil himself. He’s gone and yet the influence he has left can still make people who were once friends turn against each other. Ah Tony, Tony, what am I supposed to say to you? What was on your mind when you decided to leave Nottingham Forest? Also, in tomorrow’s game, can you imagine what kind of treatment you will encounter?
John was not in the mood to sit here and drink. He got up, looked at Bill and shook his head. Then he walked out alone.
Those sitting on the left side departed one by one after John left. Soon, Bill and his gang were the only ones left in the bar. They came together and discussed how to “welcome” their old friend tomorrow.
Burns continued to wipe the glasses, as if he had turned a blind eye to all of this. His gaze had crossed the entrance and drifted into the distance. He also had no idea why Tony Twain had chosen to leave. But he knew that Twain was not the kind of man described by Bill. An ungrateful man would not visit Gavin at least twice a year.
Some people were used to encasing themselves in thick shells. Unwilling for other people to easily understand his inner world, Tony Twain should be this kind of person.
※※※
The day before the game, the scene at the Forest Bar continued to unfold repeatedly elsewhere in Nottingham. The city, which was first split between the two teams, Notts County and Nottingham Forest, had now been divided into three divisions – the Nottingham Forest fans were in a state of infighting.
Tony Twain would be back in Nottingham with the England team for tomorrow’s game. How should we treat him at that time? Should we thank and welcome him from our hearts, or greet him with boos, verbal abuse and middle fingers?
They could not forget the many trophies and joys that “His Majesty” had brought them. But similarly, they could not forget the shock Twain brought to their hearts when he and the Forest team broke up. The hard to describe complicated emotions surged within their hearts. Mixed with shock, disappointment, sadness and anger, it messed up their lives. One should not assume that the power of football was not so strong. Football had such power in this country and city.
The Nottingham Evening Post used this headline in the newspaper published that day:
King or Judas?
It was a good illustration of the Forest fans’ conflicting moods.
※※※
“I’m going to hug the boss before the game.” Pepe announced his decision in the locker room, drawing everyone’s attention.
There were people in the locker room who had good feelings toward Twain, like Pepe, who still could not forget the boss’ kindness till this day. There were also people who had disdain for Tony Twain, such as the new players who had just joined the team. They had not experienced the era of Twain at all and could not understand why someone like Pepe would go mad for an outgoing manager.
The Brazilian center back, Thiago Silva, who had just joined the club, was such a representative. He joined the Forest team to replace Kompany and was obviously excited to join a team that had just won the Treble. He was eager to make a big splash here and he did not care what happened to the Forest team before. He also somewhat could not understand why there was always talk in the locker room about a manager who had left.
“Pepe, aren’t you afraid that the top brass will be unhappy with you?” Bale pointed to the ceiling.
“They don’t need to care so much.” Pepe uttered with a despising look on his face. He was the first player in the team to make clear his dislike of the top brass. Anyway, if he really offended the club chairman, worst came to worst, he could leave. The boss was not here anymore. What was the point of staying?
Some of the players envied Pepe’s courage to love and hate, as well as the courage to accept the consequences of his actions. Some people disdained it as beneath contempt and brushed it off, thinking that Pepe was just shooting off his mouth. Anyone could move one’s lips.
Cracks began to quietly appear in what was originally a united and tight knit locker room in this way.
Bale looked at Pepe and turned toward Wood to say, “George…”
Wood looked at him and did not answer.
“You, uh… Are you going to hug the boss too?” In the team, everyone knew how good the relationship between Wood and Twain was. Perhaps no one would even disagree if it were to be said that Twain was Wood’s father.
But today Wood did not give an answer that fitted with this relationship. He shook his head and said, “I’m not that sappy.”
Bale felt Wood’s indifference, and he stopped talking. Since the boss was gone, the atmosphere in the locker room had changed and the change made him uncomfortable. It used to be a form of enjoyment playing for Nottingham Forest. Now, it was gradually becoming a form of torment. The feeling was particularly pronounced for some of the players who had the closest relationships with Twain.
He silently busied himself with his own things to do while the other players gathered and whispered in groups of three or four. It was most likely something to do with tomorrow’s game.
Bale was no longer interested in their discussions. There was nothing to discuss. Everything would be revealed tomorrow.
※※※
Evan and Allan were in the club chairman’s spacious office, looking at each other but no one spoke.
The silence lasted for a while before Evan changed his posture and leaned back on the back of the chair. The back of the leather chair squeaked, breaking the silence of the room.
“It’s truly a coincidence.” Allan laughed and said, “When I booked the game, I did not expect him to be the England team’s manager.”
“Isn’t that good? As far as I know, there are a lot of people in Nottingham who are unhappy with his sudden departure. This game may be a way for them to vent their frustrations.”
“Do you enjoy seeing this?” Allan asked.
Evan spread his hands and said, “Isn’t better than having those people protest and hold demonstrations at our doorstep all the time, is it?” When he suddenly took the initiative to hold a press conference, he had intended to put the main responsibility inexplicitly on Twain. Now he saw that his purpose had basically been achieved. There were still dissenting voices against the club, but they were too insignificant as compared to those who hated Twain.
It could be said that Tony Twain’s character and consistent image in the media helped Evan Doughty. Had it not been for his bad temper and rotten image, the public would not have targeted the attack at Twain so easily.
If Twain usually appeared with an image of a Mr. Nice Guy in front of people, that his character was gentle and low-key, and he did not offend so many enemies, how could he have fallen into such a plight? A person’s character determined his fate. These words were so true.
Allan stood up to take his leave as he said, “Tomorrow’s game… is full of anticipation. It’s to our advantage. What’s supposed to just a normal friendly match, is now different because of Tony. Outside the stadium is chock full of reporters. You’ll see later when you leave here. Just be careful of them.”
Evan smiled, “Excellent free advertising. We should all thank Tony.”
Allan did not answer. He turned around and went out.
※※※
Since Twain became the England team’s manager, the happiest people had not been Twain’s hardcore fans but Mr. Carl Spicer.
It was like he had rediscovered the center of gravity in his life. He laughed and greeted everyone in the television station. People who were familiar with him shook their heads behind his back at how he lived for Tony Twain. It was not known how Spicer would feel if he knew this.
After the end of the World Cup, the football programming was in a slump. Initially, the match between the England national team and Nottingham Forest was not an important one. Nottingham Forest wanted to use it to test their new squad, while the England team certainly would not send its main squad. Such a game was of little value. But it was different now, because Tony Twain became the England manager.
The main subject was a news making machine. Wherever he went, that was where the news happened. Carl Spicer did not have to worry about what he could say on the show anymore. Now looking at the previous episodes of the program he did, it was enough to let him stuff his head into his pants – they were dry and bland. The clever words which he was most proud of were nonexistent. His eyes wandered about when talking, as if he did not know why his mouth was wriggling and what was being said. He did not know what to say without Twain.
Now he did not have to worry about these things. Whether it was to attack or ridicule, there was now a target in front of him.
He marched into his own standalone office at a brisk pace. With a light flick of his foot, he closed the door, and then twirled around as if he was dancing. He turned around and walked to his desk. He picked up a dart on the table and threw it at the office door.
With a “pop” sound, the dart was stuck in the dart board. That dart board was special because it was a picture of Tony Twain laughing with his mouth wide open.
The dart happened to strike on Twain’s teeth which looked a little comical.
Spicer laughed like Twain did in the photograph. He said, “It’s been a long time, Mr. Twain. The England team is more difficult to lead than Nottingham Forest.”
The photograph of Twain was still grinning even with a dart stuck to it. It did not answer him.
※※※
“Tomorrow’s game is in the spotlight for the simple reason – Tony Twain is back again. This time he returned to Nottingham as a visitor.” The BBC reporter, holding a microphone, said to the camera. Behind him was the red behemoth, the Crimson Stadium.
Although the game was still a day away, the parking lot outside the new Nottingham Forest home ground, the Crimson Stadium, was already full of broadcast vans. The many media outlets gathered here to report the news of Twain’s “homecoming” for the first time.
The reaction of the fans, the reaction of the Nottingham Forest players… These were what the reporters were desperate to know.
The sale of the tickets to the game began a week ago with fifty thousand tickets out of sixty thousand tickets sold three days ago. It was estimated that sixty thousand tickets could have been sold out in big cities such as Manchester, Liverpool or London.
“The fans are very enthusiastic.” The reporter walked up to the fans who had lined up to buy tickets and was going to do a street interview.
A thin man appeared in front of the television camera and shouted excitedly at the reporter’s extended microphone, “We’re going to welcome Tony very, very, very warmly! This game will be extremely unforgettable for him! Ah ha!”
The reporter resurfaced on the television camera. He and smiled and said, “It looks like Tony Twain is still a big influence, and the fans still miss him. Tomorrow’s game must be very exciting!”
※※※
The players who finished their training went out of the training ground in succession and prepared to change to go home. The reporters, waiting for a long time, flocked to surround them. They wanted to make sure that they talked about tomorrow’s game.
“It’s just a normal friendly match.” The team captain, George Wood pushed away the reporters blocking in front of him coldly and squeezed his way out.
The reporters shrugged it off and took aim at the other players. They basically could not get what they needed from Wood’s mouth.
“I’m looking forward to a reunion with the boss!” Pepe said what the reporters wanted to hear, especially that name. This matter had too much to write about. If Martin O’Neill had heard this, how would he react?
“It’s a little strange… I’d never thought I will be competing against him before.” The man who said that was Gareth Bale, who was a little bit more even. He said, “But it must have been an interesting experience.” What he said was nonsense, which was equivalent to saying nothing.
Most of the other players were mentally conflicted and did not want to talk more about tomorrow’s game. They just managed with a few words and left in a hurry. Even while they were signing autographs for the fans, they looked distracted.
When Martin O’Neill came out from the training ground, all the players were almost gone. Some of the reporters were still gathered there waiting for him.
“I have nothing to say.” O’Neill knew what they were going to ask, so he raised his hands in advance to signal that as he said, “I know what you media are so interested in. But for me, it’s a normal friendly game. I don’t care how you hype it. I just want to remind you that you don’t affect my players.”
But the reporters did not want to let him go. “Hey, Martin. Does your predecessor have a big influence on you while you work here?”
O’Neill pursed his lips without answering. In fact, he had to thank Twain for not mentioning Nottingham Forest. Otherwise, the pressure would be even greater. Even so, the former manager’s influence was still everywhere which bothered him greatly. He must have been crazy when he agreed to take over the team at the time. He actually neglected Tony Twain’s influence.
“One more question, Mr. O’Neill. Care to give your opinion on Tony Twain?”
O’Neill pretended not to hear.
The reporter was unyielding and continued to ask, “Are there any contradictions between you two?”
O’Neill could not pretend that he did not hear the question in case the reporters were unkind enough to interpret his silence and really turn it into “Martin O’Neill’s dissatisfaction with Tony Twain.” That would throw himself at the heart of the struggle. He was not Twain. He did not like to be a news personality that received too much media attention.
“No.” He stopped in his tracks and answered with a smile, “I’ve always had a good relationship with Tony. He’s a very good manager as you can tell from the many championship titles he has won. As the new manager of Nottingham Forest, I hope I can continue this glorious tradition.”
In the end, he was still forced to answer the first question and even put himself in a lower standing.
Having said that, he quickly walked out of the encirclement of reporters. He no longer cared about the reporters shouting in the back and just strode away.
Pierce Brosnan was also among the reporters entangling O’Neill. As he watched O’Neill making his quick escape, he thought of Tony Twain in his mind.
From the start to finish, Twain did not show up to say a word regarding the game, but it sent so many people into a frenzy. At the same time, was the man hiding in the dark and watching the show while secretly laughing? He must be feeling smug, right? He had already left and yet his terrifying influence made countless of people willing to go crazy for him.
That man was truly a fiend that stirred up public sentiments with false statements.
...
Chapter 897 - Back Home
Some media used “Tony going home” as a caption for this match.
Twain’s home was indeed still at Nottingham. He had really not been home much recently because he was staying in a hotel in London, busy with the national team.
Shania was not there so there was no need to return to that empty home.
Going home…
Twain muttered under his breath. He knew very clearly that the Nottingham now might not be willing to be his home now.
When Twain arrived in Nottingham in the bus with his team, he was bombarded by the media from all sides. For the past few days, he would either hide in his hotel to fiddle with the name list or hide in the Colney training base where the media could not reach him. However, now that he was in Nottingham, he had nowhere to hide. The media was determined to get some exclusive news out of him.
The team was to stay in a hotel in Nottingham to prepare for the match the next day. The bus had just stopped when the reporters who had been waiting outside the doors rushed over and totally cluttered the pathway from the bus door to the hotel door.
When Twain jumped out of the bus, the microphones at the end of the poles all extended to above Twain over the heads of everyone and the video cameras and cameras all pointed towards him while the security guards and police on the grounds all looked like they were facing one of their fiercest enemies.
The other players almost could not help themselves but to whistle when they saw this scene.
A group of people gathered to whisper among themselves again.
“I thought these people were here to interview us… This set up is even more impressive than the main force of an army.”
“Stop dreaming, they are all here for the boss.”
“He is the focus of the media now indeed.”
“Did the boss say anything stupid this time?”
“He didn’t say anything.”
“He attracted so many reporters even by saying nothing?!”
“Idiot, this is Nottingham. He’s back to his home ground.”
The scene was bumbling and loud, and Twain did not hear the whispers of the players. He was busy handling the reporters.
“Mr Twain, Mr Twain! How does it feel to be back in Nottingham?”
“It feels good,” Twain replied with no expression on his face, and everyone could tell that he was not taking the question seriously at all.
“Can you explain the reason why you decided not to extend your contract with Nottingham Forest Football Club last time?” This would forever be the question that the reporters were most interested in. Even though there were many rumours but they were all not proven. The reporters still wanted to hear the real answer from the man himself.
“There is nothing to discuss about this,” Twain refused to answer. The reason why he did not want to talk about the conflicts between him and the club was because he did not want to sour the relationship between them totally, after all, he had been there for 11 years. Some things should be left a secret forever.
“There are some people who say there were some conflicts between you and the management of the club…”
“There is nothing of that sort,” Twain lied without so much as a stumble.
“Then, could it be because…”
“I’m sorry, I refuse to answer any question regarding Nottingham Forest,” Twain had a very strong look on his face. It was time to let these reporters know when to back off.
“But Mr Twain, your team will be playing Nottingham Forest. This question is related to Nottingham Forest too. If you don’t answer it…” A reporter picked on the flaw in the logic behind what Twain just said smilingly.
“What I meant was I won’t be answering any question,” Twain gave that man a look and entered the hotel lobby under the protection of both the security and the police.
The reporter who was still teasing Twain earlier was left stunned on the spot with a stiff expression on his face.
“Wow——” A player whistled, “That’s so cool!”
Carl Spicer could not stop laughing at this scene in the crowd. He turned to look at the camera and said laughingly, “Tony Twain is really back.” He felt utterly relieved in his heart. That arrogant Twain was back. He did not have to worry that Twain would become a toothless tiger under the restrictions of the Football Association after two months of dormancy. That would be no fun at all.
※※※
Twain’s return to Nottingham became the news headlines that day and the photo of him squeezing past the surrounding reporters into the hotel appeared on the papers and on the internet. Dressed in a black suit and a pair of sunglasses, he really looked like a godfather from the mafia.
Burns held the newspaper and lost himself in the picture of Twain on it.
How does it feel to be back home?
He really wanted to ask Twain that, but he did not think that Twain would be back at his bar. After becoming England’s manager, he was closely watched by the media every single moment of the day and he would have no time to chat with his friends anymore. Besides, he might not be able to find anyone to talk to even if he came.
“He still looks so cool,” Fat John came over to take a look at the photograph.
Bill and the gang was nowhere to be seen, probably discussing about the production of another slogan.
“But he offended the media. When he left Forest, there were not many of them who would speak for him,” Burns replied.
“Heh heh,” John laughed, “If Tony cared about what the others thought, he would not be Tony anymore.”
“Not necessarily,” Burns shook his head, “He will definitely be affected by the crimson stadium tomorrow.”
What Burns said was what John was thinking about. The smile disappeared on his face and he stayed silent. He merely lifted his beer mug and chugged his beer.
※※※
Tang announced that the day after training would be a rare day off for the players to rest up properly. He did not give a reason and the players did not think much about it other than feeling that it was strange. A day off was a good thing and they welcomed it.
Tang kept the tickets for the match properly and did not explain anything.
Such a match would normally be not worth watching, but he was interested in Twain and he wanted to see for himself what troubles would Twain come up with there.
※※※
Even though this was a friendly match, Twain called for a tactics meeting at night.
As the team had only a day to train together, it was basically impossible that they could have rehearsed for any tactics so Twain did not arrange for any complicated tactics. They would be using the basic 442 and attack from the flanks. These tactics were the most basic and simplest ones and no matter any player would be able to cooperate and work together because they had been training like this since young.
Twain reiterated what this match meant to the players in the meeting, hinting to them that there would be a good result for them if they worked hard.
It looked like he was seriously preparing for this match. Watching him like this made the players who were still sceptical about Twain’s thoughts previously think about it seriously——The match tomorrow was really a great opportunity…
“They will never guess that we will be treating this game seriously,” Twain thought for awhile and confirmed what he just said, “This is just a normal game. Even though the media is all over it, their focus are not on the game. I hope you’ll grab this opportunity.”
He looked at the players. How many of these players would really trust him and follow him, he would know after this match.
Of course, he did not expect everyone to do their best against Nottingham Forest. He was not that popular amongst the national team players yet, and the players were not puppets on string. However, the ones he needed were only those who would listen to him and had the will to work hard. As for those who were unwilling to do so… So sorry, but the doors of the national team are forever closed to you guys.
This warmup match was a good chance for him to give the players a warning, asserting dominance did not necessarily have to be through a victory.
※※※
At the same time, over on the other side, Martin O’Neill was discussing the tactics to be used against the England team with David Kerslake.
“What do you think England will do for tomorrow’s game, David?” O’Neill asked.
Kerslake knew Twain well. To guess what Twain would do, one just had to ask him.
Kerslake was silent for a while before saying, “The public believes that the focus of this game was not the game itself, but outside it. We’re going to use this game to test out some formations for the team and the form of the new players after they joined us while England’s side was filled with players on the border, therefore they would be weak. However, my thinking was totally opposite to theirs.”
O’Neill was interested, and he indicated for him to continue.
“Tony Twain is not one to do things logically. This is his first match since taking charge of the team and it is very important. If he wants his job to be easier for him in future, he cannot take this match lightly. I think he’ll ask his team to do his best,” he paused for a while, as if to think if what he was going to say was right.
“And…their target will be to defeat us,” he decided to tell him the conclusion in the end.
“O’Neill did not refute this conclusion that seemed so unlikely it might as well be a fairy tale, instead, he nodded in approval, “That’s just what I thought too. Tony needs this victory more than us, even if it’s just an unimportant friendly match. The media is still focused on him and he’ll be under a lot of pressure. He needs to prove his capabilities with a victory even if it’s a match like this.”
O’Neill was glad that Twain was under this kind of pressure too as he did not feel like the only fool in the world now.
“Even though they will do their best, we don’t have the need to do so too. Twain doesn’t need to worry that his players would be injured but we do. That’s why we should still go with our original plan——inspect our team.”
Kerslake agreed with O’Neill’s arrangement. Twain needed a victory and he needed it badly. He would use whatever means necessary for it and Nottingham Forest did not need to join him in the madness. Examining his players’ form was one thing, avoiding injuries was just as important.
Deep inside, he did not think that it was a bad thing for Forest to lose to England. Forest was not hoping to change anything with this friendly match so this result would ensure their safety and give Twain what he wanted, a win-win situation.
However, what O’Neill said later destroyed his fantasy.
“Even so, I don’t think that his England C team can defeat my Nottingham Forest.”
Kerslake turned to look at his manager. After so many days, this was his first time hearing O’Neill say “my Nottingham Forest”.
If he was facing some other opponent, O’Neill would never have said something like that. It looked like facing the previous manager of his team invoked a sense of crisis within this man. It was as if he was a lion trying to protect his territory and he was unwilling to retreat even for a little bit against the provocation of the previous leader of the pack. Was it instinct or responsibility? Kerslake did not know.
Twain did not want to lose this match so that he could establish his position in the England team whereas Martin O’Neill did not want to lose to Twain’s England team because he was not happy about living in Tony Twain’s shadows. The former for survival, the latter for glory.
These two had a good relationship privately but they would not hold back because of that.
He was suddenly looking forward to the match tomorrow.
What would the City Ground look like tomorrow?
※※※
This match was scheduled to be played in the afternoon. The temperature of Nottingham at the end of July was very hot and even though the kick-off timing of the match was at four-thirty in the afternoon where the temperature was a little lower, it was still very hot.
Despite the heat and the glaring sun, the passionate fans were not dissuaded from watching the match. The special meaning behind this game attracted almost all the Nottingham Forest fans to watch it and at the same time, the broadcasting vans of the media surrounded the whole City Ground, obstructing traffic.
Pepe saw this inside the bus and muttered, “Looks like we’re in time for the UEFA Champion’s League final… This is crazy.”
“They are all here for boss, aren’t they?” Bale got close to the window and looked at the fans below.
“Would they welcome him or boo him?” Gago chimed in, but everyone fell silent after he said that.
“Er…” Gago felt a little awkward, “Okay, take it as though I said nothing.”
He vocalized the concerns of everyone.
“Don’t think too much about it, prepare for the match,” Wood said from the side. He might be trying to ask Gago not to think too much but everyone felt that the atmosphere had become colder…
※※※
When the England bus arrived at the stadium, most of the fans had already entered. However, Twain still attracted everyone’s attention when he alighted. The media rushed over and he heard some scattered jeers.
He was not a fool, he knew who those boos were directed to. He could only act as though he did not hear it and walked quickly into the tunnel.
There were still reporters following behind him, asking, “Mr Twain, Mr Twain! How does it feel to be back home?”
This time, Twain did not even bother to give a fake reply. He acted like he did not hear it and entered the tunnel, leaving the reporter behind.
Back home?
This trip back home was not an easy one…
...
Chapter 898 - Welcome Home, Tony
In fact, the England national team’s tactics were very similar to Nottingham Forest’s. Other than they did not insist on just playing defensive counterattack, the features of the sudden attacks on the sidelines, the two wingers in full strength, simple and fast breakthroughs in the midfield were still very consistent. The England team’s ability for positional play was not very good, which neither Eriksson, McClaren nor Capello had completely resolved.
After Capello came on, he had tried ways and means to enrich the England team’s playing approach in the positional play, but with limited success. Compared to the Latin and European players from Italy, Portugal, Spain and France, the England team’s players had rough footwork skills. This fact had not been changed even though the English Premier League had flourished for so many years.
Now that Twain had taken over the England team, he was in no hurry to show England’s ability for positional play in this game. The easiest and most effective way was to get the team back the familiar path – to aim high for header shots, the two wingers in full strength, and the coordination between the sides and middle supplemented by long shots. Playing like this was definitely not good to watch, but the England fans did not care about it. After all, not all England fans were Arsenal fans at the same time.
The advantage of playing in this way was that the team was more familiar with it and Twain was also spared the worry. Given the ability of these current England players, they might be able to play any overly complex tactics. On the other hand, the Nottingham Forest players were coordinated. Even with a change of manager, the team’s strength had not suffered much.
Twain coped with the changes by staying constant. The tactics which had been developed before the game made all the England players feel very familiar – these were the best features of the training they received since young till they were older…
※※※
There was a big difference between the Crimson Stadium and the City Ground stadium. The players’ locker rooms and tunnel were shabby in the City Ground stadium even though they were renovated once in the 1990s to host the UEFA European Championship. They looked worn out after nearly two decades as compared with the modern Crimson Stadium.
Twain pushed open the locker room door and went out. He had to show up on the pitch earlier than the players.
Walking in the wide and bright tunnel, he turned into the hall.
The hall was more than twice as big as the one in the City Ground stadium. The smooth marble floor was like a mirror, reflecting everything on its surface. Twain looked down at his feet and scrutinize with his head tilted for a moment. Then he turned right and walked into the tunnel used specially to go out to the pitch.
The tunnel was wider than the one coming from the locker room. From what Twain could see, two Hummer Jeeps could even ride side by side. Just based on this detail, it was no wonder the Nottingham Forest club had been plagued by a financial crisis before – the budget was not a small one to build such a good stadium.
The left wall of the tunnel was painted with the team emblem of Nottingham Forest – a large white oak tree was on the red background. On the right wall, there was a sentence written on it: In addition to victory, it is still victory!
It was Twain’s suggestion at the time. He wanted to use this phrase to inspire the Forest players. They just had to turn their heads and they could see it from here before every home game, so that they could firmly remember what Nottingham Forest tradition was.
Unfortunately, he had already left the team and did not know if it would continue to be carried out.
Twain stopped in his tracks in the tunnel as he looked sideways at that phrase in a daze.
Above the players’ tunnel at Anfield, there was a saying: “This is Anfield.” The phrase was the brainchild of the famous godfather of The Reds, Shankly. He wanted every team which came here to compete, to know the opponent they were playing against. It was their hell here. And now a lot of Liverpool players would put their hands up to the sign before they entered the field for good luck. It almost became a tradition.
When Twain was still the Forest manager, he also wanted to use this method to remind his players that the pursuit of victory would always be a tradition for Nottingham Forest, whether it was during Clough’s era or in Tony Twain’s era.
The sound of footsteps came from behind. Des Walker walked up to Twain and also saw the same words on the wall.
“There’s definitely a touch of ‘Tony Twain’s style’.” He said with a laugh.
Twain ignored his teasing. He just turned around and walked toward the field outside as he said, “Let’s go.”
Before Twain had gone out, he could already see the media who had gathered there and been waiting outside through the exit of the tunnel. The number of media today seemed to have exceeded the number for a regular friendly match. It was too many even if it was a deliberate publicity campaign by the Forest Club.
Twain certainly knew who these people came for. He suddenly slowed down and let Des Walker, who was close behind him, overtake him.
From his spot, all he could see was a lot of frenetic media. What else was there in the area where he could not see, waiting for him?
His heartbeat suddenly increased, and he was more nervous than playing in the Champions League final.
He did not care about his enemies’ mocking and ridicule or abuses and attacks. But he could not ignore how his supporters would treat him now.
However, he could not hide in here and not go out. With so many media watching him, he did not want them to see that he had a weak side.
He readjusted the collar of his suit. This action seemed redundant because he was dressed neatly so far.
Then he stepped out.
The moment his figure appeared in the reporters’ field of view; the flashes of the cameras started working. And when he completely walked out of the tunnel and appeared in front of tens of thousands of people, those flashes merged into a big bright light and the clicking sound of the shutters fell incessantly on the ear.
Twain was still able to keep his composure in the face of the reporters. He walked to the home team’s technical area nonchalantly.
Des Walker could not close his agape mouth when he saw the scene next door. He really wanted to remind Tony that he went the wrong way…
The fans who noticed this in the stands also burst into laughter.
“Ah ha, what do we have here? Tony Twain has walked to the wrong place! Ha ha! This is a rare occurrence. Don’t tell me he still thinks he’s the manager of Nottingham Forest?” The commentator in charge of the commentary for the game had a gleeful emphasis and tone.
David Kerslake, who was sitting in the home team’s technical area, looked a little embarrassed when he saw Twain directly walked over here. Eastwood, on the other hand, continued to watch with interest. He wanted to see how the chief would resolve this predicament.
In fact, in the moment Twain turned toward that direction, he knew he was going in the wrong direction – he was used to walking to the home team’s technical area Nottingham Forest’s home ground. But he forgot his current status. But he did not immediately turn around and go back. That would be too obvious. So, he continued walking and even thought of the countermeasure to deal with the situation.
When he saw Martin O’Neill from far away, Twain had already offered to shake his hand first. He looked like he wanted to shake the hand of the other man.
O’Neill also got up and walked towards Twain when he saw him doing that. The two men shook hands in front of the throngs of media.
“It turns out to be just a handshake.” The commentator was very disappointed.
The laughter in the stands subsided when they saw Twain and O’Neill shaking hands. Perhaps the crowd waiting to watch the show felt that the result was too boring.
But the reporters had other ideas – was this considered a formal handover between the old and new Forest managers? They even helped the both of them scripted their lines:
Twain: I’m handing my team to you. Don’t let me down.
O’Neill: Rest assured, our goal is still to be the champion!
But the two men did not exchanged any words. They just shook hands. Then O’Neill gave way to the technical area behind him, knowing that Twain did not just want to say hello to him alone.
Sure enough, Twain walked toward the assistant manager, Kerslake after he let go of O’Neill’s hand.
Kerslake also wanted to shake Twain’s hand like O’Neill did, but he did not expect Twain to hug him.
While he held Kerslake, Twain still did not speak and patted him hard. Then he let go of Kerslake, who was still in a daze, and headed toward Eastwood.
Eastwood did not behave as woodenly as Kerslake. While laughing, he hugged Twain, and even whispered in Twain’s ear, “Good luck, chief.”
Just like that, Twain shook hands and hugged everyone in the Nottingham Forest coaching staff in turn, as the media followed the entire proceeding and filmed everything.
“He looks more like the master here than Martin O’Neill. Look at his calm demeanor…” John muttered in the stands.
“He won’t be calm anymore in a moment!” Bill shrieked beside him.
John ignored him and stood in the new stands to applaud Twain.
There were not many people like John in the stadium. More people booed like Bill did.
They obviously could not forget what Twain did two months ago.
After hugging and shaking hands with all the Forest coaches, Twain walked toward the visiting team’s technical area surrounded by the reporters. At this time, the fans’ boos became more intense and obvious.
In this way, Twain came to his seat subjected to a hailstorm of loud boos.
Kerslake looked at Twain with some concern and looked the surroundings again. He’d imagined the scenario of Twain’s return, but he did not expect the Forest team to really be so divided to this point.
The commentator was also a little perplexed as he muttered, “Just listen to the boos. They’re all directed at one person…”
The telecast gave Twain a long close-up shot, in which Twain tightly pursed his lips in the frame and did not look up to take a glance at the fans in the stands. His eyes looked unfocused like he was gazing afar.
“What a shame. This is the welcome given to the former king of the Forest team. Ha!” Carl Spicer quipped in the stands. He had another topic of discussion in his program in the evening.
Some extreme fans not only booed Twain, but also raised their middle fingers at him and shouted abuses.
Twain’s face was expressionless, and next to him, Walker looked at him with a worried look. He was afraid that his heart could not bear such provocation. But Twain did not suddenly collapse. He stood in place and let the boos ring out overhead. He allowed the reporters around him to take pictures non-stop.
“I bet he must regret not wearing his sunglasses when he came out in his mind.” Spicer glanced at the television set next to him, which was screening a close-up shot of Twain’s face.
Dunn, who saw the scene in the stands, sighed softly.
※※※
The boos kept on, and the players who were waiting to appear in the tunnel all heard it clearly. They gathered in twos and threes to discuss.
“What’s going on out there?”
“Who knows?”
“Cough … Well, it’s all because of the boss.”
“The hisses are for him? No way!” The Forest players were very surprised. To hear hissing against Tony Twain at Nottingham Forest’s home ground was almost comparable to the orbital revolution cycle of Comet Hale–Bopp, which paid a visit to Earth only once in three thousand years.
The Forest players were so surprised that their talking grew louder. The England players next to them also heard clearly and they became interested. The two teams, which were originally in two rows, mingled together. They could not be blamed for doing so as the booing outside was spectacular.
When the Forest team played in the City Ground stadium, once the grandstand, which could only hold up to thirty thousand people, hissed in unison, the momentum could make every visiting team feel a huge psychological pressure. Now in the Crimson Stadium, the capacity of sixty thousand people did more than just doubled the volume of the booing.
When a visiting team played here, the boos of sixty thousand people were shared among the eleven players. And now that all the booing was borne by one person as one could well imagine the pressure. These players could not imagine how long they could bear the power of the hissing if it were to be them.
※※※
Twain still stood motionless in front of the technical area.
John looked at the stubborn figure and surveyed the surroundings. The people who booed as if their lives depended on it made up the majority. He knew what he was going to do was not going to be welcomed, but he still had to do it. Otherwise he would be letting down his own conscience.
He beckoned several of his companions who held the same view as himself. He took out a red cloth from his backpack and handed one end of the cloth to one of his companions. He pulled the other end himself.
The two people stood apart and pulled the cloth to a certain distance. With a shake of their hands, a banner appeared in the grandstand.
Welcome home, Tony!
“Hey, John!” Bill looked at his friend in anger. By doing this, he was sabotaging him.
“Leave me alone, Bill. You boo all you want; I’ll do what I want. Neither of us should stand in each other’s way.” John ignored Bill’s threatening glare and continued to hold the banner as he stood in his seat.
The television broadcast director also noticed the new banner in the stands. Unlike the surrounding slogans that were insulting and mocking Twain, it was a greeting full of warmth and attention grabbing.
It was not known if Twain saw it, but the camera footage first cut over.
“It looks like he does not find himself utterly isolated.” The commentator said after seeing the banner.
“Tony.” Walker, who noticed the banner, said as he nudged Twain to ask him to look.
Twain turned his head and saw John’s banner as well. The corner of his mouth curled up. There was a noticeable change of expression on his face for the first time and this time he smiled.
Then he no longer cared about the reporters who were taking photographs of him. He turned around and sat back in the technical area.
※※※
When the players came out of the tunnel, the booing of Twain finally stopped.
As it was a game to celebrate the opening of the Forest team’s new stadium for use, the arrangement in terms of the appearances was not the same as a regular game. The England team came out first, followed by the Nottingham Forest players. The broadcast would loudly announce every player’s name as he made his appearance, prompting a warm response from the fans.
The Forest fans dedicated their cheers to the glorious Treble winning team, and every Forest player who made an appearance received thunderous cries.
As the captain of the team, George Wood received the loudest cheers, but he maintained his special trait of indifference and did not respond to the cheers from the fans.
The last to run out was the center back, Pepe, who was going to partner with the Brazilian center back, Thiago Silva in the starting lineup. The fans also gave him the same applause and cheers, but he did not wave in response like several of his teammates who came out before him. After which, he ran out with his head held high.
Before he ran onto the field and gathered with his teammates, he turned a corner midway through and ran straight to the visitors’ technical area.
Then, under thousands of staring eyes, he did an action that no one thought of – he opened his arms and gave the unsuspecting Tony Twain a bear hug.
The cheers came to a spontaneous end. The gigantic Crimson Stadium suddenly fell into an awkward silence.
“… Pepe gave Tony Twain an unexpected hug. He seemed to be saying something in Twain’s ear. . ..” The commentator could not understand what was going on with Pepe. Nowadays, anyone who was not a fool, could see the Forest fans’ dislike of Twain. In that case, why would he risk offending all the fans as a Forest player to greet Twain so warmly. Why on earth did he do that for? Could it be that he did not want to continue to be in this team?
Twain looked equally surprised on the television camera shot. He was not surprised because of Pepe’s action, but because of what Pepe said in his ear.
“I’m sorry, boss.” Pepe whispered in his ear. At this moment, the stadium was quiet, and his voice could be heard clearly in Twain’s ears. He said, “I’ve decided to leave here. After playing this game, I’m going to Milan, Italy. AC Milan, that’s my next stop…”
Hearing Pepe’s words, Twain suddenly felt that the Champions League life or death final two months ago was like a dream…
“I know why you left the team, so I also don’t want to stay here any longer. Thank you, boss, thank you. The years I had played for you were my most valuable asset.”
Pepe finished speaking, and hugged Twain hard before letting him go to run back to the field. No one cheered this time. If he listened carefully, he could hear some sporadic boos.
Twain was still sitting in a real leather seat as he stared blankly at Pepe, who returned to the team.
“Pepe! You really did it!” Gareth Bale stared with widened eyes at the center back who ran back.
“Heh heh. Did you think I was kidding?” The returned Pepe smiled proudly and said, “I did what I said I would do!”
While Pepe was bragging about his “feat” to his teammate, Evan Doughty in the chairman’s podium stared at his back with a somber expression. This was the first time someone in the team had openly challenged his authority. It was a dangerous sign. Initially, he was not going to consider the offers for Pepe from the big teams. After all, he was the core of the Forest team’s defense. But now he had to change his mind. Having just won the Treble, the thirty-one-year-old Pepe could still fetch a good price. If he waited a year later, he might not be able to sell him even if he wanted to…..
Twain did not have to raise his head to look around behind to know what expression Evan Doughty, the chairman, had on his face at this moment. When the fans in the stadium booed him, Evan must have been pleased because that meant the fans did not direct the hate at the club, but at him. In this way, his pressure was gone. But Pepe’s action signaled that there were people in the team who were unhappy with the club’s senior management. It was a dangerous development. The locker room had begun to break up.
The photojournalists who were gathered in front of Twain, dispersed. Their target was currently the players. Thanks to them, Twain could see the Forest players as he sat in his chair.
Those guys were standing in formation for a group photo. It was not the official group photo that every club would take before the season. But it could very well be the last more complete group photo of Tony Twain’s era.
What could be more heartbreaking than to watch the gradual collapse of the dynasty he had built by hand on the sidelines?
Twain thought for a long while and could not find it.
The exquisite statues carved out of marble, the bejeweled palace built with jade bricks and columns, the silver-inlaid and gold decorations seemed to have lost the vitality of life. Piece by piece collapsed, fell to the ground and cracked into pieces. The colors gradually dimmed and lost the luster. Very soon, everything would be weathered into sand. With another gust of wind, even the sand on the ground could not be seen.
...
Chapter 899 - : The Determination to Win
More than fifty thousand home fans used boos to “welcome” Tony Twain had now become a thing of the past. The referee blew the whistle to start the game and the fans turned their attention to cheering for the Forest team, leaving Tony Twain aside.
Judging from the game, the home team, Nottingham Forest clearly had the upper hand. After all, they had played together for years. Even if the manager was changed, there was no loss to the rapport. Furthermore… even if they were facing a team led by their original boss, there was no need for them to throw the game. Twain did not teach them to throw a game when they played against old friends.
Nottingham Forest’s locker room was clearly divided into three factions. One of the factions comprised of staunch supporters of Tony Twain, such as Pepe. The other was made of players who were full of grievances against Twain. If a representative figure were to be named… Wood could be considered as one of them. There was also a middle-of-the-road faction. They did not clearly express their views and had no obvious feelings like Pepe’s or Wood’s toward Tony Twain’s departure. These people occupied the majority.
These divisions was also reflected during the game. George Wood was particularly driven. He tirelessly shuttled back and forth in the midfield to intercept and actively plugged to participate in the attacks.
O’Neill gave up the 4-2-3-1 formation that Twain had originally used to play and switched to the 4-4-2 formation. With Wood in the midfield as the only defensive midfielder, Şahin played as the attacking midfielder. The two midfielders were Fernández and Bentley. The forwards were Aaron Mitchell and Agbonlahor. The full backs were Gareth Bale, Pepe, Thiago Silva and Rafinha from left to right. The goalkeeper remained as Akinfeev.
The lineup was no different from that during Twain’s time. It looked like O’Neill still intended to follow the main framework left by Twain. But if Pepe’s words were true, O’Neill would soon have to worry about finding another center back.
On the side of the England team, a group of players, temporary pieced together to form a C team, had to play the away game with little motivation, tacit understanding and technical tactics. They were really lucky that they did not concede a goal to Nottingham Forest in the opening ten minutes.
The defender, Jack Cork passed the football to the midfielder, Delph. It was supposed to be an ordinary fifteen-meter diagonal pass, which was a technical move that any professional footballer would have. But Cork lost the ball. Cork could not be blamed, because Delph was partly at fault as well.
The moment Cork passed the ball, Delph thought Cork was going to dribble the ball himself, so he stood still. But Cork’s pass needed Delph to start running to receive it, so Delph missed the ball and it rolled straight to Şahin’s feet.
The fans in the stands gave Cork a burst of laughter for his passing error.
Dunn shook his head when he saw the scene in the stands and said, “It’s really a motley crew.”
He was right. The England team was a motley crew. Some of the players had rarely or never been selected for the national team before. And now they were put together at the last minute. How could they be expected to play well? hard work in the hope that they will do well? It was simply delusional.
Twain listened to the laughter of the Forest fans off the field. He was not annoyed nor anxious. Indeed, these players were not good enough and inexperienced, but they had an advantage that no one else had noticed – the team in front of him was had more fighting spirit than that England team with big name players, because they had more reason to work hard.
If you want to me to pick you, you have to show me your drive and fight hard.
※※※
But the motley crew remained a motley crew. After the England team held on for twenty-five minutes, the goal defended by Chris Kirkland was finally breached with a header from Aaron Mitchell.
The cheers which erupted from the Crimson Stadium this time were louder than the cheers welcoming the Forest players. The deafening sound was like the Niagara Falls pouring down in torrents next to the ears. It roared continuously like rolling thunder, surging in everyone’s heart.
It was the first time Twain experienced the power of the new stadium. He was a little unsettled from the shock – it must be gratifying to play in such a such stadium as compared to the City Ground stadium.
“The goalscorer is Aaron—” The announcer on the stadium broadcast led the fans to loudly chant.
“Mitchell!!!” The fans in the stands shouted in response.
“In the 26th minute, Aaron Mitchell scored the opening goal for Nottingham Forest! A beautiful coordination on the sideline and cut in for the shot in the middle! David Wheater and Anton Ferdinand were helpless against Mitchell’s height and bounce advantage! Before the game, people were afraid that Nottingham Forest, without Tony Twain, would play uncharacteristically as if they had lost their soul. But from this goal, the fear was superfluous. The Forest players are quick to adapt to their new manager. They are also unfazed and do not relent when they face Tony Twain… It looks like Tony Twain’s first national team game is going to meet with failure!” The commentator’s tone sounded like he took delight in the misfortune. In fact, to see the always strong Twain suffer defeat was the wish of many people. The commentator was no exception.
The reaction from the fans after the goal was enthusiastic, but the goalscorer was not in the mood to celebrate. On the one hand, it was just a friendly match and could not even be considered a quality warm-up game. There was nothing to be proud of to score a goal. On the other hand, it was because he was up against Tony Twain, the boss. The man whom Mitchell should be most grateful for his career in his life was Tony Twain. If it were not for him, it was likely that he would still be playing as the unpromising center back all his life and then be abandoned by the Forest team before ended up playing in a lower level league team and eventually retiring in obscurity. He was on the side of Pepe.
After the goal, Mitchell was not even in the mood to wave in response to the fans’ cheers for him. He just turned around and ran back. Occasionally he would shake his head and felt that the players the boss had picked were too weak…
Those who were really happy with the goal were Martin O’Neill and Evan Doughty. The former was happy because it was possible to beat Tony Twain. While a friendly match could not clarify too many issues, it certainly allow him to temporarily get rid of Tony Twain’s shadow. People would not always use the tedious and complicated label “Tony Twain’s successor” when they mentioned him.
The latter’s delight was that he heard the cheers erupted from the stands. The people’s hearts were still on his side…
Twain expressed a slight dissatisfaction with the goal concede. He shook his head in the technical area as he said to Walker, “The defense is not tight enough…We shouldn’t have given Bentley a chance to pass the ball.”
Walker nodded and said, “It can’t be helped, Tony. They’ve only been practicing together for half a day. I don’t think we should care about the result of this game…”
“No.” Twain categorically rejected Walker’s suggestion, “We must win this game.”
Walker did not go on. He could vaguely guess why Twain must win the game. The reason was complicated. In addition to establishing his power and prestige, perhaps he was provoked by the boos during his entrance. When did Tony Twain ever admit defeat? Give in? If people booed him, he had to prove his power. Simply put, he just liked to meet other people head-on. As a man with such a strong personality, no wonder he offended so many people.
Walker felt he might really be the most suitable candidate to be England’s assistant manager. If someone else were to be Twain’s assistant, he was afraid that the person might be at odds with him soon. Only those like him who knew Twain so well could act as a lubricant to oil the wheels.
On closer inspection, the person who could be an assistant manager to Twain must be a Mr. Nice Guy, someone who tried never to offend anybody. Like David Kerslake, or the Chinese man, Dunn. No wonder Roy Keane was said to have turned down two offers from Twain to be an assistant manager. If the Irishman had agreed, the two of them might not have been friends…
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The Nottingham Forest fans were optimistic about the result of the game, especially after Mitchell’s goal. They thought it was not a problem for them to win. The issue laid in how many goals the team could win against the England C team. If they won big in the end, they would have the most satisfying afternoon.
Twain observed off the field for a while and decided to make an adjustment. Taking advantage of a dead ball, he called the captain, Ashley Cole, who was near his side, over to him and repeatedly exhorted for a while.
Back on the pitch, Ashley Cole relayed Twain’s latest instructions to his teammates. Following which, the England team tightened their formation and began to move into a defensive phase.
Twain saw that Nottingham Forest’s morale had soared amid wave after wave of support from the fans. Looking at O’Neill’s excited state on the sidelines, he could conceived that the Forest team would definitely take advantage of the momentum to wage an offensive later in the game. Therefore, based on the England team’s current state, if they wanted to press ahead and go head to head with the Forest team, it would end up in a disaster. If they were to concede another goal, Twain would not have the confidence to win the game.
So, he chose to retreat, which was really ugly to watch.
The commentator laughed, “We are now seeing Tony Twain’s signature move again. Nottingham Forest’s new manager, Martin O’Neill, is clearly more active. He’s directing his team to press on to attack and try to score another goal.”
Having paid the price of playing ugly football and being ridiculed, Twain’s team managed to hold the 0:1 score line until the halftime interval. No matter how Nottingham Forest bombarded, the England team’s goal did not fall. It was boring for the fans in the stands –the opponent was obviously England’s C team, put together at the last minute but the team was unable to overcome them even when the entire main force were deployed.
Defending to the last was very simple. All everyone had to do was to huddle together and be clear about what they wanted to do.
With only half a day of practice time, Twain made the team practice defense. At the time, everyone thought it was odd. Now they finally understood the pains the manager had put into this …
By the time the whistle sounded at the halftime interval, Twain was the first to get up from his seat and take the lead to walk toward the tunnel. When the camera wanted to give Twain another close-up shot, it could only capture a shot of his back in the tunnel.
“It was an extremely boring first half. As long as Tony Twain is around, the game can’t look good. Martin O’Neill has brought a breath of fresh air to Nottingham Forest while Tony Twain brings what he did best at the Forest team to the England team. We don’t know if it is a good thing or a bad thing. But like what Twain himself has said, a victory is the only measure of a manager’s success. As long as he can lead the team to victory, those voices which doubt him will disappear.”
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Twain watched the players filed into the locker room. He closed the door when everyone was there. The soundproofing of the new stadium was much better than the City Ground stadium. The noise outside was almost impossible to hear as soon as the door was closed.
“I have to praise you all for the good performance in the second part of the first half. You have defended against the Treble winning team’s attacks. I have nothing to complain about, considering you have only been a team for only one day and only concede one goal.” Twain first gave the group of people something sweet before…
“But.” He changed tack and said, “Do you still remember what our goal is for this game? It’s not to win marginally with one goal here and not even to tie the game with the home team. I want you to understand this point—” He raised his right index finger and continued, “The difference between the national team and a club’s team. When you play for your respective clubs, you have to face a long season, at least thirty-eight games a year. During the process, draws and defeats are allowed. It doesn’t matter if this game is lost. We can win the next game. But the national team is not the same. The room you are allowed to have here for mistakes and defeats is very small. I do not know how many of you can eventually make it to my national team squad list. But I hope you can develop a habit here – to try your best to seek victory in any game.”
He smiled for a bit and said, “From now on I am the manager of the England team and you must remember that. I’m a man who likes to win and hates defeat. My team also has to like to win and hate to lose.”
The players looked at him quietly.
“Don’t tell me there’s someone who likes to lose?” He asked.
Someone shook his head.
“Well it looks like we now have a common language and a common goal.” Twain spread his hands and said, “We will play defensive counterattack in the second half. They will use the sidelines to threaten our goal. We will, in turn, take advantage of the empty space behind their two sidelines.”
Twain was very familiar with Nottingham Forest, even with the change of manager. Twain had discovered that the Forest team had not changed much through his observation in the first half. At least they had maintained the offense on the sidelines which they were best at, very well. Did the Forest team’s only goal now come from the attack in the sidelines?
“Do not pass the ball too much in the midfield, play more high balls, and try your best to do long passes.” Twain was referring to the English style of long balls that were once sneered at by countless people before. But it was rather good to use it to deal with the increasingly elegant Nottingham Forest.
Martin O’Neill had instilled a certain beauty in Nottingham Forest’s style. Their playing was a joy to watch. It had been worth it after working on them for more than a month. What he did not notice, however, was that the current Nottingham Forest team was slowly losing the most important thing.
“You guys have to play with a slightly tougher attitude. Don’t be afraid of getting hurt! How could you get hurt? You’re the ones driving it, not them. Only the passive side will get hurt. So, the more afraid you are of injuries, the more likely you will be injured. Give yourselves the free rein to go big. It’s going to be okay!”
“Şahin passes the ball well, but he has been seriously injured before. So, he’s apprehensive about physical contact. You can grab hold of that point and stick closer to him to tackle. There must be some petty maneuvers too to make him unable to pass the ball easily. Mitchell’s techniques and headers are good. But don’t let his height fool you, his physical ability is very weak, and physical fitness is his weakness. Force him to run continuously and go head to head with him so as to exhaust him sooner. Then he will not be as threatening later in the game. Agbonlahor is fast, but his goal-kicking method is rough. There is nothing to worry about. Just don’t let him shoot from the sidelines. Blocking Mitchell will be the same as blocking Agbonlahor…” Twain analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of all the Nottingham Forest players one by one to his players. He told them how to deal with each of them. Except for those players who only joined the team this summer, he covered almost everyone once. He was very familiar with Nottingham Forest. He was so familiar that he did not need to do his homework in advance. He had the information at his fingertips, and he could talk about it as much as he wanted.
Then he had to touch on George Wood.
He was stuck.
He did not know what to say. He knew Wood well, but he could not talk about how to deal with this kid. He waved his hands and said nothing, leaving the players, who were full of anticipation about it, a little disappointed and confused.
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Martin O’Neill was not satisfied with his team’s performance in the first half as he had deployed the main squad only to score 1:0, knowing that their opponent was England’s C team.
If Tony Twain were here, he would have abuse roundly right away. He would have rebuked them for ending the first half with only a one-goal lead when they were playing against such a terrible team. But O’Neill could not do that. If he were to really do that, his approval rating in the locker room would plummet.
It was just so unfair. The more Twain scolded, the more charming he was, while the other people had to carefully wait upon the team.
After O’Neill tactfully expressed his displeasure, he rearranged the tactics. He thought that Twain would stick to the defensive counterattack tactic in the second half, which was not a difficult thing to do for a man who had studied him thoroughly. Generally speaking, the defensive counterattack tactic would only be used when a team was in the lead. But Twain always used it when his team was trailing by one goal. On the one hand, he could ensure that they did not continue to concede the goal. On the other hand, he could rely on a sneak attack to equalize the score, and then disrupt the opponent’s formation. The hateful part was he had repeatedly succeeded, and the method was time-tested.
The order O’Neill gave to the Forest team was to fight to score first once the game started. If the situation was not ideal, then they would pull back the defensive line and contend with Twain in the midfield. Anyway, if they were to compete in the midfield, Nottingham Forest would definitely win.
After he finished talking about the tactics, O’Neill repeated his demands. “We must win this game!”
The players looked at each other and suddenly felt that this was not just a simple friendly match to celebrate the opening of the Crimson Stadium…
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Chapter 900 - Principles
Twain substituted players out in the second half of the game. Because this was only a friendly match, the limit to substitution was decided by both parties, unlike in a real match where they were limited to three substitutions. According to the agreement between both parties, the maximum number of substitutions in this match was 11.
Even in England’s third-tier team, only a few of the players who had been released by the club agreed to play full-time, and Twain did not promise the opposing club that any player would only play half a match at most. As a newly elected National team, the international results of this team was like a blank white piece of paper to Twain, so his current attitude was extremely humble. Even on media, he did not have any attention-seeking rumours spreading.
After the half-time break, Twain substituted four men at once:James Milner for Joe Cole, Michael Johnson for Mark Noble, Paul Pepper for Ashley Cole who had just recovered from his injury, and James Vaughn for Darren Bent.
Unlike the huge substitutions from Twain’s side Martin O’Neill’s side did not make any moves in the starting five minutes of the second half. He did not make any substitutions.
“It looks like O’Neill wants to win this game,” Twain mumbled from the coach’s chair.
O’Neill’s thinking was very simple: Nottingham Forest’s strongest squad was sure to stay on the pitch for a while, as his plan was to aggressively attack England’s penalty area at the start of the second half to score. If he made substitutions at the start of the second half, how could they even attack?
So when the score was still 1-0 five minutes after the start of the second half, he was a little nervous. He got up from his seat and paced back and forth on the sidelines. At the same time, the mind was quickly calculating the possibilities and countermeasures for those possibilities.
If England’s goal could not be blasted in another ten minutes, then they would have to replace most of the main players and give them sufficient rest. At the same time they would also have to shrink the formation, switch into defence, and face England. O’Neill had the confidence that it would be almost impossible to break through the goalmouth of his team given the strength of the England team. Even if winning this match on a 1:0 score was below their expectations, at least they would have won.
What if England tied with them? Then replace a small number of key players, maintain relevant amount of potential, and continue to attack. Try to fight for the lead again.
Being different from the overly distracted Martin O’Neill, Tony Twain had been sitting at the platform with a peaceful mindset. He cocked his legs on the leather chair. England pulled back its defensive line like he commanded to compress Nottingham Forest’s space and time in front of their penalty area, which made Nottingham Forest a little uncomfortable. O’Neill wanted the team to look better in their game, so there were a lot of short passes, especially on the midfield. This was not necessary for Twain, but perhaps O’Neill chose to do so in order to deliberately differentiate himself from Twain.
It was the same situation for another ten minutes; Nottingham Forest still failed to find a good chance to get into the England penalty area, relying more on long-range shots to try to score, but this also caused England a bit of trouble. At half-time, Twain asked the team to take advantage of Nottingham Forest’s void which had opened up due to their assisting side flanks, but after 15 minutes into the second half, Nottingham Forest’s two wing-backs did not actively assist the offense, which seemed to be O’Neill’s intention. Bale and Rafinha only crossed the centre line after the whole England team retreated to their 30m zone.
So Twain’s side flank counterattack tactic could not be utilized.
Fifteen minutes later, O’Neill saw that his team could not score, while Twain’s offense was not effective as well, so he decided to make substitutions.
He substituted Cohen for Fernandez, Mok for Bentley, Gago for Shahin and Ibiševićfor Agbonlahor. He also substituted four players at a time, but he did not touch any person who was on the defensive line. He was very careful, not wanting to give Twain any chance at all.
Twain saw O’Neill’s replacement and knew this was his chance.
So he got up from his seat for the first time in the second half and walked to the sidelines.
Jeers erupted from the stands when the audience saw him get up and walk, but it fell on deaf ears. Twain simply shouted the names of the players on the pitch and signalled for them to increase their press on the other team.
O’Neill had George Wood to rely upon, so he wanted to turn the present Nottingham Forest into a team that could play beautiful football, a far cry from the fast passing midfield that Twain has stressed before. His efforts had been slightly effective: today, the midfield performance of Nottingham Forest is a lot better as compared to the team before, there were layers of layers of offence as the whole team was coordinated in taking their respective positions in the offense, allowing Nottingham Forest’s offense to be as smooth as a flowing river.
But this method of his did not have its desired effect in front of England who was heavily emphasizing on defense.
O’Neill also decided to make some adjustments.
Forest’s only goal in the first half was through a pass from the sideline, and now it looked like he needed to restore the coordinated attacks from both wings. He gestured on the sidelines to get Bale and Rafinha to get back into offense.
This was the signal Bale and Rafinha wanted to see to most. Due to their offensive mindsets, only attacking would allow them to get the sense of satisfaction.
After Bale passed the ball to Cohen, he did not wait to see the situation at the back to decide whether to attack. This time, he was very determined to step up, and overtook Cohen.
As a teammate who worked together with him for several seasons, Chris Cohen also knew what Bale meant. Now that the coach had let go the limits on the wing assistance and with his faith in Bale’s attacking ability, Cohen passed the ball forward.
It must be said that the national team that Twain temporarily cobbled together had a big gap in strength with Nottingham Forest. Jack Cook was unable to stop Bale’s strike alone, and Ferdinand did not come up first because of their lack of chemistry. The two men let Bale rush past them just like that.
There was a huge cheer in the stands, cheering on Bale’s breakthrough. They were eager to see Nottingham Forest score another goal because a 1:0 score was really not impressive. Besides, they knew the opponents of Nottingham Forest was a rubbish team —= they were a third tier team!
Seeing Bale break through made Twain a little nervous. He knew Bale was usually like a little monkey that looked harmless to humans and animals, but he was a complete maniac during games and his performance was steady and atypical of players in his age group. This was the reason why Twain valued him initially, but it had also become the reason he was very worried in the moment.
Mitchell could be still waiting in the penalty area, once he passes the ball in…
Twain raised a fist intuitively.
Bale did pass a high ball and this time it was Wheater who saved England and Tony Twain. David, who was 1.9 metres tall, secured the positive, preventing Mitchell from fighting for the header as he actively jumped to head the ball out.
The cheers in the stands immediately devolved into sighs.
Twain fist didn’t let go, because he saw another scene which he had been waiting for for ten minutes.
Wheater’s header did not fall at the feet of Nottingham Forest players but at Delphi’s feet, and it was just nice that Delphi wason the same side as Bale. Because Bale had just went forward to assist the attack, he was not able to get back into defense.
“Counter attack!” Twain screamed from the side lines. For a moment, he forgot that he was at the Crimson Stadium playing against Nottingham Forest, the team he had coached for 11 years. His mind only wanted the jeers in the stands to disappear for a while, as the words in the deep red stadium tunnel would resurface.
Other than victory, it would still be victories. That was what my way of life was, no matter if I changed my team.
Delphi also noticed this gap, but he did not dribble the ball forward by himself, as no matter how fast a person ran, they could not run faster than a ball flying in the air.
He passed the ball to James Vaughan, who only came on in the second half, and Everton’s leading scorer also ran towards the side flank. Although they had previously trained together for a very long time, tactical literacy from his many years as a professional soccer player had at least given him the knowledge of taking advantage of the opposing gap during the attack.
Delphi and he thought of this together. He was just about to read the side flank when Delphi passed the ball over.
The wing-back spot was empty as the full-center back and the defensive midfielder had to run over the cover up that gap.
George Wood was as fierce as ever as he rushed up to break Vaughn’s ball. As a veteran opponent in the Premier League, Vaughan certainly knew what Wood was good at, he did have the arrogance to think he could get away under Wood’s drive, the smartest thing to do was to get the ball out before he pounces…
Wood knocked Vaughan over, but instead of whistling to signal Nottingham Forest’s foul, the head referee raised both hands towards the attacking direction, indicating an advantage given to the current attacking team — continue the match!
Before Wood reached, Vaughan passed the football to his Everton’s team-mate, Joseph Baxter, who just pressed forward from the midfielder.
Nottingham Forest’s centre-back was still keeping an eye on another striker, Fraser Campbell. Including the assistance on the most recent attack, the defensive strength was not sufficient; other than the two center-backs, there was only George Wood.
Baxter was almost completely unguarded.
Pepe and Tiago Silva made another mistake in the coordination at this moment – by reason, one of them should have gone up to defend Baxter while the other stayed behind to watch Campbell, but both of them ran forward instinctively when they saw Baxter received the ball.
In that moment, Baxter passed the ball. He passed the ball to Campbell, who was in front but still not offside.
When Campbell received the ball, he was behind Nottingham Forest’s entire back line, with no one around.
Silva raised his hand to signal Campbell’s offside, but the head and line referees were unresponsive.
Only Pepe turned and lunged at Campbell.
He was too late. Campbell had already broken into the penalty area, as Pepe could only trip Campbell in the penalty area when he reached.
This time, the head referee and the line referee finally had a reaction, the side judge raised the flag and kept shaking, while the main referee whistled as he ran to the penalty spot in the penalty area!
“A penalty!” The announcer shouted.
O’Neill glared at this scene on the sidelines as he could hardly believe what he had seen.
The narrator continued narrating about Pepe who fouled, “In the Champions League final he also given such a penalty to Real Madrid, in this match he gave another big gift yet again. Was Pepe trying to give Tony Twain a hand? Thinking back to the hug he had with Tony Twain before the match, what were they talking about during the hug?”
The surprised fans at the stands were expressing their dissatisfaction towards this decision by the referee by boo-ing. Perhaps some were even thinking this was Pepe’s hidden agenda.
In any case, England got a “lucky” penalty just like this. Vaughan’s penalty was clean as it turned the score into a 1:1 draw.
Looking at his team’s goal, Twain did not make the exaggerated celebratory moves on the sidelines like he used to in the past to provoke his opponents. He did not even applaud and simply stood at the side lines like a huge marble statue.
Taking everything into consideration, there was no reason why there was no happy expression on his face or any excited actions, allowing the England players to accept him as the new head coach. But Twain gave up this opportunity to deepen his relationship with his players because, deep down, he could not bring himself to celebrate that was while he was competing against Nottingham Forest.
Even until this moment, Nottingham Forest was still not the enemy to him, and would not ever be even n the future because the England national team would hardly have a chance to play against them. They were supposed to be parallel lines which does not disturb each other at all, but the wronged fate brought them together today.
He was not mentally prepared to revisit Nottingham Forest so early…
The fans could jeer at him because they had a reason to hate him. He could also lead the team to victory over Nottingham Forest here because he could not go against his work ethic. But at least he could choose not to celebrate after the team’s goal, which might make him and the fans feel a lot better emotionally.
But he could not make the reason why he chose not to celebrate obvious for the outsiders, so he could only act cool with a straight face, as if he was disappointed in the team taking so long to even out the score. At the very least, he successfully deceived the narrator.
“Tony Twain doesn’t seem to be satisfied with the even score, he was still keeping a straight face after the team scored. He was really a strict head coach, I can almost see the days of those pitiful England stars being under him, haha!”
Skinny Bill was still next to him as the die-hard fans were jeering to express their displeasure at the loss of goal, and Fat John did not care about the outcome of the game. He came here to see Twain but all he saw was the main standing stock-still in the same spot, not even lifting his hands or changing his posture, and John thought back to the past when Nottingham Forest scored. Tony Twain had been a lot more more attention-seeking compared to the players who scored. He would do a backflip, slide on his knees or even buried under the players’ embraces.
Such a scene was probably impossible to witness again, huh?
John sighed softly, then turned and left his seat while he headed for the exit.
“John? Not watching anymore?” Someone questioned him as he saw his unusual behaviour.
John shook his head, “Don’t want to watch anymore. ” He slowly moved his fat body and disappeared at the exit.
※※※
Fatty John left the stadium early so he did not watch the scene during the 80th minute, 20 minutes after Vaughan seized an error from the passing in the backlines of Nottingham Forest.
The stadium was dead silent, as if they had just lost the European championship. Those waiting to see Twain make a fool of himself and those wanting to overpower Twain were all frightened still, as their minds were blank and they did not know what to say. Even Bill did not know that such a powerful team like Nottingham Forest could be behind on their own home field against a third-tier England team.
England’s players on the pitch were excited as they embraced, celebrating their goal that put them ahead. But Twain was sitting at the coach seat this time with no expressions on his face at all. He was stubbornly respecting his internal principles of not making any celebratory moves for his team in a contest against Nottingham Forest.
But of the 50,000 people in the stands, how many of them could understand his ridiculous “principles”?
This Tony Twain! This abominable traitor! This incorruptible, shameless Judas! You betrayed us! You betrayed Nottingham Forest! To think you can still look so proud of yourself and act like nothing happened when you are ahead of us, that is simply unforgivable! How do you feel about beating your past favoured Nottingham Forest? Do you feel happy?
But we do not!
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PS, Today ended a little later – regular updating will be restored tomorrow. There is not choice, not saving drafts is very painful… it will be painful for you guys and me as well.(To be continued, if you want to know what happens next, please log in to www.qidian.com where there would be more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading! )
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Chapter 901 - First Victory
When England scored a lucky goal to come from behind and lead the game, loud jeering could be heard from the stands of the Crimson Stadium which puzzled the England players. Logically speaking, the national team would never be treated this way when playing in any stadium in its home country, so why were they booed?
They were mistaken as they were not the target of the boos. The boos were targeted at Tony Twain, who was seated in the manager’s seat with his legs crossed, no expressions of his face…no, he seemed to be pulling a long face.
Bill knew why Twain was indifferent to the fact that England was leading. After all, he was the fan who was closest to Twain and he knew a little about Twain’s personality and how he behaved. He understood that Twain did not want to provoke the massive amount of Nottingham Forest fans and their players.
However, that was precisely why Bill was even more furious.
He was angered by Twain’s acting.
You’ve already left us, why are you acting like a good guy in front of us? Why can’t you play a real baddie for once? Let us vent all our anger and dissatisfaction to our hearts’ desire? Since you’re already gone, why are you afraid of offending us? Do you know how much you’ve offended us already? Tony! Are you hoping to come back and become Nottingham Forest’s manager again one of these days? If you’re coming back, why leave us in the first place? Us fans, who’ve been following you, what exactly are we in your eyes…nay, in your heart? A toy that you can discard and pick up again at will?
I’m very sorry, Tony. We’re humans who are very much alive. We have feelings too. You’ve brought us joy previously, but no amount of joy can make up for the hurt that you caused us this time. Did you think about how we felt when you were enjoying yourself in Brazil after you decided not to extend your contract?
The sky collapsed on us!
Bill led his buddies on the stands as they “presented” their wildest jeers to the man whom they used to cheer and worship before.
※※※
Amidst the jeering, Twain lowered his gaze and lost himself watching the tip of his shoes.
Des Walker looked at him with some concern beside him, as if he was afraid that Twain would not be able to take the abuse.
This man was really going against the whole world… There used to be the Nottingham Forest fans who would support him unconditionally but what about in future? If results did not go his way, Walker could imagine the media condemning him through both in speech and writing like a storm. When that happens, who would still be behind him to support him?
“Don’t worry about me, Des. I was just thinking if it’s time for me to change a new pair of shoes,” Twain said suddenly while looking down. His voice was still clear amidst the booing all around them.
Walker turn back and brought his gaze towards the pitch.
“Martin O’Neill will not allow the score to stay this way till the end of the game. He’ll make a series of changes later. Let’s wait and decide on our changes accordingly after looking at his adjustments,” Twain said. Walker nodded in agreement to his plans.
“Before that, ask the team to play on the counter.”
Twain gave the task of giving the latest instructions to the team to Walker instead of shouting it out to his team himself. Apparently, he still had some qualms regarding the booing around him.
After booing wildly for a period of time, the fans grew tired and they decided to place their attention on the match again.
Martin O’Neill was indeed unhappy with this result. He was of the opinion that even the Nottingham Forest reserves would be a stronger team than Twain’s England C team, there was no reason for him to lose to a team like this at home.
At the same time, he also knew very well that Evan Doughty at the VIP box would not want Nottingham Forest to lose in the game that commemorated the use of the new stadium, especially not to Tony Twain. This was a match that he had to win.
Even though the players on the field were better than the substitutes, O’Neill still decided to change them.
The foul by Pepe suddenly planted a thought into his head. Usually he would have laughed off a thought like this, but today, in this match, this situation, facing an opponent like this, he had to give it a serious consideration——The old players in Nottingham Forest, were they loyal to Forest or Tony Twain? If Tony Twain had accepted the invitation by Manchester United, how many of them would follow their respected teacher to Old Trafford?
This thought bit on to his sense of reasoning like a viper, and even though he knew it was absurd, he could not stop its spread.
He decided to bring off the players who were suspected to be “in cahoots with the enemy”, no matter how good they were.
Who could he rely on next?
Those substitute players who were promoted from the youth team, they hardly had any relationship with Twain, and they were hungry to play, hungry to demonstrate their abilities. They had stronger fighting spirit than the first team players, and they had the desire and reasons to fight. This was the kind of Nottingham Forest that Martin O’Neill needed.
Pepe was the first one to be brought off. He was even booed by the fans when he was leaving the pitch, but he still raised his hands to applaud the stand. Twain watched him quietly from the side as he completed his own send-off through such a method. He felt sad inside, but one could tell nothing from his expression.
He was replaced by the Cameroonian Nkoulou. Standing tall at 1.88 meters, he could play as a right-back or a center-back.
Next, Gareth Bale was brought off for Joe Mattock.
A minute later, Aaron Mitchell was brought off too. He was replaced by the Chilean striker, Nicolás Millán.
After that, Rafinha was brought off for John Bostock as O’Neil decided to change his formation from 442 to a more offensive 352 formation.
For those fans wishing to watch the performance of their favorite football players, they were definitely unhappy with these substitutions. However, O’Neill could not care less about what the fans thought at that moment. He did not want to lose to Tony Twain, especially not as the new manager of Nottingham Forest.
※※※
Shortly after O’Neill made his changes, Twain made some changes of their own. O’Neill believed that he lacked players with the will and reasons to fight, but Tony Twain did not. He would pat every player that he brought on on the shoulder and hinted to them that they would have the chance of being included in the next call-up to the national team if they performed well. It would not be just a friendly game then, but it would be the qualifiers for the 2016 European Championship held in Spain.
These players knew what that meant of course, and they had no reasons not to do their best in this match. The league would have only started for a month when the next national squad would be decided. It would be difficult to persuade the national team manager with impressive performance in the league matches then. The fastest and convenient method would be to perform well in this game and demonstrate their capabilities to the national team manager right in front of his eyes.
There might be some players who did not think much about this manager who had many different rumours floating outside. However, as professional players, they were very clear about a fact——No matter what they thought about this manager, he was their boss now and he would decide your fate in the national team. If they wanted to play for their country, they had to make him happy.
O’Neill almost brought off his whole starting line-up, and Twain did the same.
Both sides were full of fighting spirit and they were unable to get the better of each other.
During the last five minutes of the match, O’Neill stood on the sideline and focused on what was happening in the match on the pitch with anxiety. He did not have wild hopes of them “winning” anymore, all he wished for was for his team to equalize so he “would not lose”.
However, his wish was not fulfilled. Twain parked the bus against him. The Nottingham Forest team lacked experience without the first team players, and they could do nothing against this England team. When the referee blew the whistle for full time, it almost served as an announcement of Tony Twain winning his first match in-charge of the national team.
The commentator was not very fired up when announcing the result as the result that he wanted to see the most did not happen——Tony Twain’s humiliation.
Boos rang all around the Crimson Stadium when the referee blew for full time. Amidst the sounds of such jeers, Tony Twain stood up and walked towards O’Neill, the expression of happiness for happiness continued to be absent from his face.
“It’s a pity, you could have won,” Twain said while shaking O’Neill’s hand. If O’Neill had not brought off so many first team players at a go, Forest could really have equalized or even come from behind to win it at the death. At the very least, after Bale was substituted, Forest had no set-piece specialist anymore and England could commit tactical fouls in their danger areas at will without any worry of being pegged back by the Welshman.
O’Neill might have understood what Twain meant, or he might have not. No matter what, he did not reply and merely forced a smile, then let go of Twain’s hand and turned to walk away.
Twain looked up at the stands; there were people leaving the stadium and there were also people still booing him. He did not know what these people booing him would think had they known the truth behind it, but he did not want to give them a vengeful middle finger in return, that would be pointless. A day as husband and wife meant there was a bond for a hundred days, he had been worshipped by these people for a good ten years, being booed today was nothing.
Twain realized that he was feeling more liberal after winning and he did not have to care about those boos as he was in a good mood. Besides, he knew that he had threw a spanner into the works of Evan Doughty’s celebration which fulfilled that bit of vengefulness that he had, so there was no need for him to continue being harsh.
The reporters were very unhappy as Twain did not express his specialty of speaking without thinking in the press conference later. His words flowed like water and there were only good words. The return of the previous Forest manager to Nottingham was supposed to be a very newsworthy lead, but Twain’s uncooperative attitude meant that they were not able to come up with anything interesting.
The reporters did their best but they were unable to trick anything of value out of Twain’s tightly-shut mouth.
There was a reporter who wanted Twain to analyze the performance of his opponents in the match. This was a very normal question, but that reporter planned to make Twain talk about Nottingham Forest.
Twain did not bite, he simply said, “They are a very strong team, they were unlucky not to win.” Immediately after that, he probably felt that this was unjust to the team that he was currently managing, so he added, “Of course, we performed better, and victory should logically go to the team which performed better.”
This was the first time he spoke of Nottingham Forest, and even though it was just to answer a very regular question, the reporters felt encouraged. Another person stood up and asked, “George Wood was in a poor form during the World Cup period and you even defended him then. What do you think about his performance in this game?”
Twain took one look at that reporter, then glanced at Martin O’Neill next to him and laughed, “You should direct that question to Martin O’Neill. George Wood is his player in this match.”
O’Neill felt a little awkward himself. He was the present Nottingham Forest manager yet those reporters would rather direct the questions to Tony Twain, the person who had already left this position.
That reporter took one look at O’Neill and sat back down. This infuriated O’Neill, but he was more cultured than Twain and he forced himself to swallow his anger.
After that, if there were reporters standing to ask Twain about Nottingham Forest, he would push them to O’Neill. O’Neill was really a cultured man and he would always reply those reporters patiently with a smile if they asked him the same question, one could not detect any unhappiness in him at all.
When the press conference ended, Twain stopped O’Neill to shake his hand again. Twain felt bad as he had been using O’Neill as a shield against the reporters throughout the day.
“I’m so sorry, Martin,” Twain apologized to O’Neill.
O’Neill had a rather cordial relationship with Twain, so he could not give a snort and turned to leave like McClaren and the likes of him. He could only laugh and say, “This is you, I knew I would encounter such a situation with you so I was already mentally prepared for it.”
This could be considered as a sort of ridicule.
Twain opened his mouth and laughed mockingly at himself. Then, he looked at O’Neill, his expressions gradually became more serious and said, “Please take care of…Forest… in future…”
After working with Evan Doughty, O’Neill could guess the reason why Twain decided not to renew his contract. He himself was not sure how long he would stay in this team. He laughed and said, “I’ll do my best, Tony. If you can’t get go of it, why don’t you come back and do it yourself?”
Twain laughed heartily this time and patted O’Neill on his shoulders twice, then turned and left without saying anything else.
※※※
Nottingham Forest’s defeat to England was nothing sensational. Other than reaffirming the hatred for Twain of some of the Forest fans, the result of this friendly game was nothing to write home about. What the people were interested in was the treatment that Tony Twain received when he returned to Nottingham. Images and reports of him being jeered in the stadium continued to appear in the media for the next few days, triggering discussions about it. The people who hated Tony Twain were very happy to see that even his most ardent supporters had left him whereas people who liked him felt that he was not treated fairly. However… When even the Nottingham Forest fans turned against him, how many people would really feel aggrieved by his fate?
Twain did not care about all these. After the match, the league would start in half a month’s time. The coaching team was assembled and there would not be any games for the national team for the coming month, Twain could take this chance to have a good rest. When the league begins, he would have to work as hard as a dog, running everywhere to watch the games.
At that moment, he saw a piece of news on The Sun.
Pepe admits that he’s planning to leave Nottingham Forest!
“…Ever since he was brought to Nottingham Forest by Twain from Portugal in the 05-06 season, the Brazilian Pepe became the core and pillar of the team’s defence. It did not matter who his defensive partner was, he was the unmovable starting center-back under Twain. Now, after ten years, Pepe has finally grown tired of everything that’s happening in Nottingham Forest. He admitted during the interview with our reporter that he plans to leave this team… After selling Wes Morgan, Tiago Mendes, Vincent Kompany and Leighton Baines, he’s the first core player that has decided to leave Forest… We do not know what kind of impact his announcement will have on Nottingham Forest Football Club yet, please continue to read our follow-up reports…’
Twain fell silent as he looked at Pepe’s photo on the newspaper.
Players come and go, all good things come to an end…
...
Chapter 902 - All Good Things Must Come to an End
Pepe’s statement sent shockwaves throughout Nottingham and the whole of England. No one expected the man known as Nottingham Forest’s most loyal warrior to request for a transfer on his own accord, especially after how the football club had stood behind him when he was given a match ban by UEFA.
However, those familiar with the relationship that Pepe share with Twain would understand the rationale behind Pepe’s decision. The person whom Pepe is loyal to is Tony Twain and not Evan Doughty. Now that Twain has left Forest, there was no reason for Pepe to stay any longer.
To Pepe, a football club that is unable to keep an illustrious manager is a sign of troubles within the club, and he has no need to continue working for such a club.
It is only natural for him to choose to leave.
But, the Nottingham Forest fans did not think the same way as he did.
They viewed his actions as another act of betrayal following Tony Twain’s departure.
For the next few days, Pepe saw numerous banners that had been put up around the training grounds when he went for practice.
“Get lost! Go to Real Madrid, you traitor!”
“Who was it that gave you everything that you have right now? It’s Nottingham Forest!!”
Those were some of the words printed on the banners that were held up by the fans, and they were extremely eye-catching.
Some of the players in the team found his decision incomprehensible as well.
Of course, the person who was the most upset with his decision was the man who sat at the top, Evan Doughty.
Pepe’s action of announcing his intent to leave the club before the press is akin to slapping Doughty on the face in public.
Doughty called O’Neill over to his office. On the surface, it looked like he was keen to hear what the manager had to say, but in truth, he had already made up his mind on the matter, and O’Neill was just there to hear his decision.
“Real Madrid, Milan and Manchester United… Those clubs have all put in a bid for Pepe.” Doughty sat on his office chair and seemed to exude an air of arrogance as he spoke. “I’d have never considered selling Pepe in the past, but things are different now, Martin.”
The Doughty now was different from the Doughty whom Twain first met back then. He has become one of the most successful chairpersons of a football club in the whole of England right now. The publicity surrounding him increased massively following Twain’s departure as a manager, and now the whole world knows that he is the person who leads Nottingham Forest.
In the past week, during the period of time where the club had just begun to make use of its new stadium, Doughty made appearances on five different television programs and accepted interviews from three different magazines. Photos of him smiling were displayed all over the various media platforms. He was touted as the leader that led Nottingham Forest to glory, and he was also regarded as the key figure in leading Nottingham Forest to greater glory in the future. Doughty repeatedly exhibited his ambition to achieve greater success by speaking about his philosophy towards football as well as his methods in building a good football team before the media.
“I hope that Nottingham Forest can truly become a powerful, world-class team in the next five years. We have plans to build a new training grounds following the opening of our new stadium. Our current training grounds at Wilford is too old and small. We have plans to use our current training grounds as the site for the Nottingham Forest Football Academy…”
Those were the words that Doughty said before the press. The feasibility of his plans remains a question, but those plans have certainly shocked numerous people. Wilford is a training grounds that was first built and used in the early 1990s, and it has barely been 20 years since then. For Doughty to call a training grounds that has barely been around for long as ‘old’ definitely highlighted his character and ambition.
Evan Doughty is now a successful chairperson who regularly attends luxurious dinners and meetings with the upper-class people. He is no longer able to get chummy with the manager like he did in the past as a novice chairperson. He had to maintain a distance between himself and the people who work beneath him.
A second Tony Twain would never work for him ever again.
O’Neill was slightly horrified by Doughty’s words. “We cannot sell Pepe. He’s the most important element of the team’s defense…”
Doughty shook his head. He did not mind that the manager was protesting against his decision. “Right now, it’s not that about whether or not we want to sell him. The player is the one who came out saying he wants to leave. Nothing good will come out of keeping him at the club against his wishes. Besides, let me remind you that Pepe is already 31 years old this year. If we don’t sell a center-back at his age right now, we probably won’t be able to fetch a good price for him in the future.”
He sounded as though he was talking about oil prices or gold futures.
O’Neill did not back down because of Doughty’s words. The players that the club sold previously were all substitutes and players who were not so important to the team, which is why he did not particularly care about those sales. However, the club has already sold two of the team’s center-backs. If they were to sell Pepe as well, where would he be able to find another suitable center-back to replace him? If the team’s defense is unstable, how would he be able to maintain their results this year? The task that has been given to him by Evan Doughty himself is to maintain top four position and to ensure qualification into next year’s Champions League.
“I can speak to him again. I believe he is just influenced by Tony Twain’s decision to resign. He just can’t come to terms with it just yet. He’s just throwing a temper…”
“A 31-year-old kid throwing a temper?” Evan’s sneer cut O’Neill short.
O’Neill did not mind that the chairperson was mocking him. He continued to voice his opinions. “Pepe is the core of our defense. If he leaves, then the entire defense needs to be built from scratch once again. Now’s not the time for us to do that, Mr. Chairperson. The team is unstable after a change of managers, and it will only lose cohesion if we continue to sell players repeatedly… The new season is about to start soon. I think it’d be better if we can maintain stability in the team.”
“It’s the complete opposite, Mr. O’Neill.” Evan was starting to get irritated by the manager who keeps going against him. He stopped referring to O’Neill as ‘Martin’ and had instead changed to the address of ‘Mr. O’Neill’ that would make people feel like they were distant.
“I know exactly who Pepe listens to, and it’s not you. Keeping someone like him in the locker room would be the biggest threat to the stability of the team.”
Evan was right. He might not have stepped foot into the locker room before, but there were some things that he understood without even having to step foot into the locker room. Pepe was certainly not very pleased with the new manager, despite the latter being an accomplished manager just like Twain. There was only one person whom he would willingly serve in the whole wide world. It did not matter how brilliant the other managers were. Those managers would never replace the position that Twain has in his heart.
O’Neill kept silent for a moment, but continued to struggle. “I still think things would change for the better if I were to speak to him face-to-face once…”
Evan Doughty laughed. “It doesn’t matter how many times you speak to him, Pepe is hell-bent on leaving. You should just listen to me, Mr. O’Neill. Give up on him. We’d go and find another top-class center-back for you right now. There’s still time. You still have time to bring the team together. We can’t afford to drag this out for too long. It’d be too late once the season starts.”
“I still want to speak to him once. I’m the manager of this team. It’s my responsibility.” O’Neill stood up and left without saying another word.
Behind him, Evan Doughty smiled in disdain.
※※※
The outcome of O’Neill’s talk with Pepe was just as Evan Doughty had expected. Martin O’Neill was left feeling exhausted at the end of it all.
No matter how O’Neill tried to persuade Pepe, Pepe was just unwilling to remain in the team.
Pepe was forthcoming with his thoughts during their talk. He told O’Neill that he was not upset with him as a manager and that he was just utterly disappointed with the club right now. Tony Twain’s Nottingham Forest used to be a team brimming with warmth, but now that warmth has vanished without a trace. He did not like playing football in such an environment. His decision has nothing to do with the higher salary offered by other clubs. He has the right to choose to play football in a place that he enjoyed playing in. In the past, he enjoyed playing football in Forest, but he no longer enjoy it now, and that was all there was to it.
The player does not want to stay, and the club’s chairperson insists on selling. Martin O’Neill was sandwiched between both parties and there was little that he could do. He felt like the entire season he spent at Manchester United was not as exhausting as the two months that he spent at Nottingham Forest thus far.
In the end, O’Neill was left with no other choice but to nod his head and agree to Pepe’s departure.
It was just one day. Only one day had passed since he agreed to sell Pepe and news about a completed deal were published in Milan, Italy.
AC Milan spent 30 million pounds to buy the 31 year-old world-class center-back Pepe from Nottingham Forest. This deal was officially confirmed by both clubs shortly after.
O’Neill realized one thing after seeing the news. It did not matter if he agreed to Pepe’s sale or not. Pepe was bound to be sold from the start. Allan Adams, who is nowhere to be seen right now, must have already flown over to Milan some time back to finish all the required paperwork for Pepe’s transfer. It was only a matter of time before Pepe was sold, and even if O’Neill threatened to resign as a manager before Evan Doughty, the outcome would not change.
The higher-ups in the club had finished all that was needed for Pepe’s transfer by the time he met Doughty. He was the only one who did not know what was going on. O’Neill felt like Pepe must have known the outcome of their talk from the start as well. He was just like a fool trying to convince Pepe to stay behind in Forest…
※※※
Pepe’s departure was not well-received among the fans. However, none of the fans went over to Birmingham Airport to throw rotten eggs at him, and that alone was considered a blessing.
The media, on the other hand, saw something interesting that they could write about regarding the whole situation…
Martin O’Neill sounded deflated when he spoke in an interview, “Pepe is a talented center-back. His departure means I have to come up with a new plan to rebuild Forest…”
Clearly, Pepe’s transfer to another club was not something that the manager desired. That could only mean that the management had forcefully stepped in and sold Pepe against the manager’s wishes.
It seemed like the once impregnable Nottingham Forest warship was starting to crumble from the inside. This was something that caught the media’s attention.
The media then began to publish numerous articles about Pepe’s transfer, and the coverage led to growing unease within the Nottingham Forest players. No one knew who was the next one to be forcefully sold to another club.
After escaping the vortex that is Nottingham Forest, Pepe made an appearance at a press conference in Milan, where he held up AC Milan’s red and black striped jersey before the press. However, the smile he had on his face was not as bright as before. He looked like a kid who had run away from home and was reminiscing about the happy times that he spent with his family during the wee hours of the night.
The memories of those happy times would probably flood him when AC Milan faces off with Nottingham Forest in a Champions League match in the coming months. Of course, he might not reminisce about anything either.
A professional footballer has to learn to get used to separations, be it from their previous club or their previous team mates.
“I… Hope that I can… Help AC Milan clinch a Champions League trophy…” Pepe stuttered as he tried to speak in poor Italian.
AC Milan’s manager, Marco van Basten, was elated about Pepe’s transfer, because AC Milan had finally welcomed a qualified center-back into their feeble defense, and he could start thinking about how he was going to lead his team to dominate the whole of Europe.
“We now have the most talented center-back on this planet in our team!” The manager was so excited that he immediately commended Pepe as being the best in the world.
Conversely, his words also meant that Nottingham Forest had lost the best center-back in the world…
※※※
Pepe’s transfer was not like any other transfer. His sale sparked interest from other clubs towards Nottingham Forest’s other talented players.
If the club is willing to sell the core player of its defense, then will they sell Gareth Bale? What about Aaron Mitchell, or perhaps even George Wood?
Is there a player that Nottingham Forest would not sell?
All the football clubs throughout Europe went into a frenzy. In the eyes of the astute or perhaps even the not-so-astute football managers, Nottingham Forest was just like a big supermarket that had numerous items of excellent quality up for sale at reasonable prices. Things looked promising for Nottingham Forest after they won the Treble and moved into a brand new stadium, but clearly those things did not cause Forest to refuse to sell its players.
The players whom Tony Twain spent 11 years to groom all had their own respective values. The starting players were sought after by big clubs in Europe, whereas the substitutes were well thought of by mid-table clubs. If Evan Doughty sold all the players, he would easily rake in a profit of at least 500 million pounds.
George Wood alone was worth at least 60 million pounds. If he was an attacking player, he might be able to fetch a price of 90 million pounds.
The fact that he just signed a contract with the club did not cause his suitors to look away.
Signing a new contract with the club is nothing more than an attempt to mask his selling price! Don’t worry, we have the money!
“George Wood is the best midfielder in the world. He’s better than Gerrard.” Mourinho was being friendly towards Wood. His words also attacked his bitter rival Liverpool.
He wished that the steely midfielder from Forest would join Manchester United and help the team go against other strong teams.
Besides Wood, Mourinho also expressed an interest in Forest’s goalkeeper. “I hope that the team can bring in a world-class goalkeeper. A good goalkeeper is the key to becoming champions. Akinfeev is brilliant and I’ve always been keeping an eye on him. He has received a lot of experience and training during his time at Nottingham Forest, but I think it’s time for him to consider switching to another club…”
“Mitchell is the second Ibrahimović. He should come over to a big club like Inter Milan to play football.” Zola, the new head coach of Inter Milan, also expressed goodwill towards the player known as the ‘Little Giant of Forest’.
“Ribéry is brilliant, but he has gotten on with age. Perhaps this is the best time for Míchel González to rectify the mistake that Real Madrid made previously.” Diario AS published an article discussing Real Madrid’s failed attempt at bringing Pepe over to the club, and how they had switched targets and is focusing on Gago now.
“Barcelona’s tradition is to attack. We need a left back who is good at moving forward to attack. Bale fits what we need. That’s all there is to it.” Guardiola said those words when asked about the players he would buy in the summer.
“Agbonlahor is very quick. The past few years that he spent in Forest has nurtured him into an even better player. His shooting abilities have improved significantly. He’s the type of player that we need…” Manchester City was also keen on joining the battle for Forest’s players.
“Şahin is an immensely gifted player. If Bayern Munich wishes to prove that it is still a strong and powerful club in Europe, then he is the kind of player that they need to get.” According to the German media, Bayern Munich was getting closer to sealing a deal for the Germany-born Turkish footballer.
Other players such as Chris Cohen, Adriano Moke, Nicolás Millán, Joe Mattock and Rafinha also received invitations from other clubs as well. The whole of Europe interpreted Pepe’s sale as a message sent out by Nottingham Forest:
Our supermarket is always open for business. As long as you have the money, all players are up for sale. We hope you have a pleasant shopping experience here.
A wave of bids for its players assaulted Nottingham Forest Football Club. Martin O’Neill went to bed each night fearing that he would wake up the next morning and see that all his starting players had been sold by Allan Adams. He had no doubt that Allan Adams was capable of doing something like that, because the latter was a man who only had money in sight. He might have only known Adams for two months, but he was already starting to despise the businessman.
Right as O’Neill was being agonized by all the news of other clubs wanting to buy his players, he received a phone call from Pierce Brosnan.
“Mr. O’Neill, I am Pierce Brosnan from Nottingham Evening Post. You promised me last week that you’d let me interview you tomorrow. Do you remember?” Brosnan knew that O’Neill was going through a rough time lately, and he was worried that O’Neill would reject giving him an interview.
It was only then that O’Neill remembered that he did promise Brosnan to give him an interview. If he had not promised him earlier, he definitely would have rejected the interview since he has not been in a good mood recently.
Then again…
O’Neill suddenly felt an urge to rant to someone the moment he thought about all the things that had happened to him these couple of days. He did not care if the listener was the press or his own wife and children. He just felt like ranting to someone.
There were some words that he needed to get off his chest, and as for what would happen after he said those words, he did not particularly care.
“Yes, I’ve not forgotten about it, Mr. Brosnan. Come over to my office tomorrow at 10:30 in the morning. I’d be waiting for you there.”
...
Chapter 903 - A Well-Behaved Man Strikes Back
Martin O’Neill’s nightmare did not come true. When he laid in bed and opened his eyes the next day, he was not woken by the phone ringing off the hook, which gave him a little peace of mind. Because that meant the club did not put up a massive sale of the main players. Otherwise his phone would be bombarded with calls from the news media and the players’ agents.
The Northern Irishman, who had been left exhausted by the recent transfer rumors as well as beleaguered by the team’s top brass which always liked to intervene in the team’s affairs, laid in bed for a while before getting up to wash up and enjoy the breakfast his wife made for him.
While picking up the jug of milk, he stared blankly as he took the sports edition of The Sun from his wife next to him which she had folded properly for him.
The most striking thing in the newspaper was four photographs put together to form a square. It was clear that the photograph was taken in secret. The image resolution was not high, and the image was not clear, but O’Neill recognized Allan Adams’s baby face. It was taken in a restaurant where Allan was in discussion with someone. The cameraman tried several angles and could not get a full shot of the face of the man whom Allan Adams was talking to. In the final shot, when the man exited the hotel, the camera finally caught his face – it was Michael Dawson!
O’Neill hurriedly turned the page with the photographs to read the article.
“… Our reporter took the photographs yesterday at the Delimar restaurant in north London. The image showed Allan Adams, Nottingham Forest’s commercial director, secretly meeting with Tottenham Hotspur’s center back Michael Dawson. The pair’s meeting confirmed the newspaper’s earlier speculation that Nottingham Forest was interested in getting Dawson to return. And that Dawson himself wanted to leave Tottenham Hotspur to join his hometown team. He has been plagued by injuries in recent seasons. Not only has he lost his position in the England national team, his position in Tottenham Hotspur is also in jeopardy. He is about to turn thirty-one years old and he hopes to start over in a different environment. It is reported that the amount involved in this transfer should not be too high…”
※※※
With a “pop!” sound, a newspaper was thrown on the table in front of Evan Doughty.
Evan looked at the photograph secretly taken of Allan in the newspaper and looked up at an angry-looking Martin O’Neill.
“When Pepe was sold by you guys, you had promised to sign on a center back of good quality. I only have one request – that he’s young enough! Michael Dawson is about to turn thirty-one and he’s been having injuries throughout this season. I don’t know why you’ve decided to buy him!” Without any apprehension, O’Neill asked loudly in the chairman’s office.
“Michael is really a high-quality center back…” Evan glanced at Allan, who sat on the couch wordlessly and explained to O’Neill.
Truthfully speaking, he was not mentally prepared to face O’Neill’s bald-faced question directed at him all of a sudden. His mind was still dazed till now – how did O’Neill who was always easy to talk to, suddenly become a violent warrior?
“I want a young and high-quality center back, not a center back who was almost thirty-one years old and has just recovered from an injury too. Moreover, a center back who has been seriously injured thrice in four seasons!” O’Neill vowed not to give in this time. He must make the other party be accountable to him.
“More importantly, did anyone ask me for my opinion when you decided to contact Dawson?” That was what made O’Neill most angry. To be honest, Michael Dawson could still be used. At least he still had the ability. It would not be a problem for him to play once he recovered from his injury.
O’Neill thought of Pepe’s transfer again. With new and old hate intertwined, he felt that his position as the manager was completely a puppet tole. He decided that everything in the team was decided the other two men in the room. One sat behind the chairman’s table looking at him in shock and the other man was nestled on the couch quietly as if he was watching the show.
“I’m the manager of this team. Gentlemen, in England, a head coach is called ‘a manager.’ His title is different from the title of ‘a coach’ in La Liga and Serie A. He also has different responsibilities.” O’Neill ambiguously criticized that the two Americans did not understand the British customs. “It is my power and duty to decide which player the team buys. You pay me to come here to work, so I’m going to exercise all the authority I ought to have.” O’Neill looked at his immediate boss and the boss above him. His eyes were full of uncompromising determination.
As expected, he was a man of completely temperament to that of Tony Twain. Even when he was angry, he was not going to be as foul-mouthed and hysterically lost his mind like Twain. He was still very calm, spoke reasonably and well-organized in his thoughts. But it was also due to this that every word he said made Evan Doughty particularly uncomfortable – he thought that when he had sent away Tony Twain, demon personifying pestilence, O’Neill who came was easy to talk to and a pushover. He did not expect the well-behaved man more difficult to deal with when he flipped out.
He was silent for a short few seconds, thinking about how to deal with this in his mind.
“Don’t get worked up, Martin… Of course, we know you’re the manager of this team. But what Allan does can be considered as paving the way for you ahead of time. If everything has to be done personally by the manager, then you will be exhausted to death, won’t you?” Evan laughed as he tried to alleviate the tense atmosphere. However, he found that the other two men in the room did not laugh except himself. So, after barking out a couple of laughs, he somewhat awkwardly shut his mouth.
But O’Neill did not give the chairman face this time. He responded with a serious look, “Yeah, you only inform me until you have privately reached an agreement with the other club, as well as the players themselves. Just like Pepe, isn’t it?”
Allan looked up and looked at the two men confronting each other across the desk.
While the expression on Evan’s changed, he glanced sideways at Allan, and turned back to look at O’Neill. He found O’Neill looking at him too… No, it might be more appropriate to say he was staring at him.
What O’Neill said was right. He was the manager of this team and he should be responsible for all transfers and be able to exercise his power. But Evan Doughty had been suppressed by Twain for so many years. He had long been unable to contain his desire for the control of the team. In his opinion, he was the owner of the club so he should be able to express his opinions about the team’s affairs and even directly have a hand in decisions… it could not be said that he had gone too far. So many club chairmen around the world liked to get involved in the team’s affairs, even if it was the English Premier League. So why could he not make a move?
No matter how good the manager is, he still works for me. I am the real boss here. Have you guys not figure this out by now?
Suddenly he did not want to face an employee with a smiling face. Sometimes he also had to show the dignity that a club chairman had.
“Very well. Consider it that you have been informed of this matter, Mr. O’Neill.”
Evan Doughty adopted the stance of showing the visitor out.
O’Neill stood in front of him and stared at him for a moment before he turned to walk away. He did not say another word to Evan Doughty again because he did not think it needed to be said.
※※※
The speculation and hype as to why Tony Twain wanted to leave Nottingham Forest at the height of his career had already declined. Some people even sanguinely thought that he ought to be like Shankly who suddenly quit the Liverpool team when he was supposed to make a big splash. Nottingham Forest would have a better future after a brief period of turmoil, like what happened in Paisley’s Liverpool team. After all, Twain had firmly established the foundation.
It was pointless to continue to speculate about a man who had already quit. It was better to put the focus on the new manager, Martin O’Neill.
But one person had an opposing view toward this idea.
When it was first known that Twain had not renewed his contract with the club, Pierce Brosnan, like everyone else, was enveloped by feelings of shock, anger, disappointment, and confusion. As a reporter, his curiosity gradually transcended several other emotions which settled in the days that followed. Since last week’s friendly match between the Forest team and the England national team, the accumulated doubts he had deep inside had surfaced. He had a growing interest in why Tony Twain did not renew the contract. Even if there were no other media investigating this matter, he still decided to get to the bottom of this matter.
However, he had no clue where to start when he wanted to check. Although he had followed the Forest team for interviews many times, he still did not know much about the senior management of the Forest team. On the one hand, he always mixed with Tony Twain. On the other hand, Evan Doughty also really kept a low profile at the time. Whenever Twain and Evan were together, they always looked like they had a joyous and harmonious relationship, which was enviable to others. He collected information all around, but he could not obtain any information in the two most critical areas.
Tony Twain kept his mouth shut and Nottingham Forest seemed to forget that they ever had such a manager. No news about Twain was disseminated.
Nottingham Forest was now solely Evan Doughty’s club. It was much easier for him to control the club than the board of directors.
These days Brosnan was busy collecting relevant information everywhere. Fortunately, his boss supported him, because they all knew that Twain’s departure was not a simple matter. There must be some inside information that others should not know. Otherwise the parties involved would not have sealed their lips.
And once the truth was revealed, it could be a piece of big news that would shake the world of English football. Therefore, it had to be done.
Brosnan was so busy day and night that he almost forgot that he still had to interview O’Neill. It was the first interview Martin O’Neill had accepted as the Nottingham Forest manager. His team-building policies and his goals in leading the team would be discussed in the interview, which could also be considered as an important interview.
It was only when a colleague in the office who saw him so obsessed with Tony Twain’s game of hide-and-seek reminded him that he suddenly remembered to call O’Neill to confirm the interview.
Regardless of why Tony Twain had left his job, regardless of what Evan Doughty who was in charge of the club had done behind the scenes, Pierce Brosnan must now put away his curiosity about these things. He neatly adjusted his clothes and knocked on the Forest manager’s door.
Martin O’Neill was waiting in his seat for the visit from the local reporter who was influential in Nottingham.
“Hello, Mr. O’Neill. I hope I’m not interrupting your work.” Brosnan put down his interview materials, got up and shook O’Neill’s hand.
“Not at all, Mr. Brosnan. My work is done for the day.” O’Neill smiled evenly.
Brosnan sat down and began to interview the new manager, who had always been considered to be in Twain’s shadow. But the interview did not follow the steps Brosnan had planned. He first asked the question, “How does it feel to be the manager of Nottingham Forest after two months, Mr. O’Neill?”
Under normal circumstances, O’Neill would have nodded and said, “It feels good. Everyone is very supportive of my work and I have received a lot of assistance…”
But O’Neill hesitated for a moment and shook his head as he said, “It’s harder than I’d imagined.”
With the sharp acumen of his profession, Brosnan immediately caught the important point. He followed up with a question to that remark and changed the question he had prepared before, “Is it because Tony Twain’s influence is too great?”
O’Neill continued shaking his head to say, “That’s not the case.” He seemed to be in the mood to talk today, so Brosnan did not interject. He just indicated for him to continue talking.
“Sometimes when you were on the outside, you couldn’t see clearly, and you thought everything was nice. But when you walked in, you found what you had thought was wrong.” O’Neill said mysteriously, “I used to think I was mentally prepared and had abundant experience. But now I feel like I’ve made an error of judgment at the time.”
Brosnan’s mind was spinning fast as he listened to these inexplicable words and was trying to work out what O’Neill meant. Then he tentatively asked a question, “Are you referring to Pepe’s transfer?”
He had guessed right.
O’Neill shrugged and said, “What were your thoughts when you first found out that Pepe had already decided to be transferred to AC Milan during the time when you still thought he might be leaving?”
Brosnan’s heart leapt. He seemed to have caught hold of something. The fog that had been bothering him was slowly dissipating.
“I’m sorry, Mr. O’Neill. I recall that you are the manager of the team. How could you only the last to be informed of this matter?” Brosnan continued to take advantage to pursue and attack.
“I don’t know why, either. But that was what happened. I was kept in the dark and everyone knew Pepe had already made a deal with AC Milan. Only I did not know. I also went to Pepe to have a talk once and was rightly turned down. I couldn’t turn the situation around. Now that the season is almost starting, we’ve lost the most important center back. I don’t even know who else we’re going to lose.” Full of resentment, O’Neill had finally found an outlet for him to vent. “Look at all the transfer rumors in the media right now about the Forest players. I’m really thankful that they’re still here.”
“Did you read the article on the meeting between Mr. Allan Adams and Michael Dawson, Mr. Brosnan?”
Brosnan nodded. As a sports reporter, he certainly had to pay attention to the sports news that happened every day.
“Did you find out through that report?”
Brosnan paused and shook his head after a moment. He said, “I have my own reporter friends, Mr. O’Neill. You know, we scratch each other’s back for information…”
Martin O’Neill bared his teeth and chuckled when he heard the answer, “That’s great. Even a reporter knows the target which our team is signing on before me, the manager. Maybe I should hire some reporters to be football scouts?”
This is a big problem.
Brosnan thought so in his heart. The problem was big if a manager was the last person to know what kind of player the team wanted to bring in. It was a big issue. He was completely bypassed. In that case, who was the one to find a way around him…
He suddenly thought of last summer, which was almost around this time. The Forest team’s right back, Aaron Lennon was sold to Inter Milan. At the time, Tony Twain was furious. All of England could hear his rants and foul words. He was admonishing Allan Adams for signing a deal with Inter Milan to surrender Lennon so readily, without asking for his consent,. Due to this, he even suspended the contract renewal talks with the team. At that time, there was a huge uproar. But then it quieted down later. The three men appeared to be the same together on the outside.
“Football is a sport that requires detailed planning. I have signed a four-year contract with the club, and I have a long-term plan, so everyone has to seek my consent before being able to buy and sell players. But now the situation is that my demands before signing the contract are not even met…”
While Brosnan was still in shock over this, O’Neill continued to speak and Brosnan’s recording equipment was faithfully recording.
“I wanted to stabilize the defense, but they sold Pepe in the end. I wanted a young and promising center back. Instead, they got in touch with Dawson. They didn’t even look at the players I recommended…”
Brosnan had to interrupt O’Neill and said, “I’m sorry, Mr. O’Neill. Who are ‘they’ you are referring to?”
“Who else can they be? The club chairman and the business director? Perhaps I now know why Tony left at the most glorious period at the time…”
The last fog in his mind finally cleared. Brosnan confirmed that he had grasped the key to all the problems.
“I chose Nottingham Forest because I started my career from here. I hope to continue the glory of the Forest team. But now from the looks of it, I was mistaken to think that everything would be great.”
There was a deep sense of exhaustion in the words. Although it had only been two months, Martin O’Neill was already tormented till he was bone weary.
The follow-up questions no longer needed to be asked and those questions that were prepared in advance were worthless in the face of such an explosive topic. Pierce Brosnan was so shocked by the thoughts in his mind that he was in no state to continue the interview. He got up to say goodbye to O’Neill and was ready to hurry back to write up this interview which would definitely cause a sensation.
“The Nottingham Forest manager blasted the club’s top brass!”
“Martin O’Neill: I’m excluded!”
“The dark secrets behind Pepe’s deal!”
There was still a lot of information he needed to gather from everywhere. But this time it was different. With the direction pointed, he knew where to look.
“Goodbye. I’m glad you accepted my interview, Mr. O’Neill. Good luck with that.”
O’Neill got up to see the reporter out. He also said, “Good day, Mr. Brosnan. Good luck to you as well.”
...
Chapter 904 - Unable to Be Interdependent Forever
Tottenham Hotspur’s fax on their acceptance of the offer from Nottingham Forest for Michael Dawson, the just published copy of the Nottingham Evening Post this morning, still with a whiff of the fresh ink smell, as well as Martin O’Neill’s handwritten resignation letter, all three of which were placed together on Evan Doughty’s desk. His brain did not respond for a while.
The fax was sent to him by his secretary, Miss Lucy, along with a good morning kiss. It was a very close interaction that transcended the relationship between a club chairman and a secretary. The Evening Post was brought to him later by his old friend, Allan Adams while the resignation letter was personally delivered by Martin O’Neill himself. The man who wanted to resign was still standing in the room waiting for the club chairman’s approval.
Two days had now passed since the day O’Neill flew into a terrible rage in front of Evan Doughty.
The deal with Tottenham Hotspur to buy Dawson was in Doughty’s plan, and they bought a center back at the peak of his playing career at a low price. Evan Doughty thought it was a good deal and was feeling happy about the matter. While he was being naughty with his hands on Miss Lucy’s body, Allan knocked on his office door with the newspaper which startled him. If the affair between him and Lucy was exposed to his wife, his family would be torn apart.
Lucy opened the door for Allan after she had tidied her blouse. Allan even watched with interest at the figure of swaying hips as she walked away. Then he handed the newspaper to Evan without saying a word.
Evan saw a picture of O’Neill on it, as well as an interview. The headline was striking and also explained why Allan risked interrupting the couple’s clandestine love affair to knock on his door.
Before Evan could figure out what he meant by being unhappy, O’Neill knocked on his office door.
When Evan was about to ask O’Neill what the interview was about, the other party had already placed something on Evan’s desk.
“A resignation?”
Evan thought he had misread. He picked it up and glanced at it again. Then he looked up at the Northern Irishman standing in front of him.
Standing in front of Evan, O’Neill said earnestly, “I don’t think I can carry out my plans and ambitions here at all. I don’t get enough respect here, and you guys don’t seem to need a manager. So, I think breaking up is the best solution.”
“You can’t do this!” Evan yelled out. He had no idea O’Neill would do this and resign? How dare he! He had only been in the position for two months, and now he was going to quit… What do you take me, the club chairman for?
“Of course, I can.” As a “senior manager” who had been in English football for more than two decades, O’Neill was not stupid. He said, “In the contract we signed at the time, you did not state how much money you would pay me if I were to be fired. So, I do not have to pay you money when I quit, Mr. Chairman. That’s fair.”
Since there was no need of compensation for default in the contract, O’Neill had no qualms left.
In fact, he made the decision to resign that day after he had the big blowout with Evan Doughty. That was why he came out with the big explosive news during the interview – since I’m going to leave, who cares what you think of me? I have said everything that should and shouldn’t be said. At least I have aired my grievances and vented my frustration!
“It’s … It’s not about the money, Mr. O’Neill. You’re the manager of the team, the league tournament is about to start and you’re resigning now…”
“I’m resigning now for the sake of the team. You still have time to find a manager at this point. It’s going to be hard if you wait until after the start of the league tournament, Mr. Chairman.” O’Neill addressed him using “Mr. Chairman” each time but it sounded more like he was giving a slap to the club chairman, Evan Doughty’s face.
Evan Doughty was completely stunned by Martin O’Neill’s show of determination. He had the letter of resignation in his hand as he looked at O’Neill with his mouth agape. He did not know what to say while Allan Adams sat on the couch without saying a word, as if he were a spectator.
“I hope the club agrees to my resignation.” O’Neill reiterated his intention in his meeting with Evan. “It is not possible for us to continue working together.”
Under the current circumstances, what could Evan do if he did not agree? He finally paid the price for his own arbitrary actions – the manager, whom he spent lots of effort hiring, had now resigned voluntarily, which was like a loud slap to his face. Having lost two managers in a row in two months, perhaps he should think about whether the managers were too fond of power or was he being too foolish?
After a moment’s silence, Evan stood up and put his hand out to O’Neill to say, “Thank you for everything you have done for the club, Mr. O’Neill. I’ll agree to your resignation.”
O’Neill smiled and said, “Goodbye, Mr. Chairman.” With that, he turned and walked out of the office without even giving a glance at Allan Adams sitting at the side.
After watching O’Neill go out, Evan Doughty slowly sat down and looked at Allan Adams, who had been sitting on the couch in silence.
“Who should we look for now to be the manager?” Allan spread his hands and asked.
“Lord only knows.” Evan mumbled weakly. Too much had hit him this morning.
“There are not many successful managers idling at home at this time. It is not a good time to find a manager…”
“Then we have to poach someone!” Evan suddenly got excited, “Poach a manager from the other clubs!” He balled up O’Neill’s resignation letter and threw it in the trash can.
※※※
The players and coaches were even more taken aback than Evan Doughty. Everyone could not believe it when O’Neill stood in front of them with a smile on his face and announced that he had resigned. They thought he was joking, but the problem was that Mr. O’Neill was someone who liked to joke. He and Tony Twain were different.
“Thank you for your support over the past two months.” O’Neill smiled and said goodbye to the players, “Although I did not have a good relationship with the club’s top brass, I had a great time with you. You’ve all been lovely and I’m proud to have once coached such a team, even though it was only for a short two months.”
“I’m sorry I can’t continue to lead you. I wish you all good luck.”
He then hugged and said goodbye to the assistant managers, fitness coach, goalkeeper coach and First Team coaches one by one.
Kerslake was still in shock. Tony’s gone and now Martin is leaving too. What’s happening? With them gone, what are we going to do? What about Nottingham Forest? Is such a team that has just won the Treble going to disappear from now on?
As he hugged O’Neill, he asked a question, “Are you resigning because of Tony, Mr. O’Neill?”
He was worried that Tony’s influence was too great to allow O’Neill to have free rein in his job here.
O’Neill shook his head and washed away “the unjust treatment” Twain received. He said, “It has nothing to do with him. I don’t have a good relationship with the club chairman and the business director, David. They have their standpoint and I have mine. It is a pity that our standpoints are not in line. You’re a good assistant manager and you’ll be a great manager in the future. Thank you for your help, David. When the new manager arrives, help him like you’ve helped me and Tony. Hopefully he can make it here… for longer.” He looked into the distance and sighed softly.
After he waved his last goodbye, O’Neill turned and walked away from the stupefied team.
The reporters who came when they caught wind of the news, had already blocked the gate of the Wilford training base till it was impenetrable. The bunch of dogs had a real nose for news. He just had a showdown with the club and they already knew. It was as if no secrets could be hidden from them.
When the reporters saw O’Neill emerge from the inside, they struggled to get away from the security guards and rushed up.
Countless microphones were extended right under O’Neill’s nose, and the cameras were pointed at him.
“Mr. O’Neill, we’ve heard that you have resigned? Is it true?”
“Manager O’Neill, can you tell me the reason for your sudden resignation? It’s completely unexpected… You’ve only been here for two months!”
“Hey, Martin! Martin! Is it true that you have a conflict with the club’s top management? Can you tell us what kind of contradiction?”
“Did Pepe’s transfer lead to your resignation?”
“Can it be due to Michael Dawson… Don’t you like Dawson?”
“Tony Twain also left suddenly. Have you two been in touch? Does your resignation have anything to do with him?”
“Can you tell me where your next stop is?”
“Is Nottingham Forest club’s top brass really interfering too much with the manager’s job to sign players, like what you said in the interview?”
“Care to comment on Evan Doughty?”
“Has your resignation been approved by the club?”
Nothing else could be heard at the scene except for the reporters asking their questions loudly and the pressing of the camera shutters. Everyone was shouting at the top of their lungs, afraid that O’Neill could not hear him in the crowd.
However, O’Neill was not in the mood to answer their questions. He stood in front of his car door and turned to the enthusiastic reporters to say, “I’ve received approval to resign. I have nothing else to say about the matter. I’m grateful to the people who helped me during the two months of coaching at the Forest team. In addition, I want to clarify that this has nothing to do with Tony Twain. The resignation is my own decision, nothing to do with anyone. If you want to ask anything else, please save those questions for the club. I’m sure they’ll announce a press conference very soon.”
He pulled the car door open and went in. He closed the car window and started the car. He slowly drove out of the main gate surrounded by the crowd of reporters trying to chase and intercept him.
The reporters stopped after chasing for a few steps. As O’Neill said, the club was bound to hold a press conference and their questions would be left till then.
Pierce Brosnan did not expect O’Neill’s decision to resign to so firm and decisive. He watched the black car driving to the distance behind the crowd of people, wondering what Nottingham Forest’s future hold.
How did this happen? A dominant team that lorded over Europe and famous for its playing prowess in the world, had a massive turnover of people within these two months and was changed till it was unrecognizable.
If he had to trace the root of the cause… it looked like he could not avoid this one person.
He pulled out his cell phone and dialed Tony Twain’s number.
※※※
When the cell phone which Twain left in the downstairs dining room rang, he was just going over the list of England registered players from all the teams in the English Premier League in his upstairs study. One of the two twenty-four-inch monitors connected to the computer was playing the video of a game. He needed to use the computer to cut and edit those video clips to make them into a collection for his own needs. Then he would burn it into a CD-ROM, label it and place it in its category in the cabinet. In that way, he would not be lost like a headless fly when he needed to check.
Staring at the television screen to study the game videos or reading notes and journals for a long term had caused Twain to be slightly myopic. He wore a pair of black-rimmed glasses and looked up with a concentration to observe the performances of several targeted players. When he needed to pay special attention, he would press the pause button, and then looked down to record the time in the notebook, which made it convenient for subsequent editing.
He was so engrossed in watching the video that the first time the phone rang downstairs, he did not hear it.
When the sound disappeared, he suddenly realized if something was ringing…
He listened with his head cocked but heard nothing. Just when he was shaking his head and thinking that he must have been hearing things from being too busy lately, the telephone rang again the moment he was going to continue working.
When Twain shuffled along in his slippers to go through the long second-floor corridor, around the circular staircase, and then through the eighty square meters of living room, the ringing stopped again the moment he finally came to the dining room.
“Really impatient.” Twain mumbled as he picked up his cell phone, wanting to see who called.
The caller’s name that showed up in the missed calls on the screen was 007.
Twain did not bother to key in some people’s names. To him, English names were still not as easy as Chinese names, so he would give a lot of people codenames. 007 referred to Pierce Brosnan, because his name sounded the same as that of the famous actor, Pierce Brosnan who played 007.
So, it was the Nottingham Evening Post reporter. Twain did not know why he called him. Just as he was hesitating whether to call back to inquire, the cell phone in his hand rang and vibrated again.
He finally pressed the answer button.
“Hey, Mr. Bond, why are you calling me at this time?” Twain leaned against the couch in the living room and asked languidly.
“I want to know the real reason why you suddenly decided to leave Nottingham Forest.” Brosnan got straight to the point and asked.
The question made Twain’s face fall. He never answered such questions, not even from Brosnan. “I’m sorry, Mr. Reporter. I don’t want to answer your question. If you want to interview me, please make an appointment in advance…” With that, he was about to hang up.
That was when he heard Pierce Brosnan roared, “When are you going to stop hiding like a coward, Tony!”
Twain’s hand was stopped short by the sudden roar and did not hang up.
“Have you seen the news? Do you have a newspaper there? Is the TV on?” Brosnan continued to ask loudly after he finished yelling.
“No.” Twain looked around. The table was clear and had nothing on it. The television set was not turned on and the screen was dark.
“Then I’ll give you a live coverage now!” Brosnan said fiercely. This might be the first time he had spoken to the king of Nottingham Forest using this tone since he became a reporter. “Martin O’Neill has just tendered his resignation to the club, and I believe the club has agreed to his application to resign!”
Twain was stunned by the news. He thought he was dreaming, and the dream did not feel real.
Martin O’Neill had only joined the team for two months. Why did he quit?
“If you still care about Nottingham Forest, you must know why! Evan Doughty and Allan Adams kept O’Neill in the dark and reached an agreement to sell Pepe to AC Milan. Now they had hidden the fact that they were signing Michael Dawson from him again. Even though the media had called Dawson’s arrival as ‘homecoming’, it violated O’Neill’s authority. So, he quit! It’s as straightforward as that… Now, tell me why you decided not to renew your contract at the time? Did you lose faith in the club’s top brass, just like O’Neill did? Tell me, Tony!”
Twain was silent for a moment and did not answer.
“Very well, I know what’s on your mind. You’re worried about causing an upheaval in the team when you say it, aren’t you? You’re really stupid, Tony. All clubs are like this. Turmoil is not something that can entirely be foreseeable. Martin O’Neill has resigned and Şahin is transferring to Bayern Munich. Do you think the team you’ve built up with so much effort can still be kept intact? The players have already lost faith in the top echelons of this kind of club. Did Pepe’s departure not clarify the issue? He was the most loyal player!”
“Do you still love this team? Do you still miss every day and night of the past eleven years? Don’t you feel hurt that they treated you like that in the Crimson Stadium? Don’t stay silent, Tony.”
※※※
Pierce Brosnan leaned against his car outside the gate of the Wilford training ground and called Twain. The reporters around him were almost gone. There was no one to bother him no matter how loud he shouted at the phone. He was treated as just another regular reporter asking for enough space from the bureau.
“Don’t stay silent, Tony! Tony? Tony… Hello? Hello!”
After vehemently spouting so many words for a long time, Brosnan found that the person on the other end of the line had cut off the call.
“What the damn hell!” He was so angry that he kicked the wheel of his own car, and the car alarm sounded, which startled him.
“Asshole!” Brosnan touched his car key to turn off the car alarm in a hurry. He felt that it was a truly lousy day.
It was reasonable to say that since he was a reporter, he should not have thought so. What happened today should fire him up and make him want to rush back to start writing the article so that he could post the news before everyone.
But now he felt terrible about this matter as a huge Nottingham Forest fan.
He leaned back on the car and looked at the Nottingham Forest emblem on the facade of the Wilford training base’s entrance in a daze.
※※※
Twain walked back to his study and stared blankly at the video of the game, which had been paused on the computer screen. Coincidentally, he was watching a video of Nottingham Forest’s game last season. The man in the video was Aaron Mitchell.
He found himself completely not in the mood to sit down and work. He suddenly wanted to listen to some music. Perhaps only music could soothe his fidgety heart at this moment.
He turned on the stereo and returned to the computer amid the sound of the music. The wonderful music still could not let him settle down his heart. Something was stuck in the chest and wanted to rush out.
He sat down and turned off the video of the game. Then he opened up a Word document. He recalled he should write a column for the Evening Post. Since the World Cup, his column had gone quiet.
But today, he was going to write. He had a lot of things to write about. He was going to rebuke some people. He wanted to ridicule, vent and destroy some things. It was the only way that the future could be rebuilt.
Amidst the sound of continuous tapping on the keyboard, the voice of James Blunt sang:
“… You’re beautiful, you’re beautiful, you’re beautiful, it’s true… But it’s time to face the truth, I will never be with you…” (An excerpt from James Blunt’s song, “You’re beautiful”).
...
Chapter 905 - : Two Atomic Bombs
Martin O’Neill resigned and stayed with the Forest team for only two months. I am not surprised at all. I even thought he would have left a little earlier.
Poor results are not the biggest enemy for an English Premier League manager, but flagrant interference from the club’s top brass. When you are the last person in the team to know the facts, what is the point of staying there? To the club owner, the manager may be just an employee, and he can be hired for money. Well, I am very happy to look forward to what kind of manager the chairman of Nottingham Forest can get to be their puppet.
It was the first two paragraphs of Twain’s column for the Evening Post. This was his open letter.
After almost a month of silence, Twain’s column had opened fire again. This time it was aimed at his former employer, Nottingham Forest.
He exploded with energy as soon as he opened his mouth. It was not merely a rebuke of people. He had also revealed for the first time the real reason why he initially chose not to renew his contract in the column:
“… When Pepe transferred to AC Milan, I could empathize with how Martin O’Neill felt. Because a year ago, when Lennon went to Inter Milan, I met with the exact same situation as he did. If it weren’t for the fact that I had stopped drinking a long time ago, I think I’d have called him and invited him to have a drink together – look at us, the two poor managers.
In fact, since leaving the position, I have a lot of things that I wanted to say. But at the time, Martin O’Neill had just taken over. I did not want to talk too much about a team that I was no longer coaching. It would have affected the new manager and the team if I had done that. I do not doubt my influence on the team at all. Yes, I am very confident on that point.
I chose to shut up as I thought it was for the good of the team that way.
But now that things have changed, and O’Neill has resigned too. I do not think the Forest team’s situation can get any worse, so I am choosing to let you hear the words that are buried deep in my heart.
Life and work are made up of many details. And these details are often overlooked. But I am a person who cares about details. With regards to Lennon’s transfer, I saw something that I was most unwilling to see – the club’s senior management becoming used to getting involved with the team. It was supposed to be absolutely forbidden in the verbal agreement between Evan Doughty and I. But for the last eleven years, the original verbal agreement was no longer binding. Following which, I realized that such a situation would only increase over time, plaguing me till I was completely exhausted. Just like what Martin O’Neill did today, I chose to leave at the most glorious time. Perhaps that would also give everyone a beautiful view of my departing figure. But now it seems, perhaps a silent departure did not achieve that effect, I tried to be clever and it ended up backfiring…
I have to apologize to the fans who still deeply love Nottingham Forest and have been hurt by my attitude. I am sorry I am unable to continue to coach Nottingham Forest. If I could, I had always wanted to end my coaching career there. However, the current environment is not good for me. But wherever I am, my love for Nottingham Forest, my love for you all has never changed…”
The Nottingham Evening Post cleverly placed the image of Martin O’Neill who had resigned and the contents guide to Twain’s open letter together on the front page of the special edition for a comparative reference. It also reminded all the readers who buy the copy of the special edition on what was discussed in the issue.
The story of the two men who left Nottingham Forest.
The headline on the front page was also full of meaning:
They came one after another and they left here one after another.
The subtext pointed directly to the club. It was what Pierce Brosnan wanted to imply.
That open letter Twain wrote was very long. It occupied half a page. Twain did not know how many words he wrote. Anyway, he kept writing what he wanted to express from his heart. When he finished typing what was on his mind in front of the computer, his arms were so sore that he could not straighten them.
For the Nottingham Forest fans, the article was explosive as if the United States military had dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan at that time. Putting it next to the news of Martin O’Neill’s resignation, it was even more shocking – it was like there were two atomic bombs with the other one to Nagasaki.
※※※
“Martin O’Neill announced earlier this morning that he had already applied to step down as the Nottingham Forest manager. There has been no response from the club’s senior management to his application at this time. Our reporter has found O’Neill, who is about to leave, at the gate of Wilford…”
In the noisy and shaky image shown from the camera footage, O’Neill was standing by his car door to answer questions from the reporters:
“My resignation has been approved … This has nothing to do with Tony Twain… I believe they’ll soon announce a press conference…”
The scene was noisy, and his voice could not be heard clearly, but the key meaning was still being expressed.
A group of people drinking at the Forest Bar stared dumbstruck at the big-screen LCD television set hanging on the wall. More than two months ago, they watched the news of Tony Twain’s sudden departure in the same spot and now they saw that Martin O’Neill had suddenly resigned again today…. Their brains had lost the ability to think. They did not know what opinion to express about the matter.
Perhaps Bill’s first reaction was the truest. He just swore a curse word “F**K.” It was now known who he cursed about. Was it Martin O’Neill who resigned? Or the chairman of the club? Or the reporter who reported the news that had spoiled his day? Or… was it himself?
The news continued and the front door was slammed open by someone.
Fat John crashed through the door and entered with his hands carrying a pile of newspapers.
Seeing Bill standing in a daze in front of the television set and watching the news, he laughed and then walked over. He put a newspaper on the table where he was, and then he went to the next table to issue the newspaper. After he put a newspaper on every table in the bar, he had just one copy left on his hands, which was his own.
Someone noticed his unusual behavior and asked, “What are you going, Fat John? I’ll take a drink if you’re buying. But I’m not reading the newspaper you bought.”
John leaned against the bar, asked for a drink, and then said to the man, “Aren’t you always demanding for the truth about Tony’s resignation? That’s all in there.” He pointed to the newspaper placed in front of the other man, which had the word “special edition” on it. It was a special issue that was rushed out specifically for everything that happened to the Forest team today.
He had just stopped talking when the group of people who were stupefied like a block of wood just now, suddenly scrambled for the newspapers in front of them.
Only Bill did not move. He moved his gaze from the television screen and turned his attention toward John.
John smiled at him, sipped his drink, and began to read the newspaper.
The tone in Twain’s column was more moderate than when he went to war with other columnists. But the force of his innate sarcasm was no less.
He was in a good mood today, which seemed very contradictory against such a news backdrop. His delight had nothing to do with Nottingham Forest. Anyway, Nottingham Forest was already in this state. It would no longer be surprising if something worse were to happen. What made him happy was that the real Tony Twain was back. There was another reason, and that was Tony Twain was precisely as he thought. He had never betrayed them. He had always loved the team and this group of fans.
His mood was like knowing an old friend, whom he had lost contact with for many years, had been thinking about him. It warmed him from the bottom of his heart.
This is enough. Tony. Do a good job with the national team. I may be a Nottingham Forest fan, but I’m also an Englishman.
※※※
It had only been half a day, but Martin O’Neill’s resignation and Tony Twain’s open letter had already spread throughout the whole of England. Major and minor media outlets had reprinted the report, which could be considered a “grand occasion.”
As the team which had just won the Treble, even if they fired a groundsman, it would appear in the media. Not to mention the major news of changing two managers within two months.
It was clear that Nottingham Forest was caught up in some kind of internal strife… And many people were now clear on the cause of the internal strife – too much interference from the club’s senior management in the affairs of the team which caused the two former managers’ dissatisfaction. Therefore, they did not renew the contract and resign as a protest.
It was just unfortunate for the players and the fans who adored Nottingham Forest…
The afternoon training of that day was completed under the guidance of the assistant manager, and everyone was distracted. Kerslake had wanted to continue the afternoon training schedule, but he changed the training schedule at the last minute when he saw the team looking like this and then thought about the reporters who were crowded outside. He announced a half-day off in the afternoon.
He was now worried that how many of these players would still remain in the team in the end.
At this moment, he suddenly felt that how fortunate he would be if there were a strong man standing next to him, who could make him feel safe, and when he encountered difficulties, he would come up to him and say, “Don’t worry, David. I’m here.” Or he would grin and said to him with a smile, “I have an idea, David. Do you want to hear it?”
※※※
Wood received a call from Billy Woox on his way home..
“Martin O’Neill has resigned, too. Do you still plan on staying in such a team? Real Madrid has offer you an annual salary of fifteen million euros before tax. All you need is to sign it. That’s what you’re going to earn for the next four years.”
Surprisingly, the Forest captain did not hesitate this time, and firmly rebuffed his agent.
“No, I’m going to stay here.”
“I can predict the fate of this team in the next few years – a decline in results and damage to its reputation. Furthermore, due to the enmity with the other teams over the past decade, everyone will want to beat the previously arrogant and domineering Treble winner. Your games are going to be tough. It is possible that you won’t win a championship, George.” Woox calmly analyzed the downsides of staying on in the Forest team for him.
“I don’t care. I’ve won enough titles.”
Woox smiled and said, “That’s true. You’ve obtained all the honor you can win as a club player. But I still don’t want you to stay here. Evan Doughty is a big idiot and that old friend of his is the lesser idiot. Such a team does not deserve your loyalty. You’re the best player in the world, George. You should play for the best team and show the world your ability.”
“Do you feel that your income will be reduced if I continue to stay here all the time?”
Woox laughed heartily. He thought Wood was so cute about it. He laughed till he coughed. He said, “Ha… ahem ahem! I don’t mind how much money I make, George. I care about you.”
“I think I have enough money now.”
“But do you feel happy playing in a team like this?”
“I’m happy.” George Wood replied.
“You’re lying, George. Tell me the real reason, or I’m not done with you. I will call you in the middle of the night every day to tell you which club has taken a fancy to my dear George.” The old man was really like a naughty boy.
Wood was silent for a moment. He was almost home. If he were to continue to be entangled with the old man, it would not be good if his mother asked about it. Because it was easy to deal with his agent, but it was hard to deal with his own mother.
“I want to remind you not to make up any excuse to fool me. I’ve crossed more bridges than the number of roads you’ve walked on, darling.”
“Because I’m the team captain.” Wood said.
Woox thought Wood would say a few words to explain, but Wood only spoke one sentence and said nothing else, which gave him a feeling that he was left hanging. He paused and asked, “That’s it? Nothing else?”
“That’s it.”
“Why do you have this idea? A team captain can be changed when the new manager comes. It doesn’t mean anything. If they can draw in your loyalty by giving you a captain’s armband, then your loyalty is not worth much money … What happened to you? Are you affected by today’s events, dear?”
“Nothing is going on with me. I’m telling the truth. I’m the captain and I can’t leave my team. I don’t want to abandon a bunch of people and leave on my own like he did!” Wood rarely raised his voice and spoke seriously.
This time it was Woox’s turn to be silent. He knew who the “he” was that came out of Wood’s mouth.
“Very well, George… You do what you want, as long as you think this is for the best. But it is such a terrible excuse!” Woox hung up the phone.
※※※
As the night wore on, the last afterglow of the setting sun lingering at the border of the western sky and horizon, was clearly visible outside the window due to the flat terrain in Wilford and the lack of any tall buildings in the surroundings within the field of view.
Surrounded by the dense forest, Wilford exuded sections of ink-like darkness against the backdrop of the afterglow. At this time, even the turf maintenance workers were gone. Only the club chairman’s office had a light peeking though in the whole of Wilford.
Evan Doughty stood in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window, looking out of the window at the twilight. On the table behind him was a copy of the Nottingham Evening Post, which was published only this afternoon.
There were only four pages in the special edition, two of which belonged to Martin O’Neill and two pages belonged to Tony Twain.
He had read all the pages, with a kind of calmness that exceeded Allan’s expectations. The so-called “calmness” was observed by Allan, which meant that the club chairman did not swear angrily while he read, or stopped reading and then balled up the newspaper to toss it in a trash can, or tore it to pieces and lit it on fire with a lighter, or something like that. He read all the articles quietly and sat there without saying a word.
Allan knew that he would be facing more rights and wrongs from today onward. It was not wise to disturb him at this time. So, he quietly took his leave.
In fact, Evan had long snapped out of his contemplation. He was currently hiding from the media. He knew that there would be a lot of media out there hoping to interview him, even if the club had already announced a press conference tomorrow afternoon. Those hungry paparazzi were still not satisfied. They wanted to know more, and they wanted to know more inside information. Or… they just wanted to capture a photograph with Evan Doughty’s panicked expression on his face.
When the last glimmer of light disappeared under the heavy night, Evan Doughty emerged like a thief from the dark three-story building and slipped into the parking lot by staying close to the wall. His driver, waiting in the car for him, had fallen asleep from waiting. He had to knock on the car window to wake the driver who had tilted his head against the driver’s seat and was drooling from his wide-open mouth.
“Ah? I’m sorry, sir… I fell asleep… Sorry…” The groggy driver opened the car window and wiped off the sticky drool on his chin with his other hand as he stammered his apology to Evan.
However, Evan impatiently tapped the car door and interrupted him, “Open the door and drive home!”
When the dark red Audi appeared at the gate, the security guard had the illusion that the hood of the car was alive. It moved to the left and right, as if to observe the situation ahead.
The driver honked at the guard to signal to open the closed gate but was scolded by the chairman.
“Don’t press the horn!”
He was afraid that the sound would be heard by the reporters hiding in unknown places. But it was reasonable to say that at this time there should not be any more reporters around here… Or was it merely his “guilty conscience?”
The beautiful modern electric gate in moved slowly before Evan Doughty’s eyes to give way to the car. But in his eyes, it moved more slowly than a snail. He somewhat missed the arabesque iron gate that was torn down before. Ian MacDonald would open the gate with his hands with strength as if he were a young man. The speed was much faster than this modern gizmo controlled by the computer program!
When the gate was only opened half-way through amid the rumbling sound, Evan urged his driver to drive the car through. For him, it was becoming more dangerous every second they waited here.
But he still miscalculated. When his car had just pulled out of the gate at its slowest pace, a group of reporters came out of nowhere and suddenly appeared on both sides and in front of the car.
The driver was startled and hit the brakes.
Now he could not escape at all.
The reporters swarmed up when they saw the car stopped. They carried their video cameras, cameras and microphones to the rear window.
“Mr. Doughty! Can you share your thoughts on O’Neill’s resignation?”
“Tony Twain claims that his departure is entirely your responsibility. Do you have any response to that, Mr. Doughty?”
“How do you feel about losing two managers in a row in two months?”
“Mr. Doughty, can you answer a few questions? Just a few!”
“Nottingham Forest has lost the manager less than half a month before the start of the league tournament. Do you have a new manager lined up?”
“What’s the future of the team? Real Madrid is said to have made an offer for George Wood once again. Will he leave?”
Countless questions accompanied by camera flashes, battered Evan Doughty. His face was ghastly white lit by the flash bulbs.
He tried to arrange his expression to look better and then ignored the reporters. He only urged the driver to drive the car to get out of here.
When the car started again, the reporters blocking in the front retreated and snapped photos at the same time. When they were certain that they could not take any newer shots, they gave way to the car.
The dark red Audi engine made a booming sound of being suppressed for too long and rushed out in front of the reporters like it was fleeing.
A photojournalist pressed the shutter to capture the tail of the car which stirred up a cloud of dust.
“This photo is awesome. The pathetic-looking club chairman speeding away. Let’s hope he can have a good dream tonight.”
...
Chapter 906 - The Two Buddies’ Troubles
Evan Doughty would definitely begin to miss the days when Tony Twain was still around from now on.
Because he realized that facing the media all the time was not an enjoyable thing.
When his car drove to the gate of the Wilford training base, a large group of reporters completely blocked the area, and his car could not move at all. Just like what happened last night, a large group of reporters pounced when they saw the dark red Audi A6, as if they were sharks which got a whiff of blood. Those bright white flashes were like the sharks’ giant teeth, which radiated cold light in the early morning sun.
They asked the same questions as yesterday, but they were even more aggressive. Evan believed that if he could not give them a reply, he would not be able to enter the gate of Wilford.
He opened the car window and the microphones immediately slithered in like snakes.
If he had just put his face in front of the car window, he would have been poked in the face by these stick-like objects….
“There will be a press conference in the afternoon, gentlemen. If you have any questions, please save them till then!” Evan raised his voice and shouted with none of the club chairman’s bluster. He was completely overwhelmed by the bloodthirsty paparazzi.
“And can we ask any questions?” A reporter inquired.
In order to get rid of these people, Evan Doughty had to nod and agree,, “Any question is fine!”
“Well, how about Tony Twain’s open letter… Can I ask about that?” The reporter did not want to let go of such an opportunity.
Evan Doughty did not answer the question. He pushed the microphones out and then closed the car window.
The Audi made a grueling drive through the crowd, inching forward bit by bit. The dissatisfied reporters were still filming around the car. People even hit the car windows and doors and shouted, hoping to get the people inside to come out and answer questions.
Security guards from the entire Wilford training base gathered here to escort their boss. Even so, he still appeared hassled under the impact of the reporters.
When Evan finally arrived at his office after much difficulty, Allan Adams was already waiting for him inside.
“Those reporters are really crazy!” Evan complained bitterly. A reporter appeared near his home last night. It seemed unlikely that he would have a peaceful day.
“You have to be thankful that they’re just reporters, and not crazy football fans. Or else you’re going to be flipped over with the car.” Allan said with a laugh.
Speaking of the football fans, Evan became wary and asked, “What?”
“Protesting fans have already appeared outside the training base. They’re holding a banner. The words on it are … all curses at you, Evan.” Allan gave him the latest update. In fact, he came to him this time for this matter.
Evan was taken aback for a moment. It had finally happened. And there would be more violent storms in the future.
“The fans need to be appeased.” Allan said.
“How to appease them?”
“We need to find a new manager as soon as possible, get the team back to normal, and let the fans turn their attention to the transfer market … Then hurry up to buy a superstar player with enough weight.” This was Allan’s plan.
“Here’s the problem, Allan. Do you have a candidate for the new manager in mind?”
Allan was stumped by his question. At this time, there were too few good managers left on the market and they were not interested in the managers who were not good enough. The goal that the club set for the team was to continue to reach next season’s Champions League and at least guarantee one championship title. They could not casually find a manager and be expected to fulfill such a demand.
Both men did not make a sound and the office fell into an awkward silence.
※※※
The Nottingham Forest players were training on the training ground under Kerslake’s guidance, but they all appeared to be preoccupied. Everyone’s eyes would unknowingly glance outside.
A large number of fans gathered there, but they did not come here today to watch the team train and then look for the opportunity to ask some of their favorite players to sign autographs. They hung the banners which they brought on the wire fence, in which the following words were written:
“Who’s the culprit who made the team a joke? Evan Doughty!”
“Evan Doughty needs to go! Give us back Tony Twain!”
“The perpetrator must be punished. Evan Doughty must step down!”
“We have a right to know the truth about Tony’s departure!”
“Die, Evan Doughty, die!”
There were no less than ten such banners, densely packed as they hung on the wire fence. They fluttered in the wind and were attention-grabbing.
If the reporters could come in, they would be filming and snapping away in a frenzy around the area.
It could be the best news material –
...
Chapter 907 - Rather Forget About the Past
More than 80 reporters from different media sources crowded the big conference hall of the Crimson Stadium as they attended the press conference in the afternoon.
Evan Doughty and Allan Adams attended this press conference.
The reporters were still rather reserved at the start, asking questions about O’Neill’s resignation, or asking about the identity of the next Nottingham Forest manager. However, after a few questions in, the reporters could hold back no longer and they started to stand up and ask about Tony Twain.
“Is the public letter from Tony Twain true?”
“Did you force a meritorious manager out just because you were unable to agree to his request of having absolute control over the club’s transfer matters?”
“Would you agree that the club’s biggest failure was not to extend Tony Twain’s contract?”
“There was supposedly a big group of fans protesting outside the Wilford gates this morning, care to talk about it?”
“Mr Allan Adams, you said that the club will give the fans an explanation about Twain’s resignation. Can you reveal a little bit about this explanation?”
…
The two of them were embattled by the questions that were coming in like a violent storm. They were obviously not adept at handling reporters and now they realized how dumb their decision to attend this press conference was——They could have just sent any media officer as their spokesperson.
At the end, they had no choice but to use their trump card——
“We’re sorry, but today’s press conference is held to give an official response to Martin O’Neill’s resignation request. We’ll not answer any question that is not related to this matter,” Allan Adams stood out to shield Evan from the questions, but how long could he last?
The reporters came up with an idea and changed the phrasing of the questions.
“Is the reason for Martin O’Neill’s resignation the same as Tony Twain’s reason to resign?”
“It is said that after the friendly match between Forest and England, O’Neill and Twain had another private talk after the press conference. Does it have anything to do with his resignation?”
“It is rumored that the Nottingham Forest team is not united, and Martin O’Neill did not have the trust of all the players. Does this have to do with the fact that Twain’s influence is still strong within the team?”
“Does the club have any countermeasures in place after losing two managers in the span of two months?
…
The reporters were bent on forcing these two to say what they thought about Tony Twain.
Allan Adams had no choice but to keep beating around the bush and answering off topic. The reporters were not happy with his attitude and their questions became even more blistering.
“There’s a rumor that you received a commission from Inter Milan in Lennon’s transfer, is this true?”
“Nonsense!” Allan was finally angered, “Rumors like these are equivalent to slander, I have the rights to sue!” He stood up and waved his hands in an agitated manner.
Evan Doughty, who was next to him, took one look at him and then gave the media officer a look.
The media officer stepped forward to “rescue the emperor”, “Everybody, this will be the end of today’s press conference…”
Before he could finish, Allan and Evan had already turned around and left.
The reporters were not willing to let them go and they chased after them, asking questions until the two of them completely disappeared out of sight.
“Bastards…they’re not cooperative at all!” The reporters complained as they did not get any news that were of value.
“Don’t worry, didn’t Allan say that the club will give the fans a satisfactory reply in four days’ time? Let’s wait and see,” The older counterparts laughed very happily, “This is a wonderful summer. If only every summer is like this…”
※※※
When scenes of this press conference were shown on television, many Forest fans laughed happily at the flustered looks of Allan Adams and Evan Doughty.
At first, they might still be doubtful about it as they did not believe that the club’s management would do something that self-destructive.
However, as the media reports pile up and more and more inside information was dug out, nobody had any other doubts that these two are the culprits behind the club forcing Tony Twain out.
They used the phrase “forced out”. Even though Twain was the one who chose not to extend his contract, nobody thought that Twain was responsible for it after knowing the truth. If not for the fact that the club’s management was unwilling to give up power and wanted to restrict Twain, it was impossible that Twain chose not to extend his contract. This was the result of 11 years of his hard work and there were countless fans who supported him, there was really no reason for him to leave.
So, the club’s management forced Twain out, that was indubitable.
There was laughter coming from the Forest bar too.
The fragmented bar was slowly recovering. The people were no longer arguing about whether Twain treated them unfairly, on the other hand, they felt guilty for how they treated him. Football fans in England are like this, they dare to love as much as they dare to hate.
Bill was the only one who seemed conflicted still.
He had not been there much recently, and even if he did go, he would drink alone at a corner and not pay any mind to anyone who came forward to talk to him.
Today was the same. Nobody noticed him when he arrived as everyone was busy watching and laughing at the club’s chairman and business executive on the television. He preferred it as well as he sat at a corner and made a hand signal asking for beer to Burns behind the bar table.
Burns asked a waiter to bring beer over to him while telling John, “He’s here again.”
John took one look at Bill, “I see him.”
“Aren’t you going to say something? You two are good friends you know.”
“He’s still feeling very confused, I should leave him alone for now. Let’s wait a few days… If he can think it through himself, there will be nothing to worry about, if he can’t, then there’s no use for anyone else to say anything. He’s already almost 50 and he’s still acting like a kid…” John rambled on.
Burns laughed when he heard the last time, “To me, all football fans are like kids. You did a good job leading the guys at Wilford this morning… Did you think about the kind of response that you’ll get? To be honest, I don’t think the club will possibly openly admit that it was a mistake letting Twain go. At least not during this period of time anyway…”
John shook his head and said, “I just want to make things difficult for them, let them know that there are still people in this world who dare to defy them. Even though that man is the club’s chairman, us fans can still give him our middle finger! If they do not give us a satisfactory answer, then we’ll show our displeasure towards the club with our actions in every home game. And…” He stopped for a while, “…it’s also to apologize to Tony. After all, we booed him mercilessly in the Crimson Stadium before. Those jeers must have hurt him. If… I’m saying if, Tony ever returns to the Crimson Stadium, I want to lead everyone to apologize to him.”
“I don’t think there’s much chance of that happening,” Burns dampened John’s enthusiasm.
“I thought so…” John muttered softly after taking a sip of beer.
※※※
“Damn it! Those damned reporters!” Even though Allan Adams was the shield during the press conference, Evan Doughty was the one who was fuming in private.
Allan followed behind Evan without saying anything.
The two of them were walking towards Evan’s mansion from the carpark, a manor that looked like an ancient castle.
“They want to watch us embarrass ourselves, we must not let them get what they want. We’ll shut up after publishing an official statement on our website regarding O’Neill’s resignation. We’ll wait a few days…”
When he talked about what would happen in a few days, Evan stopped and stayed silent, rooted to the spot.
Allan was also curious about the reply that the club was going to give the fans to stop them from creating trouble.
“How are you going to answer them, Evan?” Allan asked.
Evan looked like he made a very tough decision. He let out a deep breath and told Allan, “Aren’t we lacking a manager now that O’Neill’s gone?”
Allan nodded. He did not know what has that got to do with his question.
“I’ve decided to approach Tony.”
Allan was shocked and he suddenly understood what Evan meant, “You’re planning to ask Tony to replace O’Neill? Are you crazy?”
“I’m not crazy, Allan. The best solution now is for Tony to return. He’s the only one who can manage that team and he’s the only one who can calm our fans down. I’ve been thinking about it for one full day and this is the only solution.”
Allan stared at Evan in bewilderment for a long while before giving a wry smile, “After one big round, we’re back at the starting point.”
Evan did not say anything. He knew that it was very humiliating to do that, but to safeguard Nottingham Forest’s future, he had to do so.
“I don’t think he’ll agree to it. He’s someone who’ll seek revenge for the smallest grievance. We’ve offended him and he’ll never come back,” Allan felt that this plan was ridiculous.
“I can apologize to him and I can give him the power and freedom that he wants, give him the highest pay…” If Evan said this two months back, all these would not have happened. Too bad not everyone can predict the future.
“What about his contract with the English Football Association?”
“I plan to go pull some strings in London and fight to allow him to hold the post of the national team’s manager at the same time…”
Allan sighed deeply this time and shook his head, “You’re crazy.” Then he left Evan behind alone and walked on.
Evan was not sure himself if what he was doing was suitable. But this was indeed the only perfect solution that he could think of. If Tony would return and manage the team, all the problems would not be problems. He would lose a bit of pride but in the long run, what he would get far outweighs what he would lose.
※※※
Twain was very surprised that he would still receive a call from Evan Doughty. That was why he was stunned for a few seconds when he saw the name on the display of his mobile phone before picking up the call.
“I thought that you have already deleted my number and destroyed everything that proved that I ever existed, Mr Evan Doughty,” Twain became very sarcastic after picking up the phone.
The person on the other side of the line forced a chuckle. He knew he would be receiving this kind of “welcome speech”.
Evan did not pay heed to Twain’s sarcasm and he told Twain his intention for calling.
Twain’s reaction was not unlike Allan’s, he asked loudly, “Are you crazy?”
“I know this idea might sound a little crazy…”
“A little? Looks like those reporters gave you a tough time.” Twain mocked.
“But I’m here to apologize to you, Tony…”
“Apologize for what?”
“There might have been some misunderstanding between us…”
“There’s no misunderstanding, Mr Doughty. No misunderstandings at all. Me leaving only showed that our ideas towards football, towards Nottingham Forest, were different. Therefore, there’s no need for me to forcefully stay there and of course, since it’s impossible for you to leave, I had to be the one to leave. That’s all there is to that, what’s there to apologize for?
Evan started to think that his method might not work after hearing Twain say that.
“I still hope that you’re reconsider the possibility of returning to Nottingham Forest…”
“There’s no need to reconsider, Mr Doughty. I have a two-years contract with the English Football Association. During this period, I’ll be going nowhere. I won’t go back to managing Nottingham Forest,” Twain said firmly. It seemed like he was really not going to return to Nottingham Forest.
“Your players need you, Tony…”
Twain laughed, and he laughed out loud, “You’re the king of this team, aren’t you? You were arrogant and you thought you could control everything. Now that you realize you can’t, you want me to help you wipe your ass? So sorry, Mr Doughty. I’m tired of it. Good luck to you and good luck to your Nottingham Forest.
With that, he hung up without waiting for Evan to say anything else.
He could still feel the anger burning within his chest after hanging up and the flames were looking for an avenue to exit his body. So, he threw his phone and it smashed onto the wall and broke into countless pieces.
He only managed to calm himself down after drinking two glasses of water.
You decided to abandon me when you’re successful and content, yet you have the cheeks to ask for my assistance when you’re in trouble? Evan, Evan, is your head filled with shit? If I agreed to your request, what would I become? A tool that you can abandon at will? A slut who’ll sleep with you for money?
I’m very sorry but to me, there are indeed many things that we can put a monetary value to, but not dignity.
This is the shit that you created, lick it up yourself!
※※※
After Evan was hung up upon so rudely, he found out that the call could not longer go through when he tried again.
He sat back in his char and held his phone in his hands, lost in thoughts as he looked at the Wilford training ground outside his window.
The scene of the three of them drawing up the blueprint of Nottingham Forest’s magnificence inside an Indian restaurant ten years ago had become a yellow, faded photograph.
The shared target of G14 was also dismissed by a deal made by the UEFA six years ago.
The blueprint that they envisioned was already tattered and torn. If that was the case, why did they have to stick together? They could just go their separate ways from now.
I’ve apologized to you, but you wouldn’t accept it. I’ve tried to approach you with a soft approach, but you rejected me too. From now on, we don’t owe each other anything. What happens to you is none of my business, what happens to Nottingham Forest is none of your business either.
You’re England’s manager while I’m Nottingham Forest Football Club’s chairman. We have no relations with one another anymore.
...
Chapter 908 - This is an Unsatisfactory Answer
Evan Doughty’s “satisfactory answer” was to get Twain back and bring everything back to what it was. Everyone could ignore what happened during the past two months and Nottingham Forest could continue to dominate in England and Europe.
But Twain refused to cooperate with him. Naturally, this meant that this answer would no longer be that satisfactory…
Evan and Allan did not sit idly by in the days following Twain’s refusal. They contacted managers everywhere and it did not matter if they were out of a job or already managing a team, they were all on their list. The two of them had to find a new manager for the team as the team’s transfer activities and pre-season preparations were all in a standstill state. If this situation went on, Nottingham Forest’s glorious plans for the new season would be all for naught.
Hiddink insisted on taking on a dual role as the Netherlands national team manager too, otherwise there was no room for discussion.
McClaren was not interested in being the manager of this team.
Scolari was not willing to manage in England again.
Ancelotti did not want to manage a club that his rival once managed as he did not want people to keep discussing about the rivalry he had with Tony Twain. Besides, people would introduce him as the successor to Tony Twain, that would be a massive humiliation.
Schuster was doing very well in Spain and he did not want to manage in England.
…
They even went looking for a manager in South America, Luxemburgo, Bielsa… Beggars cannot be choosers. They did not care if their targets’ playing style would suit their team, as long as he was a manager, they approached him and asked, “Are you willing to manage the best team in Europe?”
Even though they kept offering an olive branch to everyone, nobody was willing to take it. All the news reports in recent days might have damaged the reputation of the club and many of the managers had to take one thing into consideration when they received the invitation. How long would they be able to last in a club where the management kept interfering with the club’s affairs?
The only appeal they had then was money. Evan had no choice but to increase their offer, hoping to attract a manager of a certain caliber.
Eventually, they finally managed to decide on a manager before the agreed day with the fans.
Ex-Valencia manager, Quique Sánchez Flores accepted the offer from Nottingham Forest and signed a three-year contract, officially becoming the manager of the team.
But the people were not interested in news like this. They were more interested in the manner that the club was going to give the furious fans a “satisfactory answer”.
Media from all over England attended the press conference announcing Flores’ appointment, however, they were not here for the new manager, but they were here to ask about that “answer” instead.
That was a very awkward situation for Flores. He was the second person after Martin O’Neill to have a taste of Tony Twain’s influence. This opening to his managerial life in Nottingham Forest was not a sweet memory.
There were only a few reporters who came all the way from his home country, Spain, who asked Flores a few questions, ensuring that he was not totally humiliated. The rest of the reporters from England directed all their questions at Evan Doughty who attended the press conference with Flores.
At the same time, a group of policemen surrounded another group of people outside the Crimson Stadium. The group that was surrounded were the radical fans of Nottingham Forest and they were standing outside the entrance of the stadium with posters that ridiculed Evan Doughty and Allan Adams as well as slogans insulting them. They were protesting against the club under the searing sun.
The reporters were still squeezed in the media hall, asking…or rather, “bombarding” Evan Doughty with questions.
Doughty could not take it much longer and in the end, he could only say, “My answer is for the fans, not for you reporters.” If not for the fact that he had to stay with Flores to the end of the press conference, he really wanted to just leave then. At that moment, he also realized how annoying the media could be and why Tony loved to go against them. This was something that he did not realize when the media was still praising him.
This press conference was a torment to Flores. However, it was a good thing that he was not very fluent in English as it meant that he did not understand some of the more sarcastic and mean questions. Otherwise, he would most definitely be angered if he knew that the English reporters were questioning his ability to control the stars in the Nottingham Forest changing room and he might even just leave there and then——If he did it, he would have much more experience than Evan. After all, he was famous for being a “manager with an attitude” in Spain.
Due to the troubles caused by the reporters and the fans, this press conference ended very hastily.
Evan Doughty and Flores both left the Crimson Stadium with many things on their minds.
When Evan was driving his car out of the carpark, he saw the protesting fans under the “protection” of the police.
The slogan on the signs that they were holding read, “Go back Americans! Return Tony to us!!”
If these people knew that he had indeed offered Tony the job but got rejected, what would they think about that? At that moment, Evan felt that he loved Forest more than Tony did.
※※※
Allan had hoped to sign a star player for the team before giving an answer to the fans but they were out of time.
On the next day, Nottingham Forest published a public letter that was handwritten by Evan Doughty on their official website.
In the letter, the club chairman did not admit that it was a mistake letting Twain go, nor did he give any explanations about O’Neill’s resignation. He merely told the fans who loved Forest that 11 years was an epoch, it was time for a new dynasty.
“… As the chairman of the club, I’m very thankful for everything that Tony Twain had done for the team and the club. I also miss the days when we were colleagues, but we must move forward, ten years per cycle. It might be time for us to start anew. I’m still very thankful to Tony for winning us the treble in his final season, that was the greatest parting gift. Perhaps, this gift made us lose our judgement, to continue the glory or to mold a new age of glory? I pick the latter.”
“I hope that you’ll continue to support the team. Many managers come and go in the history of the club. When Brian Clough left, weren’t there also people who said that nobody could do better? After him, we welcomed Tony Twain. It’s the same cycle now, why can’t there be a third person?”
“I hope that today will be the beginning of another glorious cycle…”
“That’s bullshit! Tony cannot be surpassed! For real this time!” In the Forest bar, the fans who had a few drinks too many were discussing about the answer that Evan Doughty gave the fans as the chairman of the club, “I bet he must have had too much to drink when he wrote this. He’s brain must be muddled; does he even know what he’s saying?”
“Winning the treble, the double, winning three UEFA Champions League trophies, the only manager who won back-to-back Champions League after the revamp, 12 trophies in 11 years. Winning at least one trophy every year has become a culture and there is even someone who became the host of a television show by insulting him with his writing… To be honest, a manager like this is hard to be surpassed,” Pierce Brosnan wrote this reply to Evan Doughty’s public letter in his column.
“Logically speaking, what Evan Doughty said was not wrong. The footballing world is more and more materialistic nowadays. Managers who can last more than ten years in the same team are rare, so it was normal for Tony to leave. To the Nottingham Forest fans, it might be time to forget about Tony Twain… However, I think that Mr Doughty is wrong about something——Even though Forest welcomed the Tony Twain era after the Clough era, but Flores, who has never managed outside Spain, is definitely not that third person,” Lineker had this to say during BBC’s special regarding the series of events happening to Nottingham Forest.
Carl Spicer, the person that became the host of a television show by insulting Twain with his writing according to Pierce Brosnan, might be the only one who openly supported Evan Doughty’s letter in his show, “This is why I think it’s not very good for a manager to be too charismatic——Not just a manager, a player too. When a person’s influence and existence surpass the club and the team, many things will change. Why so? They’ll change a lot of things that are generally very common… For example, it should be a normal thing for Nottingham Forest to have a change in dynasty, it happens to every team. However, due to Tony Twain’s existence, an usually common move became a traitorous act of forcing out the meritorious… I’m kidding! Even the club chairman can be replaced, why can’t we replace the manager?” Since Twain was also the manager of England, he did not care if he was not the manager of Nottingham Forest.
The media had mixed reactions to this public letter. The fans, however, would not accept it.
Changing of dynasties, the third glorious age, all these were excuses in the eyes of the clever fans, lousy excuses to hide the mistakes they made in their jobs.
It would be strange if they were to be satisfied with an answer like this.
What should they do if they were not satisfied?
※※※
“The protests of the fans against the Nottingham Forest management seems to have reached a climax, normal protests can no longer express the disappointment and anger they felt towards the club. Just today, the club chairman Evan Doughty received a ‘death threat’ in his office…”
The reporter was standing in front of the Wilford gate in the screen and there were many other reporters around him. What was more striking than the reporters were the five police cars with their red and blue siren lights on and the policemen guarding the grounds as though they were facing an enemy.
“The police believes that this was the doing of a radical Nottingham Forest fan…”
The police officer coming out from Wilford was showing the media the evidence of the “death threat” inside the plastic bag——A white envelope and a single bullet.
The crowd in the bar who were watching the television had mixed reactions to it. Some people cheered that radical fan and thought that he spoke for all of them. Some were against it as they believed that no matter how much they hated Evan Doughty, they should not resort to “death threats”.
Fat John did not participate in the discussion. He was concerned about something else.
He searched amongst the crowd for a while before asking Burns at the side, “Have you seen Bill recently, Kenny?”
Burns thought seriously for a moment, then shook his head, “I haven’t seen him here in two days.”
John did not say anything. He closed his mouth and his expression indicated that he was worried.
Burns looked at the television screen and knew what John was worried about. He consoled him, “Don’t imagine things. Bill isn’t that kind of person, honestly, he’s the most timid one amongst all of you…”
“I have a feeling that Bill’s not normal these days, I hope what you’re saying is right…”
Skinny Bill entered with a white envelope in his hands just when he was saying that.
When Fatty saw that envelope, he stared at Bill all the way until he reached his side and passed the letter to Burns.
“Kenny, I’m not educated, help me see whether there are any problems with this letter. Also, get me a beer, I’m so thirsty…”
John was still staring at him with an expression that seemed to suggest that Bill was not holding a letter but a gun instead.
Burns opened the envelope and shook what was inside out——It was neither a bullet nor a knife. It was a piece of folded paper.
Opening it, Burns took one look at it then looked at Bill in surprise, “A confession letter?”
“I feel that I should apologize to Tony, that’s why I wrote this… But you know that I did not receive much education and I’ve already forgotten those things that I learnt in school. I only managed to write so little after two days…” Bill pointed to the piece of paper in Burns’ hands sheepishly, “I don’t think that Tony will ever have the chance to come here anymore and the odds of us meeting is too small. So, I think I should just write a letter to him… If you have the way to do so, please give it to him.”
Burns did not say anything and started reading the letter.
John pushed a mug of golden beer to Bill from the side.
There were droplets of water on the thick glass of the mug and there were white foam overflowing from the side of the opening, very tempting.
“It’s iced, it’s good,” John laughed heartily with Bill.
※※※
A few days later, the case of the “death threat” was solved. The police were able to identify the culprit very easily from the fingerprint on the bullet. It was indeed a radical Nottingham Forest fan who did not have any prior experience, otherwise, he would not have left his fingerprints all over the bullet and the envelope. He was unhappy with the club’s management for forcing Tony Twain out as well as selling Pepe, that was why he sent this letter to teach Evan Doughty a “lesson”.
When he was arrested, the media was following him to interview him. This culprit had no feelings of remorse at all as he shouted towards the camera, “Away with the Americans! We want Tony! We want Tony! Nottingham Forest will be destroyed by this idiot, destroyed…”
He was still in the midst of shouting when the police pushed him into the police car. With the door closed, he was still shouting wildly at the camera, although nobody could hear him anymore.
Even though it was just a false alarm, Evan Doughty was very nervous. He sent his wife and kids to America and firmly condemned this kind of behavior when interviewed.
He was the King of the club and nobody could threaten his rule. He had complete power there. The fans who only knew how to protest on the streets were unimportant to him. However, this event taught him one thing——Even the smallest man can make the King feel fear.
Do not underestimate the fans. Indeed, they might not be able to threaten his position as the chairman of the club no matter how they protest as long as he did not resign, but they could ensure that he could not have a good night’s sleep…
...
Chapter 909 - Nothing to Do with Forest
After the case of the “death threat”, the Nottingham police increased the security around Evan Doughty and Allan Adams under Evan’s request. He became the laughingstock of the whole European footballing world——There were not many club chairmen who received “death threats” from their own fans through the history of European football.
He did not receive any strange envelopes with bullets, blades or white powder after that. However, both his and Allan’s offices were already flooded by condemnation letters from the furious fans.
Evan Doughty’s public letter had completely infuriated the fans.
What did he mean by “it’s time to forget about Tony Twain? What did he mean by “It’s time for a new glorious chapter”?
This guy knows nothing. Tony’s the one who brought us all the glory. More importantly, can we just forget about all the good times just like this? It has only been two months and you’re saying that we should begin on a new journey, do you think everyone is as heartless as you? After more than a decade, there are still people who are thinking about Brian Clough. We have reasons to believe that more than two decades later, Tony Twain will still be in our minds!
And you, Mr Evan Doughty. When you leave your post as chairman, how many people will still think of you? No… There may be many who’ll still be thinking about you, but it won’t be because of any “good times”.
※※※
To distract the fans and to allow the fans to vent their anger through another channel, Nottingham Forest Football Club quickened their forays in the transfer market. Because of the turmoil previously, they have already wasted too much time. They were in the last place of the preparation battle between them and their main competitors for the title.
If their target for this season was really the league title, then they had to make full use of the following ten days——The English Premier League would begin on August 19th and Nottingham Forest had to play in the Community Shield before that. As Forest won the treble in the last season, they would be playing Arsenal, who was second in the league, in the Community Shield.
Just when Forest was still searching for suitable new blood, they lost another important player.
Nuri Şahin’s agent had come to an agreement with Bayern Munich and Nottingham Forest had agreed to the transfer. This transfer would give Forest eighteen million pounds in transfer fee.
Pepe and Şahin left one after another as though the Forest fans were watching a live rendition of “Dynasties”. They had reasons to believe that they would be witnessing departures like these very frequently in future.
On August 5th, Victor Moses transferred to Middlesbrough for a transfer fee of eight million pounds. He did not have many chances to play during his five seasons with Nottingham Forest, instead, he spent most of his time on loan for his development. His original plan was to stay and fight for his place in the team, but he lost confidence in the club during the past two months and decided to leave.
On the next day, Nottingham Forest made the announcement of an “inspiring” transfer.
After an exceptionally difficult negotiation, Nottingham Forest finally had an agreement with Inter Milan for the transfer of their star striker to England’s treble winners. The transfer fee was thirty-five million pounds!
Mario Balotelli, also known as “Super Mario” in Italy, was the most talented young player in Inter Milan in recent years and were touted to be the Inter Milan’s hope for the next decade. However, his relationship with the new manager, Zola, had always been rocky after the departure of Mourinho and he had been asking for a transfer.
He had intended to move to Manchester United, where Mourinho went, and Manchester United did make an offer for Balotelli as well.
But Evan Doughty, with an urgent need to salvage some reputation amongst the fans, intercepted and made this “willing” transfer complicated. Eventually, Nottingham Forest beat Manchester United through the power of money as Manchester United was unwilling to pay the massive transfer fee of thirty-five million pounds. Inter Milan rejected Manchester United’s offer of twenty-four million pounds and accepted the offer from Nottingham Forest. Therefore, Balotelli could only accept this result that was akin to “breaking up an affectionate couple” and “submit” to Nottingham Forest which did not have a good reputation recently.
However, he did not show any such emotions during the press conference. He still praised the team for winning the treble and declared that it had always been a dream of his to join such a great team.
The anger that the fans had for the club were reduced a little with the joining of Italy’s golden boy and there were obviously lesser letters greeting the mothers and wives of Evan Doughty and Allan Adams that were delivered to them.
As time went by, the amount of such letters would only get lesser. When the new season begins, the fans would focus their attention on the matches and not many of them would be interested in spending their time to go against a coward. However, Evan Doughty had better pray that the results under Flores would continue on from the high bar set by Tony Twain, otherwise what awaited him would be an even more intense storm.
If the results were good, there would be no problems even if there were one. If the results were bad, there would be a problem even if there weren’t one.
※※※
Twain was still paying attention to Nottingham Forest. He had no choice but to do so. In the planned name list for England, Nottingham Forest’s players played an important part in it.
He would be watching the Community Shield match at the new Wembley Stadium to examine the performances of the English players of both teams.
When paying attention to this team, he did his best to not criticize Evan Doughty in the newspapers for his wastrel behavior. If he had done so, he would have been acting beyond his authority and it would not be fair to the new manager of the team. He did not want to interfere with the actions of the club and he reminded himself that he had nothing to do with this team anymore ever since he rejected the second offer from Evan Doughty.
The new season was about to begin, and he had to devote himself into his work, there was no time for other thoughts.
There would be people from Nottingham who would pay attention to the fate of Nottingham Forest.
He had a problem then——How to face George Wood when the next match for the national team came.
He heard from that old codger Billy Woox from the phone that Wood was very unhappy with him. If he did not handle it well, it would be the fuse that might separate the national team. In Twain’s plans, George Wood was definitely an integral part. Just like in Forest, he was going to build everything around Wood.
If Wood did not cooperate because he was unhappy with him, then Twain would be in big trouble…
Twain wanted to meet with Wood to have a chat before the Community Shield but Wood rejected him as he needed to “focus on preparing for the Community Shield for now”.
Twain frowned——Was this a terrible premonition?
※※※
The Community Shield was a test for the new manager, Flores. He had to submit a satisfactory test paper, or he would not be able to have a good life in his future managerial career. He was facing a bunch of picky Nottingham Forest fans who had been spoiled by that Tony Twain guy for the past decade.
Being the champion and victories were their tradition.
But Flores was still not the leading character in this game.
When Twain appeared on the stands, the cameras kept going towards him and the commentator as well as guest pundits kept bringing the topic to him.
“Watching a Nottingham Forest match from the stands, this is probably Tony Twain’s first time, isn’t it?
“No, no. This is nothing foreign to him. You just have to check how many times he had been sent to the stands during his reign as the Forest manager… Ha!”
“George Wood is giving a solid performance, let’s take a look at Twain’s expression… Hmm, he is not showing anything on his face at all…”
“Arsenal has scored! A beautiful goal and it only took four one-touch passes to completely dismantle the Forest defensive line! The camera is back on Twain and he’s talking to the England assistant manager, Des Walker beside him. Ah, I apologize, I was just thinking of his reaction if he was down at the sideline…”
“Nottingham Forest has equalized! A header from Mitchell! This is an attack that had a very typical Tony Twain style… Ha, the camera is back on Twain again and he does not look particularly happy… Ah, he’s now the England manager and he has nothing to do with Nottingham Forest anymore. Looks like Flores continued to use Twain’s tactics to ensure the stability of the team…”
“This is very normal. He had only taken over the team for a few days after all. There are many things that he’s not familiar with, and the safest method for him was to use the tactics that the team was most familiar with. Kerslake must have been a big help to Flores… He’s an impressive assistant manager and I heard that Tony Twain approached him when he was constructing his coaching team but he rejected it… Ah, the camera is giving Twain another close-up!”
…
There was someone who made a useless piece of statistics after the game. During the match that lasted 94 minutes, the camera gave Tony Twain in the stands 11 close-up shots and four other shots that swept past him.
The match eventually ended with a victory to Arsenal. Nottingham Forest, which had just endured a massive personnel change, was still able to give Arsenal a run for their money in the first half, demonstrating their treble-winning capacities of last season. The score after the first half was 1:1 and Forest showed their strength by equalizing less than five minutes after Arsenal scored. At that moment, it was as if Tony Twain’s Forest team was still there——The unyielding spirit was still going strong.
However, the team felt like they were sleepwalking in the second half as they lost their will. It might be because the players were unable to maintain their form due to a lack of regular training recently, or it might be because the players lost their will to fight after thinking about the doings of the club in recent months. No matter what, Forest’s performance was boring against Arsenal’s attack.
Arsenal eventually scored two more goals in the second half, winning the match by a 3:1 margin and getting the first trophy of the new season.
The Forest players who lost the game seemed to not care about the results either. Their minds were wandering as they shook hands with their opponents, exchanged jerseys, then walked off the pitch.
And on the stands, there were many Nottingham Forest fans who were unhappy with this result. They gathered around and started to bombard Evan Doughty and his “lackey”, Allan Adams, with vulgarities.
In the VIP box, Evan Doughty was shaking hands with Arsenal Football Club’s chairman, Peter Hill-Wood with an awkward look on his face. The old Hill-Wood gave him a light pat on the shoulder while saying something, probably something to console him…
In fact, Hill-Wood was indeed consoling Doughty, “It’s okay, it’s just a Community Shield.”
When he was leaving the VIP box, he told people next to him, “Nottingham Forest is done. This calls for a celebration, we’ve lost our most competitive opponent.”
Then he laughed and left the VIP box.
Evan Doughty remained rooted to the spot as he stared at the field down below, nobody knew what he was thinking then.
※※※
Tony Twain and Des Walker walked out from the stands and they were stopped by many reporters at the hall. The reporters wanted Twain to tell them what he thought about the match.
And Twain’s reply was very official——
“It was a good match, Arsenal deserved to be champions. Walcott had a very good performance and he deserved to be the man of the match. Of course, Wood had a decent performance as well, unfortunately the team was not on form and it brought him down…”
The reporters were not happy with an answer like this as they did not come to listen to such bullshit.
“Nottingham Forest was hit by a scandal some time back, what do you think about that?”
“I’m not the manager of Nottingham Forest, I’ll not give any opinion about this,’ Twain replied with a straight face.
However, the reporters did not care about Twain’s declaration. They continued to bombard Twain with questions about Nottingham Forest and they did not believe that he would keep quiet.
Honestly speaking, Twain had quite a lot to say about the things happening to Forest deep in his heart. As for comments, he had a lot of them, but they were all personal comments, it would not be nice to let the others know about them.
Pierce Brosnan was still the one who helped him get out of this situation, “Can you give your comment about Flores?”
Twain made use of this question to get out, “Flores is a very impressive manager. He proved his capabilities when managing Valencia. I wish him good luck and I also hope that he can last longer in Forest…’
What he said had double meanings.
Twain and Des Walker made their way out of the crowd and left hastily after answering this question.
The media would probably not continue to ask him such questions after some time. Everyone had to accept this fact——No matter what became of Nottingham Forest in future, it had nothing to do with Tony Twain anymore. Twain had begun a new journey after contributing the most precious 11 years of his life to this team.
Good luck to him.
...
Chapter 910 - Here Lies My Legend
Nottingham Forest was undergoing a transformation not seen in a decade. The next person to leave was reportedly Ibišević. It was a request brought forth by Flores. After all, the Forest team now had the more mature Mitchell. As Ibišević became older, his form would inevitably decline. They could still make money if they took advantage of the present to sell him.
But none of these matters had anything to do with Twain.
In the past, Twain felt that being the manager of the national team must be easier than being the manager of a football club, because the national team played very few games every year. But it was only when he took the position that he realized the error in his thinking.
Having just taken over the England team, he was still not familiar with the players on the national team’s waiting list. So, he had to spend a lot of time doing his homework every day, which was to watch the players’ game videos, getting to know each of their strengths and weaknesses and establishing their positions in his mind.
Even though he had competed with the teams that these players played for when he used to coach the Forest team, doing the research for his players in his team was not the same as studying the opponents. He also needed to get reacquainted with these players. This type of understanding was very detailed. It even included what everyone liked to eat.
Twain’s eyes were a little strained from spending ten hours a day looking at the computer screen. When he was tired, he would give Shania a call and Shania would talk to him no matter how late the time was.
Their time apart was slightly longer, so there seemed to be a lot to talk about between them. In fact, they chatted about the trivia stuff in life such as what he ate this morning and she ate this morning etc. The two people would chatter on for a long time, during the period they would also laugh heartily for a while.
Chatting with Shania was also a way for Twain to relieve his stress, so he never talked about work. He would even try not to talk about football.
※※※
The days passed like this and the new season of the English Premier League had finally begun.
As the defending champion, Nottingham Forest’s home game with the newly promoted team, Charlton was set as the opening match which was to be broadcasted live around the world.
The day before the game, Nottingham Forest’s official website published a slogan for the new season:
New stadium, new season, new glory!
It was also Evan Doughty’s heartfelt wish. After Tony Twain’s departure, the best way to make people forget about the meritorious manager was to re-create a new period of glory. It was as if the best solution after a breakup was not to drown one’s sorrows in drink, but to quickly start a new relationship.
Evan hoped that Flores could get the team back into the phase of passion again. Flores was capable of it. He had once led Valencia to be the domestic powerhouse of Spain, and Evan had high hopes for him.
Ibišević had already left the team and Aaron Mitchell had completely secured the position as the team’s top striker. However, he was not happy playing for the Forest team, because his most trusted manager had left, and a lot of things had happened in the team. If it were not for the fact that he was the most hardcore Forest fan from an early age, it was possible that he would also follow the example of those players who left and quit the Forest team.
Twain would once again head to the stadium to watch the game for this opening match. For him to choose to watch Nottingham Forest play twice in a row, some media thought it was the signal that Twain would form the new national team with the Forest players as the core. Some people also thought it was just that Twain could not let go the team he had once coached for eleven years deep down.
Perhaps only Twain himself knew what he was thinking. Having actually watched Nottingham Forest play twice in a row within a week’s time, it was bound to cause displeasure in other clubs which felt that he had ignored the other nineteen clubs in the English Premier League. But Twain had always been a man who marched to his own beat and the English Football Association did not influence the rules against watching the games of the same team continuously.
“I don’t deny that I intend to build a team with the Nottingham Forest players as its core, Des.” On the way to the stadium, Twain said to the assistant manager next to him. He needed to make the assistant managers understand his own thinking so that they could work well together.
Walker did not say anything. He knew his partner’s temper. The media’s comments basically could not affect this person at all. He just needed to worry about whether the Forest players could withstand the pressure.
By the time the two men arrive at the Crimson Stadium, a lot of people were already seated in the stands. The players from both sides were warming up on the pitch. They did not meet anyone on their way to the VIP box, and they were naturally not recognized by the avid fans.
Walker even made fun of Twain, “You’re not wearing your sunglasses today?”
Twain glanced at him and said, “It’s a cloudy day.”
Walker grinned and smiled silently.
The last time Twain came here, the scene of being booed by more than fifty thousand fans was still vivid in his mind, and it was not a pleasant experience. Coming back here more than half a month later, dramatic changes had happened here.
Pepe was gone, Şahin had left, Ibišević was gone and Martin O’Neill had also left.
The Nottingham Forest team, which was in the midst of its warmup, was becoming unfamiliar to him and would soon have nothing to do with Twain.
Twain and Walker sat down in their seats and waited quietly for the game to begin.
With five minutes to go before kick-off, the club chairman, Evan Doughty, appeared on the podium. The live broadcast also cut the camera footage to him. When the fans saw him appeared on the big screen, the crowd, which had been idle before, began to boo him in unison.
Then a striking sign appeared in the grandstand opposite the podium, with the wording written on it in black paint:
Fuck you, Mr. Doughty!!!
One sentence was enough to convey all of what the Forest fans had wanted to express.
Twain could not help but laugh when he saw the sign in the VIP box. It looked like these fans already knew exactly who the cause of these problems at the moment was. He did not have to be made a scapegoat anymore.
The director in charge of the live broadcast of the game was a smart man. The fifteen cameras throughout the stadium captured every corner of the stadium. With fifteen monitor screens in front of him, the fifth camera captured the shot of Evan Doughty. As a director who already knew what had happened recently at Nottingham Forest, he purposely broadcasted the footage.
He was very pleased with the reaction of the fans in the stadium. The first attention grabber of the game had already been produced.
At this time, the fifteenth camera scanned the area of the VIP box and the eagle-eyed director felt something was up.
He motioned to his men to cut to the footage that had just swept past the area. Then he saw a familiar face on it.
He laughed and said, “Ah ha! I got you, baby…. zoom in for a close-up! Prepare to hold for at least ten seconds!”
The man in the frame was Tony Twain.
※※※
When Tony Twain and Des Walker appeared on the big screen in the stadium, the fans who were booing Evan Doughty in the stands, stopped booing the club chairman and began to stand up to applaud the man on the big screen.
Some people even blew their whistles, but it was not to hiss at him.
On the screen, Twain was seen talking to Walker but did not notice the figure on the big screen had been switched to him. Instead, Walker, who had been listening to him talk, saw it and hurriedly gestured to Twain.
As a result, Twain also looked up at the big screen.
When he looked up, the applause in the stadium kept going. Loud cheers also erupted. Many fans blew their whistles and waved their red scarves at him, while other people opened their mouths and shouted something. But the voices were fragmented and could not be heard clearly amid the ruckus.
Walked smiled and said to a surprised Twain, “It’s a very different treatment than last time, Tony. How do you feel?”
To be honest, Twain was really taken aback by the fans’ conduct. Although he thought that after the truth was revealed, he would not have to suffer the fans’ hissing anymore. He did not expect that he could still receive such a welcome …
After regaining his composure, he was a little moved.
No matter which corner the fans were in the stands, everyone stood up and turned to the VIP box on the left side of the podium. Then they waved their scarves or anything that could be waved in their hands at him.
The shouts of these people grew louder and louder. Eventually a torrent of voices washed over the podium and surged toward the VIP box.
Now the voices could be heard clearly without having to cock his ear to the side to listen carefully. The voices were clearly transmitted to Twain’s ears. Even the thick double-layered soundproof glass did not do the trick at all.
More than fifty thousand fans were chanting a person’s name.
“Tony! Tony! Tony!!”
The voices swept through the stadium, and they barreled on without any constraints.
※※※
“Zoom in closer! Another close-up! I want a close-up of his face!” The director in charge of broadcasting the game directed the camera. It was the best show before the game.
※※※
In the zoomed-in close-up shot of his face, people could clearly see that Twain’s eyes glistened with tears as he stood up and looked at the grandstand.
He was sitting before. When the fans’ voices grew louder, he could no longer sit still, so he stood up.
Standing in the VIP box, close to the huge glass wall, he looked down at the fans below who were starting a violent commotion.
※※※
Skinny Bill in the stands whistled and clapped. He waved his scarf after a few claps, and faced the VIP box. Behind him, many people did the same as him.
These people used to scold and boo Twain in the same place. But now they gave the same person applause and cheers from their hearts.
“Tony!!” Bill roared till he was hoarse as if his vocal cords would break.
John looked at him beside him without clapping as he and his companions were holding a banner and facing the VIP box.
The banner was not unfamiliar to Twain. The banner was here when he led his team here to compete half a month ago. The banner said to him here:
Welcome home, Tony!
The thunderous cheers lasted a whole minute, and there was no sign of abatement. What should have been a ten-second close-up turned into a minute, and then two minutes…
The commentator and pundits, who were doing the pre-match analysis, looked at the live footage of the stadium and exclaimed, “This is indeed a reception fit for a king…”
“Perhaps the English Football Association should consider changing the England national team’s home ground from the new Wembley Stadium to the Crimson Stadium. In this place, Tony Twain’s team will definitely get the warmest and most unconditional support.”
※※※
Both teams had finished their preparation work in the locker room and the players showed up in the tunnel one by one. They lined up and waited for their appearances.
Then they heard a round of loud cheers and applause, which erupted without warning, especially when the sounds came closely after a series of boos. No one could figure out what was going on outside.
“What’s going on?”
“I don’t know…”
While a group of people were still confused about it, Flores walked out, accompanied by Kerslake.
Thunderous cheers came from the stadium and he was almost rocked into stumbling by the noise.
His first reaction was: This is a tribute of cheers and applause for me!
So, he held his head high and puffed out his chest, intending to accept the welcome gift.
He did not expect to look up and see a close-up of Tony Twain on the big screen. His expression turned awkward, and he understood whom the momentum was meant to welcome…
※※※
As the fans cheered louder, the uglier Evan Doughty’s face became on the podium. In his view, the fans’ move was undoubtedly a slap in the face in the name of welcoming Twain.
And what made him even more furious was that he could not retaliate yet…
※※※
“I know!” said Bale as he suddenly snapped his fingers.
The Forest players looked at him.
Bale did not announce the answer directly, but acted mysteriously and asked instead, “Who can be so popular here? Who’s the one who can make the fans outside cheer for two minutes? Who is eligible to enjoy such a treatment? Who indeed?!”
When Bale asked the first question, the players had already guessed who he was talking about. Because in the whole of Nottingham, there would not be a second person who could meet all of these characteristics.
So, before Bale finished talking, everyone followed suit and shouted out, “The boss!!”
“Yes!”
The Charlton players next to them got a fright when the Forest players suddenly shouted. They leaned on the other side and curiously observed the opponents with their strange behavior. They definitely could not understand the older Nottingham Forest players’ deep affection for Tony Twain, just like they could not understand the earthshattering cheers outside.
George Wood was the last to come out. As soon as he got here, he heard his teammates shouting, “The boss!!”
“What’s going on?” Wood asked.
Bale pointed excitedly above and said to him, “The boss is back! He’s up there!”
Wood glared at him and said, “What does it have to do with us? Our mission here is to win the game.”
Bale shrugged it off and ignored the surly man.
※※※
Twain stood in the VIP box while the fans were still shouting his name, waving scarves toward him, clapping, whistling and expressing their love for Twain unreservedly.
His emotions finally stabilized.
Although it was a freak combination of factors that he would appear here in the beginning, he’d never thought he would have anything to do with such a professional football club in England. But now Nottingham Forest had taken a very important place in his life.
He thought he would never fall in love with a second team again in his life.
This place held his ideals, but also the cruel reality. There were years full of passion and even more painful memories full of tears. Eleven years of his life were also spent here.
When he left here after bringing back twelve championship trophies for the team, he found that no matter how many championship trophies were won, they could not be compared to the fans’ support from the heart, which gave him a sense of accomplishment.
It was precisely because of these people in front of him that there was a glorious meaning for him to give his best to “grab” back the championship trophy.
※※※
The players came out and the cheers still continued.
Almost all the players who had played for Twain, turned their heads and looked up as they ran out of the tunnel to look for Tony Twain in the VIP box. After learning the truth, the players who were previously bewildered and at a loss, rediscovered their faith. It made them ecstatic to know that their most admired person did not betray them.
As Bale ran out, he turned to salute the VIP box.
Walker knew what this action meant. He lamented at the side, “It’s really tough to be your successor.”
Still standing in front of the glass wall, Twain replied, “Eleven years. If I couldn’t even leave something behind, then I would have failed.”
“You said Doughty had called you again and invited you to return to the team. Why did you refuse?” Walker could not help but ask when he saw Twain looking reluctant to part with the team.
“Although Evan was a jerk, he said something right. It was time to start a new journey again, which is true for me and for Nottingham Forest as well.” Twain turned around and said to Walker.
The fans had already turned their attention to the players who came out. Every Forest player was greeted with a hero’s applause.
The big screen in the stadium also changed to show the list of appearances for the two teams. Twain finally retreated from everyone’s sight.
※※※
In the opening game, Nottingham Forest, who had the home field advantage, was almost beaten by the newly promoted team, Charlton. Had it not been for the two consecutive goals scored in the last five minutes, there was a chance they would have lost the game at 1:0 in their home ground.
The Forest players did not want to perform too badly in front of their boss. However, they were burdened by that thought.
A near-miss victory did not please the fans. Instead, it only made them yearn for Tony Twain in the VIP box even more. In the final ten minutes of the game, the fans took aim at Evan Doughty on the podium again. They stuck their middle fingers at Evan and mouthed the word “F**k” to insult him. Then they shouted Tony Twain’s name to further embarrass Evan.
Even the news media and match commentator did not pay much attention to the outcome of the game… Or it could be said that the results and proceedings of the game had further fueled their interest in reporting on “Tony Twain’s influence on this team.”
To all the media present, they had personally witnessed the shocking scene before the game began and learned from one aspect what Tony Twain meant to Nottingham Forest.
Although he was not a leader of the club with the highest post, he was indeed the king here.
It was because —
Even though he might no longer be here, his legend still laid her
...
Chapter 911 - Twain’s Trouble
The new season had just started. Nottingham Forest played three league games, winning two and drawing in one, so it was not that bad. Although they replaced two head coaches, the foundation Tony Twain left behind was very sturdy so even after experiencing a huge change in the summer, the team was still maintaining its high standards.
After seeing how the Nottingham Forest was faring, the media also changed their mindset towards Nottingham Forest. Previously they were not optimistic about Nottingham Forest since they had experienced a whole typhoon with tremendous amounts of internal and external issues. Experts had analysed that Nottingham Forest’s goal this season was to qualify for next season’s European fixture, not even for the Champions League or the Confederations Cup, or even to try to defend their championships.
Now they believe that Nottingham Forest would remain a strong contender for the title as long as Flores could stabilize the team.
Nottingham Forest did well and the happiest man was Evan Doughty. As the league progressed, the slurs he received were disappearing. Although there were still fans displaying banners in the audience stands which scolded him every game, that was only a limited few and he chose to ignore those.
He began to visualize the scene of the team successfully winning the championships by the end of the season. By then everyone would have completely forgotten Tony Twain, and would start praising him being the most successful chairperson in the club’s history, being able to match up to Real Madrid’s Bernabeu.
The 30-year-old Ibišević had been sold to Serie A newcomer Sejana, with Nottingham Forest reaping a fee of 20 million pounds from the deal. It must be said that that Alan Adams was an expert in negotiating. The 30-year-old Ibišević was blown up by Alan as a huge character playing in the golden years of the strikers, being efficient and stable in scoring, and even had a number of cup-winning experience which was very essential as the triple crown team’s main striker, and only selling at 20 million pounds, it would be really profitable for you!
Just like that, Nottingham Forest sent away the last player who would leave the team this summer. Aaron Mitchell was thoroughly focused upon as he became the team’s leading scorer. Although everyone had predicted Gareth Bale, George Wood, Fernando Gago, Akinfeev would transfer, however there was no transfer news for them. Still, the media believed that this was only temporary due to the disagreement in financial terms which hindered them from leaving and this did not mean that they would not leave by summer next year. As long as the results of Nottingham Forest were not satisfactory this season, then it was only certain that those people would leave eventually.
Nottingham Forest had only bought four men this summer and had not actually done much of the purge. That was thanks to the two-time head coach Martin O’Neill and Flores being aware and persistent – under such circumstances, there was nothing more effective than keeping the squad formation stable.
Thiago Silva, Michael Dawson and Mario Balotelli, as well as a Belgian attacking forward, Eden Hazard.
The scale of the transfers was not great, and this was also amongst the issues that they were entangled with being “who was actually responsible behind the current state of the team”. No one was responsible for the team’s preparations for the new season, and no one had a practical plan to be implemented. Even for Flores who had taken over when the new season was almost going to start. Arranging an actual formation with the cards he had was enough of a headache so he did not even bother to think about things like transfers.
Nottingham Forest was in fourth place after the three rounds. They were about to leave for Monaco for the European Super Cup. As winners of last season’s European Champions Cup, they will compete with last season’s Confederations Cup winners, Alkmaar of the Netherlands, for the king of Europe.
Before that, through one of the major news in the England team, Tony Twain had announced his second roster for the country team.
Not far off from the media’s predictions, the vast majority of the 25-person list were old faces.
Not many of the fringe figures in the first friendly were on the list. It was the first official game Twain led the England team to play so he was even more cautious than most people thought.
In the previous draw, England were placed in Group 3 which was also called Group C. The other six teams in their group were the Nordic powerhouses Denmark, Wales, Ireland, Serbia, Macedonia and Armenia. To be honest this group was not the strongest group in terms of potential, and perhaps only Denmark and Serbia could pose a threat to England. But in Twain’s mind, the more foreign teams were the more dangerous ones. This was the same as playing against a club – you would make more mistakes when playing against a team whom you had never played against before.
Against a rival like Macedonia, Twain admitted he did not know anything about them. So, during this period of time, the days in which he did go to the Premier League to watch the games, he would be working with his coaching staff desperately to gather information about Macedonia, then analyze tactics and study countermeasures against them.
It was England’s first game in this European Championship qualifier and Twain really cared about this. He wanted the team to win the opener so that the games that came after would be easier to play. Another factor that was not as superstitious was that Macedonia was not a strong team, so if England was not able to win Macedonia on home ground they would then lose a chance to get points.
None of the 26-man roster signed by Twain was from a non-Premier League team.
Arsenal had two players in the squad who both came from midfield —Theo Walcott and Jack Wilshere.
Aston Villa also had two players selected— goalkeeper Stuart Taylor and right-back Glen Johnson.
Blackburn had only one person, the veteran goalkeeper Paul Robinson.
Chelsea had three players, the middle full back John Terry, the midfielder Joe Cole and the midfielder James Milner.
Manchester City had three, the midfielder Gareth Barry, center-back Curtis Davies, and full back Steven Taylor.
Manchester United had three as well, center-back Rio Ferdinand, forward striker Wayne Rooney, midfielder Michael Carrick.
Two from Liverpool, the midfielder Steven Gerrard and Nigel Reo-Coker.
One person from Middlebrough, midfield winger Stewart Twaining.
A lone person from Leeds United, Fabian Delph, a professional midfielder.
Three from Everton, full back being Joleon Lescott, left back Leighton Baines and striker James Vaughan.
Next up is Nottingham Forest, which had the largest number of national teams players, with five of them selected. Left back Joe Mattock, midfielder David Bentley, center striker Aaron Mitchell, Gabriel Agbonlahor, as well as their team captain, the defensive midfielder George Wood.
※※※
“Tony Twain had fulfilled what he said at his inaugural press conference, ‘If the Nottingham Forest players are doing well, why not just choose them?’ Looking at such a big roster we once again realize the fact that Tony Twain had only coached in Nottingham Forest before becoming the head coach of the England team. He was most familiar with this team…”
This was how the media commented on the huge roster list.
In terms of quality selection, the only ones with a strong “Tony Twain’s style” was the five Nottingham Forest players.
“The Nottingham Forest players were not been affected by that chaotic summer and would take on important responsibilities in the New England team. ”
“Tony Twain’s cronyism is likely to provoke discontent from other clubs.”
“What do they mean by being discontented?” Twain swore by habit as he threw the newspapers which was talking bad about him. “The head coaches would be more than happy if I don’t take their players. Did you see Benitez’s look on his face when you saw me calling up Gerrard, who had just returned from injury? He looked like I snatched his wife from him. ”
Walker was laughing at the side.
It was the twenty-ninth of August that day. Registered soccer players had one by one flown in from all over the world to London for the games. Everyone else had arrived except for the five players from Nottingham Forest who would only be reporting for this after their matches at the UEFA Super Cup.
Twain and Walker were waiting in front of the television for the match to start.
Being in a different position, Twain realised that his mindset and attitude had taken a turn for the better. In the past, under such circumstances, he would have hated that the national team recruited new players before major matches. This is because that would influence the thinking of the players who would constantly worry about getting hurt during their matches that would deem them incompetent when the time for the real game came. As for the coach of the Club, if his players had that kind of attitude, it could possibly cost his chance at the championship, hence he tries his best to avoid such situations.
However, the times have changed. Nowadays, he aligned his thinking with his players and prioritised their well-being. He constantly fretted over the players injuring themselves during trainings and competitions at the Club or that they had exhausted their fighting spirit during training such that they have little to none left when they begin their training with the national team.
Nonetheless this change in attitude did not mean that Nottingham Forest was giving up on the championship title. For Nottingham Forest, defeat was unthinkable.
Since Alkmaar was not a formidable team, it should be effortless for Nottingham Forest to emerge victorious in that match. For Twaine, who acknowledged that victory clearly belonged with Nottingham Forest, he simply hoped that Flores would leave him with some dignity by swapping the main players of the team during the match.
The television started the streaming of the match with the name lists of the players on both teams.
On Nottingham Forest’s end, there was Akinfeev as goalkeeper, Michael Dawson and Thiago Silva as the center backs, Gareth Bell as left back and Rafinha as right back. As for the midfielders, they were George Wood, Fernando Gago, Matthias Fernandez and David Bentley while the strikers were Aaron Mitchell and Agbonlahor.
Besides Joe Matok who was missing from the starting lineup, everyone else was present.
Twain’s only wish then was for none of them to get injured or to encounter any physical problems that would hinder their performance.
※※※
This UEFA Super Cup eventually ended in the victory of Nottingham Forest. For the match with Alkmaar, Nottingham Forest had swiftly taken control of the midfield soon after the initial taunts by Alkmaar. With firm and unparalleled control over the midfield by George Wood and Gago, Nottingham Forest began their counterattack on Alkmaar.
Their skillful gameplay had proven them worthy of the title of Triple Crown from the last season.
Continuous attacks by Nottingham Forest had threatened Alkmaar’s goal post. The aggressive strategy that Nottingham Forest cleverly used against Alkmaar paid off at the thirty-seventh minute mark.
Mitchell proficiently headed the ball passed to him by Agbonlahor and managed to get the ball into their opponent’s goal post.
Upon seeing the goal by Nottingham Forest, Walker felt extremely delighted. He was glad to see that both of the players were in good condition from their stellar performance.
“They are capable of being the super striker duo in the national team. Agbonlahor and Mitchell show reasonable chemistry with each other…” he suggested.
However, Twain shook his head, “Managing the national team is no simple task, Des. Just look at me. I had only recruited some players from Nottingham Forest and in no time, the media had picked it up and started their criticisms. If I take the risk of putting Rooney, who is perfectly fit, on the reserved team, I would be inviting trouble for myself with the Manchester reporters. I have to strike a balance among the parties. I definitely wouldn’t want for my team to to form cliques like “Team Forest”, “Team Manchester”, “Team Liverpool”, “Team Chelsea”, “Team Gunners”… all of these unpleasant cliques.”
Walker rolled his eyes at Twain, “In that case, why did you tell the reporters that you would use them on your team if they performed outstandingly?”
“That was only one way of appeasing the reporters. Besides, that was also to convey a message to the players that I only acknowledge their performance and not their person in themselves. Simply a way to manage the team. In reality, I wouldn’t be as rigid. There are many ambivalent situations that don’t allow for simple solutions. Alright, let’s not talk about this anymore. Let’s continue watching the match…”
After Nottingham Forest had taken the lead, Alkmaar attempted to counterattack only to find themselves leaving much room for their opponents to use against them. Nottingham Forest seized the opportunity once again and more or less guaranteed their victory by the time the first half came to an end.
The rest of the match seemed meaningless to watch. Flores had respected Twain enough to replace Bentley and Mitchell, both English national players, into the second half of the match. As the captain, George Wood had faithfully played till the end. Twain had nothing to complain about that. Wood was a beast and the warrior of the future. With his physical fitness, Wood could easily play the entirety of the match.
※※※
When Nottingham Forest lost the Community Shield, everyone was concerned that a team like that would not be able to last in the new season and would lose every game that came their way. It was then that Flores led the team to championship at the Super Cup. That was great news for the team which assured the players and inspired the fighting spirit in them.
Evan Doughty was smiling brightly on the podium. This was probably the happiest he had been in the past three months. George Wood raised the Super Cup trophy high up in the air as he was embraced by all his teammates surrounding him. Everyone reached their hands for the trophy.
The commentator excitedly announced, “Nottingham Forest has successfully clinched the championship! They are the King of Kings in Europe this year! After experiencing a hell of a summer, they had regained their footing. This is also Flores’ first win with the team he has coached. It seems like Flores is confident in leading the team in continuing the legacy of Tony Twain! Perhaps it won’t be long before he can successfully replace the place of Tony Twain in the hearts of the fans…”
Walker stole a glance at Twain at the side.
Twain’s expression remained unchanged. He realised Twain was looking at him and stared at Twain, “Stop looking. Be prepared to face the biggest problem.”
“The biggest problem?” Walker froze. He had not heard of such a thing, what problems could there be? Did something go wrong? Was it something to do with Nottingham Forest? Don’t those players belong to Twain? How could there be a problem?”
Twain did not explain. He continued to stare at the television screen. In fact, he had only just been triggered as well. Observing George Wood’s face, Twain suddenly remembered — the second time he had gone to Crimson Stadium, he was cheered on by the fans and was respectfully greeted by the players yet Twain did not have anything to say about it. He was in front of the team and was the first to march out from the underpass yet he did not even lift his head.
Twain was unsure of Wood’s intentions or how he thought of himself.
How was he going to face George when they are both in the national team?
This was probably the biggest problem… (To be continued, if you want to know how the plot continues, please log into www.qidian.com where there would be more chapters, support the author, support legal reading!).
...
Chapter 912 - National Team Call Up Completed
Nottingham Forest did not have a direct flight to Birmingham Airport, and they landed in London Heathrow airport instead. There were not many players who came back along with the team as most of players who were called up to play for their country split up with the team at Monaco.
Only the five players who were part of the England squad returned to England with the team. They then split up with the team in London and went to Colney in North London. The place that was usually the training ground for Arsenal was now the exclusive training ground of the national team.
When they went their different ways at the airport, Flores suddenly felt a need to expand his influence in the changing room as he looked at the five players gathered together. In the changing room now, the players were still discussing about Tony Twain more instead of himself. This made him a little jealous.
Therefore, he walked over, gave Bentley a pat on his shoulder and said using his less than fluent English, “Kids, don’t get hurt.”
This sentence that was full of concern did not receive the proper response. The England players who were chatting amongst themselves turned to look at their manager without saying anything.
Even Wood looked at Flores expressionlessly, bordering on being rude.
Joe Mattock, the most inexperienced player in the national team there, broke the awkward atmosphere, “We’ll take care of ourselves boss.”
After that, the group of them turned around and started talking amongst themselves again.
Flores felt very awkward and did not feel good standing there anymore. If they were discussing about a private topic… People might think that he was eavesdropping by standing there and it would be detrimental to him managing the players. Every player had their own little secret that they did not want the manager to know.
Resentfully, he left and returned to his own place.
Kerslake saw everything. In his heart, he really pitied Flores. That was because even he unintentionally compared Flores with Tony Twain at that moment. He was thinking in his mind that if that had been Tony, the group of players would happily include him in their discussions and joked without holding back, attracting the glances of everyone around them.
That was what Forest used to look like.
Now, it was just a distant memory. The Forest team seemed to be in harmony on the surface because of the decent results. The players also said that Flores was a good manager when interviewed as the negative news of the team reduced a lot compared to three months ago.
However, testing times would never come when things were going well. Once there are problems with the team’s results, Flores and the team will be under a massive amount of stress. Those restless media and fans would gladly summon Tony Twain again and reminisce about the glorious times.
As Tony Twain sculpted himself to be the King of the team, it also became a Damascus sword pointed at the team.
How ironic.
To fully rid Forest of Tony Twain’s influence, it would need to take more than one season…
※※※
When Flores returned to his seat, the players continued their discussion. They were indeed discussing about Twain. Other than Wood, the others were all excited and looking forward to being reunited with Twain——After more than three months, they could finally play under boss again!
“I’m going to give boss a hug!” Aaron Mitchell announced excitedly. Just like how Pepe did in the changing room previously. He still regretted letting Pepe hog all the limelight last time, “As an apology! As my apology to him for ever doubting him!”
“Okay Aaron. You don’t have to be so loud. Are you trying to let the whole world know that you wronged boss?” Bentley thought that Mitchell was like a kid sometimes.
Mitchell lowered his voice and mumbled, “I’m going to give boss a hug anyway.”
“Come to think of it…” Bentley said while stroking his chin, “When boss was still around, I didn’t think much about hearing him speak in the changing room. But it has only been three months and I’m suddenly missing him inside the changing room…”
“Hey, do you think the boss will give us special care?” Joe Mattock asked al of a sudden, stunning everyone.
Mattock was someone on the peripheral of the national team, behind the pecking order of Ashley Cole, Leighton Barnes and Lescott, who could also play in the left-back position. If not for the fact that Ashley Cole had not recovered from his injuries, he might not even make it into the call-up list. Mattock felt that he was chosen because he was a “Forest player”. It was a good thing to be called up, but if he was only called up for this reason… There might be a heavy burden on him.
“I don’t think so. Boss is not a manager who will give special treatment to people,” Bentley refuted Mattock’s thinking, “Besides, if he gave us special treatment, how badly do you think the outside media will criticize him?”
Agbonlahor shrugged, “I’m not so sure. Boss is an unique person who doesn’t care about what the media says, he even likes going against them. I think that boss is someone who wears his heart on his sleeves. If we perform well, I think we have a very good chance to be in the starting lineup!”
George Wood did not want to join in the discussion as he thought this topic was boring. However, he was still pulled into it by the child-like Mitchell.
“George, what do you think?”
For a moment, the discussion stopped, and everyone turned to look at him.
Wood was able to show a long face and act as though he was unwilling to talk to anyone towards his agent, the media, even to that man. However, it was not possible for him to do that to his teammate, his comrade in arms.
“I…I agree with David,” Wood pointed at Bentley as he kicked the ball back.
Everyone knew that Wood was not a talkative person and they did not pester him anymore since he already gave his opinion.
The group chatted for a little while longer before preparing to board the car.
Mitchell was still lost in the discussion. He sighed and said, “Reuniting with boss in the national team, I’ve never even thought about it before…”
What he said touched on the fact that Twain was no longer with Forest and all of a sudden, they were no longer in the mood to continue chatting.
And they stayed silent all the way on the journey to Colney.
※※※
Colney training base was in Hertfordshire, only a 45 minutes journey from Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium by car. This was now the training base for the England national team. The Arsenal first team had three training grounds which were all used by the national team now. Those first team players who were not called up to their respective national teams would train with the reserve team without worrying about causing any trouble for the reserve team. For a team like Arsenal, even their substitutes in the first team were national team players. So, there were only a few players left behind, probably only the ones who were injured.
This training base had an area of 143 hectares, out of which, 45 hectares were covered by woods. The environment was very pleasant with no skyscrapers around, unobstructed views, fresh air and it was so quiet it felt like a hidden utopia. Training in a place like this was a luxury. Compared to Colney, Nottingham Forest’s Wilford training grounds was a much stingier place. It was no wonder that Even Doughty planned to build a new training base. It looked like he was planning to reach the “big club” status in terms of equipment and facilities.
Colney was the best training base in England. If the training base that Evan Doughty had in mind was built, Colney would have to settle for second place. As for now, there was no other training bases that could displace it from its position.
Ten standard sized pitches, each installed with underground drainage system and an automatic spraying system. Two of the pitches were even installed with underground heating system so that outdoor training could still take place even when it was snowing.
That was why the English Football Association picked Colney as England’s designated training base.
When Wood’s gang of five arrived at Colney, the England team had just ended their morning training and the players were going back to the changing room. Only a few players were stopped by the media for interviews outside.
Their arrivals attracted the attention of the media. If it was not because they were interviewing other players, they would have rushed towards them.
At this moment, Des Walker appeared between the two parties and took them away.
“Tony wants to see you guys,” he told Wood.
Bentley whistled from behind. They knew that he meant Wood when he said that he wanted to meet them.
“Leave your stuff in the hostel and come over.”
Wood did not ask silly questions like “where’s the hostel” or “where is he”, this was not his first time participating in the national team’s training. He dragged his luggage and signaled for his teammates to go with him.
The reporters went after them and only stopped after taking dozens of pictures.
“The national team is all here now. Hey, I have insider news…” The reporters gathered to talk after finishing their interviews.
The others became interested after hearing him say that as this reporter was from The Sun.
“Things are not well between George Wood and Tony Twain!” The reporter said with a mysterious tone. He was not afraid that these people would take this piece of news and publish it as their own insider story as The Sun had already decided to publish this on their papers tomorrow. They specially waited for Wood to arrive at the national team for better effect.
“Eh? Is that true?”
“Surely not? Didn’t they say that they were like father and son?”
“Wood was found and trained by Twain himself, and there are even rumors of some weird relationship between Twain and his mother…”
The reporters were all shocked.
That reporter was very satisfied with their reactions.
“Why is it impossible? Italy’s Cassano treated Capello as his father too, didn’t he? In the end? Didn’t they turn against each other too?” The reporter from The Sun gave a clap, “Who knows, the relationship between Wood and Twain might be a timebomb in the national team. Now that Wood is becoming more and more impactful in the team, he is basically the forecast of the team’s results. If his form is good, the team’s result will be good; If he’s in a bad form… Capello is a good example.”
The reporter from The Sun laughed.
Everyone understood why he was acting like that. Twain and The Sun were at loggerheads and they would grab any opportunity to make things difficult for each other.
The reporters thought about the relationship between them and some of them immediately thought that this was a deliberate move by The Sun to make things difficult for Twain. The rumor of Wood and Twain falling out became half as believable.
The Sun’s reporter could tell that some people doubted him. He did not bother to explain himself, merely saying, “Ha, we’ll wait and see then!”
Those reporters were still being kept in the dark. The Sun had paparazzi all over England and they were guaranteed to be able to get the most accurate, most confidential and latest news!
We’ll show Tony Twain tomorrow when the papers are published!
※※※
George Wood knocked on the door of Twain’s temporary office with his teammates in tow.
Twain and Kerslake were talking happily inside.
When the five players from Nottingham Forest appeared in front of him, Twain stood up and walked towards them with his arms open.
“Welcome, my friends.”
Wood was standing right in front, and he should have been the first one to hug Twain. However, Aaron Mitchell rushed out with his arms open from behind, as if he was afraid that he could not keep his promise.
“Boss!” He shouted excitedly and embraced Twain.
Twain did not let anyone see the expression change in his face——He had planned to give Wood a hug to soften his stance, he did not expect Mitchell to pop out first. He could only play by ear now…
“Oh——Not so hard Aaron!” Twain shouted. Mitchell used so much force in his agitation that Twain felt pain.
“Ah, sorry, sorry…boss!” Michell let go quickly, panicking a little.
But Twain just smiled and looked at him with a look that suggested he was looking at his own child.
“You look tired,” he said.
“I’m not!” Mitchell shook his head vigorously.
Twain smiled without saying anything and he looked at the next person.
Bentley did not hug Twain like Mitchell, he merely looked at Twain and said, “It’s been awhile boss.”
“You guys saw me a fortnight ago.”
“We were…opponents then, this is different.”
It was Agbonlahor and Joe Mattock’s turns after welcoming Bentley.
Finally, he appeared in front of George Wood.
The smile on Twain’s face disappeared because there were no traces of a smile on Wood’s face.
The cordial atmosphere previously suddenly became awkward.
His four teammates tried their best to not look at the two of them as their eyes darted around the room to hide the awkwardness.
Twain did not know what to say too. He reached out and patted Wood on the shoulder.
Next, he turned towards the others and said, “There’s a training session in the afternoon. Don’t get hurt and have a good rest.”
The meeting ended.
※※※
When the players were gone, Kerslake was a little perplexed and asked Twain, “I thought you were going to ask George to stay back to talk to him alone.”
“This is not a very big place,” Twain meant the training base, “Are there any news that we can hide from others? I don’t want people to think that I’m giving special treatment, that will be detrimental to the team’s harmony.”
“Then George…” Walker was still worried that Wood might think differently.
“I’ll talk to him properly of course, just not now…”
Twain mumbled as his eyes darted around.
...
Chapter 913 - The New Captain of the Three Lions
The Sun decided to publish an article about the tension between Twain and Wood so as to gain an advantage in the increasingly competitive news industry.
On the other hand, the media outlets associated with Stamford Bridge were much more concerned about whether their player, John Terry, is able to retain his captaincy in the England national team.
Usually, every new national team manager would announce who the captain for the team is after all the national team players have come together. Some managers would choose to go with the player who was named captain in the previous year as a way of stabilizing the team, but there are quite a few managers who would select another player whom they think are more suitable or whom they have a preference for as the new captain of the team.
After Beckham left the national team, Terry was named captain of the England national team, and Gerrard was named as the vice-captain.
The media outlets associated with Liverpool were also concerned about who would end up with the captain’s armband. They hoped that Twain would promote Gerrard from vice-captain to captain.
Similarly, the media outlets associated with Nottingham Forest were also crying for Twain to pick George Wood as the captain.
However, George Wood paled in comparison to both Terry and Gerrard in terms of experience and influence. Most of the media outlets believed that the captaincy and vice captaincy should still be given to both Terry and Gerrard respectively. They felt that Twain should not change the captain and vice-captain of the national team if he wanted to maintain stability in the team.
Twain was cautious with his selection of the captain. Terry and Gerrard were both players who were quite influential in England’s footballing scene, and he could stir up chaos if he was not careful.
He decided to discuss the issue with both Terry and Gerrard.
Both players expressed their desire to either continue being the captain or to become the captain of the team. They both felt that it would be a great honor to be able to wear the captain’s armband on their sleeves.
Twain understood where they were coming from, but he could not agree with their thoughts.
He wants to rebuild the entire England national team after being appointed as the new manager. This meant that every single thing related to the old England national team has to be discarded, and this includes the previous captain and vice-captain of the team.
In simpler words, Twain wants a ‘complete overhaul’ of the England national team.
Changing the captain would be the first step needed for Twain to establish a new system within the team.
He conveyed his thoughts to the two senior players, and told them straight up that he found the two of them to be slightly old. He wanted a captain who could stay as the captain of the team for a long time.
Terry and Gerrard immediately understood what the new manager was intent on doing.
They were upset to be stripped of their captain armbands, but the manager has always been regarded as the biggest and most influential person in every single England football team. Nobody dared to defy the manager’s words, and things were not different in the national team either. In fact, it was more common to see scenes of players congregating around their managers to go against the Football Association in England.
If this had been any other country however, Twain’s actions would have led to him being fired from the job. It did not matter how good his CV as a football manager was. He would never have been given the job as the manager of the national football team.
Terry and Gerrard were both senior players of the national team. Twain hoped that the two of them would be able to act as role models to the other players and help to stabilize the team as a whole.
What could either Terry or Gerrard do besides to agree to Twain’s arrangement after hearing what he had to say? They could not possibly leave the national team in a fit of rage.
The two of them did not have many years left to play in the national team, and neither of them wished to leave the team without accomplishing anything. Tony Twain was definitely a man who has the capability to lead his team to become champions. They both hoped that they could win something under the guidance of a manager who seems to have an affinity with trophies, given how England has failed to attain a single trophy for many years.
Tony Twain is a man who managed to achieve 12 trophies in 11 years. He definitely has the right to be pushy.
Both Terry and Gerrard agreed to the manager’s arrangement.
Twain heaved a sigh of relief at their responses. The biggest obstacle was out of his way now.
He would not even have gone through all this trouble if it wasn’t for the fact that he had to maintain stability within the team.
He did not care about what he had to say to the media regarding the change of captains. All he cared about was that the players understood the rationale behind his decision.
※※※
The England national team players came together for the very first time during the afternoon practice session.
Twain was going to announce the new captain and vice-captain of the team before training commenced.
The expressions on both Terry and Gerrard’s face were off. Their eyes kept swimming about and they evaded eye contact with their team mates. The two already knew that they were going to be stripped of their captaincy.
George Wood, who knew nothing about Tony’s decision to announce the new captain, got called over by the assistant manager after finishing his warm-ups. He then waited for Twain to give his pep talk before the training session began.
It was a sunny afternoon. Twain appeared before the players with his Ray-Ban sunglasses on.
“Good afternoon, lads. I hope you all slept well yesterday, because our practice session today is going to be tough.” Twain raised his hand to wave at everyone before he walked into the middle of the crowd.
“I’m going to announce the captain and vice-captain of the team this year before the practice session begins, just like how things were done in the previous years.”
The Chelsea players all turned their heads to look at Terry, while the Liverpool players looked at Gerrard. Similarly, the Forest players all turned to look at Wood.
The players from other football clubs did not show particular interest in who the captain was going to be. It was not like they would get picked to become the captain anyway.
They all believed that Terry, Gerrard and Wood were the most qualified to become the captain of the team. Terry has been the captain of the England national team ever since 2008. His performances over the past eight years have not gone unnoticed by his team mates. Gerrard has always been the vice-captain of the team, and he would wear the captain’s armband whenever Terry is not playing. He was regarded as a footballer who possessed the best leadership skills among all the England footballers. The media outlets associated with Liverpool have always believed that he should be named the captain of the national team over Terry. As for George Wood, he was the most successful captain in England for the past few years. He was widely regarded as the toughest footballer in England, and he was a role model to all other England footballers.
However, George Wood has something that would give him an edge over the other two players. It was age. He was only 28 years old this year. He was much younger than the other two players and was right in his prime.
Twain observed how the players reacted to his words. They behaved just as he had expected them to.
If he had not discussed this matter with both Terry and Gerrard earlier, then it would have been a risk to announce his new captains, and he would have had to bear the possible consequences of his announcement. But, Twain has nothing to fear now, because he knew that the two players were behind his decision.
“George Wood and John Terry would become the captain and vice-captain respectively.” Twain announced his captains in a straightforward and clear manner.
A small commotion broke out within the team. The Liverpool players clearly looked crestfallen, whereas the Chelsea players looked surprised, because their captain had been demoted to vice-captain.
The Nottingham Forest players were the first to applaud Wood for becoming the captain of the team.
Everyone else also began applauding to congratulate both George Wood and John Terry on their captaincy shortly after, regardless of how they felt at the moment.
Gerrard was a little despondent after hearing Twain’s announcement, because he did not even manage to retain his vice-captaincy. But, it was to be expected, given how he was the oldest of the three. He was already 34 years old, whereas Terry was only going to turn 34 at the end of the year. Center-backs are always able to play football for a longer time as compared to midfielders. It did not matter if the center-backs are old and unable to run about any longer. Managers would still play them because they want to rely on their experience. Take Fabio Cannavaro for example. How long did he play football in Italy? He was still able to represent the Italian national football team in the Africa World Cup despite being 37 years of age! In contrast, it was very difficult to even find a midfielder aged 35 and above who would still get picked in football teams.
Gerrard has been trying his best to stay in shape and maintain his fitness levels, because he did not want to be kicked out of the national team too quickly. He was well aware that there are numerous talented footballers chasing after his position in the national team, and George Wood was one of them.
Gerrard was not jealous of the fact that Wood got the captain’s armband instead of him. The two have developed a special sense of respect for each other having battled each other numerous times in the Premier League for the past few years. Wood was definitely a talented player worthy of the armband.
The only player who was shocked by Twain’s announcement was Wood. The expression on his face visibly changed, which was a rare occurrence. His eyes were bulged and his mouth was agape. He stared at Twain in disbelief.
Twain grinned at Wood. It was the first time that he was seeing a genuine display of emotions from Wood and he felt happy to be able to witness it.
“George.” He called Wood’s name and signaled for him to walk forward to accept his captain’s armband.
Wood walked forward slowly. He was still reeling in shock. The Forest players patted him on the back and whistled to cheer for him.
Twain pulled Wood over to his side, then turned to speak to the other players. “I have to explain to everyone why I chose Wood as the captain. During the previous summer transfer window, rumors of George Wood’s transfer were widespread throughout the whole of England. Forest was put into a difficult situation, because their best player was being enticed by numerous big clubs. But, in the end, George chose to stay in Forest, and he used his actions to prove that loyalty still exists in modern football.”
Twain’s voice was calm when he spoke about matters involving Nottingham Forest. It was as though he was talking about something that had nothing to do with him.
“He is a player who has been the captain of Nottingham Forest for the past seven years. I believe that he has the capacity and the qualifications to become the captain of the England national team. I’d like to thank Terry and Gerrard for all that they’ve done over the past few years, and I’d also like to thank them for being understanding.” Twain looked at Terry and Gerrard. The Chelsea and Liverpool players understood through his gaze that he had already settled things with both Terry and Gerrard previously.
Both Terry and Gerrard forced a smile. They both lost the captain’s armband, but what could they do about it? Wood was the one who spent the most time with Twain among them, and Twain also thought highly of Wood. In addition, many people also describe Tony Twain as George Wood’s father. Now that the father has become the manager of the national team, how could the son not get a bit of a preferential treatment?
In truth, Twain’s action of naming Wood as the captain has only piled pressure onto Wood’s shoulders. Everyone knows that the two of them are close, even though there might be reports of tension between them recently. Thus, everyone would naturally speculate that Wood was only able to become the captain of the England national team because he is close to Twain, and Twain cannot do anything to stop any of those speculations.
However, Twain believed in Wood’s ability to handle stress. After all, the stress that he has gone through as the captain of the Forest team was just as immense as the stress that will ride on his shoulders from here on out as the captain of the England national team. Additionally, Wood is also nicknamed ‘St. George’ by many of the British football fans, and Twain believed that all these different factors make Wood a good captain for the team.
Twain did not deny that he was thinking of forming a new England national team with Wood as the core. Letting Wood become the new captain of the team was only the first step of his plans, and he would continue implementing his plan in the matches to come.
It was time for a complete overhaul of the England national team. Many of the players in the current England national team would be slowly kicked out and replaced by new talent.
Twain wanted to build an England national team that belonged solely to him. He was going to get rid of any marks that had been left behind by others on his team, and he was also going to get the team to listen to his every word and to play for him.
All those aforementioned things need to happen first before he can even be confident in the team’s ability to become champions of the UEFA European Championship.
After he finished explaining his rationale to the other players, Twain personally put on the captain’s armband onto Wood’s left sleeve. He then patted Wood’s left arm when he was done.
“I must remind you of one thing, George. This armband is not without an expiry date. I would not hesitate to strip you of this thing the moment your performance falls short of my expectations, and when you are not able to fulfill your role as the captain of the team.” Twain pointed at the armband.
Wood did not respond to his words.
“Everyone, get started with your training!”
Twain retreated to the side and allowed the assistant managers and coaches to get started with the training session.
Wood’s Forest team mates went up to congratulate him, but his response to their words was rather flat. Both Terry and Gerrard also went up to congratulate him, and so everyone else in the national team followed suit and walked up to pat Wood either on the shoulder or on his head. Everyone seemed to be getting along well with one another.
Twain knew that Wood’s captaincy was a challenge both for Wood and for himself.
Wood was able to cement his position as the captain of the Forest team due to Albertini’s teachings and Twain’s favor. The way in which he speaks through his actions rather than words has endeared him to his Forest team mates. They have all come to accept him as their captain wholeheartedly after interacting with him for a long period of time.
However, things were different now that he was the captain of the England national team. Most of the players in the national team are players who come from different football clubs, and many of them would not have interacted with Wood for a long period of time previously, thus they would not be able to accept him as their captain straight away.
Not only that, the impression that most players have of Wood is that he is someone who is reticent and who does not fit well into the group. Given how Twain has suddenly forced the title of captain onto someone like him whom the others did not have a very good impression of, Wood definitely has to perform even better than he did in the past so as to prove that he is worthy of the position as the captain.
Wood did not appear to be as happy at becoming the captain as others had expected him to be. He accepted the words of congratulations from his team mates with a stoic expression the whole time.
He did not seem to be in high spirits during training either.
However, Twain noticed something during training. Wood was more serious than any other player towards training, and he also put in the most hard work during each and every training segment as well. In fact, he performed even better than he did in Forest.
The edge of Twain’s lips went up at that sight.
※※※
After the afternoon training session concluded, Twain stood in the middle of everyone and analysed the pros and cons that he observed during the session. He commended a few players and also criticized a few.
Thereafter, everyone but Wood was dismissed.
This seemed like a normal gesture from the manager. The new manager has to communicate with the new captain so as to better manage the team.
However, Wood knew why Twain had asked him to stay behind. He just knew based on instinct.
The Colney Training Center was basked in the orange glow of the setting sun after everyone left the premises. The trees in the distance swayed gently in the breeze, and their movements seemed to have carried a sense of coolness into the training center. The weather felt less hot than it did in the afternoon as a result.
The cool weather seemed to make people feel much more relaxed and comfortable.
The training center was very silent. Only the chirping sounds of birds in the distant forest could be picked up.
Wood stood on the pitch and Twain stood at the sidelines. Approximately 20 meters separated the two of them from each other.
Twain took one step forward.
Wood took one step back.
Twain thought it was just a coincidence. He stopped in his tracks for a moment before he took one step forward. Then another. And another.
Wood swiftly took one step backwards. Then another. And another.
Twain understood what was going on. He stood still, threw out his hands and asked loudly, “What’s this? Like charges repelling each other?”
Wood stood wordlessly on the pitch that was bathed in the orange hue of the setting sun.
Twain took several strides forward quickly, and Wood retreated backwards quickly.
Twain began running forward, and Wood turned around to flee.
Thereafter, a chase began on the pitch, and it looked just like a hunt that was taking place on the African savanna.
By right, the prey should be in front and the predator should be at the back. But, the scene right now was just like the prey chasing the predator… The rabbit was panting heavily, whereas the cheetah still had the luxury to look backwards here and there to see how far behind the rabbit was.
The two had barely run around half of the pitch when the 46-year-old Twain threw in the towel. He could not continue running anymore. He bent over and pressed both his hands on his knees as he panted heavily.
Wood stopped running when he noticed that Twain had stopped in his tracks. He then stared at Twain from a distance.
Twain suddenly straightened his back. Wood thought he was going to continue the chase, so he turned around and was about to continue running when Twain scolded him angrily, “Stop running for god’s sake!”
...
Chapter 914 - Why Are You Running?
George Wood had been running away. He had good conditions at the club – as long as he did not want to see Twain, Twain would not be able to see him. But now he had no way to escape. He was already in the national team and Twain was his manager and he was Twain’s player. How was he supposed to escape? Just like today, he could at most circle around the training ground which was one to one same size as a stadium.
But the time had come in the end.
“Up your grandfather for running!” Gasping for breath, the tired Twain put his hands on his knees for a while and his ragged breathing finally evened out. The first sentence out of his mouth was a curse word.
Wood could not understand the phrase, but he knew that every time a moment like this happened, Twain would definitely speak in Mandarin. He moved slightly closer by taking a couple of steps and asked, “What did you say?”
“Ah ha, you’re finally ready to talk to me. I was just cursing at you… But don’t worry, it has nothing to do with your mother. It has to do with your grandfather. Hey, have you met your grandfather? Twain responded with gasping breath.
“I don’t know who my grandfather is.”
“Well, forget about your fucking grandfather. I ask you, why did you run just now?”
Twain’s hands left his knees, but his back was still slightly hunched. He was still tired. His mind must have been so muddled that he came up with the idea to race against George Wood.
Wood chewed his lips a few times before he said, “I don’t know…”
“You don’t know why you were running!” When Twain heard the answer, he was furious and said, “It almost killed me… I will say this to you, George. If I had a cardiac arrest, you will have to take full responsibility for it!” Although he was very angry, Twain was secretly sniggering. At least Wood had unknowingly started talking to him. Twain had a lot of confidence in his gift of gab, as long as Wood was willing to talk to him. Then any problem could be resolved.
Wood moved closer forward by another two more steps. It was far away for him to hear what Twain was saying properly.
Twain still felt tired. He had not exercised so vigorous for an extremely long time like just now. His heart in the chest was beating wildly, making him feel exhausted. He simply laid down and did not look at Wood. “I’m the England team’s manager and you’re the England captain. We need to work together. Can you please don’t make the situation akin to an encounter with your father’s murderer?”
Unexpectedly Wood’s answer almost made Twain choke on his words. He said, “My father’s murderer? I’ll be very glad if anyone could kill him.”
“You…” Twain knew he had used the wrong analogy. “Very well, don’t hold a grudge against me, George. I’ll apologize to you. Will it help if I say sorry to you?”
“Why are you apologizing to me?”
Twain suddenly turned his body to sit up and looked up at Wood, who was standing in front of him. “Must you really make me spell it out for you?” He gritted his teeth in reply.
Wood did not answer but looked at him quietly.
He stared at Twain like this for a while before Twain gave in and bowed his head as he muttered, “I’m really sorry that I did not say goodbye before I left, George. I… Well, I don’t know how to put it to you. But I hope you will believe me that I was also compelled by circumstances to leave.”
“I’ve coached for eleven years at the Forest team. If I could, I had wanted to coach there always and even watch you retire. Listen to me, you can play at least till you’re forty years old. You still have twelve more years. But that’s the reality – it’s becoming increasingly impossible to coach a team for more than two decades. The current English Premier League is no longer like before. The power of a manager is gradually weakening… I miss the English football world of the last century… Ha, why am I telling you about this?” Twain laughed, “Anyway, I just want you to know I’m sorry.” He looked up at Wood.
Wood, who had not spoken all this time, suddenly asked a question, “Will you still come back to the Forest team?”
“I won’t go back for at least the next two years.” Twain replied frankly.
“In that case, what are we going to do?” Wood continued to ask.
Twain smiled wryly. The question was rather childish.
“You’re not kids anymore, George. You guys have the freedom to choose which path to take. Why are you asking me?”
Wood thought Twain’s words were reasonable. But he did not want to admit it.
“Will you leave the Forest team, George?” Twain asked.
In fact, he felt conflicted inside all along. He wished to see Evan and Allan be taught a lesson, but at the same time, he also did not want the team to broken up and scattered.
“I’m not going to.” Wood replied.
“Why not?”
“I don’t want to leave.”
His answer was very idealistic. It would be pointless to investigate the reason. Twain just smiled and said, “I’m going to say something quite selfish, George. I don’t want things at the club to affect your form. I don’t want to see how you were at the World Cup in Brazil again.”
“With…. Without you, I was a little uncomfortable…” Wood suddenly became embarrassed. He scrunched up his face and stammered.
Twain looked at Wood in the twilight. The expression on his face was no longer visible. Only his profile was still very clear. The outlines of his face were as hard as forged in steel.
“How’s your mother, George?” Twain suddenly changed the subject.
Wood paused for a moment before reacting.
“She’s fine … I think.” Wood spoke uncertainly. Twain knew Sophia’s health must be getting worse each day. In fact, his mother’s vitality had been very tenacious. From when he first met her eleven years ago, he had already thought she could leave Wood at any time. He did not expect her to endure for so long.
“Say hello to her for me when you get home. I’m busier than before now that the league tournament has started. I’m traveling all over England. I have very little chance to go back to Nottingham. I’m sorry that I can’t pay her a visit.”
“She knows you’re busy.”
How was this like a conversation between the manager and the new team captain? It was clearly two old friends talking about their ordinary daily lives together.
“How’s the little monkey?”
“Very good.”
“What about the others? I know that my sudden departure must have had a bad effect on them…”
“Everyone’s good after they read your open letter.”
Twain smiled with some pride. The players he had personally developed were still on his side. To have this little bit of support after eleven years, he could not be considered a failure.
“How’s the new manager?”
“He’s okay. He’s a little bit like you. But …” Wood suddenly changed tack and said, “Now that the results are good, everything is good. If…”
“As to the future, you’ll worry it when it happens.” Twain interrupted his speculation.
He got up from the ground and patted his behind. Having sat down for a long time, his buttocks were wet. He had to change his pants when he got back.
“I did not ask you what you thought when I just appointed you as the captain. What did you think?”
Finally, he arrived at the main topic. Twain looked at the sky. The conversation should be over.
Wood shook his head and replied, “A little surprised, but I have no other idea.”
“Well…” Twain mused for a moment, “but you’d better be mentally prepared. Once the results are announced, it’s bound to cause a lot of talk. You’re going to be under a lot of pressure…”
“I know.” Wood’s answer was simple, but Twain heard the determination in his voice.
Twain laughed and said, “Don’t give them a chance. In addition, you need to be more active in the team. Don’t be an invisible person who’s silent all the time. You can act like this in the past but not in the future. There is no invisible team captain here. You have to make everyone understand your existence. The better you perform; the more freedom I have to do what I want to do.”
Wood nodded.
“Okay, better hurry up to take a shower in the locker room and change your clothes. The evening breeze here is really chilly.” Twain stepped forward to pat Wood on the shoulder. This time Wood did not turn around and run away.
Wood listened to him and left.
While Twain continued to stand in the training ground amid the twilight.
It seemed that the misunderstanding between himself and Wood had dissipated. It was a big load off his mind. As long as Wood was still on his side, he had nothing to worry about.
The next day, the new team captain and the media met. As to what those blabbering media wanted to say, he did not care.
※※※
In fact, the media already knew the matter about the national team captain armband’s change of ownership.
What was the English media’s job? With their eyes and ears opened all the time, they were keenly observant and alert. They were lying in wait in the vicinity of the national team training base, so that they could scout out new information anytime and anywhere. The announcement of a new team captain of the national team was not insignificant news. How could they not know?
The Liverpool media cried out against the injustice toward Gerrard. Christopher Beesley, a columnist for the , took the lead to open fire.
“… I can’t understand at all how Mr. Tony Twain made such a decision based on what kind of judgment? Steven’s influence in the England national team cannot be ignored. As the spiritual leader of the Reds, he deserves to continue as the captain in the new national team. But what do we have here? The spiritual leader of the Reds is not even the vice-captain! Is this a provocation against Liverpool by Tony Twain? … I don’t know why Steven would accept such an arrangement. If I were him, I would just quit the national team in protest!”
The pro-Chelsea media were also a little resentful, because Terry from their team had gone from being the captain to the vice-captain. But their anger could not be compared to the anger of the Liverpool crowd by a mile.
That evening, there was a big discussion on Liverpool’s local television and radio stations about England’s new captain. For them, Liverpool had not been awarded the honor for many years and Gerrard was the only ensign they could be proud of. Now the flag flying high over England had also been removed by Twain. When they further recalled how much pain Twain had brought to the club over the years… the new hatred simply mingled together with the old hate and it was absolutely irreconcilable to them!
“Gerrard is the spiritual symbol of English football! He deserves his place in the national team!”
“I don’t hate George Wood, but compared to Gerrard, he’s a little immature!”
“This is a blatant show of nepotism by Tony Twain. I’m not optimistic about the prospects of the national team!”
“His brain must have been misfired for him to make such a decision!”
…
For a while, the listeners called in to the radio station in succession to express their opinions.
The guests on the television program also backed Gerrard as the team captain one by one and opposed to Twain making the England national team to be like “Nottingham Forest.”
The Liverpool fans even planned to attack Twain in the stands, chanting slogans loudly and putting up signs during the England team’s first game. They called it “a war to safeguard Gerrard.”
Unlike the resentment at Stamford Bridge and Liverpool’s wrath, the Nottingham side was full of joy. The Nottingham Forest fans had called in succession to the local radio station hotline to congratulate George Wood on becoming the captain of the new national team.
There were even fans who openly stated, “I knew Tony would favor us more! Because he started from here!” They did not seem to be concerned that Twain would be pushed to the heart of the struggle with the media, because they had a lot of experience with these kinds of matter. Tony would not Tony if he could not even settle on a new captain.
“George deserves to be the team captain. He has been the captain of the Forest team for eight years, and his achievements at the Forest team for the last eight years speak for themselves! As the team captain of the most successful team in English football in recent years, it would be the biggest joke if he was not qualified to be the team captain of the England national team!”
“Ignore whatever the Liverpool people say. Gerrard is good, but he is too old. Can he maintain his form till the UEFA European Championship? He’ll be thirty-six years old in two years’ time!”
“I even think it’s a little late for George to become the captain at twenty-eight years old!”
“In the later period of Capello’s era, George Wood was already the team’s mainstay core. It’s only to be expected for him to be the team captain.”
George Wood’s personal website had also become a battleground. The Liverpool fans went the site to abuse him and Tony, while the Nottingham Forest fans went online to defend their team captain. A fierce battle broke out on the site’s messaging forum, finally culminating in the website server being down to end the fight.
Within one night, the new team captain’s replacement set off a storm in England. Come tomorrow when most newspapers were published, nobody knew what kind of storm this would become…
Billy Woox gave Wood a call. He simply informed him what was going on outside and asked him to get ready.
※※※
At the start of the next day’s training, Twain found that the number of reporters gathered outside was about twice as high as yesterday. He quickly thought about it and he knew what the reason was.
“It’s like a frenzy of sharks behind a slave ship. One tiny drop of blood can lead to a frenzied scramble among them.” Twain gave these reporters the most vivid evaluation. “Maybe we don’t have to officially announce the change in the team captain. They all already know about it.”
It was true. While everyone was eating breakfast, the hot off the press newspapers had already published the news of George Wood becoming England’s new captain in prominent placements. Admonitions and doubts about Twain already appeared in the Liverpool media. The Liverpool media regarded this as a blatant show of nepotism by Twain and a symbol of injustice. This type of behavior must be rectified.
There were even people who suggested that Gerrard should quit the national team in protest like Beesley.
A lot of media rushed forward one after another to ask questions about the choice of team captain when they saw Twain come out.
Before they could open their mouths, Twain shouted, “There will be a regular press conference in the afternoon. You can ask all your question at that time. It’s now time for training. I’m sorry, I have to ask you all to leave here!”
The security guards heard his shouts and coordinated with him to drive the reporters away.
“Just one question, Mr. Twain!”
“I won’t even answer half a question!”
“About the candidate for the team captain…”
“You can ask again in the afternoon.”
“Do you admit that it is nepotism on your part…”
“You only have fifteen minutes of free time to film. I have no problem with it if you’re going to waste all your time to have a glib repartee with me. But you can’t say that I’m blocking the freedom of the press later.”
With the ruckus going on outside the pitch, the attention of the players who were warming up on the pitch were drawn to it.
“What are they arguing about?”
“What else can they argue about? It’s about the new captain…” Someone gave Wood and Gerrard a look when he said this.
Wood was doing his warm-up exercise very seriously and did not notice what was happening off the field at all. Of course, there were those who suspected in their minds that Wood had seen it but deliberately pretended not to see it.
Gerrard just glanced over there and took his eyes off to focus on the warm-up. He had always kept a down-to-earth image. However, he did not expect that at the age of thirty-four years old, he had become a leading character in the national team crisis….
During a break in the training, Twain went to look for Gerrard and hoped that he would attend the afternoon press conference together with him. Initially, he was going to bring the new captain to the press conference to introduce the team captain to the media. But now it looked like it was not necessary to do so.
Apparently, this was to deal with the reporters. Gerrard nodded and agreed. He was not the kind of player who liked to be confrontational with the manager. When the team needed him, he would contribute in strength.
“Have you read all the news reports?” Twain asked.
Gerrard shook his head and replied, “I haven’t read any of them yet, boss.”
“Well… You can take time out at noon to have a look.”
“I don’t think it’s necessary, boss. I know what they’re talking about.”
“That’s good… Go back to training then.”
Twain dismissed Gerrard and stood on the sidelines to continue watching the training. However, in his mind, he was wondering what to do with those sharks during the afternoon press conference.
...
Chapter 915 - This Damn Thing is Over
To someone in the media industry, what could be a heavier blow than to be completely ignored?
“The Sun” was facing this awkward situation now. The news about the “falling out between George Wood and the Godfather” that they painstakingly got from deep within enemy’s territory was on the front page, but it was hidden underneath a wave of doubts about the new England captain.
Other than the local media from Nottingham, almost every other media thought that Terry and Gerrard were more certified than Wood to be captain. Especially the media from Liverpool, they were so incensed that they were almost cursing Twain to be unable to produce any offspring.
Wood and Twain falling out?
Quit joking around, The Sun! That bastard Twain has already named his son as England’s captain, what falling out? Do you really think that everyone else will be as dumb as you to publish such irresponsible news?
At the press conference, The Sun’s reporter raised his hand, wanting to ask a question about the falling out between Twain and Wood. However, nobody gave him the opportunity to do so. Everyone who got picked will ask, “Mr Twain, you chose Wood instead of Gerrard, is there a case of favoritism here?”
Or:
“Mr Twain, there are higher demands for Terry or Gerrard to be captain than Wood, how are you balancing the relationship between them?”
The scene was bustling, and the names “Terry”, “Gerrard” and “Wood” kept coming up.
Gerrard was seated next to Twain with no expression on his face. The media from Liverpool was questioning Twain on his behalf, yet it only made him feel very awkward. The people who were claiming that, “If I’m Gerrard, I’ll withdraw from the national team as protest”, were simply causing trouble for him.
They had already known each other for so many years, how could these reporters not know what kind of person Gerrard was?
He stole a glance at the person next to him.
Twain was battling with the reporters.
“How about I get Terry and Wood here and we have a group discussion? You guys can ask them about their opinion of this choice yourselves,” Twain said with an unfriendly look on his face.
The reporters grew quiet.
“I can tell you very clearly that I’ve talked to them before deciding on the captaincy. Steven and John are both supportive of this change in captaincy. You can ask Steven if you have any doubts,” Twain pointed at Gerrard next to him.
Gerrard knew that it was his turn to speak and he moved towards the microphone, “That’s right, boss talked to everyone of us, he told us his plans and we also told him what we thought.”
The reporters did not think so, “Yes, you guys told him what you thought, yet he continued to do accordingly to his own plans, isn’t it?”
Gerrard did not look good, “I respect the boss’ opinion and I think George is worthy of the captain’s armband. He has always been an impressive captain and he did well at Nottingham Forest. He’s someone who can lead the team without using words.”
He was part of the national team now so naturally, he could not say anything bad about the national team or his teammates. This was the same everywhere, the people you should trust the most were your comrades in arms on the pitch. That was why he did not think much about Wood taking the captain’s armband away from him. On the other hand, it was indeed true that he did not think it was a bad idea for Wood to be captain…
That was the objective that Twain wanted to achieve by bringing Gerrard to the press conference. He knew that Gerrard thought very highly of Wood and was someone who could look at the big picture, therefore, he was not afraid that he would embarrass him in front of the reporters. Letting someone who lost the captain’s armband praise Wood himself was obviously much more effective that Twain praising Wood himself.
The reporters looked at each other, not knowing what to say as it seemed that Gerrard was on Twain’s side.
The reporters from Liverpool were especially disappointed. At the same time, another guess emerged in their hearts——Was Tony Twain so powerful? There was no one who was against him in the national team? They would never believe that Gerrard or Terry had nothing against this arrangement.
Is it a coercion terror policy? Players who don’t agree with his management style can’t play?
That would be an even more breaking news than the captaincy…
The reporters on the ground did not know what to ask for the time being and the reporter from The Sun finally grabbed this opportunity to ask his question, “Have you seen today’s The Sun newspaper, Mr Twain?” He even took the opportunity to advertise for his newspaper.
“I’m sorry, Mr reporter. I never read trash like that,” Twain’s reply caused an uproar. The Sun’s reporter felt very awkward amidst the laughter. Twain did not feel sorry for that as he really hated The Sun. This newspaper had been talking bad about him all this while.
“That’s a pity, Mr Twain…” Since Twain was not being friendly, the reporter naturally did not see a need to hold back, “The latest The Sun paper today exposed the falling out between you and George Wood, what do you have to say about that?”
“As we all know,” Twain opened his palms towards everyone, not looking at that reporter, “Trash papers love to make up some lies themselves, then publish them to attract attention. We have a live example here.’
The laughter started again.
“I have a very good relationship with George, Mr reporter. How good you ask? Look…” He pointed to the reporters below, “There are so many reporters here just to prove one thing——That I treat Wood as well as I would treat my own son. Do you know the meaning of favoritism, Mr reporter?”
The laughter stopped as the smart reporters realized that Twain was insulting both sides now.
“My relationship with Wood is so good that it is at a point of public indignation, how could we have fallen out? I was right, am I not? Trash papers love to make up some lies to attract attention.”
With that, Twain looked at the reporter from The Sun proudly. The reporter was so embarrassed that he was blushing. He looked at the other group of reporters. They were still attacking Twain earlier, yet they were now Twain’s accomplices now. That was pretty depressing for the reporters. They were looking as awkward as can be. There were some people who were laughing heartily earlier but they were all staring at Twain with their mouths wide open in shock now. Those were expressions that one could only see in slapstick comedies.
Gerrard suddenly wanted to laugh as he witnessed this scene——He had never experienced a press conference like this before, it was so interesting to him…
As an English professional player, he understood very clearly how difficult it was to handle the English media. He did not expect his boss to treat the press conference as a game and tricking those difficult reporters.
Twain was preparing to leave, and he stood up and said to the shell-shocked reporters, “Looks like everyone got the answers that they are satisfied with and there are no other questions for me. Let’s call it a day then.”
Gerrard stood up too and followed Twain as he left.
The reporters finally reacted then. There were some people who wanted to ask a few more questions, but they soon realized that other than the “new captain”, they could not think of any other questions. The game against Macedonia? What did they have to worry about playing such a walkover team?
And so, a bunch of people could only watch as Twain and Gerrard left in front of their eyes. Later on, they realized that they did not get any useful answers from this one-and-a-half-hour session, all they achieved was to bicker with Twain!
“Damn it! We got tricked again!” The older reporters cursed.
※※※
“Ha ha!” On the way back, Twain laughed very proudly in front of Gerrard, “Don’t look at me like that Steven. This is a very good way of relieving stress, you can try it yourself.”
Gerrard shook his head, “I don’t dare to… I’ve been maintaining this image for more than a decade…”
Twain nodded and said, “That’s true. You’ve always been an honest man in front of the media and the public. If not for that, I probably won’t be able to get out of this press conference so easily. “At this point, Twain stopped and faced Gerrard, “Thanks Steven.”
Gerrard did not expect Twain to speak to him with such an attitude, even thanking him. He stood there, stunned and forgot to react.
Twain could see what he was thinking, and he smiled, “Why? My image here is different from what the media portrayed me as?”
“No… Um, sorry. Actually…In Liverpool’s changing room, there were indeed many rumors about you, boss.”
Twain’s interest was piqued, he raised his brows and said, “Oh? Care to tell me about it?”
However, Gerrard rejected him, “Sorry boss. What happens in the changing room is not allowed to be spread outside.”
Twain realized he asked a very stupid question and he quickly apologized, “Ah, I forgot about that… It’s okay, we don’t allow that either… Alright, now matter what, these matters are resolved now. We should divert our attention to Macedonia now. Do you know about Macedonia, Steven?”
Gerrard thought for a moment, then shook his head, “Not really…”
“Okay, there’s actually nothing to be worried about. If we can’t even beat a team like Macedonia by playing our own style of football, what chances have we got to be European champions?” Twain kept talking about “champions” as though he was talking about something common.
However, Gerrard was not surprised that someone like him would be talking like this. There were many legends about this man outside, but there was one that was not wrong——Tony Twain’s name means champion.
Think about the number of times he led the Forest team, a team that used to play in the championship, to become champions. He even the most prestigious club trophies, the UEFA Champions League, three times. This was someone that was comparable to the legendary Liverpool manager, Bob Paisley. Even though the number of trophies he got still trailed that of Ferguson, but if one thought about his age, one would realize he was only 45 years old. Nobody doubted that the number of trophies he got by the time he was at Ferguson’s age would be lesser than the old scot.
※※※
Since even Gerrard came forward to say that he did not mind George Wood becoming captain, and he did not mind that he was not even vice-captain, then what rights did the local Liverpool media have to continue making a fuss?
Only Carl Spicer criticized Twain’s decision in his show, “…He’s trying to make the England national team the second Nottingham Forest. But I bet that he’ll realize how stupid he was before long. I heard that he could scold anyone at will in the Forest changing room, he could scold anyone just because he was feeling unhappy. If it was 30 years ago, he can probably even beat them up. But can he do that in the national team’s changing room? The Forest players had been with him everyday for 11 years, they know the temperaments of their boss, but what about the other national team players? Other than scolding, what else does he know? He knows nothing… The Football Association signed a two-years contract with him, but I think that Twain will be sacked before a year’s up! The reason is simple, if George Wood can be named as captain, then the starting lineup will have a large number of Forest players. If not for the fact that Akinfeev and Bale can’t play for England, Twain must have hoped that he can include them in his starting lineup.
Twain treated what Spicer said as “barking of a defeated dog”, and he ignored it. He knew that in the footballing world, it did not matter how much you talk, it all depended on your results in the end. The reason why he could be so arrogant and scold people at will was because he had the results to back him up. This was a simple logic, a pity it was not a logic that everyone understood. They merely saw Twain when he was being arrogant and started to hate him. They did not see why he had the rights to be arrogant while there were so many managers who could not even be arrogant for once.
Two days later, in the match against Macedonia, Twain not only wanted to win, but he wanted to win convincingly. He wanted to shut those people who were still unhappy with him up with a huge victory in this match.
...
Chapter 916 - The New English Team Sets Sail and Soars
It was not just Gerrard who knew very little about the Macedonian team. Even Tony Twain was not familiar with the opponent they were about to face.
Not to mention Twain, perhaps most British people would not be able to locate where Macedonia was on earth with a map in a moment and a half. Had it not been that they were participating in the UEFA European Championship Qualifying tournament, the citizens of the United Kingdom would have thought the little-known country would have been somewhere in the continent of Antarctica.
Long ago, Twain had thought that Macedonia was in Western Europe. He only found out later he was severely mistaken. Macedonia was part of what was once called Yugoslavia, and their football prowess had little to boast about. FK Vardar, the country’s most successful football club, had played in three major European tournaments eight times, but the best results they achieved had only been to advance to the second round twice…
As to the current Macedonian team, the man whom Twain was most familiar with was Goran Pandev, who still played for SS Lazio. The thirty-one-year-old Pandev was also the Macedonia team’s number one star player and team captain. He was also the only player who could pose a threat to England’s rear defensive line.
In fact, England’s coaching staff had focused the research on how to stop Pandev. They were largely unconcerned about the other players. After all, there was a large disparity in England’s strength and that of Macedonia’s. The only teams in the group that could pose a threat to England’s advancing to the next stage were Denmark and Serbia. England’s intelligence-gathering work had long begun for these two fierce rivals.
The Macedonians could sense England’s contempt. As the manager, Tony Twain did not once mention Macedonia in front of the media. But he talked repeatedly about Wales, because after playing the game against Macedonia, Twain’s England team would play against the neighboring Wales.
When accepting an interview from the reporters, Mitchell, as the team’s main force, was asked the question “Do you know where Macedonia is?”, his answer had greatly incensed the Macedonians –”Maybe it’s in the north? I don’t know…”
In response, Pandev proclaimed in an interview that they would teach England a lesson. “… Although we are the away team, I am glad that we have the opportunity to tell them where Macedonia is in the world. Hopefully they can firmly remember it after the game.”
Macedonia appeared to be aggressive, but Tony Twain was still unconcerned. He discussed his friendship with Bale in the media and continued to put psychological pressure on Wales… even though the match between England and Wales would only start in October.
“The provoked Macedonia team will attack the moment the game starts. They must be in high spirits now. I can imagine how the opposing manager has goaded them—” Twain imitated the manager of the Macedonia team, the Slovenian, Srečko Katanec, and brandished his fists as he growled, “They have a low opinion of you! They look down on you! Teach them a lesson and let them know the cost of underestimating you!!”
The coaches next to him all laughed.
Twain also looked at this group of colleagues who were in stitches. He waited till their laughter subsided before he continued.
“If Katanec were a smart man, he would make use of our contempt to inspire the team’s fighting spirit. Originally, it would have been hard to raise the players’ spirits in an away challenge against a strong opponent. Now we’ve given them a great excuse and opportunity, which they will definitely seize it. So, once the game starts, they will take the initiative to attack and we will attack them as well. Their rear defensive line has a lot of loopholes, which we can seize and make the most of it. Try our best to score early and as time goes on, Katanec will know he is taken in. So, he’ll start to withdraw his defense. If we haven’t scored at that time, he will feel that maintaining a draw and obtaining one point in the game will be a great victory. If that’s the case…” Twain analyzed unceasingly to his coaches about the course of the game.
“We’ll press on. I’ll hand Pandev to George. We don’t have to take special care of the others. Next we have to pay attention to the mental state of our players. If the score continues to be a draw, it will be more and more unfavorable to us. This kind of situation has to be avoided, so I hope the team can score as early as possible. If Macedonia withdraws its defense, we will have a lot of opportunities for positional play. We have to seize this point to try to breach their goal.”
“This is not a problem. We’ve been practicing our positional play these few days.” Walker interjected next to him.
“We’ll just cover these topics today… No matter how complete a plan is, it can’t be compared to the changes in an actual game.” Twain clapped his hands and ended the meeting with the coaches regarding the preparations.
※※※
It was the first time George Wood had worn the England captain’s armband to play in a match. Before the game, Twain pulled him to one side and instructed him to keep a close eye on Pandev. Formerly a striker, Pandev was now getting closer to the midfield as he became older. Now he was at the core of Macedonia’s offense. It was all up to him to organize and end the attacks. By marking him closely, Macedonia could not stir up any trouble.
Wood nodded as he listened to Twain’s tactics. His expression was very focused.
Once he was finished, Twain patted Wood on the left arm and said, “Before this game, there are still a lot of voices questioning and objecting to your being the team captain. What do you think of it, George?”
“I’ll prove I deserve the captain’s armband.”
Wood’s answer greatly satisfied Twain. He laughed loudly and said, “Yes! That’s more like it! If they mock and doubt you, then you use actual performance to give them a slap in the face! Didn’t we do that when we were in the Forest team? In fact, there’s no difference being the captain of the national team and the Forest team captain. Play the game well and then all problems will go away.”
Twain liked this point about Wood the best. He would not mince his words and say overly self-effacing words like “I’m flattered and overwhelmed to receive the captain’s armband” or “I’m surprised that I can be the team captain because Terry and Gerrard are more suitable than I am.” He would only confidently express that he had the ability and he deserved to receive such a treatment. This kind of attitude would seem arrogant to most people. But like Tony Twain, he was entitled to be arrogant and conceited.
As Gerrard aged, the twenty-eight-year-old George Wood had indeed become England’s number one midfielder in the country. For Twain to give the captain’s armband to him, it could not be considered as nepotism. It should be said to that he “appointed people to important posts based on merits, even if it were to be his own son.”
※※※
Leading England to play in its first official senior international matches (previously, all the matches with the Forest team were against the club opponents and could not be counted as senior international matches). It would also be a test for Twain. He knew that the competition played with the Forest team was just a warm-up. From now on, he was officially on the path to his conquest of the world.
Standing in front of the technical area and listening to the British national anthem
...
Chapter 917 - Forty-Six Years Old Twain
After the match against Macedonia was done, England had a bye into the second round of qualifying on the September 9. However, the team did not dismiss early. Instead the team played a friendly match against the visiting team, Australia in London.
The day was also Tony Twain’s birthday. After this day, he would have fully lived out his forty-five years of age and was on his way toward forty-six years old.
The national footballers from the Forest team had wanted to achieve a win to give the boss a birthday present. But Twain did not care about the result. To him, it was a chance for the team to get used to the lineup together. He did not mind sending a lot of players who did not play in the game against Macedonia.
But Twain still had something very important to do before playing against Australia.
On the morning of the match, he drove away from London Colney and left London alone. He drove along the A1 motorway and returned to Nottingham. Then he found the hairdresser shop he had visited many times before.
Next, he sat quietly in his chair and asked the middle-aged hairdresser to dye his hair.
Indeed, the important matter that he had to attend to was to dye his hair.
The days of hard work had increased the amount of white hair on his head. The roots of the previously dyed hair had grown out. He did not look good with a mix of black and white hairs.
Dying his hair was an important part of maintaining his image for him. He was only forty-six years old. He wanted to try and make himself look young. He did not want to give the impression of “being old.” Forty-six years old was certainly not considered old, but a head full of white hair would give people the impression that he was already sixty-six years old, which was not very good …
“Tony.” Connolly, the hairdresser who dyed him was five years older than him. He had been serving Twain ever since Twain had decided to dye his hair. The relationship between the two people was quite close. Therefore, he was able to dye the hair and chat with Twain at the same time.
“Eh?” Twain, who had his eyes closed, replied languidly with a nasal sound
“Happy birthday!”
Twain opened his eyes when he heard it and slightly turned his head. He was going to give the other party a surprised look but was stopped.
“Don’t move, Tony.”
“How do you know it’s my birthday today? I remember that I have not told you before…”
“Ha, as a celebrity, your birthday is no secret, is it? Today’s also used an extra to wish you a happy birthday. Even if I did not know it before, I know it today.” Connelly laughed.
But Twain was not in a very good mood. He muttered, “I’m already forty-six years old. My birthday six years ago was already not a happy occasion for me.”
Connelly smiled wordlessly and continued to work.
That was when Twain’s cell phone rang. He touched the button on his earphones and pressed the answer button.
“Happy birthday, Uncle Tony!”
Shania’s voice, brimming with energy, rang out of the Bluetooth headset, making Twain’s mood instantly better. Although Shania and Connelly essentially said the same thing, he was still a little surprised.
“It must be two o’clock in the morning on your side, isn’t it?” There was an eight-hour time difference between London and Los Angeles. It was 10:20 a.m. on Twain’s side.
But Shania said with a smile, “I waited especially until this time to call you, or else I won’t be able to sleep.”
Listening to his wife’s voice, Twain suddenly wanted to put his arms out to embrace her. He lifted his shoulders, only to realize that the Atlantic Ocean and American continent separated the two of them. Perhaps ten thousand miles were not enough to describe it.
“I’m forty-six years old, and a year older…” Twain did not mind that an outsider was around him. He was flirting with Shania on the phone.
“The older my Uncle Tony is, the more attractive he is! I like old men!” Shania said with annoyance. It was as if she was acting coquettishly in Twain’s arms. “What are you doing?”
“Dyeing my hair. ”
When Shania heard Twain say so, she suddenly laughed, “You’re celebrating your birthday in this way. Is it your birthday wish, Uncle Tony?”
“Of course. If I’m a few years younger, I’ll be able to spend a few more years with you.” Perhaps he became aware of the sadness of the problem, Twain hastened to change the subject, “Is it hard to do the filming in Los Angeles?”
“It’s okay. I’ll be in Paris in a few days. I can come see you at that time.” Shania also cleverly did not to dwell on the issue.
“Are you going to stay for long?”
“Only three days…” Shania’s voice was a little disappointed.
Twain was also quiet for a while.
The long-term separation prevented them from even living like a normal couple, and they did not know how long the situation would last.
“I saw the news that your England team had defeated Macedonia, and it was a big win. Congratulations, Uncle Tony!” The previous remark about how long she was staying this time felt as sad as “How much more time can Uncle Tony be with her” so Shania changed the subject too. Even though she did not care about football, it was better than talking about those things.
The two people chatted about some other stuff and Twain repeatedly urged Shania to go to bed. They dilly dallied for a while and went back and forth several times before Shania finally reluctantly hung up the phone to go to bed.
Twain took off his earphones and Connelly was finally able to dye his hair on this side.
“You both have a very good relationship, Tony.” Connelly said enviously, “All I know is that my wife thinks I don’t make enough money.”
“So, are you envious of the long-distance relationship too, Connelly?”
“If it’s long distance from my mother-in-law, I’d be delighted to! Ha ha!” Connelly chuckled loudly, and Twain laughed with him as well. “I can go drinking and watch the football games without anyone nagging at me! A life with freedom is what every man like me yearns!”
“Hey, Tony. Can you reveal anything about the game this evening? How are you going to play against Australia?” After laughing, Connelly suddenly lowered his voice and asked beside Twain’s ear.
Twain smiled and said, “How else can we play against them? Anyone who did not get a chance to play in the last game has a chance to play tonight.”
“That’s right. Australia is not a strong team.” These words were inevitable and right coming from an England fan. In their eyes, no other team could be considered a strong team except England. “Then I’ll cheer you on in front of the TV tonight!”
“Thank you, Connelly.”
The two people stopped talking. Connelly focused on his work at hand, and Twain continued to enjoy the leisure time with his eyes closed. Then, unknowingly, he felt asleep. He had been tired lately as he had not been getting enough sleep. He could always fall asleep easily at such times.
But that did not stop Connelly from doing his work because even when he slept in a chair, Twain’s head was always in a fixed position and did not droop down.
By the time, Twain was woken up. It was already after his hair was dyed.
“Did I fall asleep?” Twain was still a little confused.
Connelly nodded with a smile, “You slept quite soundly. You did not wake up no matter how much I nudged you.”
“Well… I’m sorry.” Twain rubbed his eyes and then looked at himself in the mirror.
A head full of black hair plus he had caught some sleep just now, he looked full of vitality more than he did when he first arrived. He should have nothing to worry about when he made his appearance in front of the players and the media with this image.
He opened his mouth to the mirror and made a smile. “I look good!” He praised and said, “If I could, I’d really like to suggest to the Football Association that you be called up to the national team’s coaching unit, Connelly!”
“Ha!” Connelly laughed, “To go there specially to dye your hair?”
Twain took out some money and gave Connelly a tip as he replied, “Yes.”
Stepping out of the store, Twain sat in his jeep and pulled down the rear-view mirror to look at his reflection again. After confirming that he did not miss a spot or neglected an area, he started the car and drove away from here to head toward London.
On the long and boring road, he hummed an English song which he had learned in middle school.
“Happy birthday to you – Happy birthday to you – Happy birthday dear teacher — Happy birthday to you…”
※※※
Twain finally rushed back to the hotel before lunch. He had informed Walker in the morning that he had some personal stuff to do, so everyone was not surprised when he rushed in from the outside, looking a little travel worn.
The players were having their meals. Twain found the coaches’ table and sat down as he greeted his colleagues.
“Happy birthday!” Walker raised a glass of juice and toasted him. At the same time, he noticed the black hair on Twain’s head which had increased a lot more from yesterday. He guessed what Twain had done.
“Happy birthday, Tony!” The other people also raised their glasses to Twain in succession.
“Thank you, thank you…” Twain returned the toast one by one.
After Walker saw Twain sit down, he smiled mysteriously at Twain and said, “We’ve prepared a birthday cake for you.”
He clapped his hands.
Then the players stood up one by one, laughing and clapping together as they sang the song. While Wood and Terry, the two captain and vice-captain, pushed a small dining trolley as they walked in through the door.
Amid the singing, they walked through the entire room of the hotel’s restaurant and came to the front of Twain’s table.
Wood lifted the lid and a chocolate cream cake created in the shape of Wembley stadium appeared in front of Twain’s eyes.
“Happy birthday, boss.” Wood tried his best to put a genuine smile on his face, but it looked even more awkward…
Twain smiled and shook his head, “You guys planned this in advance?”
“We heard it by chance from Aaron’s mouth after we won the game against Macedonia.” Terry explained.
Mitchell heard his name mentioned and quickly raised his hand to wave to Twain. It was like he was introducing him to a meeting with his large audience and friends.
“Don’t blame me for blabbing, boss!” Mitchell said loudly, “I was just talking to David about what gift to send you for your birthday, and they heard it.” He pointed to the other teammates around him.
In fact, Twain was a very approachable manager. Although there were a lot of rumors outside against him, these national team players found that the devil-like man was not difficult to get along with after interacting with Twain for a week, … And sometimes he was even easy to get along with. They could joke with him and he would not glare at and rebuke them to ask them to pay attention to the difference in their ranks. If he was in a good mood, he would even take the initiative to joke with them. After the win over Macedonia, for example, Twain teased George Wood in the locker room. It was quite funny to see George Wood, who normally had a straight face, looking like he did not know whether to cry or laugh in front of Twain’s roguish appearance. To be able to cheekily make fun of that stern-faced and fierce star player, perhaps Tony Twain was the only one who could do so.
Seeing so many players care about his own birthday, Twain’s heart was filled with a sense of accomplishment. It looked like he had captured the hearts of the players and it was harmonious within the team.
He stood up and accepted the birthday cake from the players. He held up his glass which was filled with fruit juice in it.
“I’m very thankful to you guys. After playing this game, the national team will be temporarily dismissed. The next game is October 16th. I hope that I can still see you all come back to me at that time, and that everyone is healthy and well, plus in good form. To arrange to have so many good players is certainly a problem for the manager, but I would rather enjoy this kind of problem, which is a happy problem to have for me. Everyone, please enjoy and relax for this evening’s game! Thank you!”
It was a good opportunity and he had not forgotten to use this opportunity to further close in the gap between himself and the players.
He downed the glass of fruit juice in one gulp.
※※※
In the game in the evening, just as Twain said, it was a completely different lineup for the England national team than in the previous game.
Even George Wood was placed on the substitutes’ bench. None of the eleven players who played in the game against Macedonia, was in the starting lineup.
Australia did not see the game that way. Although politically England was their mother country, football was not a place for politics. It was a very tempting result to be able to beat England at the Wembley Stadium. Australia wanted to give it a try.
Such a game still attracted a lot of fans to the stadium to watch the game live.
Australia took advantage of England’s lineup which was still not tight enough to take the lead. They played aggressively.
While Twain was said not to care about the outcome and that he just wanted to observe the performances of the players, not everyone on the pitch thought so.
Like Joe Mattock, Bentley and Agbonlahor, the three players from the Forest team, they did not want to lose on the boss’ birthday. They had already given his birthday cake and the birthday gift should be the victory of this game. Even if it was just a friendly game, they did not want to lose.
Twain’s long-held philosophy at Nottingham Forest had played an inertial role at this time. The Forest team’s habit of refusing to lose a game made them work particularly hard on the pitch.
The commentator also thought it was a way to put in a good performance in front of Twain and get a chance to be selected in the starting lineup.
By the end of the first half, England’s “Nottingham Forest gang” had a tight cooperation and tore apart Australia’s defense. In the absence of a good coordination within the entire team, these small collaborations within the players from the same club showed value.
Joe Mattock directly crossed the ball from the left side to the right side and Bentley beautifully stopped the ball. Following which he passed the ball across to the middle with the striker, Agbonlahor making the most of his speed to then plug in from behind and shook off the hulking Australian center back. He receive the ball and went straight into the penalty area!
It was much easier to face the goalkeeper one on one. After Agbonlahor made use of his upper body and swayed to trick the goalkeeper, he shot, and the football passed through the goalkeeper’s legs to roll into the goal. The score was equalized by England to 1:1!
After the goal, Agbonlahor dashed all the way to the England team’s technical area and hugged with Tony Twain.
“Happy birthday, boss!”
On the way back to the field, Agbonlahor got hold of his other teammates and said, “Don’t let the Aussies mess up the boss’ birthday. We have to win!” He clenched and waved his fists vigorously.
The Forest players worked very hard. It did not look like a friendly match to inspect the squad. It was more like a life-and-death battle about who could advance to the next round.
The Australians fought hard for a while at the start of the second half before putting up their hands in surrender.
England started to work hard in the second half, which was completely outside of Twain’s arrangement.
In the 67th minute, Curtis Davies succeeded in his fight for the header from the corner kick and his header put England in the lead.
In the 79th minute, Delph received a pass from Vaughan after he broke into the penalty area and gave a low shot to break the goal, making the score 3:1.
In the 85th minute, Downing had even scored a goal, but it was ruled to be in an offside position, so the goal was invalid.
But Twain was already very satisfied with 3:1 score. England’s strength was indeed above Australia’s.
In the post-match press conference, some reporters who had a better relationship with Twain congratulated him on winning the game on his birthday and receiving the best birthday gift.
It looked like his birthday would not be spent alone after he became the manager of England national team.
His forty-six-years-old birthday was Twain’s first birthday with the national team. He was a year older again.
...
Chapter 918 - I Want a Child
It has been more than a month since Twain last returned to his home atop the Mapperley Park hill in the northeastern part of Nottingham City. Everything in his home was covered in dust and the yard was almost fully covered by fallen leaves. He had no choice but to employ a cleaning company to clean up his place.
If not for the fact that Shania was flying back from Paris to stay for three days, Twain had no need to return.
He realized that it was very hard for him to have any sort of routine in his life ever since he became the manager of the national team. His homes were hotel rooms and along with the league and cup matches, he had to travel all across England, even overseas sometimes, to examine his players.
If Shania was waiting at home for her husband’s return instead of being busy in her own career, she would have to switch on all the lights in the sizeable house every night before she could go to sleep. Now that he thought about it, maybe it was not a bad thing for them to be living separately. Being unable to return to his own home was naturally worse than that.
Twain clapped in satisfaction as he looked at his home, which looked brand new after the makeover. Then, he looked down at his watch, decided that it was about time to fetch Shania from the airport and hopped into the car at his door.
※※※
At the London Heathrow Airport, Twain found out that there was a group of reporters lugging their cameras and video cameras with them also waiting for the same flight from Paris to London.
These reporters did not react to a celebrity like Twain, so it was impossible that they were sports reporters.
Who were they waiting to interview then?
The answer was revealed when Shania appeared at the exit.
There was a commotion amongst the reporters when they saw the tall and fashionable Shania walking out with a small Louis Vuitton luggage. They all rushed forward and camera flashes started to flash all around them.
The situation became out of control for a moment.
The security detail tried their best to maintain the order and prevent the reporters from disturbing Shania.
Shania paid no mind to these disturbances. She tiptoed a little and started searching the crowd. Twain did not wave at her to indicate where he was. He was standing outside the group of reporters, trying to see if Shania would be able to find him.
The telepathy between the two lovers passed this minor test.
Shania merely turned her body a little and she found her target. She did not care that there were reporters and security guards around. She waved at Twain and then walked quickly past the surrounding reporters towards Twain, who was waiting in front of a pillar, with the luggage in tow.
Twain stood there with his arms open as he waited for Shania to dive in.
The reporters finally recognized the old man who appeared in front of them as Shania’s husband——England national team’s manager, Tony Twain.
“Uncle Tony!” Shania exclaimed happily as she dived into his arms.
If he was not leaning onto a pillar, Twain would most definitely have been floored by Shania.
“Oh… Take it easy, have you grown fatter dear?”
“That’s the luggage!” Shania rolled her eyes at him.
Twain looked at the LV luggage on the floor and chuckled.
Of course, Shania knew what Twain was laughing about. This made her a little red-faced from embarrassment and she used her ultimate move in order to stop her husband from teasing her about her weight——She planted her lips on Twain’s without hesitation right in front of countless media and strangers, and her nimble little tongue even took this opportunity to enter Twain’s mouth.
“Mm…”
Twain could not speak even if he wanted to and he could only make muffled noises like that.
Even though he had been a Caucasian for so many years, Twain was still not used to kissing in front of other people. However, Shania had no such concerns since she was a true-blue westerner and she only wanted to fully enjoy this moment after being separated for so long. She eventually threw her purse on the ground and put her arms around Twain’s neck, completely losing herself into her husband’s scent.
Twain lost track of how long this kiss was. When their lips separated again, he was almost out of breath and Shania was flushed in her cheeks as well.
The media got the whole process on camera from all angles. These images would probably appear on all entertainment news and the internet the next day…No, later in the afternoon.
“We’ll be on the headlines again, Shania,” Twain panted as he told his wife.
“Who cares!” Shania did not care how she would be judged by other people, “I love you, Uncle Tony!”
“I love you too,” Twain picked up Shania’s purse that was on the ground and gave it back to her, then grabbed her luggage that was behind her before telling her, “Let’s go.”
“To where? The hotel?” Twain did not tell Shania that he had cleaned up their home so that he could give her a surprise. That was why Shania thought that Twain had booked a hotel room in London for her.
“No,” Twain turned around and gave her a warm smile, “Let’s go home.”
※※※
Let’s go home.
Shania was very excited in the car all because of that sentence. She even whistled at the people outside without giving a thought about her image. Twain laughed as he shook his head and drove. He did not stop her as he knew why his wife was so excited.
For a couple that had been living in different countries for so long, “going home” was a phrase that was so tempting. It could invoke countless beautiful imaginations within them.
In their quiet home, there was no paparazzi following and stopping them, they did not have to worry about whether their outfit and behavior were congruent with their public images. They could sit on the sofa in front of the television in any way they wanted, prop their bare feet on the table and eat their favorite chips while enjoying the soap opera that was aired.
There was nothing they looked forward to more than a quiet life like that.
The world could only see the money and lifestyle that a superstar enjoyed, but not the freedom that they had to sacrifice for them. Normal people could vent their displeasure by scolding vulgarities when they were unhappy. However, if a superstar did that, what awaited them was someone exposing them and them getting criticized. Tony Twain was a star that did not acted like a star. Too bad in the eyes of the public, he was merely a “star with an attitude”. They did not know that he was a star that was working hard to be a regular person.
Shania was known as someone who loved an old man and because of that, she was also the victim of a lot of gossips when she announced that she was marrying Twain.
“Uncle Tony, would I be disturbing your work now that I’m back?” Shania got her head and arms back into the car after she was done being excited as she turned to ask Twain.
“It’s just a weekend without watching football, it’s nothing,” Twain said nonchalantly.
“Aren’t you afraid that the media will say you’re unprofessional?”
Twain laughed and said, “Haven’t the media criticized me enough times?” For Twain, it was a situation of “a dead mouse feels no cold”, “It’s rare that you’re back. I think it’s worth it to be criticized a little just to accompany you.”
Shania felt that it was very sweet. All women desire to be the only one that her man thinks about, even if he had to go against the whole world. Every woman will have this selfish thought, even though it was not a very rational one…
Then, she turned her body a little and slowly slid towards her husband in the driver’s seat, before finally resting her head softly on Twain’s shoulder.
“Uncle Tony,” Shania mumbled with her eyes closed as she leaned on Twain’s shoulder.
“Hmm?” Twain had to ensure that while focusing on driving, his actions had to be not too exaggerated while changing gears so as not to disturb his wife.
“I’ve calculated, these few days falls into my risky period you know,” Shania looked up and smiled at Twain.
Twain was stunned for a moment before realizing that “risky period” means “ovulating period”. If they were to make love during this period, it would be very easy for her to be pregnant.
“Let’s have a baby?” Shania looked at Twain expectedly.
Twain backed down, “Shania, you’re only 23… It’s too early…”
“Why are you just like Mr Fasal?” Shania pouted, a little unhappy, “We’ve been married for five and a half years.”
“My bride had just reached 18 then,” Twain freed one hand and gently held Shania’s hand, caressing it, “You’re still young, Shania. You should not be tied up by a child at this age.”
“But you’re not young anymore, Uncle Tony,” Shania had a different opinion.
“This isn’t good for your career…” Twain continued to back down.
Shania continued to press him, “I’ve already said that I don’t care about my own career. If we have a child, I’ll retire from the entertainment and modelling circles.”
“Are you acting in a fit of pique?” Twain gave a wry smile.
“I’m serious!”
And Twain’s smile became more awkward.
Shania knew what Twain was afraid of, she consoled him and said, “Don’t think too much, Uncle Tony. Maybe you’ve been too tired and have too much stress? Let’s have a good rest during these few days and not think about anything, okay?”
Twain finally nodded, “We’ll do as you say, Shania.”
※※※
It was just like what Shania said. There were almost no trace of Twain and Shania in the entertainment or sports media during these few days.
They disappeared from the public eye after that passionate kiss in the airport.
Not caring about anything, enjoying their married life.
They made love passionately, all because they wanted a baby.
A child, their plans for the future ever since they got married.
Shania’s considerations were valid, and Twain agreed in his mind too. He was already 46 years old, an age that would not be considered young for someone who was healthy, let alone someone who had a heart disease like him. It was a serious matter to still not have a child and nobody knew how much longer he could live for.
If he was a little older… Taking four years as a stage. The World Cup is held every four years, so is the European championship. If he led the team to the European championship trophy, he would undoubtedly be offered the contract to lead them in the World Cup as well. In four years, Twain would be 50 years old. He did not know whether he would still be as potent as he was now.
That was why they had no time to waste.
Life is really short…
Maybe having a child was the one thing that Twain would never be able to do. A person who was a godfather after winning so many trophies and yet he did not have any offspring. Could this be a side effect of time travel? Or maybe… This was karma for all the times he acted so arrogantly?
Twain did not want to think about such questions. He spent all his effort on his wife.
After he got tired, Twain laid next to Shania, considered for a very long time before saying, “Shania… If this doesn’t work, let’s adopt a baby?”
Shania covered his mouth with her hand, “I only want a child that looks like you, Uncle Tony.”
Twain had no choice but to continue working hard.
※※※
Working hard for a baby with Shania was the only time for relaxation in Twain’s busy schedule. Holding Shania’s youthful and alluring body in his arms, no matter how stressful he was, how busy he was, how exhausted he was, they would all be forgotten. Twain did not deny that he was madly in love with this youthful body. He was not a believer of platonic sex. A relationship without a material basis was something that he could not imagine.
Twain did not appear in the Goodison Park’s stands for the seventh round of the league because he was spending his time with Shania. The national team’s assistant manager, Des Walker was there in his place.
As there were photographs of Twain and Shania kissing passionately at the airport, some of the media complained that Twain had forgotten about his work because of love. This was not the attitude that the manager of the England team should have.
When Twain returned, the reporters asked him some questions regarding that. He simply replied that it was his private life and he had the rights to enjoy his private life. As for the match between Everton and Manchester City, he indicated that he watched the match live at home and recordings of the match after that. He also analyzed the notes that his assistant manager, who was there on the grounds, provided him. He was sure that he knew more about what was happening at every single moment of that match than any of the reporters who covered it.
Even when he was with Shania, he did not stop paying attention to everything that happened in the English Premier League, no matter how minor it was.
Tottenham Hotspur’s Delph had been in a bad form for the past two rounds. If he did not adjust soon, his name would not be included in the call up list for the next national squad.
Manchester United’s Ferdinand pulled his left thigh muscle during the match with Newcastle. Initial reports indicated that he would be out of action for a month so he would definitely not be able to make the international matches in mid-October.
Nottingham Forest’s David Bentley did not have any impressive performance. If there were no surprises, he would also not be included in the call up list for England this time.
He also considered the fact that there were too many players of the same type in midfield, so Twain removed Manchester United’s midfielder, Michael Carrick from the next call up list too.
Middlesbrough’s Paul Pepper had been performing admirably in September. Not only did he attract the interest of all the big clubs, he also made Twain think about calling him up to the national team.
If there were no other surprises, Anton Ferdinand would be replacing his brother in the national team.
There were two more weeks to the next European Championship qualifier match and Twain was already preparing for it. He had already led the team to three wins on the trot (if one counted the friendly match against Nottingham Forest), and the fans and media were all looking forward to watching him keep winning.
He used to be the most hated person in the whole of England. Other than the Nottingham Forest fans, 93 percent of the people in the country disliked him. Now, what could he do to win them over?
Winning of course.
Only winning.
...
Chapter 919 - Reunion with Bale
Even though Joe Mattock was his substitute in the Nottingham Forest team, the Little Monkey was very envious of him. That was because this substitute left back was able to get up close with boss and listen to his lectures in the changing room, joke with him and play for him.
For Gareth Bale, this was the kind of treatment that he might never enjoy again.
There were many players who had a good relationship with Twain in the Nottingham Forest team that he built from scratch. However, there were not many whom had a relationship that went beyond that of a manager and his players. Gareth Bale was one of them. To him, Tony Twain was the reason why he was able to play professional football, win so many trophies and accolade, and become a world famous left back now.
If not for the boss’ sudden inspiration to go to Southampton, he would not have met his own father and thus, the stories after that would not have happened for him. Bale was very grateful for the impact boss had on his life. In China, there is a saying that goes “the scholar dies for his bosom friend”, even though there is no such saying in England, the logic is the same.
For a professional player, the greatest happiness of one’s career is to meet a manager that understands and likes him.
He was happy for 11 years.
When the English national players returned to Forest, Bale was very happy to hear that Wood had patched things up with boss. He pestered Wood the whole day to ask him about what happened in the England national team, although he was actually focused on things related to Boss. If Wood did not tell him, he would ask the others.
Bentley was a little annoyed by him and he used “state interests” as a shield.
“We’ll be playing you next, Little Monkey. Are you trying to dig information about our tactics?”
“Who cares about that?” Bale proclaimed proudly, “Do you think there is any secret that England has and we Welsh don’t know about? I merely wanted to know how boss took care of those reporters.”
“How would I know? I didn’t attend that press conference. Go ask Gerrard!”
“You should have heard something about it, right?”
“Oh, you’re so annoying, Little Monkey! You were the one who insisted on representing Wales instead of England last time. They can’t even qualify for the European Championship…”
“It’s none of your business!” Bale glared at Bentley before turning and walking away.
Bentley scratched his head as he watched Bale walk away. He talked to in confusion, “Did I say something wrong?”
Now that Tony Twain was gone, the England national players in the team could still be reunited with him in the national team. But what about him?
Bale had never regretted his choice to represent Wales, although he wished that Twain could manage Wales…
He wanted to give boss a hug just like what Pepe did when they met on the field. However, he definitely could not do that in next week’s game. That was a match between two nations and he was representing Wales, not himself.
Therefore, as much as he liked boss, he would do his best to help his team defeat England in this match.
He also wanted to play in the World Cup for once…
※※※
England’s visit to Wales was the third round of the European Championship qualifiers and England’s second game in the qualifiers.
Wales was never considered a strong team. Even during the few years when Giggs was in his prime, they were unable to compete against the stronger teams in Europe. That was why the Englishmen did not pay much attention to this neighbour of theirs. They were discussing the match after this, the visit to Slovakia on 20th October. That would be a difficult game.
Unlike what he did against Macedonia, Twain did not avoid talking about this opponent. Instead, he mentioned a few Welsh players during the interviews with particular focus on the key left back for Wales, Gareth Bale.
“…I’ve managed Bale before, that was a beautiful memory for me. I know what he can do, and I also know what Wales can do. After all, they have many players playing in the English Premier League and I’m able to observe them first-hand. This is different from Macedonia. Bale is a talented player, I’ve never doubted it ever since he played from me. He did very well for Wales, taking care of the whole team’s attack and defence on the left. We’ll think of something to mark him out…”
Next, Twain reminisce about many things that happened with Bale in the Forest team.
Seemed like a very warm occasion, was it not?
However, Bale understood very clearly that boss was playing the mental game again. Why is he talking about the past? Isn’t that to disrupt me?
Bale did not fall for it.
Before he reported for duty with the Wales national team, he was interviewed by reporters at the Wilford gates as the media wanted to hear his replies to what his benefactor said.
“Even though Flores is my manager now, I had a great time in the 11 years I had with Twain. However, this will not affect the match next week in any way. I’ll still do my best to go for victory because this was what he taught us——Do our best no matter what. I’ll prove that I’ve not forgotten this with my actions.”
Bale was very serious and there were no signs of any smiles on his face.
Bentley watched him getting interview from the side and he mumbled, “Something feels weird after that day… Did I upset him?” Bale had not spoken to him ever since that incident.
“You idiot!” Mattock slapped his head, “It has always been a pain in Gareth’s heart that he was unable to participate in a major world competition. You just had to talk about it.”
“I got irritated as he kept pestering me…” Now that Bentley thought about it, he felt that he went a little overboard too.
“I understand that you guys miss boss, but…” Gago suddenly appeared behind the two of them, giving them a shock.
“But what?” Bentley asked.
Gago frowned, “Little Monkey is talking about how good boss was in front of the media, how he’ll not forget what boss taught him. How do you think these will sound to Mr Flores?”
The other two looked at each other and they too felt that what Bale said was not appropriate.
As they looked over, Bale was still talking about his expectations for that match with the reporters.
※※※
In the last round of the league matches before the international break, Gareth Bale found himself on the substitute’s bench while Joe Mattock started in his place.
Flores’ explanation for this was “normal rotation of the team”. However, why was he rotating the players now when there was a two-weeks international break after this? Rotating for the national team? Since when did the managers of the clubs sympathized with the national team managers so much? The media were not stupid. If Forest won, that would be fine. If they lost, the reporters had a truckload of questions prepared to bombard Flores, the foreigner who still had not learnt how to speak English yet.
Maybe only Flores himself, and the Nottingham Forest players understood why their key left back, who had been performing well, would suddenly find himself on the bench.
Sometimes, a more stronghanded approach was required to remove Tony Twain’s influence.
Bale sat silently on the substitute’s bench and he appeared to be deep in thoughts as the camera swept across him a few times.
Maybe news of him falling out with the manager would spread like wildfire after this match. It was his fault for openly declaring his longing and love for his previous manager. This meant that he was obviously not showing any respect for his current manager.
While Bale was still in a daze on the substitute’s bench, his team was trailing Arsenal by 2:0 at the Emirates stadium.
Arsenal focused their attack on Joe Mattock’s side as his individual skills were still some way off Bale’s standard after all. One of the two goals came directly from his flank while the other came indirectly from that side.
Tony Twain and Des Walker were watching this match from the VIP box seats at the Emirates stadium as they were observing the performances of the players involved in the national team. At the same time, Twain also wanted to observe Bale’s performance to see if he was affected by what he said earlier. He did not expect Flores to not play Bale at all.
“Idiot,” Twain complained unhappily, “He’s doing this in such an important match against Arsenal, he’s asking for it.”
“Didn’t you announce long ago that you don’t care what happened to Nottingham Forest anymore?” Walker teased.
“I’m worried that Flores will cause my national team players to lose their form. He’s able to do this to Bale today, who knows if he’ll do the same to Wood, Bentley or Mitchell and gang?”
Walker did not say anything else as he felt that Twain was right.
George Wood scored with a long-range effort near the end of the match, but it was merely a consolation goal. Arsenal defeated Nottingham Forest easily at home with a score of 3:1. This was also their second successive loss under Flores.
“Bentley did not play well either… He was much worse when compared with Walcott…” Twain stood up and told Walker beside him after the match, “If there’re no accidents, Bentley will not be starting the game against Wales.”
“Mattock is still a little lacking in terms of skills, his name will probably not be on the call-up list this time.”
He evaluated the performances of the players on his name list one by one.
“Wilshere did very well, maybe I should give him a chance?”
“You can only have four players in midfield, how are you going to do that?” Walker asked.
“Gerrard can be on the bench,” Twain replied nonchalantly.
“Aren’t you worried that the Liverpool media will destroy you?” Walker laughed.
“I’m only responsible for the team. Media? Who cares what they think, “Twain said as he turned to leave. “Besides, Gerrard’s performance in this round of league match was very average. I think it’s logical to let Wilshere, who performed better, start the next match. Wood also played very well in this match. If we’re to rate their performances, he should get the highest score out of the whole Nottingham Forest team.”
“George is now our core player, his status and effect are the same as what Gerrard used to be for England a couple of years back, “Twain told Walker, “A midfielder who can both attack and defend, is consistent and hardly ever injured. I’ll have to be mad to not make him our core player.”
He left with Walker closely behind him.
Below the stands, Flores was shaking hands with Wenger with a forced smile on his face. The reporters surrounding him kept taking pictures of him and some could not wait for the press conference before asking him their questions, “Mr Flores, can you explain why you didn’t play Gareth Bale? He was not injured, and his performances are very consistent…”
Flores pretended not to hear them as he walked straight into the tunnel.
※※※
There was indeed news of Gareth Bale and Flores falling out with each other in the papers and online the next day. The picture that accompanied the report was that of Flores anxiously shouting commands at his players on the side line with Bale daydreaming on the substitute’s bench behind him.
However, the reporters did not manage to get any further information as they were unable to interview Bale. That was because Bale had already left Wilford for Cardiff. He had been staying in Nottingham all this while but his home was actually in Cardiff.
As the biggest footballing star in the Wales national team, he had become the player who captured the most attention from Wales ever since Eastwood retired due to injuries. He was again stopped by reporters outside his home who wished to get some replies from him regarding the latest rumours floating around in the media.
Only an idiot would say that he had a falling out with the manager, unless he had already decided to leave.
Bale denied any unhappiness between him and Flores. As for the reason why he did not feature for the match against Arsenal for even a minute, he had this to say, “…There are not issues with my form and my body, and I’ll prove it in the international match. However, Flores said that he wanted a rotation, so I accepted his suggestion. That is all. I don’t think things are as complicated as you imagined.”
There was no reporter who would believe what he said. They were waiting to collect new evidence to expose the disharmony within the Nottingham Forest changing room!
Wales’ manager, John Toshack, stood out in support of his key player, “I don’t know why he was the only one who was rotated, but I’m very happy that Bale had this precious opportunity to rest. This is a piece of good news for us against England. I believe that Bale is the best left back in the world and we’ll be going to Spain for the European Championship this time. England? They know us well and we know them well too. I’ve already formulated a plan to restrict their Lampard-Gerrard Duo in midfield…”
Toshack was confident and Gareth Bale was fired up as he sought to prove that he still remembered what his benefactor taught him.
It looked like England’s visit to Wales would not be all smooth-sailing this time?
...
Chapter 920 - A Decision on The Sidelines
Toshack believed once he had found the tactic to deal with England’s “Gerrard and Wood Duo”, he would have found the key to defeating the England team. It was not completely big talk for the sake of psychological warfare.
All along, England’s core section was the duo, Gerrard and Wood in the midfield. Capello’s England team was able to finish fourth in the World Cup in South Africa because it relied largely on the excellent play of both men, especially George Wood’s successive break outs.
As a result, everyone thought for England to be able to rise again, it was down to these two players. As long as he could contain the play of these two people, then England would be no different from an ordinary strong team.
However, Toshack must have not anticipated that Twain did not schedule the appearance of “Gerrard and Wood Duo” in the game. Gerrard was told he would not start in the match, while his replacement for the starting lineup was Wilshere, nominated to be the best player in the previous round of Premier League game between Nottingham Forest and Arsenal.
Gerrard gave no indication to the decision and chose to accept it. He played averagely in the last round of the league, which he himself was aware of. He had nothing to add when the manager did not let him start. He was not the kind of prickly person who was going to have a big fight with the manager if he did not start in a game. After all these years in the English football world, no one had ever heard of Gerrard being at odds with the manager due to his appearances in games.
Liverpool’s media did not have a fight with Twain this time. From now on, these pro-Liverpool reporters must accept the fact that Gerrard was getting older and his position in the national team was gradually faltering. He would no longer be the flagbearer and symbol of the England team. Even if it were not Tony Twain who was coaching, the fact could not be changed.
The change that Twain made caught Wales off guard.
When Toshack saw in the technical area that the player standing in the midfield together with Wood was Wilshere, and not Gerrard, he lowered his head and uttered a foul word.
Gareth Bale did not care if Gerrard was playing in the game or not. Toshack did not arranged for him to mark Gerrard one-on-one. it did not make an impact on him whether Gerrard was in the game or not.
The live broadcast was playing the national anthems of both teams. Having just finished playing Wales’ , it was now playing England’s .
Making use of this moment, Bale’s eyes looked at Tony Twain in the visiting team’s technical area.
After more than two months had passed, he saw his mentor again. But he could only look from afar and not go up to hug him.
He averted his gaze after he looked at Twain for a couple of beats. He knew what the most important thing he had to do now was during this period.
His teammate at the club, George Wood was in the line of players next to him. If there was no other surprise, he would surely be instructed by the boss to mark Aaron Ramsey. The Wales national team depended mainly on Bale and Ramsey. Bale was a full back with limited role and posed a limited threat. Ramsey, on the other hand, was the attacking midfielder and the playmaker who organized the offense. Sometimes he also served as the one who finished the attack.
He understood the boss’s tactical thinking. With regards to such a player, he would not ignore and let go of him. If he especially marked him, then Wales’ offense was left to his own side.
Ramsey was not yet an absolute mainstay at Arsenal. With Wilshere present and in the same position, he was a substitute player more often than not. Even so, he remained unquestionably a core player in the Wales team.
Toshack’s tactics in this game did not pin their hopes on Ramsey. He knew George Wood must have been assigned to keep an eye on Ramsey, so Ramsey’s activity in the front field was only intended to attract the attention of the England’s defense. With Bale being moved up to the left midfielder position by Toshack for the game, the main attacks would come from his side.
After the game began, Ramsey was indeed quickly marked closely by Wood.
His team lost to Arsenal in the league tournament. He would not fall at the feet of the Arsenal player again in the national team competition.
Very soon, Twain could see that Wales’ attack was clearly biased to their left side and he was very clear about what Bale’s position being moved up meant. Because he would do it occasionally when he was at the Forest team.
Cardiff Millennium Stadium was no stranger to the players on both sides. It was here that Twain won his first championship trophy. So even though it was away game, he had a favorable impression of the pitch and thought that the Millennium Stadium could bring him good luck.
In fact, he did have good luck.
In the beginning, Wales did make use of its home field advantage to create some threatening opportunities when England had still not yet adapted. For example, in the 14th minute, Wood tripped Ramsey and Wales got a direct free kick from twenty-seven meters away from the goal in the right-hand side of the penalty area.
The penalty made Twain nervous. He got up from his seat and walked to the sidelines. His eyes unblinkingly stared at the field.
Bale came up to take the free kick and there was a unison of shouts in the stands at the Cardiff Millennium Stadium to cheer on Bale.
The England team were very careful too. They lined up a six-man human wall.
England might still be a little arrogant and underestimate the opponent if they were to attack in a mobile warfare. But when it turned into a dead ball and Wales was awarded a direct free kick in front of the goal, none of them dared to take it lightly because they all knew how powerful the Welsh number 2 player’s free kick ability was.
Bale’s free kick managed to get around the human wall. It also bypassed the goalkeeper, Joe Hart’s fingertips. But its arc was too wide, and the football flew out of the end line after a brush with the goalpost.
When the football brushed the side of the net, Twain had even thought that the football had gone in, which really startled him.
Huge cheers also broke out in the stands at the Millennium Stadium. But when they saw Bale lifted his arms up to cover his head in frustration instead of celebrating the goal, they realized that the football did not fly into the goal. They had collectively wasted their joyful expression …
“Damn it! It was a great opportunity!” Toshack was sorely disappointed that the ball did not go in. He was aware of the disparity in strength between the two teams. If he could be in the lead against the England team at home, then the next game would be easier to play.
Next door, Twain said to his assistant manager, Des Walker, “There is a saying in China that ‘those who survive a catastrophe are bound to have good fortune later on.’ We’re in luck.”
※※※
The England team, which took its time to warm up in the game, soon launched a siege on the Welsh goal.
Wilshere did not have to think about defense at all. He could devote all his energy to organizing the attack. As a result, the England team’s offensive efficiency had improved a lot.
Any attacking midfielder would want his partner to be George Wood. Because they could be completely free of worries. Without any pressure, they could naturally play at the highest level.
“Wilshere’s beautiful direct plug-in… He bypassed two defenders from Wales… Unfortunately, Mitchell missed the ball because he was too high!”
“This time he personally dribbles the ball to plug in ahead. Beautiful! He shook off the poor James Collins! And he shoots!! Hennessey’s wonderful save rescues Wales’ goal!”
Toshack did make an exceptional arrangement to counter England’s attack. Even though Wilshere’s appearance came as a surprise, there was no let-up in the defense against several key players. England’s attack was full of sound and fury but with little result.
If the situation continued to develop in this way, Wales’ self-confidence would rise, and England would be in trouble. It was their home ground, after all. With more than sixty thousand Welsh fans cheering on and encouraging their team, the momentum was scary.
Twain stood up again from his seat in the technical area. He walked to the sidelines and whistled toward the field. After attracting Wood’s attention, he made a gesture to move forward.
Wood now no longer needed Twain to pull him over to his side and lay out the arrangement in detail. He knew exactly what to do during an attack.
He nodded his head.
So, Twain walked back and sat down.
※※※
In the 40th minute, England was awarded another chance for a corner kick. The two center backs, John Terry and Steven Taylor rushed to the front of the Welsh goal, ready to fight for the header.
Bale noticed Wood dragging at the back near the center circle. He felt slightly reassured.
He still remembered one of the Forest team’s many corner kick tactics in the past was to arrange for Wood to wait outside the penalty area. Then when the corner kick went straight to the top of the penalty area arc, Wood would try to score a goal amid the chaos after he received the ball and volleyed a shot.
Despite seeing Wood far from the goal, Bale did not completely let his guard down. He did not join his teammates in the penalty area to contain England’s center backs. Instead, he stayed outside the top of the penalty area arc, just in case.
Downing, who was in charge of carrying out the corner kick, raised his right hand and put up three fingers as well, which was the secret signal for their tactics. Different hand gestures had different arrangements, and everyone in the England team must know what tactics these hand gestures corresponded to.
After seeing him raise his hand, it became even more chaotic in front of the Welsh goal, with players from both sides huddled together and tugging at each other aggressively in the corner where the referee could not see.
But Downing did not kick the ball into the penalty area. He directly passed it diagonally ahead toward Wilshere, the small guy in the corner of the penalty area.
“Spread out!” The Wales national goalkeeper, Wayne Hennessy yelled and pushed the man in front of him outwards. He was worried that Wilshere would cross the ball, so he wanted to create an offside position.
The players rushed out in a flurry. But Wilshere did not pass the ball inside. Instead, he turned around and kicked the football diagonally toward the back…
Bale cast a glance to the center circle once again, and he found that Wood was gone!
“George Woooood!!”
The commentator roared.
The disappeared Wood appeared in front of the Wales defensive line which was pressed forward. About thirty meters away from the goal, he received Wilshere’s ball and dribbled forward.
Bale only saw Wood at this time. He could not remind his teammates in time and rushed up on his own.
It was a rare opportunity for him to meet his own club captain head-on in an official arena!
This was not the time to care about their friendship in the club. Bale charged toward Wood’s legs and ferociously shoveled.
Wood certainly saw Bale’s movements – he did it so obviously by charging head-on. He would be blind not to see it.
Instead of shaking Bale off with a feint, Wood directly swung his leg for a long shot first before Bale could kick him or kick the ball!
Although it was not a shot that was ready to be shot, to shoot like this in a football game was many times better than the effect of a shot at the goal after the stance was arranged properly before the leg was lifted to fire a shot.
Because that was the human instinctual reaction. Amid fierce competition and lightning quick attack, the body’s instincts were more trustworthy than the composition of the complex and sophisticated brain.
With a muffled “pop” sound, the football flew over Bale’s head and stirred up a gust of wind, dropping blades of grass on his face. He looked back at the football that flew straight to the Welsh goal.
Wood, who finished the shot, landed on the ground a little messily. He made a dodging move in the air. If he did not so, his knee would hit Bale’s face directly. The consequences … would be too horrible to contemplate.
The football he powerfully shot out was like a shell that hit the bullseye in the target in front.
Ten points!
The speed of Hennessy’s save was still slow in the face of this long shot. There were so many people in the penalty area, but no one managed to touch the ball. The football flew straight into the goal!
“George Wood’s signature long shot!! England takes the lead towards the end of the first half!”
Wood fell and laid next to Bale on the ground.
The two men looked at each other.
“Your action just now was too dangerous.” Wood said to Bale, and then he got up from the ground. He waved his fists to celebrate his goal.
Bale laid on the ground with his face to the sky, watching countless feet appear and disappear from his line of sight. The cheers of the England players rang out in his ears.
He spat out a breath as his hands formed into fists. He grabbed a clump of turf and swore, “Damn it, so lame…”
※※※
Seeing Wood score, Twain rose from his seat for the third time. He raised his arms high and hugged Des Walked next to him in celebration. No matter what kind of game they were playing, to be able to score a goal first and take the lead over the opponent was something worth celebrating.
After the halftime interval, the two sides changed sides and fought again.
Wales still relied on Bale’s offensive on his side. So, Twain adjusted his approach. Instead of strengthening the defense on the right side, he stepped up the offensive. The huge defensive pressure forced Bale to have no choice but to reduce the number of times he stepped in on the attacks. More often than not, he helped the defenders at the back and played more like a full back than a winger.
Toshack was a little disgruntled by it. But what could he do? England was in full attack mode and his players naturally had to stabilize their defense first.
Unfortunately, they could not hold on…
Following which, the game entered England’s orbit.
Ramsey was entangled by Wood. While at the same time, Wood still had the energy to step forward and be involved in the attacks. Even a long shot from him was enough to make the Welsh players panic at the slightest move, let alone his superb long passes. Wilshere’s and his combination of long and short passes had left the Welsh team weary and struggling.
England scored another goal in the second half. The goalscorer was Walcott. At the time when England was fighting back, he dribbled the ball and raced over fifty meters. No one in Wales could catch up with him, and a crowd of people looked on helplessly as he left them in the dust. He swung past the goalkeeper and kicked the ball into the empty goal.
Twain gave his opponent a vivid knowledge of the disparity in their strength as compared to England with Walcott’s gallop of fifty meters.
The game eventually ended with a 2:0 score. England comfortably beat Wales at the Millennium Stadium. With two wins in two games, they had the same six points as Denmark. But they had more net goals and now England was at the top of the group.
Gareth Bale played the entire game. After the game ended, he did not exchange his jersey with his opponent, but went straight to the visiting team’s technical area.
Twain was celebrating the victory with his assistant manager at the time. Suddenly he heard someone calling him from behind.
“Boss.”
He turned his head around to find that it was Bale. The sweat-soaked little monkey looked like he had just been fished out of the water. The hairstyle which he had always cared the most about was stuck close to the scalp at this time. His hair was completely out of style.
“Gareth. You okay?” Twain laughed.
“Not good at all. Your team just beat us.” Bale pursed his lips tightly while he opened his arms at the same time and asked, “Can I have a hug with you?”
“Of course.” Twain also greeted him with open arms.
“I’m all good!” As he let go, Bale smiled at Twain and said, “Now I don’t have to envy them anymore. Boss, why is Bentley not here?”
Twain wondered why he asked about the opposing player. But he still replied, “His form has been average, and we have too many midfielders, so we did not pick him.”
Hearing the boss say so, Bale laughed happily, “Now I have a reason to laugh at him when I get back!”
With that, he said to Twain, “Goodbye, boss. I’ve got to go back there…” He pointed to the pitch, looking a little forlorn.
Twain rubbed his head and said, “Do a good job, Gareth. Try your best to lead Wales to the UEFA European Football Championship.”
“We’re in the same group, boss…”
“The second-best team in the group can play in the play-offs.” Twain winked at Bale and added, “I hope to see you in the Welsh red jersey playing in Spain in two years’ time.”
He reached out his hand.
Bale high-fived him and said, “We’ll be there!” He even shouted at Twain as he turned and ran away, “We’ll definitely go!” He raised his fist and waved.
“Do you believe Wales can advance to the next round?” asked Walker next to him, “There were still Denmark and Serbia in the same group. If Freddy had not retired, maybe…”
“Hope is always a good thing.” Twain walked straight to the middle. He had to shake hands with the Wales manager.
※※※
Ramsey was looking for Wood to exchange his jersey. He said to him, “Okay, George. You had marked me for ninety minutes, and I had gotten over it. Come on, let’s swap the jerseys! What are you hesitating about? Still thinking about the last round of the league tournament? That had nothing to do with me…”
Then Wood took off his wet jersey and handed it to Ramsey.
“Wow!” Ramsey took the jersey and exclaimed, “It’s so heavy with water! Aren’t you tired?”
伍德没理他,直接从拉姆塞另外一只手上抢过他的球衣,搭在肩上.
Wood ignored him. He directly grabbed the other jersey directly from Ramsey’s other hand and put it on his shoulder.
“We’ll see each other in the league tournament. The next time we’ll be at our home ground, so we won’t lose to you.” With a toss of the remark, he turned and walked away.
Ramsey looked at his back and muttered, “This petty guy can really hold a grudge!”
※※※
“Tony Twain has led the England team to win their second UEFA European Championship Qualifying game. England is currently at the top of the group with six goals and zero goal concede. It looks like they have no problem to advance to the next round. The English press must be starting to proclaim that England is the strongest team in history this time, isn’t it?” The television commentator in Wales said sourly.
“Good luck to them.”
...
Chapter 921 - Entrapment
Emerging victorious in their game against Macedonia, the underdog with 4:0, and their game against Wales with 2:0, the team also won against Australia in their friendly match. The New England team led by Tony Twain had competed in three of the international Grade A competitions and had yet to lose any. With only three matches, Twain was able to prove himself worthy of the title “Godfather of Champions” that had been given to him. Apart from that, he received renewed recognition from his fellow Englishman on his stance to always pursue victory under any circumstances. Indeed, he was not simply a paper tiger but truly capable of this role.
However, not everyone agreed with this.
Macedonia, Wales and Australia were not outstanding teams. Notwithstanding that the game against Australia was merely a friendly match, these three matches did little to highlight any shortcomings of the team. Matches against such teams were definitely not the way to assess the actual standard of a team. Instead, the team should be challenging themselves with formidable opponents such as Serbia, who they would be playing in four days.
Unlike their previous opponents, Serbia had always been a force to be reckoned with in the realm of European football. Being a team with former Yugoslavia, they have always prided themselves on their high standards. Just take a look at the Serbian players who were playing in major European teams today.
There was Vidić who played the central defender for Manchester United and was undoubtedly the most well known Serbian player. Apart from Vidić, there were also defenders Ivanovic who played in Chelsea, Stankovic who played for Inter Milan, goalkeeper Stojkovic who played for Atletico Lisbon, and Stepanov, who played in Porto, Portugal. Defender Lukovic playing in Udinese, defenders Tosic and Katzal of Werder Bremen, striker Lazovic as well..
Being the highly experienced and seasoned players of this game, their presence in their clubs had a vital, symbolic purpose. The Serbian team, by virtue of having these accomplished players, sufficiently curbed the arrogance of the England team, causing the latter to feel wary of its competitor.
Vidić, the central defender for Manchester United and captain for the Serbian national team, claimed in an interview that he was not a tad bit afraid of dealing with the England team regardless of how intimidating they were. “I am very familiar with them since we get to play matches together every weekend. I will not be daunted by whatever players they have on their team no matter how accomplished they are because the deal in football isn’t just in the value of the player. This is our home match and we definitely have the upper hand.”
While the captain showed absolute confidence, Serbia’s head coach, Radomir Antik, kept a rather low profile. He conveyed to the media about England being a noble team as they were made up of many world-renowned star players. Besides, they also had with them a very competent coach who had led Nottingham Forest in achieving the title of Triple Crown. Serbia was nothing compared to England hence his goal for the upcoming game was for Serbia to attain a draw with England.
The English fans were happy to hear these words coming from the coach of the opposing team. However, Twain, unlike the fans, did not trust that Antik was actually intimidated by England.
“He’s a veteran. Do you know what it means to be a veteran, Des? It simply means that he has a lot of experience and can be extremely sly. Apart from the England team, I have only coached two other teams — Nottingham Forest and the Nottingham Forest Youth Team. On the other hand, Antik has coached six different teams. In his time of coaching in prestigious teams like Real Madrid and Barcelona, he has achieved success as much as he has experienced embarrassing failures. So in terms of experience, I truly pale in comparison. Do you really believe that their goal is to draw with us? Serbia’s goal is similar to that of Spain in 2016. However, they have lost in an away match with Denmark with a score of 2:3 in the previous round. What is the point of drawing with us? I might have still believed him if this was an away match and he wanted to aim for a draw” Twain explained with an apparent expression of doubt and skepticism.
As of then, the England team was on a flight from London to the capital of Serbia, Belgrade. All of the players were engrossed in their own activities — some of them were listening to music, some of them were playing video games, some of them were reading magazines and newspapers, some of them were enjoying a movie while the rest were taking the opportunity to catch some sleep.
Twain and Walker sat together to discuss the opponent they were about to face.
“Their center back has strong players hence I don’t think it is strategic to let Mitchell start. Mitchell’s body is not stable enough. After so many years, he has only been obsessed with his dribbling tactics without much improvement in his physical strength. I feel like that is all there is to him. When Nottingham Forest was met with strong central defense, his performance becomes compromised. It would be the same for this upcoming game.”
Walker asked, “So who are you going to use?”
“A striker with remarkable speed. Serbia’s centre-back doesn’t have much speed or agility. We can then break through their defense by using our fast and clever forwards.” At this point, Twain shifted his sitting posture and beckoned to Walker to come closer. The plane was making extremely loud noises and Twain did not want to strain his voice on his following sentences.
“We have to make some adjustments. I think this would throw Antik off guard,” Twain said with secrecy. ” I plan to use Walcott as forward. He has good speed and agility which is apt for us to use against Serbia’s centre-back.”
Walker thought about it and felt that this plan could work and hence nodded his head in agreement, though he was still a little concerned. “Walcott did not really play as forward in Arsenal but…”
“That’s not a problem. He has played forward before. Besides, I will not be limiting him to the right side of the field in this game which will allow him freedom in his play.”
Twain laughed, “I know that the players from Nottingham in the England team think that I would treat them differently since I used to be the coach for Nottingham Forest. I am sure they are not the only ones who think that way and that the rest of the team shares that thinking as well. This started when I decided to substitute the captain Terry for Gerrard to George Wood. This game will serve as a great opportunity to show all the players I don’t play favorites. Even for George, it was his consistent, good performance and compliance with the tactical commands that earned him his status today.”
“I thought that you’d already taken control of the team on your forty-sixth birthday.”
“Not complete control.” Twain opened up his right palm before clenching it again. “It seems like some people still doubt me even though they don’t always show it. If I want them to work hard for me, I mustn’t let them doubt me. Besides, there is something else troubling me, Des. The players in the national team are less driven than those in the club. At every training, some players whom were not at the previous training would appear. I need to rethink the way I portray myself in front of them…”
“I rarely see any coaches who put in as much effort as you do, Twain.”
“It will be better in the future when the media helps with the publicity.” Twain adjusted the pillow to his back and mumbled, “I’ll take a quick nap. Wake me up when we’re there, Des.”
“Sure.”
※※※
When the plane touched down at the Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport, it was already 8.30pm. There was little interruption by the media at the airport and the players managed to take the bus straight back to their hotel. Since it was late, they were unable to catch a glimpse of the sight people referred to as the crossroads of the Western and Eastern worlds.
The entire team visited Serbia’s national stadium, the Maracana Stadium, the next day for some warm up training in order to adapt to the field that was foreign to the England team, whichhis attracted media attention.
There were even some Serbian fans who were holding Premier League jerseys and asking the England players for their signatures. Due to the extensive influence of the Premier League, the England national team had received much fame despite its mediocre results.
After Wood gave his signature to a fan who seemed no more than 10 years old, Twain gestured with his arms and cracked a joke with Wood, “George, can you imagine if he pointed his middle finger at you from the podium at tomorrow’s game?”
Wood ignored Twain and walked straight into the locker room.
“How boring!” Twain grumbled.
The press conference was just as boring. This time, he attended the press conference with the opponent’s coach, Antik, who complimented Twain non-stop. Antik spoke of Twain as if he were the celebrity of football today, which made some of the English reporters cringe.
“Tony Twain is an extremely outstanding coach, which makes it hard to believe that he had only just turned forty-six… Being so accomplished at such a young age has subdued the entire of Europe. Honestly, I’m his loyal fan. If I were the chairman of the club, I would definitely keep him at all costs… England is a formidable team and we have to be extra cautious even though this is our home game…”
Twain almost yawned in public at his patronising words.
I must a bigger idiot than Antik if I let these meaningless, stupid words boost my ego, Twain thought to himself.
But Twain did not translate his thoughts into his expression. He accommodated the conversation Antik has started and talked about his team but barely mentioned anything about Serbia. He had only politely expressed that Serbia was a team to be taken seriously when asked by the reporters. When the reporters demanded for elaboration as to why Serbia was to be taken seriously, Twain talked at length about the players “Vidic” and “Ivanovic” as if he had no clue of who else was in the Serbian team outside of the Premier League.
His response was unsatisfactory among the Serbian reporters. What an arrogant Englishman! This was no longer the eighteenth or nineteenth century ruled by the empire where the sun never set! Just wait and see, you snob!
However, Antik had a smile on his face the entire time and did not let Twain’s words that underestimated the Serbia team affect him. To him, Twain’s eleven years of experience was not the impressive part, but the fact that he was forty-six was really something. He had achieved much merit for his age and became the saviour for the England team, leading the team to three victories. His pride was not uncalled for. As a proudly successful professional, he must think that there was nothing in this world he could not do and nobody that he could not defeat. Serbia was such an insignificant team in Eastern Europe, so why would Twain let that bother him?
I was already sixty-five years old. I had encountered so much more in life than you have; people like him were a common sight.
He was half accurate about his analysis of Twain. Tony Twain was indeed a proud man and definitely arrogant in his ways, but he was surely not an idiot with negative IQ.
Upon completing the press conference, Twain called Pierce Bruce to ask about how the media reacted to his responses during the press conference.
“How was it, Mr 007? Do you feel like I was being an unbearable, arrogant braggart who was narrow-minded and could not see anyone else above him?”
“Honestly speaking, Twain. When I saw that you were putting on a pretense, I was slightly doubtful. How is it possible that you only mentioned the star players Vidic and Ivanovic from the Premier League? But I understood why later… If I didn’t know you as well as I do,, I admit that I would have fallen into your trap.”
Bruce’s reply made Twain very satisfied. “That’s great, you shall watch me to bear the frustration of the Serbian media. Ha!”
※※※
The Serbian newspapers published the following day criticised the arrogance of the English men; Antik must be laughing at this news.
However, the match that night was completely out of his anticipation.
Before the match started, Twain told Mitchell in front of the entire team that he would not be playing as forward in this game. This decision totally threw Mitchell off and left the entire team in shock. Mitchell’s performance in the recent games had been rather striking and basically secured himself the position of England’s main center, so why did Twain not let Mitchell play when they were competing against such a strong team like Serbia? What exactly is the reason?”
Twain explained that Mitchell’s strengths and techniques were incompatible to the strategy used by the Serbian team so Mitchell should take a break this round.
At the same time, Twain used this opportunity to bring across the message he always wanted to convey to the players: players from Nottingham Forest could also be taken off the main team just like Gerrard; no one has any kind of special privileges here. My team has never had any special privileges. What determined who was able to play as forward was contingent on your attitude as well as the strategy I employed.
After going through the strategy, Twain altered the arrogant front he had put up at the press conference and solemnly reminded his players that this match was a test for all of them. The Serbians were playing at home and would not go easy on them. For this match, they should be more attentive towards the counterattacks by Serbia and simultaneously put more pressure against Serbia in order to leave them with no way to counterattack. In addition, the players should strengthen their tackle and close defense in the first half of the match and most definitely not let Serbia have it easy in the midfield.
After all these were done, the rest of the game would depend on which team performed better.
※※※
In the first half of the match, England had relatively better performance.
Antik had not expected that England in fact did not underestimate their opponent but instead played extremely aggressively in the first half of the match that Serbia was not used to. They had hoped that England would attack but they did not want England’s midfielders to tirelessly tackle to steal the ball.
From the very beginning of the match, the Serbian players were continually tackled by the England players, rendering them helpless and confused as to how to continue playing.
The England team took advantage of this situation. Walcott had secured the score of 2:0 by the end of the first half of the match with a goal and an assist to goal.
Twain’s arrangement in this game was beyond Antik’s anticipation. Walcott and Mitchell were completely different types of players. Initially the Serbian team planned their strategy to target the play of Mitchell, but Twain unexpectedly substituted Mitchell with a highly agile and fast forward who disrupted the Serbian’s defense from the wing to the midfield. The thirty-three year old Vidic was easily outdone by the stamina of Mitchell and Rooney who took turns to break the Serbian’s defense.
In the second half, Serbia made some adjustments, specifically defending against England’s agile striking. Their counterattack also started to look more impressive as they were able to get back a goal in the second half.
However, before the end to the cheers in the Maracana Stadium, England started to return the favour. This time, the scorer was the center back Whitley, he took an opportunity of a corner key to score with a header. The score became 3:1.
It was only a short time before they lost a goal, this adverse outcome impacted the morale of Serbians, and taking advantage of the mess, England scored another goal — 4:1, almost securing the win.
In the last phase of the competition, Serbia used a free kick to score against Joe Hart’s goalmouth, but that was futile.
England, by their surprising sturdy attitude and initiation tactics, taking down their first strong opponent in their group on a 4:2 win on away ground.
Having three consecutive wins in the group and scoring ten goals, the team was extremely high in morale. It was as if Twain wanted to use consecutive victories to prove that even though it was his first time coaching a national team, it was still not an issue to him.
At the end of the match when Antichi and Twain shook hands, he looked very helpless.
After Twain shook hands with him, he patted him on the shoulder, he did not say anything. But he knew Antichi already understood the meaning, since the start of the match — he fell for Twain’s trickery and is played around by him. (To be continued, if you want to know about what happens afterwards, please log into www.qidian.com where there would be more chapters, support the author, support legal reading!)
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Chapter 922 - Top of The Group
England’s three-match winning streak in the qualifiers had greatly boosted the confidence of the English fans. Now they were beginning to feel that the media’s proclamation that “this is the strongest England national team in history” was finally credible.
In particular, the away game of a major 4:2 victory over Serbia showed the offensive strength of the England team.
The England team had won big points consecutively, and the happiest people were not the fans, the media, and not even Tony Twain himself. The happiest person was Shaun Harvey, the English Football Association chief executive, who first contacted him.
Although Twain was not his first choice, he was a candidate whom he found. His good results meant that he had a discerning eye for talent. Furthermore, since Tony Twain took the job, he had not been spouting nonsense everywhere with his big mouth, with the exception of bickering with the media about the team captain role. Which made Harvey who was worried about it, sighed with relief.
Truthfully, after choosing Twain to be England’s manager in the beginning, there was a time when he was really worried about getting up in the morning and finding his house door being fully blocked by the media, who came to ask him what he thought of Tony Twain’s latest comments.
If such a thing were to happen every day, then it would not be a wonderful experience.
Everything was good now. Twain was focused on his work with the team and rarely started a war with the media or be provoked into a quarrel with other people. He also did not criticize the work of UEFA or FIFA.
Perhaps the reason for Twain’s silence was due to the recent results? Once the results were not good, who knew what kind of universally shocking things the mad dog would do…
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Tony Twain was flushed with success working as the manager of the England national team. Even the UEFA’s official website had dedicated an article to reintroduce the young “Godfather of Champions.” He had previously been questioned by some pundits for having no experience in coaching the national team. Now those voices of doubts had disappeared.
But the more he was in the limelight, the more the Nottingham Forest fans would miss him.
The months of August and September were considered the honeymoon period between Flores and Nottingham Forest. He led the team to third place with five wins, one draw and one defeat after seven rounds of the league tournament.
The media which went where wind blew, touted Flores as the new hope for Nottingham Forest. The Forest team would be back on its path of glory under the helm of the Spaniard. To prove that they were not talking nonsense, they also gave many examples. One of the examples given was rather silly and pointless – Flores was a “madman coach” in Spain, which made him similar to Tony Twain’s character. If Twain with the same character could be successful at Nottingham Forest, why could Flores not be as successful too?
But now the good luck was over.
Nottingham Forest had lost two games in a row under Flores’ leadership before England’s match against Serbia. After the national team’s game had ended, the league tournament resumed. In the end, the Forest team tied the game with the “weak team”, Middlesbrough. They did not achieve a single victory throughout October.
However, it was not over. Going into November, Flores’s team beat Everton after much difficulty and Bentley was injured. Bentley left during the game with a serious injury and bad news came from the hospital the next day. He had to be sidelined for at least three months.
Bentley was seriously injured while the team captain, George Wood was suspended for two games after being red carded for a match against Manchester United. The game against Manchester United was widely watched. As the result, the two teams played an explosive game. Mourinho came on strong in the game against the Forest team while Flores was also not willing to lose to Mourinho, who was also an individualistic manager.
A violent physical collision happened from the very minute the game began.
Twain also visited Old Trafford to watch the high anticipated game, which he called the “rugby game” after.
Moke, who was the substitute for Bentley in the starting lineup, was fouled against twice in the opening ten minutes, which ignited a fury among the Forest players.
Following which, the referee became the protagonist in the ensuing match. He showed a total of thirteen yellow cards and two red cards.
Nottingham Forest won 7:6 on the number of yellow cards, while the two teams tied in terms of the red card count. George Wood and Anderson were both sent off for a red card each.
In the end, Manchester United beat the Forest team 2:1 at its home ground based on a somewhat controversial penalty shot and returned to the top of the points table. Nottingham Forest, on the other hand, dropped to the seventh place.
After the game, the commentator said, “Flores is in a big trouble.”
Tony Twain would agree with him on this.
He was supposed to be here to observe the players for the next game against Denmark. However, both teams played really badly for the game and Nottingham Forest was even worse. The players whom he wanted to inspect did not play at the level which they were supposed to. It frustrated him. He had intended to follow the deployment of the squad which he had used for the previous game against Serbia, but now it looked like he might have to be forced to make adjustments.
Bentley’s serious injury put him out of the running for the national team. Wayne Rooney’s alleged assault charges from beating someone in a bar caused him to be plagued by the media and legal battles recently. Michael Carrick was injured during the game and the Manchester United football club did not want the national team to mobilize him for the match against Denmark because it would aggravate his injury.
The national team manager looked more relaxed than the clubs’ managers because he could pick the right player from the entire country without having to consider the transfer fees. But there were not many players in the country who could meet Twain’s requirements, especially in some positions. In a country such as England, where professional football was highly developed, no more than forty people could qualify for the national team.
Any major position that needed to be changed was a source of headache for Twain.
Therefore, Twain must be cursing both Mourinho and Flores at the very moment.
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On Wednesday, November 17th, the day of the national team’s international match.
England was back at its home ground after two away games, welcoming the second-placed team, Denmark at the Wembley Stadium.
The twenty-six-years-old, Nicklas Bendtner, Denmark’s number one star player, was repeatedly asked by the media, attempting to find out what he thought of Twain in interviews days before the game. He refused to answer all of these questions. For him, Nottingham Forest and Tony Twain were a thing of the past.
As of now, he had also left the unpromising Manchester City in the summer to join Everton. Although it was still a team with little hope of winning the championship title, at least the team had a desire to take a stab at winning honors. He rediscovered the joy of playing football in this team.
Twain did not use Bendtner to incite a psychological warfare. That once-talented kid was one of the biggest regrets of his coaching career. But now it ceased to matter a long time ago.
He was already a manager who had won the Treble. What else could he not let go of?
So, this game was just an ordinary qualifier for him. It was impossible for the media to hype things up through the feud with Bendtner.
If they hyped up the game as the fight for the top spot in the group, he would go along with a few remarks.
It was really a battle for the top spot in the group, with Denmark and England accumulating the same number of points and both teams had three wins with nine points each. But Denmark had fewer net goals and smaller goal difference than England, so they occupied the second place.
In fact, the top team in the group was just to fight for face. As long as a team was in the top two spots in the group, it could directly advance to the final stage of the competition. Even if a team was in third place, as long as it had the best result among the third-place holder in the group, there was a chance to go to Spain.
With the expansion of the 2016 UEFA European Championship, the number of teams allowed to participate in the competition had increased from sixteen to twenty-four teams, giving many mid-tiered European teams hope. The qualifiers for this time were also divided into ten groups. With the exception of England’s group, which comprised of seven teams, the other nine groups had five teams. The top two teams in each group would advance directly to the next level. Then the third-placed teams with the best results in the top six teams would play two playoff games at home and away, where the final three teams would head to Spain.
England had done well for the group draw and it would not be a problem for the team to advance to the next level. But to advance as the top team in the group was more in line with the English Football Association’s desired requirement. It would also make the English fans proud.
Twain made some adjustments to England’s squad list for the game. Walcott would be in the right midfielder position while James Milner was on the left. Gerrard and George Wood were in the middle. Mitchell would start in the forward line while Rooney disappeared from the starting lineup. His replacement was Agbonlahor.
Both left backs, Leighton Baines and Joe Mattock were not in the starting lineup. Lescott, who could play as both center back and left back, was starting.
The right back was Glen Johnson, who had not appeared in the national team for quite some time.
In the press box, media from all over England gathered to discuss Twain’s starting lineup list.
“He hasn’t had a fixed lineup since he took over!”
“It’s normal, he has only just taken over. How many games has the team played?”
“He’s trying hard to find the same feel of the Forest team, isn’t he?”
“It’s not just Tony. I’m not always happy with England’s selection in several positions, such as the right back…”
It’s great that he can lead the team to three straight wins in this kind of situation.”
“Denmark is not Serbia. The team is absolutely capable of creating trouble for us at home. I think the many changes that Twain makes, is not conducive to the results.”
For the reporters to be able to have the time to chat in the stands, it was obviously because the game was not good to watch.
The game played at the Wembley stadium was dull. Denmark’s tactic for the away game was very conservative and England had no other idea to deal with it in the face of such tight defense.
And Twain was not too interested in competing with Denmark for the first place in the group. He did not care as long as they could advance to the next level.
Having to face the Christmas period’s devil’s calendar in the league tournament soon, the players appeared to be weak and dispirited. They were afraid of injuring themselves. It was only natural for people not to be able to lift their spirits when the game was being played like this.
In the end, the “fight for the top spot in the group” that was hyped by the media before the game, dully concluded with a 0:0 score. The Asian fans who had waited to stay up in front of the television to watch the game must have been disappointed. But Tony Twain was not here to serve them.
Although the result was a 0:0 draw and the game was extremely dull, Twain was still satisfied. In the post-match press conference, he praised the performance of the Danish team. In fact, the performance of the Danish team had nothing to crow about. He also praised his team’s performance, which sounded more like a bald-faced lie. As long as one was not mentally challenged or brain damaged, anyone could tell that the England team did not perform well. Twain did this only so as not to put too much pressure on the players.
With the game against Denmark over, the two teams were tied in the points. England continued to rely on its advantage in the goal difference to come out ahead of Denmark and was ranked first in the group. Holding on to the top spot in the group, the English fans and the media would not make things too difficult for Twain.
After this match, the UEFA European Championship Qualifying tournament would not resume until April next year. In between, other than playing in friendly games, Twain would be flying around to pay attention to the performance of those players on the squad list.
This was the source of the biggest headache for him – unlike at the football club where he was able to closely inspect each player’s form every day, the national team’s players were scattered all over the place and they might not be able to maintain their forms, so he needed to be a “frequent flyer” in order to keep abreast of the latest status of those national footballers.
The most hateful thing was that the English Premier League did not have a “winter break” which meant that if he were a manager of another country’s national team, he would be able to have a break of more than a week during the Christmas period which he could spend the Christmas holidays with his wife. But in the English Premier League, the games were more frequent especially during this period. So, he could only fly around to follow the teams, with his feet off the ground all the time.
“Maybe I should have bought a private jet…” complained Twain.
“You should be glad that you don’t have to pay for the accommodation and expenses for all the trips out of your own pocket, Tony.” Walker dampened his enthusiasm. Like Twain, Des Walker also had to fly around as the assistant manager. He was Twain’s most trusted man.
“I’d better be thankful that we’ve had no problems with the flights taken so far…” Twain rolled his eyes.
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During the competition schedule in November, Nottingham Forest had two losses, one draw and one victory which led to a further decline. More and more negative news about the Forest team could be seen in the media. There was also talk of discord in the locker room, with Gareth Bale openly questioning Flores’ coaching standards. In addition to him being previously blocked by Flores, his questioning caused a stir in the media.
Despite Flores’s strong denials that he was at odds with the players, it was clear that he was losing control of the team.
It was Evan Doughty who came out to voice his support of Flores, saying his manager position was solid regardless of the performance.
But only half a month later, he had to eat his own words that he spat out.
Before Christmas, the Forest team suffered three straight defeats and it was a mess inside and outside the team. Evan Doughty announced the suspension of Flores’ contract with Nottingham Forest. Flores became the first manager to be dismissed in the English Premier League’s new season.
Flores was also unhappy with the club’s top brass going back on its word. In an interview with the Spanish media after his dismissal, he lashed out at the club’s top brass, saying, “… They said they wanted to support me the day before yesterday, and then pushed me into the abyss when their backs were turned… I thought the managers in the English Premier League would have room to implement a long-term plan, but obviously I was wrong. In a team like this, you can’t get the time you need…”
Some people cheered Flores’ departure because they could not stand Flores’ botched performance long ago. They were looking forward to the new manager leading the team to a path of new glory. The other people felt that Flores was nothing more than a poor scapegoat. Nottingham Forest had been unable to find a suitable manager since O’Neill’s departure. Constant change of managers could only accelerate the team’s decline.
The locker room was very quiet with regards to the change of manager. No one came forward to comment on Flores’ departure, even if it was to say a good thing about him. It could be another indication of the terrible relationship between Flores and the players in the locker room.
Evan Doughty appointed the assistant manager, David Kerslake as the team’s interim manager before a new manager was found. But no one thought that Kerslake was competent enough to take on the position. He had been living in the shadow of Tony Twain all along. In many people’s view, he was famous because it had a lot to do with him being Tony Twain’s assistant manager. As to what he was capable of as a person… Who would really care?
Tony Twain did not care if there was a change of personnel at Nottingham Forest that could shake up the English football world. For him, Nottingham Forest had really become a thing of the past. Pierce Brosnan once called Twain after Flores’ dismissal, hoping to hear what he thought of the incident.
However, Twain felt that there was nothing to say. He said, “… It’s quite normal. His results were not good, naturally he would be dismissed. Evan Doughty is unlikely to pay for the team’s results. Flores must have forgotten the words on the wall of the players’ tunnel at the Crimson Stadium. ‘In addition to victory, it’s still victory.’ This is the Forest team’s tradition … When you can’t bring home victory, then you have to go. What’s the future for the Forest team? I don’t know, I’m not a prophet…”
Now he was flying over the European continent. Before the arrival of Christmas, he had to go to Milan to watch a game and pay some attention to some of Lennon’s recent performances. Lennon had inherited the traditions of Paul Ince and Gascoigne since his transfer out of the Forest team. He showed the signs of an English player not being able to acclimatize to playing in Italy. He had not been selected for the national team for a long time and hoped his performance would impress him this time.
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Chapter 923 - End of the Season
Lennon did not get much game time. As a result, Twain was not particularly impressed with the performance that he saw from him.
After the match, Twain met with Lennon.
Lennon viewed Twain as his mentor and a man whom he respected. Thus, he unreservedly told Twain about all his troubles.
He told Twain that he was a player who was brought into the club by Mourinho earlier. Mourinho was a manager who liked to play wingers and he was able to get game time under him. But, ever since Zola took over at the club, he has not been able to get much game time at all, because Zola did not think highly of him, especially since he was carrying an injury.
Since he is unable to play in games for long periods of time, he cannot guarantee that he would be able to perform well in matches when he does play. Twain would not be able to see his best performances even if he continues to spend time to observe him in Milan.
Twain told Lennon earnestly that he needed to fight for a chance to play in games if he really wishes to play football in Spain. He suggested that Lennon should consider going on loan or transferring to another club if he really cannot get any game time in Inter Milan.
If it had been any other person who had told him those words, Lennon would definitely not have listened. He would have refused to admit that his time in Italy has been a complete failure. However, the person who had said those words was his ex-boss Tony Twain. All he could do was to nod his head and accept Twain’s words.
Lennon has to think things through carefully and decide if he should continue to fritter time here in Inter Milan.
Perhaps, footballers from England are truly not suited to play football in Italy. It’s not just Italy, they do not seem to be able to perform well in other countries as well. The footballers who managed to continue playing well after leaving England are few and far between. The media might praise those footballers as being the best in the world, but their performances after leaving England have all proven that they are not good at adapting to a different environment.
The only time the England national team was crowned champions of a major international competition was back in 1966, during the World Cup that was hosted in England.
Perhaps the same goes for the England national team as well. The players become incapable to play football the moment they step out of England.
This is a curse that Twain is keen on breaking, not because he is patriotic, but because he wants to prove that he is an outstanding manager who is capable of leading an awful football team like the England national team to become champions.
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Lennon might not have surprised Twain, but his ex-assistant manager definitely did.
Twain spent the Christmas on the plane with his assistant Des Walker. However, he did not feel depressed over it, because Nottingham Forest has been performing well, and that has lifted his spirits.
Nottingham Forest’s recent good form has also allowed him to find more topics to talk about with Walker.
It was not just Twain and Walker who were discussing about Nottingham Forest’s new manager. All the media outlets in England were as well.
No one thought that he would be able to stay at the helm for long when he took over as the manager of Forest. Some people had not even heard of his name before…
It couldn’t be helped, given how brightly Tony Twain shone. His ex-assistant manager was just like a star that was hidden behind the sun. It did not matter if he was a first-magnitude star. As long as he was near the sun, humans could not see him with their naked eyes.
A man like that who no one paid attention to previously was able to lead a seemingly exhausted Nottingham Forest team to three consecutive victories during the hectic and notoriously tough Christmas schedule.
The opponents that he won against were not bottom teams either. They were mid-table teams that were difficult to beat.
The man who no one paid attention to previously has pulled Forest up from the slum in which they had continued to sink deeper and deeper into. He had also cleaned up the mud from their bodies, and is now leading them to take big strides forward in a new direction.
Even Twain admitted that Kerslake’s performance had surprised him during his conversation with Walker. Among all the people who had worked with him previously, Dunn was the person whom Twain thought the most highly of. He did not expect Kerslake to have improved so drastically without him noticing.
Kerslake was a manager who could never stay still during a match. He would always blow on his whistle and gesture with his hands animatedly as he stood by the side of the pitch. His behavior during matches gave people the impression that he was a very passionate individual, but he came off as being very humble during his interviews. He told the press that the players deserve all the credit for the team’s consecutive wins, and that all he did was to reignite their desire to win.
Frankly, Forest had become a team that had lost all interest in winning after achieving the treble and going through all those struggles in the past.
To most of the Forest players, they have achieved almost every possible glory that a footballer can hope to achieve in his career. What other reason is there to continue to fight like they did back then? They were already standing at the pinnacle. Where else could they possibly go?
If Twain was still Forest’s manager, he would have told the players that they have to keep fighting if they wish to retain their spot at the top. There are countless challengers who are trying to climb to the top to take their place from them, and they would never be able to eliminate all of them because they are just like ants and they would only keep on coming. Hence, they must never stop in their fight, and they must defeat all the challengers who come their way.
However, Quique Sánchez Flores did not say any of those words to the players. All he was concerned with was getting rid of Twain’s influence over the team and leading them to further glory. In the eyes of the players, his vision for the future lacked persuasiveness. Every single one of them had already achieved almost every possible glory there is to achieve. If every Champions trophy they had achieved had turned into a ring, then all the players would have worn a ring over their every finger and their every toe… Why would they work hard to attain even more glory with you?
As an outsider, Flores was unable to truly become a central figure in the tight-knit Nottingham Forest team.
But, Kerslake was different. He was able to ignite the players’ desire for victory because he has been working at Forest for a long time, and he was able to gain their trust much more easily. In addition, he was also more familiar with the players and he knew what they were looking for.
The players might not want to attain further glory, but they have to retain the glory that they have attained so far at the very least. No one wishes to become a team that could not even qualify for the Europa League despite attaining the Treble in the previous season.
What Kerslake said during the interview was very true. The current Forest team was a team that still had its main structure in place, and their strength could not be underestimated. The reason for the team’s consecutive losses was not due to a lack of ability. It was due to psychological issues instead.
Having followed Twain for so many years, Kerslake was able to pick up a skill or two about how to manage the players’ psychological state, and his methods were able to bring about a positive change in the players almost immediately.
The reporters also asked Twain about his thoughts on Forest’s recent performances when he was watching a match in other stadiums as well.
Even though Twain hardly talks about Forest after his resignation, he could not help but praise his former assistant Kerslake now that he is the new interim manager and is performing quite well at Forest.
“He has done well, and I hope he would be able to keep doing what he does, not just as the interim manager, but as the manager instead. He has the ability to lead Forest out of their predicament… At least that’s how I see it. David is a humble man, and I think that the good results are a good way to pay him back for his efforts…”
Of course, Twain did not forget about his current identity. To prevent others from thinking that he was being too explicit with his concern towards Forest, he added another statement at the end, “I am very happy that Forest’s national goalkeeper is able to play football in a stable environment. This would be beneficial in helping him maintain his form.”
He might say that, but the media knew very well that Nottingham Forest was the team that he paid the most attention to among all the Premier League teams. They know that because he has gone to watch Forest’s matches numerous times…
Twain was clearly showing favoritism to Forest. His actions would be overlooked if they brought glory to the England national team. But, should England fail to perform in the Euro Cup, then Twain would definitely become the butt of criticism, and the various Nottingham Forest players who play in the national team would also get dragged down with him as well.
Twain’s act of showing favoritism to Forest players is puzzling. He has always given others the impression of being someone who would fiercely protect his players. He would always choose to shoulder all the pressure alone, and he would never direct it onto his players. He even suffered a heart attack because he carried all the burden upon himself. So, why is he constantly putting the Nottingham Forest players under the spotlight now that he is the manager of the England national team?
If he falls, then everyone else falls with him too?
It sounds just like the kind of rationale that a lunatic would have.
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Christmas and New Year were becoming less and less significant to Twain since he has to work on both days either way. In fact, he has to work even more during those two public holidays because Shania is not around him. He would rather spend all his time working so as to dilute the loneliness that is induced as a result of him missing her.
Time passed by quickly. It was already June 2015 by the time Twain had a good understanding of everything that was happening in the Premier League.
The England national team played in three matches during this period of time. One of them was a friendly against Israel, while the other two were qualifiers for the Euro Cup.
England was able to win all the matches that they played in.
They won Israel at home 3:0.
They won Ireland away 2:0.
They won Armenia, who is the weakest team in their group, by a big margin of 4:0.
The England national team has never lost a match ever since Tony Twain took over. His titles of being a ‘Treble Winner’ and the ‘Godfather of Champions’ helped to lessen the animosity that the media held towards him due to his arrogant personality.
That is how the footballing world is. Results are everything. When you can produce results, you are treated like the God. When you are unable to produce results, you are treated like dirt.
Of course, there are also people who did not view Twain’s results favorably.
Carl Spicer, who has always been a resolute anti-Twain, casted doubt on Twain’s achievements as the manager of the England national team.
“Macedonia, Armenia, Australia, Ireland, Israel and Wales are not regarded as strong teams. They have to be classified as ‘weak teams’. Both Serbia and Denmark are teams that Twain regarded as strong teams as well, but to me, they are weak teams too. We have a very good draw in the qualifiers. We might be in the group that has to compete in the most number of matches, but all our opponents are weak. Isn’t it natural for us to win comfortably against weak teams? Why are there so many people cheering for Twain? He should only get on the headlines if he can’t win against teams like that. Personally, I think that everyone should reserve their praises for Tony Twain until the day we play against a truly strong team. Until then, people should not think that Tony Twain would definitely lead England to glory…”
Which teams are regarded as a truly strong team?
“… I would consider teams like France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Brazil, Argentina as strong teams I suppose…”
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June is the time where many football clubs reap what they sowed throughout the past season. Most league competitions have entered the final stages of competition, and most of the football clubs should know their fates for the next season after working hard for the past few months. For the teams who are fighting to be crowned champions, for the teams who wish to qualify for next season’s Europa or Champions League, for the teams who are fighting to avoid relegation… June is the month where they know the answer to their respective fates.
In the past, Twain would have been under the most psychological stress during this period of time. It would also be the period of time where he is the busiest and most exhausted. However, the tides have turned and now he is able to sit at the stands with his hands before his chest and simply observe what happens without a care in the world. He no longer cared about the Premier League title that so many different football teams fought for. He did not care about who won the other competitions and neither did he care about which teams were going to be relegated… He was just there to watch it all unfold before him as a spectator.
David Kerslake has proven that he has what it takes to become a good manager of a football team. Nottingham Forest might not have been able to become champions, but they were able to successfully qualify for the Champions League under his guidance. This is a really good result considering what Forest was doing in the summer before the season started.
Coming in at fourth place would mean that last season’s Champions League winners have to play in a qualifier to get a spot in next season’s Champions League. However, no one associated with Nottingham Forest saw it as a form of humiliation. All the Nottingham media outlets were elated at how things have turned out.
Forest went through a turbulent and unforgettable season. They changed managers midway through the season, and they were also kicked out of the FA and EFL Cups early. They were even positioned outside of the top 10 in the Premier League once, and they were also eliminated from the Champions League after scraping their way into the Round of 16. Despite all those bad results, Kerslake was still able to lead the team to fourth place in the Premier League, and that was ample proof of his abilities as a manager.
It is rumored that Evan Doughty is considering giving Kerslake a long term contract as the manager of Nottingham Forest. To Twain, that would be the most correct decision that Doughty has ever made in the past season.
It is true that Kerslake is not some reputable manager who has achieved stellar results in the past. But, he is a part of Nottingham Forest, and he is able to get along with most of the players easily due to this status. In addition, he is also able to communicate well with the players as he is familiar with them and they are also familiar with him.
To Evan Doughty, Kerslake is a suitable candidate for the managerial position. He must definitely be regretting how he has failed to notice such a talented manager who was right there in front of him the whole time. He only knew to look in the distance, and that is why he has failed to see the pebble at his foot, and it is also why he has fallen on all fours afterwards.
Kerslake is not the kind of manager who has an immensely unique personality. He is also not the kind of manager who would talk back to his superior, even if his superior threw a temper and lashed at him. One would have a good idea of his temper by looking at how he served Tony Twain back then.
Kerslake, who is known as the ‘Good Guy’, would certainly not say a word about the chairperson’s interference in the club’s footballing matters either, and that is also his greatest strength. Additionally, he loves Forest more than Tony Twain, and he would never leave the job like Twain did even if he was unfairly treated.
It is even rumored that he rejected Twain’s offer to become his assistant manager for the England national team. It would be hard to find another obedient manager like Kerslake who could still lead the team to victory.
Forest’s chairperson has regained his confidence after experiencing consecutive setbacks over the past few months. He was certain that the Nottingham Forest fans would definitely forget the name ‘Tony Twain’ in a season’s time.
11 years ago, he viewed Manchester United as his role model. But now, his new role model is Florentino Pérez, who is the president of Real Madrid Football Club. Pérez is known as ‘Real Madrid’s Godfather’, and he also has the ability to deceive the masses with his words.
In Evan’s eyes, Pérez epitomizes what a successful chairperson or president of a football club should be like.
He has long forgotten about the bitterness and humiliation he received at the Bernabéu Stadium a year ago.
The reason why he looks up to Real Madrid is because they would still be one of the most influential football teams in the world even if they failed to become champions of the Champions League.
Transfer news associated with Real Madrid would always hog the headlines and seize the attention of football fans all over the world. Additionally, the players are able to stir up a storm wherever they go. They are seen and treated as idols by countless people, and they are also able to make an entire country go crazy over them.
This is exactly the kind of influence that Evan Doughty dreams of having.
When Twain left Forest, Evan Doughty reflected about why his team was less influential than Arsenal globally. In the end, he figured that the blame was on Tony Twain. It was because of Twain that they were not able to have many superstar players in the team. After all, Twain was the biggest superstar in the club. Why would he allow others to come in and steal his spotlight?
Every time Evan hoped to bring in a superstar player with lots of influence into the team, Twain would always say that his current team structure is flawless, and that he did not need those superstar players to come in and ruin the atmosphere in the locker room.
Twain’s words have really caused him to miss out on acquiring numerous superstar players for the team all these years…
Look at how Real Madrid is raking in so much money in Asia!
So what if they can’t win the Champions League? They have the money and the power!
Evan Doughty could only sigh at those thoughts.
Forest has finally found a new captain for their ship. Manchester United, on the other hand, has finally reclaimed the title of Premier League champions under the guidance of Mourinho after missing out for so many years.
Mourinho has proven through his results that he is not inferior to Tony Twain, and that he is a manager who is capable of leading his team to become champions.
The finals for the Champions League was played in Milan. Real Madrid might have lost to Nottingham Forest the previous season, but they successfully lifted the tenth Champions League trophy in their club’s history by beating Italy’s powerhouse team, Juventus, at the San Siro Stadium.
Real Madrid waited for a total of 13 years just to lift the Champions League trophy once again. They have gone through a transformation to bring the number from ‘nine’ to ‘ten’, and now, they are the unprecedented ten-time champions of the Champions League.
To Evan Doughty, Real Madrid is no longer just a team that is rich and powerful. They are now a team that is rich, powerful and that has just been crowned champions.
...
Chapter 924 - The Drama
The managers of the football clubs had already started to enjoy a short holiday. Only those managers of the powerhouse teams were required to appear in the media from time to time. Players with national team assignments were not yet able to take a break because when the league tournament was over, the national team’s games were still waiting for them.
On June 11th, the England team would play a friendly match at home with the former South American powerhouse, Uruguay. Four days later, they would face their competitor in the qualifier, Serbia at the Wembley Stadium.
After playing this game, those national footballers were then able to go on their holiday.
In the game against Uruguay, England won with a score of 2:1. Gerrard and Rooney contributed the goals. The Uruguayans relied on the Palermo striker, Cavani to score one goal in the 90th minute.
They played a rather difficult game against Serbia during the home match. After Mitchell scored the first goal in the opening eleven minutes, Serbia launched a frantic counterattack that left the tired England team only able to ward off the attacks but without strength to hit back for a time. The 1:0 lead gave the Serbians hope, so they kept launching attacks for a while.
It was not until the last minute of injury stoppage time that Agbonlahor, who came on as a substitute in the second half, made use of the gaps left by the Serbians who fully pressed ahead in hopes of equalizing the score. He dribbled the ball over a long distance to wage a long-range raid and scored the decisive winning goal. The England team continued to hold on to its top spot in the group with a solid 2:0 victory over Serbia at its home ground and took another firm step toward Spain.
Next, the European football world entered the summer transfer period.
The countless exciting scenes which the fans looked forward to, were played out in front of everyone’s eyes.
But for the Nottingham Forest fans, there were not many good memories this summer.
No matter what kind of banners they put up outside the football club, no matter how much they protested, they did not manage to make the team’s main goalkeeper and the Russian national goalkeeper, Akinfeev stay in the team. The Russian national goalkeeper who once earned a lot of glory for the team with his own two hands, was deemed as the best successor to Peter Shilton in the Forest team, had gone to Manchester United for a fee of twenty-five million pounds.
Mourinho finally got the stable goalkeeper he had dreamed of, and the Forest fans once again staged a protest against the club’s top brass.
Although the club subsequently signed on Schmeichel Jr., Kasper Schmeichel could not be compared with Igor Akinfeev on the same level in terms of both strength and fame.
Following which, it was not long before Woodgate left the Forest team for a transfer fee of thirteen million pounds and returned to Middlesbrough.
Of course, the most popular Forest players in the transfer market were still the trio of George Wood, Gareth Bale and Aaron Mitchell. If Evan Doughty was willing to, these three players could have brought him at least a transfer fee revenue of at least one hundred and thirty million pounds.
But Evan Doughty still was a little more rational. He had indicated more than once that George Wood was not for sale in the team, and a standard bearer that no amount of money could buy.
As for the other players… as long as the other party could make a crazy offer that he could not refuse, then they could all go as far as he was concerned.
Of course, some people also suspected if there was a club which would make an offer that drove the world crazy for George Wood, then Evan Doughty would not hesitate to push the Forest team’s standard bearer into the transfer market.
Unfortunately, Wood was a defensive midfielder. Those clubs that were willing to spend big money on the attacking players were not willing to waste too much euros on a defender.
Instead, Mitchell and Gareth Bale were the ones who received a number of tempting offers.
Barcelona had made a bid for Mitchell for a fee of thirty million pounds as well as throwing in the German “Super Mario” Gomez, which enticed the Forest team.
Even Mitchell wondered if he should change to a different environment to play. The sale of Akinfeev by the top brass had made him unhappy. Moreover, Barcelona was a powerhouse club, so it was not a step down for him to go there.
But Twain did not want the team, which he had personally built, to fall apart so soon. He indirectly told the tentative Mitchell in his column that the players he was considering mainly competed in the domestic leagues. After all, the foreign leagues were too far away. He could not determine the condition of the players playing abroad in time. In addition, he used Lennon as an example, telling Mitchell that going abroad to play for a powerhouse club might not really be as easy and smooth.
The people at Barcelona must have hated Twain to the core because even if he no longer held the position as the Forest team manager, he would still try to go against Barcelona.
No one could have more influence and status than Twain in the minds of the Forest team’s old players.
Now that Twain had indirectly expressed that he did not want Mitchell to play abroad, then Mitchell also listened and chose to stay. His agent was very disappointed but powerless because the player’s personal will had the final say anyway. Even if the Forest team had agreed to Barcelona’s offer, the transfer would not have been possible unless he could persuade Mitchell to accept Barcelona’s offer. But it was clear that Mitchell’s agent, who had been with him for a long time, did not held more sway than Mitchell’s mentor, Tony Twain.
With another loss of a huge income, Mitchell’s agent must have hated Twain so much that he might have even cursed Twain in his heart during sex with his lover.
Gareth Bale’s situation was more complicated.
Like his teammates, he had received a number of offers of interest from numerous football clubs. But he was not an English national footballer, so Twain had no right to beat about the bush and interfere with his going or staying.
Only he himself could decide whether to leave or stay.
A left back who was very good in offense and defense, was extremely popular, especially the said left back was also good at positional play.
Bayern Munich, Juventus and AC Milan were hoping to get such a good left back.
But none of the three teams could be considered generous clubs. The highest offer was from Bayern Munich for eighteen million pounds.
For Evan Doughty and Allan Adams, the highest offer was simply an insult to them. So, they turned down the offers from all three clubs, but did not close the door to any further transfer negotiations. It was still the same stance – as long as there was a crazy offer that would satisfy them, they would not be above selling.
While Gareth Bale still did not know where he would play in the future, another familiar Forest player chose to leave.
Matías Fernández had left the Forest team for a fee of twenty million pounds. He was heading to Atlético Madrid in La Liga.
Evan Doughty was not worried that his departure would affect the strength of the team because he still had Nicolás Millán who had grown up. But for the fans who followed the team through its most glorious years, every player’s departure was like an old friend bidding farewell, which they were reluctant to part with.
There were also angry fans in Wilford who had put up protest signs that said, “Mr. Doughty, how many more talents do you have to sell?”
Their protesting voices were not done yet when Jonjo Shelvey in the team was sold for eight million pounds.
Until the start of the new English Premier League season, Gareth Bale was still embroiled in the transfer maelstrom.
Although Bayern and Juventus, as well as AC Milan chose to step back in the face of Evan Doughty’s demand for an exorbitant asking price, a new buyer came in to fill the void they left.
The rich and imposing Real Madrid, the best club in the last century which had traditionally spent any money it had to repeatedly break world records in transfer fees, had made an offer of twenty-seven million pounds for Bale.
Evan Doughty was keen to build a good relationship with Real Madrid through the deal, but Allan told him that if they were to accept the offer of twenty-seven million, it would make them feel that they were too easy to deal with and the other party would lost interest. As a result, the Forest team countered with an asking price of thirty-four million pounds.
The asking price was not low for a defender… But it was not an appalling sky-high price. This amount of money was nothing with Real Madrid’s overbearing wealth.
Therefore, the Forest fans panicked. They knew they might lose another favorite player. They recognize that going to the club to demonstrate no longer worked because no one cared about the fans’ protests, especially when Evan was still the sole owner of the football club.
This time they turned to entreating the player himself.
Outside the apartment where Bale lived, the football fans began to gather on their own. Then, they sang the Forest team’s song as well as sang songs of praises which they wrote for Bale. They held up signs and posters of Bale asking him to stay.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid had already accepted the Forest team’s asking price.
It was a bad sign.
Because it meant that Real Madrid could already talk to Bale’s agent about the contract. As soon as Bale signed the contract, he would leave Nottingham Forest forever, leaving the team he had been with for twelve years.
The pleas for Bale not to go became even louder. Many Forest fans used various ways in hopes that their favorite “little monkey” would listen to the fans’ voices and not choose to leave even though they were aware that the current Nottingham Forest team held no appeal to make someone stay.
“The document for the contract came from Real Madrid.” Bale’s agent, who was also his father, told him.
In the past, Bale lived alone in Nottingham, with his father and mother living together. But throughout the summer, his father had to be with him.
The sound of the fans singing and shouting continued to be heard outside the tightly closed window.
“Gareth! Gareth! Gareth!”
Bale sat on the couch, listening to those voices and feeling somewhat lost.
“The terms offered by Real Madrid are very attractive.” As a father and an agent, he always thought about his son. He looked over the contract.
His father turned to look at his son, and apparently he had not heard what he had said just now. He gave a sigh and said, “If you can’t make a decision, I think you can give a call to Mr. Twain first.”
Bale finally looked up and looked at his father.
“Well… I think maybe he has some advice, which may be better than my advice as your father.” He winked at his son.
An idea seemed to light up in Gareth Bale’s mind as well. Previously when the boss was still in the team, he would always ask him when he had anything that he could not make up his mind about. Why did he forget now?
Twain was sitting on the bed on the side, reading a book with a lamp on his bedside table. He wore black-rimmed glasses with a slight frown on his face. That appearance made him look much older than his actual age.
At this time, he and Bale were in the same city. He had also heard a lot of rumors about Bale’s transfer, but he did not expect that he would receive a phone call from Bale.
“Boss, I need help.” That was the first sentence that Bale spoke after the phone call was picked up.
“What’s the matter, Gareth?” Twain asked despite knowing what it was about.
“I’m very confused right now… I don’t know what choice I should make.” Bale’s voice sounded low and his mood was depressed.
Twain was not in a hurry to answer. He cocked his ear to listen, and found a faint noise coming from the other end of the line.
“Haven’t the fans left yet?” He turned over to take his watch on the bedside table. It was almost eleven o’clock in the evening.
Apparently, Bale also looked at the time, and he replied, “They’ll dispersed in another half an hour.” It had been like this these few days, and Bale was used to it.
Twain smiled quietly and said, “Gareth, would you like to stay with the Forest team?”
Bale shook his head and replied, “I don’t know. I used to be very determined to stay on… But after a season, I’m undecided…”
“Do you want to hear my opinion?”
“Yes, I suppose.”
Twain was silent for a moment as he removed his glasses off the bridge of his nose and put them aside. Then he closed his eyes.
He seemed to be reminiscing about his time with Bale, how he had a chance encounter with the Welsh kid, and how he brought him to Nottingham… And his interesting and nagging father.
“Gareth…”
“I’m listening, boss.”
“If I were an ordinary Forest fan, I think maybe I’d sing by your window tonight to try to make you stay…”
“So, are you saying you want me to stay?” Bale’s tone held a hint of anticipation.
“Listen and let me finish, Gareth. However, I’m a football manager and some things can’t be completely decided based on emotions. Of course, it stands to reason that it does not mean that it will be necessarily better than in the Forest team if you go to Real Madrid. There may be a better possibility than here, but there is a worse possibility than here. There are many possibilities ahead in the future, and I can’t tell you which one might be better. If I ask you to stay and the Forest team does badly, then I will be doing you harm. If I let you go and you lose yourself in the locker room of a powerhouse club, I will also be hurting you.”
Bale listened patiently.
“So, I think you should follow your original thinking. But you’re only twenty-five years old. It’s normal to want to go out and experience what’s out there.”
Twain did not give his choice because it was not any of his business.
After listening to him, Bale asked, “Boss, in terms of feelings, you don’t want me to leave, do you?”
The remark touched into what Twain had in mind. Truthfully, his feelings could not accept the reality since the first Forest player he knew was sold. So, he was trying not to pay attention to the transfer rumors associated with the Forest team.
Kompany, Pepe, Akinfeev… These people were the players who contributed and helped him forged his legacy. As a manager who had devoted all his energy to the team, he valued the attachment.
“If it were possible, Gareth, I mean if it were possible… I’d rather you all don’t go.” Twain said these words with a lot of deep emotions. It was not fake at all, because that was what he really thought deep inside. “But…” He emphasized his tone and made a turn in the conversation.
Just as he was about to get ready to go on, he was interrupted by Bale quickly saying, “No more buts, boss, I know how I should choose!”
Then he hung up.
Twain stared blankly at the phone in his hand. He thought he had already guessed what Bale would do. Although he felt a little selfish, he was also very happy.
Indeed, he was very happy.
He laughed.
※※※
One day after the night, the same place, the first light, when the night wind has not yet blown away the heat of the day, here has gathered no less than a hundred people. They held up banners and portraits of Bale, sang and shouted to save Bale’s heart with the feelings of the fans.
Today’s daytime sports news and media reported that Real Madrid’s negotiations with Bale had reached a critical stage. Perhaps it might be possible to announce the matter of Bale’s signing to the team by the end of the week.
As the current vice-caption of the Forest team, Gareth Bale enjoyed a high prestige among the fans. He came out of the Forest’s youth camp and was an iconic figure like George Wood. He was optimistic and cheerful. Even when he was seriously injured, he did not give up football. He was the main player during Tony Twain’s brilliant era. The “little monkey” moniker reflected everyone’s love for him. If such a player were to leave the Forest team, then what kind of confidence could the Forest team still give the fans?
As more and more fans gathered and their singing grew increasingly louder, some people noticed that the window that had been closed for the past several days had been opened.
More and more people noticed this change, and they stopped their singing and shouting as they looked up at the window.
“Are you certain, son?”
Bale’s father stood inside the house, holding his cell phone and asked.
Bale was standing at the window. The night breeze blew and flapped the curtains. It fluttered his hair and his heart. The black figures of the crows below looked like there were more people than there were yesterday. They all lifted their heads up at him.
“Yeah, Dad. I’ve made up my decision.” Bale nodded.
He walked to the window and shook out the item he was holding in his hand. A breakout of cheers erupted below.
Because what he held in his hand was the Nottingham Forest red jersey.
Behind him, his father dialed Valdano’s number and said, “… Mr. Valdano? I am… Yes, I have his answer… My son…” He turned his head toward Bale standing at the window. He was waving to the fans below, and there was another burst of cheers.
“He is very grateful to Real Madrid for their interest in him. It is the dream of any professional player to play for a great team like Real Madrid… But my son has reiterated his love for Nottingham Forest to me. He will not sign the contract and will remain at Nottingham Forest.”
Bale put the team emblem on the Forest jersey on his mouth and kissed it. The cheers below became even louder.
“Gareth! Gareth! Gareth!”
“Forest, Forest, Nottingham Forest!!”
※※※
The next day, Bale’s father contacted the media to announce Bale’s decision to stay in the team, which completely put the Nottingham Forest fans’ minds at ease.
Perhaps the most disappointed person was the Real Madrid president, Florentino because the player whom he was interested in had turned down his offer.
The most unhappy person was probably Evan Doughty.
Bale pledged his allegiance to the Forest team, and the Forest team’s first-in-command did not appreciate the kindness in his heart. His rebuff had cost him the chance to build a good relationship with Real Madrid and also caused the loss of a lot of money…
But on the face of it, he also issued a statement, saying he was very pleased that Bale had finally chosen to stay, proving that loyalty was priceless. He assured Bale would bring glory back along with the Forest team.
But perhaps everyone was hissing him in their hearts…
Kerslake later said he was pleased that he was still able to see Gareth Bale’s name on the new season’s roster. The manager’s delight was from the heart, compared with the chairman’s hypocritical show of affection. Bale was definitely an irreplaceable player in the team. With him around, they did not have to worry about the left side of the field.
The Forest team’s most dynamic transfer drama of the summer was over, and the new season had begun…
...
Chapter 925 - Qualified for the Next Round in Advance
The new season has commenced for half a month, and it was time for the England national team to play in games once again.
However, Twain has an issue on his hands. He has trouble coming up with the list of players that he should call up for international duty.
Only three matches have been played in the Premier League so far, but there were already quite a few players who have picked up an injury. Wayne Rooney injured his thigh and has to rest for a week. Michael Carrick twisted his ankle and needs to rest for two weeks at the bare minimum. Bentley pulled his ligament yet again after recovering from his previous injury and would be out for at least a month. Stewart Downing strained his calf during the match against Wales on 24th August and would be unable to play for two weeks. Additionally, John Terry also picked up a red card in that same match against Wales, and has been suspended for two matches.
All the players who picked up an injury have to be substituted. Twain has to find suitable players to fill in their roles.
Thus, Chris Cohen received his very first call from the national team. They told him to pack his bags and make his way over to London to meet up with the national team before they set off for Macedonia.
Cohen might be a regular first team player for Nottingham Forest when they won the Treble, but he has never been selected for the England national team before since the position that he plays in is typically occupied by Stewart Downing and James Milner, who are much better players than he is. Cohen is much more average across all aspects of his game, and his only strength is that he is very eager to track back to defend.
Twain showed favoritism towards Forest once again by selecting yet another Forest player. This time however, the criticisms directed at him were significantly lesser, because his team has been winning all the matches that they played in so far. As long as the England national team continues to win, who cares if he swapped the entire national team for Nottingham Forest?
Cohen felt flattered after receiving the call from the Football Association. He was then certain that it had not been a dream or a prank done on him by some reality show when he received a subsequent call from Twain.
“Chris. I was the one who promoted you from the reserves to the first team back then. Now, I am also going to be the one to bring you over to the national team from Forest. Honestly, I am under a lot of pressure. If you don’t perform well, I would receive a lot of flak from others. I don’t care about getting scolded, but if you guys don’t perform well, it’d definitely lead to discord in the England national team…”
Cohen understood what Twain was getting at. He replied, “Rest assured, boss. I will definitely not embarrass you!”
Cohen was brought into the national team as a potential replacement to the injured Downing. Twain could not guarantee him the chance to play in the match, because competition for the position that he plays in is fierce.
Adriano Moke was envious of Cohen for being selected for the national team. He has never received a call from Twain at all so far despite becoming a regular player for Forest recently. Twain also chose to play Walcott instead of him when Bentley picked up an injury previously.
Manchester City’s Micah Richards is the player selected to replace John Terry. Richards is a gifted player and there are many people who wish to see him play for the national team, but Twain refused to bring him into the team because his performances have been inconsistent recently. Twain would rather anger half of the Mancunians than to take a risk with Richards.
Richards rose to fame when he was still a youth player and he is well-known in the Premier League as well as the European footballing scene. He stood out among other players of his same age, and as a result, he was frequently selected for the national team when Capello was in charge.
However, his experiences since young have caused him to become proud and arrogant, and that has affected his performances on the pitch as he often loses his focus when he is playing. Thus, Twain refused to pick Richards for the national team even though there were many people who wanted to see him get picked. He did not want the vice-captain of Manchester City to get too ahead of himself.
Ever since Twain took over, Richards did not even get picked once for the England national team, and that has led to speculation among the Manchester media outlets that there could be a possible conflict between Richards and Twain.
Twain never admitted that there was any conflict between them, and Richards would only complain here and there about not getting picked for the national team.
Now that Terry is absent however, Richards has finally gotten his ticket into the national team for the very first time.
When there is a first, there would also usually be a second. Richards just needs to know how to make full use of the opportunity that he is given.
Michael Carrick was unable to participate in the international competition due to an injury, and Tottenham Hotspur’s Fabian Delph was the reinforcement that Twain brought into the team to replace him. The player who replaced Wayne Rooney was Everton’s top striker James Vaughan, and the player who replaced Bentley was Blackburn Rover’s Matt Derbyshire.
Twain then set off for Macedonia’s capital Skopje with a team comprising of all the aforementioned players.
※※※
Macedonia would not be able to threaten England in any way despite having the home advantage. That was how the England fans thought prior to the start of the match.
The England players thought the same way as well. England was able to achieve nine wins and one draw in the ten qualifiers that they played in thus far. Qualifying for the next round in advance was not an issue at all. None of the players cared about their other opponents in the group stage anymore.
After the match against Macedonia started, it looked like England was en route to their tenth win. Nothing seemed to suggest anything of the contrary.
It had only been seven minutes into the game when Walcott made his way into the penalty box and then crossed the ball into the middle. Mitchell then jumped into the air and comfortably headed the ball into the back of the net.
England led Macedonia by 1:0.
The England players began to relax after they went into the lead early in the game. They lost their focus and began playing with their heads in the clouds.
Twain was extremely upset with what he saw. He paced about the side of the pitch and kept gesturing and yelling for his players to continue to attack.
Macedonia performed much better than they did when they played against England previously in an away game, and they threatened England’s goalpost numerous times.
England was only able to score their second goal on the 72nd minute of the match. Richards headed the ball that had been sent in from the corner into the net, and England ended the match with a score of 2:0.
Richards was thrilled after scoring the goal. He ran in front of the cameras and yelled at the top of his lungs. He was happy that he has finally proven his worth after being treated coldly by Twain for an entire year.
Twain did not commend the team’s performance after the match ended. Instead, he mercilessly derided the players in the locker room.
“There was a total of 16 shots in the entire match, but only three were on target!” Twain definitely had reason to be angry based on the statistics. “Should I be happy about how we are so efficient because we are able to score two goals with just three shots on target? Or should I feel regret at how you have missed nine of those shots? There were also 4 shots that had been blocked… These are your statistics for the match, gentlemen! Look at how you guys played against a small and weak Macedonia team! Do you all think that you have what it takes to face bigger and stronger opponents?”
None of the players dared to breathe a word. They knew that what their boss was true, and that they had put in a mediocre performance for the match. They just could not pump themselves up for the game when they know that they are up against a weak team like Macedonia.
Twain looked at the players before him. He knew very well that his words would only fall on deaf ears whenever the team faces a very weak team. The players all have minds of their own, and they would not listen to everything that he says. They would inevitably look down on opponents that they deem to be weak, and they would then play according to their own judgement.
After all, they are human beings with a life. They are not puppets on a string.
“I don’t ever want to see a match like this one ever again.”
Twain said those words and left the locker room.
The players looked at each other incredulously after Twain left. They could not understand why their boss would be so angry. They might have looked down on their opponents, but they still won the match anyway.
They did not know that what Twain valued the most was spirit and willpower. Twain did not mind if the team lost a match, but the players must never lose the fight and determination in them.
Looking down on one’s opponents is not terrible. Having a lax attitude towards any match is. If the players continued to behave and think in such a way, it could gradually become a habit that is hard to break, and it could then end up delivering a fatal blow to the team.
Only the Forest players understood why their boss was so upset, because those were the same exact demands that he made on the Forest players when he was the manager.
※※※
England won against Macedonia. It was a good result, even if Twain was not very pleased with the way the match had played out.
England now has a total of 25 points and they are first in the group. Denmark was only able to end up with 20 points because they drew with fifth-placed Ireland 1:1 in the latest match. There was now a five point gap between the first placed team and the second placed team.
England’s next match was against Denmark away. The winner of the match would get six points, and thus, if England manages to beat Denmark, they would be able to qualify for the next round of the competition with two games left to play.
To the England press, the ticket to Spain is already firmly in the grasp of the England national team, because defeating Denmark away would not be an issue at all. England had played against Denmark previously during the qualifiers, and the press was certain that neither Denmark nor any of the other teams in the group would cause any problems for Tony Twain and his team.
Denmark and Serbia might have been regarded as strong teams in the past, but now, both teams seemed weak and vulnerable against the strong and powerful England.
The clamorous England press started calling the current England national team as the strongest team in the country’s history, and they bragged about how the team would dominate the whole of Europe. Neither Serbia nor Denmark would be able to stop the team in their tracks, and Tony Twain’s unbeaten record would only persist.
Twain was sick of hearing comments like that.
The press being overly positive would definitely affect the team’s emotions. Look at what happened in Skopje. They were lucky that they were only up against Macedonia. What if they had been up against Denmark instead? The team known as the ‘Northern European Pirates’ would certainly not miss out on a golden opportunity to defeat England.
Twain could not help but feel a twinge of nervousness over England’s next match. What worried him even more was that the press’s arrogance and pride would lead to disastrous outcomes during the Euro Cup.
※※※
The players noticed that their boss was not smiling as much as he did in the past ever since the day he criticized their performance in Skopje.
He was also much more cautious during his interviews when he discussed about Denmark. He kept emphasizing that Denmark was a strong team and that he respected the team.
No one could believe that an arrogant manager like him would suddenly become so humble.
His behavior set the players’ tongues wagging.
“The boss is behaving oddly…”
“What’s odd about that? He’s just putting on a show before us!”
“Putting on a show?”
“He doesn’t want us to underestimate our opponents.”
“But Denmark isn’t a team that we would underestimate.”
“Not everyone might think that way. After all, our team has been on a winning streak. Even I don’t think we’d have a problem winning against Denmark…”
“Yeah, that’s right! We are definitely going to qualify for the next round in advance. I don’t know what the boss is worried about…”
“They are a team that we can win against comfortably! I really can’t get myself pumped up for the game.”
“Look at you! You just underestimated our opponents!”
“Ah…”
Discussions like that occurred frequently among the players.
The day before the match, Twain gathered the entire team over for a tactical meeting at the hotel that they were staying in. However, when the meeting started, Twain did not discuss his tactics.
The first few words that came out of his mouth startled the players.
“I wonder if we should lose to Denmark on purpose.”
Twain rubbed his chin as he said those words and he did not look like he was joking. All the players and staff members were shocked and they stared at him with their eyes bulged and their mouths agape. They did not know why their boss would say that.
“We are definitely going to qualify for the next round anyway. It doesn’t matter if we lose a match. I don’t really care about my unbeaten record either. It’s meaningless to me. I’d rather dampen the press’s mood a little by losing the match… But, are you guys willing to do that?”
Twain stared at the players as he asked the question.
As the captain, Wood stood up and replied to Twain, “I don’t like doing that, boss.”
“And your reason is?”
“I don’t like to lose. And I especially don’t like losing on purpose.”
Several players concurred with Wood and they echoed his words.
“Boss, actually…” Mitchell stood up to speak as well. “I don’t think you need to worry about us being affected by the press’s words. We are not kids who don’t know anything.”
Mitchell’s words was met with approval by several players once again.
Twain threw out his hands before him. “Do you think I’m worrying for nothing? I can already see from some of your faces that you guys are underestimating Denmark. Some of you must be thinking that Denmark is a team that we can win comfortably against, right?”
A few players scrunched up their necks and lowered their heads.
“I’d have to make some changes to the starting line-up, since all of you do not wish to lose the game…”
Thereafter, Twain included all the Nottingham Forest players into the starting line-up.
Joe Mattock, Chris Cohen, Mitchell, Agbonlahor and the captain, George Wood were all named as the starting players.
Twain then faced his team that was comprised mainly of Nottingham Forest players.
“You all know what I want!” he bellowed.
“Victory!!”
※※※
Denmark tried their best to put up some form of resistance against England’s attacks, and that is also how they managed to score a goal.
Still, England proved too strong and powerful for them. England was just like a raging storm, and the Danes could not even lift their heads amidst the pouring rain.
The final score for the match was 2:1. England beat Denmark away and their victory has allowed them to qualify for the next round of the competition in advance with two games left to play.
When the referee blew on the whistle to signal the end of the match, the England players ran onto the pitch to hug their team mates who had played for 90 minutes. They knew that they were guaranteed of a spot in the Euro Cup that would be held in Spain, and nothing was going to change that.
Twain heaved a long sigh of relief before standing to his feet. He then balled his fists and waved them in the air. His colleagues soon had him in their embrace.
The very first goal that was stated in the contract had been accomplished.
From now on, all he had to think about was the Euro Cup.
Shaun Harvey, the chief executive of the England Football Association, stood up to applaud Twain and his team at the stands. He then smiled proudly at the person next to him before going on to brag about how he has a discerning eye.
“If I hadn’t been the one to give him that call back then, would we even be seeing these sights today?”
“They say that Tony Twain is a recalcitrant man. But, I can’t tell that at all now that he is working under Mr. Harvey.”
Twain has become rather submissive and obedient for the past year after becoming the manager of the national team. There were quite a few people who believed that his change in behavior would not have been possible if not for Shaun Harvey’s charisma.
※※※
The news of England’s qualification into the next round of the competition became a form of motivation for some of the other teams who were hoping to qualify just like them.
One of the matches that took place the next day was between Wales and Serbia. In the end, Wales defeated Serbia 2:1 away after a grueling match. Since Denmark lost to England earlier, Wales was able to move up from fourth place to second place in the group and they led Denmark by two points.
Wales now had a good chance of qualifying for the next round by coming in at second place in their group.
One point worth mentioning is that both of Wales’ goals in that match had come from the same person.
Gareth Bale scored two goals from free kicks, and he single-handedly sent Wales into the second place in the group.
His goals also sent the whole of Wales into an uproar, because their football team finally has a chance to participate in an international competition. Bale’s fame skyrocketed, and the entire country extolled his performances. However, none of those things mattered to Bale. The only thing that was on his mind was the promise that he made with Twain by the side of the pitch.
I have to go to Spain!
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Chapter 926 - The Group Draw for the Final Series
Gareth Bale finished all the qualifiers with the conviction to go to Spain as Wales resisted the comeback pressure in the last two matches to earn its right to qualify for the European matches as the second seed.
The result had a huge response at home in Wales, who finally reached the European Cup matches again after 1976. They finished in the top eight at the then European Cup as the Welsh media hoped that this time, under the leadership of Bale and Ramsey, would at least match its best results back in history.
On the night when they were leaving, Bale called Twain. Although it was extremely noisy on his side, but Twain could still hear Bale’s hissing roar, “Coach! We are going to Spain! We are going to Spain!”
Next to it, there seemed to be someone echoing loudly, “Spain! Spain!”
Twain knew that they were celebrating this rare victory, hence he did not bother Bale much. That, coupled with Bale’s current condition, meant that he probably would not listen to anything Twain said. Thus, he just gave a simple congratulations and hung up.
Although Wales reaching the series this time round, was thanks to the European Cup expansion from 16 slots to 24, the Welsh still had their reasons to celebrate.
Unlike Wales’ national revelry, England were calmer on being able to leave the group stage. After all, they were regulars at the European Cup and should only be on the headlines if they could not go to Spain. Twain being able to lead the team out of the group stage should count as his first duty accomplished.
The actual European Cup elimination series was the real test.
At the end of November, the last three qualifying teams were awarded a two-round home-and-away play between the top six teams, to decide the last three teams which was going to qualify for the European Cup.
Then in Nyon, Switzerland, the head coaches of the twenty-four teams gathered for a group draw ceremony organized by Union of European Football Associations.
Twain participated in several group draw ceremonies. Even if it was for a country team, there was not much difference. At most, he would just need to meet more head coaches for the country teams. However, he himself was still the focal point for the media.
Two days before the draw, a list of The European Cup groups was reportedly leaked from within Union of European Football Associations. Regardless of the authenticity of the list, it quickly caught and attracted the attention of the media, so the internet and the social media news immediately became the main voice of the mainstream media.
Reporters who came to interview also took this question to ask Twain, because England’s grouping on the list was not fortunate – they were allocated into an extremely strong group.
The group ingress in the final stages of the European Cup would first identify the seeded teams and divide all the teams into the ABCD four tiers according to the total points of their last World Cup qualifiers, the previous and the current European Cup qualifiers. The hosts and defending champions would qualify directly for the seeded team, with the rest of the seeded teams coming from the first-tier teams.
In the group list, which is rumoured to be an “internal leaked version”, England was placed in Group D as a seeded team, along with Sweden, Germany and Denmark.
Germany being the second tier team was not surprising as they did not perform well in last year’s European Cup qualifiers between Poland and Ukraine, so they were only able to qualify for the finals in the final round through extra time. However, as it was rare that there would be strong teams at the second seed like Germany, it was England’s misfortune that they would still meet Germany.
Reporters were keen to hear what Twain thought about the leaked version of the group list. Before this, they had previously interviewed Germany’s head coach, Sammer, who thought that the list was made up by journalists and was not worth evaluating. Then they went to interview Sweden coach Roland Anderson, whose answer was the same as Sammer.
But it was common sense that they thought this way.
The group draw was an important thing and now that there was a “leaked version” even before the start of the group draw, which head coach would dare to evaluate it? They did not even know if the version was real, how would they even form an opinion about it?
But the reporters knew what kind of person Twain was — his talkative mouth had been dormant for more than a year and it was time it would light up again.
Twain did not disappoint them either.
He did not seem to doubt the authenticity of the list as he followed it with some opinions on his “group opponents”.
“Germany is a strong team, I know all about England and Germany’s feud … There is nothing worthy to praise about the matchup results between England and Sweden either, so we need to be careful in handling that … Denmark is a very tough team and I played against them during the selection matches but I didn’t know we would meet again this time. They are a tough team, and you will realize this when you analyze our matchup results during the selection matches, as those ended in a victory and a draw, we need to be careful…”
A reporter finally could not hold back, as he asked bluntly, “Mr Twain, why are you prepared to express your opinions on this group draw list?”
Twain purposefully acted surprised, “Is there any issue with this list?”
“It is alleged that this is a leaked version …”
Twain’s laughter interrupted the reporter, “Whether it’s the European Champions Cup or the European Cup, when is there not a ‘leaked version’ out before the game? And we would always find out after the draw that the leaked version will be always a bit similar to the final official version…”
“Mr. Twain, do you mean that the results of the draw have long been determined by Union of European Football Associations?”
The reporters roared with excitement, and at last they heard the voice they wanted to hear most.
Twain’s face was immediately darkened, as he stared at the reporter while asking, “I didn’t say that, if you reported that I said that on the news, I’ll insist on my right to accuse you of slandering me, Mr. Reporter.”
The atmosphere at the scene immediately cooled down.
Twain took the opportunity to get out of the reporters’ circle and walk into the conference.
In there, he met with his boss, the FA’s chief executive, Shaun Barclays.
“There are so many reporters surrounding you outside, what are they asking?” He glanced a little warily at the excited reporters outside. He was worried Twain said the wrong things again.
“What else other than the leaked version of the lottery result?” Twain asked as if it was not very important.
“You didn’t say anything, did you? Mr. Twain.” Mr. Barclays was clearly nervous.
Twain grinned, “What are you worried about, Mr. Barclays?”
Barclays could not easily said what he was thinking as he frowned and patted Twain on his shoulders, “Let’s go, Mr Twain. The group draw ceremony is about to start.”
※※※
Unlike the leaked version, England was not placed in Group D but instead they were placed in Group C. This made several people more convinced that the leaked version of the team lottery results were fabricated, because as there would always be several similar rumors before every match, everyone was accustomed to this.”
After the seeding team was done, it was time to draw for the second-tier teams.
When it was the turn of Group C, the draw guest, former Madrid flag bearer Raul Gonzalez from Spain, held up the ping-pong ball in his hand. As he pulled out the note from within the ball and read out the name on it, the note appeared on the big screen behind him.
“Germany.”
There was a burst of jeers at the scene.
The camera swept through the positions the coaches were sitting and found Tony Twain, only to find that he had put his finger in his mouth and was happily jeering at the results too.
If it were not for the image everyone already had for Tony Twain, they would think that he was a passerby who only wanted to join in the crowd, and not one of the parties involved…
“Mr. Twain!” Barclays, who was sitting beside Twain, was glaring at him.
Twain glanced back at him and booed a few times. His sharp boos were clearly heard on the television.
Having done this, he then took his hand out of his mouth and wiped it on his suit without any regard on his image. “What’s the matter, Mr. Barclays?”
“Watch your image…” said Barclays weakly.
Twain smiled, “Okay, Mr. Barclays. ”
The uproar over the draw lasted a long while before it went away, and when someone looked back at the England manager’s indication of the result, he was always seen booing. Who knew if he was actually booing because he was excited or unhappy… but that was alright, the media would always arrange a speech for him to say out.
I believe the senior Union of European Football Associations officials sitting on the podium must have seen this. There was no choice, who wanted Tony Twain to be the main focal point during the ceremony?
The German, Sammer was discontent about this result as he frowned with a heavy face. Maybe he was unhappy about Twain’s attitude — this Englishman was too flippant!
The snobbish Englishman sat in his seat and smiled as he looked at Beckenbauer, the German football legend who was walking up to the draw.
He was going to draw the third-tier team for Group C.
The result he drew was somewhat disappointing for the excited media, as it was not the predicted Sweden but it was Portugal instead.
Twain smiled for a while from below, as Portugal was stronger than Sweden was. If not for their poor performance during the selection matches and not being able to enter the Brazil World Cup, how would they even be allocated as the third tier team…
The team that appeared in the fourth tier gave Twain a somewhat surprised look for the first time.
“Wales,” The host read this somewhat boring name.
But Twain’s eyebrows jumped up.
He did not expect himself to be reunited with the little monkey so soon.
As a result of the expansion of the European Cup, the group stage has been increased from four groups to six, making it much less likely that the “strong teams would go against each other”. Hence, the group that England was in would be labelled as the “group of death”.
It was a far cry from the previous “leaked version.” But at the very least, England and Germany were indeed drawn into the same group.
As soon as the draw ceremony was over, the media surrounded Twain again.
Barclays saw that he was about to be crowded out by the reporters, he hurriedly reminded Twain in his ear, “Don’t speak foolishly, Mr Twain!”
“I’m not a child anymore…” Twain muttered disgruntledly as he welcomed the media.
Twain knew that England and Germany had always looked at each other badly in football, and that modesty would not get a good response.
“… We are not afraid of Germany, ‘The Group of Death’? I’m not worried. It’s the European Cup, there would be strong teams everywhere, I don’t think there’s anything wrong being drawn in the same group with teams like Germany, Portugal or Wales … Our goal is to win the championship, and there would be no champions who would get lucky consistently in their journey…”
He sounded really impressive, especially as he publicly stated that his team’s goal is to “win the championship”. There was a burst of discussions within the crowd of reporters.
He could already see tomorrow’s eye-catching headline: England aiming for the championships from the start, self-admitted by Tony Twain himself.
However, the reporters still had a lot to ask about the results of the draw. “Mr Twain, there were some similarities between the leaked version before the draw and the actual results, and England was also drawn into the same group as Germany, I would like to ask—”
Twain knew what the reporter was trying to ask, as he immediately hardened his face and said, “Isn’t that normal? There were only six groups so the probability of Germany being placed in Group C as a second-tier team is one in six, which I think is normal. There’s nothing wrong here. ”
The reporters were not impressed as they wanted to hear something groundbreaking from his mouth. Twain was not willing to be a scapegoat for others, hence for similar problems it was as if he was a Taiji master, he beat around the bush several times and was not willing to answer the question straight to the point.
Reporters blocked Twain for a long while, but as they were not able to get their desired answer, they could only give up and let him go.
But simply that phrase “Our goal is to win the championship” alone was enough to attract tons of attention. Yes, England had always been considered a strong European team, but there were several people who looked down on them, many thought that strong team had to referred to with inverted commas and should have only been called the pseudo-strong team. What’s more, the results of this group draw only just came out and there was still six months before the start of the European Cup. Twain so loudly shouted “our goal is to win the championship” slogan, did he not consider the possible changes in the next six months? What if the core players were not in form? What if the main players were unable to participate due to their injury? Doing this only created enemies for himself and himself only…
But those were only troubles for Twain himself, us as the media just need to create eye-catching content to attract attention.
※※※
On the next day, the major sports media really began to hype Twain’s talkative mouth, as his big framed photograph coupled with that line “our goal is to become the champions” was really groundbreaking.
“If it was someone else saying that line, people might have regarded it as a joke, but if it was him, people would not even have dared to laugh.”
People who were familiar with Tony Twain, would definitely have had the same thought upon reading this headline.
England’s fans were also delighted that they could have such a confident manager that perhaps it would no longer be a dream to lift the La Liga cup in the English capital at next year’s European Championships.
Twain was in the headlines, but Shaun Barclays was having a headache.
Just as Twain’s title-winning manifesto appeared in the headlines, Barclays also received a call from Union of European Football Associations president Michel Platini.
The call was simple, where Platini, as a personal friend, reminded Barclays to take care of Tony Twain’s talkative mouth. The things Twain said during the draw ceremony to the reporters was well-heard. The Union of European Football Associations was not deaf; they did know about this. He hoped that Twain would never speak things that would doubt the Union of European Football Associations’s fairness.
Unlike the previous presidents, the new Football Association chief executive was looking for ways to repair the relationship between the English Football Association and Union of European Football Associations, as the Union of European Football Associations was always targeting England, there were several incidents of sabotaging plots in the past few years.
He naturally did not want Twain’s talkative mouth to affect his “friendship” with Platini and damage the relationship between the Football Association and Union of European Football Associations.
A few months ago in Denmark, he was boasting how successful his control on Twain was, and now he has learned how a terrible headache it is to have such an unruly head coach that cannot be disciplined or tamed.
If someone could get Tony Twain extremely humble, make him listen to instructions, being meek like a sheep, then this person has to be God … (To be continued, if you want to know what happens later, please log in to www.qidian.com, where there would be more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading! )
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Chapter 927 - An Old Enemy
How many people still remembered what Twain said in the newspaper six years ago after the World Cup in South Africa?
While the major media outlets and famous names in the football world congratulated the Argentinians for winning the World Cup, Twain made a statement at odds with everyone else.
“I admit that Messi has won the Treble, but it is too premature to name him the ‘new king.’ Argentina is able to win the World Cup because they haven’t meet the England team. Barcelona is able to win the Champions League title because Nottingham Forest is not around…”
He questioned Messi’s status as the “new king” even though Maradona himself had given Messi the crown of the football king. In Twain’s view, the player who could be called the king of the football must have absolute dominance in his time. His brilliance would overshadow everyone else and become a benchmark of the times.
Messi had not reached that position as of yet.
Because there was still George Wood to be considered. Nottingham Forest, which owned George Wood, could end Barça’s dynasty early. With George Wood around, the England team could do the same.
It was just a pity that while Twain had proved his point at the football club level, the England national team never had a chance to play against the Argentina national team.
But not to worry, the opportunity had come now!
On April 4th, at Nottingham Forest’s Crimson Stadium, the England team would face Argentina, their opponent in the friendly match!
The English Football Association listened to Twain completely when it came to the UEFA European Championship Qualifying round. As a result, Twain drew the name of the Argentina national team.
Maybe someone else had already forgotten what he had previously said but he himself remembered it.
“I’m going to show them whether I’m talking big or not.”
The match attracted a lot of interest from the fans in both countries. It also attracted the attention of fans all over the world. Because their feud was known to the world.
Originally, the football worlds of English and Argentina each minded their own business and had nothing to do with each other. But at the 1986 World Cup, a man formed a decades-long feud between the two sides.
And this very same man was now Argentina’s manager, Diego Maradona.
As a result of the 1982 Falklands War, the two countries formed an enmity. The hot-blooded young men who played football were always patriotic, so they also wanted to prevail over their sworn enemy on the football field. The World Cup in Mexico gave both teams such a chance – in the quarterfinals, Argentina played against England.
It was a game that would forever go down in the history of the World Cup, giving birth to too many classic moments.
Argentina had scored their first goal. Maradona, a man who stood at 1.68-meter-tall, had actually succeeded in his fight for a header against the tall England national goalkeeper, Shilton to head the football in … Unfortunately, it was a handball. The referee did not see Maradona’s furtive action and declared the goal to be valid. Although the England team players argued to their best but to no avail. They had no choice but to accept the result.
Following which, Maradona scored the most exciting goal in World Cup history – he bypassed five players in a row. While the other fans relished and enjoyed the goal, the English people were outraged – they thought that without the previous handball, England’s players would not have been disturbed and naturally there would not have been a “bypassed five players in a row” after that.
Unfortunately, what-ifs never existed on the football field.
As the Falklands War intensified the rivalry between the two countries, Maradona did not admit to the handball. In the end, he was forced to simply say “that it was God’s punishment of the English people. A little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God.” His refusal to admit it made the English people very upset, and the two football teams became enemies in this way.
Although the Falklands War was long over, the feud on the football field was inherited and continued.
People liked to say, “football is a war during peacetime.” This saying was right. For the England and Argentina fans, it was a death match every time their teams met.
England and Argentina met again at the 1998 World Cup in France. Beckham’s red card, Simeone’s sly eyes and exaggerated performance, as well as Owen’s breakout performance and Argentina’s exquisite free kick play were the highlights.
At the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea, England and Argentina were placed in the group of death. As a result, Argentina, which had been seen as the favorite to win the title did not even advance past the group stage. Many people saw Batistuta’s tears on the live broadcast in front of the television screens as well as Beckham’s unbridled venting after he redeemed himself at the penalty shootout.
It was always explosive every time the England and Argentina teams met.
They were famous foes in the world of football.
When Twain was just an ordinary Chinese fan, he was interested in the games between these kinds of foes, such as between England and Argentina, England and Germany, Brazil and Argentina… not to mention the old enemies at the football club level. Just the examples alone could take one day and one night to list them.
He felt that what best embodied the nature of football was games with these kinds of intense confrontations and filled with countless stories. Therefore, when the English Football Association gave him a list of teams to select from, he did not even look at the other teams and just drew a tick on the Argentina team’s name.
The probability was not high for some teams which wanted to meet with them in the international competition arena. It was overly dependent on luck. Since it was a friendly match, he could pick his opponents at will. Twain naturally picked the team that could stimulate his interest.
※※※
Even though it was just a friendly match, the English and Argentinian media were closely watching the big game between the England and Argentina teams.
As the game drew closer, the English media brought out the “Hand of God” incident to rehash matter. The vehemence of it was far more powerful than ever before.
In the past, the Argentina manager was not Maradona and the past incident was nothing more than just teatime gossip. It was now a different story. The Argentina manager, who was leading the team and had landed on English soil, was Diego Maradona, the Argentine national hero, who had used the “Hand of God” and “bypassed five players in a row” to humiliate England thirty years ago.
An English reporter went to ask Diego. What did he have to say about the handball of that time after thirty years?
Maradona pretended to be surprised and said, “Has it already been thirty years? Ah, that is a beautiful memory that feels good even as I think of it now…”
“Don’t you feel guilty about scoring a goal in such a deceptive way?”
Maradona shook his head and said, “No. You and we are enemies on the football field. Defeating the enemy by any means to achieve victory is the ultimate goal. I still feel that I did the right thing at the time.”
The former king of football was already fifty-five years old. But his temper and character were still a headache.
“If my handball was seen by the referee and the goal was declared invalid, I wouldn’t have any objection. But he did not see it, so the goal was valid. It was as simple as that.” Maradona shrugged and spread his hands in front of a large number of English reporters.
An English reporter could not stand Maradona’s “shameless” attitude. He asked a pointed question, “Mr. Maradona, do you ever think that you have set a bad example for a lot of Argentine players? Consequently, we can often see the famous Argentine stars on the pitch use their hands instead of their feet and heads to help their team score goals. Like your son-in-law, Agüero, and your favorite Messi…”
Maradona was a little unhappy, but fortunately he did not have a shotgun at hand. His face became serious-looking as he said, “‘The Hand of God’ is common in South America. It’s not patented by Argentine players. And I don’t think it’s common for Argentine players to use handball…”
He refused to answer any other questions. He pushed the reporters aside and turned to enter the building. Then he used force to close the door hard.
※※※
Twain held a newspaper in hand. There was a reporter on the reporters “besieging” Maradona. The English reporters were delighted to describe him as a shameless scoundrel which would make all English people abhorred. For example, he refused to admit that he had scored at the time with his hands which was against the spirit of sportsmanship in the competition. He had also repeatedly declared that he would still choose to do it again.
Surely any Englishman would gnash his teeth when he read this?
However, Twain was laughing.
“I like him, ha!” Twain did not care what expression Shania had next to him. His remark sounded ambiguous.
“Then you can go and hug him to show your love in person.” Shania pouted.
“But I’m not going to be friends with him.” Twain shook his head and said, “Two unconventional and unyielding people get together, both sides suffer. I can only look at this kind of person from afar.” He looked at Shania next to him and asked, “You’re not jealous of a man, are you?”
“I’m even jealous of football. What more of a man?” Shania pouted.
Twain smiled and put her in his arms.
※※※
The English media even went to Argentina to ask Maradona what he thought of what happened thirty years ago, which made the Argentine media feel “it was persecution” and “preposterous.”
Therefore, they also “happily” recalled the despicable things Tony Twain once did. For example, how he messed up the City Ground stadium like it was a rotten vegetable patch in his attempt to sabotage their core player and newly crowned king of football, Messi and using vile means to eliminate Barcelona and treated the undeserved win like it was nothing.
He also declared that “he could make Messi be sent off the field with a broken leg in five minutes.” Of course, it was refined by the Argentine media. His original words were, “If I really wanted to deal with Messi with that kind of method, I can guarantee that he won’t be able to stay on the pitch for even five minutes.”
Look, even the Dutch could not stand it. Cruyff had once publicly criticized Twain’s action and words as killing football and the art of it. He also called on FIFA to take care to protect the declining number of football artists today. “Why are there fewer and fewer players who can bring us pleasure now? It obviously has to do with everyone copying Nottingham Forest…”
After the Champions League final, Twain publicly backed Pepe, who was sent off for frenziedly beating someone up. He declared, “If there was a reason to beat up someone, I don’t think it’s a problem to hit someone. If it were me, maybe I’ll do it too.”
The Argentine media relished Tony Twain’s “sullied bad record.” In fact, they usually did not pay any attention to Tony Twain. If it were not for this game, they would not care about what Twain had said or done.
Just as the Argentine media went on a rampage to smear Twain, a new advertising billboard appeared in the heart of Buenos Aires.
It was an advertisement for Ray-Ban Wayfarer. The man in the image was no stranger to the Argentines, because his photographs had been seen regularly in the street newspapers during this time – Tony Twain was dressed in black and holding a pair of Ray-Ban Wayfarer as he leaned against the iron bridge railing. His eyes gazed into the distance and he appeared very cool like a mafia godfather.
Next to him was advertising copy: Ray-Ban, the real man’s choice.
A few days later, in the same downtown center, not far from the advertising billboard, a new advertising poster was also put up. This time the brand that appeared on it was the Gillette razor. The spokesman was still Tony Twain. He held a Gillette razor, gleaming and brilliant and put it next to his lips, while he looked at the bustling crowds and traffic below the advertisement. The black-and-white poster had a “cool” factor to it.
The advertising copy was: “The best man can be.”
Then a third billboard was erected as well. This time, it was by Dr. Martens, a famous British shoe brand. Tony Twain was the spokesperson too. Wearing Dr. Martens’ specially designed distinctive shoes, Twain did not look like a football manager, but rather an adventure explorer. He was not wearing the black suit of the first two advertisements. His look was far from an underworld boss. With a casual jacket and jeans on, he looked perfect for Dr. Martens men’s shoes. The getup made him look much younger than his actual age, and Twain liked the youthful outfit he wore.
On the other hand, the advertising copy commensurate with Twain’s style of handling things as well as his individualistic temperament. No wonder Dr. Martens would sign up Twain for an endorsement:
Confidence. Tenacious. Never compromise.
The advertisers were not worried about Tony Twain’s bad reputation damaging both world renown brands. Because the main sales strategy of both brands was to highlight the distinctive personality in this mediocre society. A recent topic of interest in Argentina like Twain, was really a good spokesman there was. Just like the villains in the movies which tend to find favor with a lot of fans, Tony Twain must also be able to find his audience here.
In fact, Maradona’s character was also very much in line with the requirements, if his size and appearance were better …
The Argentine media must have been frustrated when they discovered the advertisements, because their efforts to hype the issue had brought more advertising revenue to Twain instead…
Even the English media had repeatedly published social news of the large-scale advertisements of Twain appearing in Buenos Aires as a counterattack.
This matter did make onlookers laugh, but not everyone thought the matter was funny.
※※※
In the past, when Twain was the football club’s manager, such a situation happened less. It only happened to the players who left Nottingham Forest for the other teams.
And that was: when Twain and the opposing team engaged in a war of words, the former Forest players found it hard to bear …
For example, before the game between the Forest team and Barcelona, Piqué was put in an awkward position when the two sides attacked each other.
And now, most Nottingham Forest players had the opportunity to “enjoy” such treatment.
As long as they were not the England national footballers, they would have the opportunity to play for their national teams against England. If Twain decided to act crazy again and provoked a war of words, then any player, who had once played on the same side as Twain, would feel awkward.
This time, it was the unlucky Gago’s turn.
There were very few Argentine players in Nottingham Forest. Gago was the only one. How could he have been forgotten as the only Argentine to have been taught by Twain during this media battle on both sides?
But fortunately, he did not have to suffer through the ordeal because he was not called up to the national team by Maradona. He did not have to play in this friendly match. Since he did not have to play, he did not have to take any questions that would make things difficult for him. He refused to comment on the game because he was not going to take part in the match.
Those headaches were left to his national teammates to face …
※※※
The Argentina team did not fly to England together as a team. Maradona would bring the players from Argentina’s domestic leagues and arrive in Nottingham. Then the national footballers, who played for various European leagues would fly to Nottingham to meet with the team after the European league tournaments ended.
As Argentine players who played alongside in Spain, Messi and Higuaín arrived in London with Agüero and were immediately surrounded by “enthusiastic” reporters.
“Messi! Messi! Can you answer a question?”
“What do you think of Tony Twain, Messi?”
“It is said that he once tried to break your leg during a game. Is there really such a thing?” These rumors were terrible…
“Messi, will you play in the game against England? Is it true that Barcelona only want you to play half a game?”
If people who did not know the inside story, they would think that those who surrounded Messi were crazy fans.
Messi did not want to answer such questions. He bowed his head and covered his face with his hands, as he squeezed out of the crowd quickly. The two teammates who arrived with him on the same flight were like his bodyguards, sandwiching him in the middle.
After much difficulty, they were able to get rid of those frantic reporters with the help of the airport security. Messi was a little shocked after.
“It’s just a friendly match. It’s not even a World Cup game. Why are those people…”
“Have you forgotten who our opponent is? England and Tony Twain.” Agüero complained beside him. Messi was so popular that he also suffered as a bystander. Initially he looked like a flashy celebrity but when he managed to squeeze out of the crowd, his sunglasses almost broke amid the squeezing. Now the sunglasses were a skewed no matter how he wore them. He looked slightly disheveled. After trying to adjust the sunglasses for a long while, he simply put the sunglasses into the backpack.
Higuaín also said next to him, “This game cannot be seen as a normal friendly match no matter what … it’s a home game in England, so we must be ready to be booed at for the entire game.”
They hurriedly got into the car sent by the Argentina team to pick them up before they could breathe a sigh of relief.
“Anyway, I’ll only play for half the game…” Messi did not care about the booing.
“Well, so those media rumors are true?” Higuaín was a little envious. For the manager to make such a request, it implied that he was extremely valued and the irreplaceable core of the team. He himself obviously did not belong to that category of player.
“Mr. Guardiola is afraid that I’ll get hurt.”
Agüero gave a laugh at the side and said, “Isn’t it better not to let you play for even a single minute? Have you forgotten which player your opponent has?”
A name popped up instantly in the minds of the other two men. His inert face also appeared along with the name and looked lifeless like it was carved out of wood, which one could not take lightly. There were a lot of people who fell at his feet. If he did not want to get hurt in such a friendly match, he had to be careful.
Messi became excited instead.
“George Wood!” He clenched his fists.
...
Chapter 928 - This Is Counter-Attacking Football
It was going to be the very first time that Messi plays a match at Nottingham Forest’s new stadium. Messi was a little curious to see what the stadium was like. After all, there were not many stadiums in the world that could be regarded as a ‘five-star stadium’.
Messi bent over to touch the grass beneath his soles the moment he stepped onto the pitch to do his warm-ups.
People might think that Messi was doing some kind of ritual when he touched the grass. However, those who are familiar with him would find his behavior odd, since he never touches the grass when he steps onto the pitch.
The only ones who understood Messi’s actions were Messi’s teammates, who were very familiar with him. They teased him at once, “The quality of the grass is great. It’s definitely not like that rotten field that we played in previously.”
The horrendous way in which Barcelona was treated at the City Ground Stadium a few years ago is well-known around the world, and it is still a topic of idle conversation even till this day.
Messi’s teammates knew very well what Messi was trying to do.
Messi ran forward by two steps. That bumpy feeling that he experienced before did not emerge. The ground was smooth and the quality of the grass was superb. The only flaw that he observed was that the grass was a little short.
Three seasons might have passed since that ill-fated match at the City Ground Stadium, but Messi has never once forgotten what it felt like to play on that horrible pitch. He spent half of his energy trying not to pick up an injury in that game.
Tony Twain is the most rotten and despicable manager he has ever met in his career. He would never play under a manager like him who would come up with that kind of idea just to win the match. To Messi, Twain’s every action insulted the holy and beautiful image he had of football.
As for George Wood, Messi had mixed feelings towards him. He admits that it would be great to have Wood as a teammate, but the way Wood would lunge at his feet whenever he tries to defend made him feel very uncomfortable.
Messi would feel chills at his knee every time Wood charges at him. However, he also felt exceptionally excited every time he has to battle with Wood, because Wood is the kind of player that he has to go all out to defeat.
Besides winning the championship, a big source of pleasure to all good football players like Messi is to battle with other good players on the pitch.
Ever since that match, Barcelona has never faced off with Nottingham Forest a second time. This is the very first time that Argentina plays against England as well.
Messi was eager to finally face off with Wood once again and defeat both him and Twain this time round.
※※※
The fans got to work the moment they entered the stadium. First, they put up banners and portraits of the players at the stands. Thereafter, they began to sing songs at the top of their voices. Most of them were singing songs related to the England national team, but some were singing songs that were meant to cheer on the Nottingham Forest team.
Twain had chosen to play the match at this stadium because he wished to pile immense pressure on the Argentina players by drawing on the enthusiasm of the football fans in Nottingham.
It might just be a friendly match between the two countries, but Twain certainly did not want his team to lose to Argentina.
His desire to win has nothing to do with the Falklands War or the 30 year feud between England and Argentina.
He just wanted to deliver his promise. Nottingham Forest defeated Barcelona in the past, and now it was England’s turn to defeat Argentina.
The captain of the England national team, George Wood, held onto a small triangular-shaped country flag as he stood in the middle of the pitch. He was waiting for Argentina’s captain, Messi, to come over and initiate the exchange of country flags.
John and his gang could not help but praise Wood as they watched him from the stands. “He really looks and acts like a leader…”
“Ha! I knew he would be successful when I saw the way in which he kept Fàbregas out of the game at Wilford that day!”
“Stop boasting! I knew this lad would be a brilliant player in the future when I saw how he had the guts to raise his fists at the first team manager Collymore back then…”
The group of men began to brag about how they had the foresight or the discerning eye. The only person who did not join in their discussion was Fat John.
He smiled as he listened in on their conversation. He reminisced about the scenes from 12 years ago. Back then, George Wood was still a youth player that no one knew about. Nottingham Forest was struggling in the EFL Championship, and Tony Twain was a miserable youth team manager.
Who would have thought that there would come a day where Nottingham Forest would become a Treble-winning team, and that Tony Twain would become a famous manager who is now leading the England national team?
Who could have expected to see George Wood shake hands with Messi while being dressed in the jersey of the England national team and with the captain’s armband over his sleeve?
※※※
Wood felt the grip on his hands tighten. He looked at the short man before him.
Excitement gleamed in Messi’s eyes as he raised his head to stare at him.
Wood understood what Messi’s gaze and gesture meant. Thus, he tightened his own grip on the latter’s hand as well.
Kaka is already 34 years old this year and has already grown old. Unlike him however, Messi is only 28 years of age and is right in his prime.
The pair’s silent battle ended quickly. They could not possibly hold onto each other’s hands forever after all. The press would start circulating bad rumors about them the next day if they did.
Wood lost during the coin toss and England was going to be the team to take the kick-off. That was exactly what Twain wanted for his team.
The night was windy and cooling. It was the perfect weather to play football in.
Players from both teams have already gotten into their respective positions on the pitch. Everyone was waiting for kick-off.
Likewise, Twain was waiting for the match to begin as he stood by the side of the pitch. Another man who was waiting by the side just like him was the manager of the Argentina national team, Maradona.
The referee blew his whistle once, and the match between England and Argentina that has garnered much attention worldwide commenced.
※※※
Twain’s tactic for the match was to play counter-attacking football. He wanted his team to sit deep and hit Argentina on the break.
His decision to play counter-attacking football surprised many. He might have played counter-attacking football often when he was in charge of Forest, but ever since he became the manager of the England national team, he has generally gone with an attacking style of football. The team often ended matches with scores like 4:0, 3:2, or 3:1, and they also scored a total of 32 goals throughout all the qualifiers that they played in so far. These results all highlighted a shift in Twain’s playing style.
Twain completely changed the conservative image that people had of him from his days as Forest’s manager, and he successfully won over the picky fans by playing attacking football.
Yet, he chose not to continue with what he has done so far in this match against Argentina.
Is he perhaps scared of the Argentina team that is made up of players like Messi, Agüero, Higuaín and Mascherano?
Let us take a look at England’s starting line-up for today.
In the front half, Twain chose to go with Rooney, Agbonlahor, Walcott and Stewart Downing. All four players are players with pace, and they were also the players responsible for the team’s offense. Both Rooney and Agbonlahor are players who would not track back to defend during a match. They would always stand at the front of the pitch and wait for the ball to be passed over to them from the back.
Twain did not get any of his defenders to mark any of the Argentinian players. Even Argentina’s most threatening player, Messi, was not constantly marked by George Wood either.
England chose to make use of a defensive strategy known as zonal marking in the match instead. Whenever an Argentina player picked up the ball in England’s defensive third, he would definitely be surrounded by at least two England players. One would be in charge of snatching the ball from him, and the other would be on stand-by by the side. If the Argentina player kicks the ball slightly further away from himself, the other player would be there to intercept the ball at once.
This was a strategy adopted by Forest back then. It was a strategy that frustrated their opponents to no end, and its effectiveness did not seem to have diminished now that it is being utilized by the England national team.
Argentina’s players were troubled by England’s defense. The tiniest mistake that they make could lead to them losing the ball, unless they somehow managed to glue the ball to their feet.
Higuaín learned that first-hand when he tracked backwards to receive the ball. He was not able to receive the pass from his teammate perfectly, and the ball bounced off the tip of his foot and flew about five meters ahead of him. Usually, Higuaín would be able to regain possession of the ball easily by taking one big stride forward. But, his method did not work this time round, and the ball was quickly intercepted by England’s fullback, Richards, who had been on his trail.
Messi initially thought that it was going to be a contest between the captains and that he would get to battle it out with George Wood one-on-one today. However, he did not expect Tony Twain to deprive him of that opportunity to face off with Wood.
When Messi picked up the ball, the players closest to him all charged at him. He tried his best to get past the first defender, but the second one suddenly appeared near him. He quickly retrieved the ball that he had kicked in front, but the first player suddenly turned around and lunged at him, and that caused him to keep going around in circles at the same spot.
He tried his best to shake off the defenders again and he succeeded in making his way into England’s penalty box. But, once he was inside the penalty box, he realized that he could neither pass the ball nor move forward. After a moment of hesitation, he soon found himself surrounded by England’s players.
When he finally found a gap that he could make use of to pass the ball forward to his teammates, the assistant referee raised his flag.
Offside!
Messi then tried to make his way into the penalty box and shoot for goal himself during his subsequent attempts. However, a brick wall stood in his way every single time. A total of three defenders would mark him every time he got close to England’s penalty box.
Messi might get past the defenders here and there, but even he could not repeat the same feat every single time.
Hence, he decided to change his strategy and attack down the flanks instead.
Some of his teammates, such as Higuaín and Agüero, chose to shoot at goal from an angle after receiving the ball. Of course, those shots were all easily saved by Joe Hart, because all he needed to do was to narrow the angle in which the shot can be made.
Sometimes the Argentina players have to run over to the flanks to receive a pass from Messi when he puts too much force behind it. After they receive the pass, they would choose to cross the ball into the middle of the pitch. This is a very common attacking strategy used in football. However, most of their shots were all intercepted and kept out of play by the big and burly England center-backs, because Argentina lacked the players who could put the strategy to good use. Agüero is 1.72m and Tevez is 1.68m tall. Both are too short and they can’t receive the crosses from their teammates. Higuaín might be 1.84m tall, but he is not good with headers. Thus, he is unable to score from those crosses as well.
If Argentina wants their forwards to be able to reach the ball, the height of the crosses have to be lowered. However, if they lower the height, the crosses cannot make their way past England’s defense. Conversely, if they increase the height, the crosses might be able to make their way past England’s center-backs, but the forwards would have to spend a lot more effort to reach the ball, and that will make their resulting headers much weaker and ineffective.
Many of their headers are also either too high or are not even on target.
Clearly, the Argentines are not well-suited to play such an attacking strategy.
Argentina then tried to make short and quick passes down the middle of the pitch. However, they once again encountered obstacle after obstacle.
England’s defense has two layers to it, and the fans are able to see that clearly from the stands. Their defense was just like a water filter. They are able to clean out Argentina’s attacks till there was nothing left.
In the end, Argentina had to resort to long shots at goal. Most of their shots were on target and there were only some that had been blocked by the defenders with their bodies. It was the most decent form of attack that Argentina was able to make, but sadly, Joe Hart was in a good form for the match, and he was able to save each and every shot that threatened his goalpost.
Of course, once in a while, a golden opportunity would emerge right before the Argentina players.
“Joe Hart did not manage to keep the ball in his hands!!”
Agüero sprinted forward like a cheetah. He nearly got a leg to the ball if it had not been for George Wood’s tackle…
Agüero slammed into Wood’s leg and then fell onto the ground. As he laid on the ground, he hit the grass repeatedly, visibly upset at how he had missed the opportunity to score a goal.
40 minutes had passed in the first half. England barely had any shots on goal, and the spectators spent 80% of their time watching as Argentina surrounded England’s goalpost and attacked them furiously.
Argentina was clearly way ahead when it came to shots made in the match so far.
The commentator was displeased with what he saw. England and Argentina are bitter rivals. How can they allow Argentina to have all the momentum of the match?
“There Tony Twain goes again… England is definitely not the underdog, but neither is Argentina a pushover. Twain can’t just give up on attack completely and focus solely on defense. Argentina might not have scored after 15 shots, but that does not mean that they would not score after 20 or 25 shots. There’s no future for England if all they do is defend but not counter-attack!”
Right as the commentator finished his words, the camera zoomed in on Twain. He was expressionless as he stood by the side of the pitch. No one knew what was on his mind at that moment.
Twain is confident in his team’s defense. But, does he really intend to come out of the match with a 0:0 score? Does he think that everyone would accept such a result?
The commentator was upset with Twain, but the fans at the stadium were not. They have grown used to watching Twain play in such a way, and they knew very well that their team is inching towards victory every time the match goes into a stalemate.
Cheers would erupt at the stands every time England went on the counter-attack. It did not matter if the counter-attack was successful or not.
The atmosphere at the Crimson Stadium pleased Twain.
This is exactly why Twain chose the Crimson Stadium as the venue for this match. He knew that the fans here understood him, and that they would not boo their own team easily.
※※※
Messi soon realized why the grass at the Crimson Stadium was short…
England intercepted Argentina’s ball once again towards the end of the first half.
They have gone on the counter-attack numerous times in the match so far, but they did not make many shots on target and they hardly threatened Argentina’s goalpost as well.
However, things were different this time round.
The England players did not make a long forward pass straight away. They decided to slowly build up play from the back.
Wood observed the situation on the pitch after receiving the ball. He noticed that the Argentina central midfielders positioned near him were hesitant to charge at him and snatch his ball away. Wood then turned his body and made a move that suggested he wanted to pass the ball towards the flanks.
Mascherano saw Wood’s body movement and instantly turned his body towards the flanks. He wanted to charge at the player Wood was going to pass the ball over to.
But, the movement from Wood was a feign. He quickly retrieved the ball with his right foot before kicking it forward with his left. He then began running down the middle of the pitch!
Wood was very fast with his run. He was at the center circle in an instant.
Argentina’s players immediately scrambled backwards to defend, whereas the England players all ran forward to provide support for Wood.
Deafening cheers erupted at the stands once again. The England fans finally saw the scene that they have all been waiting for.
“Run straight for goal, St. George!!”
Downing, Walcott, Rooney and Agbonlahor all ran towards four different points on the pitch. Argentina’s defenders had no choice but to disperse to try and mark each and every of them.
Wood observed the situation before him as he ran forward at breakneck speed. He noticed that there were quite a few players marking Walcott. It couldn’t be helped since Walcott is too famous as a player.
Wood passed the ball over to the left flank with the outside of his left foot. Mascherano slid towards the ball to try and intercept Wood’s pass, but he underestimated the speed in which the ball would travel. The short grass on the pitch had caused the ball to travel faster than usual, and the ball had already rolled past Mascherano before his foot got to it.
The ball then rolled over to the left flank, and Downing was the one to receive it as he ran up from the back.
Mascherano wanted to climb back up to his feet and continue with his defense, but he knew it was too late.
Wood had accomplished his mission. However, he did not stop running forward. He wanted to assist his teammates in their attacks, and he also wanted to put pressure onto Argentina’s helpless defenders by creating the misconception that he is looking to do a long shot at goal.
Downing went head on with Argentina’s burly center-back Federico Fazio, who had run up to him to defend against him.
Fazio was physically strong and was also good with headers, but he was not a player with a lot of pace. He stuck a leg out to intercept the ball and he managed to get a touch on the ball. The ball bounced upwards and hit Downing on his leg before flying forward towards goal.
His touch ended up helping his opponent in his attack…
Downing ran forward at the fastest speed that he could muster. He successfully regained possession of the ball and kicked it towards the middle of the penalty box!
But, neither Rooney nor Agbonlahor could get to his pass.
Is this going to be yet another futile counter-attack?
The ball made its way towards the area near the penalty spot. There was not even a single Argentina defender near it.
Downing fell to the ground after completing his pass. However, he did not appear to be disappointed that Rooney and Agbonlahor could not get to his pass. He stared at the penalty box with excitement gleaming in his eyes.
“It’s George Wood!”
He was right to have continued his run earlier.
Wood appeared right before the ball, and there was not a single Argentina player near him right now.
That is to be expected. Why would the Argentina players mark a player who did not even have the ball?
Wood smashed his leg against the ball!
Argentina’s goalkeeper Óscar Ustari got a hand to the ball. However, he was not able to change the trajectory of the ball because there was too much power behind Wood’s shot.
The ball swerved slightly and flew into the back of the net!
1:0!
Argentina had 64% possession and 17 shots in the first 42 minutes of the match, but they did not manage to score a single goal. Conversely, England only had 5 shots in the game so far, and they were already leading by a goal.
This is what counter-attacking football is all about!
The proud former World Cup champions could only hang their heads in shame as they watch the England players embrace each other and celebrate their goal.
The goal might have come as a surprise to the Argentina players, but the England players knew all along that it was only a matter of time before they would score a goal. In fact, they actually thought that the goal had come a little too late…
...
Chapter 929 - Win the Game Like the Forest Team
“George Wood!! YES! A beautiful coordinated counterattack! Wood started the attack, and he ended it again this time! England leads Argentina by 1:0! Well done!”
Goals scored in a friendly match might not have caused the English commentator to be so thrilled, but it held a different meaning when it was scored in Argentina’s goal.
Seeing Wood score the goal, the Crimson Stadium erupted with huge cheers, roaring in the air over the stadium and stirring everyone’s hearts.
After Twain finished hugging his colleagues around him, he turned to applaud Wood.
Nowadays, Wood’s offensive talent was fully on display. He not only had become the initiator of the offensive but could also complete the attack. He was a completely different player than the reckless teenager who only knew about defense a decade ago.
He had scored a number of goals since becoming the England team captain, some of which were important key goals. It certainly had something to do with Twain who was familiar with him and knew how to use him well. But more importantly, Wood himself had the belief that he wanted to use the best performance to prove that he deserved The Three Lions’ captain armband.
After he scored the goal, Wood no longer looked as aloof as he had been before. He waved his fists vigorously and welcomed his teammates’ hugs.
Twain wanted him to not look so grim and unapproachable, so he acted accordingly. It was a good opportunity after the goal.
It seemed that Wood had matured a lot during the period after Twain had left the Forest team.
He ought to have matured a long time ago… He was already thirty years old and getting older.
※※※
Looking at George Wood celebrating the goal, Messi raised his fists. Although the two men did not have a direct conversation, he still saw Wood’s goal as a challenge to himself.
Which he accepted.
After the game resumed, Messi came alive and tried several times to force a breakthrough, but there was not much time left for him… The first half was over!
Messi’s face collapsed when the referee blew the whistle to end the first half. He recalled that before he had set off for the game, Guardiola told him that he could only play half the game in this friendly match.
The England players walked into the players’ tunnel with excitement, while he stood outside for a moment before walking back with his head lowered. Within one short minute, he had made a decision.
In the Argentina team’s locker room, Maradona was making adjustments for the second half. First of all, he needed to switch out the players who had clear instructions not to play the entire game. Luckily, there were not many players with such special treatment. Otherwise he might have a problem on his hands – although this was a friendly match, the number of substitutes was still three spots.
“Messi.” Although Maradona was unhappy with being a goal behind, he had to abide by his agreement with Guardiola and bring off the most precious asset shared by the two teams. The La Liga tournament was in the final stages of the campaign and the Barcelona football club did not want Messi to waste his fitness in such a friendly match.
Messi shook his head and said, “I want to keep playing, coach.
All eyes in the locker room were on him. The remark came as a surprise to everyone.
Maradona did not expect it as well. He looked up at Messi.
“We have an agreement with Barcelona.” Maradona said as he looked at him.
“I know.” Messi nodded, but the look in his eyes showed that he would not back down. “I’ll call Mr. Guardiola after the game to explain.”
Maradona knew the reason why Messi was so insistent – his performance in the first half was average. Although he was the core of Argentina’s offense, he did not help Argentina score goals and create several threatening opportunities. England’s defense was too successful.
He wanted to prove himself, at least to show that he was just as good under the circumstances that Wood had scored a goal.
Maradona was an unruly figure during his time as a player. After his retirement, he increasingly showed more of his unique personality. Since becoming the manager, he somewhat toned it down, but it was only limited to him stopping to threaten to kill the reporters with a shotgun.
Although we have an agreement with Barcelona, … since the player himself insists, I can’t stop him, can I?
“Okay.” Maradona finally nodded his head and said, “But you only have fifteen minutes. I can’t mess up the relationship with Barcelona for your personal feud with Wood…”
His last words were a little redundant. He basically did not care about those things at all.
Messi laughed and sat down again.
Since Messi did not have to be replaced, there was nothing to be adjusted and it was business as usual.
※※※
In England’s locker room, Twain did not praise the England team’s performance in the first half, but he asked the team to continue to play in this way.
Of course, he made adjustments too. He knew that Messi could not play in the second half. After the biggest threat had been lifted, England’s defense did not need to be as tight as it was. England could put in a lot of force into the offense majority of the time.
But in the second half, he and the England players were stunned.
Argentina’s number 10 stood right there on the pitch…
“Didn’t Guardiola say to only allow him to play for half the game?” Twain asked Walker next to him, “Is it a smokescreen that Argentina has cast? Damn it! Do they need to resort to colluding with Barcelona to play a friendly match?”
Walker did not know why as well. A few days before the game, the media reported that Barcelona did not want Messi to play full-time in the friendly match. Guardiola further reduced the time to half the game at forty-five minutes.
As a result, when they saw Messi start in the first half, they did not take the second half to heart. But they did not expect this to happen. They really did not think of it…
Wood stared blankly for a moment when he saw Messi opposite. At the same time, he found Messi staring at himself too. As an old rival, he clearly knew what that look in his eyes meant.
He was just surprised, but not afraid.
Bring it on, boy.
※※※
After the start of the second half, Messi became the focal point of attention once again. The commentator also wondered why Messi was still on the pitch, and guessed that Guardiola was probably desperate to fly to Nottingham to drag him off the pitch…
Messi, who took the ball, faced being wedged between two England defenders. He quickly jabbed the ball and turned his body so that he could drilled past the two men to break through!
“What a beautiful bypass! He’s a magician on the football field!” The Argentine commentator exclaimed.
Unfortunately, in the next second, Messi’s nimble body was bogged down.
Because Wood struck him without mercy. Messi stumbled at his feet and was knocked off course. The threat to the goal was greatly reduced.
Faced with Wood’s close marking defense, Messi tried several times to shake him off but to no avail. When he saw the England player whom he had just shook off, came up again to circle him, he had no choice but to pass the ball to the sideline.
“Ah ha! Don’t think that Wood, who scores frequently, does not know how to defend! ‘Saint George’ is good at both offense and defense. He’s guaranteed to be every opponent’s nightmare!” The English commentator was pleased with the result.
Messi was indomitable and soon made a comeback.
This time he did not meet Wood head-on but was forced out the side of the penalty area by three England players. So, he could only kicked the ball for a cross pass. The result of the pass was unsurprising. It was headed out by England’s tall center backs.
But it did not matter. The football fell at the feet of the Argentine player, Higuaín.
Seeing that Messi was still in the penalty area, Higuaín directly sent a straight pass over!
Terry raised his arms to signal that Messi was in an offside position, but the assistant referee did not raise the flag.
“Offside position!” The English commentator roared in a fluster.
“Beautiful! He’s not in an offside position! A gorgeous straight pass!” The Argentine commentator stood up excitedly from his seat. Six minutes into the second half, Argentina finally had their best chance of the game so far!
Messi received the ball from the side of his body and England’s right back Glen Johnson was trailing at the back. He was really not in an offside position!
Now Messi had no defenders around him. He was completely unguarded!
Terry, who realized that he had misjudged, quickly pounced toward Messi.
Messi just had to swing his leg and he could shoot straight into the goal. But he spied Terry from the corner of his eye, and he decided to choose a more secure way – he feigned a shot and moved the ball. He easily bypassed Terry who rushed up. Then he picked up his feet again and this time it was for real!
Even though Terry did not stop Messi from shooting, he had bought valuable time for those players behind him.
When Messi’s supported foot was a little further away from the football while he swung his other leg for the shot, the football was completely unpossessed. It was at this point that George Wood took advantage of the gap to come in. Like a fierce tiger coming down from the mountain, he slid and shoveled the ball out of the end line before Messi could kick the ball. While Messi’s powerful kick struck the outside of his thigh at the same time.
Messi felt as if he had kicked a piece of iron. He inadvertently allowed his body to fall forward and pressed right on top of Wood.
“A penalty shot!!” The Argentine commentator who stood up, poked his body out, desperately wishing that he could reach for the referee’s collar with his hands and yelled at him with spittle flying.
The English commentator was hesitant. He could not really see clearly from high in the stands. The small television screen in front of him had not replayed the scene yet. “Messi fell into the penalty area. Maybe Wood got to the ball first?”
It was not that the television broadcast was deliberately not showing the replay. It was just that there was not enough time to replay for the audience what just happened again. Messi fell in the penalty area and the Argentine players held up their hands to demand for the penalty shot. While the England players desperately waved their hands to show that it must not have been a foul. They even thought that Messi had dived.
The referee made the final decision at the next minute. He held out his right index finger and wagged it in front of the Argentine players. The meaning was obvious – George Wood did not foul!
Then he made a hand gesture for a corner kick, completely shattering the Argentines’ idea.
Messi had not gotten up yet. If Guardiola was watching the live telecast at this time, he must have rebuked Maradona, George Wood, the referee, and Tony Twain in his mind –”Do you know what Messi means to Barcelona?! If he gets hurt, we’re done for this season! Who is going to take the blame for this?!”
Fortunately, Messi soon got up from Wood’s body and looked normal. He appeared as if he were unhurt.
That was when the television broadcast finally caught the chance to replay what happened just now. Everyone could see from the television screen that even though Wood shoveled ferociously, it was clean and brushed past the tip of Messi’s toes to shovel the ball away. It did not even touch anyone. If Messi did get hurt, it must be because he kicked himself on the outside of Wood’s thigh.
Guardiola and Maradona were worried about whether Messi would be injured, while Twain was also worried about whether Wood was injured. Messi’s kick was powerful…the strength of the kick was to volley a show. With such a hard kick to the outside of Wood’s thigh, how could it not hurt?
Wood followed Messi and got up from the ground. He appeared to be all right.
Terry also came over to ask in concern, “Are you okay?”
Wood knew what he was asking about and said, “I’m all right.” He rubbed his hand on the spot where he was kicked by Messi. It was sore and painful, but it would not affect his play.
His thigh muscles were naturally tight when he shoveled the ball, so Messi felt as if he had kicked a piece of iron.
Wood looked at Messi beside him. He was looking down and rubbing the tip of his toes.
Agüero came up and asked Messi a few words in Spanish. Messi shook his head, which should be similar like the conversation between Terry and Wood.
Although Messi shook his head to indicate that he was fine, there was still some pain in the arches of his feet. He gave Wood a sideways glance next to him. The other man also happened to be rubbing his leg.
He suddenly thought the scene was somewhat funny. No one got the better of the situation.
It was the first time he saw Wood suffer in front of himself and was injured – albeit it was only a surface wound – Messi was still in good spirits. The previous atmosphere of mutual hostility dissipated at this moment.
He reached his hand out to Wood and waved in front of him.
Wood was rubbing his thigh when he saw a hand enter his field of view with his head lowered. It was waving at him, so he looked up at the owner of the hand.
Messi was having fun with him.
Wood put down the hem of his shorts and put his hand out.
The two men’s hands lightly patted and separated.
This might be the only time they had a physical contact that was not explosive in all the years they had competed against each other… One must know that the two men would even match their strength against each other on the sly when they shook hands before a game.
※※※
Messi eventually failed to help Argentina equalize the score within the fifteen minutes. He did not score a goal and create good opportunities for his teammates. Perhaps the recent continuous competition had made him physically tired. He always slightly staggered and went a bit soft in the knees after barely bypassing two people.
By the 15th minute of the second half, Maradona had replaced Messi on time and watched him come off the pitch healthily, which would be a relief to Guardiola in front of the television.
Once the core player was replaced, Argentina’s strength was affected. The England team still played the defensive counterattack strategy as they did in the first half, but their counterattacks became more frequent and increasingly sharper.
The Argentinians liked to equalize the score, which was an opportunity in the eyes of the England team. Taking advantage of the Argentina team full pressing, England made use of a quick counterattack to score again in the 27th minute of the second half. Rooney score his 40th goal for the national team.
Maradona was clearly not equipped when it came to counter such defensive counterattacks. He was not a strategic master. To be able to lead Argentina to the World Cup title, half the credit was because his players were so good…
Moreover, the number of managers in the world who could break through a steadfast defense and quickly counterattack could be counted with one hand. Maradona was clearly not on the list. It was a worldwide problem. The game was ugly to watch but it could win the game.
And what Twain wanted was results.
As long as he could defeat Argentina, he could shut up the opposition, which was still questioning his ability to this day.
It was more than just a friendly match. Messi, Agüero, Higuaín and Tevez, all four of the attacking players in the front field came, which showed the importance the Argentina national team attached to the game.
But the previous World Cup champion, which had such a luxurious attacking lineup, were unable to break through England’s defense. Instead, the England team took advantage of the gaps left behind by their offense and was able to score two goals against them through counterattacks.
In terms of ball possession ratios and number of shots, it was the Argentina team which dominated and ought to win. However, the result turned out like this, which made the proud and arrogant Maradona extremely unhappy. Looking at how worried he was about the Argentina team’s offense at the sidelines, it was as if he wished he could be thirty years younger and be able to personally go on the field to play. At that time, it did not matter that the England team had a few people blocking in front of the goal, he would still ride alone for a thousand miles and bypassed five players!
With the exception of Messi, who was already brought off, Agüero and Tevez, currently on the field, had also been called the successors to Maradona. But they were not really the king of football. They were out of ideas in the face of England’s impenetrable defensive wall…
Towards the end, the Argentinian commentator had already lost hope that they could beat England. He only hoped that Argentina, which had Higuaín, Agüero and Tevez, could score a goal to save some face for the previous World Cup champion.
Twain would not let them get what they wished. The team defended to the last and did not let up just because they had a two-goal lead. He wanted the Argentina team to completely lose all hope. In the last ten minutes of the game, Argentina turned out in full strength and the England players still did not forget to fight back, making the Argentinians furious.
The Forest fans cheering on the England team in the stands were a little distracted. Was the team in front of their eyes that had rendered Argentina powerless their national team, or was it Nottingham Forest?
In today’s game, the Argentina players wore their blue and white striped jerseys, while England wore the red jerseys, which was rather to Nottingham Forest’s home jersey.
Later on, the Forest fans even sang Nottingham Forest’s team song in a collective moment.
“Forest! Forest!… We’ve got the whole world in our hands and we are the best team in England! We are invincible and undefeated! And we have nothing to fear! Because we are the best team! Because we’ve got the whole world in our hands…”
The familiar song rang out above the Crimson Stadium, and Twain could not help but turn his gaze from the field to the stands.
The singing became louder and clearer. The Nottingham Forest players in the England lineup were inspired by the singing and their performances became more and more active. The Argentinians, on the other hand, were getting more and more anxious amid the singing. They hastily sent out long shots, made errors in stopping the ball, dribbled the ball out of bounds… It was simply too horrible to watch.
The game ended amid the singing. The powerful Argentina team in the face of the England team, which clung fast to defense and counterattack, did not obtain the slightest advantage. Maradona was so unhappy that he lost. In the post-match interview with the reporters, he said he did not expect England to choose such a tactic, because this was not the World Cup final. There was no need to care so much about the result …
It was to mock Twain that he could be so shameless just because he wanted results.
Twain did not care. He just wanted his result. He did not care if he was being barefaced about it. With one layer of face taken off, there was still another layer. He had plenty of that where it came from.
In fact, today’s set of tactics was also what the England team would use in the future when faced with a strong enemy. Today’s game was just a preview.
Bullying a weak team required them to attack freely and play beautiful offensive football to please the fans. In the face of a strong team, it was time to withdraw and lure the opponent out, just like how he lured the Argentina team out today.
Twain was cunning.
“We won and that’s what counts. I’m happy!”
The only regret was that Messi had come off too early. He had wanted to test whether his set of tactics could withstand it under the circumstances that Messi played the entire game.
At the end of the interview, Twain walked toward the tunnel. At the mouth of the tunnel, a passionate Forest fan handed a red scarf to Twain, who thought he wanted him to sign an autograph. But he did not expect that the other party just waved his hand to him and said, “It’s for you, Tony! A memento for you!”
He ran off after he said it.
Twain held the red Forest team scarf in his hand. It was an ordinary scarf, which could be bought for fifteen pounds in the souvenir shop outside the Crimson Stadium.
That spectacular singing in the final stages of the game seemed to still linger in his ears. The eleven years of time was like a mark carved in his heart, brought up again and again to be repeated in his mind. Every time when he thought he no longer cared about the past eleven years, there would always be people reminding him of it in different ways – don’t forget the Forest team, don’t forget the Forest team…
Twain hung the red scarf around his neck and walked into the tunnel.
How could he forget the Forest team?
...
Chapter 930 - Grave News
The match against Argentina was considered the most important friendly match before the UEFA European Championship because it was the strongest team out of the many friendly match opponents. In the end, England beat Argentina 2:0 at home and Tony Twain’s team had yet to lose a game.
After the game, many English media were touting the achievements of Twain’s team. Many English fans cheered. England finally produced a good manager after so many years, so they did not have to envy Scotland anymore.
Twain very much wanted to laugh on the inside when he read such a report. He himself was a real Chinese man through and through. In the end, the English people still could not lift their heads up high in front of the Scots in terms of coaching.
After the match against Argentina was over, Twain continued to prepare for the UEFA European Championship. He and his assistants were gathering information on their opponents in the group stage of the UEFA European Championship, as well as information on the teams which could potentially become their opponents. The work on this area had been slow-going. His coaching staff was not as good as the one at the Forest team. It was not to say that their level was not up to standard, but it was an indication that they were not used to doing this kind of work.
In addition, the information on the national teams was not as easy to collect as the football clubs, especially intelligence on the Eastern Europe national teams. After the expansion of the UEFA European Championship, there were eight more teams in competition, and many more countries that had not been in the topflight tournaments in the European football in the past. They were mysterious to an island country team like England. But the presence of such teams in the UEFA European Championship finals could also increase the potential for upsets, making the game more suspenseful.
“We can’t dismiss them because they’re unfamiliar and weaker. We have to know the tactics and styles which they’re good at, their past results, which are the players who can pose threats in the team … I can’t feel reassured without getting these details clear.” Twain explained to the coaching staff why he valued intelligence research on the weak teams so much. “You can’t guarantee that they won’t advance from their group and show up in front of us. If we don’t know anything about them, we will be the ones in trouble. I don’t want to see that happen.”
To all the football fans, the opening of a major tournament like the UEFA European Championship was always something that they looked forward to. With great anticipation, they began to think about how to plan their time based on the schedule of the UEFA European Championship, so as not to miss every wonderful game. They would be able to discuss enthusiastically with friends which star players would be amazing in the UEFA European Championship and which star players would win success and recognition. In an apprehensive state, they expected the team they supported to be able to lift the championship trophy, beat all the strong enemies, and stomp their bodies under their feet.
They would buy cartons of beer, coffee and snacks in advance to put them at home. They would put together all their annual leave they had saved for this period and appease their wives, girlfriends and children so that for the next month, they would just let football be their companion.
How happy it was to be a football fan…
As a manager, there was no such romance at all for this period. They did indeed need to appease their wives and children or girlfriends, and they could only let football be their companion. Because when they were busy till they were dizzy, home was just a symbol for them.
Shania had returned to their home in England to spend time with her husband, but Twain did not have much time to go home. He had to spend with his coaches and study the opponents with them. At the same time, he had to keep a close eye on the national footballers’ condition. If someone was injured, there would be a specific person to call the football club to inquire about the player’s injury and decide if he needed to call in the substitutes. Just after the game against Argentina, Twain also specially called several big clubs in the hope that they would give full consideration to the importance of the UEFA European Championship to England. With the country as a priority, he hoped that they would minimize the appearance time for the England national footballers in the games. On the one hand, it could help avoid the possibility of injuries. On the other hand, Twain did not want to end up with a group of exhausted national footballers.
As the manager, Twain needed to appear in public regularly. He would be surrounded and watched by the media wherever he went, as if they had seen a talking gorilla.
He also had to answer idiotic questions a lot. Such as, would a certain player be call upon to the national team? Was there a contradiction between a certain player and another certain player? What did you think about a certain club chairman who was upset that a certain player was not called upon to the national team? A certain gentleman thought that his team had played too many games this season and complained that his players were injured in the national team, but the club was expected to be responsible to pay for the treatment. Furthermore, the national team did not pay a salary to the club. What are your thoughts on this statement? This is the strongest national team in history. Do you have the confidence to win the championship?
Twain was in terrible mood during this time and had a bad temper. He could not help waging a war of words almost every time he encountered the reporters. The media were happy to publish such news. Harassing Twain seemed to have become a commonly used method for the media across England to attract attention. The chief executive of the English Football Association, Shaun Harvey had been having headaches recently, which were caused from being tormented by Twain and the media.
You bastards, can’t you stop for a moment?!
Mr. Harvey weakly groaned deep down.
※※※
On April 16th, in the 34th round of the English Premier League tournament, Nottingham Forest took on Newcastle United, which was fighting to avoid relegation, in an away game. The match would affect the fate of the two teams in the next season, with the Forest team needing to qualify for the Champions League so that they could make more money. They currently ranked sixth in the league table and was six points away from the fourth-placed Liverpool. They needed to scramble for points in the next five rounds of the league tournament to avoid playing in the UEFA Europa League. Newcastle United, on the other hand, needed to stay in the Premier League and avoid relegation. They were currently on the brink of the relegation zone and could fall off at any time.
It was a life-and-death game, so it was a fierce competition from the beginning. The two sides constantly had physical contact, rough movements and lots of foul language were spouted too.
As the core of the team, George Wood naturally became the focus of his opponent’s attention. The Forest team needed to control the rhythm through Wood in terms of both offense and defense. He was the team’s “metronome.”
Now he could not pass the ball straight out after he received the ball and then handed the attack to his partner like before. He now needed to control the ball and then observed the situation on the pitch before he could decide how to attack. That way, the football stayed at his feet for a long time, giving the opponent opportunities to take advantage.
Wood was knocked down six times in the first half. Even if his body was strong and sturdy, he could not stop his opponent’s defensive moves like a log…. his red jersey had even changed color. Kerslake yelled on the sidelines. As soon as Newcastle United fouled against Wood, he would roar at the fourth official. It was like he was possessed by the spirit of Tony Twain.
But such a rant was of no use because his players were also dealing with the Newcastle United players in the same way.
The fourth official knew exactly what the game meant to both teams, so he could not interfere too much with these movements. He would keep one eye open and one eye closed as long as there was no accident.
Things did not improve in the second half. It was even getting increasingly combative. The players of both teams did not put scoring a goal as the priority, but rather they focused on which opposing player to knock down.
Wood was annoyed that his opponent’s constant fouls kept him out of the game. He had to focus all his energy on dealing with the offending players.
However, he had not hit anyone so far, which was considered a huge improvement. His temper was finally less fiery when he hit thirty years old…
In the 73rd minute, George Wood was knocked to the ground by his opponent once again. This time instead of getting up as quickly as he had done in the previous eleven times. He laid on the ground and did not move.
Kerslake was still loudly denouncing his opponent’s despicable behavior when the look on his assistant, Eastwood, beside him showed that something was wrong.
Wood did not roll on the ground in pain, nor did he raise his hand weakly to signal to be replaced. He laid so quietly on the ground as if he were asleep.
His teammate nearest to him was Gago, who rushed up to see what was going on, but was taken aback by Wood’s expression.
The team captain, known for his strength, was lying on the ground. His hands was pressing the tip of his right foot. His face was pale, and his brows knitted together with his face sweating profusely.
But he gritted his teeth and did not say a word.
“George!” Gago called him.
Wood did not answer him.
Gago knew there was trouble. He hurriedly got up and made a hand gesture to signal for a stretcher and a substitute toward the sidelines.
“That looks bad…” Eastwood muttered after he saw Gago’s gesture. Fleming had already dashed over along with the stretcher.
Kerslake stopped yelling at the fourth official. That action was now pointless because Wood was already injured…
Fleming rushed to Wood’s side and did a quick scan. Then he took off the boot off his right foot and began to check.
When Kerslake saw Fleming go up, he quickly turned around and gestured for a change of player. He had a sudden realization – George Wood had never been injured before, and was never brought off by an injury…
A bad thought emerged in his mind.
George Wood was eventually replaced by John Bostock. He had to be carried off on a stretcher, which was probably the first time he had been treated like this. He was a little dumbstruck lying on a stretcher. He was no stranger to the scene of a player getting injured and being carried off the pitch. But it was the first time this had happened to him. He was unable to accept it.
The media had always thought he was a steel warrior. He himself had thought so too, but he did not expect the steel warrior to rust in his thirties…
The television commentator also did not know what to say in the face of such a scene. He was silent for a long while before he opened his mouth because he felt that it would not do if he did not say something. He said, “… George, George Wood has left the game with an injury and it looks like he won’t be able to play in this game. … It is an unexpected development. George Wood, who has never been injured, is actually hurt… Let us take a look at what happened just now…”
Newcastle United’s Spanish left back, José Enrique rushed up from the side and shoveled Wood to the ground. It did not look like the collision was powerful, but after tackling the ball, Enrique naturally turned his body, and Wood’s right foot was caught between Enrique’s legs. With his right leg scissor in between his legs,… the supporting leg bore all the force of it. If he was still not injured by that, then Wood should have been dragged to the laboratory for an autopsy.
As “Saint George”, the patron saint of the England team, the Newcastle United fans stopped cheering and booing after they saw Wood leave the game with an injury. Enrique desperately tried to explain to the referee and the Forest players who had swarmed to him, “I did not mean it, I did not mean it…”
Was it useful to explain it at this point?
The referee gave Enrique a red card!
Kerslake stared at the fourth official and said, “If you had intervened earlier, then this wouldn’t have happened! Now we can only pray that George’s injuries are not serious, otherwise…” He and the fourth official both remembered Tony Twain’s angry face.
Kerslake left the fourth official and turned to run to the other side, where he had gone to see how Wood was doing.
Fleming shook his head as he faced his searching look, “The situation does not look good, David.”
“How bad is it?” Kerslake’s heart sank.
“It looks like a broken bone…”
Kerslake only heard a “boom” sound in his head.
The team captain and core player had fractured his bone at the crucial moment in the battle for the Champions League qualifier. It meant that he would not be able to play in the next four rounds. He could almost predict his fate at the end of the season. Evan Doughty was not a patient club chairman.
He had come up empty-handed this season and did not win any titles. The Champions League was his last lifeline.
It looked like he’d better start planning what to do next season…
He also had another thought and it was this…What about the England team?
※※※
Twain only heard the news about Wood’s injury after this round of the league tournament because he and Walker did not watch the game at Newcastle. They went to Manchester instead.
When the news reached Twain’s ears, he still did not believe it. He thought he had misheard, or that Walker was joking. He said, “Are you sure it’s George Wood who was hurt? And not some other George?”
Walker shook his head and replied, “Which other George is there in the England team?”
“How did he get hurt?” Twain did not first ask “how’s his injury” because he felt that it should not be a big problem even if Wood was injured. He would just cough out some blood at the most. He was more interested in how he got hurt.
“He was knocked down by the opposing defender and the weight bearing foot was injured.”
Twain tried to recreate the scene in his mind, but he found it hard to imagine. So, he asked, “How’s the injury?”
“The big toe on the right foot is broken.”
Twain turned to Walker and looked at him in astonishment. His expression was as if he heard that the Martians had invaded Earth.
“It’s true. I just spoke to Fleming on the phone.” Walker could understand why Twain made that expression. He had a similar reaction to Twain in the beginning.
Twain turned his gaze away and looked around everywhere, never resting his eyes at any point.
“F**k!” He suddenly swore, “F**k! Motherf**king!”
It was as if he had gone crazy. String of dirty words spew out of his mouth. Fortunately, there was no one else in the room but Walker. Otherwise other people would have been shocked by it. But it was not surprising that his old partner, Walker, was familiar with Twain’s temper.
“I had f**king called the English Premier League coaches specifically before, hoping that they would have arranged less lethal tactics for the national footballers… The bunch of Newcastle United bastards treated my words as one ear in and one ear out? Does Kinnear (the Newcastle United manager) that old bastard not know what George Wood means to England? Our main core player had a fracture in his big toe! This is not some f**king common cold!”
Twain walked circles in his hotel room, waving his arms in agitation and shouting abuse.
Walker also did not advise him to calm down. He knew that Twain was under immense pressure and had a bad temper. It might be good to take this opportunity to let him vent for a while. Perhaps it could be beneficial.
After he abused all the people who should be scolded, Twain calmed down slowly. He asked, “Did Fleming say how long it will take for him to recover?”
“… three months.” Walker said somewhat diffidently. He was worried that Twain was going to have another round of abuse.
This time, it was better. Twain stared blankly for a while when he heard the amount of time needed, but the word “f**k” did not fly out of his mouth the moment he opened it. He glanced past Walker toward the blue sky outside the window.
Three months later, the UEFA European Championship would already be over, and it would have been too late…
...
Chapter 931 - I Must Go to Spain
George Wood is injured!!!
This was the headline in The Times’s sports section. It was eye-catching. Those three exclamation points had a scary feel to them.
But no one disagreed with or did not comprehend the headline. Any England fan should know the fact that George Wood had not once missed a game due to injury in the twelve years ever since he started playing in the professional league. His only previous “injury” was a bleeding in the forehead after he collided with Makelele in the Champions League final in 07-08.
If Tony Twain had no plans in rotating, George Wood could even set a Guinness World Record for never missing a game since the start of his career. The English Premier League was probably the league tournament with the most games played in a single season in the European leagues, because they had two domestic cups to be played while the other countries only had one. Moreover, the English Premier League had no winter break. The competition schedule was intense and long. Very few players would be able to play all the games throughout the season.
When Lampard made his amazing debut at Chelsea that year and was seen as an ironman, it was because he played all fifty games for Chelsea that season and played the full ninety minutes in each game.
To be able to achieve such a result, it went without saying that his physical strength must be good. It was followed by his stable form and finally the most critical factor was that he could not be easily injured.
Lampard did it for two seasons at his peak. And George Wood did it almost every season in a decade.
No one had ever seen him exhausted with hamstring cramps on the pitch, and no one had seen him leave the game in tears because of injury. The biggest reason for him to be kept out of the game was suspension due to a red card.
During his twelve years of career, he had left several people with broken legs, and many people had left the field on stretchers. But he remained standing like an extraterrestrial being.
Nottingham Forest did not believe Wood would get hurt. It was as if he was the ancient Greek hero, Achilles who had been dipped in the water of the Styx river, impervious to injuries and invulnerable. The English fans believed that the England team’s patron saint was the embodiment of invincibility and immortality. As a dragon slayer hero, “Saint George” was sprayed with dragon blood, and naturally also had the ability not to be hurt or die.
These legends was so fitting with Wood’s personal image that everyone forgot that Wood was actually a living and breathing human being made of flesh and blood…
The image of George Wood being carried off the field on a stretcher was published in the most prominent placements in the media. Even for the reporters and fans most familiar with Wood, it must have been the first time they had seen the photograph.
Underneath the photograph were the original words of the Forest team doctor, Fleming during an interview:
“… The situation is bad. He’s got a broken big toe on his right foot… I don’t know how long it will take to recover at the moment… He’s in a stable mood…”
Fleming certainly must have known how long Wood’s recovery would take, as he had officially told Walker a three-month timeline.
However, he lied to the media because Twain had called him and asked him not to divulge the amount of time. At least before he could talk Wood first, they could not let the media know about the despairing period of “three months.”
At this point, Twain was sitting in the ward with Wood, while Sophia peeled apples for her son at the side.
“You’re the most famous man in England now, George.” Twain said with a smile to Wood, who was sitting on his hospital bed.
“Is it because I got hurt for the first time?” It looked like Wood had recovered from the shock of yesterday’s injury. At least his gaze was no longer dull looking.
“I had read some of the media comments before I came here. Some people said that the news of your injury was almost on par with the Queen’s pregnancy. Ha ha!” Twain laughed.
Wood did not smile. He just looked at Twain, who also found it a little uninspiring. So, he stopped smiling and asked, “How do you feel?”
“Where I’m hurt? It’s a little painful…”
“No, I’m asking you how you feel about this matter now.”
Wood was silent for a moment and asked a question that Twain did not know how to answer, “Do I still have any hope of playing in the UEFA European Championship?”
He must not know that his injury would require at least three months to recover.
In fact, this problem was also the reason for Twain came to find Wood. George Wood was the most important piece in his plan. It was fine for the England team to be missing any player, but it could not do without Wood. Over the past two years, Twain had been transforming the England team, making the team accustomed to using Wood as the core. Whether it was the offense or defense, it would be managed around him. George Wood was not the type of midfielder who would be the last player to send out the final threatening shot after receiving the final pass. But he was the team’s metronome. The overall performance of the team was directly linked to him. Like Albertini of his time, Sacchi had said, “Albertini sneezes and Italy catches a cold.” Wood currently held the same role as Albertini had for Italy at the time.
A shadow was cast over the England team’s prospects at the UEFA European Championship due to George Wood’s injury.
Wood read the answer to his question based on Twain’s hesitation. Then he felt unable to reconcile with this situation. He had obtained got all the honors he could receive at the club level, but he never achieved anything for the national team. Now he was already thirty years old in a blink of an eye… By the standards of a professional player in general, his career would have started to go downhill after the age of thirty. He did not know how many more years he could still play for. But the World Cup happened once every four years. He was certain that he did not have a few four-year periods to waste.
When he was younger, he encountered McClaren and Eriksson who did not like him. In the 2006 World Cup, he did not get many chances to appear while he sat on the substitutes’ bench, and the England team did not make it out of the 2008 UEFA European Championship. When he became an overnight sensation at the 2010 World Cup, he was already twenty-four years old at the time, but unfortunately, the England team ultimately went no further than the top four. He had participated in both the 2012 London Olympics and the UEFA European Championship in Ukraine and Poland. His amazing fitness let him compete in the two major events in a row without a problem. However, the team’s results were not satisfactory with only a bronze for the Olympics and top four in the UEFA European Championship. It looked like that the best result he could achieve in the national team competition was third place. At the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the England team did not even make it to the top eight this time because his form was completely gone, and he played abnormally. The team stopped short of making it to top eight. He also became the object of denounce by word and pen in the English media after the games. But he did not sink into despair because his psychological quality was excellent.
After Twain became the England manager, George Wood also heralded in his most glorious period in the national team, even though he was already twenty-eight years old. He became the captain of the England team and became the playmaker of the England team. Initially, he had intended to make a big splash at the peak of his professional career at thirty years old. He wanted to win his first honor for the national team under the boss’ leadership. But he was injured two months before the start of the UEFA European Championship instead.
The gods of destiny really made fools out of people…
All his ambitions became a joke at the moment of his injury.
The failure to earn honors in the national team had always been a sore point for Wood. He was really reluctant to stay away from perhaps what would be the best opportunity of his career.
While Twain was still mulling over how to answer Wood’s question without upsetting him, Wood had already spoken.
“I’ve decided.”
“Yes?”
“I’m going to participate in the UEFA European Championship.” Wood said in a calm tone.
Sophia, who was focused on peeling the apples for the two men next to them, slightly lifted her head and looked at her son.
“Huh?” Twain was still a little taken aback and said, “You’ll be thirty-four years old in four years’ time… Very well, with your physical condition, I’m sure it will be no problem for you to play till you’re forty-four years old…”
“Not the UEFA European Championship four years from now. It’s the UEFA European Championship in June.” Wood said.
“Your injury…” Twain pointed to his right foot.
“I think it will be okay in two months.”
“You don’t have any experience of being injured before. I have to listen to the doctor.” Twain shook his head and said, “I’ll go talk to the doctor later.”
“Then I’ll just get the injection.” Wood made another suggestion.
“An injection is not a cure. It just lessens your misery and pain. It can even worsen things with that method…” Twain continued to shake his head to dismiss the suggestion.
“I don’t care, I must go to Spain!” Wood argued unreasonably.
“George, how can you talk like that to Mr. Twain?” Twain was just about to open his mouth when Sophia lectured first at the side.
“It’s all right, ma’am…” Twain smiled at Sophia. He felt the heartache when he took in the deteriorating age and appearance of this beautiful woman. How breathtaking she was when he first met her in the slums. It was as if the whole world had lost its colors because of her… Uh, he was going off on a tangent.
Twain turned his attention back to Wood. “I understand how you feel, George. But you have to think about it in the long run. You still have got a long career ahead of you and I don’t want to ruin it because of a UEFA European Championship.”
“I’m already thirty years old. Isn’t this time when I will start to go downhill?”
“With your physical condition and living habits, I guarantee you can at least play till the age of forty, George.”
Wood leaned his straight body back a little and rest on the bed. He said, “I don’t think about the future now.”
Was he making the best use of his time?
Twain thought to himself that the kid, Wood was just like him with his stubborn temper. Ten horses might not be able to drag him back. It was probably not going to work to refuse him now.
“Very well, George. I have to talk to the doctor-in-charge first to find out the condition of your injury, and then decide… I assure you that I will definitely take you to Spain if there is any hope of recovery in two months. What do you think of it?”
Speaking of the devil, the attending physician, Doctor Wallace knocked on the door and came in.
He greeted the people in the room with a smile on his face and asked after Wood again before he began to examine him.
Twain made space in front of the bed and watched as the other man finished the check-up. Then he gave Doctor Wallace a look to “take a step out to talk.” The doctor caught his drift and followed Twain out.
※※※
“Is George’s injury okay?” Twain had an idea when he saw the doctor, with a renowned reputation in academia, had a smile on his face from the moment he walked in till he walked out of the door. This man was a former chairman of the UK Sports Medicine Research Institute. He had a calm expression on his face. Perhaps Wood was going to be fine. Perhaps Fleming had miscalculated?
“I don’t think it will be good for you, Mr. Twain.” Doctor Wallace smiled and shook his head.
“I see that you’ve been smiling…” Twain wondered.
“Generally speaking, Mr. Twain . . . If you see a defeated look on my face, it means that some unlucky man is going to have his leg amputated.” The smile on Wallace’s face was still there, but Twain felt the chill on his back.
“Well, that’s good news then…” muttered Twain. “How long more before he will be recovered?”
“At least three months.” Wallace extended three fingers.
It was as Fleming had predicted. Twain’s eyebrows knitted together. He hesitated for a moment and intended to ask a question. But the other man first stopped him from speaking.
“I know what you want to ask, Mr. Twain. Although I am an England fan and a Nottingham Forest fan, I will tell you that it is absolutely not possible.” He swung his arms and strengthened his tone, “George Wood is unlikely to recover before the UEFA European Championship. He will definitely not be able to play in this UEFA European Championship.”
Twain glanced sideways at the door of the ward, fearing that the doctor’s words would be heard by Wood. Then he made a gesture to Wallace to move forward and said, “Can we move further away?”
Wallace nodded and gladly agreed.
When the two men reached the end of the corridor and Twain confirmed that George Wood could no longer hear what they were talking about, he then said to Wallace, “Two months, is it possible?” He put up two fingers.
“I just told you, Mr. Twain. There is absolutely no way.”
“Really, not even the slightest possibility?” Twain stared at the other man.
Wallace did not shy away from the aggressive gaze. He said, “The toes are a very complex area. He did not sprain it. It is a fracture. Generally speaking, such an injury will take three to six months to fully recover. Even the fastest would be a little more than eight weeks. Within these two months, he could not carry out any rehabilitation training, so the muscle will naturally atrophy. You want him back on the pitch so you will need to arrange more time to let him have the rehabilitation training. The UEFA European Championship will be over by the time he can play football… That area comes into frequent contact with the football. It won’t do if it is not allowed to heal completely because a second injury can happen. It will be even more troublesome when that happens. So, I don’t recommend that you force him to come back early.”
These words were like a bucket of cold water. The last glimmer of hope in Twain’s mind was extinguished. “But George wants to play in this UEFA European Championship. He’s already thirty years old…” He muttered. It was not so much to persuade Wallace as in talking to himself.
When he saw Twain looking downcast, Wallace, who always scrupulously abided by his professional work ethic, suddenly softened a little. He spoke up, “Maybe … Well, two months is not impossible. George’s body has been very strong, which may be able to help him in his recovery. But whether he succeeds or not, you’ll need to pray for a miracle, Mr. Twain.”
Twain jerked his head up. He did not see the smile and gleaming eyes on the other man’s face. Wallace shrugged at him, “I can’t guarantee you’ll get what you want in two months’ time, Mr. Twain. I can only try my best. You also have to pray that everything will go well in his recovery process.”
“Of course!” Twain nodded excitedly. This was already the best news he had heard today.
※※※
After seeing Doctor Wallace off and returning to the ward, Wood did not ask Twain what he had discussed with the doctor, and if there were any results. Twain did not tell him that either. He just chatted casually with the two people, ate the apple that Sophia gave him. Then he got up and said goodbye.
The reporters who had been blocked by the security guards outside, surrounded Twain one by one when they saw him come out wearing his sunglasses. They wanted to hear what he had to say.
“How’s George doing, Mr. Twain?”
“Will his injury affect his participation in the UEFA European Championship in the summer?”
“Do you have anything to say about Wood’s injury, Mr. Twain?”
“George Wood is already the core of the England team. May I ask if you have prepared a second set of tactics, Mr. Twain?”
“Tony! Hey, Tony…”
“Mr. Twain, Mr. Twain, please answer my question!”
In the midst of the clamor, Twain could not even hear what questions the reporters were asking. Under the protection of the security guards, he struggled to squeeze toward his car. After he pulled open the car door, he turned to the reporters and told them, “All I can tell you is that neither George nor I have given up hope of letting him play in the UEFA European Championship.”
Then he got into the car and sped away.
※※※
Wood’s injury attracted the attention of all of England overnight, with various media outlets reporting news of his injury ceaselessly. The media tried ways and means to bribe the doctors, nurses and even cleaners at the Royal Hospital of Nottingham University, hoping to find out something about George Wood’s recent condition.
While the Spanish defender, Enrique, who had tackled and hurt Wood, repeatedly claimed it was unintentional and that he had called Wood after the game to apologize, the angry Englishmen did not want to let him go. Even the Newcastle United fans ran to the training base to protest his brutish foul. The media clung onto the issue, unwilling to let go and acted like they wanted to shape Enrique into a “public enemy of the people.”
The media also raised the foul to the level of a “conspiracy.” They believed that Enrique must have been directed by some people in Spain. Even the Spanish media had admitted that Enrique’s injuring of Wood would be extremely beneficial for Spain at the UEFA European Championships because England’s threat to Spain in the competition for the title was greatly reduced without Wood.
In his own column, Tony Twain lashed out with vehemence at the Newcastle United manager, Kinnear, accusing him of lacking in professional ethics, for allowing his own player to deliberately hurt the opposing player in the game and doing whatever it took to win. This time, Carl Spicer could not risk the ire of the world to mock how Twain could not remember what he had done before… Because if he were to speak on behalf of the Irish manager at Newcastle United, he would put himself on the opposite side of all of England. At that time, he would be waiting to be attacked by rotten eggs and tomatoes at home.
The poor Kinnear was powerless to defend himself. He claimed that he had not arranged for his players to deliberately target George Wood. It was just an accident on the football field and that such accidents often occurred. He should not be condemned in speech and in writing just because the injury happened to the core of the England team.
But who cared about him? Many of those who had been initially hopeful and looking forward to the England team’s prospects at the UEFA European Championship, felt like they had been drenched from head to toe with buckets of cold water. With Wood badly hurt, what was going to happen to the England team? Who was going to be responsible now that their hopes of winning the title was gone?
That would be Kinnear! And Enrique!
The matter created such a ruckus that even the Spanish media got involved. Their own player had been insulted in England and the Spanish media was very upset too. The media on both sides officially went to war.
William Hill made some adjustments to the original odds that had been offered, with the England team’s odds of winning the title going from 1 to 7 to 1 to 9. They did not do this very often, which only implied how important George Wood currently was to the England team…
While the outside world was becoming a mess, the guy who made countless people worried, was lying in a hospital bed and sleeping in peace.
He had already made his own decision and there was nothing to worry about after that.
...
Chapter 932 - George’s Persistence
Even though the league was still going on, George Wood’s name kept appearing in the newspaper headlines. For a moment, the people did not care about who would eventually win the title, or which teams would be relegated in the end. George Wood’s injury took centerstage and there were all kinds of information and rumors coming out during this period.
There were some people who claimed that George Wood’s injury might have a permanent effect on him, and it might even cause him to retire prematurely.
Others said that it was nothing much and he would recover in a month at most. The one who said this even used himself as an example, citing a similar injury that he suffered previously, claiming that he could swim after ten days and run after two weeks.
Some experts thought that Wood would need three to six months to recover from his injury while other experts disagreed and declared that he only needed eight to ten weeks.
Today, the media doubted England’s chances to win the European Championship now that Wood was out of the competition. On the next day, the same media would publish a surprise announcement that George Wood might be able to recover before the European Championship.
The England fans felt as though they were riding a roller-coaster as they would never know whether they would be the recipient of good or bad news when they wake up the next day.
Nottingham Forest was already a forgotten team. Losing George Wood meant that they definitely lost the ability to reach next season’s UEFA Champions’ League. However, nobody was really concerned about their future now. Evan Doughty gave David Kerslake a verbal promise that he would not sack him rashly because of this season’s results. After all, nobody could have anticipated Wood’s injury…
Kerslake did not trust the verbal promise of the club’s chairman. Just think about how Flores was sacked last time. He announced that the club’s upper management were still fully behind the manager in front of others, but once their backs were turned, they made him the scapegoat and kicked him out. Kerslake was not a fool, and he was definitely not young and naïve anymore. He knew very clearly about the hidden rules in this industry and he was already ready to leave.
There was much discussion amongst the media and the English Football Association had to deal with the same question everyday——”How does George Wood’s injury look like exactly? How long will it take before he can return to the field?”
England’s preparations would obviously be adversely affected if this went on. Therefore, the Football Association asked for George Wood to accept one interview and express some optimistic emotions to pacify the public.
Wood agreed and during the interview with BBC channel, he mentioned that he was not feeling depressed because of the injury and he was cooperating fully with the treatment with an aim to return within two months.
When his interview was published, the speculations decreased significantly. The Football Association was very happy with Wood’s stand. Even though they did not think that Wood would really be able to return within two months. Yet, what they did not know was Wood was telling the truth.
Even though Twain had already promised Wood that he would put his name on the list to Spain if he could recover within two months, it would not be wise to put all his eggs in one basket and Twain was making other preparations at the same time. If George Wood’s recovery was not ideal and could not make it in the end, how should he adjust England’s tactics?
This was not as simple as just switching to a similar player. There were many players in England who could play in the center, but it was rare to find someone who could do it to the same effect Wood had.
Gerrard’s experience and abilities could have the same effect, but he was too old. It was not possible for him to be England’s core player at 35 years of age as injuries and fitness were factors that would trouble him.
Gareth Barry was also already 34 years old.
If it really came to that, Twain would have no choice but to give up on the tactic of having a core player, changing to a simpler tactic instead. The duties of the midfield would be more for stopping the opponents’ attacks instead of starting their own attacks.
He would use more young players, and not the older players like Gerrard and Barry. He would emphasize on the overall effort instead of depending on a certain player. The effect that a core player had cannot be replaced, but he could make eleven people share the load.
Twain was feeling very contradictory then. On one hand, he was hoping for Wood to recover in time for the European Championship so that they would have a chance of winning it. On the other hand, he did not want to destroy Wood’s professional career because of one European Championship.
Twain knew that he was not a saint and he was a tad selfish. He felt that this European Championship was his best chance to win it, who knew what would happen in a few years’ time? Yet, with the best chance of winning in front of him, he could not say that he did not care that Wood’s accident caused the chance to go up in smokes.
Why did things become like this? How could the juggernaut who would never fall just fall like this?
This was like dominoes, the fall of one tile brought upon a horrifying chain reaction. This was the first time Twain did not feel confident telling the public that his target was to win the competition.
Do not mistake Twain as incapable or suspect that the other England players are trash.
Under his guidance, George Wood’s position in the England team was equivalent to Zidane’s position in the France team in the past. France might seem to be full of superstars and winning the World Cup and European Championship at will, but once Zidane was out injured, even Henry, Wiltord and Trezeguet were not able to lead France to a single victory The three golden boot winners even drew a blank together and did not score a single goal. Eventually, they would be eliminated in the group stage.
When everybody thought that France just needed Henry when Zidane was already 34 years old, Zidane was still the one who led France to the final of the World Cup in Germany. Even though he cost France the World Cup by getting sent off after headbutting Materazzi, France would not even had had the chance to win the World Cup without him.
George Wood had a totally different playing style to Zidane, but their status and effect to the team was the same.
Zidane was irreplaceable. So was George Wood.
※※※
Twain kept in contact with Doctor Wallace, who was in charge of Wood’s treatment, by phone. They would basically get on a phone call every three days and Wallace would report the latest development of the treatment to Twain. It was not looking good and Wallace was worried that Wood’s injury would not be completely healed before the opening of the European Championship.
Twain could do nothing but wait now, as much as it annoyed him.
There were many England fans who had the same feeling as him. The media was reporting that Wood was recovering smoothly for a while, then they reported that the injury got worse and they were not optimistic that he could recover in time. The fans did not know who to believe anymore.
The 2015-2016 English Premier League season ended amidst such a chaotic atmosphere. Without George Wood, Nottingham Forest lost the backbone to their team and their performance in the final few rounds were unstable, eventually losing out on a spot in next season’s UEFA Champions’ League and could only play in the Europa League.
This would not have been a bad result for the fans of most teams as they could still compete in Europe after all. However, to the fans of Nottingham Forest who were already used to winning, this was an utter failure.
Since they failed, someone had to take responsibility for it.
On the next day after the league ended, Nottingham Forest officially announced that they would be terminating the contract with David Kerslake, the club would like to thank Kerslake for his contribution for the second half of the season and they wished him good luck.
This might look like an amicable break, but there was an unmistakeable sense of coldness in the standard letter of thanks.
Nobody showed any concern about Kerslake’s plans as they were all engrossed in George Wood’s injury issue.
It was 12th May, one month away from the opening day of the European Championship and not even one month since George Wood’s injury.
When Wood appeared in front of the media in his slippers and clutches, the England fans were still worried that he would not be able to make it for the European Championship which would start on 10th June. That was the news of him leaving the hospital to go home.
Doctor Wallace appeared and declared that they would do everything in their power to help Wood make the flight to Spain, however, he could not make any promises.
“I cannot guarantee that he will be able to return to the field next month, and I cannot guarantee that he will be able to make it for the European Championship this time. I hope you’ll not give us any undue pressure in our work.”
Even though the other leagues in Europe were not finished yet, the focus of the English were no longer on them.
There were no team from the English Premier League who made it to the UEFA Champions’ League final this season, so there was no interest in the Champions’ League final held on 20th May. Twain was very happy about this. The Champions’ League final was on 20th May and the European Championship was going to start on 10th June. The gap between the two was too short and if his players were to play in the Champions’ League final, they would not be able to be at the best condition in terms of fitness or teamwork and that was not what Twain wanted. However, he would gladly watch the players of the other countries fight it out during the Champions’ League final so that he could benefit from it.
But the moment he thought about George Wood’s injury, he lost all interest in that…
※※※
Twain was seated in George Wood’s home, facing Wood.
Sophia was preparing tea for the two of them in the kitchen. The fragrance of the tea and cookies came out from the kitchen and Twain could not help but sniffed at it. Shania would not make afternoon tea for him as she did not have the habit of drinking afternoon tea herself…
“You look like you’re doing well?” Twain said as he looked at Wood.
“I’ve always been like this.”
Twain laughed. Wood seemed pretty relaxed whereas he was under immense pressure. He did not dare to switch on his phone recently as there would definitely be countless phone calls asking him for the latest news. He would also hide and go everywhere secretively in fear of being recognized as he really did not know how he should answer the media’s questions regarding Wood.
He had been in constant telephone communication with Doctor Wallace and on a whole, there were more bad news than good news. Doctor Wallace mentioned not just once that it was getting harder and harder for Wood to recover before 9th June.
“Hey, George…” Twain asked, “Have you considered that if… I mean if, if you really can’t participate in the European Championship, what will you do?”
Wood’s reply would always be faster than what Twain expected, “No.”
Twain rubbed his temple as he thought that what Wood was doing was easy. He just had to keep walking on the same path until it went dark…
“Um, George. How much do you understand about your recovery from this injury?” Twain was worried that Wood might naively believe that he would recover faster from his injuries because he had a good constitution.
“Not too good,” He did not expect Wood to be so clear about it, “Wallace told me before that even if I recovered before 10th June, it will hurt a lot when I run or kick a ball.”
“Since you know about it…”
“It’s just pain,” it looks like Wood would insist on playing through the pain.
Twain had no answers to it.
Wood could sense the intention for Twain’s visit, and he asked, “Are you here to tell me you’re not planning to keep your promise?”
“Um…” Twain was in an awkward situation as he was really going to do that.
However, when he saw Wood’s face, he could not bring himself to say it.
Sophia saved Twain when she walked out with tea and cookies. They stopped discussing about injuries and football, instead, they chatted freely and talked about the menial stuff happening in life.
Sophia would be very happy every time Twain visited them, and her cheeks would flush in excitement as she became more talkative than usual.
Twain could already face Sophia’s passion freely now.
After having tea together, Twain decided to take his leave. Before he left, he called Wood as he wanted to talk to him alone again.
Wood walked with Twain to the door while holding his clutches.
Twain looked down and thought for awhile before looking up at Wood and said, “George, nobody knows what will happen in the future. I hope that you’ll be able to understand no matter what decision I make in the end…”
Wood nodded, “I’ll go to Spain.”
Twain felt a headache coming, “I hope so too, but not everything will be just as we wish. I hope you’ll be able to have a longer professional career. You’re only 30, for other players, they will start to decline once they hit 30, but you’re different, I believe that you’re still on your way to your peak.”
Twain patted Wood on the head as he seemed to have made a decision then.
Wood did not answer him. Twain then said goodbye to Sophia who was standing behind him and left.
After Twain left in his car, Sophia hugged her son from behind and rested her chin on Wood’s broad shoulders, “George, are you really going to Spain?”
“Yes, mother.”
“But your leg…”
“It’s fine, mother. It will heal, it will definitely heal,” Wood patted Sophia’s arm around his waist as he consoled her.
※※※
Twain still got stopped by the media outside his doorsteps eventually. They requested for Twain to talk about the issue with George Wood. If it was confirmed that Wood would not be able to play in the European Championship because of his injury, what solution did Twain have? Everyone knew that George Wood was the core of the England team now.
Twain refused to answer these questions as he sheepishly drove the car into his own yard.
Shania could not help but whistle after seeing the massive number of media personnel when she came out to welcome him.
“You went to George’s place?”
Twain nodded and said, “I needed to confirm something as I have to announce the name list for the training camp in two days.”
“Then, what’s the result of your confirmation?”
“There’s no result.”
“Huh?” Shania looked up at her husband. He was frowning and he seemed to be very vexed.
“I’ve already made up my mind before I went there, yet after I was there, I realized I’ve not decided on anything at all. It was a wasted trip.”
Shania held on to Twain’s arm and walked back inside with him. The door closed and the prying eyes of the media were shut out behind them.
“Just write George’s name on the list first then. It’ll be just nice if he recovers but if he doesn’t, you can change it…”
Twain pulled Shania’s ear and said, “Do you think it’s that casual? This name list cannot be changed after it’s confirmed.”
Shania rolled her eyes as she felt a little bit awkward saying something wrong due to her lack of knowledge about football. However, it was okay as she had a way to remedy it.
Twain was thinking of continuing to tease his young wife but he found his mouth blocked by her warm and red lips.
“Mm…”
...
Chapter 933: The Squad List That Cannot Be Changed
Goalkeepers: Scott Carson, Chris Kirkland, Joe Hart.
Defenders: Glen Johnson, Micah Richards, Joleon Lescott, Steven Taylor, John Terry, Michael Dawson, Leighton Baines, Joe Mattock.
Midfielders: George Wood, Steven Gerrard, Gareth Barry, David Bentley, Theo Walcott, Stewart Downing, Adriano Moke, Chris Cohen.
Strikers: Aaron Mitchell, James Vaughn, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Wayne Rooney.
Twain gave Des Walker the confirmed squad list of twenty-three players for him to look over. Walker saw George Wood’s name at the first glance.
“The reporters saw you go into Wood’s house yesterday. Are you telling me that his recovery from his injury is going well?” Walker asked.
“No, the recovery is as slow as ever.”
“Then why did you…” Walker was baffled.
“This squad list is going to be reported to UEFA. Once it’s determined, there’s no way to revise it, Des.” Twain laughed bitterly. How could he not know the downside of doing this?
“Are you still holding on to the hope of Wood’s recovery from his injury?”
“I wish to remain hopeful.”
“But…” Walker hesitated for a moment before saying, “What if Wood doesn’t recover in time to play as a substitute for the games. What are we going to do?”
“What can we do?” Twain already had an idea for this, “Just take it that we brought four goalkeepers.”
In the past, when the national teams participated in the international competition, the squad list was twenty-two players. The teams could bring two goalkeepers, a main player and a substitute. FIFA later changed the rules to allow each team to bring three goalkeepers in case of an accident, so the squad list changed from twenty-two to twenty-three. Although there was one more goalkeeper, this third goalkeeper rarely had the opportunity to play.
When Twain said to bring four goalkeepers, he clearly meant that a spot would be wasted.
Walker was silent for a moment before he asked, “This squad list that you drew up… What will Harvey think of it?”
“If the list doesn’t have George’s name on it, Harvey will come to me to ask for an explanation instead.” Twain said, unperturbed, “If there’s no George Wood on the soon-to-be announced squad list, do you know what those fans and media are going to think?”
Walker was not a fool. He thought of it too. He could only nod and said, “Hopefully Wood will recover soon…”
※※※
As Twain said, the English Football Association did not have any objections to George Wood’s appearance on the squad list, even if they did not know whether Wood would be able to recover from his injury before the start of the UEFA European Championship. But if Wood’s name was not on it, the local fans and the media would kick up a fuss.
But Wood’s name on it also made the media and fans wonder – did that mean George’s recovery from his injury was going well? Otherwise Twain would not have written his name on it.
As a result, everyone suddenly felt that the England team’s future at the UEFA European Championship was bright…
“Wood’s recovery from his injury is going well and is expected to play in the game between England and Portugal on June 12th!”
“Experts say he will fully recovered by June 17th at the latest, and it will not be a problem for the team to advance out of the group stage!”
“The core player’s returning by early June at the latest. Tony Twain’s feeling ambitious!”
“The invincible midfielder will return in glory!”
A variety of headlines clearly showed the English people’s ecstasy.
Every time Twain saw a news report like this, he wondered what emotions the media show would if Wood’s recovery from his injury was not ideal.
Harvey brought a piece of good news to Twain. Given England’s special circumstances as well as George Wood’s importance to the England team, the UEFA took into account a previous example from FIFA and decided to delay the final registration of the England squad list until twenty-four hours before the start of the UEFA European Championship. That would have allowed the England team to have a replacement if it was confirmed on the last day before the UEFA European Championship that Wood was indeed unable to play.
But Twain did not care about such a quota. For him if George Wood could not play, then it was use changing anyone. As he had told Walker, he would take it that he had brought four goalkeepers to Spain.
※※※
The league tournament was over, and the England team had nothing to do with the Champions League. Except for George Wood, all the England national footballer who were selected for the squad list this time, said goodbye to their club teammates and families to report at London Colney training base.
A few days ago, they were still enemies and opponents in fierce competition for the league title, European tournament qualification or purely for survival, and now they were going to be together all the time for almost two months, united in the same goal.
It was very interesting to think of this scene.
Having just joined the the national team, everyone would chat for a while and the topic of conversation certainly could not be separated from the just-concluded league tournament. Manchester United’s players half-jokingly complained that Chelsea’s players had robbed them of the league title, while Chelsea’s players were still brooding over Liverpool’s FA cup win over them. The Arsenal players were working on getting closer to Aaron Mitchell to try persuading him to join Arsenal next season.
The public relations activity was happening in the national team.
But such topics of conversation soon ended. As a member of the national team, the just concluded season was a thing of the past. There was no need to hang onto it. The upcoming UEFA European Championship was the most important.
Watching everyone come except for one person, the Nottingham Forest players did not feel too good.
They were not confident of whether their team captain would be able to come before the UEFA European Championship. The rest of the national team’s teammates were asking them, and they knew only a little more than the media.
队长是否可以参加欧洲杯,恐怕只有头儿才知道了.或许是很有希望的吧?因为他刚才不是说本届欧洲杯球队的目标是夺冠吗?如果没有了乔治,夺冠应该是很困难的事情吧?
Perhaps only the boss would know whether the captain could play in the UEFA European Championship. Maybe it was promising because he had just said that the goal of this UEFA European Championship for the team was to win the title? Without George, it would be hard to win the championship, wouldn’t it?
Under Twain’s deliberate arrangement, George Wood presently had become the tactical and spiritual core of the England team. When he was present, everyone would have a sense of security. But if he was not around, they would naturally feel ill at ease. Gerrard could have done that when he was at Liverpool, but his influence in the national team was not enough.
Wood did not say much in the locker room. He never said pointless nonsense, and he was always able to show that he was a trusted captain with his actions. Whether it was through defensive or offense, he would step up when there was a problem. If his own player was maliciously violated by the other team, he would certainly find the opportunity to secretly plot and retaliate. It did not matter that he might receive a card for doing so.
If Wood really could not play in the UEFA European Championship, many people in the England team would feel a shadow shrouding over them. They would feel that their campaign in Spain would be inauspicious. They would be timid before even the competition started. Therefore, Twain was reluctant to make public the truth of the situation of Wood’s recovery.
It would be a major blow to the team’s morale.
※※※
Twain and Wallace had been hiding the truth about Wood’s injury to the outside world. They did not want Wood to be bothered too much, and they did not want the team’s morale to be undermined.
But not everyone had their heightened sense of awareness. Or it could be said that there were some people in the world who wished for the whole world to be in chaos…
The media was always going up against Twain. Now there were so many rumors about Wood’s recovery and the reporters were always gathering information from various sources in the hope of finding the truth, Twain and Wallace were always vague about, which made the media even more suspicious.
The natural attribute of the English reporters seemed to be “spies.” They always had a way of digging the inside of the news. One of the best was which was the most skilled at mining insider information.
It was not known what method The Sun used, but at the end of May, they published a shocking piece information:
Recently, as the start of the UEFA European Championship approached, there had been occasional articles of this pessimistic tone in the media. Most people only treated the rumor as a joke, because those who did the speculations were really very unreliable. But the article in The Sun was different.
The article had a very detailed list of evidence to prove that George Wood’s recovery from his injury was not going as well as people thought.
The Nottingham Evening Post had previously published photographs of Wood working out at the gym to prove that Wood was recovering well. But the evidence that The Sun had gotten hold of suggested that Wood could not even run now. The photographs at the gym simply showed him working out the muscles in his upper body.
Which made people thought it was the case.
※※※
“What’s the hell is going on?” Twain scolded as he looked at the newspaper Walker brought him. The Sun had a lot of influence, and this article had now gone viral. He only found out about the matter when Brosnan gave him a call to ask about it.
After swearing, Twain calmed down and called Doctor Wallace to make sure the information was not leaked out of his mouth. The England team would have a regular press conference in the afternoon, and he could imagine how those reporters would bombard him.
Doctor Wallace’s voice sounded tired. Apparently, he had just been bombarded by the media.
“I just ended a press conference held by the hospital, and Mr. Twain… I know what you’re going to ask. I did not divulge the information. It’s the people around me…”
Twain confirmed it when he heard his voice. Doctor Wallace was not in a habit to give him trouble.
“What did you say at the press conference, Doctor?” Twain felt the need to communicate so as to keep each other informed and to get their stories straight so as to avoid letting something slip.
“Of course, I denied The Sun’s report.”
“Ah, that’s good, Doctor. In fact, that’s exactly what I intend to do.” Twain had already decided to refuse to admit it at the press conference in the afternoon.
“But, Mr. Twain. Are you sure you can get Wood back on the football field by the 12th?” It was not something that even Doctor Wallace himself could be certain of.
“I’m not sure, Doctor.”
“Then you…”
“There are things that need to be done for show. It is better now to hide the truth than to tell the truth.”
Doctor Wallace just felt as if he had been implicated in a dubious lie and unable to extricate himself from it. So, he could only put a bold face on it and go along with Twain to the end, hoping to finally come out of it unscathed…
※※※
At the afternoon press conference, the media were particularly excited and looking forward to it. Appearing along with Twain, Aaron Mitchell had unquestionably become a prop, with no reporters asking him questions. Everyone was directing the questions at Twain.
Twain looked calm and looked ready to tackle the questions.
“I would like to ask Mr. Twain this. The Sun reported that George Wood is barely able to make it to the UEFA European Championship. Is this true?”
“It’s complete nonsense.”
“How’s George Wood’s recovery from his injury. Able to shed some light on it?”
“It’s going well and he’s starting the strength building training.” Twain had said these words countless times. His answer to the reporter’s question sounded perfunctory this time.
The reporters were clearly unhappy with Twain’s perfunctory attitude.
“But there’s no other evidence able to prove that George’s right leg is recovering besides this picture….”
“George doesn’t want his private life to be disturbed. Even this photograph was only taken after repeated communication. Are you unhappy about something, Mr. Reporter?” Twain showed no signs of relenting.
It was not difficult for Twain to weave lies at all. He was at the point where all he had to do was to just open his mouth and the words would come out. His face was not even flushed, and his breathing was even. So that people could not see through the cracks.
“So can George Wood really make it to the UEFA European Championship?”
Twain also knew that to let this group of reporters really believe, he could not fill in with too many details. Saying too much was as bad as saying too little. Because when he was going to lie, every word he said must be in a positive tone, like he was reciting lines from a script. If he wanted to make people believe him, then he’d better deliberately add a little bit of mistake in his words, then the mingling of truth and falsehoods would easily fool people.
“I can’t guarantee that he definitely will, but Doctor Wallace and I, as well as George himself, are working hard to get there. None of us will give up easily, not till the last day.”
His words sounded sincere and true and many people believed what Twain said. If Twain insisted that Wood was able to recover by June 12th, perhaps these people would suspect That Twain was lying.
The media besieged Twain for a long time but did not pry open his mouth. Instead, they were convinced by Twain, which was really a great surprise to The Sun.
The Sun’s reporter had no choice but to personally step in to say, “We have solid evidence that Wood can’t make it to the UEFA European Championship. So, I would like to ask if you, Mr. Twain had any backup…”
Twain interrupted the other person directly to say, “What hard evidence? The attending physician thinks he can catch up. So, where did your evidence come from, sir?”
As soon as the other side was about to answer again, Twain interrupted him once again, “The people around the doctor? A cleaner or a nurse? How can you tell if what they’re saying is the truth? While what I’m telling you is a lie? Who’s the person closest to George Wood here?”
“Well…”
The reporter was rendered speechless from a series of cross-examinations by Twain, and he did not know what to say.
“I don’t want to be here and talk nonsense with you, Mr. Reporter. I don’t want to bet with you either.”
Some people laughed when they heard the word “bet.” This had become a classic: don’t ever bet against Tony Twain unless you think life is too dull.
“All I can tell you is that we all want George to be in the UEFA European Championship. We are all working very hard on it. If you really have nothing else better to do, I suggest you pay more attention to the influx of refugees from Africa, rather than pointing fingers at others under the guise of seeking the truth in the news.” Twain unceremoniously gave The Sun reporter a bad name. Then he got up and walked away.
The group of reporters looked at each other.
They all thought Twain was angry. In actual fact, when he walked out of the press conference, there was a hint of smile on Twain’s face.
The Sun was going to deal with him using this. But he had sent them packing with just a flick of his wrist.
But this matter also set off alarm bells for him – not everyone believed his words.
If, on that day, Wood really did not recover from his injury and could appear in the game as a substitute, what was he going to do?
There was not much time left for him…
...
Chapter 934: Greedy
The national team players finally saw their captain in June.
George Wood’s return to the national team attracted a horde of reporters to the scene. The press and the fans all wanted to see how Wood’s injury had recovered so far. Everyone’s hearts would sink if Wood appeared before them wearing slippers and walking on crutches.
The moment Wood’s manager, Billy Woox, parked his Bentley car outside the Colney training base, crowds of reporters rushed towards it. The security guards tried their hardest to hold the reporters back, but they could not stop them from firing off their cameras at Wood.
George Wood got out of the car with his head lowered. Everyone’s gazes were on his right foot, and they all sighed in relief collectively when they saw him he walk out dressed in a pair of Nike shoes.
George Wood did not turn around to retrieve a pair of crutches from within. He simply alighted from the car and stood before the crowd.
Woox got off the car as well and walked over to the trunk of his car to retrieve Wood’s luggage. The sight of Wood’s luggage meant that Wood would be following the team over to Spain and that he would not be continuing his treatment at home.
The security guards felt the force behind their backs increase significantly, and they knew that they could not hold back the crowd much longer. The security guards were just like a dam, and the crazy reporters and fans were just like a body of water that kept pounding against them. Countless microphones and cameras went past or above the security guards’ heads and they were all aimed at Wood.
“George! How is your injury?”
“Are you able to walk now?”
“What about running?”
“Are you sure you can recover in time for the Euro Cup?”
“George! George! The ‘St. George Fan Club’ wishes you a speedy recovery! Can you talk to us for a bit?”
“Mr. Wood…”
The security guards tried to maintain order at the scene painstakingly. Their defense would definitely crumble if those people behind them launched another attack. Fortunately for them, a voice rescued them from their predicament.
“If you guys continue to push in that way, I can guarantee that you will definitely step on George’s right toe.”
A voice that sounded like it came from a loudspeaker boomed from behind. The voice was so loud that it could be heard clearly even in the noisiest of environment.
Everyone stopped pushing forward the moment they heard the voice. It was as though the voice carried a spell with it. The crowd turned around to look at the source of the voice.
Tony Twain stood behind them with a loudspeaker in one hand. His face was glum as he stared at the crowd.
It was in that moment that everyone knew it was time to leave.
The crowd that had gathered around Wood began to disperse, and the security guards finally heaved a sigh of relief. Their uniforms had become drenched in sweat, and there were even black palm prints left by others on their shirts.
There was a hint of a smile on Wood’s face when he saw Twain.
Similarly, Twain’s face lit up after he saw Wood as well.
Billy Woox passed the luggage in his hands over to Wood. He then waved at Twain before getting back into his car. Twain tossed his loudspeaker into the hands of one of the security guards and took big strides towards Wood.
The press thought that Twain was going to shake Wood’s hand. They did not expect to see Twain embrace Wood instead.
Twain hugged onto Wood tightly. He was afraid that the latter would run away like before.
Twain knew that Wood would show up for the national team’s training session a day ago. Doctor Wallace had called him personally to inform him that Wood is fit enough to follow the team over to Spain. He also told Twain that Wood still has to continue with his rehabilitation even while in Spain, and that he has gotten the team doctor to pay extra attention to Wood.
However, Twain could not truly be at ease without seeing Wood right before him. He was afraid that he would go to sleep and wake up to a phone call from Doctor Wallace telling him that Wood has to miss out on the Euro Cup entirely because he had picked up a second injury by accidentally wedging his big toe in the shower drain while taking a shower…
The aforementioned scenario might sound ludicrous, but it’s not like it has never happened before.
It’s great that Wood has returned to the team. Twain felt the stress inside of him decrease significantly as he no longer had to answer any questions from the press about whether or not Wood would make it to the Euro Cup. Wood’s return would also bring about a calming effect on the team that is currently in a state of unrest, as it signified that the backbone of their team is back.
“Welcome back to the team, George.” Twain whispered by Wood’s ear as he held him in his arms.
※※※
Wood’s return to the national team made headlines across numerous newspapers, and it also helped to dissipate the insecurities that the England fans had by a little. There is now hope that Wood would be able to play in games soon, even though the national team had announced during a press conference that Wood is still not able to join in the national team’s training and handle a ball at his foot just yet.
The very first match of the Euro Cup would be played on 9th June, and England would play in their first match on 12th June. There were still 12 days left till their first Euro Cup match. There is still a chance that Wood would be fit by the match.
George Wood indicated that he was feeling good during his interviews. He believed that participating in the Euro Cup would not be an issue for him.
However, his condition was actually not as good as he thought. On the afternoon of his return to the national team, Twain called Wood over after the training session had ended. He then carried out a secret experiment on Wood with the team doctors, and they found out that Wood was still in a lot of pain over his injury to his right big toe, and he was unable to use any force when running or touching the ball.
The results of the experiment caused Twain to furrow his brows, because it showed that Wood’s condition had not improved for the better. Wood had most likely chosen to return to the national team so as to calm everyone down…
In the end, Wood could only continue with his rehabilitation in the pool.
The next day, Wood flew over to Barcelona with the team. England had chosen Barcelona as the city for their training because their first match would be held at the Camp Nou stadium.
The beauty of Barcelona could not change Twain’s mood for the better. He had already formulated his tactics for the upcoming games, and the team had also been practising those tactics all this while, but a big issue is that all those tactics had been devised on the premise that George Wood would be playing in the game. For the past month or so however, Twain has had to train the team on how to play the games without Wood in the team. He would only show the press 15 minutes of the team doing meaningless warm-ups every day. He did not show them any of the actual training that the team was going through.
Twain noticed that there were several German reporters outside the training grounds every time he allowed the press to observe the team’s training sessions. He believes that the reporters are there to gather information for their national team, because this is exactly what the British reporters would do as well. Some of the reporters who are close to Twain would deliberately collect information that would benefit the England team when covering stories about the training sessions done by other countries, and they would then pass that information over to Twain.
What the German reporters were most interested in was the status of George Wood’s injury. They knew that Wood is the core player of the England team, and that the England team is very different with and without Wood. They all smiled in relief when they saw that George Wood was the only player jogging in the corner when the team gathered together to do their warm-ups. It looks like the injury to his toe has yet to fully recover.
On 5th June, George Wood trained with a ball for the first time before the public. Despite the fact that the training session was only open to the press for 15 minutes, the training ground still teemed with reporters from all over the world.
Wood performed dribbles and passes before the press during his training session. It did not seem like he was still suffering from a toe injury.
The British cheered at the sight. In contrast, the Germans were a little depressed.
However, none of them knew that the truth was not what it seemed to be.
※※※
Doctor Wallace specially flew over from England to Barcelona to perform a thorough examination of Wood’s right toe. Thereafter, he spoke to Twain privately about the matter.
With only seven days left till England’s first match in the Euro Cup, this conversation between Doctor Wallace and Twain could potentially determine whether Wood would be able to play in the Euro Cup or not.
“Wood would not be able to play in any games right now based on his current condition.” Wallace went straight to the point and did not beat around the bush.
Twain was not surprised by Wallace’s words. He only furrowed his brows even more deeply.
“He needs to be careful when practising with the ball too.”
“Can you give me the exact time in which you think he’d fully recover, Doctor?” This is the only thing that Twain cared about.
Wallace had clearly mulled over that issue for a long period of time, because he was able to respond to Twain’s question without a second thought. “He definitely would not be able to play in the match against Portugal. As for the match against Wales, it’d be dependent on how well he is recovering during this period of time,” he paused for a moment before continuing, “I think the safest thing to do is to not let Wood play in any of the group stage matches.”
“Are you saying that he’d be able to play in games during the knockout stages?”
“There’s a high possibility that he’d be able to play then.”
Twain went deep into thought.
The group that England is in is not made up of weak opponents. Germany and Portugal are both strong teams, and Wales is also a force to be reckoned with. Wales has successfully qualified for the Euro Cup after 40 years, and the team is currently brimming with confidence and fight. They could become the dark horse in the competition.
Can England make it out of this ‘group of death’ in one piece without George Wood? Can they forge a path ahead for themselves?
Twain still did not know for sure right now if his team is capable enough to accomplish that.
Wallace discerned Twain’s worries. He said, “If you think that this is very risky, you can substitute him for another player right now. After all, I can’t guarantee you that he won’t pick up another injury during the knockout stages either. Also, a bigger concern is his form. He hasn’t played in a match for quite some time, and he also hasn’t trained with the team recently either. It might not be a good idea to play a player like him whose form remains a doubt.”
Wallace’s words were exactly what Twain was thinking about. The two things he was most concerned about were Wood’s injury and form.
Wood has yet to recover from his injury to his toe. In addition, no one knows if he would be able to play at the same level that he did prior to his injury either.
Wood is the core of the team every time he plays. But, if the core is not in form… It could lead to disastrous outcomes for the team.
All in all, this is an extremely risky bet to make.
Wallace understood that Twain has to think things through carefully because there were too many things that he needed to consider. He took his leave quietly after saying what he had to say. The press surrounded him the moment he stepped out of the training grounds. They wanted him to talk about what he was discussing with Twain earlier.
“We were discussing about Wood’s injury. But I can’t give you any details. I’m sorry.”
He then climbed into his car a little wearily before driving off.
※※※
There are indeed many factors that prevent Twain from coming up with a decision on the matter. Firstly, he needs to consider the impact that his decision would bring on Wood’s professional career. Would it be positive? Or would it be negative? Secondly, he needs to consider whether Wood’s injury would really recover by the knockout stages as Wallace had predicted. Thirdly, he needs to think about Wood’s current form. Wood has either been recuperating or training alone lately, so it is difficult to tell how well or how badly he is playing right now. Lastly, he also needs to think about the team’s results for the Euro Cup. This is a very important factor that cannot be ignored. What kind of results would the England team achieve if they drop Wood completely from the team? If they were to insist on keeping Wood in the team, what kind of influence would that bring to their results?
This is not just about choosing between a player’s professional career and glory… If that had been the case, Twain would definitely be much more relaxed about having to make a decision.
With the Euro Cup just around the corner, Twain decided to talk to Wood regarding the issue once more. This could be the last chance for him to come to a decision on the matter. He has to make a decision no matter what the outcome might be. He did not want the issue to remain at the forefront of his mind until the 8th of June.
※※※
Wood climbed out of the pool. He wiped off the water droplets from his face and saw Twain squatting before him.
“How are you feeling?” Twain asked.
“I’m feeling good.” Wood replied.
“I’m feeling really vexed right now, George.” Twain passed a towel over to Wood after seeing how he had just climbed out of the pool.
Wood did not respond to Twain. He dried his hair with the towel before sitting down at the side of the pool beside Twain.
“I spoke to Doctor Wallace earlier. He told me that you won’t be able to play in the group stages based on your current condition. This means that England would need to make its way into the knockout stages before you have a chance of playing. But, I’m a little worried about the group stages…”
“It won’t be a problem.” Wood cut Twain off abruptly.
“Huh? What’s not a problem?”
“The team won’t have a problem getting past the group stages.”
Twain nodded his head. If Wood says there’s no problem then it’s most likely true. “All right then. What do you think of your current form?”
Wood answered Twain honestly. “I don’t know. I haven’t played in a game for a while. I don’t know how well or how badly I’d play right now.”
“I bet your feet have gone rusty after so many days of not playing football, huh?”
Wood rotated his ankles and shook his head. “Not really.”
Twain smiled.
“George, actually we still have the World Cup…”
“I know. But I want to win the Euro Cup too.” Wood was being quite ‘greedy’.
This time, Twain broke into a laugh at Wood’s response. He kept rocking back and forth as he laughed, and it nearly caused him to fall into the pool.
“You are so greedy, George!”
“Don’t tell me you don’t want to win the Euro Cup?” Wood asked.
Twain grinned. “Greed is my favorite sin.”
The pair went quiet for a moment before Twain asked, “George. Do you really want to participate in the Euro Cup?”
“Yes.”
“This decision comes with a lot of risks. It’s almost like a gamble.”
Wood did not respond. He waited for Twain to continue with his words.
“I kept telling the press that you’d make it for the Euro Cup, but I think I have to confess to them that that’s not the truth now.”
Wood furrowed his brows. He had a bad feeling about what Twain was going to say next.
“My actions would put immense stress on me and the team. But, I hope that you can prove to them that what I did was not for naught. Do you remember what I said when you were in the hospital? I said I’d bring you to Spain as long as you can recover in time.” Twain looked at Wood. “Doctor Wallace told me that you’d recover by the knockout stages, and that would mean that you’d have to miss out on three of the group stage matches before you can play in a game. Still, I can’t guarantee that you won’t get into an accident during this period of time, and I also don’t know if you’d be able to play in a match when we get to the knockout stages either. It’s possible that you might not have fully recovered by then, and it’s also possible that you might be in a poor form… Despite all that, do you wish to continue to stay in the team?”
Wood nodded his head. “I want to stay.”
Twain clapped his hands. “All right, I’ve made up my mind. We’d participate in the Euro Cup together. I’d give you three group stage matches to get yourself fit. I hope you’d be back in the team by the quarter-finals.”
“If I don’t recover in time I’d just get a cortisone shot before the game.”
Twain smiled. He felt a weight being lifted off his shoulders as he stroked Wood’s wet hair. He has to face whatever outcome that may come his way after he makes this decision.
However, he was not worried about what would happen to him in the future at all, because it is a decision that he made of his own accord. No one forced him to make the decision, and no one begged him to make a decision that he did not wish to make either. So, what is there to worry about?
“I want to become champions of the Euro Cup, and I also want a healthy George.” Twain winked at Wood. “Don’t you think I’m even more greedy than you?”
...
Chapter 935: I Will Be Back
After he had talked to Wood, Twain also made the final decision. He believed it was now necessary for the players to understand what kind of UEFA European Football Championship tournament they would face.
The England team began their new day of training. After the media had completed their allowance of fifteen minutes to film, they were asked to leave the training ground.
The morning sun in Spain shone brightly and the temperature was not too high. The light breeze slowly brought in the chill from last night. The players had just done their warmup and were in a circle listening to the manager.
“Before our training, I have something to inform everyone.”
Twain stood among the players, while Wood was with his teammates.
“Well, it’s like this. Everyone knows George’s right toe is injured, and it has always been in doubt whether he can make it to the UEFA European Football Championship. The media are very concerned about it, and I’m sure you’re concerned too, right?” Twain asked with a smile.
This was a relief to a number of nervous players – the boss could still smile which meant that George’s injury must have been not a problem.
“What I’m going to tell you now is that… He can still join in the UEFA European Football Championship… Don’t get ahead of yourselves.” Twain gestured to interrupt some of people from cheering. He continued, “However, he may not be able to play in the UEFA European Football Championship.”
Looking at the bewildered looks of the players, Twain decided to solve the mystery.
“George hasn’t fully recovered from his injury. The doctor says he will have to wait at least until the knockout stage if he has to play. That means he can’t play in all three games in the group stage.”
There was a commotion among the players. Many people turned their heads to look at Wood, who stood calmly among them and accepted their surprised looks.
“The problem is simple now.” Twain raised his voice amid the commotion to make certain that everyone could hear him. “If we want George to play in the games, we must advance out of the group. Don’t you think so?”
“That’s right!”
“Yes, boss.”
“Yes!”
Everyone agreed one by one.
“I’m not willing to give up any one of you, whether it’s George or anyone else. If any of you have been in the same situation as what has happened to George today, I will also make the same decision – I have decided to keep George in the team, even if he may miss the first three games. I know the burden is going to be heavier on everyone, but I also want to make it clear through this incident that we’re a single entity, not simply a team made up of twenty-three players. We are ‘one’, not ‘twenty-three.’”
Twain reached out his hands to point to “one” and “twenty-three.”
No one raised any objections to Twain’s decision. Even the Nottingham Forest players heaved a huge sigh of relief.
“In that case, it’s decided. George will be waiting for us in the knockout stages. Don’t let him become the laughingstock.” He winked at everyone.
The players laughed as well. At the same time, they looked at Wood, who looked a little discomfited…
“Okay, guys, let’s start training! The UEFA European Football Championship is imminent. No one is allowed to goof off!” Des Walker came forward and took over from Twain.
※※※
Despite Twain’s constant emphasis that George Wood would follow the team to the UEFA European Football Championship, there were still some people who still harbor doubts and thought that Twain was merely steadying his team. Until June 8th, the day before the start of the UEFA European Football Championship, he would have to replace Wood if Wood’s foot injury was still not recovered.
They did not expect that the England team held a press conference two days away from June 8th. At the press conference, Twain took Wood along to meet with the media.
“There’s only one topic for this press conference—” Twain looked around the room. Almost all of the reporters who had been hanging around the training camp these days were here. Not only the British reporters attended, but also the German reporters, Portuguese reporters and other reporters from around the world. They were very concerned about the progress of George Wood’s recovery from his injury.
After letting the players know the truth, Twain was able to face the media calmly. He only needed to be accountable to the players while the media was being used by him to make sport of.
“To inform everyone the status of George Wood’s recovery from his foot injury.”
Twain’s words surprised many media outlets. They had followed the England team’s tail around like flies for so many days, wanting to ask a little inside information about Wood’s injury. But Twain had always tried to cover up. Since when did he learn how to sit in front of everyone and talk so frankly about the issue?
Twain glanced at Wood next to him and gave him a look to indicate for him to speak.
Wood did not seem to see it until Twain cleared his throat a few times before he reacted.
“Well… I decided to stay and play in the UEFA European Football Championship.”
Wood’s words were simple.
The reporters stared blankly and then realized that he had just announced a very important matter!
The scene boiled over, and countless reporters tried to stand up to ask questions. They raised their arms high in the hope that the press officer would point at them.
However, Twain waved his hands and said, “It’s not time for the media to ask questions yet. Ladies and gentlemen, let us finish speaking first.”
He motioned for everyone to be quiet at the scene. Those reporters who were usually dissatisfied with Twain, obediently put down their hands, closed their mouths, and waited for Twain to speak.
“I have to start by explaining to everyone that George Wood’s injury has not fully recovered.”
The remark caused another uproar. You’re going to take him to the UEFA European Football Championship when he has not recovered yet. What’s going on in your mind, Mr. Tony Twain?
“But if all goes well, George should be able to come back in the knockout stages.” Twain quickly solved the mystery. “He will miss all three games in the group stage. That’s all I have to say. Do you have any questions to ask?”
Without delay, a reporter stood up and fired his question at Twain, “You’ve been saying a few days ago that Wood’s injury was okay to catch up with the UEFA European Football Championship. But now he’s going to miss all the games in the group stage. Were you lying on purpose before?”
Twain spread his hands wide with a look of innocence on his face as he said, “Lying? I said he could make it to the UEFA European Football Championship in time and in fact he did make it in time. Mr. Reporter, are you not putting the knockout stage as part of the European Football Championship, are you?”
The face of the reporter who was asked this question changed colors. Apparently he was in a hurry to ask the question and forgot the basic logic. And Twain caught hold of the loophole.
The second person to ask questions was a German reporter. He asked Twain in halting English, “Mr. Twain, I would like to ask how confident your team is of advancing out of the group stage when George Wood is going to miss all three group games?” As a German, he was proud and at the same time, he could not hide his delight upon hearing that Wood would miss all three of the group games.
In fact, Twain understand his halting English having only listened to it once. But seeing the somewhat arrogant expression on the other man, Twain decided to make fun of him, so he put his hand next to the ear and asked, “I’m sorry, sir. Can you please say that again?”
So, the bald German man had to use his “German style English” and haltingly repeat himself.
Twain still did not understand and said, “I’m sorry, sir…”
The German man once again repeated his question this time at a much slower pace.
The third time Twain raised his hand to the edge of his ear, the German’s face immediately changed. He looked like he was about to face apart.
Twain knew it was time to stop while ahead, so he laughed and said, “I’m only joking, Mr. Germany. I already understood your question. For us, the team’s lineup is not too big a problem. Of course, we will seriously deal with each opponent in the group, to ensure that you will have no chance to take advantage of.”
His words caused the English reporters to break out in knowing laughter.
“The England team is not a team that only belongs to a certain individual. No one’s absence will affect our ultimate goal. The team’s advancing out of the group stage is only the first step. Even if Wood is absent due to his injury, we still have enough ability to go on to the knockout stages. But …” Twain looked at the foreign reporters with a strange smile, “I welcome everyone to think that the England team is a second-rate team without George Wood and will have a problem in advancing. Really, if you think that way, I’m not going to get angry at all and I won’t contradict you.”
He certainly would not refute because the thing he’d liked to see most was for the other team to underestimate them.
In fact, George Wood’s absence really had a big impact on the England team’s strength. After all, he was the core of the team. It was unheard of that a core player’s absence would not affect the team. But if Twain tried his best to cover it up, it would only make his rivals more certain that the England team was actually weak.
As a result, Twain played a “empty city strategy” at the press conference. He opened every door in the city, and then accompanied by his squire, he himself went up to the city gate tower to make music. His confident and relaxed appearance made many of the foreign reporters, who were keen to scout out the real situation, feel baffled.
Moreover, based on Twain’s style, when he said something was “one”, he often did “two” instead. When he said “no”, in fact, he actually meant “yes.” Therefore, he openly admitted that the England team could not do without Wood which implied that he was lying. Had the England team not been training for “a tactic that involved playing without a core” for more than a month? Perhaps the England team had long since ceased to rely on George Wood as the core. Twain’s insistence on taking him along was nothing more than a smokescreen. His real aim was to get everyone to focus on George Wood, England’s “former core player.” Then his “core-less” England team would go on a rampage and cut the opponents to pieces to eventually make it all the way to the top …
The idea hovered in the reporters’ minds, getting closer to the truth.
Twain smiled in his heart as he watched the reporters gather and whisper in discussion.
He waited for a while. When he saw everyone getting more worked up in their discussion, he gave a cough and said, “If there are no other questions, the press conference today will end here…”
As soon as he got up to leave, he saw the reporters standing up and raising their hands to speak one by one.
“Mr. Twain! Can you talk about the first game against Portugal?”
“Mr. Twain, what will happen if George Wood can’t make a comeback in the knockout stages?”
“Tony, who are you going to replace George Wood with?”
“George, do you have anything to say about not being able to play in the group stage?”
Twain waved his hands and said, “You are too noisy. Everyone, quiet down!”
After the press conference was slowly brought under control, he continued to speak, “First of all, I won’t answer any questions about the player replacing George Wood and tactics. Secondly, we will deal with the game against Portugal seriously. Thirdly, I don’t want anyone to use when George Wood will come on to disturb my team in the future.”
His first answer made the reporters more certain that even without George Wood, the England team would have a way to win. As for the reporters from Germany, Portugal and Wales, it was enough. They had gotten the most important information.
The other reporters were still clamoring but Twain had already ignored them and turned around to leave with Wood.
※※※
The news that George Wood was able to play in the UEFA European Football Championship and that George Wood would miss all three of the group games had been impactful.
If the England team was placed in a weak group, the news would reassure many England fans. It would not be hard for England to advance playing in a group like that. But now they were in the group of death, which had two strong teams like Germany and Portugal. Only Wales might be considered a weak team. This was worrying.
What if… What if the England team could not advance out of the group stage? One must know that the last group game was against Germany. If they were lucky enough to have a two-game winning streak in the first two games and advance ahead of time, then it did not matter what kind of game they played against Germany.
But was the Portugal team an easy team to deal with?
Miguel Veloso, Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani, Pepe… These were all famous star players. The Portugal national team composed of them was not a soft team easily bullied by others.
The first game with them was six days away. The England team without George Wood was really worrying to people.
Of course, there were those people who felt that the current England team was not without hope since George Wood could not play. No matter what, it was still considered a first-class strong team in Europe. How could it be that the other star players were playing a small role?
What had Twain been doing for more than a month? Was it all not for preparing the England team to play without Wood? As the continent’s most successful manager, he must have had countless alternatives to counter. Then neither Portugal nor Germany were England’s worthy opponent. Even without George Wood, we still have Tony Twain!
The two ideas collided among the English fans, and no one could convince anyone.
The debate over England’s future at this European Championship would still continue right up till the game.
※※※
After laying his cards on the table to the public, Twain breathed a sigh of relief that he and his team could finally prepare without interference. He did not have to think about how to deal with those reporters, like moths to a flame, about the question of whether George Wood would be able to play in the UEFA European Football Championship. After his press conference, there were fewer reporters, who usually lingered around the training camp from those three countries. For them, the most valuable news was already in hand, so there was no need to continue to waste time here.
George Wood carried out rehabilitation training alone every day. He worked hard but the team doctor did not allow him to overdo it for fear of another injury before he recovered. Currently, the most painful thing for George Wood was watching his teammates train together, while he could only do his own rehabilitation training in the corner.
He found himself experiencing something which he had never before, to be so eager to play football. As soon as he saw the football rolling before his eyes, his feet would shake involuntarily, as if they were producing a resonance with the football.
His first injury experience was so indelible that he never wanted to go through it a second time.
Submerging himself in the water, he looked up at the blue water surface above.
The pool that allowed him to recover was like a prison cell, holding his body in confinement and making his every move incomparably heavy.
As long as he broke through the shackles of the water, he could be reborn…
No matter what kind of opponent he faced, he would expend ten times the energy that he had been bottling up for so long!
The team doctor in charge of looking after Wood suddenly found that George Wood seemed to have been submerged in the pool for several minutes.
Stunned by his own discovery, he dropped the notebook in his hand and kicked over the chair he was seated. He almost scrambled to the edge of the pool, shouting toward the pool in horror, “George!! Come out, George! Don’t scare me…”
With a “crashing” sound, a dripping wet George Wood suddenly crashed through the water surface and appeared in front of the team doctor. His eyes bright and full of expression were staring at him.
The team doctor was so startled that he immediately sat by the pool and watched Wood take big gulps of air. He said, “You scared me to death, George! What happened to you?”
“I slept for a while below.”
Wood’s answer made the team doctor’s heartbeat faster again. “Sleep … Sleeping? You mean you fell asleep underwater?”
Wood pressed his hands to the edge of the pool and held on. He said, “It looks like it.” He shook his head and the water droplets in his hair were all splattered on the team doctor’s body.
The team doctor only drew back the corners of his mouth in surprise. This monster!
Wood picked up a towel to wipe the water on his body, as he recalled the feeling he had just felt below the surface of the pool.
The hazy feeling felt like he was asleep, but his consciousness was awake. There was a voice in his mind that repeatedly spoke to him:
I want to play football, I want to play football, I want to play football! No one can stop me, not even an injury can do it!
I will be back; I’ll prove it to all of you!
...
Chapter 936 - The Reveal
On 9th June, the much-anticipated European Cup kicked off in the Spanish capital, Madrid.
After the Latin-inspired opening ceremony, the host of the East Spain started the opening match with Belgium.
The La Liga was known for its offense, and the Spanish national team’s style was a level above their league. The European Cup in Spain also seemed to be a ceremonial display of offensive football.
The opening battle of the past World Series always gave off an impression of dullness, with both sides playing with great caution for fear of making mistakes. But this time, at the Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, Spain and Belgium put on a great offensive show.
In the end, Spain was better in terms of techniques, beating Belgium by a score of 3:1 to get the first win of the group. Spanish striker Bojan scored the first goal of the tournament, while Belgium’s Axel Witsel was shown the first yellow card of the tournament.
The 80,000-capacity Bernabeu stadium was filled to the maximum as fans witnessed the launch of Spain’s new invincible fleet, which they hope would once again dominate Europe on their own soil.
On the next day, June 10, the European Cup was in full swing. In the first rounds of each of the strong teams, they did not face any significant opponents as they effortlessly achieved their respective victories.
As the European Cup had expanded, the rules to leave the group stage had also been adjusted. Twenty-four teams were divided into six groups, and there would be four teams in each group. The first two teams from each group would immediately leave the group while the third of the four best-performing groups would advance as well, bringing together 16 teams to play in the quarterfinals.
With this modification, the competition for the group stage would not be as intense as before, because as long as your team could get the third place in the best-performing group, it could still qualify for the knockout stages. Other than the stronger teams which were aiming for the first position of each group, most of the middle-tier teams were more pragmatic in terms of their goals and were aiming for the middle positions.
It was only those groups who were supposed to be competitive which were still intensely competing with each other, like the “group of death”.
※※※
“Portugal’s weakness is the back. ” Twain was conducting his theory lessons for his team in the conference room, this was the last theory lesson before the match. If there were any tactics that the team had to use the next day, the players needed to learn them on the day itself.
In fact, each player had a tactics brochure, which was developed by the coaching staff specifically for each individual’s characteristics and their respective responsibilities, which were all distributed to the players. If they were unable to recall, they just needed to look at the booklet to recall the content. However, Twain still needed to personally explain the details, from a general perspective.
“The players holding their central line are older and they move slower than the rest. Pepe is the core of their defence and even though he’s 33 years old, injuries and age have made him less physically fit than he used to be. Ze Castro’s turn was also not as agile. The two wing-backs, Ben Nello on the right and Antoines on the left, are both assisting wing-backs and have a chance to insert, which is also a feature of Portugal’s offense. This would often create a situation where their defensive half would always be empty.
Twain drew circles around the Portuguese’s full back.
“We would use defensive counter-attack to bait their full press, then use agility to charge into those spaces,” Twain said while he drew a few arrows from the mid-field of England and inserting into the back of the Portuguese’s defensive line.
“The Portuguese side offense is effective because they have Ronaldo, Nani and Quaresma. So I request our wingers not to back down in the game and instead go face-to-face with them.” Twain then raised his fist and bumped it. “If you retreat, you’ll only let them get their way. Our offense should also make more use of the side flanks, the wing defenders also need to actively assist the offensive … We are utilizing the defensive counter-attack, not just defensive and not counter-attacking, when there are counter-attacking opportunities, both sides must press forward, I don’t hope to see a situation where our ball being passed to the front field while our players haven’t even ran past the midfield.”
Counterattack was the core reason of Twain’s insistence on defense, and if there was not any counter-attacking, there would be no use for a strong defense. They must not lack in either defense or counter-attacking because they could only win the game when they properly utilized both.
“While you’re counterattacking, your speed must be fast, it has to be fast. Minimize the passing in the midfield whenever possible.”
At this point, Twain switched on a projector on the side, as the white curtain showed England’s warm-up match against Argentina. George Wood was taking the ball with him, and after running for a while, he passed the ball to Downing on the left, as Downing’s clean insertion into the opponent’s defensive half allowed him to pass by Fazio while he passed back the ball, allowing Wood to powerfully shoot the ball towards the goal mouth.
That was the whole process of England’s first goal against Argentina.
“In this goal, we saw the benefits of effective handling the ball in midfield…” Twain rewound the process of the goal as he explained the process to his players in detail.
“As we were launching our counterattack, Argentina’s players were still coming back quickly. If during this time, George Wood stops the ball and turns around, raising his head to observe the situation, what would happen?”
He pressed the remote control as the frames began to move, where the screen was set when Wood’s pass had just passed Mascherano’s defence. “Then there would be a good chance that this pass would not be able to complete successfully. ”
The clip continued from where it had been paused at the moment Downing forced his way past Fazio.
“Even if the pass was made, Downing would not be able to pass by Fazio so easily, because there would be an Argentine defender behind Fazio to protect that space, perhaps a wing-back who returned to his position, or perhaps a central defensive midfielder who came over to assist in that position. But in any case, the probability of success of this particular attack would have been greatly reduced. ”
“You must remember, counter-attacking is fighting for time against the defending opponents, you would be able to win half the battle if you are able to get the initiative. Don’t even stop in midfield at this time. Even if you are unable to bring the ball forward at that moment, just quickly pass it to the players around you, then create the route for the ball yourself by running into position. ”
“Of course, if the other side’s defensive system was maintained better, their speed in returning back to defend to be much faster. Without a great passing position, then there would be no need to fight for speed, we can decrease our own speed and pass the ball back, while baiting them forward.” Twain made a hand gesture, as he illustrated his words with creating the images.
“Bait them out and then pass the ball decisively forward! Pass the ball into the most dangerous areas! ”
“Mitchell, you would take the position in the most front, attract all their defensive attention on you. Rooney and Gerard would hide behind you, while they will wait for the opportunity to insert. You’re not a scorer in this game, but instead you’re a head of the bridge, understand?” Twain turned towards his disciples in Nottingham Forest.
Aaron Mitchell nodded. As long as it was the arrangement of his head coach, he would not have any opinion even if he were to play center back. Because the head coach would definitely have his reasons behind any of his arrangements.
“Attract Portugal’s defensive firepower, create opportunities for team-mates and score if you have a good chance yourself. When we are launching our counter attack, you have to be the first to advance, press the Portuguese defensive line back and give Wayne Rooney and Gerrard space to insert in their defensive half.”
“No problem, head coach,” Mitchell replied.
“If Portugal were to focus on guarding our side when we’re in our attacking formation, then the central path would have to assist more. If the Portuguese shrink into the middle road to defend, then pass towards the side flanks.” Anyway, there was Mitchell’s excellent header which would dominate the air space, even if Portugal felt that there was something wrong and shrinks to play a possession game against England, so Twain was not afraid.
He did not utilize the double-fast combination of Agbonlahor and Rooney as he needed to defend against this point.
“This game we would not play the man-to-man defending, remember how we trapped Argentina’s forward attacking line-up? We would proceed with the same tactics, area defense. After the defensive line intercepts the ball, they would pass the ball forward, reduces the number of horizontal and return passes. If there isn’t any good passing opportunities, Michael Johnson should return back to receive the ball, you’re the hub of the midfield.”
Twenty-seven-year-old midfielder Michael Johnson from Tottenham Hotspur nodded. He was the one who Twain had found to be a temporary replacement for Wood. But he was not the only candidate, and in fact although Gerrard’s position needed to be closer to the opposing’s penalty area, but he was able to do Johnson’s job when it is necessary. George Wood’s insane running, defensive and offensive capabilities needed to be split amongst several people, and that was Twain’s “non-core tactics”. Before this, England’s opponents just needed to find ways to mark George Wood, but today, that was not enough.
As Twain continued to explain the tactics, George Wood was sitting in the corner listening. Actually, he did not need to attend the lesson as he was not going to play, so there was no difference in him listening to the tactics lesson or not. But being the team leader, he still sat there, attentively listening to Twain’s tactical arrangement.
It was for nothing else, he just needed to experience the competitive atmosphere.
Now, while listening to the tactical arrangement, watching the clip of the process of the goal, Wood only felt like his own body was missing the times when he was healthy.
He was thirsty for competition.
※※※
Tactical meetings were held in the morning. In the afternoon, Twain went to the Nou Camp for a pre-match press conference. He was in attendance with Portugal coach Queiroz at the same time. The media was holding a lot of expectations towards this.
Because Queiroz was said to be unhappy with Twain back when he was in Manchester United. It was also precisely because Ferguson preferred Twain over Queiroz that he did not end up in his succeeding position, which was why he chose to coach the Portuguese national team.
Now he finally had the opportunity to prove in front of the world that he was also a good coach who was not inferior to Twain.
Because of this relationship, Twain felt that the atmosphere was not right when he and Queiroz shook hands.
Queiroz had no smile on his face, Twain also kept away his smile.
The two coaches completed a photo in front of a crowd of reporters with a straight face.
At the start of the press conference, Twain made a startling statement: “I’ve known Mr Queiroz for a long time and we were familiar with each other in the Premier League. A lot of Portuguese players play in the Premier League and I am familiar with them, such as Nani and Adrian of Manchester United, Danny and Moutinho of Manchester City, Postiga at Middlesbrough, Pepe at AC Milan… I know them very well, this Portuguese team holds no secret to me. I have great confidence that I’m able to defeat them.”
As soon as this remark came out, there was an uproar in the scene.
Everyone said Tony Twain was a mad man, today, that title was well-recognized.
Who would ever express this type of opinion before a match? He was clearly not recognizing his opponent at all, and he was also not afraid of agitating his opponent’s fighting sprit.
Sure enough, Queiroz’s face suddenly sank.
He rebutted, “I’ve really known Mr Twain as we’ve played against each other in the Premier League. I have great respect for what he has achieved. Other than that, I don’t really like him as a person at all. Truth be told, I’ve actually been in the Premier League for a long time and I know the England team very well. To tell you the truth, I think Mr. Twain is joking when he said they were very sure they were going to beat us. ”
After finishing his statement, he laughed. Then afterwards came an outburst of laughter at the scene.
Twain also laughed along — this joke was really ridiculous.
He did not continue to embarrass Queiroz. Queiroz saying “I think Mr Twain was joking when he said he had high chances of defeating us” was already a sign of weakness.
There was no meaning in completely destroying him.
But he was convinced he has successfully ignited the opponent’s firepower. Defensive counterattack, if he were not to agitate his opponent to go on a full press, how could his side even launch a counter attack?
The reporters were more concerned about what the England team would do when Wood was away. Twain did not answer such questions. Whenever there were issues relating to the tactics and formations, he would always find excuses to push them away. If he were forced to answer, he would rather not say anything.
There were nothing else significant enough to mention other than that groundbreaking speech he made in the ten-plus minutes long press conference.
It was Queiroz who was freely talking, as he was unable to compete against Twain.
“We would try our best to attack, as Portuguese football is equivalent to offensive football.”
Twain was laughing secretly by the side, it would be best for him if this occurs.
“If there were no one with injuries or issues, we will be able to send out our strongest roster.”
Twain nodded, this way, the roster you are sending out will be exactly the same as his predicted one.
“Group of death? Our aim was not leaving the group, leaving the group is not the problem.”
Twain responded to himself internally, “The third team in the best group could also leave group stage.”
…
Just like this until the end of the press conference, Twain stood up to shake hands with Queiroz again.
“See you at the game, Mr. Queiroz. ”
Queiroz was surprised by Twain’s sudden statement, not waiting for him to respond, Twain already let go of his hand and turned to walk away.
Queiroz looked at the somewhat arrogant back, as his lips clenched.
Winning a few championships for the club, are you satisfied, Mr Twain? Winning a few weaker teams in the selection matches, you think you can do whatever you want, Mr Twain?
In the national team field you are nothing but a new person, let me see how long can you remain this wild!
※※※
Twain did not know how Queiroz was cursing him internally, as he took a bath and washed away a body full of stinking sweat when he returned to his hotel. He changed his clothes as he lay down on his bed, talking to Shania on the phone.
He was very relaxed now and he was not the slightest bit nervous about bringing a national team to participate in a global competition for the first time.
What about the European Cup? I have already won championships until I am sick of it, what type of situations have I not seen?
At the end of the conversation with Shania, he turned over in bed and fell asleep.
He did not dream of his team lifting the championship trophy. Instead he dreamed that he had children. She was a lovely girl, looking as attractive and pretty as her mother. When she grew up, she would definitely be the focal point of all men.
She would naturally stick by Twain, constantly calling him “daddy”, but Twain would never get tired of it.
Not wanting her to grow up, but looking forward to her becoming a water spirit. Carrying such a contradicting emotion and watching her grow up day by day and maturing.
Even when Twain was woken up to dinner by Walker, there was still a distinct smile on his face.
“Are you in a good mood today, Tony?” Walker asked in the elevator.
“Oh, you can tell?” Twain asked.
“I’ve once heard people say that you have to see a person’s expression right after they got out of bed to properly determine a person’s emotion You’re clearly smiling, so…”
Twain laughed again, “I’m in a really good mood because I just had a beautiful dream. ”
“Did you dream of winning the championship?” “For Walker, he could not think of anything else that would make Twain smile after his dream.
Twain shook his head, “No, it was a sweeter dream that would make me even happier that winning the championships.”
“And what is that?” Des Walker responded, as he was surprised at that reply.
Twain did not answer. From the smile hung on his face, maybe he was immersed yet again in that dream scene?
※※※
PS, the European cup which is filled with excitement is about to stuck, please continue your monthly support. ( To be continued, if you want to know what happens afterwards, please log into www.qidian.com, where there would be more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading! )
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Chapter 937 - Twain’s England Team
The stands at Camp Nou were already at full capacity. Because of Spain’s proximity to Portugal, the game brought in a lot of Portuguese fans. They almost turned Barcelona’s stadium into the home stadium of the Portuguese team.
The reporters present were given the England team’s squad list. This list included both the starting lineup and substitutes Someone saw George Wood’s name on it. They were a little confused – was it not said that Wood had not recovered from his injury and could not play in all the games of the group stage? Should he not be sitting in the stands at this moment instead of sitting on the substitutes’ bench?
Could it be a smokescreen created by Twain?
The English reporters comprehended what was going on. Twain must have wanted George Wood, who was the team captain to be at every game with the team. It would give the team a sense of reassurance in this way.
They guessed right.
Even though George Wood could not play in the game, he was doing what he could to help the team.
His teammates were warming up on the field. Instead of watching them at the side, he helped the coaches put up the triangle cones, and then he even did some light jogging to warm up. It caused another round of discussion when the reporters took in this scene.
“I really can’t see the impact of his injury. Look at his running movement, how normal it looks!”
“No, you can still see when you look closely. He looks like he’s still afraid to exert force in the front part of his right foot.”
“That’s right. Jogging slowly and playing on the pitch are two different things … Alas, it shouldn’t have been a problem at all to advance from the group stage. But now I’m starting to worry about England.”
“What’s there to be worried about! It’s as if that without George Wood, England would be an unruly bunch of people. The best players from the English Premier League are not here to look pretty.”
Someone muttered in his mind, “There’s so much hype in the English Premier League that the players could really be there to look pretty…”
Going through the players on the England team’s squad list, there were probably only four players who could be considered as having reached a truly world-class level. They were Gerrard, Terry, Rooney and George Wood. As for the others, whether they could play as the main force in Serie A, La Liga and Bundesliga, it was still unknown. Just like Lennon, who was once considered the top candidate to play on the right side in England, could not even play as a substitute at Inter Milan.
Therefore, for those who understood football, the England team had always been a “pseudo-strong team.” The English media certainly comprehended football too. But in order to satisfy the pride and arrogance of the English fans, they enthusiastically promoted that talent was everywhere in the English football world, and there were more talented players than there were dogs which was the aim they pursued. Only in this way could they be financially profitable. After all, no one liked to hear bad things about the team they supported.
As a result, all the previous England team looked star-studded and brilliant. But it was actually vulnerable, like a shiny porcelain bottle. And what was even more frightening was that these England players who lived all the time in the media’s lies and hyperbole publicity, really thought that they were world-class. They were unwilling to continue improving, arrogant and conceited. They would collectively drop the ball at the most critical moment.
It was already not a secret that everyone in Europe knew that England was just all hype. Such as their opponent, the Portuguese team, for this game, was well aware of it.
After returning to the locker room after the warm-up, Queiroz analyzed the England team’s current situation for the players. He came to the conclusion that Tony Twain was bluffing by saying that they could not be without Wood. He’d bet Twain could not wait for other people to think that the England team would be a second-tier team without George Wood, which in fact they were. If the Portugal team were to fear the so-called “non-core tactics” of the England team and ended up playing with constraints in the game, they would lose a great opportunity.
This was a valuable opportunity to score points.
Queiroz remembered Twain’s contempt toward him at yesterday’s press conference and it made him angry. That man just happened to be lucky and won a few Champions League titles. The reason why he became famous was not because of his great ability, but because he was in England! In that country with its overly active media, minor matters would be blown up by them into events that would affect the development of the world.
How could an unconventional and foul-mouthed manager who even married a model wife younger than him by twenty-one years, not be famous? He just had to swear the word “f**K” toward the cameras and it was enough for the media to hype for a week.
His fame and self-confidence were based on this type of foundation, and such a foundation was simply vulnerable and just an illusion.
This game would give show everyone…
“Attack the moment the game starts.” Queiroz looked at his players and said.
※※※
“If the ball possession is in our hands, retreat after a round of attack to draw them out. If they have the right to kick off, then that’s great. Let them attack and we will play defensive counterattack.”
Twain made the final arrangements in the locker room.
“The opening fifteen minutes of the game should be the time when you’re under the most pressure. No matter what happens, I don’t want to see us concede the goal. Even at the expense of our offense, I still want you to defend and hold. Once the opponent is allowed to score a goal first, the game will be hard to play.”
He said grimly, “This is our first group game. The outcome of the game will determine whether or not we can go over the line. Guys, I must admit we’re not in a good situation right now. Our opponents want to take advantage of that.” Everyone was aware that he was referring to George Wood’s absence from the group stage.
“I’ve heard some comments before, and I don’t know if you’ve heard anything.” Twain suddenly laughed, but in the eyes of his players who knew him, his laughter at this time was strange.
“There is an outside perception that the England team is being blown out of proportions by the British media and that in actual fact, our strength is only second-rate in Europe.”
Some of the players showed surprise on their faces, while the others did not seem surprised.
“I don’t know what you all think of that, but I’m not happy about it. Because you are all selected by me. But our team is labeled as ‘Europe’s second-rate.’ Europe’s second-rate!” Twain suddenly raised his voice, “I don’t care about the results of the previous England teams and what kind of impression they gave. I only know one thing – my team is here for the championship title. Will a team that can win the UEFA European Football Championship be second rate in Europe?”
“No, no, boss.”
The players answered one by one.
“So, I keep thinking that we need a chance to prove it to them. To prove that we are not all show and no substance.” Twain waved his hands and said, “Portugal is a good opponent for that.” He laughed, “We’re not going to be seen as unconvincing for beating them. As long as we win Portugal, the bastards who say we are ‘second-rate in Europe’ will have to be slapped by us! But a victory is not enough, because there are always diehards who will say we’re just lucky bastards. So, for this game, next game, and the next game … Until the final, we’re going to keep winning!”
The spirits of the players was gradually mobilized by Twain.
The time was ripe for Twain to say, “I don’t care which football clubs you come from, and whatever football philosophy you have receive. I would like to say that where I am, here in the national team, forget your statuses and football styles at the club. The national team’s football is very simple. I do not ask you to achieve anything but victory!”
※※※
Wood had not had such an experience for a long time as he sat on the substitutes’ bench watching his teammates play. In the old days of Eriksson and McClaren, he often enjoyed the treatment of sitting in the spot nearest to the field to watch the game. Later, he gradually grew to become the main force in the team’s midfield. But he did not expect that he would become a spectator again after so many years.
It did not feel good.
The game had already begun, and Terry had won the right to pick the side of the field, so the right to kick off belonged to the Portugal team. Twain was pleased with the result and clapped off the field before the game even started.
After the game started, Portugal took advantage of their kick-off to take the lead on the pitch.
Portuguese and Spanish football had a lot in common. Both belonged to the European Latin style and placed emphasis on ball control. They had exquisite footwork skills and sneered at the English style of long balls. Once they had the ball under control, it would be hard for the opponent to tackle it again.
Ten minutes into the game, the Portugal team did just that.
As long as the ball was at their feet, it would be difficult for the England team to intercept their ball unless they had completed an attack. The Portugal team’s two full backs could therefore boldly plug in to assist with the offense without worry.
Moutinho and Veloso curbed England’s Gerrard and Michael Johnson in the middle. Cristiano Ronaldo and Quaresma continuously pounded the England team’s rear defensive line on the left and right respectively.
The only good news was that a tall center forward like Mitchell was not in Portugal so that they could not make use of headers to threaten the goal defended by Joe Hart.
It was only after the Portugal players found out they had not broken through on the side with the cross passes that they changed their style of play.
At first when the Portugal team would frequently sent out cross passes from the sides, the England team would almost give up the defense on the sides and withdrew to the middle to defend against the cross passes. Now, after the Portugal team’s targeted adjustment, the England team was in a bit of a mess.
The Portuguese wingers had outstanding skills, speed and awareness. They were not player who only knew how to send out cross passes, they were also well-known as raiders on the sides.
Quaresma suddenly cut inward after he made use of a feint on the right side to brush past England’s left back Downing. Joe Mattock extended his foot to intercept the ball but tripped the other party instead. The referee whistled that Mattock had a foul. The foul caused all the English supporters to break out in cold sweat – the spot where the foul happened was just one step away from the penalty area. Quaresma almost created a penalty shot!
If that was the case, Twain’s pre-match deployment was all for naught. “Thanks” to George Wood, Quaresma had suffered a serious injury before. On top of that, he was now thirty-two years old and not as fast as before. But his skills were maturing. Rather like Luís Figo during his heyday, he only had to use his footwork skills to fool his opponents to complete a breakthrough.
Veloso was to carry out the free kick. He did not choose to pass, but directly shot at the goal from the corner of the penalty area!
He completely deceived the England goalkeeper, Joe Hart. When the football flew out of the end line after a brush with the goalpost, Joe Hart was still at the far end of the goalpost getting ready for the cross pass …
“Wow! What a shame!” The commentator cried.
Loud sighs also rang out in the stands. The Portuguese fans made up the vast majority of Camp Nou, which had completely become the home stadium of the Portugal national team.
Having missed such a good scoring opportunity, Veloso was a little annoyed. He looked up at the sky and kept mumbling with his mouth.
The shot made Twain rise up from his seat in the technical area. He felt a little nervous. No matter how much preparation he did before the game, he could not predict exactly what would happen in the game. It might be a kind of charm football had, but it was torture for Twain.
“If you’re going to have a foul, you must also remember to stay away from the penalty area…” He was talking to himself on the sidelines.
Without George Wood in the midfield to defend, the England team was not as good as they used to be. Portugal’s midfield clearly had the upper hand. Soon after, they besieged England’s goal, hoping to score early.
The Portuguese fans in the stands cheered on and encouraged their team, sparing no efforts.
But twenty minutes passed, and the Portugal team’s bombardment did not bear fruit. England’s tight defense left the Portugal at a loss.
They wanted to make use of individual techniques to break through, but the England team would rather give them free kicks than to let them break through and get in. It served the Portugal right for not being able to score. In today’s game, several of their players were in poor form to send out the free kicks. Other than Veloso taking advantage of Joe Hart’s inertial thinking to threaten the goal, there was no more shot that made things difficult for Hart.
Seeing that his team had no way of facing a tight defense, the Portuguese commentator quipped, “Since when does the England team learn to withdraw to defend? They are simply playing like a weak team from Eastern Europe. When Tony Twain coached the Forest team, the Forest team’s style play was considered the ugliest to watch and was the least passionate. Now he has transformed the England team into this way…”
Motson, the BBC commentator in charge of the commentary for the England game, did not care about all these. He loudly cheered Twain’s team on, “The Portugal team thinks that their offense is sharp, but in front of England’s defense, they are realizing just how ridiculously wrong they are!”
The Germany national team’s manager sitting in the stands wrote in a small notebook, “… Losing George Wood, the England team’s strength is clearly impaired, and they are adopting a tighter defense to reduce the pressure on the rear defensive line…”
Later that same day, the Germany national team would play against Wales in Valencia. They had not forgotten to keep a close eye on the group’s other two rivals in competition to advance out of the group stage. They did not care too much about the Wales team.
※※※
Zé Castro, the Portuguese national team’s center back, was bored stiff. His teammates were busy in front, trying to break England’s goal, while he and Pepe stayed at the back to watch the game. Such a game was really boring.
He looked around and continued to run toward the front in a short distance. He pressed ahead on the center line. In his mind, he calculated whether to step in on time to participate in the attack and do a long shot for the fun of it.
“José, come back!” Pepe suddenly shouted his name in the back.
Castro waved his hands behind him. The England team was like an ostrich. What was there to be afraid of?
“The fool!” Pepe scolded in a low voice at the back when he saw that he could not call him back.
He set his sights on the England team’s technical area on the sidelines.
Tony Twain was standing in the command area with both hands in his pockets. It was a good thing he was not sitting in the technical area and crossing his leg with one ankle on his other knee.
Two years had gone by and he still had not forgotten the boss’ habit. Different movements represented different meanings. Only the Nottingham Forest players could understand. If he was sitting on the sidelines with one leg over another, it would mean that he had a card up his sleeve, and that there must be a scheme behind it. He was currently standing on the sidelines, so it meant that he was not very confident deep down – he was afraid his team would be destroyed by the Portugal team’s tumultuous offensive.
Maybe he himself was over-thinking it?
Pepe shook his head gently. He did not know why he had an ominous hunch in his mind when he looked at England playing so badly. It felt familiar and reminded him a little of Nottingham Forest.
If the England team in front of him had changed the white jerseys to red ones, perhaps it would remind him more.
While Pepe was lost in his thoughts, his central defender partner simply went over the center line. After he received a back pass from his teammates, he made a feint before choosing to dribble the ball himself to break through!
As a Portuguese player, even the center back had fine footwork skills. He managed to cross the midfield and chose to pass the ball as he approached the England team’s penalty area. But after passing the ball on to his teammate, Moutinho, he did not run back. Instead, he continued to plug ahead and tried to play a two-over-one pass!
But Moutinho’s pass was intercepted by Michael Johnson!
The England team launched a counterattack!
Johnson passed the ball to Gerrard, who sent forth a long pass!
Mitchell, the lighthouse in the front field, grabbed the spot before Veloso and then leapt high to head the ball….
The football flew obliquely to the back where Walcott was plugging in at a high speed!
At this time, the entire Portugal team’s backfield were only left with two players, Pepe and the goalkeeper, Rui Patrício. The Portuguese players did not even react for a while – is our backfield so empty? Where have all the people gone?
“Asshole!” Pepe could only swore at his partner, Castro who had rushed up, to vent his anger at this time. He hurriedly left the middle and dashed toward the side to intercept and block Walcott. The boy’s speed was a level to run a hundred meters sprint……
The ominous hunch in his mind came true. This scene was so familiar to him – they used to deal with powerful opponents like that when he was at the Forest team. When the opponents were complacent during the besieging of the Forest team, they had no idea that their Achilles heel was completely exposed to the Forest team’s firepower.
Pepe already planned to foul when he rushed to tackle Walcott’s ball. He did a slide tackle in the hope of knocking the ball out of the field along with the player himself.
But he miscalculated. He might have been able to do so two years ago, but at the age of thirty-two, he had no ability to look down on the” young tiger” Walcott’s youth.
The ball was taken away by Walcott before his toes even touched the football. Then the Arsenal winger nimbly leapt up and evaded Pepe’s slide shovel.
He broke through!
Twain took his two hands of his pants pocket and was clenching his fists, ready to wave.
The England team’s chance finally came after holding on hard for more than twenty minutes. It came so easily that he was worried about whether Walcott would waste this great opportunity by having too many distracting thoughts in his mind…
“If you miss this shot, I’ll make you sit on the substitutes’ bench in the next game!” Twain harped on fiercely.
Walcott broke through Pepe and the rest of the England players did not stay behind to watch the show. The strikers, Mitchell, Rooney and Downing all dialed up their speed to the highest and ran with all their might toward the opponent’s penalty area, ready to receive the pass that might appear at any time.
It was scary for the Portuguese – it was definitely not an accident. It was a premeditated counterattack and a blatant plot!
Now even if Walcott slowed down, the England team also had a good chance of breaching the goal. The Portugal team’s center back, Zé Castro was still near the center circle as he ran back to defend… He was running very hard, but he was not a speedy player by nature. Instead, it was the two full backs who were giving chase quickly.
Rooney rushed to the fore front. He raised his arm to signal for Walcott to pass the ball.
Walcott, who had already dribbled the ball into the penalty area, looked at the goalkeeper, Patrício, who was ready to pounce and looked at Rooney again. Then he swept the football over.
The ball was slightly nearer to the front… Rooney gritted his teeth and charged over. Then he then did a studs-up!
“England’s counterattack … Walcott is fast! Patrício strikes! He has abandoned the goal to strike! Rooney rushes in, and will Walcott pass the ball… He passed the ball! He passed the ball! It’s a little wide, slightly wider, a bit too far…a slide shot!!” The neutral Spanish commentator spoke so fast, like a machine gun, and the spectators’ hearts beat faster in sync.
He struck the ball and the football changed direction to bounce toward the goal.
Motson had already roared in anticipation of the celebratory goal, “GOOOO—”
The football flew in a parabolic line and descended into the empty goal.
“——OOOAL!!”
Pepe, lying outside the field, saw the scene and angrily smashed the turf with his hands.
Twain held his fists up high and waved to the sky. The crowd in the technical area and substitutes’ bench behind him rushed out. They waved their fists and cheered.
Once Rooney got up from the ground, he ran excitedly with his arms wide open toward Walcott, who had passed him the ball. Mitchell and Downing, who had been sprinting just now, did not slow down. They simply turned straight to catch up with Rooney. The rest of the England players were also dashing to the front field. It was a spectacular scene.
It took less than fifteen seconds for the England team from when they turned out in full force to attack till they were celebrating the goal. Most of the Portuguese players were still in the front field, unable to react yet.
Queiroz angrily kicked the water bottle beside his feet. The England team was too despicable and cunning!!
“England scores its first goal of the tournament. In the 23rd minute, they take a 1:0 lead over Portugal! It’s just their second shot in the entire game! With such a terrifying efficiency!”
The England players were in a tight embrace after the goal, Twain saw the “solidarity” he wanted most to see. He glanced at the angry Queiroz, and he knew that he had the Portugal team in the palm of his hands.
...
Chapter 938 - The Match That Ended in Advance
John Motson laughed as he provided his commentary of the match. “Did Queiroz think that Tony Twain would go head to head with him? Didn’t he claim to know Tony Twain better than everyone else? How can he possibly not remember Twain’s most prominent trait? It’s to counter-attack! Counter-attack! Haha!”
Queiroz’s face would definitely look even more unpleasant than it is now if he heard Motson’s mockery of him.
It is not as if he never thought about preventing England’s counter-attacks. It is just that he simply could not dictate the players’ behavior for the entirety of the match. The players have constantly attacked Forest for the past 20 minutes or so, and it was only natural that some of them would start to slack off. Who would have thought that England would make use of that one chance and score from it?
Being a goal down puts Portugal at a great disadvantage. However, Queiroz has no other choice but to get his team to continue with their attacks, because they could not possibly retreat backwards to defend. The word ‘retreat’ does not exist in Portuguese football.
England did not try to get another goal and continue with their offense after taking the lead. Instead, they retreated backwards to defend against Portugal’s attacks. The Portugal football stars all started feeling helpless against England’s compact defense. This is a defense that immobilized the Argentina team that is led by Messi. If it can work against Argentina, it can also work against Portugal. Hence, Twain did not fear Portugal.
“F*ck! Bunch of cowards!” Zé Castro cursed at the back.
Castro has lost the courage to run forward now. It did not matter how much he might long to run to the front and join in the attack. He is no longer able to do that. He has to stay behind and protect the back of the pitch alongside Pepe.
Castro has to take full responsibility for the team being a goal down. He had run forward rashly earlier, and that had led to him being out of position during England’s counter-attack. As a result, he was not able to track back to defend in time. He had finally managed to secure his position as a starting player in the national team, and he certainly did not want to lose his position because of this particular mistake of his.
Pepe heard his partner’s complaints, but he only shrugged his shoulders in response. He felt a sense of security when he was a part of Forest’s compact defense back then, but now… He felt nothing but hatred towards it.
What Pepe hates even more is the fact that England is also able to counter-attack. They would have been somewhat easier to beat if they could only defend well. You are really making things difficult for others, boss…
Pepe is actually a center-back who enjoys moving forward to join in the attack. He had managed to bring the ball forward and score a goal all by himself while playing for the Portugal national team before. But, against England… No, to be more exact, against Tony Twain, Pepe has to relinquish all his desires to move forward and attack. He has to defend with all his might and pay extra attention whenever Twain’s team attacks.
The match reached a stalemate. The Portugal players were not able to break down England’s rigid defense, and England’s infrequent counter-attacks were all quickly stopped by Pepe and Zé Castro.
※※※
Queiroz was certain that the current 1:0 score is all that England wants for the game since they are playing counter-attacking football. Thus, he believed that England would shift their focus onto defense and stop going on the offense as much for the remainder of the match. When England scored a goal against them earlier, he had yelled at his two fullbacks to retreat backwards and focus more on defense. But now, he considered getting his two fullbacks to go on the offense once again after seeing how England’s subsequent counter-attacks had all failed to threaten Portugal’s goalpost.
Portugal’s current offense lacks depth without the support from the fullbacks, and it would never be able to break down England’s defense.
The pressure on the England defense increased immensely when the two Portugal fullbacks rushed forward to join in the offense.
Twain could tell that Portugal had gained the upper hand in the game as he watched from the side of the pitch. Two of their shots had hit the crossbar successively earlier. If things were to go on like this any longer, England might not be able to retain their lead.
He whistled at the players from the side before gesturing for them to go on the counter-attack.
England found another chance to counter-attack on the 36th minute of the match. Gerrard did a long pass to the front of the pitch, and Downing chased after the ball down the flank. Pepe was prepared to deal with England’s attack this time round. He got Castero to guard the space at the back while he ran forward towards the ball.
There was too much force behind Gerrard’s pass. The ball flew straight towards the corner flag. Most players would choose to give up on such a pass by now, and they might raise a thumb at their teammate and praise him for the pass even if they did not mean it, but Downing did none of those. Instead, he charged towards where the ball was going to land at full-speed.
Downing’s actions caused Pepe to be on full alert. He knew that Downing would be directly facing the goalpost if he allowed him to get to the ball…
The two soon met each other on the pitch, and Pepe immediately tried to push Downing towards the corner flag.
Downing was positioned nearer to the ball than Pepe, but with Pepe defending against him at such a close proximity, he did not know if he could control the ball at his feet once it landed. Even if he managed to control the ball, the position that he is in is unfavorable for him to carry out his next action.
The two of them were inching closer and closer to the corner flag. Out of desperation, Downing jumped into the air and headed the ball towards Pepe. The ball was too close to Pepe for him to react. He could not dodge in time and the ball hit him on the body before flying out of bounds. Downing managed to help the team earn a throw-in from a dangerous position. He did not let the opportunity to counter-attack go to waste.
The England defenders did not press forward during the throw-in. Joe Mattock was the only defender who went up to the front of the pitch to throw the ball. The other three defenders had all remained at the back of the pitch. Michael Johnson also stayed at the back to help with the defense. England wanted to ensure that they had an ample number of players at the back at all times so as to deal with Portugal’s counter-attacks.
Besides the four players who are involved in the team’s defense, every other England player had rushed to the front to join in the offense. Rooney and Mitchell were both positioned inside the penalty box, whereas Gerrard stood alone at a corner and waited for a chance to shoot at the goal from afar. Walcott ran towards the middle of the pitch, and he planned to either shoot at the goal himself or organize a second attack on Portugal’s goal.
Downing was the player who went up to Mattock to receive the throw-in.
Pepe, who stands at 1.86m tall, is Portugal’s tallest defender. He naturally went to defend against England’s tallest player Mitchell.
Mitchell shook off Pepe’s hand that was on his body. “I’d fall to the ground right now if you continue to grab my shirt, Pepe!”
Pepe was not enraged by Mitchell’s words. He grinned and put his hand back on Mitchell’s body. “Be careful not to pick up a yellow card for diving.”
Pepe was well aware that he did not have an advantage in terms of height over other players. Thus, he needs to make use of a bit of brute force while defending to make up for his flaws, or else he would not be fit to play as a center-back. Mitchell was a player that he could not be any more familiar with. He knew that he must never let his former teammate get to the ball. Mitchell, who stands at 2.01m tall, is not like the other giants in the game who are poor at jumping into the air and heading the ball. He is good at both aspects.
Miguel Veloso retreated backwards towards the goalpost and stood next to Mitchell. Mitchell was now sandwiched between both Veloso and Pepe. Veloso and Pepe both play for AC Milan right now, and they are able to coordinate with each other well without the use of words.
Mattock surveyed the situation on the pitch. The only player whom he could pass the ball to was Downing, but Downing was heavily marked by their opponents. Even if Downing managed to receive the ball, he would likely not be able to turn his body around, and the ball would most probably get passed back to him. If that happens, what should he do next? Should he carry the ball forward by himself? Or should he pass the ball? Where should he pass the ball to?
He had to think through all his options ahead of time. He did not want to be in a situation whereby he is at a loss after throwing the ball. He lifted his head to look at the penalty box. Mitchell was the player that stood out the most. He was simply much taller than everyone else on the pitch.
Mattock came up with a plan. He tossed the ball over to Downing and made a gesture for the latter to pass the ball back to him.
Downing knew what he had to do next even without Mattock’s gesture. Vitorino Antunes has been slamming his body into him all this time, and he was certain that he would not be able to control the ball under such circumstances. He did not wait for the ball to land. He kicked the ball over to Mattock while it was still in mid-air.
Mattock stopped the ball with his feet as Downing helped to hold Antunes back. Mattock then took a step back so as to keep a distance between him and Antunes before crossing the ball into the middle of the penalty box without hesitation.
It is a very simple tactic.
But, it is very effective when Mitchell is in the penalty box.
Pepe grabbed Mitchell’s shirt with all his might after seeing the ball fly towards the goalpost. Mitchell tussled and tried to break free from both Pepe and Veloso.
The goalkeeper, Patrício, did not just stand there and do nothing either. He was trying to time his jump and grab the ball before Mitchell gets to it.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye. When Pepe and Mitchell jumped into the air, the ball was already right above the goalpost.
Patrício was a little too slow with his jump. Pepe and Mitchell had already leaped into the air by then, and all he could do was to pray that Pepe is able to stop Mitchell, or that Mitchell misses the shot due to Pepe’s interference.
Unfortunately, he was let down.
Mitchell had jumped much higher than Pepe did. No other player was higher than him now, and the ball was right before his eyes. There is no better chance than this! There is no one who can stop him! Not even Pepe!
“Aaron Mitchell heads the ball! The ball has gone in! A brilliant goal! Well done!” John Motson cheered once again.
The England fans at the stands began singing the song ‘God Save the King’ at the top of their voices to cheer for their team.
“England leads Portugal 2:0 on the 37th minute of the match! Nobody could have expected this! Portugal has 67% possession and they have been dominating the game so far, but it is England who lead by two goals!”
Mitchell flung his arms out wide and ran over to the corner flag to hug Joe Mattock and his other teammates after scoring the goal.
The Portugal players, on the other hand, look like they had just been struck by lightning and they stood rooted to the ground. They could not believe that they were trailing by two goals before the end of the first half since they were the team who has been dominating possession in the game so far…
What is happening?
Based on the flow of the game and the statistics of the match so far, we should be the ones with the lead in the match right now…
Where has it gone wrong?
Where exactly has it gone wrong?
One of the Portugal players shifted his gaze onto his manager, Carlos Queiroz.
Queiroz did not behave like he did previously when England scored a goal against them. He acted with more poise and did not kick the mineral bottle this time round. All he did was stand rooted by the side of the pitch. Just like his players, he too, was thinking about where it went wrong for his team…
Pepe has an inkling as to what went wrong for his team – he was not young any more. Two years ago, he would have been able to interfere with Mitchell’s shot by making use of his outstanding physical attributes to make up for the difference in height between him and Mitchell. But now, all he could do was to raise his head and watch as Mitchell heads the ball into the back of the net…
“F*ck!” Pepe clenched his fists. He longed to hit something to vent his frustration, but there was nothing next to him besides the goalpost.
※※※
The Portugal players looked distraught as they stood on the pitch. Twain, on the other hand, could not stop laughing as he sat at his seat at the dugout. “Haha! Did they think that we’d be happy with a 1:0 score because we are playing counter-attacking football? How childish! Who said that teams who play counter-attacking football cannot score a lot of goals? I’d prove it to you today!”
Most people like to jump to conclusions about how a match had progressed based on the score. Whenever they see a score of 1:0, they would think that the match must have been extremely boring and full of inactivity in which both teams did nothing but defend against each other. Whenever they see scores such as 4:3 or 6:0 however, they would think that it was an intense and wonderful match in which both teams constantly went at each other.
However, reality is brutal. A team is able to – or at the very least has a high possibility of being able to, score a lot of goals even if they play counter-attacking football. The team who dominates possession in the game is never always the team who has the lead in the game.
“Make the score 3:0! Or 4:0! I don’t want any of you to give up on any chance to score a goal! I want this match to be the match that ends Portugal’s journey in the Euro Cup! Aha!”
Twain clenched his fists and spun around once. He could not hide his excitement after seeing how easily his team had taken a two-goal lead over Portugal.
※※※
The manager of the German national football team was taken aback by how easily England had taken a two-goal lead over a decent Portugal side. He was of the opinion that it would be a fierce battle between the two teams since they were both evenly matched, but he did not expect Twain’s team to come out victorious without as much as a scratch on them. The result took both him and his coaching staff by surprise. It looks like they have to re-evaluate Tony Twain’s abilities as a manager…
The Germans were not the only ones who went to watch the match. The French, Italian, Dutch and the Spanish were also there to see how the match between England and Portugal would unfold, and every single one of them was given a rough wake-up call by Tony Twain.
They were all thinking about the same question in their minds: if it was our team on the pitch right now, would we be able to triumph over England’s counter-attacking football?
How can a team break down a rigid defense and deal with a lightning quick counter-attack at the same time? This is a universally difficult problem.
The Italians were not as worried about having to face England. After all, they are also a team that frequently plays counter-attacking football. They were certain that England would end up becoming just like Portugal if they were to go against them.
The England players returned to their locker room with a two-goal lead in the match. The Portugal players, on the other hand, seemed dejected as they walked off the pitch. Anyone who saw how the Portugal players look like right now would think that the match has ended in advance, and that there was nothing to look forward to in the second half.
An Italian ‘intelligence officer’ stood to his feet and stretched before putting away his camcorder. He decided to leave the premises early since there would not be many transportation options to choose from when it gets late. Coming to watch the match today was nothing more than a routine for him due to his job. He did not think that either England or Portugal would face Italy early in the competition. The earliest that Italy would face either team would be in the finals.
Can either England or Portugal make their way to the finals? England needs to think about how they are going to advance to the next round without George Wood first. As for Portugal… Look at how they are playing against an England side that does not even have George Wood in the team! Does Italy even need to worry about such a team?
※※※
Carlos Queiroz should have blown his top after seeing how his team had inexplicably gone behind by two goals at the end of the first half. However, throwing a temper is not his style. His style is to think about where it went wrong for his team and to come up with ways to deal with it in the second half calmly.
He figured out where it went wrong for his team in the first half.
“I think we were too optimistic in the first half. We underestimated our opponents. We kept pressing forward, and that led to a lot of space at the back that England could exploit. The first goal was the key to our downfall, because it completely disrupted our entire plan up till then.” The composed Queiroz analyzed what went wrong for his despondent players. He admitted that he had made an error, although he subsequently also dragged the entire team down with him…
“But, I have no intentions of playing defensive in the second half! Never!” Queiroz could not help but raise his voice as he recalled the look of happiness on Twain’s face after England scored a goal. The glee upon Twain’s face was just like a blade, and it stabbed him on his heart. Queiroz truly hates that man, and anything that makes Twain happy would make him unhappy.
“Do you all think that the match is over? It’s far from over! The England team might think that the match has ended in advance and they might be celebrating in their locker room right now! This is our chance…” He leaned forward and stared at his players, before speaking slowly, “We underestimated our opponents in the first half. But they are the ones who are going to underestimate us in the second half.”
...
Chapter 939 - The First Step Towards Conquering Europe
“Wayne Rooney! Scores one more goal! Just seven minutes into the start of the second half, England scores their third goal of the game! This is an astonishing advantage!”
This time even John Motson’s tone revealed unconcealed surprise.
Not only himself, but perhaps even the most hardcore England fan did not expect their team to have the lead over Portugal so easily.
One must know that Portugal always had the reputation as “the Brazilian team of Europe.” To be able to play so well against Europe’s Brazilian team, it could be seen that the England team’s strength was extraordinary. Perhaps they were not the rumored “Europe’s second-rate team” long ago?
Rooney was very thrilled about his second goal in the game, and his teammates were as excited as he was.
But while celebrating the goal, Twain keenly noticed that the Portuguese players did not look as frustrated as they had at the end of the first half. They should have appeared ashen after three goals, but looking at them now, their expressions did not continue to deteriorate.
What did Queiroz say to them during the halftime interval?
Twain did not think about this question carefully. For him, a one-goal lead was the least secure score. But a three-goal lead was enough to give him a peace of mind sitting in his chair to watch the game. He did not believe that the Portugal team could turn the game around three goals behind. That would be remarkable.
Unless you’re playing with me, God.
Twain glanced up at the sky at the thought of it. There was nothing in the dark blue night sky.
As the captain of the Portugal national team, Cristiano Ronaldo was not the type who could be a leader. But at this moment, he gathered his teammates together.
“It’s not the time to give up yet! If we lose to England here, our UEFA European Championship journey will be over! They are now three goals ahead and will definitely take the enemy lightly. This is our chance! We’ll surprise them!”
He raised his fist and held it out, and his teammates raised their fists to place on top. More and more fists were stacked together. It represented the determination of the Portuguese players.
Ronaldo was thirty-one years old this year. He could still play in one more World Cup. But it would be difficult to say for another UEFA European Championship. He knew that his form would inevitably decline, which was a rule of thumb that no one could escape. Hence he did not want to have any regrets for UEFA European Championship this time. They came with the great ambition to conquer Europe. If they were crushed by the England in the first game they played, how could they talk about conquering Europe?
They absolutely must not lose the game!
※※※
“In the 52nd minute, England take a 3:0 lead over Portugal. It seems that Tony Twain does indeed have some skills. Without George Wood, the England team is even better. It’s really unexpected…”
The Germany manager muttered to himself in the stands. There was much to be gained in today’s game. Initially due to Wood’s injury, the Germans’ intelligence reports believed that the Portugal team was the biggest threat in their group. It now appeared that the information had to be updated and the assessment must be revised.
Similarly, those who had the same thinking as he included the Spanish scouts, the French scouts, the Dutch scouts… and so on other intelligence-gathering personnel who insisted on staying in the stands.
Previously in the domain of the national teams, the popular perception was that regardless of how many glorious feats Tony Twain had achieved at the club level, a football club and national team were two completely different worlds. His outstanding performance in the qualifiers was nothing to go by because the teams in the group were so weak… Danish football and Serbian football had long since fallen.
So, in fact, Twain had not yet proved his ability to coach the national team. Those big shots who coached the national teams were mostly dismissive of him. He was a frivolous young man and a man who was deemed successful due to the media blowing it out of proportions… Here in the arena, actual results spoke louder than words.
Now, Tony Twain used such a beautiful 3:0 score to let those people withdraw their skeptical gazes. It was a beautiful first game.
If they knew each other well, they would definitely come together to pick apart the game so far. But now these “spies” could only give an evaluation in their minds:
“Tony Twain is very strong and needs special attention. Queiroz is already over. His contract expires after the UEFA European Championship. Watching them botched the game for fifty minutes, it is believed that the Portuguese Football Federation will not prepare a new contract for him. He has completely lost control of the team and is in a completely disadvantageous position in the game against Tony Twain…”
Some people cast glances at the Portuguese Football Federation president, Madaíl, sitting on the podium. The old man’s face looked really ugly…
In front of the whole world, his team was humiliated by the England team’s three-goal. It would be impossible for anyone else to smile if they were to be in the same circumstances.
In fact, Madaíl was indeed cursing Queiroz and his forefathers eight generations up deep down. The English Football Association chief executive, Mr. Shaun Harvey was sitting next to him and smiling as brightly as a spring flower. It was simply a blatant taunt. He really could not take this lying down.
The somewhat chubby Englishman had already cheered in front of him thrice. God damn it!
※※※
Both Ronaldo and Queiroz anticipated well. The England team inevitably slackened after a three-goal lead. Whether it was their defense or counterattacks, they were not as aggressive as they were before.
This was a chance for the Portuguese player. If they could not seize it, then their failure would truly be irreversible…
The Portuguese players bet all their hopes in this game and turned out in full force. They did not care how they would defend against the England team’s fourth quick counterattack. Because this consideration was meaningless if they could not get a goal in at this time. It was no difference whether the other team scored ten goals or one more goal.
The Portuguese players’ ferocious attack left the England team in a bit of a mess which also surprised Tony Twain – he did not think that Queiroz’s team really wanted to reverse the natural order of things.
“Ronaldo forces a breakthrough in the middle… He was tripped by Michael Johnson to the ground. A free kick! … Ronaldo himself will take the penalty shot. He stands behind the ball… He runs up and lifts his foot for the shot – the ball goes in! The ball is in!!”
“GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL——!!!” The Portuguese commentator roared excitedly.
The Portuguese fans, who had been silent for most of the game, jumped from their seats.
“The Portugal team gets a goal back … it is completely unexpected, but it does not change the outcome of the game. For the Portuguese fans it is just a goal to save face.” John Motson said. What he said made sense. The English fans were not upset and furious about the goal concede. They still had a smile on their faces – they still had a two-goal lead.
Madaíl stood up and waved his fists for a while before sat down again. After a brief excitement, he still felt depressed. His team needed to score three more goals if they wanted to win… It was too difficult.
The goal concede surprised Twain, who stood up and swore while complaining about his displeasure. But he did not take the goal concede too seriously in his mind. Like the English fans, he felt that there was nothing to fear at all with a two-goal lead in hand.
But the goal greatly boosted the morale and confidence of the Portuguese players.
Just four minutes later, they regrouped and came back even stronger. Meireles passed the ball forward. The player who pulled to the sideline to receive the ball this time was not Ronaldo, but their striker, Yannick Djaló. The not-so-tall black kid was very fast. When he received the football, he ripped apart the England team’s defense.
Then he did not continue to dribble the ball or cut inward to break through. He suddenly raised his foot to cross the ball!
England’s rear defensive line was not tight. Otherwise they would not have been ripped apart by Djaló. They were clearly not as concerned about Portugal’s attack as they had been before. Ronaldo’s free kick which cracked the goal open did not sound the alarm for them.
Djaló’s cross pass did not send the football in front of the goal but crossed it over to the penalty area. Ronaldo, who suddenly appeared in the middle, leapt high over there. He was 1.88-meter-tall and had an excellent bounce. He would occasionally use a header to breach the goal …
“Djaló crosses the ball over … Ronaldo jumps for a header!!”
The football was hit by his head and flew towards the goal. Joe Hart’s standing position had some problems. He was defending the back goalpost but did not expect Ronaldo to head the ball toward the front goalpost … England’s national goalkeeper flew out with all his might but did not touch the ball at all.
Everyone saw the football brushed the nearest goalpost and crashed into the net…
“The ball’s in! A second goal! Ronaldo scores his second goal!!!” The Portuguese commentator went crazy. “GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!!!! This is incredible! We’ve reversed the score with two goals and we’re only one goal behind! Anything is possible! Come on, Portugal!!”
Ronaldo was so excited after the goal that he waved his fists wildly and roared toward the sky. So much so that his teammates were afraid to approach him for a while, for fear that his fists would hurt innocent people.
“It’s really…” Motson did not know what to say for a while. Within four short minutes, their lead had gone from three goals down to one goal and became the “world’s most dangerous score” . . . “Those tenacious Portuguese players, England has slightly underestimated their opponent!” It was not that they had “slightly underestimated their opponent.”
Camp Nou was shaking. The Portuguese fans were stamping their feet and cheering wildly in the stands. Even the camera lenses shook. They saw hope of beating England.
Come on, let’s have a dramatic reversal!
The Portuguese were in full celebration mode while Tony Twain was somewhat flustered and exasperated. He got up from his seat, waving his arms and scolding loudly. He was very unhappy with the performance of his players within these four minutes. “You bastards! I want to see how you are going to wrap this up now!”
The members of the England coaching unit also had grim expressions on their faces.
The England players stood stupefied on the pitch and felt incredulous about the score. There were a number of them who probably had not regained their composure.
It was those people in the stands who were “here to watch the show” started to show smiles on their faces. The game was really interesting…
“… Tony Twain’s team, like his own temper, is a little erratic and shows inconsistencies in its performance. It clearly illustrates a problem under the circumstances of actually allowing the Portugal team to score two goals in four minutes when they have a three-goal lead before…” The German manager added another line in the notebook.
※※※
On the podium, Madaíl cheered from the heart. His current mood was very different from what it was four minutes earlier. Quite simply, he saw the hope of winning. It was right in front of his eyes… He could catch it as soon as he reached his hand out. He no longer cared what that Englishman, Harvey would think of his crazy celebration. He just wanted to show off!
Come on, Portugal!
He roared in his heart.
※※※
Twain dropped the “I want to see how you wrap this up” remark, he sat down in his seat in a huff and waited to see what the overwhelmed players on the field would do. But his stance did not last long. He quickly got up from his seat again and walked to the sidelines to yell, “What are you doing? Now’s the time to buck up! Gentlemen! We’re only one goal ahead. If you still don’t do something, all of us will be the laughingstock of the world tomorrow!!”
“To lose a game with a three-goal lead! We’ll be the first! Do you feel honored by it!?”
He did not make any tactical adjustments because the tactics were not the problem at all. The problem laid with the attitude of those carrying them out. As long as they could adjust their mentality, the tactics would still work.
And he knew that as long as the mentality of the players could be adjusted, the initiative of the game was actually in his hands.
The Portuguese players could not accept the result of a 2:3 defeat. They would continue to attack and fully press on, hoping to take advantage of the England team’s collective distraction to equalize the score, or even overtake…
It was a dangerous moment for the England team. But it was also a time of opportunity… It depended on who could seize it. So, he had to yell at the England players to wake up right away.
Not all England players could hear Twain’s words, but they knew the boss was furious.
He did indeed have reason to be angry. A three-goal lead was reduced to a one-goal lead… It was truly a shame!
※※※
The game resumed and the Portugal team did launch a tidal wave of offensive against England, one wave more powerful than the other. England could only shrink its defense, looking extremely pathetic.
But behind the pathetic scenes, Twain saw what he wanted – his players got their game form back. As long as they maintained their form, England’s defense would be fine.
Portugal also quickly found that their opponent had returned to its normal state and had not been impacted by the previous two goal concede. After weighing the pros and cons, they dialed down the siege against England because they must start to reconsider their defense against England’s counterattack…
Following which, England then organized several counterattacks that were intercepted by the Portugal team’s defense led by Pepe. The game was back in a stalemate after a brief high.
The two managers also kept changing their postures on the sidelines.
At first, Twain was standing on the sidelines, watching the field nervously. Queiroz, on the other hand, sat in his seat, seemingly had a card up his sleeve.
But as time went on, the score still remained at 3:2. After shifting his butt in the coach’s seat, Queiroz finally stood up and walked to the sidelines He made various hand gestures, and an anxious look gradually surfaced on his somewhat suntanned face.
Twain turned around and sat back in his seat. He crossed his legs, ankle over the knee.
As the game wore on, the situation could only get better and better for him. He knew he was getting closer to the first UEFA European Championship victory as the minutes ticked by.
What did it matter that the game was ugly to watch? So, what if it was a narrow victory? It was just an interlude in the process. As long as the result was good, then all was well.
Twain was able to stay calm and composed, but it did not mean that his players could accept the result – the original three-goal lead would have allowed them to finish the game beautifully so that no one would still think that they were a second-rate team in Europe. But the Portugal team’s counterattack in four minutes ruined everything they had done before. No one would remember the glory of their three-goal lead. The three-goal lead could only become a joke and a footnote to the current score. Even if they won, people would just say that, “They were close to losing the game in the situation where they had a three-goal lead. They won narrowly in the end… But that was terrible!”, “They really showed themselves to be a second-rate team in Europe. A bunch of egomaniacs touted by the English media…”, “They are really all made of China, good-looking on the outside but completely fragile. The Portugal team was really unlucky…”
The thought of getting that kind of evaluation made them unable to bear letting the game end like this. Now they wanted more time in the game than the Portugal team so they could continue to expand the score.
Twain used the last substitution spot in the 80th minute and brought Chris Cohen on to replace Downing. He had replaced Walcott with Bentley and Gareth Barry with Gerrard before.
The two wingers he replaced were physically fit. They were able and willing to return to defend in time, which demonstrated his attitude – the heavy emphasis on defense in the final stage.
But the players on the pitch did not think so. They were enraged by the Portuguese players and were looking for a counterattack opportunity in the final moments of the game, like a bunch of hungry wolves who were also baited by their prey at the same time.
※※※
In the 86th minute, the Portuguese players launched an attack. The goalkeeper, Patrício kicked the ball wide into the midfield.
The tallest man on the field, Mitchell, won the fight for the header. He gave the ball to Gareth Barry.
Barry passed the ball to Michael Johnson up ahead. When the Portuguese players realized the control of the ball had changed hands, they hurried back to defend. Three players pounced toward Johnson with the ball at the first instance.
Johnson, a produce of the Manchester City youth camp, showed a remarkable calm composure at this time. He did not rush to put the ball in front of him. Instead, he turned his body and drew the other side’s defensive attention to his side. Then he saw Wayne Rooney plug in from behind!
If he passed the ball over to him, it would be a one on one with the goalkeeper!
At the thought of it, he gave his ankle a shake, and sent the football forward.
Rooney plugged in just in time and got to the ball in between two Portuguese center backs.
“A gorgeous straight pass though the gap!”
Rooney dribbled the ball into the penalty area and saw the goalkeeper, Patrício, struck. He raised his leg to do a long shot!
The football was blocked out by Patrício… the English fans held their heads in their hands and bemoaned the attack.
But England’s attack was not over yet!
Chris Cohen, who had only been on the field for six minutes, appeared on the left side of the penalty area just as the football flew straight into that direction.
Patrício was still lying on the ground. When he saw Cohen, he had a look of horror on his face. Using his hands and feet, he hurriedly scrambled to his feet and jumped toward the goal behind him.
Cohen did not have a single Portuguese defender around him. Johnson and Rooney had helped him attract all the Portuguese players’ attention.
He suddenly slowed down during the run, adjusted his pace, and then picked up his left foot just when the football fell.
He directly volleyed a shot!!
Patrício flew out for a save again, but the football flew past him in front of his eyes and hit the net…
“The ball went into the ——!” Motson’s voice was so excited that it was even a little ragged. “Chris Cohen scored his first goal for the national team! 4:2! England has locked in the win!!”
Queiroz, who was standing on the sidelines, only felt his knees weakened and his body swayed.
While Tony Twain, who was just watching the game just now with his legs crossed, had had rushed to the sidelines at this time. He raised his arms high to announce his victory.
The road to conquering Europe, started with a 4:2 victory over Portugal!
...
Chapter 940 - Next Opponent
Even after a night, there were still a portion of the England supporters who could not believe this fact——They actually defeated Portugal by a 4:2 scoreline.
That match was like a dream and it left a deep impression on them.
No matter what, Portugal was still a traditionally strong team in Europe and logically speaking, they were an equal to the England team. That’s why it was not a big thing that England defeated Portugal, but to be winning so easily with a scoreline of 4:2, that was unusual…
Even though England did not play much better than Portugal throughout the whole match, the scoreline said it all. 4:2 was a score that could really let them hold their heads up high.
The analysis of the English media of this match was very simple, and unexpectedly consistent——It was not because Portugal was bad, it was because we were too good! England was a world-class team. Defeating a strong European team like Portugal 4:2 was normal. The English fans were used to believing everything the media said. Since the media said that England was very good, then England was really good.
For a moment, optimism filled the country and it seemed like there would be no issues qualifying from the group stage. Even winning the European Championship would be a piece of cake.
Eventually, such a thought did not just stay within the country, but it spread to the England team as well.
At first, they thought the match would be very difficult without George Wood. However, they defeated a strong team like Portugal 4:2 unexpectedly and this made them very proud.
The atmosphere during training the next day was very relaxed as they were still talking about the match yesterday and it excited them.
Twain did not mind them. His mind was filled with ways to deal with Germany. Yes, he had skipped over Wales… In his mind, Wales would not pose much of a problem for them even without George Wood. Twain was very clear about their level, coupled with the fact that morale was high since they just defeated Portugal, the match five days later should not be a problem.
Twain announced that they would have the day off after just half a day of training. Half day off today and a full day off tomorrow since they had enough time anyway. The English Premier League was the League with the most intensive fixtures and the England players were more tired than the players from the other leagues. Twain was making use of all the opportunities to give the team days off so that they would not be too exhausted.
The players were very happy as they could go shopping and loosen up.
However, one person did not join them.
George Wood was still doing his recovery training in the hotel’s swimming pool. Even though the coaching team told him that there was no need for him to work so hard, nobody was able to talk a determined Wood out of it.
Twain did not care about Wood either. He decided to give himself half a day off as well as he went to look for Shania. The European Championship was work to him but it was a holiday to Shania.
The two of them explored the streets of Barcelona after some light disguise. There were some football fans who walked past them on the streets but even the English fans did not recognize that the man wearing sunglasses in the company of the beautiful lady was Tony Twain, much less the Wales fans.
England’s next match would be played here in the Nou Camp too. After the game against Wales, they would have to move to Valencia in preparation of the key match against Germany.
“They can only have the mood to shop now,” Twain said as he watched the people around him.
“Will the pressure be greater during the later stages?” Shania held Twain’s arm and leaned on his shoulder.
“Naturally.”
“Isn’t it more important to relax when the pressure is mounting?” Shania smiled cheekily.
Twain used the arm that Shania was not holding on to and rubbed her nose with it.
“I’ll be able to relax when I think about you on the bed,” Twain said, fully meaning the double entendre. Shania obviously knew what he was talking about and she did not hold back under the bright Barcelona sun as she kissed Twain.
※※※
After saying goodbye to Shania, Twain slowly walked back to the hotel that he was staying in.
Some of the players had come back early and were resting in the coffeeshop. When they saw that boss was back, they stood up to greet him. Twain took a glance at them and asked, “Where’s George?”
Everyone knows that the concern that boss had for George was way more than that of a manager towards his player. Therefore, they did not think that it was strange. They looked at each other then shrugged and said, “Didn’t see him. He might be in the room, might be in the swimming pool, or he might be in the gym, boss.”
“Okay…Carry on guys,” Twain waved, left the coffeeshop and walked towards the gym.
He thought that there would be a high possibility that Wood was in the gym.
As expected, he had just reached the when he heard the machines being used inside. The hotel’s gym had already been reserved by the England team and the only one who would be training inside at this time could only be George Wood.
Twain could see that well-built figure that was back facing the entrance when he entered. Sweat glistened on his bare back under the lights.
“Take a break, George,” Twain shouted a little louder.
Wood turned and saw Twain standing at the entrance. He did as he was told and climbed off the machine.
“How do you feel?” Twain walked up to him and gave him a towel.
“Very good,” Wood took the towel and wiped his face.
It looks like you’re recovering very well, I’m relieved,” Twain looked at the big toe on his right foot. One could not tell that there was anything wrong with it with his naked eyes anymore.
Actually, Twain had looked for him because he wanted to tell him something. Ever since England defeated Portugal, he had been thinking about this question.
Logically speaking, a team that had been winning should not be changed easily unless there was a special situation such as injuries. If they were lucky, this team without George Wood would keep winning until the knockout stage without injuries or illnesses, then when Wood had recovered, would there still be a place for him in the team?
Twain did like Wood, otherwise he would not have insisted on bringing Wood to Spain even though he had not recovered fully yet. However, he was not a sentimental person and he was rather practical manager. Since this lineup could bring him victory, then what reasons were there for Wood to interrupt it? Whether it was the results or the unity of the changing room, he had no reason to change a winning team just to give Wood a spot in the team.
That would be wrong and if he did that, he would run the risk of damaging the credibility that he built up internally in the team.
But if he did not let Wood play, what was the point of bringing him to Spain? Wood would definitely not be willing to sit on the bench all the way. It would be fine if they won the European Championship but what if they lost? Wood would probably hate him for life.
That was why he wanted to have a talk with Wood.
“Do you have something to tell me?” Wood saw that Twain was in a daze and he took the initiative to ask.
“Yes…” Twain scratched his head, “George, do you remember what I told you initially? Next to the swimming pool in this hotel. I said that even if you waited till the knockout stages, I cannot guarantee that you would be able to play. Do you know what that means?”
Wood nodded and did not make things difficult for Twain, “I know. The team is winning now, and we should not change the starting lineup easily.”
Twain gave a sigh of relief to see that Wood was so sensible.
Twain did not give him the bullshit talk of,” You’re the captain, you should lead by example” etcetera. He knew that Wood had accepted this fact when he said that.
But Wood suddenly added, “I’ll work hard to get a chance to play.”
Twain smiled, “Don’t overdo it, take care not to hurt your leg again. Go take a break and relax.” He gave Wood a pull.
Wood shook his head and said, “I still have a set of sit-ups…”
Twain shrugged, “If you hurt yourself again, you’ll not have a second chance you know.”
“I know,” Wood had already started to get busy.
Twain waved and turned to leave.
This kid is so fit, how would he hurt himself?
The Gods are unhappy that I have been dominating for eleven years and want to give me some problems?
Damn you God!
※※※
When the English players were relaxing in the streets and sunny beaches of Barcelona, the Wales team were training hard behind closed doors. They were not training as if they were preparing for a group match, but the European Championship final.
Gareth Bale became the focal point of the team because the training during these few days were centered on his specialty——Set pieces.
Toshack had designed no less than ten different set pieces which required Bale to be successful. The whole of Europe knew that Bale was an expert in freekicks. As long as he stood in front of the ball, the opposing goalkeeper would be nervous.
As expected, Wales lost the first group match to Germany 0:3, they did not even get a goal and lost completely. Even though this was a result that the Wales fans had expected, the Wales players were not willing to accept this result. They finally managed to qualify for the European Championship after 40 years, how could they just show up for the group matches and leave? The Wales players who had no hopes of participating in such a massive competition previously started to have ambitions and wanted to prove their worth.
Toshack expected England to take them lightly after defeating Portugal so emphatically and Tony Twain would probably be only thinking about the match against Germany now. That was something that he could take advantage of.
After the training was finished, Bale stayed behind to train his freekicks.
As he had promised, he had arrived in Spain. However, he had no intentions of stopping then. Even when facing his benefactor, he had set defeating him as his target.
Toshack appeared outside the field, “Gareth.”
Bale turned back to look at his manager, panting through his mouth.
“It’s time to go.”
This was not in his club where he could go home himself after additional training. They were borrowing the stadium of Espanyol, Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, and after training here, the whole team would have to take the bus back to the hotel that they were staying at. Bale could not train for too long, otherwise it would affect the whole team’s schedule.
Bale took a last shot towards the goal. The ball curled past the wall, hit the crossbar and flew out.
Someone would pack up the equipment on the pitch after that and Bale left the pitch with his head down.
Bale seemed to be much more mature than before now that he’s 26 years old.
Toshack thought as he looked at his back view.
※※※
The English media had already started to speculate about the match between England and Germany. Every newspaper that an English bought would have a prominent countdown on it, stating the time to the match between England and Germany.
In the buses, on the metro, in the offices, within their kitchens, in the bars, out on the streets… At all the places that people were gathered, they were talking about “Germany’.
The grievances between the English and the Germans were long-standing, so much so that it gave people a wrong impression——Had the grievance between them started ever since the birth of modern football?
At the same time, Wales, being the weakest team of the group, was enough to pique the interest of the prideful Englishmen at all.
“We defeated Portugal soundly with a score of 4:2, do we still need to worry about Wales? Our neighbor struggling under our eyes, so weak that we could not bear to kill them.”
If there was a tabulation, probably a hundred percent of the English fans thought so.
It was not only the English fans and media who were looking down on Wales, even the England players believed that the match against Wales would be insignificant.
When interviewed, Michael Johnson expressed that he had no doubts that his team would be able to defeat Wales and that the team that they should be worried about was actually still Germany.
Mitchell did mention Wales, however, that was only because his good friend, Gareth Bale, was inside the team.
“Bale is a very good player. I think we have to watch out for his free kicks…” He was only talking about how good Bale was and he probably did not even know who the other Welsh players were.
On the other hand, the Welsh players expressed immense respect for England and took the game with England very seriously. They did not seem to be angered by the attitude of the Englishmen and when talking about England, they all expressed their beliefs that England was very strong.
It looked like they were really in awe of mighty England and dared not have any other ideas.
The Welsh media also said that they were very satisfied that Wales could participate in the European Championship and that it was the greatest breakthrough for Welsh football in the past 40 years. They were really too unlucky to be drawn into the Group of Death and it was inevitable that they would not be able to qualify for the knock out stages…
Losing to Germany in the first round had given a very good gauge of Wales’ abilities. Unrealistic hopes would not help the team, they just had to play three good games in the group stages, that was all. At least when they leave the competition, they would not leave without scoring a single goal.
“In the game against England, our target is to score,” Toshack said humbly, “We wish to leave some proof to prove that we were here.”
Then, what were Tony Twain’s thoughts about this?
“Wales is a formidable opponent that we’ll take seriously…” He seemed to be distracted when saying these.
“Talking out of his arse!” The Welsh reporters judged Twain’s performance like this in their minds, “I bet his mind is filled with only ‘Germany’ now.”
Even though they complained that England did not respect their opponents in their minds, the Welsh reporters themselves knew that they had better not harbor any hopes for tomorrow’s match. England’s morale was high and even if they were facing Germany, they would have the belief to win. Not to mention lowly Wales…
Qualifying for the European Championship after 40 long years, yet they could only be the supporting role for the leading characters, the leaf to the rose…
Even though this was a fact, they were still unhappy just thinking about it.
...
Chapter 941 - The Damned Group of Death
The scene today must have come as a surprise to all England people, especially those English players who were doing their warm-up while playing around at Camp Nou last night.
In their minds, the Wales team was just like ants which could be crushed to death with only one finger. The game was used to adjust their state.
But now the ants had taken hold of the elephant, the England team and took a bite in the nose of the elephant. The elephant was in such pain that tears fell.
Three minutes ago, …
※※※
Tony Twain knew Wales would choose a more conservative tactic playing against England and it would be a nice result to be able to tie with England and obtain one point. Accordingly, he also changed his tactics and did not let the team continue to use defensive counterattack. Defensive counterattack was a weapon used against strong teams, or those that consider themselves as strong teams. To fight the weaker teams, taking the initiative to attack was the way to win the game.
Consequently, the situation in this game and that of the last game had been turned around. In the previous game, the Portugal team had fully pressed on the England almost all of the game. While in this game, England would show the fans of the world, both in the stadium and in front of the television, their equally strong attacking ability.
When the other team could not threaten his own team, Twain would also do some “vanity project.”
But the England team had faced unexpected headwinds.
The Wales team must have closely studied the England team’s recent games, especially the games in which they defeated Argentina and Portugal, and then stole England’s “defensive counterattack” tactic during training.
Breaking tight defense was a problem for coaches all over the world. Twain was still feeling smug that he had confounded Queiroz in the last game. But he himself had to face such a difficulty in this game.
What if we could not get into the penalty area? Twain asked the team to step up the long shots. But the team only had Gerrard who was an expert in long shots, so the points of attack was fewer. Wales could easily mark Gerrard and block him from doing his long shots.
Rooney would also pull out to do long shots, but it was not very effective. Mitchell simply disappeared surrounded by the other team’s tight defense.
Wales’ defense was very successful. In terms of offense, their players seemed to have no central core. They would fail nine out of ten times as long as they made physical contact with the England players.
The referee also seemed to have an inclination to favor the weaker team. In more than half of the physical contact between the two teams, it would result in the referee judging that the England players had fouled. Wales was awarded with a lot of place kicks as a result. It was just that the place kicks were not very close to the goal. They were not within an effective range, so there was no way to directly threaten England’s goal. The England players did not take them seriously either.
Twain certainly saw through Toshack’s cunning plot. But he was not worried because it was easy for the Wales, which was lacking in offensive strength, to get a free kick that could directly threaten the goal. After his roars to warn the team off the field, the England players would always pay attention in the spots of their fouls and try their best not to give Wales any place kicks in the danger zone. Even the corner kicks were rarely given to the other team.
Both sides played a dreary first half. The England team could not score, and the Wales team lacked the power to fight back.
Just four minutes into the second half, the Wales team took advantage of their kickoff to go on the offensive for a while and was finally awarded a place kick, directly facing the goal.
“This is the best free kick position Wales is awarded up until now! The distance is a little bit far, thirty meters, but directly facing the goal and attainable on the right and left. Wales should be able to threaten England’s goal as long as they grab hold of the chance and restrain their attacking spree a little.” Even Wales’ own television commentator did not expect Wales to score. To him, Wales’ tactics were nothing more than to ease the pressure on their own defense.
When Toshack saw the team finally received a well-placed free kick, he got up from his seat and walked to the sidelines, watching the field nervously.
They had endured for forty-nine minutes… No, ever since the game with Germany, they had been pretending to be weak up until the present. Now was the time!
He saw Gareth Bale held the football, walked over to the other team’s penalty spot and carefully placed it on the ground.
As an experienced veteran manager, he also felt a little nervous.
Twain Twain was also equally as nervous as Toshack. As the man who personally poached Bale from Southampton to the Forest team, he knew how good Bale’s free-kick ability was. He was already excellent “before.” Later, he became even better after going through his own deliberate cultivation.
George Wood, who had been sitting motionless on the substitutes’ bench like a wax figurine this entire time, had a change in his expression. He looked up and stared at the field with some interest. He was frowning slightly.
A position from thirty meters away might seem a little far, but for Gareth Bale, that was exactly his best range. Bale’s free kick was fast and powerful. Coupled with the right arc, it was downright lethal. He was not the kind of free kick player who would win purely by relying on the arc. So, the longer distance was more helpful to his play instead. Being too close might cause his shot to hit the human wall, or directly overshot the crossbar. Thirty meters… was a good distance instead.
Bale placed the football on the ground. He got up and looked around before he leaned over to rearrange it again, putting the Adidas logo directly facing the goal. Then he got up and took a few steps back. He did not stare at the goal and the human wall but turn his head to look at the sidelines.
He saw the Wales manager, Toshack as well as Tony Twain, who was also standing on the sidelines.
He really did not expect to encounter the boss at such an important game. He had previously promised the boss he would go to Spain, but he also did not expect to become the boss’ opponent in Spain…
Twain noticed Bale looking at himself, so his tense face contorted with a hint of a smile. He would not let the little monkey see his nervousness.
※※※
England’s human wall was finally formed, and the referee backed away to signal that they had to wait for his whistle to carry out the free kick.
Bale did not pay much attention to it.
He found a lot of distracting thoughts popping up in his mind before he carried out the free kick. He thought of a number of things, from his first meeting with the boss off the pitch at Southampton, the first professional contract he signed, and the first goal he ever scored in a game against Chelsea, as well as the boss’ promise to show him a more unconventional celebratory gesture than what Mourinho had.
In the twelve seasons at Nottingham Forest, the memories were always happy as long as they had something to do with the boss. He was unwilling to let go of that feeling.
But it was not right for them to appear at this time…
Bale shook his head and tried to drive away these messy thoughts from his own mind. He was currently competing in the game. How could he let such things interfere with himself?
Gareth Bale stood in front of the ball and took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. His lips moved a few times soundlessly, “We are enemies now, boss…”
In Tony Twain’s teachings, he never allow his players throw a game out in the face of the enemy.
Because Twain instilled a sense of pride in the Nottingham Forest players, the proud Nottingham Forest players could never deliberately throw a game. Wherever they went, the Nottingham Forest players took pride in their origins which made them appear manifestly superior. Being uncompromising and arrogant were their collective trademarks. This was the imposing manner that the team had to dominate European football over the past decade. Even when the boss had already left, the imposing manner remained in the hearts of the old players at Nottingham Forest.
The referee put down his raised-up arm and blew the whistle in his mouth.
Bale glanced at the positional relationship between the human wall, goal and the goalkeeper. He started to run up after he determined how he was going to kick in his head.
The Welsh fans in the stands clapped in rhythm and shouted, “Bale! Bale! Bale! Bale—”
I’m Gareth Bale and I’m from Nottingham Forest. I’ve played for that championship team for more than a decade. Now please take a look at the pride of a Nottingham Forest player!
Bale said this in his heart and raised his leg to kick the ball.
The football quickly flew over the jumping human wall and spun into the net before the goalkeeper Joe Hart could even respond!
The thirty meters gap seemed to be closed in the blink of an eye. The English people had not even reacted when the ball was still spinning in the net inside the goal.
Was that how the ball got in?
It was too easy; it was that easy?!
※※※
“Gareth Bale!” In the deafening cheers of the entire stadium, the Welsh television commentator had to try his best to raise the volume of his shouts so that the Welsh television audience, who was watching the game, could feel his excitement. “A beautiful free kick! He shot through England’s goal!! 1:0! Wales is ahead of England!”
Bale looked so excited to see the free kick go into the goal. He forcefully pulled at his jersey in front of his chest and was soon swamped by his equally excited teammates.
Seeing Bale’s free kick go in, George Wood leaned back into the seat. He had guessed the result because that position was so good…
The boss could have guessed it too, but he definitely did not want to admit it.
Tony Twain was depressed about the goal concede. He was not angry, but depression. He leaned his body back and swore a foul word. The goalscorer was Gareth Bale, so he could not abuse too harshly. But he was still upset about the fact that his team was behind.
“It is an unexpected game, with the Wales team actually in the lead after being suppressed by England for fifty minutes! The trend of this game inevitably brings us to mind the England and Portugal game five days ago! Can it be that England will repeat Portugal’s mistakes?”
Gareth Bale finally broke free from the crowd. He reached his hands out to the Welsh fans in the stands, calling on them to continue cheering and hailing the team. So, the shouts of “Wales! Wales!” in the grandstand became much louder.
As he ran along the sidelines and ran back to his own half of the field, surrounded by his teammates, he passed by the England team’s technical area.
Instead of looking at him, Twain was making hand gestures to the England players on the pitch as a signal to them to step up their attack and not give Wales such a chance for a positional ball again. He had to make some adjustments.
In the crowd, Bale threw a glance at Twain. He saw the anxious look on Twain’s face. What would happen if they did defeat England in the game? Such a thought suddenly flashed across his mind.
Bale and Twain brushed past each other. He high-fived Toshack, who walked to the sidelines, in celebration and then ran back to the field.
※※※
Trailing behind, England launched a frenzied counterattack. In the moments when they had just conceded the goal, they had fully pressed ahead, the Welsh players with no chance to fight back. The football could not get past the center line. England showed their strength. However, Wales’ defense struggled but did well.
Gerrard, Rooney and the other players had been doing long shots repeatedly, but they were simply squandering their chances. Even Gerrard also lost his aim with his long shots.
Wales’ defense was even tighter and more annoying than England’s defense against Portugal. They did not want to leave even the slightest change to the England players. Even if they were rolling and crawling on the ground, they also wanted to make the England players feel their presence during shooting.
They pushed, tripped, bumped into people…they tried every way and means. There was only one purpose for everything – to stop England’s attack and not to let them lift their legs to shoot comfortably.
Soon after, Twain brought off Rooney, who had lost control of his temper because of repeated shooting mistakes. He brought on Agbonlahor to let the team reduce the number of long shots. The frequent cross passes from both sides would also allow Mitchell to fight for the header shots.
Unfortunately, Mitchell could not be effective, wedged between two strong center backs, and England’s luck was completely off today – Mitchell grabbed the ball’s point of fall after much difficulty but with a flick of his head to the back, the ball struck the crossbar instead…
As time went on, the England team became more and more impatient. It was already out of Twain’s control. Every England player on the pitch had only one idea in his head – to shoot at the goal!
As for the set pieces and passing the ball, they all had to give in to this idea. So, when everyone saw the ball, even the center back, Terry also rushed up to try shoot at the goal.
Twain flew into a rage off the field. Shots like that would only increase the other team’s fighting spirit and caused the England team to lose its confidence to win.
To this end he had to replace Michael Johnson, who had completely lost his way.
When England were still trailing behind Wales by 0:1 in the 87th minute, Twain thought about it for a while before he brought off Mitchell and replaced him with James Vaughn. Without his height, the England team could no longer threaten Wales’ goal and the Welsh people had already started to celebrate.
On the substitutes’ bench in Wales, the players stood on the sidelines, arms over each other’s shoulders. They were waiting for the final whistle to blow so that they could rush into the field to celebrate the remarkable victory.
“It’s unbelievable, but this is simply the biggest appeal of football. England, which swept Portugal by 4:2 in the last game, was left helpless against Wales, the weakest in the group. They are falling behind with a score of 0:1. It looks like they have a good chance of losing to Wales. This should be the biggest upset in the tournament so far!”
Bale no longer participate in the offense. He and his teammates formed a human wall in front of the goal and blocked every attack from the England team with their bodies. Their white away jerseys had long turned into the color of green grass, which fully showed how many times they had fallen on the ground.
The fourth official held up a signboard showing three minutes of injury stoppage time on the sidelines. The England fans in the stands booed. They were unable to accept the reality that a strong and invincible England team had lost to their weak neighbor, the Wales team…
What ability do they have to justify defeating us?
“Wales only has one decent enough attack in the entire game, and they grab hold of it. And now they are 1:0 ahead! The proud Tony Twain has no choice but to lower his head…”
On television camera, it just so happened that Twain had bowed his head and pinched his chin in one hand, as if he was in deep contemplation – how did the game turn out like this? An opponent which they had not taken seriously, was crushing them underneath its feet instead.
With his head bowed in deep thought for a moment, Twain turned and walked toward the technical area. He shrugged his shoulders at Walker, who was looking at him, and spread his hands as he said, “We have lost, Des. Reality has proven once again that if you walk with your head held high all the time, you will be tripped by the stone under your feet. Unfortunately, I always forget that…”
Walker was also helpless about the result. He shook head gently and said, “We’ve all underestimated our opponent. It’s not solely your responsibility…”
Behind Twain’s back, the referee finally blew the whistle to end the game amid the cheers of the Welsh fans after he looked at his watch three times.
“The game is over! Wales has beaten England to take three points! That rekindles their hope to advance from the group stage!”
Bale looked around excitedly after the game for people to hug. He was happy like a seventeen-year-old child. It did not match his steady composure during the game.
When he had hugged all his teammates once, he remembered that he should go and say a few words to the boss. But Tony Twain’s figure was already gone from the England’s technical area.
At this point, Tony Twain was examining his mistakes in front of reporters. He said, “I’ve underestimated my opponent. Wales is a very good team. They have good players and coaches. We lost because of this, there’s nothing to complain about…”
A reporter followed up with a question, “Mr. Twain, losing to Wales has cast a shadow over the team’s prospects of advancement. What’s your strategy going to be in response to the final game against Germany?”
“I don’t know yet.” The reporter asked about Twain’s sore point. Initially, his team would have been able to advance ahead of time if they had won against Wales in this match. They could have just deployed their substitute players for the final game and eliminate the threat of yellow cards. Now it looked like the match against Germany should be a life-and-death battle…
If the goal was only to advance out of the group stage, being placed third in the group was also acceptable. But Twain had his eye are on the championship title. England would certainly have to fight for the first place in the group so that they could meet a better opponent in the knockout stages.
But it was that they did not have a chance. If Germany beat Portugal in a later match to take the lead after having won both games, then they should have no reason to fight England to death in the final game, which would be good for England in this way.
The reporters still wanted to ask questions, but feeling in a bad mood, Twain just pushed them aside and hurriedly walked away.
Wood was looking at him off the field while Bale was looking for Twain. He looked at him in silence for a moment, and then also walked away.
The loss to the Wales team had cast doubts on England’s ability to advance out of the group stage. George Wood had already waited for two games. Could it be that the waiting he had done for the last two games would be rendered pointless by the final game?
On his way to the locker room, Wood clenched his fists so tightly till his knuckles turned white.
※※※
Three and a half hours later, Twain finished watching the other game in the group in his hotel room.
Germany had lost with a score of 1:2 after their match against Portugal.
Twain had cheered the German team on for ninety minutes, but it did not change the score. Watching the frustrated German players and ecstatic Portuguese players on the television screen, he rubbed his temples in pain and felt that he was in big trouble this time.
“This damned group of death…” He laid paralyzed on the couch and weakly cursed..
...
Chapter 942 - An Unlucky Year
Germany’s unexpected defeat hurt Twain but filled the media with glee and delight.
After the England and Germany teams beat their respective opponents by an absolute margin, everyone felt that the structure of the group had been shaped and that England and Germany were the two strongest teams. The two teams that would advance were more likely to be them. The only suspense was only about which teams would come in first and second.
That was a good thing for the supporters of England and Germany. However, it was the worst situation for the media which wished for the whole world to be in chaos. They all bemoaned the “group of death” did not live up to its name in their respective positions.
All was good now and the reality did live up to the name. The group of death was suddenly not just in name only, but also in reality. The situation became interesting.
Both teams that had lost in the first round had won in the games while the two teams that had previously won had both lost. After two rounds of group stage games, all four teams had accumulated three points, a situation that was rare in international competitions.
The current situation stood as the Germany team ranked first in the group because of its goal difference. They scored four goals and conceded two goals which gave them a goal difference of two. England came in second with four goals and three goal concedes with a goal difference of one which put them in second place. Portugal had scored four goals and conceded five goals. They ranked third in the table with a goal difference of minus one. Wales was in the last place. They scored one goal, conceded three goals and had a goal difference of minus two.
In the final round, England and Germany would be in a neck-to-neck fight, while Portugal and Wales would fight to the death. Any team could advance, and any team could also be eliminated.
“It’s really the deadliest ‘group of death’ in this tournament!” On Sky TV’s UEFA European Football Championship special, the invited guest exclaimed, “Such a complex situation to see which team will advance is the best out of all six groups. You don’t need us to analyze the situation of the four teams. All you have to do is just look at the points table and you can guess for yourself what’s going to happen next – it’s a mess!”
“Before the second round, the probability of the first and second placed teams in the group losing at the same time was one ninth. When the England team lost to Wales at Camp Nou, the German players might have already be looking forward to their prospects of advancement ahead of time. Who would have thought that the Germans had lost after a wonderful match!” It was a summary from the Spanish state television.
“It’s definitely not good news for the England team to have the Germany team lose even though we have a feud with them that is as long as forty years. Because Tony Twain’s team will have to fight Germany to the death in the final round. Only by beating Germany, they can ensure that they will advance. A loss or draw is to leave their fate at the hands of others.” In a special program for BBC television, experts were giving the England fans an analysis of the situation that had become grim for the England team to advance overnight. “But the England team is missing George Wood and the German team is a very strong opponent…”
“One thing has been proven – without George Wood, the England team is second-rate in Europe. They couldn’t even defeat Wales. Without Wood’s management and defense in the midfield, the England team simply didn’t know how to operate. The 4:2 win over Portugal was a fluke and we should also note that Portugal had the upper hand during the whole game.” This was a Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen program. They were using the program to boost the morale of worried German fans. “It was down to bad luck that we lost to Portugal. The England team’s defeat by Wales was a complete failure. They had twice as many shots as Wales, but most of them missed the goal and were all blind shots… In terms of the team’s situation, we are better than England.”
“Wales beat England and Portugal beat Germany. This is the kind of results that we, the neutral fans want to see the most. Because the final round of the group stage games will be very, very exciting!” China Central Television’s channel five belonged to the neutral party, but the Chinese fans who were supporters of the Germany and England teams accounted for a large portion. While they were “rejoicing in other people’s misfortune” in the program, the online criticism against them would certainly be substantial.
In fact, the evaluation of these media outlets could still be considered fair and objective. Twain was now under enormous pressure – the first opening game was won beautifully, raising the English people’s expectations. However, the second-round game ended in an embarrassing defeat, throwing the England fans who were still flying in the clouds into the mud. Such a huge psychological drop was unacceptable to many people. Those print and online media directed such anger toward Twain. Someone should be held responsible shouldn’t he?
Countless tabloids did not care about the objective conditions and subjective factors. Anyway, the reason for the defeat was all attributed to the manager which was the least troublesome. It could not be helped since Twain gave them something which could be used against him. After the game, he once said in an interview, “I had underestimated the opponent.” The remark became the biggest reason many tabloids attacked him with.
“Tony Twain finally pays the price for his arrogance and conceit, but he has dragged the whole of England’s fate to his grave! It’s simply outrageous!”
“… I really don’t understand such an England team. It was a completely different team from the one which had the 4:2 win over Portugal. What is the reason for it?”
“Merely underestimating the opponent can’t explain the loss. I think England has a major tactical flaw. It goes to show that it’s not possible to just rely on defensive counterattacks alone! He labored under the delusion that he could use the Nottingham Forest team’s tactics on the England team, only to find that it was incompatible…”
“I think the loss of this game speaks volumes about George Wood’s importance. It makes sense for Twain to insist on taking Wood to Spain. But if we have to go home after competing in the group stage, then what’s the point of taking him there? With the last game left, is there anything he still can do?”
“Tony Twain is obstinate and self-opinionated. If we choose to continue to trust him, one day the whole of English football world will suffer!
…
There were too many such attacks. The reporters who interviewed the England team rarely did not have a contradiction with Tony Twain. This time they finally seized the opportunity to take revenge and wipe out the grudge.
Therefore, they attacked Twain and the fans increasingly felt that it would be difficult for the England to advance. As a result, before the game against Germany, the expectations of the fans and the blame from the media gathered from all directions overhead in the city of Valencia, forming a huge invisible pressure which hung over the England team.
Twain was apparently aware of the pressure, so he set himself against the media once again – he canceled a regular press conference. The media could forget about digging any valuable news from him until before the game. The fifteen minutes of public filming every day consisted of nothing else but warmup exercises and more warmup exercises. He also asked the security guards at the hotel they were staying at to clear away those reporters who were wandering nearby. The reporters who were not granted permission were not allowed to enter the lobby.
Such an open hostility with the media had clearly made the media even more dissatisfied. The abuse of him had increased exponentially as well.
The tension was also felt within the England team. After the game with Portugal had ended, there was no shortage of cheers and laughter during training. The training also arranged for a lot of fun games to help everyone relax. But after the game against Wales, all of these games were cancelled. Everyone could clearly feel the increase in the amount of training. Although the boss still had a smile on his face, everyone was aware that it was just there for show. When it came to stress, no one here was more stressed than the boss.
Tensions were heightened in just three days between the second and last rounds of the group stage. What could be changed in three days?
※※※
After the loss to Wales, England’s good fortune seemed to run out overnight.
The day after they arrived in Valencia, they had begun training for less than ten minutes, which was still during the period when the media was free to shoot when David Bentley was suddenly injured in the warmup.
The scene at the time was chaotic. The reporters scrambled to get inside to try and get pictures of Bentley’s injury. Security guards at the scene were busy intercepting those reporters under Twain’s loud rebuke. While Twain was guarding against the reporters, he also wanted to see how Bentley was actually injured. The scene was so noisy that it almost made his head dizzy.
“What’s going on?” Twain squeezed into the crowd after much difficulty and saw Derek Wright, the national team’s team doctor giving Bentley a preliminary examination.
“He has pulled the muscle in his thigh muscle.” Wright replied, “It’s probably a relapse of an old injury.”
Twain frowned. It was not the kind of injury which could be healed in a day or two.
Bentley, sitting on the ground, also looked dejected. He had yet to make his debut at the UEFA European Football Championship this time. He had wanted to get a chance in the upcoming game. Now that he had pulled a muscle in his thigh, he was almost certain to miss the final game of the group stage. And would England still be able to play after the game against Germany?
Twain casually pointed to two players and said, “You two take David by the arm and assist him off.”
Wright followed Bentley and walked to the sidelines, where he had him sit on the ground and massaged his thigh.
The reporters outside the venue were still clamoring and wanted to come in for an interview and to film. They even clashed with the security guards. Obscenities were used as well.
Twain was upset and distracted when he heard such noise. He turned around and walked toward the group of reporters. He pointed his finger at the watch on his wrist and said, “Time is up, the free shooting period is over! Please go back, ladies and gentlemen!” Then he said to the security guards, “Get them all out of here!”
“Mr. Twain! Is Bentley hurt?”
“Mr. Twain, is Bentley’s injury serious?”
“Mr. Tony Twain… Will he perhaps be absent from the match against Germany?”
“If Bentley is injured, will it affect the morale of the team?”
Unwilling to be kicked out like this, the reporters threw their questions at Twain in succession, but Twain did not pay attention to them. He immediately turned around and walked back to the training ground. He shouted to those stupefied players who were somewhat at a loss, “Continue training!”
The reporters eventually dispersed, and calm was restored inside the training ground. Bentley’s injury did not affect the quality of the team’s training nor shorten the time for training. The players’ attention was also concentrated on the training. After all, an injury was a very common thing, not to mention Bentley was not the main player. Even if he could not make it in time to the game against the Germany team, it would not greatly affect the strength of the team.
It was just that the crease in Twain’s frown was getting deeper.
George Wood finished his own training session and went to the sidelines to take a break. He sat next to Bentley.
“Hey, George…” Bentley was a little down. He had an ice pack full of ice on his thigh. “I’m really f**king unlucky…”
Wood glanced at his thigh and said, “It’s just a muscle strain, and it will soon be fine.” He comforted his Nottingham Forest teammate.
“No matter how soon it will be, I still can’t play in the game against Germany any more…” Bentley kneaded his injured right thigh. It would have been better If it had been a muscle strain on his left thigh. He could still grit his teeth and persist. He could not do anything with his right thigh strain. “When the time comes, let’s cheer them on the substitutes’ bench.”
Wood shook his head and said, “No, I want to play.”
Bentley thought he had misheard. He turned his head to look at Wood with his eyes wide open. “If I’m not mistaken, the doctors said you will miss all of the three group games…”
“I feel like there’s nothing wrong.”
Bentley stared at Wood’s right toe and asked, “Does it hurt?”
Wood shook his head and replied, “No, not at all.”
Bentley looked again at Tony Twain who was standing in the distance as he said, “I don’t think the boss will let you play.”
“If we can’t beat Germany, he will.”
“Are you going to risk your career, George?”
“I’m serious.” Wood had finished his break and walked back to the field to continue his individual training.
Bentley looked at his back view and pursed his lips.
“You haven’t trained with us. How can he allow you to play? Don’t be delusional, George…” He muttered.
※※※
“They had just lost to Wales and now David Bentley is injured as well. The England team is having unlucky year…” BBC 5 station’s UEFA European Football Championship coverage was just broadcasting the news they had just received. The chaotic scene on the training ground was aired on the television. If one listened carefully, Tony Twain’s voice could be heard –”What the hell is going on… Damn it, get them out of here! Stop shooting!”
“Although Tony Twain canceled the regular press conference, Derek Wright gave us an interview. He has informed us that Bentley has a right thigh muscle strain and will miss the match against Germany… As far as we know, this is not the first time Bentley has a right thigh muscle strain. Amid the situation whereby George Wood is out due to his injury, Bentley is also on the list of injured players. It looks like luck is not on our side…”
It was probably appropriate to use bleak and dismal to describe the feelings of the English fans. Could this “history’s strongest England team ever” even make it out of the group stage?
※※※
“It’s not even a main player who’s hurt. Take a look at the media’s rhetoric … this is why I hate the media. They always send ice when you need charcoal to warm up, and when you need water to quench your thirst, they deliver dry bread instead – in any case, they only add to the mess.” Twain was unhappy with the media’s hype about Bentley’s injury creating a tense mood. This bunch of English tabloids were so annoying!”
“Can’t be helped, Tony. After we lost to Wales, pessimism prevailed… Any tiny mishap will be overblown indefinitely.” Walker put down the local English newspapers, which was almost covered entirely with disheartening reports.
The two men were talking when there was a knock at the door.
“Please come in.”
The person who pushed the door open was George Wood. This surprised both Twain and Walker.
Wood did not expect that there was someone else in Twain’s office. He glanced at the assistant manager, Des Walker and stood at the door without speaking.
Walker knew Wood must have something to say to Twain, but he did not want an outsider to be there. It must be a conversation between the two of them.
“Well… I’ll my leave first.” Walker tactfully stood up and decided to leave.
“Goodbye, Des. Call me later for dinner.” Twain waved his hand at him.
“Goodbye, Mr. Walker.” Wood watched Walker leave at the door.
“Goodbye, George.”
After Walker left, Twain said, “Close the door, George. What can I do you for?”
Wood obediently closed the door. But he still stood at the door as he said to Twain, “I hope you will allow me to play….in tomorrow’s game against Germany.”
...
Chapter 943 - Feud
Wood closed the door after Des Walker left. The first thing that he said to Twain was, “I hope you can play me in the match against Germany tomorrow.”
Twain was not the least bit surprised after hearing Wood’s words. It was as though he had expected Wood to say what he did.
“That’s impossible, George.” Twain replied Wood with a deadpan expression on his face. “You have yet to fully recover.”
“No, I’ve fully recovered.” Wood performed a series of high knees before Twain to prove that he was saying the truth.
“You are lying, George.”
“It’s my own body. Why would I lie?” Wood asked.
Wood was not able to be as calm as Twain. He took a step forward and stood before Twain. “You told me to wait for three games. But, what if we don’t even manage to advance to the next round? What’s the point in me waiting for three games then? I can’t wait and don’t want to wait any longer.”
Twain gestured for Wood to sit down. He was not used to conversing with another person with his head raised.
“Do you not trust your teammates?” Twain looked at the slightly impatient Wood.
Twain’s words rendered Wood speechless. He could not say, “Yes, I don’t trust them”. He could only say, “No, I trust them”. The moment he says the latter however, he would not be able to insist on playing in the match any longer.
Wood went quiet. He understood why Twain had asked such a question, and he was unwilling to give a reply.
Twain decided to strike while the iron is hot. He continued to persuade Wood to abandon his idea of playing in the match against Germany.
“George, your injury has yet to fully recover. I know that very well, because I have been monitoring your injury with the medical staff every single day. The match against Germany is bound to be an intense match, and I can’t guarantee what would happen next if you were to pick up another injury during the match. For the sake of your professional career, I would not allow you to play in the match.”
“Even if it means we can’t advance to the next round?” Wood asked.
Twain responded calmly, “Yes, even if it means we can’t advance to the next round, I would not take the risk and play you in the match.”
Wood’s face became clouded. The expression on his face was just like the summer weather. It kept changing numerous times before he finally stood to his feet and left the room.
Twain spaced out as he sat in the room alone.
He could not believe how good he was at pretending to be a saint… The last few words that he said to Wood did not come from the bottom of his heart. Or, rather, he was not resolute when he said those words. Which is more important? Results or a player’s future? Such a question would never have appeared in Twain’s mind in the past. The him in the past would have said that he wanted both.
Perhaps the situation isn’t that bad… Twain thought inwardly.
It’s not as if England is incapable of competing against Germany without George Wood in the team.
Walker pushed the door open and entered the room. He saw Twain sitting on the sofa lost in his thoughts.
“Tony?”
“Is it time for dinner already?” Twain snapped out of his thoughts and asked.
“No, I just came to take a look at you, and I also wanted to ask you about how things went with George.” Walker took a seat next to Twain.
“He wants to play in the match against Germany, but I rejected him.” Twain said nonchalantly.
“Did you struggle when you made the decision?” Walker asked with a smile.
“No.” Twain lied.
Walker hesitated for a moment before asking, “Tony, what do you think about our chances of winning against Germany?”
Twain glanced at his assistant. “It’s not about our chances of winning, Des. We definitely have to win, or else we are going to die.”
※※※
Three days is really too short a time. The bus trip from Barcelona to Valencia takes up half a day, so essentially, Twain only has two days to prepare for the match against Germany.
Before most people even knew it, the match between England and Germany was about to kick off.
The fact that both George Wood and Bentley are going to miss out on the match due to an injury, and the fact that England’s future in the Euro Cup hangs in doubt after losing to Wales are nothing more than ‘icing on the cake’ for the match. Even if both teams won both their previous matches and go into this match ensured of their qualification into the next round, this match between England and Germany will still attract attention worldwide. Tony Twain might not care about who wins the match, but the England fans do.
The feud between England and Germany football is one of the longest-standing feuds in the world. Both teams have competed against each other for over a century. In the first fifty years, England dominated Germany, but in the later years, Germany became the England fans’ eternal nightmare.
The very first time both teams played against each other was on 20th April 1908. Back then, the arrogant England team, otherwise known as the ‘Founder of Football’, taught the rookie Germany football team a lesson by defeating them with a score of 5:1. England might have won the match, but they acted snobbish after the match, and said that it was ‘humiliating of them to have allowed Germany to score a goal’. A year later, both teams faced off with each other again, and England slaughtered Germany with a 9:0 score on their second meeting. Till this day, the 9:0 victory remains the biggest winning margin either team has managed to achieve against each other.
England was able to achieve 10 wins and 2 draws in their first 12 matches against Germany. The Germany team right now might be known as the ‘King of Europe’ with three Euro Cup titles and three World Cup titles under its belt, but the Germany team back then was nothing like it. Football in Germany back then was still chaotic, and it was no surprise that they lost to a powerhouse team like England.
But, the rivalry between both teams deepened immensely during the 1966 World Cup that was held in England. England was able to lift the World Cup trophy for the very first and only time in its history by defeating Germany 4:2 in the finals with the help of a controversial goal. The controversial goal was scored by Geoff Hurst, who subsequently went on to become England’s ‘national hero’ for his hat-trick in the match. Germany’s legendary striker, Uwe Seeler, looked extremely despondent as he walked off the pitch with his head hung low after the match. This scene of Seeler had been captured by photographers, and the British press would constantly bring up the photo and scorn the Germans for ‘losing to them yet again’.
The match hurt the Germans so deeply that they still complain about the referee error that had cost them their fourth World Cup title even till this day.
Until 1966, the British have always gone into every match against the Germans full of confidence, because they have never lost once against Germany yet.
However, things turned 180 degrees two years later. Franz Beckenbauer, who is nicknamed ‘The Emperor’, scored the goal that ended Germany’s winless streak against England. His goal marked a complete change in fate for both teams. For the next 40 years, England never once won against Germany in the big matches… It did not matter how those matches had progressed. England always came out as the loser.
During the quarterfinals of the 1970 World Cup, England led Germany 2:0 at one point, but Germany managed to come back from behind and score three goals under the guidance of Beckenbauer, and they eliminated England from the competition.
In 1972, England fell before Germany once again. Beckenbauer led his German teammates to a 3:1 victory over England at the Wembley Stadium, and Germany managed to secure a victory in the Euro Cup qualifiers. Thereafter, the British gifted the nickname ‘Emperor of Football’ to Beckenbauer.
During the quarterfinals of the 1990 World Cup, Germany defeated England on penalties. Nottingham Forest’s legend Stuart Pearce missed a crucial goal, and the current assistant manager of the England national team, Des Walker, also played in the match.
The Euro Cup was held in England in 1996. The British thought that they would be able to make use of their home advantage to lift the Henri Delaunay Trophy for the very first time in their history, but unfortunately for them, they ran into Germany in one of the matches. The Germans fought hard and they managed to force the hosts into a penalty shoot-out. The England players lost their composure during the shoot-out and was eliminated from the competition ultimately.
The proud British were not able to accept the fact that their team had lost to the Germans consecutively, and that set off their rivalry. Ever since then, every match played between England and Germany has been exciting to watch. It did not matter if the match is only a friendly. Both teams would always give their all.
England’s starting center-back and former captain, John Terry, once said that there was no such thing as a ‘friendly’ whenever England plays against Germany.
Many memorable football quotes in England came from matches where England faced off with Germany. One such quote came from the famous British commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme during the 1966 World Cup finals match in which he said, “They think it’s all over… It is now”.
When England was eliminated by Germany on penalties in the 1990 World Cup, Gary Lineker said after the match, “Football is a simple game. Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win.”
However, not every win over Germany becomes a pleasant memory for the British. For example, England won Germany 6:3 in a friendly match that was held at Berlin in 1938, but the England players were forced to do a Nazi salute prior to the start of the match. The British deem that gesture to be a great insult against them, and they all refer to this victory as a ‘humiliating victory’ even till this day.
England and Germany were more evenly-matched in the 21st century. Both teams won some and lost some matches against each other, and England even managed to win 5:1 against Germany once. However, on the whole, the England players always seemed to display a lack of confidence during matches against Germany. The last match held at the old Wembley Stadium before its demolition should have been a meaningful and memorable match for the England national team, but Dietmar Hamann’s goal put the entire team to shame.
If Twain was asked to discuss about the differences between England and Germany, he would say that England is just like a pretty vase that is mesmerizing under the light and highly sought after by others, whereas Germany is just like a black and dull rock. It doesn’t matter if one uses the vase to hit the rock, or the rock to hit the vase. The one that suffers the most would always be the vase.
Twain has an impossible mission on his hands. He has to fight the rock with the vase, and he also needs to ensure that the vase remains in one piece at the end of it all.
※※※
“We can lose to anyone else, just not the Germans!” The England fans marched into the stadium carrying banners with the aforementioned words written over them. The words reflected the voice of every British right now. The match between England and Germany seized the attention of the entire nation, and even the Queen asked the question, “Can we beat Germany?”
The Queen’s words became the headline for numerous newspapers. The Times responded to her words underneath the headline with, “Yes, we can!”
The Sun published an inspirational article that described how their Queen had led the nation to a great victory against the fascist Germany more than 60 years ago as a child. They wrote that it was time for the entire nation to fight once again. They ended the article with the statement, “We can definitely win this battle!”
Unlike England, Germany was much more nonchalant about the feud between them, and they did not react as strongly as them. This has always been the case in the past as well. The British have always been the ones who are obsessed about the feud, and the Germans usually use much more subtle ways to express their thoughts and feelings. For example, the Das Erste channel in Germany re-analyzed the Hurst’s goal from 1966 before the match. They made use of cutting edge technology to restore scenes from the match, and they proved that the ball had not made its way over the line entirely. Hence, Hurst’s goal from 1966 cannot be counted as a goal. The ZDF channel in Germany also showed highlights from the past World Cups. They showed the scenes of the Brazilians lifting the Jules Rimet trophy three times and they also showed how Beckenbauer had persevered in a match with a bandage around his shoulder, but they did not show Hurst’s controversial goal. Additionally, they ranked Maradona’s goal in which he had gone past five England players before scoring as the second best goal scored in the competition. As for the first? It was obviously Maradona’s ‘The Hand of God’ goal that he scored in the same match! That particular goal was replayed five times, and it even caused the audience to wonder if there was a problem with their TVs…
The fans of both countries congregated outside the Nou Mestalla stadium situated in Valencia four hours before the match is due to kick off. Everyone was waiting to make their way into the stadium. Valencia had stationed almost all of their police officers outside the stadium, because the England and Germany fans have a bad reputation all around the world and are known to get into fights. Not only that, the Valencia government also imposed a temporary ‘alcohol ban’ due to the match. The shops that are situated within a 15-kilometer radius of the Nou Mestalla stadium are prohibited from selling all alcoholic beverages four hours before the match all the way till four hours after the match.
The England and Germany fans were made to take different routes towards the Nou Mestalla stadium, and they would also have to take different entrances to get into the stadium. There is also a space that is deliberately left in between the two groups of fans at the stands, and it is occupied by heavily armed riot police. The Valencia government had clearly put in a lot of effort to prevent potential clashes between the two groups of fans.
“This looks like the kind of security that you’d find at the finals of the World Cup.” The England press was awed by what they saw.
Despite the Valencia government’s best efforts however, the fans from both sides were still able to get in each other’s faces.
The German fans made a gesture to the BBC cameras that implied that Germany would win England 3:0. The England fans, on the other hand, made a gesture that implied that England would win Germany 5:1. 5:1 was the score that England defeated Germany with during the qualifying stages of the 2002 World Cup that was held in Germany in September 2001. Michael Owen scored a hat-trick in that particular match and was also awarded the Ballon d’Or in that same year.
The German fans raised their middle finger at the England fans in the distance and yelled at the top of their voices, “You guys are nothing more than a second-rate team in Europe without George Wood in your team! Even Wales can defeat you!”
The England fans sang the Germans’ cheer as a rebuttal, “Mr. Sammer (Matthias Sammer is the manager of the Germany national football team), who are you kidding? Matthias, you lead a team of pigs… We would kick every single one of you back to Berlin. Tony Twain and his kids would say, ‘Thank you, Germany!’ The Euro Cup is right in your hands, our dearest Sir George…”
Look at how the Germany and England fans are getting in each other’s faces. It is as if the only participants in the World Cup are Germany and England, and the other powerhouse countries such as Spain, Italy and France did not even participate…
When the buses carrying the players from both teams appeared before the fans, the atmosphere outside the stadium instantly became feverish. The England and Germany fans began chanting the names of their football players to cheer them on. The 36 degree weather did not seem to be able to shut them up.
“England! England! God save the Queen! The Queen will save England!” The England fans waved a white flag with a red cross on it at the bus.
“March forth, St. George! March forth, England!”
“Fight to the death and never give up! We are the invincible England army!”
“F*ck the Germans! F*ck their asses!”
“Ohhhhh! England will definitely win!”
The fans started roaring hysterically. Their roars and vulgarities seeped through the windows, and everyone in the bus was able to hear everything that they said clearly.
The England players were not surprised by the fans’ uproar. In truth, they were feeling just as crazy as the fans… This is a match between England and Germany. There is no need to motivate any of the players for this match. Every single England player knows the significance behind the match.
Twain whistled at the sexy female fans who were blowing flying kisses his way. “Looks like the pressure riding on our shoulders is immense, lads. But, that’s okay. This is exactly the kind of match that I want to play in. A feud that has lasted for over a century! A game in which both teams would fight to the death! The winners would step over the bloodied bodies of their opponents… The thought of that excites me! I believe the Germans must feel the same way as I am right now! Ha!”
He clenched his fists and felt his body shiver slightly. But, it was not out of fear. It was out of excitement instead.
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Chapter 944 - The Sunlight is so Blinding
The Mestalla Stadium was known as “The World’s Best Football Stadium”, but this title should be in the “Crimson Court” head.
The former world’s best stadium’s dressing room had a great soundproofing effect. Even if there were roaring noises outside,no sound could be heard from inside once the doors were shut.
However, the dressing room was not quiet at all. The highlights of England’s 4-2 victory over Portugal on the big-screen LCD TV and the passionate voice of BBC TV ace, John Motson, were echoing through the spacious dressing room.
In the pre-match dressing room, music might have been played with Motson’s voice in the background today. The players changed into their jerseys and glanced up to the television screen from time to time.
This was arranged by Twain on purpose. Even though the match with Germany was a game that did not require much mobilization, he still wanted to be safe.
After Twain noticed that everyone has changed into their jerseys, he lowered down the volume for the television. Everyone knew that the Head Coach had something to say.
“Since our match with Germany is a match that doesn’t require much mobilization, I will not say much.” Twain coughed and cleared his throat. “I’m not worried about your fighting spirit, but I am afraid of your overzealous enthusiasm.”
The players all looked at each other, wondering why the Head Coach had to say that.
“Enthusiasm is great, but you can’t win at football just with enthusiasm. We have to keep calm and our minds clear in order to play well. Do you want me to give you an example? In the FA Cup finals between the 90th and 91st, Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest, Gazza (Gascoigne) was clearly overly excited. Though he did not hurt his opponents, he injured himself instead. I hope that I would not see this kind of situation when the game starts. Keeping calm at all times will help us to win.”
“There has been a lot of pressure out there and logically, I am supposed to be calming you down and say, ‘Don’t worry, it’s like a normal friendly game.’ However, this does not work today. We are up against Germany, and we all know what kind of opponent it is. If I really say, ‘Let’s face Germany like a friendly match!’ All of you are going to think that this Head Coach cannot be trusted and does not understand the situation at all. Therefore, what I would like to say to you all is …”
Twain took a deep breath and was not in a hurry to complete his sentence as he wanted to give the players time to brew their emotions.
“Yes! Even if we lose to Germany, we still have a chance to advance to the knockout stage, but is that what you all want? Losing to Germany, as the third team to barely qualified, would be the world’s joke! Think about the performance of the first game, and then look at the present, the gap is so big, can you all accept it?” Twain points to the television screen behind him. ” Anyways, I cannot accept it.”
“The fact is, defeating Germany and stepping on their bodies for the quarter-finals is the best result. Guys, I have said enough, what you all should do, you guys should know by now right?”
With that, Twain clapped his hands and opened the dressing room door.
※※※
“Is it good for both sides to draw? If the result of another match is decided, then Germany and England will be in the second and third place. The third place will probably finish third in the top four, relying on this to advance to the knockout stages. If so, England will be in third place. However, this is not guaranteed, thus I do not think the two teams will choose to draw. Whether it is Tony Twain or Matthias Sammer, their goal is clear – it is victory. Only by defeating the opponent, you will ensure that you will be able to leave the group stage and place destiny in your own hands. This is also the dignity of being a strong team.”
Before the match began, the television station in charge of broadcasting the match was inviting professionals to analyze the situation of the two teams, using this way to inform the audience how important this match is.
“We have just received the playing rosters of both teams. Both coaches are cautious and did not announce their starting line-up until the last minute. Now, let’s take a look… There are rumors in England before the game that George Wood would make an early comeback in a life-and-death battle with Germany to help the team win. However, from the list we got, Wood is still on the bench. He is replaced by Michael Johnson. I am sure Coach Twain would not fail to understand the importance of this match, hence for a match like this that he still does not let Wood play, it might look like Wood’s foot injury being not recovered was a matter that was totally unquestionable… It is really a sad tragedy for England, as if Wood is healthy, they believe it will definitely not be a problem for them to get out of the group stage, but today they are going to fight Germany for a qualifying place…”
“On the England side, the goalkeeper is still No.1 Joe Hart. The defenders are Joe Mattock, John Terry, Steven Taylor and Micah Richards from left to right. The midfielders, standing parallel to each other, from left to right, are Chris Cohen, Michael Johnson, Steven Gerrard, and Walcott. The two forwards are Wayne Rooney and Aaron Mitchell. There are 2 changes to the line-up in the first two games, which is when Richard replaces Glen Johnson as the starting right-back. In fact, Richard is more of a center-back in Manchester City however, he can be a guest at right-back. Twain positioned him to be at the right-back, obviously, he fancies his excellent defensive skills. Another change is Chris Cohen’s replacement for Downing. Downing is fast and sharp in attacking but his defensive skills are not as flattering. On the other hand, Chris Cohen’s biggest trait is ‘equilibrium’, his offensive and defensive skills are both average, with no obvious shortcomings. He also has excellent physical strength, good passing technique and at the same time, he consciously retreats to defend for the team. Furthermore, Chris Cohen and Joe Mattock are from Nottingham Forest Club, where they developed their rapport with each other will definitely help England at crucial moments.”
“Look at the German side… The goalkeeper is No.1 Rene Alder. The defenders are Marcell Jansen, Heiko Westmann, Per Mertesacker and Phillip Lahm, from left to right. The four midfielders are positioned like a diamond shape. Simon Rolfes at the back, Toni Kroos, a genius from Bayern Munich, at the front and Bastian Schweinsteiger on the left and Sami Khedira on the right. The two forwards are Lukas Podolski and Mario Gomez.”
※※※
As the starting lists of both teams were announced on television, players from both teams were lining up in the ramps of the new Mestalla stadium to enter.
The players at the New Mestalla stadium were separated in the middle of the tunnel, and there were two exits for the two teams. This design naturally avoided minor clashes between the two teams that have had long old feuds.
With the lines of the football field being the boundary of the players, the fans on the stands are divided into two sides. Germany’s exit was close to the stands of the German fans while England’s exit was close to the stands where the England fans were. Such an arrangement would give both teams the loudest cheers when they enter the field, and they would not have to worry about any foreign objects being thrown at them.
“Guys, it’s time for us to play!” John Terry, wearing the captain’s armband, turned his head and shouted to his teammates behind him. Meanwhile, on the other side, Schweinsteiger was shouting the same thing.
Amid the deafening shouts, players from England and Germany rushed out and stepped up to the field.
“They’re out!” Everyone in the stands, on the television broadcast stand and in front of the television shouted.
England wore their red jerseys, while Germany wore their traditional white tops and black shorts. Players from the two teams held their heads high as they walked to the field and the high-profile British-German war was about to begin.
The atmosphere on the pitch was a bit of a frenzy, with both England and Germans cheering for the teams in the way they were good at, shouting the names of the players. The temperature in the pitch had risen a few degrees as compared to the outside of the stadium.
The match was scheduled to take place at 5 pm local time. The sweltering midday heat had not dissipated, but it was nothing to them in front of their enthusiastic fans.
Twain stood in front of the coach’s seat with his hands in his pocket. Today, he did not wear a suit, he only wore a shirt with a tie. However, before the game began, the back and underarm of his shirt were soaked in sweat.
People sweat when they were excited, nervous or afraid. The atmosphere of the stadium caused Twain’s heart to beat faster and sweat profusely — he was excited.
The frenetic atmosphere did not stop until the national anthems of both countries were played. Both England and Germany could hear occasional boos as their national anthems were played. Both countries have had a long history of feuds in football, and even on occasions where they should have shown respect for their opponents, it had inevitably become a stage for mutual provocation.
After the necessary procedures, the players from both sides stood on the field, waiting for the kick-off.
The afternoon sun was shining, causing the green grass to turn white. The German team’s white jersey almost integrated into the background which was painful, making people dare not look straight for too long.
Twain suddenly cursed. The Germans had taken advantage of the sunlight and England was at a disadvantage even before the match began. If he had known earlier, he would have insisted on choosing the white jersey and let the German team wear the red one…
Although the new Mestalla stadium is cleverly designed, the two sides of the game did not have backlighting and backlight settings. However, the snow-white jerseys reflected the bright sunlight, making their figure look dazzling which is something the stadium’s lighting could not change.
Looking at the expressions of the England players now… They are all squinting, frowning and looking sideways at their opponents. They cannot seem to stare at them for too long and glanced away from them or else their eyes would tear up.
Only then did Twain realized he was not mean enough because he did not realize the use of sunlight. He did not expect the Germans, who were honest, to play a trick like this. Was it intentional or pure coincidence?
He now missed his pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses, and he could not keep an eye on the German players for too long. Lowering his head to avoid the glaring sun, he cursed under his breath. He could definitely get someone to retrieve his sunglasses for him and become the first football coach to wear sunglasses to direct the game on the side-lines, adding another splash to his personality book. However, that would not help the team. On the contrary, he would make the players feel abandoned.
Hence, Twain had to endure the dazzling jerseys and he chose to stand with the players.
Even the referee had to put his hand on his forehead as he looked at the players on both sides. He then blew the whistle for the start of the match, after proofreading the match with the fourth official on the field.
“The game begins! England kick-off!”
※※※
The dazzling sun and the white grass, as well as the German’s jersey, caused lots of trouble for the England team. As soon as the Germans moved, the dazzling whites followed the eyes of the England players, as if someone was holding a mirror and playing a game of reflecting the sun in front of them.
Do not underestimate such details. When the line of sight was disturbed, the players would naturally become restless and their attention and their ability to concentrate would be affected. Just look at Michael Johnson’s direct pass of the ball out of the side-line without a defender and you could see how much trouble this small detail caused England.
Although such an impact was not decisive, it was important to know that England was going against Germany and not just any other person. Any mistake could cause serious consequences in the face of such an opponent.
At first, Twain arranged for the team to attack first, trying to use the continuous attack to boost the team’s morale. However, the England team gave up the ball easily and retreated. Few minutes later, the German team returned to defence after full press(?) England team was not willing to give up and they were trying hard to find an opportunity to attack. Once the ball is in their possession, four or five players from the England team rushed to the opponent’s half with all their might and in high spirits.
But Twain frowned.
The feud between the English and German team had made the members of the England team unable to stand any grievances due to downwind. Winning was a good thing but when blood surged and all reasoning was lost, good things would become bad things.
In this situation, the German team has obviously used the natural conditions as an advantage to gain the upper hand, so the England team should remain calm and shrink the defence line. Usually, that was what the England team would do but today’s opponent was special, so England team’s players only thought about attacking.
Twain knew that this could not go on. He had to bring the players back on track.
He walked to the sidelines and shouted towards the players closer to him, “Shrink the defence line, we need to counterattack! Stop going on full press! Pay attention to the space behind you! ”
Those few players would naturally relay his instructions to the whole team, so it will now depend on the England team players if they are able to calm down.
After Twain shouted, England team’s defense stabilized significantly. They no longer blindly pressed forward and use their advantageous number to achieve victory.
The match returned to Twain and England’s team habitual defensive counterattack.
Twain did not mind that the game was played less beautifully but the fans definitely could not stand the England team playing so cowardly and as a “p*ssy”. The Germany team fans thought that their team had the upper hand, as they kept singing in the stands and cheering for their team, demoralizing the England team at the same time.
However, Sammer was not as excited as the fans. Once he saw Twain shouted and England team started to recover, he felt that things were not so good. He instructed people to specially collect information on the English and Portuguese teams. England had already gotten very comfortable with the plan of defensive counterattack under Twain’s guidance, so if the team continues to attack England team on full press…
He recalled that match where England team won against Portuguese team with 4:2, the German team today seemed to be the same as Portuguese team yesterday.
Thus, he walked to the sidelines and blew the whistle.
German fans must be very hopeful to see their team painstakingly destroy the England team. Even if they could not score, it would still be satisfying to see the German team attack on full press, leaving England with no retreat.
However, Sammer did not do as what the masses expected.
After attempting to besiege the England team for ten minutes, the Germany team pulled back and started to circle round and about the midfield with England team.
Such changes were naturally considered in terms of the team safety but the fans who were watching were extremely dissatisfied.
Just like that, the match that was supposedly groundbreaking, became dull as both coaches were more concerned about the results.
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PS, the great battle is about to begin, please support with your monthly subscriptions~~~ (To be continued, if you want to know how the story continues, please log into www.qidian.com, where there would be more chapters, support the reader, support legal reading!)
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Chapter 945 - Momentary Oversight
The boring match brought more focus to the temperature and the fans in the stands kept fanning whatever they had in their hands to produce some sort of breeze to take away the summer heat.
The commentator had reminded them no less than a few times that it was 36 degrees Celsius now. Under such a high temperature, time seemed to have slowed down and was about to be solidify…
The rhythm of the match was slow and peppered with mistakes for both sides. Exciting parts of the match were few and far between. This was not what a match between England and Germany should be like.
Compared to the fiery scenes before the match, the difference was massive. Only the most die-hard fan could remain passionate in that situation.
An example would be Fat John and the gang. Fat John took off his shirt and exposed his fats as he led his buddies in their songs and applauses cheering for England. They were located directly under the sun and their sweat on their bare chests glistened under the sunlight, blurring the England flags that were drawn onto their chests.
“In this 36 degrees heat, the players of both sides seem to be still groggy from their afternoon naps. Look at this, Schweinsteiger actually didn’t manage to get a hold of this ball…was the pass too fast? There is nothing wrong with the pass from Toni Kroos.”
Schweinsteiger knew he was at fault too as he turned back to give his teammate from Bayern Munich a thumbs up for the pass.
Sammer observed for a while longer and decided that England’s counterattack did not pose a threat to the German backline. Therefore, he readjusted his tactics, made his team press up more and make use of the width to find Mario Gómez inside the penalty area. At the same time, he asked them to take more long shots to break down England’s defense.
After Germany started to take the initiative, there was some difference in the situation. At the very least, there were more shots for one of the sides.
The Germans started to make some noise again whereas the English appeared to be lethargic.
They were starting to get used to Twain’s way of doing things, but they had hoped to be able to get the better of the Germans not just in terms of the results but also in terms of the play.
“Even if we win, this is rather depressing…”
There were some England fans grumbling in the stands.
Of course, the fans were not the only ones who thought that way.
※※※
“I don’t think we should just wait for them to attack us all the time!” Walcott shouted while defending a corner.
“What are you trying to say Theo?” One of his teammates asked him.
“We should take the initiative and try to attack!” Walcott said while raising his fist.
“Cut the crap Theo. Do what you have to do…” John Terry, the captain, shouted at Walcott who was not in position yet as he pointed at the penalty area.
“Yes, defense. Defend, defend… I got it.” Walcott shook his head and walked away.
Walcott performed admirably in the first match and resigned his two competitors to the bench, strengthening his hold on the position of right winger. However, he was unable to score in the second game, just like the rest of his team. Now, he hoped to prove himself again in the match against Germany and show the manager what he could do.
“Watch your man! Don’t let him lose you!” Terry shouted after putting Walcott in his place.
Walcott did not care about that. He did not have the physique or the height and jumping abilities anyway. He just had to put on a show when defending corners, there was no need for him to really do anything at all.
His mind was filled with thoughts of attacking and he was focused on looking for defensive loopholes within the German team.
To him, this might be a good opportunity. Didn’t Boss always say that the opportunity to attack lies hidden in every defense? Now that Germany have a corner kick, their center-backs will definitely press up in attack as well. Their defense will be weakened and now is the best time for him to make use of his speed!
Walcott looked at Mertesacker and Westermann who were jostling with Terry and the others inside the penalty area. The two of them were 1.98 meters and 1.9 meters tall respectively, much taller than Terry and Taylor. The English defense were in a panic just because they were standing in front of goal. However, Walcott thought that was not a bad thing. At the very least, the Germans would never expect their corner kick to become an opportunity for him.
Who stayed back in defense? Jansen, Rolfes and the goalkeeper.
Rolfes was slow, however, Jansen was a problem. The wingback was also a very fast player. If he wanted to get past him, Walcott might have to go to the other side. Jansen was a left-back and his position was directly against the right winger Walcott. Walcott was not afraid of competing with another person in terms of speed, however, in such a crucial moment, it was best to minimize any potential problems and he did not want to overextend himself either.
Next, Walcott started to imagine the possible obstacles that he might face. In his view, the most problematic part was the distance for his acceleration. There were many opponents and very little space, that meant that his speed would not be very effective there. The best way was for his teammate to help him. However, Walcott was worried that the speed of the attack would be slowed down if he passed to his teammate and his plan would go down in smokes. In this situation, he was the only one that he could trust.
He had no choice but to dribble past the defending players with his skills then accelerate and speed through the midfield.
Toni Kroos did not go into the penalty area, choosing to wait for an opportunity outside the box instead. He was a pure attacking midfielder and he did not know how to defend. He was also not the type of players who would put himself in danger in order to stop an attack from the opponent. If Walcott was to breakthrough from his side, he would at most extend his leg in a feeble attempt to stop him. After Walcott decided on a path to breakthrough, he shifted a little to the outside and hoped that the ball would successfully reach him.
He would raise his hand to ask for the ball if Joe Hart caught it. There should be no reason why Joe Hart would not give it to him. If the defenders cleared the ball, then it was up to him to make a correct judgement about where the ball was going to be…
When Lahm placed the ball at the corner, there were a group of English fans behind him in the stands. Those fans kept giving Lahm the middle finger and insulted him using vulgarities that he definitely understood. However, Lahm was unmoved, as if it was mere air behind him. He stepped back after placing the ball and waited for the referee’s whistle.
He had to wait for a rather long time as there were some altercations inside the penalty area between the players of both teams.
Mertesacker was 1.98 meters, Westermann was 1.9 meters, Gómez was 1.89 meters and Khedira was also 1.89 meters. There was a suffocating pressure in front of the England goal when these four giants stood around it. Terry, Taylor and Joe Hart felt very anxious. Even Mitchell appeared in front of goal as a makeshift defender.
“Push them out and clear the space!” Joe Hart had already decided to come out to catch the ball or to punch it away. He did not feel safe facing the team with the tallest average height in the competition. He was 1.96 meters and he was still confident that he could compete with the giants of the opposing team.
The referee called Mitchell and Mertesacker to him and warned them not to have any excessive pulling and pushing actions. Both players complained that they had their shirts pulled by the other party.
After waving their complaints away, the referee gave a sign to Lahm with his hand to indicate that he could restart the game.
Lahm’s ball had a slight outer curl which became more obvious once the ball started to reach the goal.
Joe Hart had a lapse in judgement as he only realized that the ball was going a little too far away from him after he came out. He could not guarantee that he would be able to catch the ball and could only change to punching the ball away in mid-air with one hand!
Hart could barely manage to punch the ball with Mitchell and Mertesacker between him and the ball. As for whether the ball could fly far enough or who would be able to get it… He could not care about that then. He had to take care of his own balance——In order to get his hand on the ball which was flying away from him, he had to dive almost horizontally and he would fall on to the ground now that he had lost his balance. If a German player got the ball then…
What he was worried about did not happen as Walcott’s gamble paid off. He got the ball!
A good opportunity!
Walcott gave a cheer in his heart when he got the ball. All he had to do now was to dribble pass…
After Walcott stopped the ball and turned around, the person who appeared in front of him was not Toni Kroos but Rolfes!
Walcott was shocked——When did he come over?!
Faced with an unexpected opponent, Walcott could not react at all and he gave the ball away to the opponent directly just like this…
Oh no…
Walcott turned to tackle for the ball but Rolfes had already positioned himself between him and the ball.
After getting the ball, Rolfes did not waste any time. He knew that it was a crucial moment then as Joe Hart was down on the ground in the penalty area. If they took advantage of the opportunity, they might be able to score…
He passed the ball to Podolski who did not join in the mess inside the penalty area.
The Werder Bremen forward had a pretty good shot on him and now was the time for him to show them what he could do!
Podolski stopped the ball from Rolfes with his right foot in front of him, then raised his left foot and took a long shot!
Even though he did not have much run up, the speed of the ball was not slow at all. This was the power of a German footballer.
The ball found a way through to goal amidst the crowd. John Terry extended his foot out in an attempt to block it, but he missed. Gómez was still in front of goal and when he saw the ball flying straight towards him, he hurriedly ducked in shock and fell backwards. It was not easy for him to do this action within a second with that 1.89 meters frame of his…
Nobody, including Joe Hart who was getting up from the ground, touch the ball and it flew straight into the net.
“What a beautiful goal! World class ball from Podolski!! We’re leading 1:0!”
“England had finally conceded a goal… Mistake from Joe Hart! This was a very careless punch!”
The commentators from both countries had totally different reactions. It was the same for the fans from both countries in the stands. The German fans got to their feet and cheered with their arms in the air. The England fans had their heads in their hands as they could not believe what they were seeing.
In the minds of many England fans, the question was getting more prominent, however, the question mark at the end was slowly straightening to become an exclamation mark.
The German team is still so strong?
※※※
Twain looked down and cursed when he saw the ball fly into the goal. Des Walker was a little agitated beside him and he waved his arms in anger, blaming Joe Hart for coming out so carelessly.
Sammer leapt up with both feet off the ground when the ball flew into the goal. One could tell the excitement that he was feeling. To be able to take the lead in such an important match, it meant that they were that much closer to moving into the knockout stage.
A concentrated defense cannot defend against set-pieces… Twain was in a very bad situation now. If he allowed the score to remain like this, England would lose the match and they would be gifting the chance to get past the group stages to others. That was not Twain’s style.
He could only choose to let his team push up and find an equalizer as soon as possible. Otherwise, the situation would only get worse for England as time passed.
30 minutes had passed in the first half and England had only 15 minutes left. They would be in trouble if they could not equalize in the first half…
※※※
Joe Hart was in a daze in front of goal. He did not expect to cost his team a goal by making a mistake in coming out for the ball.
Another person who was in a daze was Walcott. Even though nobody blamed him, he could not shake the feeling that the goal they conceded was because he lost the ball. He was overconfident and did not expect Rolfes to extend beyond the midfield when he was not paying attention——The Germans decided to be bold for once and it paid off.
Walcott appeared to be distracted in the match after that and Twain kept shaking his head at the sideline.
Twain had already asked his team to attack appropriately but there was little effect. The glare of the sun and the heat prevented England from performing to their usual standards. Walcott’s side was almost totally ineffective because of his loss of form. The Germans was able to defend easily as England could only attack via Chris Cohen and attacking from only one flank was too one-dimensional. The German center-backs were all very tall and they made light work of high balls.
At the end of the first half, England still did not manage to equalize. The situation was gradually becoming worse for them.
If the manager had no intentions of making any substitutions during half-time, the substitutes would usually make use of the half-time break to do their warm-ups. However, when George Wood was going to go warm-up, he was stopped by Des Walker.
“Go to the changing room with them George,” Walker said.
Wood’s heart skipped a beat and he asked, “Will I be coming on in the second half?”
Walker’s reply disappointed him, “No, you’ve not recovered yet, there’s no need for you to warm-up,” Walker said while shaking his head.
Wood looked down and entered the players’ tunnel with the others unhappily.
The heat from the direct sunlight made them a little faint and the coolness of the tunnel gave them a boost.
A wall apart, the English players could clearly hear the laughter of the Germans. Even though they did not know why they were laughing, they England players had the same thought when they heard it——They were unhappy, very unhappy.
“Damn it! I’ll show them in the second half!” Wayne Rooney, who had almost no contributions at all in the first half, said while giving the wall a kick.
“Don’t waste your energy on the wall,” a cold voice came from behind him.
Rooney turned and saw the cold and unfeeling face of Tony Twain. The other players saw the expression on the face of their boss too. Looks like Boss was very angry…
...
Chapter 946 - Don’t Be Impatient, George
Trailing behind the Germany team by one goal in the first half was a source of frustration for many of the England players, who vented their frustrations in the locker room.
“Their jerseys are so blinding to the eyes in the sun. It’s despicable!”
“That’s right. I can’t concentrate at all!”
“Forget about concentration, I can’t even see their movements clearly. Why did the UEFA not stop this kind of thing from happening?”
A group of people blamed the Germany team’s snow-white jerseys and the bright sunshine for them trailing behind.
These voices did not go away when Twain came in with Rooney. It was not until Twain closed the locker room door that everyone realized their boss was here and it was not the time to be noisy.
“What did I say before the game?”
After looking around the locker room, Twain asked with a serious face.
Everyone looked at each other. They did not know why the boss was so dissatisfied. Although we are one goal behind, the team morale is still very strong. It should not be a problem to reverse the score with a goal in the second half.
“I told you that you had to keep your heads cool, but I did not see that in the first half.” Twain spread his hands and shook his head, “I know we feel animosity toward the Germany team, and the game against Germany will give you a surge of adrenaline. But if you let that thing dominate your brains, then we’ll lose this game…” Twain suddenly raised his voice, “I’m not saying this to scare you! I’m not spurring you into action by making negative remarks! I’m telling you this very seriously—”
He raised his arms and waved his hands forcefully in accordance with each utterance, “If you can’t put your focus on how to win the game and instead concentrate on how to get revenge on the Germans, we will definitely lose! Then we’ll entrust the possibility of advancing to the next level to Portugal and Wales!”
“Don’t tell me you have never experienced a game like this in your career? A sunny afternoon with the opponents wearing white or light-colored jerseys, which reflect the sunshine that it is somewhat blinding to the eyes … Did the English Premier League not have games in the afternoon? Did you all lose in games like that?”
The England players slowly bowed their heads as Twain shouted the questions.
“So why did you play so badly in today’s game? Because your opponent is the Germany team! You just think, ‘The Germans are so cunning!’ ‘The Germans are so despicable!’ Did any of you ever thought, ‘I’m going to win the game’? You’ve put all your energies into those details that you’re not thinking about the game now! Now I’m saying this to you, ‘Think of this game as a normal game.’ Are you able to get this in your heads?”
Twain saw George Wood who sat in front of his locker. He did not seem to be listening, as his eyes were fixed on the door of the locker room, but his mind seemed to have wandered to the pitch.
“Now bring your focus back to the game itself. I don’t want to tell you what will happen if we don’t advance out of the group stage. I just want to tell you that we have an agreement with George. He’s waiting for us in the knockout stages and we are meeting him in the knockout stage.”
Everyone set their sights on Wood. Wood indeed did not listen to what Twain said. He was unresponsive to his words. He just continued to stare at the locker room door, lost in his thoughts.
“Are you still men?” Twain asked, “A man has to keep his promise! Once you make a promise, you must do it! We promised George that we will advance to the next stage for him! If we can’t do it, then we’re all not men!”
“Forget the hatred between England and Germany. Remember this is a game. A game that is going to determine which team will directly advance! Now, let’s make a tactical adjustment.”
Twain drew on the tactical board as he spoke, “Toni Kroos is their attacking midfielder, but the German’s attacking core is actually Schweinsteiger. Pay attention to his position. Where he goes means that the German attack is focused on that side.”
That was the conclusion of Twain’s observation in the first half. Toni Kroos was only responsible for passing the ball. “Schweini” Schweinsteiger was the most threatening player. His position was also very irregular. Sometimes he was on the left, and sometimes he was on the right. At other times he would even switched positions with Toni Kroos and take up the role of an attacking midfielder. Despite the rise of his name in Bundesliga in recent years, the core position had never been his, whether at Bayern Munich or in the German national team. He was just a cover for Schweinsteiger. If they focused too much defensive attention on this talented kid, they would let the big fish get away, which could lead to terrible consequences.
“So, our defense must be focused on Schweinsteiger. Restraining him will also limit the Germany team’s attack. With a solid defense, we will then have a way to attack with confidence. We have to be extra careful with defending against positional play.”
Hearing the boss say so, Walcott bowed his head. Obviously the goal concede had something to do with him, which was when they lost the ball during the positional play.
Twain glanced at Walcott and said, “Theo. I don’t know what happened to you. Your performance in the beginning and end of the first half was like that of two different people. But I don’t want to dig any deeper into it. I just want you to know this. I’m giving you fifteen minutes in the second half. If you still play like this, I will not hesitate to replace you. You’re not a rookie and you don’t need me to take care of you. You know what you should do.”
Walcott nodded hard.
“Now let’s talk about the offense. We did have a lot of counterattacks in the first half, but our players lacked in their ability to seize the opportunities… Is it true? No, it’s your attitude that’s not right. I bet you wanted to volley the football in when you’re facing an empty goal. You are not usually like that.” Twain said as he looked at Rooney and Mitchell.
The two men were indeed a little overexcited in the first half. They would appear to use too much force whenever an opportunity was presented at their feet.
“Well, relax, I won’t ream you out.” Looking at the players who were somewhat dejected from being scolded by him, Twain laughed again. He also could not crack down them too hard… Regulating the mentality of the players was a job that required skills.
“The Germans won’t destroy you either. Just relax your minds and you’ll find it easy to beat the Germany team. They’re basically not considered as a powerful opponent at all! I have the confidence to beat all the strong teams in the world, and you have it too. This confidence can help you stay calm against a strong team.” Twain pointed to his head and said, “It’s important up here.”
“When you attack, you should pay attention to the success rate. We are behind the other team. The opportunities for counterattacks in the second half will not increase. Instead, it will decrease. Sammer is a very cautious manager. Such a game can be won easily. Just one goal is enough, so he will have the defense retreat. I ask you to grab hold of every opportunity to attack. I don’t want to see those long shots blindly show up frequently like they did in the game against Wales – the frequency of shots doesn’t lead to goals.”
※※※
On the other side, in the Germany team’s locker room, after praising his team’s performance in the first half, Sammer also made some adjustments. He said, “Attack the moment the second half starts and then slowly withdrew the defense. You must remember this. All I want is a victory. It makes no difference whether it’s 1:0 or 2:0.”
The players nodded their heads one by one. The German players were known for their strong discipline and the manager’s words were like an imperial edict. They would not go against the manager’s arrangement just because they wanted to play a beautiful game.
Oddset Sportwetten, Germany’s largest bookmaker, once ran a television advertisement that used exaggerated mockery to illustrate the characteristics of different leagues. For example, after Serie A league players were injured, employees with hairdryers in hand would follow the team doctors and arrange the hairstyles of the injured players; a European star player in the Qatari league rode in a Lincoln car and appeared on the sidelines of the pitch. He came out to kick a corner kick. Then put on sunglasses as he got back in the car and left amid the cheers of the fans. As for Germany’s domestic league, they represented it in this way – the players on both sides were lined up in neat 4-4-2 formations and marched forward or backward at a uniform pace under the command of the manager with a megaphone.
The description of their league by Germany’s local bookmaker was clearly justified. The Germans’ discipline was not only reflected in football, but also played an important role in other area and even in wars.
Now Sammer told his players that he needed defense and to win in a dependable way. Then the German players would do accordingly. “They’re simply like emotionless robots.” There must be people who complained about German football in this way, that it was rigid, stubborn and mechanical without any artistic flair. But it was precisely this style that made them the most feared team on the European continent. They could always inspire immense hidden capability in desperate situations to accomplish impossible to achieve miracles.
Just like Britain’s famous sports commentator, Kenneth Wolstenholme once marveled, “Some people are on the pitch. . . they think it’s all over… it is now!”
※※※
Twain ended his tactical adjustment just when the halftime interval came to an end. The players got up and walked out of the locker room in succession to make their way towards the pitch.
George Wood purposely dragged till the last. He wanted to talk to Twain alone.
Twain also noticed Wood’s strangeness. He stayed behind to see what was up with Wood.
“Are you looking for me, George?” When the players and coaches had walked out, Twain turned to look at Wood, who was still in the locker room, and asked.
“Bring me on in the second half.” Wood went straight to the point.
“It’s not possible, George.” Twain also flatly turned him down.
“The situation is not good now.”
“But it hasn’t reached the point where it’s bad enough to bring you on with your injury. Otherwise what would your teammates – those who have played for forty-five minutes on the pitch as well as those who are healthy and sitting on the substitutes’ bench – think?” Twain pointed to the door of the locker room, where outside was the corridor leading to the hall.
“Don’t you believe them, George?” Twain asked as he stared into Wood’s eyes.
“No…” Wood shook his head slowly and said, “I’m just… I just don’t want to be a spectator…” He mumbled with his head down.
Twain smiled and reached out to rub Wood’s head. “I won’t make you a spectator. We will definitely go to the knockout stage. I’ll see you there at that time, George.”
He took the lead to walk out.
※※※
When the German players reappeared on the pitch, Twain did not see the slightest bit of smugness in their faces. Instead each of them looked so serious that it was as if they were the ones who were trailing behind with their solemn expressions.
This was the kind opponent that Twain hated most, because they were not conceited and would not underestimate the enemy. They would not be easily angered by him. They faithfully executed the tactics with discipline as long as the manager did not make mistakes. Even in the face of extreme adversity, they would not give up easily. They would still be thinking about how to equalize the score until the final moments of the game.
They were tenacious like a rock. It was extremely tough to compete against an opponent like this. There would be no moments of letting up, and their nerves must be tense for ninety minutes.
To his slight relief, England’s players were back to normal.
The other good news was that by the start of the second half, the lights on the roof of the stadium had been turned on and the bright sun and the dazzling white jerseys vanished. In this way, there was no off-field distraction, and the England players no longer had to squint their eyes and contend with the German player in a distracted state.
It was now six o’clock in the afternoon, and it was already the evening. Clouds drifted over the horizon and dimmed the glow of the sunset. The Nou Mestalla stadium was enveloped in a faint golden glow. If the lights were not turn on, nothing could be seen.
As the temperature dropped, the cool breeze blew into the Nou Mestalla stadium, and the stadium, which had been at a fever pitch for forty-five minutes, gradually cooled down.
But it was only an illusion. When the referee blew the whistle to start the second half, thunderous noise suddenly erupted from the stands, which were quiet earlier.
The English fans’ voices rang out again, and the German fans were not willing to appear weak as well. The stands became a place for fans from both sides to chant at each other. A stadium would have this kind of atmosphere only with the English fans around. Whether it was the Spanish, Italian, French or Dutch fans, they rarely sang for ninety minutes like the English fans.
The Germany team felt the change in the England team. Less than three minutes into the second half, the England team crossed the ball from the sideline to create great danger.
Mitchell’s header brushed against the goalpost to fly out due to Mertesacker’s interference, which caused the German fans to break out in a cold sweat.
This attack was not created by a counterattack, but a chance generated by the England team patiently passing the football back and forth in the positional play.
“The kid’s strength is weak, and he cannot withstand the collision. Next time the defense can use a little more force!” Mertesacker said to Westermann next to him, telling him the secret to defending against Mitchell.
Westermann nodded to show that he understood.
※※※
Ten minutes passed and the England and Germany teams were entangled in the midfield. It looked like no one could get the best of each other. The England midfielders’ defense against Schweinsteiger was largely successful. Wherever Schweini went, he would find himself surrounded by an England player who could be Michael Johnson, Chris Cohen, Walcott, or two full backs. England did not use man-on-man marking defense. Dealing with a player with a wide scope of activity, man-on-man marking would instead mess up their own defense.
Schweinsteiger’s contribution to the German team’s offense plummeted after he lost the space for free movement. England also had more offensive opportunities. But the German team’s defensive organization was very robust. Even when the German team attacked, their rear defensive line was still firmly in place in the backfield. Manager Sammer was the same as when he was a professional player, placing importance on the defense. As a result, England lost the opportunity to fight back and could only engage with the Germany team on positional play. Whereas the Germans withdrew the defensive line and clung fast to defending the middle. Several giants over 1.85-meter-tall inside the penalty area made the otherwise large penalty area appear crowded. It was simply wishful thinking wanting to rely on passing the ball to send the football to the feet of the strikers. The biggest possibility of forcibly sending out long shots would be to waste an attacking opportunity which was hard to obtain.
Mitchell stood in the penalty area and kept putting his hand up for the ball, like a center forward who rushed into the opposing team’s goal. But his teammates could not guarantee that the football would be delivered accurately to his head every time.
Cohen’s passes were excellent, but the England used his side as the main attacking point in the second part of the first half and he was left exhausted by Germany’s defense. Walcott was quick and good at breakthroughs, but there was a lack of fire in his passes.
At this time, Twain missed the injured Bentley invariably. He was not as fast and good at dribbling like Walcott, but he was as good as Beckham in his cross passes. With him on the right side, Mitchell could play to his fullest potential.
However, it was a shame…
Although there was still Adriano Moke around, his characteristics were neither speed, breakthroughs nor passing. It was his dribbling…
Walcott clearly knew the problems he faced. No matter how fast he was, he was left without ample scope for his abilities in the face of the German team’s contracting defense – without any space to sprint, he could not fully play to his technical characteristics. Moke was the kind of player who could get rid of the defense by relying on his skills, but he was not.
The boss gave him only fifteen minutes’ time, and now he was three minutes away from that deadline. He had no doubt that if his performance still did not improve, he would have been ruthlessly replaced by his boss.
Walcott was not willing to be brought off like that in such an important game. It would be equaled to him being labelled as “underperforming.”
Once again, after receiving the ball, the Germany team’s defenders habitually prepared for Walcott’s breakthrough, with the left back, Jansen moving back to compress the space behind him. Although the gap in the front was left to Walcott, he was not too worried. Walcott’s cross pass was of a low quality. Previously, he had four passes, none of which was accurately sent to Mitchell’s head.
Walcott had intended to break through with a cross from the byline and then stick along the sidelines to slip into the penalty area, which would create chaos in this way. Next, he would take the opportunity to pass the ball during the chaos to pass the ball on the ground, to see who could hit the ball into the goal. But after seeing Jansen’s reaction, he changed his mind at the last minute and chose to lift his leg to directly pass the ball!
The football drew an arc and flew into the penalty area.
The quality of the pass was pretty good this time, and the football went straight to Mitchell’s spot.
“Squeeze him out!” Mertesacker was defending against Rooney and he shouted at Westermann.
Mitchell locked his eyes on the football and ran to adjust his position. Just as he was about to jump for the header to shoot the ball at the goal, he felt a force coming at him from below, which caused him to lose his center of gravity.
He somewhat exaggeratedly stretched his arms in the air, gave a loud yell, and Mitchell fell into the penalty area!
No one touched Walcott’s pass, which flew straight out of the end line.
Did it look like it was another terrible pass and a failed offensive?
No!
The referee’s whistle sounded. He ran to the penalty area and pointed at the penalty spot!
“It’s a penalty shot!” John Motson cheered with both his arms raised high.
Mitchell, lying on the ground, also raised his arms high and waved his fists in the air. While Westermann lying down next to him was staring at the referee running over with an incredulous look – how can that be a penalty shot? I only used a little force, but then it was a reasonable collision!
The referee did not care about Westermann’s doubts. He stood on the penalty spot and resolutely gave England a penalty kick! Looking at his serious expression, he believed Westermann’s defense must have been a foul.
Walcott, in charge of the pass, raised his hands on the sidelines and cheered for his pass.
Twain rushed to the sidelines and excitedly waved his fists.
“It’s f**king beautiful!”
Sammer, on the other hand, yelled unhappily at the referee, “It was obviously a dive!” He rushed into the field and made a gesture for the dive. “Can’t you see? Can’t you see it?”
It was not until the fourth official intervened that he turned around and walked back with a dark expression. Leaning against the shed in the technical are, he kept shaking his head as he looked at the pitch. It was an unexpected development. It did not matter how good he was as a manager.
After Twain cheered, he crouched on the sidelines, with one hand on the ground and the other hand over his mouth. He waited for the outcome of the penalty shot full of anticipation and anxiety.
he German players on the pitch failed to appeal to the referee, who did not change his decision. There were boos and swearing from the German fans in the stands, while the England fans crazily chanted to drown out their abuse.
When nothing could be changed anymore, the stands returned to calm.
The German players reluctantly pulled out of the penalty area and gave up the front of the goal door to the England players.
The goalkeeper, Adler kept moving in front of the goal with his arms wide open, putting psychological pressure on the England player who was going to carry out the penalty shot.
Gerrard was the one who came forward for the shot. As he was experienced, he was not bothered by Adler. The boos from the German fans in the stands did not destabilize him.
Facing the front of the stands where the German fans were as well as looking at the many middle fingers in the stands, Gerrard ran up for the shot after the whistle sounded and powerfully blasted the penalty shot into the goal!
Adler judged in the right direction but was not able to match Gerrard’s powerful shot. He only flew past when the ball hit the net.
“What a beautiful goal! Gerrard resisted the pressure to send it in! England has equalized the score! We can now see the hope again!” Motson shouted.
After the goal, Gerrard ran all the way back to the substitutes’ bench and then pointed to George Wood. He came in for a powerful hug with him.
“This goal is for you, George! We’re going to the knockout stage!” He roared in Wood’s ear.
As the cheering crowd dispersed, Twain walked up to Wood and smiled at him as he said, “Just sit back and watch the game, George. Looks like you’re not required to make an appearance.”
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Chapter 947 - A Bright Future
On the computer screen, Gerrard, wearing England’s number 8 red jersey, blasted the ball into the goal amidst the boos from the German fans. Wearing a pair of earphones, an impeccably suited man could not help but raise his arms up and cheer loudly.
Although it was during office hours, no one was surprised by his actions, because everyone was doing the same thing as him. A dozen pairs of arms were raised high in the office and everyone cheered together.
But this situation was an exceptional case. Many people in a lot of companies and even government agencies left work early at this time. Majority of people gathered in bars ubiquitous in the streets everywhere, sipping beer with friends and watching the game.
The radios of every taxi were tuned into the radio stations that broadcast the match. Not only for the passengers, but also for the drivers themselves to follow the game.
The big-screen televisions in the train stations, plazas and large shopping malls were all playing the game broadcast. A lot of passers-by stopped in front of each screen to watch the game.
After seeing Gerrard score with the penalty shot, all of these people cheered as though there were nobody else present. Of course, Liverpool fans were the happiest because the man who helped England equalized the score was their captain.
“England equalizes the score! Now we can see the hope of victory again! The Germans are still protesting the penalty shot. But no matter how many times you watch the replay, there’s nothing wrong with the referee’s decision!” The commentator, John Motson again stressed the matter of the penalty shot.
“Yes! There’s nothing wrong!” The fans shouted along with him.
In fact, it did not matter even if there was a problem. It felt great to be able to score a goal against Germany, but it was even better that the goal itself had no problems, such as an offside position in the first place or for the ball to be judged crossed the line even though it was not…. So, the England fans liked to talk about the 1966 World Cup final all the time and taunt the Germans.
Every time Germany’s “Der Kaiser”, Beckenbauer came to London, he would be pulled in a conversation about the final of that year by taxi drivers, or else he would barely be able to leave the airport. The drivers wanted to ask if he thought Hurst’s goal had crossed the goal line.
Of course, technology later had proved that the ball was not completely over the goal line, but the English people enjoyed this kind of outcome.
※※※
Back at Valencia’s Nou Mestalla stadium, the England fans in the stands were singing loudly and cheering for England. The German fans chose to remain silent. The riot police in the stands were particularly nervous at this time, fearing that the England fans would provoke the German fans, and then both sides would break off the seats in the stands to fight a battle that was more intense than the game itself.
But fortunately, none of these things happened.
Sammer was disappointed with the goal concede. Now he had to rethink how to play for the rest of the game. They could still play conservatively with a one goal lead. What should they do now that the score was equalized?
No news came out of the other game. It looked like Portugal and Wales should be a draw too. In the case, based on the current situation, if both games ended in a draw and the four teams had each accumulated four points, then Germany would continue to be at the top of the group with a net goal advantage, thus allowing it to advance smoothly. Even if a winner was declared for the other game, whether Portugal or Wales won, Germany would still be able to advance as the second placeholder in the group with a net goal advantage over England. On the other hand, England would slip to the third place in the group. Depending on the results of several other groups, it could only be determined whether they were qualified to advance based on having the best results among the third placeholders in four teams.
For the Germany team, they could advance as long as they did not lose the game. They had more leeway than the England team.
Sammer was a person who cared more about the results than saving face. Since he could guarantee that they would advance as long as they did not lose the game, then they would maintain the draw to seek victory. If they press out and attack at this time, then England would likely seize the opportunity to score another goal. At that time, they would switch positions with the England team if they lost the game.
During his years as a player, Matthias Sammer was known as the best “free-role player” in the world since Beckenbauer and Baresi. Trained in the East German mechanical style, he placed emphasis on discipline and was insurmountable iron gate on the Germany team’s defensive line. He did not care if the football he played was beautiful, artistic or pleasurable to watch. He only cared about the result. Football was a sport that seek victory. If he could not win, then the effort expended would be meaningless.
After he became a manager, he stuck to that view.
He decided to keep the team focused on defense and counterattack as secondary. It was not necessarily to breach England’s goal. It was enough as long as they could hold on to the score line.
※※※
Contrary to Sammer’s conservative stance, Twain did not have the power to choose to play conservatively at this time. He must attack, and he could only attack. As a result, he stood on the sidelines and gave a big wave of his hand to signal for the entire England team to press forward and launch a siege on the Germany team. It was a complete reversal of the situation in the first half.
The England tried its hardest to pass the football from the sideline to Mitchell’s head. Unfortunately, the penalty shot was the only one. Mitchell was pressed from both sides by the German gigantic defenders and could not do anything. At this time, he must regret why he did not pay more attention to his strength exercises during the usual training.
Twain observed on the sidelines for a while and found that it was easy for the German players to defend against them if they blindly insisted on passing from the sides. Their height was an advantage, so headers were not a good idea. So, he called Walcott to his side during a dead ball opportunity. He instructed him not to cross the ball over anymore but instead to dribble the ball to break though by cutting inward.
The German defenders were tall and huge but inflexible with their turning. This was where they could take advantage of it.
Jansen was fast so Walcott could not take any advantage in that regard. Therefore, Twain let Walcott and Cohen regularly switched positions. Walcott went to the left side and Cohen came to the right side.
The right-footed player went to the left side which made it easier for him to cut inside and shoot. Twain wanted to create chaos for the Germany team’s rigid defensive line.
The effect was clear once Walcott went to the left side. The Germany team did not expect Twain to make such an arrangement. Because neither Cohen nor Walcott were players who were skilled at using both legs. Cohen could only use his left foot to shoot while Walcott’s left-foot technique could not bear comparison to his right foot. Sammer never thought that Twain would make the two men change positions, so there was no targeted arrangements on his part.
The Germany players found it difficult to defend. After all, players who were strong in their left feet or right feet had different technical action and habits. Being used to defending against a specific type of player would lead to inertial thinking, so that when he faced another player who played with a different leg, it would lead to errors in his judgment.
Lahm was an outstanding full back. He completely subdued Chris Cohen in the sideline, but he did not defend well when he was up against Walcott’s speed.
“Walcott accelerates …he suddenly stops and turns inward to cut inside! Gorgeous, he shakes off Lahm! And he shoots!!”
Adler punched the ball out with both hands and roared at Lahm. He was not happy with his teammate’s defense.
Soon Walcott made a comeback, but this time when Lahm tried to defend against his inside cut to break through, he chose to forcibly cross from the byline. Then in the face of Lahm catching up to him, he hooked the ball back and turned around to switch to using his strong right foot again to cross the ball. Unfortunately, Rooney’s shot deflected due to Westermann’s interference. It caused the Germans to break out in a cold sweat.
“You can’t allow him to run amok anymore!” Adler yelled at his teammates, “Whichever way you have to use, don’t let him go into the penalty area!”
Walcott’s vigor was a headache for the Germans. Twain also saw the advantage of such deftness in the face of tall defenders. He decided to make a substitution.
“Moke.” He turned around and gestured to Moke, who was sitting on the substitutes’ bench. “Go warm up and come back in five minutes.”
Moke was a little surprised. Despite being brought to Spain, he was widely regarded by the media as having little hope of appearing on the pitch. He was a player that shared the same fate as the third goalkeeper. Because in front of him there was Walcott, who had secured the main position, and Bentley who was excellent with passing. He himself had no other advantage other than his skills. He did not have a strong body; he was not fast, and his stamina was not good … It was such a great surprise to be brought to Spain by Twain that the media had been talking about it, saying that Twain must have brought him out with the mentality of “taking care of his own people.”
But now he had a chance to play!
Moke hurriedly put on a white vest and rushed out.
Five minutes later, he stood panting in front of Twain.
Twain glanced at the boy who had been taught a hard lesson by him before and said, “Are you tired after only running for five minutes?”
Moke hurriedly closed his mouth which had been opened while he gasped for air. He shook his head and said, “Not tired, boss! I was just… excited!” Actually, he was a little nervous. It was his first time making an appearance on behalf of the national team and he was up against such an opponent like Germany. It would be false if he were not nervous.
Twain looked at him and smiled, “Just so long you’re not nervous. I want you to replace Cohen as he’s not very effective on the right side. You go up and take advantage of your footwork skills and dribbling ability to break through from the side into the penalty area and create chaos as well as opportunities.” Twain pointed to the field as he spoke to Moke.
Moke nodded as he listened.
“If you’re unable to break through, then create place kicks. Of course, it’s better to get a penalty shot.” Twain chuckled.
“Okay, boss!” Moke laughed. The boss’ smile made him feel familiar and at ease. Although we are still at a disadvantage, the boss must have a way!
When the England team was awarded an out of bounds ball, Chris Cohen was brought off and Moke was brough on.
Although Cohen did not contribute much in the attack, his aggressive defense helped ease a lot of pressure on the team’s rear defensive line in the first half. Now that the England team did not need to focus on defense, his role was diminished.
“Well done, Chris.” Twain shook hands with Cohen, who had come off, and praised his performance.
Moke’s appearance suddenly strengthened England’s attack. The England team was no longer hobbling like a one-legged cripple during the attack. Whether it was Walcott on the left or Moke on the right, both players had excellent dribbling skills. Each of them had the ability to make the German defenders run in circles.
When the German players had just put their defensive focus on the right side, Moke was active again.
Moke’s speed was not fast, but his footwork skills was fancier than Walcott’s. Jansen was tricked by him and had to resort to using fouls several times to stop Moke from breaking through.
※※※
“Ah ha! Well done, Moke! He does not have the slightest bit of stage fright in his first appearance for the national team. Look at his breakthrough… he uses his heel to knock the ball and change direction! He’s through!” John Motson shouted excitedly.
After Moke bypassed Jansen, he shielded the ball with his body, leaving Jansen unable to intercept the ball easily. Then he started to make his way into the penalty area.
Facing Mertesacker, who came forward to help defend, Moke was going to do the nutmeg so as to bypass him along with the ball. But he was blocked by Mertesacker on the outside when the football was pushed over. Moke, who fell to the ground face up, raised his hand to demand for a penalty shot, but the referee signaled for him to get up quickly and not to delay the time.
This time it was Twain’s turn to get angry on the sidelines and complained, “It’s a typical blocking foul! Do you need me to give you a lesson, Mr. Referee!”
The referee ignored him, and Twain scolded a few words before he shut his mouth.
Now that his team had the upper hand, the German team’s counterattack was not a threat. He was not too anxious. If there were only ten minutes left in the game, he would not have been willing to take things lying down.
※※※
Gerrard once again passed the ball to Moke on the right side. Schweinsteiger ran up to defend when he saw him take the ball. However, Moke went along the sidelines to knock the ball past the other person. Following which, when he was faced with the situation of intercepting players ahead and being pursued at the back, he then gave the ball to his own teammate, Michael Johnson who came up to help. After passing the ball, he continued to rush forward. Johnson also cleverly passed the ball back to him. It was a two over one pass!
Jansen learned to be clever this time and no longer rushed to make a move. Instead, he followed Moke and retreated backward. He tried to tackle the ball after he forced Moke near the corner flag. He did not expect Moke to shield the ball with his back toward him and turned his leg to use the arch of his foot to hook the ball between Jansen’s legs. Then, Moke quickly turn around and bypassed him!
Thanks to Jansen, Moke caught up with the ball on the end line. This time, he faced Mertesacker, the opponent who had blocked him last time. He did not choose to do the nutmeg but made the shot.
Being so close to the goal, Mertesacker dared not act to block the shot. Moke pulled the ball back while he stretched his leg to prevent the shot, then flicked his left foot and flashed past Mertesacker at the back.
Adler was hesitating whether to expand the area to block when Moke passed the ball!
The football passed through Westermann between his legs. Wayne Rooney got rid of Rolfes’ entanglement in the instant when Moke passed the ball and leapt forward. All he had to do in the face of a wide-open empty goal was to stick out his leg to kick…
Adler turned around to pounce on Rooney, but he was a step too late.
“Moke passes the ball… Rooney, Rooney, ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO—GOOOOAL!! Easily pushes the ball into the goal! England leads 2:1, ahead of Germany!” Motson stood up from his seat with the microphone in his hand.
The England fans were already cheering when they saw Moke bypass Mertesacker. The cheers finally reached the climax after Rooney scored the goal.
“Long live – England!!”
※※※
There was nothing the Germany players could do about the goal concede. The diminutive Moke was like an agile monkey swinging through the dense forest. Their strong bodies simply could not block him and instead became obstacles to their defense. In this way, everyone watched as Moke nimbly turned his body to evade again and again and stirred up a foul atmosphere in front of the German team’s goal. Then he sent the football to the most dangerous place…
Sammer’s angry punch struck the sunshade behind him. Then when the one punch was not enough for him, he punched it again.
He did not make timely adjustments to Twain’s substitution, which led to serious consequences. His anger showed his dissatisfaction with his slow response.
Next door, Twain rushed to the sidelines and hugged Walker. Moke, who had just been brought on for less than ten minutes, had become the biggest contributor to them being in the lead, suggesting that his substitution had worked.
“We’re in the lead. Ah ha!” Walker shouted excitedly. There was now hope that they could directly advance to the next level.
Twain quickly calmed down and said, “Don’t be too happy yet, Des. Beware of Germany’s counterattack. We have to continue to strengthen our offensive and try to score another goal.”
He broke free from the excited crowd and waited for the players on the pitch to finish celebrating. Then he conveyed them his latest instructions.
But it looked like he would have to wait a little longer. The England players who had overtaken Germany, were so excited. Rooney had initially intended to stand and celebrate the goal, but now he was lying on the ground instead to celebrate – he was crushed under the weight of his ecstatic teammates.
The England fans obviously did not worry like Twain. At this time, they just wanted to cheer and celebrate to their hearts’ content as their team was ahead of their archrival, Germany. Whether it’s at the Nou Mestalla stadium or at home in England, chants of Rooney were flying in every corner.
Everyone saw a bright future of them stepping on the corpses of the Germany team to ascend to the top sixteen teams. That was the kind of future that made them excited just thinking about it…..
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Chapter 948 - I want to come on
Sammer could choose to play conservatively when the score was 1:0. He could still choose to play conservatively when the score was 1:1. However, when his team was trailing England by 2:1, he could no longer choose to play conservatively anymore. There was still no news from the match between Portugal and Wales after 70 minutes. If the situation stayed like this until full time, then Germany, who had only three points, would be behind Portugal and Wales, who had four points each, and they would definitely be eliminated…
Sammer stood up from his seat as the decided that they could no longer be conservative anymore.
Schweinsteiger was already heavily marked by England’s zonal marking. If he continued to place the attack’s focal point on him, it would only lead to Germany’s attack being stuck in a rut. Sammer walked to the side of the pitch, whistled and called for Kroos. When Kroos looked over, he made a hand sign to mean that he was to be in-charge of attacking. Kroos nodded to indicate that he understood him.
Germany also had many different tactics prepared. Normally, Schweinsteiger would be the core of the team, but this would make it easy for their opponents to analyze their tactics. If this tactic was seen through by the opponent, then Kroos would have to step up and be in-charge of organizing the team’s offense.
The German team was still in the midst of adjusting when England launched a fierce attack. Tony Twain’s team continued to press on in attack to get another goal. The lead of just one goal is not safe.
England’s morale was high as they just came from behind to lead. Germany wanted to attack as well, and this was a good opportunity to get a goal.
“England is on the attack… Gerrard’s long shot got a deflection off Rolfes… Luckily Adler’s reacted well and saved the shot!”
“Corner taken… Walcott’s in a good position with a header! Just wide!”
When Gerrard got the ball again, he feigned to shoot but instead pushed the ball to the side and skipped past Rolfes who came up to block the shot. Next, he passed the ball to Moke, who was performing very well, on the flanks.
Jansen did not hold back this time. He did not even give Moke the chance to run and he took Moke down rather viciously.
The referee blew his whistle and England got the opportunity of a free kick outside the penalty area again. This was a threatening area to get a free kick, but the Germans were not afraid as they had the aerial advantage.
However, Gerrard did not cross the ball in from the air, choosing to play a low ball in instead! The ball went under the jumping wall and rolled quickly on the ground. This was a very dangerous ball, it just needed a touch from anyone and it might just go into the goal. In the end, nobody was able to get on the end of this pass and the ball rolled out of play beyond the far post. The German fans in the stands had their hearts in their mouth while the England fans had their heads in their hands in pity.
The person who felt the most pity was still Tony Twain. That was a good chance to extend the lead… It just flew right past everybody’s faces as it rolled beyond the legs of the people in front of goal.
After a period of intense offense, England still did not get another goal. Twain decided to stop while they were ahead as he did not really dare to take too much risk in such an important match. If they continued to attack and Germany finished adjusting their tactics, they would be the ones on the losing end if the Germans get into their momentum. The England center-backs were pressing so high up they were in the center circle. That was too dangerous as there was a huge space behind them. All Germany needed was a long pass beyond them and it would be a free space…
Podolski and Gómez were both fast and able to dribble with the ball. They would definitely take advantage of it if there were too much space behind.
Twain decided to instruct his team to fall back a little and change their tactics from offense to defend and counter.
At that time, Walcott was dribbling with the ball on the field and was preparing to take on Lahm’s defense. He noticed that there was someone approaching him from behind. Schweinsteiger was approaching quietly in an attempt to catch him in a pincer. Walcott was not worried, and he had his own plans. He was going to accelerate suddenly when they were going to surround them and catch them by surprise.
Just when he was preparing to accelerate, Schweinsteiger planted his foot on Walcott’s ankle from behind…
The momentum to go forward was forced to stay on the ground and Walcott could only feel a tear coming from the back of his ankle before he lost his balance and fell to the ground. Lahm was shocked and he raised his arms in a hurry to indicate that he did not do anything and he had nothing to do with Walcott falling down——He was already booked in the first half and he was very scared that he would get another yellow card.
Schweinsteiger also kept waving his finger to indicate that he did not commit a foul.
The referee ignored him and came forward to give Schweinsteiger a yellow card. Next, he looked at Walcott, who was writhing in pain on the ground, and he turned around to signal for the stretcher to the sidelines.
“Damn it!” Twain cursed from the sideline and hurried his medical team to check on the situation.
He was still prepared to make some defensive adjustments in a few minutes but now his attacking player was injured.
“Walcott is hurt, it looks like he won’t be able to continue!” On the screen, Walcott was being carried up the stretcher and he covered his face with his hands in pain. The team doctor next to the stretcher was signaling for Twain to make a substitution.
“Damn it, ask Downing to go warm up,” Twain told Walker.
The England bench were in a mess because of Walcott’s injury. Downing put on his training vest in a hurry and then warm up in a rush. A minute later, he had to run back quickly and listen to Twain’s tactical arrangement. His head was still in a mess and he did not hear anything that Boss said at all.
“Go on!” Twain patted him on the shoulder and pushed him to the sideline. Only now did Downing realized that he was going to go on, but what for? He thought about it and he guessed it was to attack from the flanks and cover in defense.
The team doctor, Derek Wright, walked over after examining Walcott’s injury. In the face of Twain’s questioning, he shook his head and said, “This match, the next match and the match after that, he might not be able to participate in those matches anymore Tony.”
Twain looked down and mumbled some swear words under his breath.
Walcott was injured as well as Bentley. The only person who can be used in the right winger position now was Adriano Moke. There were many more games after this and stamina was never a strong suit of Moke, this was a really bad piece of news…
※※※
Walcott’s injury affected the morale of the England players. Coincidentally, Twain wanted the team to pay more attention to defense and they fell back all the way and started to play on the counter.
The Germans followed the flow and started to launch waves of attacks on the England goal.
Twain was always at the sideline, looking at the game with a serious look on his face. He was paying close attention to the performance of both sides so that he could make adjustments anytime.
As it was, the Germany team was in the ascendancy, but England’s defensive line was still holding strong. Even though Toni Kroos took over the responsibilities of organizing the attack, the England midfielders were not one to be trifled with as well. Michael Johnson followed Kroos everywhere he went like a shadow using his exceptional running abilities and ensured that he was not able to organize any attack easily.
Both sides were in a stalemate for a while.
※※※
Sammer started to make some changes. He took off Khedira, whom did not have any exceptional performance, and put on 26-year-old midfielder, Marko Marin from Bochum. He was a winger with impressive dribbling skills and even though he was right-footed, he was good at playing on the left.
Sammer was obviously sending him on to strengthen their attack on the flanks and at the same time, increase the team’s penetration and cause some chaos in the English backline. Just like how Twain sent Moke in to get a goal, Sammer was hoping for the same.
Next, he moved the position of the defensive midfielder Rolfes forward to become an attacking midfielder. His position would be closer to the England penalty box and it would allow him to make full use of his passing range. In this way, the German lines would be more compact and movement would be smoother, reducing the odds of their balls being intercepted by the English midfield.
The German attack improved after the changes. Marin was a change that even Twain did not expect. That was because Marin from Bochum was probably the weakest midfield player in the German team. He was weak and a solo player who had no other forte other than dribbling with the ball. However, a player like this was currently the best performer in the German team and his dribbling caused a lot of problems for the English players.
At the same time, Sammer asked the German midfielders to take more long shots and attempt to break down England’s compact defense using long shots.
For a moment, the match intensified in front of the England goal and the atmosphere suddenly became tense.
“Marko Marin has the ball… He broke through Moke’s defense with his individual skills. Adriano Moke is not a defensive player… He crosses!”
Mario Gómez came from behind and leapt up high for the header!
Joe Hart did his best to push his header over the bar. Fortunately, Gómez’s header was straight towards him, otherwise it might have resulted in a goal.
Germany had another corner and the English players became rather nervous looking at the giants who were all above 1.85 meters in height.
Even though he made a mistake and allowed the opponent to score, Joe Hart had no choice but to come out for the ball under this situation. He did well this time as he caught the ball in mid-air.
But this continuous German attack rang the alarm bells for England’s goal. Who knows, maybe when Germany attack once more, the alarm bells would become “death knell”…
The German team launched attacks at England wildly and England could not even get out of their own half. The strength and fitness of the Germans gave them the advantage at this instance, and they controlled the initiative of the match, The English players were at a disadvantage when we compare the physical strength of the teams.
When the match has reached the 75th minute, the situation was very bad for England and it felt as if they were going to concede another goal.
※※※
Twain walked around anxiously at the sideline. He was very nervous then and he was afraid that the Germans might equalize at the final minute. If that happened, then all was lost.
When he walked to the substitute’s bench, George Wood stood up from his seat.
“You need to strengthen the defense,” he told Twain, “sub me in.”
Twain ignored him and turned around. Wood followed behind him and repeated himself, “sub me in.”
“That’s impossible George,” Twain replied with his back to him, “Even if we draw, we’ll qualify too.”
“But you want to win. You know what it means to play against the Germans.”
Twain stopped and turned to look at Wood, “Even if I want to win, I’ll not fool around with your professional career.”
“You won’t be fooling around, my foot has fully recovered.”
Twain smiled and looked through his lie, “Mister Wright told me that your toe on your right foot still has some pain when it comes with contact with the ball.”
“That is nothing!” Wood raised his voice. If Sophia was next to him now, she would definitely lecture him on his attitude when talking to Mister Twain. However, Wood did not care about the relationship between him and Twain now. He wanted to get on and play, so much so that he was going crazy, “The team is in trouble, I’m the captain, I can’t just stay here and watch!”
Twain was shocked by what he said.
“Gerrard’s stamina is going down, the Germans are breaking through from his position!” Wood pointed at the field and told Twain, “If you don’t make a change soon, then…”
Before he could finish, he was interrupted by the cheers from the German fans on the stands.
Gerrard slipped when facing Rolfes and lost his man. Rolfes took this opportunity to get past him and caused lots of problems for the England backline. If not for Terry blocking Rolfes’ long shot with his body, who knew what would happen.
Wood did not continue speaking and looked at Twain quietly instead.
This was a rare situation when Wood was agitated about something. In Twain’s mind, Wood was like a piece of wood, he was forever so boring. He did not expect him to be so agitated in telling him that he wanted to play. In the past, he used to listen to whatever Twain said. He was the most obedient person who would execute the tactics properly, the type of player that a manager could only dream of. Now, he was so vocal in his disagreement with his arrangement, disagreeing with the arrangement to only play in the play-off stage.
The intensive game was still going on on the pitch and England was being pushed back within 30 meters of their goal. In order to stop the Germans’ long shots, they had no choice but to block the shots with their bodies. However, it was not a nice feeling to be hit by such a powerful long shot all the time.
The cheers from the German fans were becoming louder as they seemed to see hopes of equalizing.
The England fans were unhappy that Germany was on the front foot and they started to sing to cheer the England team on.
Tony Twain and George Wood was in a stand-off at the sideline and they seemed to be unconcerned about what was happening on the pitch.
“England is in great danger! In the last 10 minutes of the match, the Germans have launched attacks after attacks. They have two corners in three minutes… Mitchell is basically playing as a center-back right now…” There was a trace of anxiety in Motson’s voice. Everyone knew about the Germans’ resilience. The harder the situation, the more they would be able to explode.
Under this noisy atmosphere, Twain started to speak, “George…”
At this moment, there was a loud roar from the stands as the German fans cheered their team on. Twain’s voice was drowned out by this roar.
Wood only saw Twain’s mouth open and close, but he did not know what he said.
“Germany’s long shot came back off the crossbar! That was too close! There are 10 minutes left in the match, can England hold on to their one-goal lead to the end?”
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Chapter 949 - Super Invincible Mazinger Z
Twain looked at George Wood, who was standing opposite him and looking at him as well with a firm look in his eyes. He spoke up first, “George…”
It was then that a loud roar came from the stands, swept over and drowned out what Twain was about to say next. Wood only saw Twain’s mouth opened and closed, but he did not hear what he said.
Did he agree for him to go on to play or not?
Podolski’s long shot had bounced off the crossbar and the sudden cheers came to an end. Only then Wood heard Twain’s last words:
“… Go warm up.”
There was a hint of happy expression in Wood’s face. He knew Twain had agreed to his request. Wood turned around and grabbed the training vest from the seat. He ran toward the warmup area.
His teammates and coaches looked at his back in surprise and did not react yet.
Des Walker walked up to Twain and asked, “Are you going to let him play, Tony?”
Twain nodded.
“But his injury has not fully recovered…”
“This is what I think, Des.” Twain turned his head to look at his partner and said, “George’s physical fitness is different from that of an ordinary person. The minor injury should not hurt him.”
Walker grimaced, “I hope you’re right, Tony. . . If you’re wrong, you’re going to ruin his career.”
Twain did not contradict Walker because he had the same concern deep down – I hope I’m right…
Wood tried his best to suppress his inner excitement. He tried not to do too big warmup movements so as to avoid problems. But he had become the focus of everyone’s attention.
“George?!” Also, in the warmup area was his teammate Gareth Barry who looked a little surprised at Wood doing his leg presses. “Are you going to play?” There was only one last substitution spot left. If Wood was going to be brought on, he would not have to warm up anymore.
“Yes.” Wood nodded.
Barry was taken aback for a moment and reacted. Yes, what the team needed now was defense. In terms of defensive ability, Wood was certainly better than himself. But…
“How’s…. your injury?”
“It’s not a problem!” Wood’s answer was resolute and decisive for fear that other people would infer the truth from his tone.
It was not just Gareth Barry. The other people also noticed Wood warming up on the sidelines.
“Let us take a look at who this is! George Wood!” John Motson’s voice was full of excitement as he shouted, “He’s warming up! Is this a sign that he’s going to make an appearance?”
“The England team’s team doctor admitted before the game that George Wood’s injury has not recovered to the stage where he will be able to appear and compete. So why is he warming up now on the sidelines?” The German commentator was puzzled. It could not be Tony Twain’s plot to use him and mislead the opponent, could it?
The Germany manager Sammer also saw Wood as the warm-up area of both teams was next to the Germany team’s substitutes’ bench. His eyebrows knitted together. If Wood were to play, it would be the signal to strengthen the defense. Wood’s intercepting ability in the midfield was number one in the world. If he was allowed to play, then Germany’s offense would be in trouble.
At the thought of it, he went to the sidelines and signaled to the players on the field to step up the offense. They must equalize the score first before England made adjustments!
The England fans in the stands soon spotted George Wood warming up and got excited. Even though it was the Germany team which currently had possession of the ball, the England fans in the stands suddenly burst into thunderous cheers, “Saint George! Saint George! Saint George is coming back!”
Indeed, when the England team was bombarded by the Germany team, everyone thought Joe Hart’s goal could be conceded at any time. At the time, they wished that there would be someone who could stabilize their mood and keep the German players’ attack out. In the eyes of the fans, George Wood, who was famous for his defense, was the best candidate. Unfortunately, he was injured and could only watch the game on the substitutes’ bench.
But it was different now. Saint George is coming back! We have hope!
The telecast gave Wood a fifteen second close-up, and the fans watching the live telecast in England cheered.
And Sophia, who was sitting at home watching the game, flushed with pride.
※※※
Gerrard knew what it meant when he saw Wood warming up off the field. He suddenly hated his age now. At thirty-six years old, he was not a twenty-six-year-old kid who could still run tirelessly. At present, his mind was willing, but his body was no longer strong enough. The German players could tell his physical strength was on a rapid decline and repeatedly used his position as a point to break through. Two threatening shots at the goal were fired from his side.
He knew George’s foot had not really fully recovered. He would not have taken the risk to play if it had not been for the team’s need to strengthen its defense.
Damn it… If I could be four years younger, I wouldn’t be as weak as I am now.
Podolski, the German striker, went outside the penalty area to attempt a long shot once again. This time, Gerrard crossed in front of him, and a powerful kick struck in the middle of his chest!
After a bang sound, Gerrard fell backwards to the ground and did not get up again. His chest hurt and he was exhausted. He wanted to lie on the ground like this to waste a little more of the game time for the team. It was the last thing he could do for the team.
After seeing Gerrard fall to the ground, Joe Mattock dismissed the idea of launching a counterattack from there and kicked the rebounded football straight toward the stands. Then he signaled to the referee to let the team doctor come forward.
“This is a tactic to waste time in the game!” The German commentator shouted disgruntledly. The German fans in the stands also booed in protest one by one. While it was the England fans who sang and clapped for Gerrard.
When Wright ran onto the field along with the stretcher again, George Wood had already returned to Twain’s side and was taking off his vest.
Twain did not ask Wood how the big toe was on his right foot. Now that he had decided to let Wood play, these questions did not matter anymore.
“There are eight minutes left. Including the injury stoppage time, there are still about ten minutes to the end. George, your task is simple: go up and defend. Cut off the links between the German midfielders and strikers. Don’t let them kick too many long shots along the edge of the penalty area. The German players’ long shot level is very high and cannot be taken lightly.”
Wood nodded and tossed his vest to his teammates. His cheeks were slightly flushed with excitement from being able to play once again after a two-game break.
“Ok, I’m not going to say too much. You know what to do. Go on, George, the stage is yours…” Twain pointed to the green field and pushed him out.
As Wood stood next to the fourth official, waiting to go on, the telecast gave Wood a close-up of his wide and thick back, with the striking number 13 and “WOOD” printed in gold color.
“It’s so reassuring to see the name! Yes, George Wood is back in front of us again after an absence of sixty-five days due to injury! Back to the stage where he competes! At a time when England is in deep need, her keeper, Saint George, descends from the sky and returns glorious!” John Motson excitedly gave all the beautiful words he could think of to the man standing on the sidelines.
With the help of Wright, the team doctor, Gerrard walked slowly off the field. He did not forget to take advantage of it to waste more time. When he got to the sidelines, he reached out to Wood and intended to shake his hand. He did not expect Wood to throw his hand straight at his palm and gave him a powerful high-five.
The two men said nothing. Gerrard walked off with his head down and Wood ran onto the field with his head held high.
The moment Wood stepped onto the pitch, the stands erupted with cheers from the England fans, “Saint George bless England! Saint George bless England! Saint George bless England!” The voices were getting louder and louder, ringing out toward the skies. It completely overwhelmed the German fans’ booing because they were upset with Gerrard’s deliberate wasting of the game time.
“This is a rare sight. Just one substitution produces such a sensational effect…” The Spanish television commentator had to marvel at George Wood’s status in the eyes of the England fans.
Wood ran on to the pitch. Moke, the nearest person to him, reached his hand out to him. Wood acted the same with Moke like he did with Gerrard and high-fived him. Then he continued to high-five Michael Johnson, Wayne Rooney and Aaron Mitchell until he ran to the position that belonged to him.
“Tony Twain has raised the standard of Saint George at the flagship. He is telling the Germans that his fleet will fight to the death and never back down!” Motson raised his fist and waved.
※※※
Toni Kroos found that the other team’s number 13 was just standing in front of him, and it caused him to feel the pressure inexplicably. It was as if it was hard and difficult to break through him.
Schweinsteiger patted him on the back and said, “He’s injured. Keep using him as the breakthrough point! Give me the ball later.”
“I’ve observed his running stance on the field myself, and his right foot still looks uncomfortable. This shows that George Wood’s injury has not recovered yet. Perhaps Twain has brought Wood on just to improve the team’s morale. After all, it’s not a good thing for the England team that they are playing under pressure from us and cannot get out past the midfield. Wood’s actual role does not have much impact. We can still make use of him here!” The German commentator said confidently.
But George Wood soon made all those who doubted him, lost face.
As Schweinsteiger prepared to dribble the ball past Wood, the ball at his feet was kept behind by Wood. When he stumbled at his feet, he seized the opportunity to fall to the ground and raised his hands to ask for a place kick. But the referee ignored him. He signaled for him to quickly get up and not to dawdle on the ground.
The stands broke out again with shouts from the England fans, “Saint George bless England! Saint George bless England!”
“YES!” In the England team’s technical area on the sidelines, the coaches waved their fists with excitement. Previously, everyone had concerns that Wood was just acting brave. Now it looked like he was in a good shape despite not competing in a game for sixty-five days. There was no sign of him being out of practice at all.
Next, it was Toni Kroos’ turn. He slightly hesitated when he dribbled the ball in the middle and George Wood’s tackle caused him to fall to the ground along with the ball. Although that gave the Germany team a free kick, it did not pose much of a threat at thirty-five meters away from the goal…
“Well done, George!” Fat John led his mates in the stands and shouted, “Teach the Germans a lesson!”
“It is really an aggressive defense! This is the world’s number one defensive midfielder, George Wood’s ability!” The commentators of neutral countries exclaimed one by one. The German commentator’s face was black.
Rolfes attempted a long shot. He wanted to do a wide rotation of his thigh to volley the shot, but it took a little longer to prepare in this way. Which allowed George Wood, who was lying in wait, to intercept the ball with a clean tackle. Rolfes kicked the empty air and fell down right away.
“It’s not a foul! Not a foul!” Motson defended Wood. At the same time, the referee’s hand gesture was a relief to the England fans – it was indeed not a foul. It was an absolutely perfect defense.
Rolfes laid on the ground and stared disgruntledly at Wood. However, he almost shuddered instead – George Wood was staring coldly at himself. That expression was as if he was looking at a piece of meat, completely without emotion.
In fact, this was Wood’s most habitual expression. Every time he made someone fall to the ground, he would stare unkindly at the other person like that, as if he were a lion staring at its prey, which made people very uncomfortable. He would not take the initiative to reach his hand out to pull the other person up. He would not deliberately do the sort of things to gain favor with the referee.
Thrice he defended and thrice he caused three different players to fall on the ground, which made the other team look bad. This was who George Wood was. Even if he was hurt, he still could not be taken lightly!
※※※
In the fourth time, Wood blocked Podolski’s powerful long shot.
The fans in the stands did not stop chanting “Saint George” and Motson’s tone remained excited. The England team’s coaching staff on the sidelines cheered Wood’s every successful defense. England’s defense stabilized after Wood came on.
But they did not know that Wood’s right foot had a piercing pain to the heart every time he used force. After all, he was not fully recovered in that area yet. How could such intense movements not implicate his injury? But an outsider could never see any unusual expression on his face. He acted as if he had never been hurt before.
He only came on for five minutes, and his front and back of his jersey was soaked in sweat. He was not tired but in pain.
Twain noticed the sweat stain on Wood’s jersey front, and he guessed the reason. His brow became more furrowed and tighter.
For example, with three minutes to go at the end of the ninetieth minute, there might still be four to five minutes to go for the injury stoppage time. Hopefully in the eight minutes, nothing would go wrong with George Wood’s right foot again.
He had never felt eight minutes going by so slowly like it did today…
※※※
George Wood was almost alone in propping up the defense of the England team’s midfield area. After all, Michael Johnson kept running on the field for more than eighty minutes. His stamina was not as strong as before and was unable to shore up for defensive energy even though he wanted to in his mind. Neither Downing nor Moke were good at defense. With four men in the midfield, only George Wood, who just came on, was able to defend.
Mitchell was already moved by Twain into the penalty area to play as a center back to defend against high-altitude balls. Rooney was left alone in the front and prepared to use his speed to counterattack. But from the 75th minute onwards, he had not been of much use. Rooney was also back in the midfield and actively involved in the defense.
The teammates knew in their hearts that their captain’s injury had not fully recovered, so they could not let him take on the heavy responsibility of defense alone. They had to chip in with the effort no matter how tired they were.
For the next three minutes, George Wood appeared on the camera footage less often. Players like Moke were trying their best to defend. They shared a large portion of the pressure with Wood. But the German players apparently also could tell that Wood was in pain from the sweat stains in front of his chest, so they decided to bombard from Wood’s side. They wanted to use exhausting tactics on Wood to crack open a gap from his side.
The fourth official had just held up a five-minute sign on the sidelines. George Wood had a fierce fight on the edge of the penalty area with Rolfes from the opposing team.
It was a fifty-fifty shot and the Germans were unwilling to give up. George Wood naturally could not step aside and give way. The two men gathered their strength and rushed toward the football. Then they collided with each other spectacularly and the football was deflected first by Wood’s kick, while Rolfes did not kick the ball. Instead, he kicked Wood’s right foot…
A sharp pain from the toe pierced straight into the heart. Wood almost shouted out in pain. But as soon as the voice reached his throat, he immediately slammed his mouth shut. Although his voice was choked off, the sudden expression of pain on his face betrayed his present situation.
It was also at this point that the cameras gave him a close-up shot. Wood’s painful appearance was magnified ten times and appeared on the television screen. The England fans who were cheering for him just now shut their mouths and knew “Saint George” was still injured.
Twain also obviously saw Wood’s expression. His heart suddenly jumped. An ominous feeling came to mind.
But the expression lasted only two seconds. In the next second Wood forcibly stopped his body from falling down. With one hand on the ground, he jumped up again from the ground and chased the football. There was no sign that he was just kicked by someone in the injured area.
He got to the ball before Schweinsteiger and lightly flicked the ball outward. He then quickly stopped and accelerated to dodge Schweinsteiger who rushed too ferociously.
“A beautiful bypass!”
The England fans, who were still worrying about Wood’s right toe just now, gave another deafening round of cheers.
Today’s George Wood was not the silly kid who only knew how to kick long ball once he got the ball. After he evaded Schweinsteiger, he looked up to see the front. He had wanted to launch an attack but was somewhat surprised to find that the front was full of German players wearing white jerseys. Rooney helped with the defense on the sideline. He did not expect Wood would choose to take possession of the ball rather than open a long ball. So, he did not run up to receive it.
He could not let the football stay at his feet for too long, Wood looked at the German goalkeeper, Adler, who had already reached the top of the penalty arc, and directly kicked the ball straight to the Germany team’s goal!
The cheers of the England fans grew louder and louder. Amid these sounds, Adler was in a bit of a hurry to withdraw. Fortunately, the football eventually flew off the crossbar. Otherwise he might have to lose face…
“George Wood has proved his worth as England’s core, both defensively and offensively. Look at him, it is as if there will be no problem as long as he’s here. What a heartening player!” Motson once again gave praise generously.
Even the neutral Spanish fans also gave a round of warm applause to George Wood who played while injured. The people who were dissatisfied with Wood’s performance were probably only the Germans…
※※※
Twain saw such a mature George Wood off the field and felt a real impulse to cry. It was a world of difference from that young boy ten years ago! But he did not forget to protect Wood as he shouted Rooney’s name on the sidelines, telling him not to go to the sideline and to help Wood defend in the middle to share his burden.
Only four minutes to go, they would win once they got through it! At this point, he did not have any joy about winning. He just hoped nothing would happen to Wood’s right toe anymore.
If George Wood was hurt because of this game… He would not forgive himself.
“You mustn’t get hurt again, George…” Twain prayed for Wood in his heart.
Meanwhile, Sophia was also praying for her son.
With Wood around, it became difficult for the Germany team’s offense to get into England’s penalty area. They could only choose to kick more long shots. The England fans could have celebrated the victory of the game ahead of time had it not been for the Germany team’s skilled long shots.
Despite the help from Rooney and other teammates, George Wood remained the focal point of the camera lens. He was so eye-catching because he kept running. His figure was found in any dangerous spots. The camera could not avoid capturing him even if it wanted to.
“Even though he hasn’t fully recovered from his foot injury, his performance is still world class!” Motson exclaimed again, “In the face of such a tenacious George Wood, there’s nothing the Germany team can do! Apart from their long shots, they do not even have a chance to get the ball up on the sideline!”
Indeed, Marko Marin had just tried to use his footwork skills on the sideline to fool Wood and cross the ball over. But the football was jabbed out of the end line by Wood who caught up. Although it gave the other team a corner kick, the Germany team’s attack did not succeed this time.
Following which, during the corner kick, Wood locked in his position again and jumped first to head the flying football out.
“If I had to score the game after, I would not have hesitated to give England’s number 13, George Wood the best player of the game!” The Spanish television commentator said so.
“He is the brightest star in the last ten minutes of the game. He’s deservedly the standard of England! I’m glad that he was seated on the substitutes’ bench the entire time for our game…” The Portuguese commentator made an observation, even though his country team lost 2:4 to England. But when faced with such a tenacious George Wood, he could not help but feel respect in his heart.
“This is George Wood playing with an injury. If it were to be a healthy George Wood… how scary would it be?” The Italian commentator was beginning to wonder what would happen if his country team met with England.
“He’s England’s Mazinger Z!” The Chinese commentator’s critique was much simpler, but more sensational. . .
※※※
As Wood tried his hardest on the pitch, the England team’s substitutes had long gathered and waited on the sidelines, ready to celebrate another victory over the Germany team and the team’s advance to the next level.
It was now less than half a minute from the end of the injury stoppage time. And the Germany team still could not find a better solution. Sammer had already used up his remaining substitution spots but was still unable to break through England’s defense led by Wood. Now he was no longer walk along the sidelines anxiously but quieted down. Perhaps he had already accepted the outcome – he did not anticipate that George Wood would play at the last minute with his injury. He also did not consider that Tony Twain would actually agree to this somewhat ridiculous request…
George Wood did not let his guard down by the way his substitute teammates acted. He would never stop running until he heard the referee’s three whistles. Also, since he had not played for sixty-five days, there was even some hope that the game would last a little longer…
Finally, when he last kicked Toni Kroos’ shot out of the sideline, he heard the referee’s whistle, all three whistles, and the game was over!
...
Chapter 950 - After the Big Battle
“The game is over! The game is over!” John Motson roared with joy. England had not beaten Germany in any international competition before the year 2000. In the group stage of the 2000 UEFA European Championship, England beat Germany with a goal by Shearer. But both teams were eliminated, and that victory was gradually forgotten by people. Since then, England had not met Germany in the international arena. In the eyes of the Germans, the England team was a second-rate team that could only show off its ability in non-important games. It could not be compared to the three times World Cup winner and three times UEFA European Football Championship title holder, Germany.
Such a view was unacceptable to the proud English people, who were also the forerunners of modern football and had never lost to Germany before 1968. Instead, now it was ridiculed by its opponent who was not worth mentioning at the time. Defeating Germany in an important international competition, and preferably knocking the Germany team out, was the biggest wish of all English people.
Now their dream had become a reality.
Just one minute before the match between Germany and England ended, a piece of heartening news for the English people came from another stadium – Portugal and Wales tied at 0:0 after a dreary game.
What did it entail?
One would know just by looking at the broken-hearted Germans, and then looking at Sammer’s desolate eyes.
The Germany team was eliminated!
The rankings from the latest results went like this: the England team, which had won twice and lost once in three games, was at the top of the group with six points. Portugal and Wales were tied with four points apiece with a win, a draw and a loss. But Portugal was ranked second based on its higher goal difference and Wales was in the third. England and Portugal would advance directly to the top 16, while Wales would have to wait for the final points rankings against teams from the other groups to see if they could finish as the best team among the third placeholders in the top four teams to advance to the next level. As for the Germany team… they were ranked fourth with one win and two defeats. They accumulated only three points and was confirmed to be eliminated.
“The Germans are going home! They don’t have to go too far, because a lot of German players are going on holiday in the sunny Spain…” Motson waved to the pitch below, “Goodbye to the Germans! Goodbye! Ah ha!”
The football feud between England and Germany was vividly reflected in this moment.
While the English people in the stands cheered their team’s victory, they did not forget to laugh at the Germans. They loudly chanted, “What’s wrong with your face? Matthias? Why do you look so sad?”
Then they sang “Time to say goodbye.” It was time to say goodbye, the things you haven’t had time to experience, and now you’ll never see them again… Time to say goodbye…”
At this time, the security guards and police force at the Nou Mestalla stadium were suddenly on high alert and stood in between the fans of both team with fierce expressions on each of their faces. They asked the England fans to remain in the stands for the time being to allow the German fans to leave first so as to avoid clashes between the fans of both teams as they walked out of the stadium. The England fans did not mind. They wanted to enjoy the joy of victory a while longer here.
There were fewer and fewer German fans in the stands. A few overly agitated German fans were still under police control. Only the England fans were left. They sang and danced in the stands.
On the pitch below the stands, the England players had just lined up to thank the fans and were enjoying the victory at present.
Twain was the first to rush onto the field when the final whistle blew. Instead of hugging the nearest player, he ran straight to George Wood, along with the team doctor, Derek Wright. The two of them clearly had the same thought.
“How’s the right foot, George?” The two men reached almost at the same time and asked in unison.
The scene was really a little comical but none of the three people laughed. Wood shook his head and said, “It’s nothing.”
“Don’t lie. I saw the look on your face just now!” Twain said sternly with a frown.
While Twain was still talking, Wright had already crouched down to check on Wood. That was when Twain caught a glimpse that some of the media had turned their attention over. He hurriedly said to Wright, “Don’t be hasty, Mr. Wright. Don’t let the bunch of reporters get any good news.”
Wright knew what Twain meant. He hurriedly got up and took his leave of the two men.
A reporter recognized him when he passed by the media. He had wanted to ask him about George Wood’s condition. But Wright just waved his hands, walked past him quickly and disappeared into the crowd.
Just as Twain grabbed hold of Wood’s shoulder, the sharp-eyed and quick photojournalists pressed the camera shutters to capture the scene.
It was a precious photograph: after a fierce battle, the team’s two biggest contributors embraced together to celebrate the victory.
“Congratulations on the victory. Can you say a few words to us? Mr. Twain!” The reporters extended the microphones to Twain’s lips.
“I’m very happy that my team has advanced out of the group stage and defeated Germany.” Twain had nothing much to say.
The reporters could only turn the microphones to Wood when they saw that Twain was being uncooperative, “Congratulations on your wonderful performance in the game, George! Can we ask about your right foot…”
“There’s no problem.” Wood replied categorically.
“Will you be in the starting lineup in the next game?”
Wood was about to open his mouth to answer the question when he was interrupted by Twain’s voice. “I’m sorry, my player just had a tough game. He needs to rest now. Can you not stand in our way?”
This group of reporters rolled their eyes when they heard it. George Wood had went on and ran for fifteen minutes. Why would he need a break? The excuse was …
Twain did not care what they thought. He held Wood and squeezed out of the crowd. A procession of reporters pursued them along the way, but he turned a blind eye to them.
Until they entered the tunnel, then Wood asked, “Why didn’t you let me answer the question just now?”
“I’m afraid you would say the wrong thing.”
“I can play in the next game.”
“It depends on the results of the team doctor’s examination.” Twain turned to look at Wood as he said, “The situation was too risky today. I do not want to do it again. For the sake of my heart, just bear with it a little longer, George.” He said with a smile.
Wood was out of ideas when he brought up his heart condition. He was silent.
When Twain saw his mood became a little low, he hurriedly patted his head to comfort, “Aren’t you quite confident about your own body? The team needs you, George. I won’t always keep you on the substitutes’ bench.”
Wood stopped to look at him, as if he was trying to glean from his expression whether his words were true or just to placate him.
Twain did not shy away from his eyes.
Wood did not see that he meant to placate him with those, so he believed Twain.
“Let’s go, George.” Twain patted him on the back and added, “Go back and have a good rest. There are more intense matches waiting for you.”
※※※
After seeing Wood to the locker room, Twain finally accepted interviews by the reporters. He admitted that the game was tough and also praised the Germany team for its performance.
When a reporter asked if he knew that Wood was still a little injured when he brought George Wood on at the last minute, Twain gave pause for a moment. Eventually he nodded and said, “He hasn’t fully recovered from his injury, but I think it’s okay for him to play ten minutes.”
“Are you worried that he will aggravate his injury?” The same reporter followed up with a question.
Twain had to appraise the reporter who raised the question again. This person was actually in a suit in this weather, wearing a white shirt with a tie, with his hair combed back and not a strand out of place. He was also wearing a pair of black-rimmed glasses and appeared to be matured, but this person also looked not over thirty years old. Was he from The Sun? He had not seen this man. Or from the News of the World? He did not look like it…
Twain frowned and said, “I’m not worried. We know all about his recovery from his injury.”
He told a lie because he did not want to continue to tangle with the group of reporters here.
The reporter’s questions made Twain lost his mood for the interview. He quickly made his way to the locker room to see the results from the team doctor, Wright’s examination of Wood.
“Mr. Twain, I still have a question!”
Twain, may I ask if George Wood will be in the starting lineup in the round of 16? Or will he just play during the game…”
Seeing him leaving, the group of people hurriedly shouted without any regard for order.
Twain turned a deaf ear and turned a blind eye as he pushed the reporters aside and squeeze out of the crowd.
He pushed open the door to the locker room. Some of the players had already returned. As for those players who had not returned, they must be at the interviews in the mixed zone. Seeing the boss appear at the door of the locker room, everyone looked over and greeted Twain. Twain nodded his head in response and went straight to a corner where Wright was examining Wood’s right toe.
“How is it, Mr. Wright?” Twain asked.
Derek Wright looked up at Twain, then stood up and motioned for them to go out to talk.
Next to them, Wood watched the two men gradually walk out the door and then closed it.
“George, how’s your injury?” As soon as the boss left, the players suddenly gathered around and asked with concern.
Wood shook his head and replied, “I think it’s all right. But …” He looked toward the door and everyone knew what that meant.
The person who would decide whether Wood’s right toe was okay was not himself, but the two men who had just stepped outside together.
※※※
Outside the locker room, the two men dodged the crowd and found a corner that no one noticed to start a conversation that was likely to be relevant to the England team’s path in the future.
“From a purely medical point of view, I suggest letting him do strength and endurance training the day after tomorrow and not come into contact with the ball. As to what to do after that, we have to keep observing. I have just examined it. His injury is not too big a problem, but I can’t tell you at this point how it will definitely be or not be.” As the head team doctor, Derek Wright had always been cautious. He had to be cautious as it directly affected a player’s future career. If he misjudged and said something wrong, it was likely to ruin the future of a promising professional player.
It was not as if there was no precedent for such a thing in English football, because most of the English clubs’ former team doctors were not truly qualified doctors. They even did not have any knowledge about sports medicine, thinking that using a “magic sponge”, they could cure a hundred illnesses.
Such tragedies had occurred in the Redknapp family, a famous football family in England. The former Liverpool captain, Jamie Redknapp’s brother, Mark Redknapp, was originally a promising professional footballer. As the hopeful star at Bournemouth Football Club, he was injured in a game and carried off the field. After which, he could only walk on crutches.
What was initially an ankle fracture, it was instead recklessly diagnosed by the club’s team doctor as “ligament strain.” As a result, in the following year with the condition of a fractured ankle, he continuously trained, played in games, was injured and recovered Then he would train again, appeared in games, and be injured again… Until he finally had to end his career early and become a football agent. But he tried not to watch football matches in the stadiums. Football had left him with no good memories, and it was all thanks to an irresponsible and inexperienced “Mr. Nanguo.”
“If it is possible, it’s better to undergo an X-ray.” He added.
However, Twain found the request difficult. “We didn’t bring such equipment to Spain…”
“Where’s the local hospital?”
“I don’t know, but I can try asking.”
“Then explain it to them.”
Twain nodded in agreement with the suggestion. He dared not treat George Wood’s problem lightly. Even though it was a bit of a hassle, it was worth it. He also wanted to give himself a peace of mind.
After the decision was made, both men seemed to feel a little more relaxed. Wright even joked with Twain, “Although it was dangerous to get Wood on the pitch in the last ten minutes, we also confirmed one thing: George’s form is still there and there is no problem coordinating with the team. You can rest assured, Tony.”
Twain smiled, “He has always been like this, so impossibly stable that it would frustrate the enemies.” His tone suggested he was rather proud of it. After all, George Wood was cultivated by him. It reflected well of him that Wood was doing well.
The two men chatted casually and returned to the locker room. The players who were being interviewed outside had all come back. When they saw the boss come in, they all looked over to him. They had defeated their sworn enemy, the Germany team and even gained the top spot in the group to smoothly advance. Everyone still wanted to hear praise from the boss.
Twain did not disappoint them. When he saw that everyone was present, he said beaming, “Well done, guys. We’ve just won Germany and even sent them packing home!” He made gesture of kicking butts which made the players laugh.
England and Germany had a feud in football. Although Twain was not an Englishman at heart, his players were English, so he must act the same and view this feud as important. In this way, it would help to boost the team’s morale and rally the hearts of the people. If he ignores the fact that the entire country placed a lot of importance to this opponent, then he could not establish the trust within his team. That was another reason why Twain was so focused on the game against Germany.
It was as if the manager of the Chinese national team had said he did not care about the outcome of the match before the game between China and Japan. That he even found the feelings of enmity toward the Japanese displayed by the players, media and football fans inexplicable and remained indifferent. His position in the locker room would have plummeted and he would receive little support from people.
“Now you all can relax for a little. We’ll have a holiday tomorrow! But I must remind you…” Twain’s expression became serious again as he said, “I don’t want you to be in a good form for one game and be terrible for the next. I don’t want a repeat of the game against Wales. Every game from now on is a game of knockout. Losing a game means we’re the ones to go home! Our goal is to be the champion. No one is allowed to drop out of the team before we lift the championship trophy!”
At the end of the lecture, Twain put his hands together and announced, “Well, now pack up your things and head back to the hotel. You can have a good night’s sleep tonight, England’s heroes!”
...
Chapter 951 - A Check-up
Early next morning, a black Mercedes set off from the hotel where the England team was staying for Hospital Universitario y Politécnico de La Fe in Valencia, where a woman with a broken hand for 28 years once had a successful hand transplant. The hospital was quite influential in the field of orthopedic surgery.
As the team was heading today to Sevilla, where the next game was being held, time was very tight. To this end, the British Embassy in Spain came forward and contacted the hospital for the team, which made it possible to arrange for an examination in the shortest time. Moreover, this matter had to be kept secret from the news media. Any incident could be complicated when it became entangled with the news media.
Fortunately, the England team’s round of 16 opponent was not Spain. Otherwise the Spanish side would not be so happy to oblige with the examination.
The people in the car were Twain, Derek Wright and George Wood, as well as Doctor Wallace, who had been on holiday in Spain during this time. He also followed closely Wood’s recovery from his injury. The team also informed him of the hospital check-up this time. He had hurried through the night and arrived at Valencia so as to provide the most professional and authoritative advice.
The Royal Hospital of Nottingham University was the English Football Association’s partner hospital. Whenever the national team’s players were injured or fall ill, they would be treated by them. The English Football Association had a lot of faith in Wallace.
Apart from the driver, none of the four people in the car spoke. The atmosphere seemed a little depressing. Twain started to make a joke, “Why do I feel like we’re going to an execution ground? Can you all not look so grim, okay?”
Wallace smiled, “Why don’t we talk about yesterday’s game? That was fantastic, Tony. Overtaking Germany, you’ve caused the always tough Germans at a loss.”
Twain gave Wood a glance and said, “It would be really hard to know how things would have turned out if it had not been for George.”
Wood was the most resistant to going to the hospital among these people. He said, “I feel like I played well, and I don’t have any problems with my foot. I don’t have to go to the hospital for a check-up.”
“That will not do, George. To ensure your wellbeing, this check-up must be done. Since you think you’re fine, what’s there to be afraid of?” Twain winked at Wood.
“I’m not afraid…” Wood said somewhat diffidently.
When the group of people arrived at the hospital, they did not caught sight of any press or reporters. It looked like the other side really abide by their promise and did not inform the media.
An examination of Wood’s right big toe took half an hour. Twain could not understand the medical jargons while Wright and Wallace were reviewing the X-rays with the Spanish doctors. Twain was not interested in the discussion. He just wanted to know the final result.
So, he waited for Wallace to finish the conversation and went up to ask, “What is the conclusion, Doctor?”
“The good news is that his right big toe wasn’t hurt again in yesterday’s game. The bad news is that his foot is still in recovery.” Wallace looked at Twain and said. The smile on his face was gone and his expression was serious.
“From the looks of yesterday’s game, George Wood’s right foot still hurts when he touches the ball and uses force. Although his threshold is so strong that people can’t really tell, it does not help him during the recovery from his injury. My advice is that for the next game, it’s better not to let him…” Doctor Wallace deliberated for a moment as he considered Wood’s attitude before he spoke again, “Not to let him be in the starting lineup.”
Twain frowned. Wood was resting in another room after he undergone the physical examination and could not hear the conversation between them.
The piece of news was neither good nor bad. England’s round of 16 opponent had been announced and it was not a very strong team. But it was not considered weak too. It had a somewhat special relationship with the England team – it was the Sweden team.
Before that, England had not beaten Sweden in 48 years.
George Wood was definitely the core of the team and the most important piece of the game. This could be seen from the last ten minutes against Germany. There was a huge difference between him being on the field and not on the field. Without George Wood, the England team could still overtake Germany, but it was not as reassuring. As soon as Wood came on, everyone’s hearts that had jumped to their throats settled back smoothly.
An opponent like Sweden could not be taken lightly. After being humiliated by Wales, Twain could not afford to underestimate their opponent anymore. A team that could break into the knockout stages was not a team that England could defeat with their eyes closed. It included Wales.
Wood was important to the team, but Wood’s personal career was equally important too.
Twain thought for a moment and decided to accept Doctor Wallace’s advice. He said, “I’m not going to have him in the starting lineup.”
A smile re-emerged on Wallace’s face as he said, “You have to worry about how to talk to him. He is quite stubborn.”
Twain shrugged and replied, “What else can I say? I have to coax him like a child. He’s already thirty years old, and yet he’s like a seven- or eight-years old kid…”
Men with an Oedipus complex would not grow up and always hoped that they were still the children who could be in their mothers’ arms.
Twain rubbed his temple as he went out. He had to look at George Wood in the eyes.
※※※
Wood looked at Twain without an expression on his face. There was not even a look of anticipation. But the look in those eyes gave Twain a headache.
“The results are out, George.” Twain tried his best to make himself smile.
Wood did not follow up with a question of “What are the results?” He just continued to look silently at Twain.
But it would have been better if he did speak up. Twain felt it was difficult to handle when he did not open his mouth to speak.
“There’s good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?” Twain had to attempt with a cliched method.
“Good news.” Wood blurted out the answer without hesitation.
“Your big toe was not injured a second time in yesterday’s game.”
Wood was not surprised by it as he knew his body well. Although the collision against Rolfes was the most intense in the game, he still managed to miss the injured area at the crucial moment. It was the physical instinct of an experienced professional player.
“What’s the bad news?”
After the exchange, Twain’s mood gradually calmed down. He did not hesitate and replied directly, “I won’t arrange for you to be the starting lineup in the game against Sweden.”
There was a change in the expression on Wood’s face. He stared at Twain with widened eyes. There was even some anger in his eyes. He still remembered what Twain had said to him before: he could make a formal comeback when it was time for the elimination round.
Twain certainly knew the meaning of Wood’s expression, and he laughed bitterly, “Your injury has not completely healed. I can’t let you take the risk in the game. I don’t want a repeat of Michael Owen’s incident in the game against Sweden at the World Cup in Germany to happen to you, George.”
What caused Michael Owen’s career to decline to a low ebb began with that injury. He had just returned from recovery of an injury at the time. Just 50 seconds into the World Cup game against Sweden in Germany, he fell to the ground in agony after hitting the ball on the sideline and was carried off the field on a stretcher after. He not only missed the World Cup but was also absent for most of the rest of the season. By the time he recovered from his injury, he could no longer get back the glory of his past.
Twain did not want to take the risk.
What Wood wanted to say was stopped by Twain’s gesture. He said, “Whatever you want to say, George, I won’t change my mind. Yes, I admit I have to go back on my word and cannot keep my promise. But the sake of your health and out of consideration for your future career, I would rather eat my words and break my promise. You can rest assured that we will keep a close eye on your injury recovery every day and, once it is confirmed that you really have no problem, I will let you play in the starting lineup…”
Wood was still reluctant and wanted to open his mouth to fight back, but was interrupted once again by Twain, who said, “Think of your mother, George. Don’t let your mother worry about you anymore.”
This sentence hit Wood’s weakness. He stopped there and did not know how to rebut Twain for a long while. After yesterday’s game had ended, he called his mother. Unexpectedly, his mother did not praise his performance on the pitch. The first sentence from her was to ask him how his foot was. At that time, he was not in the least concerned and said it was nothing. But his mother was still very worried and did not seem to believe his words.
But how did the boss know his mother would be worried? Wood looked suspiciously at Twain.
Twain knew what was on his mind and said, “I didn’t talk to your mother on the phone, but it’s only natural. You may not care about your career, but you have to think about it for your mom. No mother would want her son to spend his life on crutches. I’m not being an alarmist; you should know it.”
Wood was completely silent. He bowed his head and fell into contemplation.
Twain knew he had managed to persuade him, so he turned around and went out the door.
Wallace and Wright were waiting anxiously outside. When they saw Twain come out, they looked like they were in a hurry to ask questions.
“It’s all right.” Twain shrugged and spread his hand, “He accepted it.”
The two men were relieved at the same time.
“That’s good.” Wright was the most relieved. Otherwise he would find it extremely difficult to face George Wood’s stubborn look in his eyes every time.
But Twain’s next words made him nervous again.
“I hope he recovers as soon as possible, Mr. Wright. This is the work of your team doctors. No matter what, I’m going to let him start in the quarterfinals!” Twain said determinedly and basically did not give Wright a chance to implore at all.
Next to them, Wallace looked at his industry peer, somewhat rejoicing in his predicament. Fortunately, he now had nothing to do with the national team. He merely helped out. Otherwise, it would really be wretched to work for such an unreasonable manager…
※※※
When the four men walked out of the hospital and were ready to get in the car to leave, they were startled by a sight in front of their eyes:
At least 50 reporters crowded the hospital entrance and made it impenetrable. The policemen who were summoned at the last minute to maintain order, were sweating profusely and still unable to control the surging crowd. Especially when Twain and the other men in Twain’s party showed up at the entrance of the hospital lobby…
When Twain, Wood and the others came out of the hospital, the reporters no longer cared about the policemen stopping them. They swarmed forward and tossed their questions along with the microphones at Twain and Wood.
“Why did you suddenly come to the hospital for a check-up? Is it because George Wood’s injury has worsened?”
“Mr. Twain, was this examination related to the game with the Germany team? Was George Wood’s right big toe hurt again during the game with the Germany team?”
“Is it possible to reveal what the results of the examination are?”
“Mr. Wood, how are you doing with your injury?”
“Can you make it to the game with the Swedish team, George?”
“Mr. Wright, can you say something about Wood’s foot injury?”
“Doctor Wallace, Doctor Wallace…”
Apparently none of these four men wanted to answer the questions. The policemen at the scene surrounded them tightly with them in the middle and escorted them as they squeezed their way to their car.
Some of the microphones had even hit the four people on their heads. They had to put their hands up to protect their heads, looking like criminals guilty of monstrous crimes, who had to be wary of rotten eggs and tomatoes thrown by angry crowds.
They spent five minutes squeezing before they could get to the car in the short distance of ten meters. After using force to shut the car door, Twain quipped, “Look to see if your wallets are still around, gentlemen.”
Wright was still a little stunned. He said, “How did the media know that we are here?”
Twain shrugged and said, “Who knows? The paparazzi are everywhere. They’re more omnipotent than God.” As he spoke, he also glanced at Wood, who was sitting in the back. Wood had his head down and appeared heavy-hearted.
“Let’s go.” Twain barked out a command to leave. The driver started the car and slowly drove out of the crowd. Then he accelerated the car to drive away.
※※※
Half a day later, when the England team arrived in Seville, the online editions of the various major media had already published the latest news – the morning of that day, George Wood went to Hospital Universitario y Politécnico de La Fe in Valencia for a check-up, accompanied by Manager Tony Twain, the head team doctor, Derek Wright and the renowned surgeon, Doctor Wallace. The details of the exact situation were unknown. But the fact that they had hurried to the hospital for the check-up the next day after the game with the Germany team made people’s imagination run wild …
For a while, rumors that “George Wood will be absent from the match against Sweden” and even “He will miss the rest of the UEFA European Championship” were swirling about.
With the help of the fiber optic cable buried in the oceans and satellites in the space, such rumors scattered everywhere on the internet and stir up public sentiment with false statements.
You don’t believe it? Maybe that is the truth.
Do you believe it? Maybe it’s all a scam to fool everyone.
In the afternoon’s training during the fifteen minutes of opening to the media, everyone could clearly see that George Wood was with the team for warm-up practice and he even kicked two shots!
In that case, what was going on in the morning news?
Fifteen minutes soon came to an end, and the reporters were a little reluctant to leave. They wanted to ask Twain about what had happened to Wood.
Instead, Twain ruthlessly evicted them and refused to answer any questions.
“We have a right to know the truth about the news!” There were reporters who protested with displeasure.
“I have the right to refuse to answer any questions.” Twain responded, “Get them out of here!” He yelled at the security guard. As a result, the security guards were no longer polite, and even pushed and pulled the reporters out of the gate of the training ground.
“Come on! This again!” The English reporters were disgruntled but could not do anything about the manager who had just led the team to eliminate the Germany team. As long as the results were good, Twain could continue to dominate the national team. There was nothing they could nothing except to spit on the ground they stood on.
The Swedish reporters thought more complicatedly than their English counterparts – Was there any conspiracy on Twain’s part to refuse the media shooting and interviews so nervously? Did George Wood really go to the hospital for a check-up or was it just a smokescreen?
Would George Wood be in the starting lineup in the game between England and Sweden?
They were desperate to figure this out because it had to do with whether the Swedish team could go any further in the UEFA European Championship.
...
Chapter 952 - Mystical Destiny
Twain realized that luck has slowly been slipping away from his team ever since their loss to Wales. The number of players who would not be able to play in the match against Sweden has just increased to three – Bentley, George Wood and Walcott have all picked up an injury and are all ruled out of the match.
Walcott had sprained his ankle and is definitely not going to be able to play in both the Round of 16 match and the quarter-finals.
Fortunately for Twain, he had brought three right midfielders along with him for the Euro Cup. The media might have heavily criticized this action of his in the past, but now it has become England’s salvation, because they did not need to worry about which player would have to play out of position and play as a right midfielder instead.
Adriano Moke would definitely be starting in the match against Sweden. As for whether or not he would play in the quarter-finals… That still remains a doubt. If he performs well in the match against Sweden, he might continue to start for the next match, but if he fails to perform, then Twain would have to see how well Bentley has recovered before making his decision.
But, if Moke fails to perform and Bentley also fails to recover in time for the next match… Twain would be given a bad headache.
※※※
The Swedes are especially concerned about George Wood’s injury. They did not worry about Walcott since he has been ruled out of the match against them, but there is a chance that Wood might be play. George Wood is the core of the England team, and his effectiveness has been amply shown in the final 10 minutes of the match against Germany.
The manager of the Sweden national team, Lars Lagerbäck, has been closely monitoring the news regarding the England team. He suspects that Tony Twain has been deliberately releasing false information regarding Wood’s ability to play in the match to the public. Twain got Wood to undergo a medical examination earlier in the day, and Wood was subsequently pictured to be training with the rest of the team during the training session. Wood did not look troubled when he trained with the ball, and it seems like he would be fit to play in the match against Sweden.
However, based on their research, they know that Tony Twain is a crafty man. One would never know what Twain plans on doing next because nothing is ever what it seems with this man.
Sweden needs to come up with a set of tactics to deal with Wood if he is starting in the match, and they also need another set of tactics to deal with England if Wood is not starting or if he is not even going to play in the match. Lagerbäck needs to decide on the exact tactic that he would use in the match soon. He cannot possibly get his team to practise two different sets of tactics. There is too little time for that.
Twain obviously would not let Lagerbäck know what his plans for the match are. The reporters have only been able to take photos of the England team’s warm-ups so far.
In the end, Lagerbäck came up with a set of tactics based on the assumption that George Wood would not be starting in the match. He believes that there must be a reason behind Wood’s visit to the hospital, and he thinks it’s because Wood’s injury has yet to fully recover. In addition, Sweden is no match for England. Lagerbäck was certain that Twain would not risk playing his best player in a match where England has a good chance of winning.
Lagerbäck once explained to the media why Sweden is able to maintain a 48-year unbeaten record against England, “We are very familiar with the England team. The British style of football is very predictable. Their biggest foe is actually themselves. They are always so arrogant and they never spend time to research about their opponents.”
Lagerbäck believes that he knows England inside out. This is the case 10 years ago, and it will still be 10 years later. Tony Twain would definitely not start George Wood in the game, and England would definitely not change the way that they play in the match either. His team would be able to keep their unbeaten record against England as long as they stay on their toes and play cautiously.
※※※
Lagerbäck got it right. Twain does not plan on letting Wood start in the match. However, the reason behind his decision is not because he feels that his team can win against Sweden easily without Wood.
Twain has actually become extra cautious after getting punished by Wales previously.
He can’t help but be even more cautious against Sweden since the latter is considered to be England’s nemesis.
Sweden is a team that is not regarded to be a strong team in Europe. However, they are a thorn in England’s flesh. England might not fear France, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and other powerhouse European teams, but things are different with Sweden.
What the England fans feel towards Sweden is nothing like the hatred that they feel towards Germany. What they feel is a kind of pain that is brought about by the fact that England has not won against Sweden for the past 48 years…
For a self-proclaimed top team like England, whose aims are to become World and European champions, losing to a weak European team like Sweden for 48 years in a row is depressing. England go into every match feeling confident that they will win against Sweden, but the results are never what they expect.
The last time England faced off against Sweden in an international competition was during the Germany World Cup back in 2006. The two sides met in the last match of the group stage. Both teams played well for one half of the match respectively, and the final score was 2:2. The manager of the Sweden team back then was Lagerbäck, and he still remains as their manager even now. In contrast, England has changed their manager four times in this period of time, from Sven-Göran Eriksson to Steve McClaren to Fabio Capello and finally to Tony Twain.
England’s last victory over Sweden came in 1968, two years after winning the World Cup in 1966.
The year 1968 was an intriguing year. The England national team that had just won the World Cup in 1966 seemed to have used up all the good luck that they had accumulated over the past century in that one year. It was the last time they ever won Sweden in its history, and it was also the very first time that they lost to Germany as well. Not only that, England has never won the World Cup or the Euro Cup since 1968 either. In fact, they have never made it into the finals since then. Every subsequent England team might have been touted as the ‘strongest team England has ever had’, but they always ended up disappointing the entire nation in the end.
Ever since 1968, England has faced off with Sweden 12 times. Eight of those matches were draws and four of them were losses. England still has yet to win once against Sweden.
England has not encountered Sweden in an international competition since 2006, and many people have slowly forgotten about England’s winless record against Sweden after so many years. It was only when England and Sweden met in the knockout stages of this year’s Euro Cup that people began to recall the fact England has not won against Sweden for the past 48 years.
Sweden not only brought shame to the England football team, they also brought bad luck to them. Every time England loses or encounters Sweden in a particular competition, they would become very unlucky in that very competition. This might sound superstitious, but it is true. One example can be found in the 1990 World Cup. England and Sweden were in the same group during the qualifiers for the 1990 World Cup, and England lost to Sweden when the two faced off with each other. England still managed to qualify for the World Cup in the end, but they lost in the semi-finals. In 1995, England played against Sweden in a friendly match in preparation for the Euro Cup. They lost against Sweden in that match and were subsequently eliminated during the semi-finals of the Euro Cup. During the qualifiers for the 2000 Euro Cup, England and Sweden were placed in the same group once again. This time round, Sweden dominated against England and was placed first in the group. England was still able to qualify for the Euro Cup, but they were eliminated in the group stages. Before the 2004 Euro Cup, England tried to break the ‘curse’ surrounding them and Sweden one more time, but they failed. They still lost to Sweden, and they were also eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Euro Cup. During the 2006 World Cup, England and Sweden were in the same group, and both sides went away from the match with a draw. England managed to top the group by gaining one point from the match, and they also successfully evaded their bitter rivals Germany in the next round. However, they still lost to Portugal on penalties in the next match, and the ‘curse’ continues.
Back then, the British stubbornly believed that England would be able to realize their dream of becoming world champions as long as they defeat Sweden.
How embarrassing. It seems like China is not the only country who suffers from some strange curse that prevents them from winning every time they encounter a certain team.
England might have defeated their biggest rival Germany earlier, but the England fans were not able to say that their team would definitely be able to change their destiny against the Swedes this time round. Many of them continued to worry about their team’s future in the competition. The fans who had booked their hotels all the way till the finals were also starting to wonder if their money had gone to waste.
Unlike the match between England and Germany, the match between England and Sweden is not etched in hatred, and it is bound to elicit less of a reaction from both the fans and players alike. The England and Sweden players did not talk much about the match during their interviews, and the fans did not react as strongly as they did previously against the Germany team either.
The reason is because both the Swedes and the British are confused about this ‘record’ that the two countries have with each other.
A Sweden player smiled when he was asked by a reporter why their team has not lost to England for the past 48 years. “This is a question that puzzles all of us. We all don’t know why.”
The 34-year-old Ibrahimovic is a player who participated in the 2006 World Cup, but he did not play in the match against England back then. However, he still vividly remembers the scenes from that match as he sat on the bench. England had just scored their second goal on the 85th minute of the match, and Sweden was still trailing by 1:2 during the 90th minute. Everyone thought that the match was going to end up as a loss for Sweden, but Henrik Larsson’s queer header leveled the score at 2:2 in the final minutes of the match. It is truly an outlandish turn of events.
The smile on Ibrahimovic’s face was quickly replaced by a frown when a reporter asked him about his thoughts regarding the 2006 match between Sweden and England. “I don’t know what happened back then. It truly was a strange match. Our team seemed to be full of energy in the second half. The last goal was definitely odd too. I don’t know how Larsson managed to head the ball into the back of the net. Maybe with help from God?” A smile emerged on his face once again as he finished his words.
The reporters from Sweden were curious and confused about the record that Sweden has against England. Their country is definitely not on par with England in terms of footballing abilities, and England has also consistently performed better than Sweden in the international competitions as well. So, why is it that England can’t beat them for 48 years? There is such a big gap in their abilities!
The England players also found it weird when they were asked about it by the reporters.
Not being able to win against Germany for many years in a row leads to hatred and a strong desire to win in the England players, but not being able to win against Sweden only leaves the players feeling confused. They just can’t seem to be able to bring themselves to hate the Sweden players when they know that their opponents are clearly not on the same level as they are.
To the British, their relationship with Germany can be summed up with the word ‘feud’. But, the only word that can describe their relationship with Sweden would be ‘destiny’, because there seems to be some unknown force at play that keeps them from winning against Sweden.
※※※
“I don’t know why we can’t beat them. Maybe we just have really bad luck…” Rooney could only scratch the back of his head as he recalled about what happened in England’s last match against Sweden back in 2006. He played in that very match back then, but he was left feeling very upset at the previous national team manager, Sven-Göran Eriksson, for taking him off the pitch halfway through the match.
Reporters from England, Sweden and several other countries crowded outside the hotel that the England national team was staying in. They were not allowed entry into the hotel, so they could only wait outside. The moment they see an England player walk out from the hotel, they would all flock up to him and hold out their microphones towards him.
“I did not play in England’s previous match against Sweden, and I’ve also not played in any of those 12 matches from before. I don’t know why such a record exists.” Aaron Mitchell was forced to answer the question after being repeatedly asked by the reporters.
Tony Twain walked out of the hotel, and he frowned when he saw how the reporters had surrounded his players.
He has been repeatedly asked the question regarding the record between England and Sweden for the past two days as well. “Why has the strong England team failed to win against Sweden for the past 48 years?”
Initially, he had dismissed the question as being nothing more than a joke, but now that everyone is asking him the same question, he could not help but be on guard.
The reason was because he glimpsed danger in the fanatic eyes of the reporters.
He was thankful for the fact that England had not faced off with Sweden since 2006, because it meant that most people would have forgotten about the existence of such a record by now, and this is beneficial in helping him prepare for the match. However, he did not expect the media to publish numerous articles about it now. It was as though they were scared that none of the players knew about the 48-year grudge between England and Sweden.
The current situation made him remember how the China national football team suffered from a ‘fear of the Korea national football team’. Losing to the same opponent multiple times was not supposed to be a big deal, but the media blew the entire issue out of proportion, and they made the Korea team seem like an extremely strong team that the China team would never be able to defeat. This bred fear in the hearts of the China players towards the Korea team. The China players were never mentally strong players to begin with, and the media’s actions put the nail in the coffin. It has led to the China team not being able to win against the Koreans for a very long time…
The media was the biggest contributor to the China team’s inability to defeat the Korea team.
Twain did not want the tragedy to repeat itself. People might say that England football is on a totally different level from China football, but in Twain’s eyes, England is just like a ‘European China football team’. There are too many similarities between the two sides. The England players have all been spoiled by the British media and many of them are mentally weak. In fact, the England players might be the most vulnerable when compared against players from other powerhouse teams in Europe.
If he allows the reporters to keep harassing his players, some of his newbie players might suffer from a mental disorder afterwards… This cannot go on.
The one thing that the media is best at is creating chaos.
Twain turned around and walked back into the hotel lobby. He then walked up to the hotel’s security guard, and he pointed at the ‘passionate’ reporters outside the hotel before saying, “My players need a good rest. I don’t want any of them to be harassed by the media. Also, all those reporters are currently blocking the entrance into your hotel. This inconveniences your other guests as well.”
The security guard had heard a thing or two from his colleagues about how to deal with the England team. He quickly nodded his head. “Yes, sir. I will get them to leave.”
Twain nodded his head approvingly at the security guard before he sat down at a vacant seat in the lobby. He then watched as the hotel’s security guards chased away the reluctant reporters.
During the tactical meeting at night, Twain announced a new rule: every single player is not allowed to answer any question regarding the 48-year grudge between England and Sweden during interviews from now on.
“There’s nothing to talk about regarding that question. Don’t be fooled by the reporters.” He reminded his players.
Twain wanted to stop his players from thinking about England’s record against Sweden. He did not know how effective his words or rule would be, but it is definitely better than not doing anything at all.
He had everything under his control initially, but the pervasive media just had to come in and ignite a fire within the players’ hearts. Twain feared that those fires would get bigger and bigger during the match and become uncontrollable. When that happens, there would be irreversible consequences…
If Twain had the power to decide whether a person lives or dies, then the very first bunch of people he would kill off would be the reporters, especially the reporters who write for tabloid newspapers. He wants to enforce a rule that dictates what the media can and cannot do. You cannot ask me any question that pisses me off! If you ask me those questions I would not answer them! You cannot publish anything that makes me feel uncomfortable! If you publish them you would have to take them down at once!
Tsk… Sadly, those things would never come true.
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Chapter 953 - Extremely Relaxed
There is not much time left for England, who were about to face Sweden in the quarter-finals at the home stadium of La Liga club Sevilla three days after the group stage matches.
Before the match, England’s media did not want to hype up the feud between the two teams as much as they did for the match against Germany, they simply mentioned the embarrassing record of 48 years of zero victories in this match-up, hoping that Twain’s team could finally end this record.
There was no choice but to end the record, if they do not win, they would be eliminated… No Englishman hopes to be eliminated by Sweden.
It was also clear from the pre-match fans’ admission that the two teams did not have a deep feud with each other. Fans of both teams could even put their arms around each other. There were not even one provocative banner against the other team. The media were only reporting the match as an ordinary game, at most they only compared between Ibrahimović and Aaron Mitchell, both had their extraordinary heights, and their ball handling skills were still impressive regardless, Mitchell also had the nickname of “second-generation Ibrahimović”.
England’s players before the game were not like last game, where they would glare with both pupils enlarged, as if the murderer of their parents were on the other side where they could not wait to charge forward and strike them with their cleavers till they fall, then stomp on them for a billion times, causing the other party to never stand up again.
Twain also specifically did not mention the embarrassing record of “zero victories in 48 years against Sweden” in the changing room. He was worried the players would constantly be reminded about that record.
The feud between England and Sweden was different from the feud between England and Germany.
When England was going against Germany, Twain could still use the feud between the two countries to motivate the English players. But upon facing Sweden, the best way was still hold on mentioning the feud between them.
The reason was simple, between them and Germany was hatred, but between them and Sweden was resignation to fate. Upon mentioning that England has never won Sweden in 48 years, the English players would come up with wrong ideas in their minds – Is this what God has designed? Or else, our capabilities are far better than Sweden, why are we unable to win them? Especially that match against them during the World Cup group stage, scoring a goal in the 85th minute, victory was in sight, but we allowed a long goal against us outside the penalty area to tie the score… That was simply too incredible and unable to be explained using common sense!
The more the players thought about it, the more it would cause their brains to become a mess. This mysticism was a bad thing, it would affect the mentality of the players, which would directly cause them to be unable to perform normally. Twain could not guarantee his own players would not have such thoughts:
No matter how hard we try, the end results would always be that way…
So he may as well not mention the record at all, to prevent those players from producing those weird thoughts.
For this special match, Twain also made the corresponding adjustments.
Chris Cohen, who had his debut starting the last game, continues to start in the next game, and Downing would have to continue staying on the bench. As Bentley and Walcott were both injured, Adriano Moke made his first debut in the starting line in the European Cup.
Twain had arranged for as many Nottingham Forest players as possible to play because he was more confident in the mental qualities of the players he brought up by his own hand than the players who came out from other clubs.
In fact, there are a lot of people in the current England national team who had no special feelings about Sweden, because they had basically not experienced any competition against Sweden, if the media did not use the feud between England and Sweden to bombard the players with questions, then Twain did not have anything to worry, but just needed to regard this game as a regular quarter-finals match.
But now, he had to have an additional matter to worry.
※※※
From the start of the game, England took the initiative and repeatedly threaten the Swedish goalmouth several times.
After all, England were far ahead of Sweden in terms of pure capabilities. The most famous and impressive soccer stars in Sweden was only one Ibrahimović, but this Inter Milan striker was already 33 years old, although his ball handling techniques were more precise, but his physicality was on a downfall.
He was at the most front and did not pose much of a threat to England’s defence. Because the Swedish team had no means to get the ball to his feet at all.
England’s midfield had press fully on the Sweden’s midfield and it was not easy at all to send the ball forward.
The Swedish side also could not find a good way to attack, England’s attack was very sound and impressive. As George Wood was unable to play in the game, Gerrard became England’s midfield hub. Although Gerrard was old, but his techniques and game sense were still intact, the decline in his physicality would not hinder him from being one of the most impressive midfielders in the world.
Twain, in response to the situation where the Swedish defenders were generally tall, did not arrange for the type of play where the side flanks would cross the ball over to the middle for Mitchell. He knew that with Mitchell’s body shape in the crowd of Swedish defenders, he was unable to take any advantages at all. Passing the ball over to him was only wasting opportunities. Hence, playing for possession via ground passes became the main attacking direction that Twain prioritized.
Anyways, Mitchell’s dribbling techniques were still as impressive, playing ground passes would still be beneficial for him.
Gerrard passed the ball straight from midfield to Mitchell who was at the front.
Mitchell leaned onto the Sweden’s centre-back, Jonas Olsson, and stepped on the football. Olsen, who was standing at 1.96 metres, stretched out his long leg to try and tackle for the ball, but once Mitchell pushed him with an arm, he could not even reach the ball. Just when Olsen was holding up his hands to signal to the referee that Mitchell was pushing, Mitchell pulled the ball backwards with his feet, and passed it to the player who was passing by him and running forward, Wayne Rooney!
“Rooney received a wonderful pass from Mitchell! It is a breakthrough! ”
Fortunately, the other Olsson – left-back Martin Olsson came forward at this critical moment. When Rooney had just sent the ball forward, he came out from the side and did a clean slide tackle, kicking the ball out of the field.
When England were going to do a throw-in from the sidelines, Mitchell did not wait right in front of the goal mouth, but instead run towards the side line and made hand gestures to receive the ball.
The right back Richards threw the football to him, he received the ball forward with his chest, as he turned around and broke through! Martin Olsson’s slight negligence allowed Mitchell to leave him behind as he gave Mitchell a shove from the back, however this unexpectedly assisted Mitchell – he followed the shove as he pushed the ball forward with increased speed. Afterwards, he stretched his long leg forward to control the ball which was still flying in the air.
Martin Olsson chased immediately, but Mitchell used his left foot to kick the ball slightly to his left while jumping at the same time, allowing him to dodge Olsson’s tackle, and just like that, he escaped Olsson’s defending.
After getting away from Olsson, Mitchell continued to dribble the ball inside. Sweden’s centre-backs were all with a tall build, hence they could easily intercept the high balls, the odds and possibilities of Rooney being able to snatch for the ball was too low.
Just when Jonas Olsson was about to pounce on Mitchell again, Mitchell passed the ball!
He swept the ball through the turf and towards the door, in this pass, as long as someone slightly touch the ball, there would be a high chance that it would enter the goalmouth.
Unfortunately this time Sweden’s veteran goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson defended the ball at the right time as he held the ball tightly in his hands.
Although this attack did not end with a shot on target, but Mitchell’s previous series of performances won the applause of the England fans in the stands and the praises of the English narrator.
“It was outstanding dribble techniques. It’s unbelievable that he’s 2.1 meters tall! ”
Even the Swedish narrator had to praise Aaron Mitchell, calling that he was indeed “England’s Ibrahimović” .
※※※
England had been besieging Sweden ever since, as everyone was no longer able to see the defensive counterattack Twain used when he was against Germany and Portugal.
Sweden’s tall defenders looked comfortable defending the ball in the air, but they were a little overwhelmed when faced with England’s ground coordinations. Adriano Moke was given a very special assignment in this game. Instead of asking him to stay on the sideline, Twain gave him plenty of room for free movement, allowing him to move freely on both the side and the middle route, as well as within the penalty box. Effectively using his ball handling techniques to coordinate with his teammates in a small perimeter, creating opportunities to score.
This play in the first half was quite useful due to Moke’s short stature, flexible movement, good ball control technology. This made the Swedish players run in circles.
By the 27th minute, England had finally found a chance. After Mitchell took control of the ball at the edge of the penalty area, Sweden’s defence focused on Adriano Moke’s on the right side, while England’s left side had a serious lack of defensive attention. Chris Cohen did not perform well in this game, so for a long period of time, England were prioritizing on the right side during their offense.
Seeing this scene, the players who all came from Nottingham Forests had a common idea. As Mitchell held the ball and made a fake pass to Moke, he turned and kicked the ball to the complete opposite direction.
“Chris Cohen received the ball and there was no Swedish defender in front of him! “John Mortensen screamed. This was a good opportunity for the England team!
The ever-tight defence finally revealed a gap, just to see if England’s players could seize it!
After receiving the ball, Chris Cohen looked up at the penalty area. By right the Swedish right-back, Mikael Lustig, was supposed to be defending him, but instead was in the penalty area as his eyes caught onto the side where Moke was, clearly Moke’s continuous excellent performance also attracted his defensive attention.
Cohen no longer hesitated and cut straight into the penalty area. That was when Lestig ran over to prepare to defend.
Any team’s defense is a complete system, once a side was neglected, the whole system would be affected. Once Lestig ran over, the center space of the penalty area was left open.
Cohen saw the opportunity to pass the ball straight into the penalty area. Mitcher and Rooney were still behind the Swedish defenders, this pass was not for them, but instead for…
Gerrard slotted in from the back and suddenly appeared on the edge of the penalty area, Cohen’s football had just passed onto his feet. Gerrard received the ball as he kicked it fiercely towards the goal. The football whizzed towards the Swedish goalmouth.
Isakson did not expect the man to finish the attack to be Gerrard, he was underprepared for Gerrard’s strong shot, when the ball had already hit the back of the net, he then made his diving gesture.
“What a beautiful goal!” Motson shouted, “Stephen Gerrard’s powerful shot was unstoppable!”
“It looks like our players have not been affected by the feud between England and Sweden, up till now, the Swedish team had not gotten any chances nor opportunities, England has taken control of the full situation!”
Gerrard waved his fist excitedly after the goal. He was present the last time England lost to Sweden at the World Cup, he was the one who scored the second goal for England, but it was not enough to rescue England’s fate, as they still ended with a draw against Sweden.
But this time he would not let this exact same situation happen again!
If the two goals are not guaranteed to beat Sweden, then we will score three goals, four goals, five goals! And even more goals!
Gerrard waved his fist with strength as he vented his frustration.
The Swedes looked a little numb in the face of the loss, it was nearly 30 minutes where they did not have a chance at all as they were fully pressed down and beaten up by their opponents, it was only time before they loses a goal.
Tony Twain stood up and applauded the team’s performance, but he was not as thrilled because he had a similar idea with the Swedes – their performance were perfect for the 30 minutes and if we could not score again, then that would really be paranormal. That was the strength gap, coupled with team team respecting their opponents from the start and not leaving any fatal gaps for their opponents to seize, taking the lead was normal.
The Swedes must have not thought that England would be so determined to hold up the attacking flag, as it could be seen from their bewildered reaction. The Swedes must not have thought that this England would seem completely unaffected by their fate which lasted forty-eight years.
“England’s performance allows us to see hope, the hope in seeing the end to that ridicule of such a fate!” Motson spoke the minds of the several English soccer fans.
※※※
After taking the lead, Twain did not loosen up, he instead got up from the coach’s box and stood on the sidelines, constantly signalling that the players should continue to strengthen their attack and not give the Swede a chance to bounce back. England’s players faithfully carried out Twain’s tactical intent, committing a brutal attack on Sweden in midfield, then defending hard in the backfield, not giving Ibrahimović too many chances to receive the ball, and not letting him turn around easily. That way Ibrahimović ‘s room to play is minimized to the point where the narrator wonders if the Swedish tower was even playing…
In the face of England’s surge of attack, the Swedes could only shrink the line of defense, temporarily avoid attacking at the front. Sweden coach Lagerbäck’s idea was to consider it a win even if they were behind a goal in the first half, and as long as the score gap was not widened, he could make adjustments during the half-time break and then go on a full-on attack in the second half. With his knowledge of the England team, the psychological quality of this team was not flattering, their first half of the play was good, but it did not mean that they could maintain their performance in the second half. They just needed to add a little pressure onto them, then they would mess up eventually.
Think back to the World Cup group stage ten years ago. England played perfectly in the first half, but in the end?
Lagerbäck sat back down with confidence, it was as if everything was under his control.
It was as what he predicted as he heard the whistle that ended the first half. Sweden was down 1:0 against England.
Lagerbäck, who left the pitch, had no qualms about the team’s backwardness, and he glanced at Twain, who smiled at his opponent’s face, seemingly satisfied with the team’s one-goal lead.
Lagerbäck smiled inside.
Proud and arrogant Englishman, it would be soon before I’ll let you all know what resigning to fate means!
※※※
PS, a friendly recommendation of a fan-made website by a Nottingham Forest Fan, a chinese blog about Nottingham Forest
WWW.NOTTMFOREST.CN
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Chapter 954 - Reappearance
Lars Lagerbäck, the manager of the Sweden national football team, was in relatively high spirits even though Sweden was trailing behind in the match.
“It’s time to counter-attack, lads!” Lagerbäck clapped his hands and said with a raised voice.
The Sweden players all lifted their heads to look at him.
“We gave them too many chances in the first half. We cannot continue to do that in the second half. We have an advantage over them in terms of height. Why aren’t we making use of it during aerial duels? We should make full use of every corner that we are given. I want all of you to be even more proactive in the second half. You all also need to be more aggressive in the midfield as well!” He clenched his fist and pounded it once against the wall.
The group of Sweden midfielders led by Jesper Karlström hung their heads in shame after hearing their manager’s words. They all knew that they had performed poorly in the first half. They had been completely overwhelmed by England’s midfield, and they did not contribute much to the team’s defense either. The reason why England managed to dominate in the first half is due to their midfield’s inability to perform.
“We are going to make a change in the second half…” Lagerbäck glanced at the team’s captain, Ibrahimović, who had kept silent all this while. “Zlatan.”
Ibrahimović looked at his manager.
“How was it like for you at the front of the pitch?”
“Their defenders are always closely marking me. I’m not given much space to move around in.” Ibrahimović answered honestly.
Lagerbäck nodded his head to signal that he understood Ibrahimović’s words. “You won’t be playing as the center forward in the second half. Your new position would be right behind Goitom as the second striker or the attacking midfielder. I want you to use your footwork and spatial awareness to organize attacks for the team. You can also shoot for goal if there is space.”
The change in position meant that Ibrahimović no longer has to directly confront both of England’s center-backs every time he got the ball, and it also provides him with more space and time to carry the ball forward. Not only that, he would also be able to utilize his techniques much better as well.
Ibrahimović was not surprised by his manager’s arrangement. He nodded his head to show that he understood.
Lagerbäck decided to boost his team’s morale after he finished assigning new tasks to his players for the second half of the match. He did not want them to be depressed over what had happened in the first half.
“Do you all still remember the clip that I showed you yesterday night?” he asked.
It was a clip of the group stage match between Sweden and England in the World Cup 10 years ago. England performed well in the first half, and Sweden’s performance in the second half was nothing short of perfect.
“Our match today is just like the match that we played in 10 years ago. I am very confident that we would come out of this match as the victors! Let us initiate a counter-attack in the second half! England has yet to win against us for 48 years. There is no reason why we should end this record today! As long as we score a goal early in the second half, the nightmare that has haunted the England players for the past 48 years would definitely persist. As we get closer to the end of the match, the England players would definitely start to panic, and that would be the best case scenario for us! We would definitely be able to win the match as long as we have more patience than them!”
Lagerbäck’s face was brimming with confidence as he spoke to his players. He firmly believed in his judgment. After all, they know the British inside out!
※※※
George Wood did not follow his teammates back into the locker room. Instead, he carried out his warm-ups alongside the rest of the substitutes on the pitch. It seems likely that he would play in the second half.
Wood has no idea what Twain said to his teammates at halftime. But, the looks on all their faces appeared to be normal when they walked back out onto the pitch.
Wood noticed the team captain, John Terry, standing at the tunnel. He ended his warm-ups and made his way towards the bench slowly. When he passed by Terry, he heard the man who is filling in as the captain ask, “Hey, George! Did you warm up sufficiently?”
Wood stopped in his tracks and looked at Terry with confusion written all over his face.
“My instincts tell me that you’d get to play in today’s match.” Terry smiled at him before walking away.
Wood furrowed his brows and averted his gaze towards the tunnel. He hoped to catch a glimpse of Tony Twain. Did the manager make some kind of adjustment at halftime?
※※※
The second half of the match kicked off with neither side making a change. At the start of the match, Ibrahimović stood at the center circle with Goitom, but as the match progressed, Twain was able to tell that Ibrahimović’s position on the pitch had been shifted backwards to where a second striker or attacking midfielder would typically operate in.
If Lagerbäck thought that Twain would be taken aback and be at loss over the change in Ibrahimović’s position, then he would be in for a major disappointment.
Ibrahimović raised his hand and asked for the ball. He was going to vent all his pent-up frustrations from the first half and show England what he’s got!
Ibrahimović received the ball from his teammates a moment later. He was just about to make his way into the penalty box and search for a chance to shoot for goal when Gerrard appeared before him.
Ibrahimović quickly turned around and stopped the ball at his feet to prevent it from being taken away by Gerrard. However, by turning around, he was now facing the opposite direction from where England’s goalpost lies. Ibrahimović was stunned. Why would Gerrard be here? This is so close to their penalty box, and it should be an area that is defended by their team’s defenders instead. Michael Johnson should the player who is marking him now, not Gerrard. Gerrard should be higher up the pitch since his main role is to attack!
Ibrahimović raised his head and scanned his surroundings. He realized that Johnson was positioned on the other side of the pitch and he was marking Karlström, who looked like he was keen on making his way into the penalty box, instead.
Is Gerrard specially here to mark him, or is this simply a coincidence?
Ibrahimović decided to conduct a test to find out. He passed the ball to his teammate and ran to a new spot away from Gerrard. He then raised his hand and asked for the ball.
The ball was passed back to him, and Gerrard appeared before him once again.
When something happens once, it can be passed off as a coincidence. But, when it happens twice…
Ibrahimović did not even bother to perform a feint when he passed the ball back to his teammate. He ran away from Gerrard and asked for the ball for the third time.
The ball was passed over to him again, and lo and behold, Gerrard appeared before him shortly after.
When something happens three times in a row it is definitely not a coincidence!
It looks like Gerrard is marking him.
Ibrahimović did not pass the ball away this time round. Instead, he chose to make use of his footwork to shake Gerrard off before making his way into the penalty box. However, he was not able to make much progress as Gerrard was hot on his trail. Gerrard did not allow Ibrahimović to get away from him, and a struggle ensued between the two for a while. Ibrahimović eventually came to realize that England’s defense was airtight and that there was no way through for him. Gerrard had clearly given up on attacking Sweden’s goalpost to defend against him. Left with no other choice, Ibrahimović passed the ball over to his teammate reluctantly.
Lagerbäck was shocked to see what was happening on the pitch. England’s adjustment was too prompt! They should not have been able to come up with a plan to defend against Ibrahimović this quickly. It should have taken Twain at least 10 minutes to realize what is happening, to come up with a plan and to relay the plan to his players. His team should have been able to make use of those 10 minutes of chaos in the England defense to score a goal.
But, it seems like things had not gone according to plan and his team would not get those 10 minutes now. Did Twain guess that he would make such an adjustment in the second half? How is that possible?
There was a twinge of a smile on Twain’s face as he stood by the side of the pitch. Lagerbäck had clearly underestimated England’s ability to research about their opponents prior to the match. Twain knew that Lagerbäck would shift Ibrahimović’s position backwards, because this is a change that Lagerbäck has consistently made whenever Sweden fails to score in a match. He first made such a change during the qualifiers, and he repeated it once more during the friendlies. Not all centre-forwards would be able to perform well when they are positioned further behind, but Ibrahimović’s technique and experience allows him to thrive in his new position.
During the break at halftime, Twain came up with a set of countermeasures to deal with Lagerbäcks’s adjustment. He got Gerrard to mark Ibrahimović, and he left the team’s attack to the wingers. England did not have to worry about scoring a goal since they scored one in the first half. Only having a one-goal lead in the match might be risky, but Twain did not mind the risk as long as his team is able to solidify its defense.
Ibrahimović had asked for the ball three times earlier, and his teammates had passed the ball to him all three times that he asked for the ball. It was clear from the players’ actions that Ibrahimović had become the core player for Sweden in the second half, and this was proof that the information England had collected against Sweden was accurate.
It seems like Lagerbäck is keen on winning the match in the second half. Sadly, Twain does not intend to let him have his way.
Twain was right in his judgment, and he also came up with the right set of measures to deal with Sweden’s adjustment. All that was left for him to do was to see how the game unfolds from here on out.
※※※
Sweden did not expect England to react to their adjustment this quickly. They were at a loss over what they should do next.
How could the England players not capitalize on this moment of chaos in the Sweden team? They went on the counter-attack straight away. The England players knew that Sweden would strengthen their midfield in the second half, so they did not let the ball stay in the midfield for long. They did a series of quick passes and passed the ball all the way to the edge of the penalty box!
Gerrard did not charge to the front of the pitch to join in the attack. Instead, he stayed behind at the back to mark Ibrahimović. The only players who went on the offense were the two forwards and the two attacking midfielders in the team. All four of them were very fast at moving the ball forward even though Gerrard did not join them in the attack. Before the Sweden players even knew it, Mitchell had received the pass from Moke at the edge of the penalty box.
Mitchell’s weakness is that he is not able to put much strength behind his shots at times. Thus, he rarely shoots at goal from outside the penalty box. Even if he does shoot, his shots usually end up being miles away from the goalpost as well.
The Swedes knew the England team inside out. Lagerbäck has an excellent understanding of every single England player’s quirks, strengths and weaknesses, and this has also led him to believe that his team is able to win against England. Before the match, he relayed all the information that he knew about the England players to his players. The players who need this information the most are the defenders, because they need to be very familiar with the attacking players on the other team to be able to defend well against them.
The Sweden players quickly recalled the traits regarding Mitchell that had been relayed to them by their manager when they saw Mitchell receive the ball. One of those traits that surfaced in their minds was that Mitchell would not shoot from the distance.
Sweden’s center-back, Peter Larsson, was the player who was positioned right across of Mitchell. Just like the rest of the players on his team, he was also familiar with Mitchell’s traits as a player. He decided that the best thing to do now is to retreat backwards and maintain a safe distance between him and Mitchell so as to prevent Mitchell from making his way into the penalty box. He knew that if he were to run up to Mitchell to defend against him, Mitchell would just make use of his footwork to get past him. But, he did not expect Mitchell to suddenly raise his right leg after lifting his head to glance at what was before him.
He intends to shoot from there?!
Larsson was taken aback. He wanted to run forward to block Mitchell’s shot, but he could not get there in time.
The Sweden goalkeeper, Andreas Isaksson, did not expect Mitchell to shoot at the goal from outside the penalty box either.
Mitchell’s shot did not have much power behind it, and the speed in which it traveled was not very fast either. But, it was aimed right at the top corner of the net that was furthest away from Isaksson…
“Mitchell has suddenly shot at the goal!”
The ball slammed against the crossbar and ricocheted into the back of the net. Isaksson stretched his hands out and leapt into the air, but it was too late. All he could do was to watch as the ball flew into the net…
The England fans at the stands erupted into deafening cheers after the ball went in. Their cheers were so loud that people thought an earthquake had occurred at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium. The cameras at the stadium began to shake as the fans bellowed, “Long live England!”
“What a great gooooooooooal! An unbelievable goal! Mitchell has fired the ball into the back of the net from outside the penalty box! The ball flew in a beautiful arc before making its way past Isaksson! England lead Sweden 2:0 on the 60th minute of the match!”
“A two-goal lead! Things can’t get any better! The Swedes are trying to counter-attack, but we are the first to score! Aha!” Motson almost danced in joy. He was not only happy that England had taken a two-goal lead over Sweden. He was also happy about how England seemed to be dominating the match so far.
However, the fans were not able to get a nagging feeling out of their minds as they celebrated.
This is not the first time that England has taken a two-goal lead against Sweden for the past 48 years. But, England has never came out of the match as the victor in any of those matches. Will this match end up being any different? There seemed to be a pair of hands that was playing with England’s fate. You want to win against Sweden? Try again next time! I can make Sweden level the score against you on the 90th minute of the match!
Can Tony Twain and his team triumph over the pair of hands known as ‘destiny’ this time round?
※※※
Twain turned his head to glance at the bench after celebrating Mitchell’s goal with the people around him. He noticed that Wood had just finished his own celebrations. He then walked over towards him.
“George.”
Wood turned around to look at him.
“Go and do your warm-ups. I’d give you five minutes.” Twain spun around and left after finishing his words.
Wood heard Twain’s words clearly. He did not falter and neither did he cheer. He simply grabbed his vest that had been tossed onto the seat, and he put it on as he ran to do his warm-ups.
Five minutes later, Wood appeared before Twain and waited for his instructions.
“Sweden is trailing by two goals,” Twain told Wood, “and they will definitely attack us with all they’ve got for the next 30 minutes. I need you to get out there and defend the midfield for us.”
Wood nodded his head.
“You’ll take over Gerrard’s role. I need you to defend against Ibrahimović.”
“Yes.” Wood continued to nod his head.
After delegating Wood’s task, Twain glanced at Wood’s right foot.
Wood noticed Twain’s glance. He tiptoed and jumped a few times. “I’m fine.”
Twain gave an embarrassed smile after being found out by Wood.
“Get on the pitch, George.”
The fear and worry in the England fans’ hearts dissipated the moment they saw George Wood stand beside the fourth official. They all knew that Wood was going to play in the match right then.
The man known as ‘England’s guardian’ was going to play in the match. There was nothing for them to fear any longer.
Gerrard noticed that it was his number that was being displayed on the board. He did a series of hi-fives with his teammates before jogging off the pitch slowly. He was not acting this way because he was upset with Twain’s arrangement. He just wanted to waste time by dragging out the substitution.
The Sweden players were very upset at how long Gerrard was taking to get off the pitch. They kept raising their hands to protest to the referee. However, the referee decided to be lenient after seeing that it was only the 60th minute of the match and that there were still 30 minutes left for the Sweden players to level the score.
Gerrard walked to the side of the pitch and raised his hands into the air to applaud the England fans at the stands. When he was done, he embraced Wood, and the substitution was finally completed.
The moment Wood stepped onto the pitch, the England fans cheered even louder than they had been earlier.
John Motson’s ardent voice boomed amidst the deafening cheers, “Let us welcome England’s captain… George Wood!”
“St. George! Bless England!”
The England fans cheered in unison right as Motson finished his words. It was as though everything had been pre-arranged.
Wood raised his hands to acknowledge the cheers, and the cheers got even louder.
Despite the cheers and the lively atmosphere in the stadium, the expression on Lagerbäck’s face was glum. He knew the reason why Twain had put George Wood on the pitch. Twain did the same thing during the final 10 minutes of the match against Germany as well, and England managed to secure a 2:1 victory in the end.
It looks like Tony Twain intends to hold onto the two-goal lead with half an hour left to play in the match.
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Chapter 955 - Opponent for the Quarterfinal
Lagerbäck thought that Twain subbed George Wood on to defend, but he soon realized that he was wrong.
After intercepting the ball from Ibrahimović, George Wood did not just clear the ball. Instead, he started to run forward with the ball. Ibrahimović tried to tackle for the ball from behind and gave Wood a push, however, he did not manage to push Wood to the ground, helping Wood to get away from him instead.
Wood running with the ball disrupted Sweden’s defensive plans. They did not expect that Wood was not here to defend, but to attack.
Wood eventually passed the ball to Chris Cohen when facing the defense of two Swedish players and Cohen scored from that.
For the rest of the match, Sweden realized that they could not go all out for a goal. That was because the England midfield became even more penetrative after George Wood’s introduction and it caused so much trouble for the Swedes.
Just like it was during the match against Germany, one could not tell from Wood’s performance that he was a “casualty” who had not fully recovered from his foot injury yet.
Tireless running, unyielding defense and stable mentality. He organized the midfield so well that the England fans felt doubly safe. This was the change that George Wood’s introduction brought to the people.
At that moment, nobody thought about something as trivial as, “We’ve not beaten Sweden for 48 years already”.
England had shown them with their performance that concerns like these were unnecessary.
England appeared to have the overall advantage. Even though Sweden changed to a long ball tactic and launched many high balls in an attempt to disrupt England’s defensive line, John Terry and Steven Taylor marshalled their defense well. And the 1.96 meters frame of Joe Hart increased his area of command so much that many of the high balls were collected by him. Goitom, who was also 1.96 meters tall, did not have many chances in front of goal.
Time passed very quickly and no matter how Lagerbäck adjusted his tactics, Sweden had no answer to England’s compact defense. As the match went on, instead of the England players, the Swedish players were the one who became more and more anxious. After all, they were trailing by two goals now.
So what if “we have not lost to England for 48 years!” Things like this were unable to allay their fears. There was not much time left in the match and they were still trailing by two goals. Coupled with England’s solid defense, even if God came to earth and played as the 12th man for Sweden now, they would probably still lose.
The Sweden team became more and more irritable as the match went on and their attacking qualities dropped. Lagerbäck could not stop himself as he shouted angrily on the sidelines for his players to remain calm. However, the more he shouted, the more his players panicked, and it became a vicious cycle.
This England team was not affected by destiny at all, which surprised Lagerbäck. Their mental strength was way beyond Lagerbäck’s imagination too. In the past, England’s mental strength was probably one of the worst in Europe…
That annoying guy changed all this.
Lagerbäck looked at the other side. The England manager was now seated on the manager’s seat with his legs crossed.
Just look at how at ease he looks, that’s so unbearable.
“The match has entered injury time. There will be three minutes of injury time! Looks like Sweden is done and dusted!” John Motson said excitedly, “We’re only three minutes away from breaking this damn destiny!”
Facing Sweden’s final frantic attack, England had the whole team defending within the penalty area for the final three minutes. The Sweden goalkeeper, Isaksson, even came forward for the corner that they had during the second minute of injury time. But to what effect? Even if they scored a goal then, they would still be trailing by a goal, it would not change the result.
The England fans were already singing and cheering in the stands. They could finally be rid of the nightmare in their minds for the past 48 years.
The corner from Sweden did not pose any threat to the England goal. The Swedish player who had already lost hope kicked the ball straight out of play for a goal kick. Joe Hart took his time placing the ball and the final whistle went off the moment he kicked the ball!
“The match is over! The match is over! We’ve beaten Sweden! We’ve beaten Sweden for the first time in 48 years!” Motson shouted in excitement. To him, ending this dreaded destiny was more exciting than reaching the quarterfinals. “Tony Twain’s team has defeated destiny! This damn destiny has finally ended!”
The Swedish commentator appeared rather disheartened, “Our psychological advantage over England that lasted 48 years has ended just like this…”
The three long whistles had just ended when the England bench rushed into the field to celebrate their victory.
Tony Twain did not do that. He did not forget to shake the hands of the opposing manager this time.
Lagerbäck appeared to be a little depressed. He shook his head slightly while completing the procedure of shaking hands. He then went straight towards the tunnel without staying long. On the other hand, Twain was surrounded by reporters. As the victor, it goes without saying that he would receive more attention.
“I have nothing much to say. I’m very happy that we have reached the quarterfinals. I’ve said it before, our target is to be champions and we’re currently heading towards the correct path. 48 years without beating Sweden?” Twain laughed, “That’s because I haven’t been managing England for the past 48 years.”
※※※
As Twain was being interviewed by the media, the team doctor, Derek Wright rushed onto the pitch to look for George Wood and asked, “How does your right big toe feel?”
Wood applied some pressure to the tip of his foot and told Wright, “No problem at all.”
Mister Wright gave a sigh of relief, “That’s good.” Based on his observation on the sidelines, Wood had a much easier time during these 30 minutes than the 15 minutes against Germany. It appeared as though his foot injury had almost fully recovered.
In that case, he should be able to meet Twain’s request to start the next game.
Wright felt that he was finally going to be freed once he thought about it…
※※※
England defeated Sweden and ended their destiny of not beating Sweden for 48 years. They also reached the quarterfinals and the English fans were exceptionally excited over these events. They partied the whole night after the match and drank to their fill. All the beer in the Seville bars were “emptied out” by them and there were naturally conflicts wherever people drank too much. The Seville police had their work cut out for them that night.
Twain did not bother himself about all these. He met up with Wright in the hotel and confirmed that Wood’s recovery from his injury was going well. He should be fit to start the next game. This made him very happy.
Even though Twain led the team to taking the lead against Germany and Sweden without George Wood, he was still indispensable if they were going to become champions. It did not mean that Twain was incapable when he placed so much importance on Wood. Any manager would have a favored player. A manager could not bring his team to victory alone, he also needed players supporting him on the pitch. Jacquet had Zidane when he led France to their first World Cup. Just look at how hard France had to fight for their victory when Zidane was suspended for two games. Then look at the France team who dominated Brazil in the final. That was the difference that Zidane made to the team. Zidane became the hero of France, but nobody ever said that Jacquet was incapable.
A meritorious manager would pair up with a meritorious player and become legends together. If Twain was to write his own legend during this European Championship, then he would require George Wood’s help.
England’s quarterfinal opponent was decided the next night——France. They defeated Netherlands 2:0 in the round of 16.
Ever since the “Group of Death”, England had been meeting strong teams every game. The only weaker team that they played against was Wales, and they lost. It was strange but England had performed very well against strong teams. Twain did not have much concerns even though they were facing France next.
The English media was a little concerned though. It was good that Twain had repeatedly mentioned in public that his target was to be champions. However, just look at the opponents that England had faced so far: Portugal, the “Brazil of Europe”, Wales, who was the only team to defeat England, their sworn enemy Germany, Sweden, whom they had never beaten in the past 48 years, and now France, the technical team of Europe… What other strong teams did they have to meet next?
If England were to defeat France and reach the semifinals, they would most likely meet the host country, Spain. And what about their opponents? The team that had the best route to the finals was Italy. They did not really face any strong teams at all. Wales were in high spirits after reaching the last 16 but they eventually lost to Italy. Greece and Croatia were teams that basically could not pose much threat to Italy. If the Italians deal with them with caution, they should not have much problems reaching the finals.
Of course, the English were hoping that Greece or Croatia would perform an upset and eliminate Italy. If that were to happen, the biggest threat to England winning the competition would be gone. Too bad chances of that happening was too low. The Italians had always been steady, and they were a team that would never lose to a weak team, but they might lose to a strong team…
※※※
There was a five-days break between the round of 16 and the quarterfinals. Twain gave the team a day off the next day after the match against Sweden. It looked like he was not worried about France as he actually allowed the players to go shopping on the streets.
In truth, he had already flown to Barcelona with his assistant, Des Walker, to watch the match between France and Netherlands at the Nou Camp.
The French ace striker, Benzema, was the best performer in this match. He scored all the goals for France in this game, a brace, and Netherlands could not deal with him at all.
The midfield core of France, Gourcuff also did well in this match. He assisted Benzema for one of his goals and started the move for the second goal.
And there was also the new generation of goalkeeper for France, Lloris. Netherlands had their chances in this match, but they were all saved by Lloris.
France was filled with talented players, they were strong and definitely not a team to be underestimated. This batch of French players were basically the leading players of Europe in their respective age group a few years back. Benzema, N’gog, Nasri, Gourcuff, Ben Arfa, Clichy, Lars Diarra, Sagna…
Twain frowned as he watched their impressive performance against Netherlands.
“This is a very strong French team. No wonder they were one of the hot favorites even before the competition started,” Walker remarked as he organized the recording devices in his hands.
“We’re also one of the favorites,” Twain said without batting an eyelid.
Walker looked at him happily.
“Let’s go Des,” Twain ignored him as he stood up and walked away with his hands in his pockets. The two of them were lost in the crowd as they left the stadium and returned to Seville overnight.
※※※
When Walker woke up in the morning and knocked on Twain’s door to invite him to breakfast, he found out that Twain was seated in front of the television with his eyes glued to the screen. He went closer and realized that it was a recording of yesterday’s match that he recorded.
“You’ve been watching this the whole night?” He asked, shocked.
“How is that possible?” Twain turned to look at him, “I just woke up not too long ago.” He turned back to watch the match on the screen.
“France’s style is quite pleasing to the eyes…” Des Walker muttered next to him, “They have many different attacking methods and various ways to attack. They also have technically good players. If we talk about talents, they have way more than us… This is not an easy team to deal with.”
Twain shrugged his shoulders, “They’re just a bunch of protected players.”
Walker laughed as he heard Twain say that, “You’re found a way to deal with them?”
Twain shook his head, “Not yet.”
He stood up and said, “Let’s go for breakfast. I’m hungry.”
Walker made a face at him behind his back and followed him out.
※※※
“Our team is filled with talented players! It won’t be a problem defeating England!”
The French media was filled with such opinions. The French were full of confidence after defeated a strong Netherlands team.
Even Benzema said that he believed France would definitely defeat England and it would not be a problem for them.
As the leading goal scorer for the competition for now, many people agreed with what he said.
For a moment, there was a wave of optimism in France and everyone felt that France had already reached the finals and were going to revive an old rivalry with Italy as they avenge the 2006 World Cup final. They did not even think about England or their semifinal opponents anymore.
However, there was still some people who would act as wet blanket at this kind of times.
Benzema’s previous teammate at Real Madrid, the retired ex-Nottingham Forest star, Ribery appeared in front of the media and expressed his concern regarding their optimism.
“…I don’t think it is wise to think about the final now. If France underestimate England, we will definitely be on the losing end. I have no doubts about it and the reason is simple. Their manager is Tony Twain. He just led the team to a victory over their rival Germany and ended their 48 years winning drought against Sweden. This proved that England had always been a very scary opponent… I’ve played for Nottingham Forest for many years and I understand what kind of manager Tony Twain was. Whoever looks down on him or underestimates him will end up very badly…”
However, his opinion was drowned out by the optimism of the public very quickly. Who cares about what a retired football star had to say?
...
Chapter 956 - The Powerful French Team
“Let’s take a look back at all the games that the French team had played since the first game in the group stage.”
Twain’s room was a standard room which was fully packed at the moment. All the members of the coaching unit were here, looking at the laptop screen and listening to Twain explain.
Playing on the laptop was a collection of the best French team’s matches that had been edited by Twain.
“In the first game, France defeated Croatia by 3:1 and won it easily. Their goal concede was even considered an ‘accident’ by the French media after the game.” Twain leaned back in his chair as he spoke to his colleagues. At this point, he gave a dismissive snort through his nose.
“They thought it was a surprise for Croatia to score a goal. In the end, not only did Croatia advance out of the group stage but also made it into the top eight.”
Twain clicked on the mouse and moved to the next segment.
“For the second game, their opponent was Poland, which they won 2:0. It was also a very easy game for them. Although they only scored two goals, the French team dominated the entire game. They played against Russia in the third game. The French team had already won two games and advanced from the group ahead of schedule. So, they arranged for the substitutes to play in this game. Despite this, they still beat Russia 1:0. The match pleased the French people after the game.”
“They had three victories for all three games in the group stage with only one goal concede. They did have a reason to be happy…” Walker picked up.
“They also played beautifully. The media say that the current French team plays football with full artistic flair, which is delightful both physically and mentally for people.” The oldest in age out of all the coaches, Tony Carr also expressed his opinion.
Twain smiled without saying a word and continued to let everyone watch.
“In the quarterfinals, their opponents are the Netherlands team. The Netherlands team did not do well in the group stage and finished second in the group. But I’m not surprised by it because the overall level of Dutch football for the past two years has been declining. Their talent feels a little lacking, and it will not be a surprise for them to lose to France. All right…” Twain turned off the video and spun around to look at everyone.
“Now the French people believe themselves to be infallible.” He said with a smile, “It’s a good sign, and I hope they’re going to be even more conceited. Isn’t there a regular press conference this afternoon?”
Everyone knew what he was going to do, and there was a burst of laughter in the room.
※※※
After the meeting with the coaches ended, Twain knocked on the door of Wood’s room. When he went in, he found two people in the room. George Wood was having a chat with Aaron Mitchell.
Seeing Twain walk in, Mitchell immediately realized who the boss was looking for, and got up hurriedly. He said, “I’ll go out for a spin.” Then he said to Twain, “Boss.”
Twain nodded.
Mitchell went out and closed the door, leaving the room with the two men, Twain and Wood.
“What? Aren’t you going to invite me to sit down?” Twain joked with Wood.
Wood then got up and made a gesture as he said, “Please have a seat.”
Twain could understand Wood’s lukewarm attitude, as he did not tell him the news that he had decided to let Wood start in the next game.
Twain sat down and looked at Wood. He was about to open his mouth, when Wood learnt to speak first.
“My foot injury is fine. I feel like I have fully recovered.”
Twain chuckled. There must have been a lot of people who cared about Wood asking him the same question over the past two days. He must not know how many times he had given such an answer.
Seeing Wood like this, Twain wanted to tease him. He said, “Is it really fine?” He asked with a frown in disbelief.
“Do you want me to kick a few shots for you?” Wood got up.
Twain laughed and said, “No need. I’m afraid you’ll kick and damage the things here and we will have to provide compensation. Tell you what, George, I came to you regarding a matter… What do you think of the French team’s recent performance?”
Wood stared blankly for a moment. He felt that Twain’s thoughts tend to jump around too much. What did the recent performance of the French team had to do with him? Why did he want to ask him that?”
“Didn’t you pay attention to the performance of the French team?” Twain followed up to ask.
Wood shook his head and said, “I’ve heard that they haven’t lost yet till now. I don’t know anything else.”
“It’s not just that they haven’t lost a game yet. They have won all their games. They are the only team to have won all their games other than the host team, Spain.” Twain said, “Their performance in the first four games were described as perfect. They played flawlessly. With eight goals scored and one goal concede, Benzema is currently the best goalscorer in the tournament. Lloris is likely to compete for the best goalkeeper and the likelihood of Gourcuff becoming the best player is very high. The French people believe their national team will definitely win the title because they are the ‘generation of geniuses.’” Twain slowly introduced Wood to the characteristics of the French team.
“For instance, they are as popular as a beautiful flower.”
Wood did not respond to Twain’s evaluation.
If it happened to someone who was not familiar with Wood, that person would think that it was painful to communicate with someone like Wood. Because he was a man of few words and would not give enthusiastic responses. If one wanted the communication to continue, then he would have to try to find new topics, which could be tiresome and boring.
Twain knew Wood well, so he was not unhappy with it. He leaned forward and winked at Wood as he said, “But it’s only a flower in the greenhouse.”
Wood was sensitive enough to sense the overtones in Twain’s words. Because whenever the boss was deliberately mystifying, he would find something for him to do.
“For the game in three days’ time, I hope you can turn into a strong gale and blow down to the greenhouse shed that protected them.” Twain looked at Wood with a serious expression.
Wood reacted after being taken aback for a moment. He said, “For the game against France … I’m in the starting lineup?”
Twain nodded his head.
Wood did not cheer loudly, nor did he jump up from his seat. He just raised his fist.
The action had already revealed his mood at the moment.
Twain stood up and was ready to leave. “Study the videos of the French team’s games well. I’ll have Des send them to you. You have an important task.”
Wood was not afraid. He was more worried about not getting a mission.
※※※
While Mitchell wandered around outside and returned to the room after, he found Wood looking at something on his laptop and was in deep concentration, so he quietly crept over. He discovered it turned out to be a video of the French teams game.
“Why are you watching this, George?” He thought it was a little strange.
“To understand my opponent so as to beat them better.” Wood replied without turning his head.
An idea suddenly lit up in Mitchell’s mind and he said, “Can it be that… you’re going to be in the starting lineup for the game against France?”
“Yeah.” Wood nodded.
“YES!” Mitchell was more excited than Wood himself. He jumped on the bed and almost knocked his head. “Haha! I’m so relieved by this! To tell you the truth, George, I don’t like the French team. Do you see how they’re hyping them up out there now? It’s as if the UEFA European Championship title is already theirs. What’s up with the terms ‘generation of geniuses’, ‘the most beautiful football’, ‘the most compelling team in this tournament’… I’m going to throw up just listening to that!”
As an Englishman, it was normal to look down on even the French people. Wood was not surprised by Mitchell’s behavior.
“It’s great that you’re playing. Teach the bunch of arrogant Frenchmen a good lesson!” Mitchell rolled around in bed and then sit up again, waving his fists next to Wood and shouting.
After being happy for Wood, Mitchell was also a little depressed. As the team’s main striker, he was in the starting lineup for every game, but had only scored two goals. He had been called England’s best center forward for the next decade, but his performance was poor.
“It turned out that the boss was specially here to assign you a mission… So, what’s my mission?”
Wood added, “You are a striker and the striker’s mission is to score goals, isn’t it?”
“I think I’m too weak physically, George. . . Is there anything you can think of for me to strengthen?” Mitchell felt that the main factor that led him to score fewer goals than Rooney was his lack of strength and his inability to compete with the strong center backs in the penalty area. Many times, he had to come out in order to get the ball. But could a striker still score goals, far from the penalty area?
Wood finally took his eyes off the computer screen. He looked back at Mitchell, sitting on the bed behind him. “Beef up by eating.” He said simply and turned back again.
Mitchell rolled his eyes and made an exasperated sound before lying back down.
“I’ll be out of shape if I get fat!”
If it had been a person with the gift of gab, he would definitely respond to him in this way, “You have an appearance of someone who’s addicted to drugs. How can you be out of shape?”
But George Wood ignored Mitchell’s complaints and focused on the video of the French team’s game. He quickly found his target, and several of the French midfielders were highly skilled individually. He was thinking that the boss would not ask him to mark a player. That would be too wasteful. If there was no surprises, it should be zonal marking instead.
Wood closed his eyes and imagined the game in his mind. He had not played an entire game in a long time, and the game against France was going to be tough. He also had to pray that his right big toe would not be hurt during the game. In fact, he had just lied to the boss. His right big toe was still slightly sore and could not be considered as completely healed. But in order to make the boss feel assured enough to let him play, he must hide this tiny injury.
※※※
Twain did not know what was on Wood’s mind. George Wood’s performance was normal during the afternoon training. He was comfortable whether when he was running or in contact with the ball. It gave the team a lot of confidence for the game against France.
Although the reporters at the scene only had 15 minutes of photo shoot, they saw a vigorous and healthy George Wood.
At a routine post-training press conference, Twain did not let George Wood attend it with him. He called Gerrard instead.
At the press conference, in the face of a large number of reporters throwing out the question of “whether George Wood will be able to play against France”, Twain did not give any affirmative answer. He continued to obfuscate, “I cannot confirm on the matter. We’re all working hard in that direction. We all want to see the best result.” He spoke nonsense for a long time which was equal to not giving away any detail at all.
The French reporters did not seem to care much about whether George Wood would be playing or not. They just wanted Twain to talk about the French team’s performance in recent games. Twain was aware of what they were playing at. These vain Frenchmen!
But it was exactly what he wanted to happen.
“The French team played very well. It is natural for them to be in the top eight. Their football impresses me… At the same time, they also have a lot of talented players, which I’m really envious of…” Twain’s reaction greatly surprised many English reporters. He was so stingy with words for his own country’s reporters and even had an awful attitude toward them. They did not expect him to answer the questions from the French reporters frankly with assurance. Furthermore, the words which he had spoken were all praises for the French team. Did he not feel that his words were cringeworthy? What about his remark that he was “envious of the French team for having a lot of talent?” Did he mean that the England team’s players were not good enough? Was he British or French?
“… I think it’s absolutely right of the media to say that the French team is the favorite to win the title before the game. I have to deal with the French team seriously. They are very strong… we might lose if we’re not careful. I’m not speaking highly of anyone. I’m telling the truth. The football that the French team plays is very modern and advanced. They can secure both the championship and win over the audience. To be honest, this has always been my goal…”
Twain spoke these words so seriously that it made the French secretly rejoice and the English people unhappy. Even Gerrard was taken aback. Although he had not played for Twain at the club level, he had always felt that the boss was a fearless person through the two years of interaction in the national team. No matter how strong the opponent was, he dared to go head to head with the opponent. For instance, as with the Germany team before, he did not show any fear, and it was why the team could finally beat their foe, Germany. Because the players saw the courage to beat the strong enemy from the manager.
But what happened to the boss today?
It was not the boss’s style, was it? What was he thinking? Gerrard made up his mind to definitely ask the boss after the press conference. He was eager to find out what the boss was thinking.
Twain’s words even gave the French reporters the urge to applaud – it’s so good! Fantastic!
The French people could not hide the joy on their faces, and the British reporters did not want to hide their displeasure. Following which, the press conference immediately became the French reporters’ domain. They kept raising their hands to ask questions and wanted to hear some more good things about the French team. While the British reporters were collectively quiet, using a silent treatment as a way to protest against Twain’s “working for someone’s benefit at the expense of his own people” behavior.
Twain also knew when to quit while he was ahead. The other party would become inured if he said too many good things, so he became diffident again in the next moment.
After the press conference, the French reporters left the England team’s training camp with satisfied smiles, while the British reporters gritted their teeth and cursed Tony Twain as well as the French.
Gerrard frowned and appeared preoccupied. He decided to ask for an explanation.
“Boss.”
Twain looked back at Gerrard behind him and he was not surprised. “Yes?”
“I don’t quite understand why you said those things at the press conference… I don’t think the French team is as strong as you said.”
Twain frowned and said, “Don’t underestimate the opponent, Steven.”
Gerrard thought at first that the boss was joking, but when he looked at Twain’s serious expression, he felt he had thought wrong.
“It’s the quarterfinal. Once we win, we can reach the semifinals. It is a step away from the final. We can’t take our opponent lightly. Any opponent has to be taken seriously and I don’t want a repeat of the game against Wales to happen again.” Twain once again played the “Wales” card and Gerrard had nothing to say.
Losing to the Wales team seemed to have become England’s nightmare. As long as the team appeared to act proud and underestimate the opponent, Twain would mention that game again. Not only that, he also specially made a video clip of the game and showed it to the players. It was to remind them not to underestimate their opponents.
But the problem was the French team was not Wales. The England players would not take the French team lightly in any case …
“Moreover, the French team is really strong. I did not tell any lies, Steven.” Twain continued to add. His earnest look and heartfelt words look left Gerrard without a doubt. “Their midfield is very strong and does not just rely on one person. Such an opponent is our biggest headache. We can’t stop their offensive by freezing one player alone. And… with George’s injury…”
Twain wished to speak but stopped on second thoughts.
Gerrard increasingly felt that the boss was not putting smokescreens. It was indeed worrying that they did not know yet whether Wood would be able to play when they were up against a strong opponent. After playing a few games, he also knew that his 36-year-old stamina could not keep up until the final.
Although what the boss said was very reasonable, Gerrard’s heart still slightly unconvinced. We have beaten the mighty Germany team and ended our 48 years of ill-fated inability to conquer the Swedish team. Don’t tell me that we don’t even have the strength to stake all against France? That the boss would look down on us!
Although he’s also considering the team, I feel upset by it. I admit that the French team has been in the limelight recently and even share in same odds of being in the top spot to win the title as Spain. But did we come to Spain just to praise the strength of the opponent?
Gerrard stopped asking and followed behind Twain in silence. He only raised his clenched fists.
Twain, who was walking in front of him, did not look back, but the corner of his lips curled up.
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Chapter 957 - Never Return Until the Battle is Won
Even though the fastest news media had not published the contents about the press conference yet, the England players heard about what their manager said very quickly.
That was because Gerrard told his roommate, Rooney, about what Boss said. Even though one of them was a Liverpool player and the other, a Manchester United player, and Rooney even used to be a player of Liverpool’s city rival, Everton, this did not affect the friendship between the players.
Rooney was shocked by the Boss’ attitude. He could not understand the reasoning behind it, and he decided to tell another teammate, Chelsea’s John Terry.
Very soon, news regarding this press conference spread amongst the players and naturally, the Nottingham Forest players would know about it too. However, none of them could understand why the reason why their Boss would say that. The Nottingham Forest players were more familiar with Twain and they thought that there must be a reason for such an abnormal behavior. They just did not know what the reason was exactly.
The players who were not from Nottingham Forest felt aggrieved that their Boss would look down on them——They also made it to the quarterfinals, why did their Boss think so highly of the French team and had so little confidence in them?
While they felt that they were being looked down upon by their manager, they could not possibly vent it out on Twain directly. But they had their way of proving that their Boss was wrong. That was to defeat France in the match and show their Boss which team had a high probability of becoming champions!
The England players who were angered gave their all during training. Twain watched everything and was secretly happy.
Assistant manager Kerslake might be the only one who knew about Twain’s plans. He was a little concerned and asked, “Aren’t you afraid that you would lose your popularity in the changing room? Or that it might backfire and make them lose their will to fight instead?”
“This is a proud bunch of people, they won’t lose their fighting spirit just like this. And popularity? When they defeat France, my status in the changing room will only be even stronger,” Twain said with conviction, “This is a goading tactic. Furthermore, I can numb the French team by saying that. The French are a bunch of arrogant people. I like it when they are arrogant.”
※※※
Twain was right. The French were indeed arrogant. Twain’s humble words appeared on all the French media very quickly and the reports spread like wildfire. The readers felt extremely good reading them——The Englishmen are saying good things about us now, and it’s that arrogant Tony Twain! Looks like our football team has really conquered the other side of the pacific.
Twain was not interested in the views of the French fans though, he was only interested in the opinions of the French players.
Benzema did not disappoint him with his reaction. This prideful striker appeared to welcome Twain’s words, “…I’m very thankful for Tony Twain’s praises. I believe we deserve praises like these… What’s better than the praises from your opponent?”
Ben Arfa did not really get along with Benzema, but he agreed with him, nonetheless. He felt very good to receive praises from an opponent.
The other players thought the same. They did not take into consideration whether the opposing manager had any other intentions as they really did perform very admirably recently, and it did not surprise them that they would receive praises.
What Twain said during the press conference filled the French with utmost confidence in their national team. The feeling of optimism filled their hearts. There were even media writing this as their headline, “Thank you very much, Tony, but we’ll definitely be the ones going to the Bernabeu in the end!”
Ribery was the only one who thought there was something wrong. The Tony Twain that he knew would never praise his opponent for no reason, even if they really deserved it. The moment he started to praise someone, it meant that that person would be in for a bad time soon…
Therefore, he continued to “boost the enemy’s morale while reducing their own” and kept reminding France to be wary of England, be wary of Tony Twain. However, it all fell on deaf ears.
The manager of France, Claude Puel, was also worried that Tony Twain was playing mind games initially. However, he paid some attention to the English media for the past couple of days and realized that they were all criticizing Twain, so much so that the insults almost escalated to include his ancestors.
Puel did not think that Twain was someone who would deliberately do something for the media to criticize him, therefore, he must have meant it when he praised the French team. That arrogant man did not care that the media was criticizing him, and it was also Twain’s favorite pastime to go against the English media.
Besides, according to the resourceful English media, there were many players within the England camp that were unhappy with Twain’s words. They believed that they were looked down upon by their own manager and Tony Twain was losing his changing room.
If this was all part of Twain’s plans, then the price of it would be too steep. If it backfired and he lost the trust of his players, then he would not be able to execute any of his plans. Nobody in his right mind would risk angering his own players.
After that analysis, he concluded that there was no possibility of any plotting by England. He believed that the revolutionary tactics that he brought to the French team had indeed gotten the recognition from the world. France could lift their heads up high and accept any praise without feeling the need to be ashamed.
※※※
“Claude Puel is a very thoughtful manager, but his experience managing a national team is only about the same as me. In terms of results, his club management career could not be considered as a success. Before he joined Lyon, they were the dominant team of the French Ligue 1. After he became Lyon’s manager in 2009, Lyon was never in the title race anymore. Even though his team played some beautiful football and received a lot of praises from the media for it, what use is beautiful football without winning?”
Twain was analyzing the French manager for his coaching staff during the staff meeting.
“He started off with Monaco in 1999 as their coach and a year and a half later, he became a scout. A year later, he became the manager of Lille and he stayed there for seven years. In the summer of 2009, he became the manager of Lyon. After the 2014 World Cup, he replaced Deschamps as the manager of the France national team. They performed very well during the qualifying stage, however, ever since Mr Puel started to manage Lyon, he had never won any championship before.”
Twain sounded condescending, totally different from the admiration that he showed during the press conference.
“I think Mr Puel lacks the heart of a champion. It has been so long that he has forgotten how to be a champion. Besides, France has had a very easy path here, ever since the qualifying stage. They are like a flower growing in a greenhouse. A team like this won’t be able to react when they are faced with a crisis. Puel also lacks the experience of handling such pressure. This is something that we have to take advantage of.”
“The team is in high morale now and they can’t wait to get on the pitch. This is something that will shock the French. Once they fall into chaos, that’s when we’ll have the opportunity to win the game,” Twain clenched and waved his fist as he said that.
“We have to be invasive in the match! But I’m not concerned about that…” Twain wanted to laugh when he thought about the angry looks he got from his players during training, “We cannot be afraid of committing fouls. Against a team like France, the rougher we are, the worse their performance will be. I have lots of experience dealing with beautiful football.” Twain laughed.
His coaches laughed with him as they knew him very well. When he was still managing Nottingham Forest, he faced off with teams playing beautiful football numerous times. Whether it was Barcelona, Real Madrid or Arsenal, he defeated them a few times each. Meeting France in the quarterfinals was an opportunity given by the Gods.
If they were facing Italy, Twain would seriously consider the chances of them making it to the semi-finals.
※※※
On the day before the match, Twain heaped praises upon France again when interviewed by reporters, saying that the football that they were playing were “revolutionary football, beautiful football”. At the same time, he praised their manager, Claude Puel, for bringing such revolution to France and claimed that he brought a breath of fresh air to the footballing world and that he was becoming a fan of Puel himself. The English media were very unhappy with what he said of course, while the French were understandably very happy with it.
During the team meeting at night, Twain could still feel the unfriendly looks coming from the players. To them, he must have already been labelled as a “traitor”.
However, he still wanted to add fuel to the flame.
“We’ll be facing a very, very strong team tomorrow,” He paused deliberately after saying that. The meeting room was silent, but Twain knew that the players were surely booing him in their minds.
“We’re facing a team which has won all their previous games. The football that they are playing can both excite the fans and bring them victory. Even though this is a match that determines whether we make it into the semi-finals, I don’t want to put too much pressure on you.”
Twain sounded very serious and nobody could tell whether he was joking.
“I wish all of you good luck. We do need a little bit of luck against a team like France…”
Twain stopped saying things to piss the players off after that. He knew not to overdo it. If he kept mentioning about the strength of France, he might just really drop the morale of his team.
After he stopped talking about the strengths of France, Twain started to explain the tactics they would be using for the match tomorrow. England’s tactics were very simple, and they were similar to the ones used before. Twain merely emphasized the need to be bolder and more open when defending.
The players were not thinking about this. They were all feeling pissed off and could hardly wait to start the match and defeat the proud and arrogant French players to make them beg on all fours!
After the team meeting ended, the players left the meeting room one by one. Only George Wood was asked to stay by Twain.
“You don’t look like you’re angry about being looked down by me George,” Twain sat on the meeting room table casually as he looked at Wood opposite him.
“I know what you’re doing,” Wood said.
“Ha!” Twain laughed, “I asked you to stay back to tell you not to tell the rest about this. Looks like I was worried over nothing.”
Wood stood up and prepared to leave. If it was just this matter, there was no need to waste time, he needed to go back and rest. Before he left, he stopped at the door and asked Twain, “The match tomorrow, will we win?”
Twain shrugged, “Of course. We’ll win for sure!”
Wood opened the door and walked out without asking anything else.
Twain stayed back in the empty meeting room in a daze for a while before leaving.
※※※
At almost the same time, during the team meeting for France, Puel was asking his players to use the same tactics for the match tomorrow.
The tactical deployment for France was very simple and there was no urgency on the faces of the players. There were smiles on everyone’s faces and there were even people chatting about things that had nothing to do with the team meeting.
Of course, Puel saw everything, but he did not think that it was a bad thing. He was proud that his team could remain calm on the day before the quarterfinal match with England. He became even more confident about the match tomorrow.
“As long as we maintain our form and performances from the previous matches, it won’t be a problem to defeat England,” Puel added after he finished explaining the tactics, “Remember, our target is to become champions!”
※※※
On that night, the England players slept with anticipation of the match against France the next day as well as their anger for Boss. The France players slept with an carefree mind leading up to the game on the next day.
Twain, who was full of praises for France, stayed up until three-thirty in the morning. He watched the games of France again and again in his room, going through the notes he made again and again to ensure that he did not miss anything, to look for new weaknesses in their team.
Actually, he should not be staying up so late with his current health status. However, Shania was not with him and there was nobody else who could watch over him. He was going all out to be champions.
Twain did not know whether he could continue doing this for another four years and wait for the next European Championship and he did not have a habit of giving up on the chance now to consider about what would happen four years later.
Football is a game that involves luck. Nobody would be able to tell him that his luck would be better next time. It would be stupid for him to pin his hopes on what was going to happen four years later. He believed that George Wood would perform to his best abilities in the final and for that, he had to ensure that he could provide Wood with the stage to do so.
Besides, as the manager of a football club, he had already achieved all the club glories there were. He had not achieved anything as the manager of a national team yet. He did not want to go for the worthless Olympics gold medal. As a national team manager, there were only the European Championship and the World Cup.
The England team then was the strongest England team ever, there was no need to set their target as runners-up.
This time, they would not return until the battle was won!
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Chapter 958 - Starting Lineup
The fans and media focused their attention on those footballers from France with attacking flair as their goals and assists brought upon excitement to the fans. However, people who really understood football knew that the key to France’s winning streak was not Benzema or Gourcuff, but the little black man in midfield with not many eye-catching moments——Lassana Diarra.
Diarra was 31 years old and in his prime now. To him, this European Championship was his best chance of winning an international honor. However, to do that, there was someone that he could not avoid.
George Wood was one year his junior, and the one recognized by the world as the best defensive midfielder in the footballing world now. Even though the terrible results of his club affected his performance, he was still the undisputed core of the England national team. He had not started a game in the current European Championship yet, and the time he played in the two previous games added up to be not more than 45 minutes. However, that short amount of time was enough to prove how good George Wood was.
The media was not interested in a dialogue between defensive midfielders, but Diarra knew very well how good his opponent was.
He did not know whether George Wood would be in the starting lineup for tonight’s match or would he be sent in as a substitute. If Wood was going to be playing, then he would have to pay close attention to him. That was because George Wood was no longer the blue-collar worker who could only defend now. He also shouldered the responsibility of organizing the attack, otherwise how could he be known as the core of England? A boorish brute who could only defend would never be able to become the core.
※※※
The match was still eight hours away, but the media was especially interested in England’s starting lineup. Twain did not seem to have any intention of releasing it yet and it seemed like he was going to wait for the team to enter the changing room before releasing it.
Media from all over the world gathered outside the hotel that the England team was staying in, hoping to get some valuable inside information from the players. However, even the players themselves did not know anything about the starting lineup.
Naturally, there was only one reason why the media would pay so much attention to the starting lineup——Would George Wood be part of the starting lineup in tonight’s match?
When Twain insisted to bring Wood to Spain, he said that Wood’s foot injury would fully recover after they reach the knock-out stage of the competition. Therefore, the round of 16 was supposed to be the day when Wood came back from his injury. However, his first match was the last game of the group stages against Germany, meaning he actually came back earlier than expected. However, this delayed his official return and he continued to sit on the bench during the match against Sweden, only coming on in the second half.
Would he be starting in the match against France?
The England players shook their heads and said that they did not know.
Mitchell actually knew about it, but Wood had already reminded him not to tell anyone about this as Boss requested. As he admired Boss so much, Mitchell naturally kept his mouth shut.
The media knew that he was sharing a room with Wood and they came to question him. He merely smiled and shook his head, “I don’t know, I haven’t heard anything like that… Of course, I hope that George can play but I’m neither the team doctor nor the manager… That’s all I can say.”
Twain was resting in the hotel lobby with a coffee in his hand, but not a single media personnel thought of interviewing him. They knew that if they could not get any newsworthy information from the players, they could forget about getting any from this manager’s mouth. This was a person who had so much prejudice against the media that if he did not want to say anything, even “press freedom” would not scare him into saying anything. The media only got whatever he wanted to say. When one thought about it that way, the media was pretty sad, and they were like a dog that Twain kept. If he was in a good mood, he would feed them something and they had to act happy with some tail wagging. If he was unhappy, he would stay indoors for half a month and they could not complain about it at all, or else he would stay even longer.
※※※
Unlike England, France’s starting lineup was already released when they were setting off to the stadium, and it was exactly the same as the previous matches as Puel did not make any change at all.
France was playing a 451 formation with Benzema at the front as the striker. Behind him, there were three attacking midfielders in a line, Gourcuff in the middle, Nasri on the right and Ben Arfa on the left. Behind the three attacking midfielders were two central midfielders, Flamini on the left and Lassana Diarra on the right. The left-back was Clichy from Arsenal and right-back was Sagna, also from Arsenal. One of the center-backs was 26-year-old Mamadou Sakho from Serie A giants, Juventus, and the other was Mexes from Roma. The goalkeeper was Lloris.
The French felt superior even though it was just the timing of the release of the starting lineup. They claimed that releasing the starting lineup early indicated that Puel’s team was confident and they were not afraid of any other teams, a mentality that a championship winning team should have. On the other hand, Tony Twain’s insistence on keeping the starting lineup a secret demonstrated his fear and helplessness. Did it mean that George Wood had not recovered from his foot injury yet since he did not dare to release the starting lineup?
The French started to dream about them beating England and reaching the semifinal, then beating the host nation, Spain, and meeting Italy in the final before defeating them 3:0, avenging the World Cup final defeat 10 years ago.
※※※
“England’s starting lineup is not released yet and I believe that George Wood’s injury is the only reason why that is so. From our analysis, we can conclude that Wood has not recovered from his foot injury yet.” In the pre-match special program on the French television, they invited two professional pundits to analyze the match for the French viewers. In general, they were praising France and claimed that all uncertainties were gathered on England’s side.
“If George Wood has really recovered from his foot injury, I believe that Tony Twain would have released it as early as possible to serve as a morale dampener for his opponent, “Another pundit who claimed to understand Tony Twain very well said that, “But, we don’t have any news about that up till now. This can only mean that Wood has not recovered from his foot injury sufficiently to be in the starting lineup. I think Twain plans to do the same thing as the two previous games and bring Wood on in the second half. Therefore, we have to establish a lead in the first half and getting the first goal as early as possible is key…”
On the big screen television in the broadcasting hall, there was a live broadcast of the scenes of the teams’ arrival at the stadium. Naturally, France’s bus appeared multiple times on screen while England only appeared for a few times when they arrived at the stadium.
The host and the experts were discussing the match that was about to start with a smile on their faces. It did not look like they were affected by the anxiety and uneasiness of going into a big match. Maybe they were experienced, or maybe they thought that their team was stronger than England and there was no problem defeating England.
However, the host’s smile froze when he received England’s starting lineup from the reporter on the scene.
An awkward silence is really bad for a live show, and there was an awkward silence from the host now…
He was still in a daze while holding the starting lineup in his hand and the two experts next to him did not know what was going on and they could only smile.
The host tried to cover up for his mistake very quickly as he coughed and said, “We…we’ve just received the starting lineup for the England team…” He looked at the two experts who gave him an expression which meant “tell us about it, we want to know”.
“George Wood is starting,” the expressions on the experts’ faces changed instantly after the host said that, as if their faces were stuffed with a bunch of live flies.
“Um…” One of them was stunned on the spot, but the other reacted well by saying, “Looks like Tony Twain is going to go for it…”
The big screen showed England’s starting lineup. George Wood sits right in the middle of England’s midfield with Gerrard partnering him.
※※※
The people who were shocked, just like the host and experts on this French show, included the media from all other countries. The English reporters could not believe it when they saw the lineup. However, after they reacted to it, they did not dare to think too optimistically and they thought that Twain was taking a risk with Wood, who had not recovered yet, because he had no choice if he wanted to defeat France.
“Even if we defeat France, how can we beat Spain if we aggravate Wood’s injury?”
“Twain did not think through it properly by doing this!”
“Did Wood volunteer or did Twain force him into it? We have to look into this…”
When the reporters were deep in discussion, the players in the English changing room were similarly shocked.
They looked at Twain standing next to the tactics board, then looked at Wood sitting at one side. Boss had just announced that George Wood was part of the four starting midfielders.
“Is your foot okay? George?” Rooney stood up and asked. This was the question that everyone was concerned about.
“There’s no problem,” Wood replied.
In fact, the team doctor, Wright, specially did another examination for Wood that morning and he believed that Wood’s recovery was very smooth, and he was able to start the match. Twain could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Wood’s return should have been something that they were happy about, but when they thought about the strange behavior that Boss exhibited the past few days, everyone’s mood dropped to a new low again——Could Boss be worried that the current lineup would not be able to defeat France, that was why he forced Wood to start this match?
There were new doubts in the looks that these people gave Wood. They did not really believe that Wood’s right toe had recovered now.
Of course, Twain knew what his players were thinking of. However, he acted as though he did not see and did not give them any explanations. The players were unhappy with France now, and with him too of course. However, this unhappiness could turn into their motivation and if he explained his actions, all these would be for naught.
After introducing the starting lineup, he repeated the tactics that he explained the day before and then clapped and said, “Good luck.”
He ended the final pre-match preparation just like that, without any passionate speech.
However, nobody cared about his strange behavior. They were all angry at him now so the lesser he spoke the better.
Twain did not continue to stay in the changing room. There were a few minutes before the start of the match and he left the room with assistant manager, Des Walker, leaving the room for the players.
Once Boss left, the players started to become active and they surrounded Wood, “Are you really okay, George?”
Wood nodded with conviction, “I’m fine.”
“I’m very unhappy about Boss’ performance during the past few days…” Someone frowned and said as he looked at the changing room door, “He’s obviously looking down on us, aren’t you mad about that, George?”
Wood shook his head and said, “If you think he’s wrong, then prove it by beating France.”
Wood knew what Twain was planning and as captain, he had the responsibility to help the manager fulfill his plans and that included lying.
As the English players surrounded Wood and questioned him, over in the French changing room, they received the news that George Wood would be starting too.
Puel was a little shocked as he did not expect Wood to start the match. However, this also proved his analysis before——Tony Twain’s fear of France was real and not something that he made up. Otherwise, he would not have taken the risk of starting Wood. George Wood was the only trump card in Twain’s hands. In order to defeat France, he had no choice but to start a half-fit Wood.
Puel calmed down very quickly once he thought of that. George Wood was not omnipotent and there was nothing that the mighty France needed to worry about.
He continued to explain to the players about the things to look out for in the match, but he noticed that there were people getting distracted…
There were probably not many French players who were happy that Wood would be starting the match. Lassana belonged to this minority.
Seated next to Diarra was midfielder Feghouli who was not in the starting lineup. He noticed the strange behavior of Diarra very quickly.
Diarra was trembling as he looked down and his fingers turned white from clenching his fists.
“Hey Lars, are you okay?” Feghouli touched Diarra and asked with concern.
Diarra stopped his trembling, looked up and smiled at Feghouli while exposing his white teeth, “It’s nothing. I’m thinking about defeating England and getting into the semifinal and got a little excited…”
Feghouli thought that Diarra’s answer was hilarious. He was 31 years old and not a newcomer anymore, would he be so excited about getting into the semifinal?
Diarra ignored Feghouli. Not everyone could understand the feeling of desiring to meet his opponent so there was no need for him to explain himself. He was very happy that George Wood was going to start. This match had become even more meaningful.
...
Chapter 959 - The Storm Approaches
When George Wood appeared on the pitch, the England fans in the stands let out a huge cheer. They chanted Wood’s nickname “Saint George” over and over again, completely quashed the French fans’ bluster.
They could not help but get excited. It had been more than two months. Even though George Wood came on as a substitute in the games against Germany and Sweden, it was his first time in the starting lineup. What did it mean for George Wood to be in the starting lineup? Saint George’s right big toe had completely healed! They did not have to worry about anything in the next game.
But to those opponents who were observing the two teams in the stands and collecting first-hand intelligence, they were not focused on Wood’s comeback, but on Twain’s actions. Wood’s comeback was to be expected. Twain had brought the disciple which he was most proud of to Spain and it was not to keep him on the bench, so it was not surprising. But Twain’s unusually low-key style before the game kept his opponents on guard.
The opponents watching the game between two teams in the stands included Spain and the Czech Republic, which were the two teams likely to encounter in the semifinals, as well as Italy, which were likely to meet them in the final.
They were all coaches in their respective teams, and they arrived at San Mamés Stadium on a mission to spy on the competition. Few of them would have believed that Twain was really afraid of the French team even though the French team’s performance in the first few games were really eye-catching. But no matter which angle they analyzed from; Twain was not the kind of manager who would fear the opponent. On the contrary, when the opponent was stronger, the more combative he would be. Look at how he had led an unknown Nottingham Forest team to create a dynasty… It was almost a classic battle collection of David versus Goliath.
They were so concerned with Twain’s various abnormal behavior before the game that they treated the matter of George Wood in the starting lineup as inconsequential. It was as natural as where water flowed, a canal was formed…
※※※
Puel was no longer thinking about what Twain said and did before the game. Now his mind was completely focused on the game – the madness of the English people was something he could never predict…
At the start of the game, it was the French team that kicked off. It was reasonable to say that the French team should have taken advantage of the opportunity to keep the football under their feet, and then launch wave after wave of successive attacks to threaten England’s goal. By right, they should score a goal first and drag the game into the familiar orbit of the French team.
However, their attack was not close to England’s goal and was blocked by George Wood and Gerrard working together to intercept it. Next, the French team had wanted to take back the ball in the midfield – Lassana Diarra and Flamini were in the central midfielder positions, which was closer to the other team’s penalty area. The adjustment from these positions showed the French team’s intention. They intended to use the offense in this game to completely suppress the England team. The ideal result would be the England team could not even go beyond the midfield.
This was in fact the reason why the French team had been very successful so far. Puel was not an idiot who only knew to attack. After the two powerful interception midfield positions were moved up, the French team’s attack was more oppressive, and made it convenient for them to counter press. Their tactic would really be effective and decisive when they encountered those teams which were not good or ill-prepared.
It was a pity they met with a combative and well-prepared England team today.
After seeing Gerrard take the ball, Flamini quickly responded and rushed up. While waiting to enter the stadium before the game, Diarra found his partner and told him that his target was George Wood, so he asked Flamini to stay out of the way.
Gerrard saw Flamini pounce toward him and simply passed the football to Wood, not far from his side.
Almost as soon as he passed the ball, Diarra made his move as well. Like a black panther, he pounced toward Wood who was ready to receive the ball. He was going to intercept the ball at the same time Wood was going to receive it. It was a good opportunity for him to take advantage of when Wood had not steadied his footing yet.
“Diarra goes up to defend against Wood … Beautiful!”
Motson cried excitedly.
At the same time when Diarra pounced over, Wood used his heel to directly knock Gerrard’s pass directly to Terry at the back. It was fine that Diarra pounced on the empty space. The important thing was that after he and Flamini had rushed up, the French team’s central backfield came apart, so there was a wide gap in the middle! It was because the French team’s two attacking midfielders’ positions were farther up front…
It was apparently what Twain specifically pulled Wood aside to specially advise him before the game: he must be good at exploiting the gaps in the opponent’s formation.
Terry also did not delay and immediately sent out a long ball directly to the feet of Moke, who had already rushed to the front!
“England’s quick attack!”
When Stewart Downing stopped the ball, there were only three French defenders in front of him, while England’s two strikers and another winger, Agbonlahor, had already rushed to the front of the penalty area. Gerrard rushed up again after passing the ball to Wood. It was Wood who continued to hold tight in the backfield after passing the ball back to Terry.
Twain’s starting lineup was different from the first two games. Chris Cohen and Moke, the two Nottingham Forest players did not continue to be in the starting lineup. Instead, they gave up their places to Downing and Agbonlahor. The latter two players shared a same feature – fast speed.
Twain expected the French team to press heavily and strive to score a goal first. At this time, the most important thing for the England team’s offense was not the possession of the ball but speed. Cohen was balance in offense and defense and had good endurance, Moke was excellent in ball control and his technique was skilled. But they were not players who had speed. Downing and Agbonlahor had excellent speed and quite good during counterattacks.
Furthermore, the squad was a big surprise to the French team. Puel certainly did not expect Twain to give up the only real right midfielder when the England team’s right midfielder was in danger and opted for Agbonlahor, who first played as a striker.
Downing did not stop and stay when he got the ball. Instead, he passed the ball across. Rooney, who came back, picked up the ball and sent the ball over to Agbonlahor’s side. The French team’s left back, Clichy, who had rushed up to participate in the attack just now, were still running back to defend at this time.
Agbonlahor also did not hold back. After receiving the ball, he directly cut inward to plug into the penalty area!
The French team’s center back had wanted to defend against Mitchell and Rooney, but he did not expect the England team to move the football to the other side so quickly. He also did not think that Agbonlahor would be so determined to plug into the penalty area that he did not hesitate at all…
After Agbonlahor broke through the penalty area, he then swung his leg to make to look like he was going to shoot which tricked Sakho to tear in to block it, only for him to pass the ball across to Mitchell in the penalty area…
“Aaron Mitchell is now unmarked… and he shoots…”
The football flew straight toward the goal, and the goalkeeper, Lloris flew to save. But unfortunately, the distance was too close, and Mitchell used all his might to shoot. No matter how strong the goalkeeper was, he could also do nothing at this time…
“GOOOAL! GOOOOOAL! GOOOOOOAL!!!” John Motson, BBC 5 station’s trump card commentator jumped from his seat.
He might have been the first to react, because when the shot that Mitchell had sent out hit the net, neither the fans in the stands nor the viewers in front of the television had registered it in their minds yet – what was going on? The game had only started a little more than a minute. How did this happen?
Equally surprised were all the members of the French team. The coaches sitting in the technical area as well as the French players who were just desperately defending on the pitch, they were all looking at their own goal at this moment. In there, the football was spinning and rubbing against the net.
Meanwhile, in all the big and small pubs in England, on the big screens in the squares and on the radios of taxis, only John Motson’s voice was shouting, “This is the fastest goal in the tournament. It is also the second-fastest goal in the history of the UEFA European Championship! One minute and thirty seconds, Mitchell takes the lead for England! We’re ahead! The lead comes as a surprise, but we are really in the lead!”
※※※
After a few seconds of standstill, huge cheers broke out from the stands at San Mamés Stadium.
The commentators of all the countries also declared England 1:0 ahead of France in the way they were good at in succession.
To be honest, even the England team’s own people did not expect their opening to be so smooth, taking the lead in just over a minute and a half once the game started. It was Tony Twain reacted the fastest. He rushed out of the technical area with open arms and did a provocative butt twisting dance near the French team’s technical area, as if to deliberately annoy Puel.
Agbonlahor, who passed the ball, rushed up and toppled Mitchell. Then more England players stacked on top one by one. Even the goalkeeper, Joe Hart ran up from the back. It could be seen how excited the English players were.
Indeed, they were excited because they not only were ahead of the French team, they also showed the boss, the French team which he had lauded as a strong opponent, the stuff they were made of! They were simply unable to withstand a single blow!
“Benzema, Gourcuff, Ben Arfa… the group of geniuses from the French team are at a loss over the goal concede!”
They were really at a loss. They were still standing motionless in front. Who would have thought that their first offensive failure would lead to a goal concede?
Twain walked back after he finished his butt twisting dance in front of the French team’s technical area. He walked toward Des Walker with a look of anticipation and smiled as he said, “A storm is approaching, Des.”
※※※
Yes, the storm had come. The first gale toppled the roof of the greenhouse above the French team’s head, and those delicate flowers shivered with cold and faltered amid the howling wind and torrential rain.
In fact, at this time, the French team very much wanted to get support from their grandstand. However, at the present moment, the French fans chose to be silent. Even if they wanted to make a sound, they were silenced by the singing of the England fans. Only the England fans’ singing could be heard at San Mamés Stadium, and only England fans’ voices could be had. They turned Deportivo de La Coruña’s home ground into a Premier League stadium.
Twain’s compliments to the French team before the game not only angered the England players, but also angered the England football fans. Seeing their own team take the lead over the French team so quickly, they were happy to embarrass Twain with their singing.
As the game went on, the French team could not lift their morale amid the singing voices of the England fans. They wanted to attack but found the England team’s backfield invulnerable to attack. More importantly, they lacked the experience to deal with such a situation. Their manager did not tell them before the game how they were supposed to play next should they concede the goal in the opening minute and a half. Should they continue to attack as per the original plan, or should they slightly withdraw to pay attention to defense?
After the goal concede, Sakho loudly berated his teammates in the front field, asking them to actively come back and defend. Otherwise they would not be able to defend and hold with just four defenders. Not to mention that out of the four defenders, two full backs liked to assist in offense. But the players in the front field did not listen to him. Now their minds were filled with ideas on how to equalize the score. The French team’s front and back fields gradually came apart.
Puel also lacked a counter tactic. He watched powerlessly on the sidelines. Because he could not make up his mind – was the goal concede an accident or was it the opponent’s premeditated ruse?
In the end he thought it was just an accident, and eventually instructed the team to continue to attack and try to equalize the score as soon as possible to get the game back on track again.
But he thought wrong.
The stronger the gale from the England team, the more torrential it rained. The big beads of rain hit the faces like hail.
In the 23rd minute, the England team seized on a chance and fully pressed on while the French team was in a hurry to equalize the score. Through a quick counterattack, the lead was extended to two goals with a goal personally scored by Agbonlahor.
After the goal, Agbonlahor opened his arms wide and ran towards the corner flag. But he did not escape the fate of being crushed by people.
“2:0! England has completely taken the initiative and they are two goals ahead of France! It’s a situation that we really did not think would happen before the game… France, once considered the favorite to win the title, is beaten twice by England in 20 minutes and unable to fight back!”
“I can’t believe what I’m seeing here. Our team is two goals behind … What’s going on? Have Benzema, Gourcuff, Ben Arfa and Nasri all disappeared? And what about our defensive players? It’s shocking that the talented goalkeeper, Lloris, who had only conceded one goal, actually lost two in a row within 20 minutes.” The French commentator was absolutely gutted. He himself could not understand why the French team had such a performance. The French players and coaches did not understand it as well.
The England players in front of them were almost like lions who had been starved for days. Not only did they not lose their strength, they became even more ferocious and dangerous. Even their exhaled breath had a strong smell of blood, as if they had just come out of the depths of hell.
They were fighting with all their strength in every corner of the pitch against the French players. Even if the shots fired were not 50-50, they would also try to tackle it, which caused the French players to be very afraid. Not only that, when they got the opportunity to attack, they would do their best which made it very difficult for the French defenders to defend. It was a completely irrational style of playing and the French team still had no way to take them on.
After England took a two-goal lead, they did not stop there. Instead, they got more and more energetic. With wave after wave of attacks, the French team could only withdrew their defense and they had no way to threaten the England team’s penalty area.
But it was also because of this reason that the French team did not continue to concede the goal in the later part of the first half. When the referee blew the whistle at the end of the first half, all the jittery Frenchmen breathed a sigh of relief – they were safe for at least the next 15 minutes.
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Chapter 960 - A Two-Goal Lead Is Not Enough
The England players could not hide the smiles from their faces when they made their way off the pitch and into the locker room. In truth, they never had the intention to hide their smiles from the start. Their smiles would definitely irritate the French deeply, and that was their aim.
They could not wait to show their smiles to their boss. They wanted to make him embarrassed and make him blush.
Of course, their smiles did not go unnoticed by Twain. Every single England player who walked into the locker room looked as though they had just won the lottery.
Twain had deliberately made his team look weak prior to the match, and his actions had angered the players and also propelled them to give their all in the match so far. Twain was quite pleased with what his team had managed to achieve in the first half. However, he could not let himself get carried away and become complacent just like the players are right now, because that could possibly lead to them squandering their two-goal lead in the second half. Look at what happened in the match against Portugal. They had also gone into halftime with a two-goal lead. But, had it not been for his team’s hard work and the Portugal team’s bad luck, Portugal might have come out of that match as the victors.
Hence, this halftime was very important to Twain.
There were three things that he learned from the first half. Firstly, there was nothing wrong with his tactics for the match. He definitely got everything right, if not his team would not have been able to go into the lead or dominate the match in the first half. Secondly, his attempt at manipulating the players’ psychological states before the match had worked, and players from both teams had been affected. The England players were upset because they thought they were being looked down on, whereas the France players became smug after getting praised by their opponents. Thirdly, England’s abilities as a team definitely did not pale in comparison to France.
The three aforementioned points made Twain feel extremely confident about his team’s ability to win the match.
Every single one of the England players looked at Twain expectantly when they entered the locker room. It seemed as though they were waiting for Twain to praise them for their performance.
Twain laughed inwardly at their actions, but he did not let any of his happiness show on his face.
“You did well in the first half.” The team was able to dominate France and get a two-goal lead over them in the first half, but the only praise they got from Twain for their performance were the words ‘you did well’. “But, do you all think that that’s enough to win the match?”
Twain’s words left the players dumbfounded.
They were able to take a 2:0 lead over France on the 25th minute of the match, and they also dominated the whole of the first half! Is this performance not enough to win the match? What else does the boss want from them?
Twain looked at the looks of shock upon the players’ faces and continued to laugh inwardly. However, he maintained a stern face before the players. “Look at all of you. What do you all find hard to understand? We are a team that is going to become champions of this competition. Are you guys really going to be satisfied with such a performance? I need to point out to all of you that you actually only played well for 23 minutes of the match. What did all of you do after we went into the lead? You all got complacent and stopped going on the attack, right? After seeing how you guys performed in the latter half of the game, I think I have to tweak my words a little. The most dangerous situation in this world is not having a one-goal lead in a match. It’s when you have a two-goal lead in a match!”
The players who had been in a state of disbelief over how Twain had not praised them for their performance earlier all lowered their heads after hearing his words. Twain had hit the nail on the head. The players had certainly relaxed after taking a two-goal lead over France. One reason for it has to do with France’s poor performance in the first half, and another reason is due to a change in mindset.
“If you are satisfied with what you have right now and you think that you can go take a nap with a two-goal lead in the second half, then I hope you are all ready to be slaughtered by the French in the next 45 minutes of the match! I am definitely not trying to scare you with my words. Every single one of you here is a professional football player who has played in countless matches in the past. I’m sure all of you know it better than I do. No one here is some amateur football player who has only played football for barely a month! Surely you must know what will happen when you underestimate an opponent who has nowhere to vent his pent-up frustrations!”
Twain’s voice got angrier and angrier as he spoke. It was as though England had performed terribly in the first half and he was chastising them for their poor performance.
“All of you were smiling at the France players at the end of the first half. How do you all think they will react to that? Do you think they will panic and not know what to do at halftime? Wrong! Gentlemen, you are up against France! Just like us, they are also a team whose aim is to become champions of this competition! They are not some semi-professional football team that is playing in the National League! If you all continue to be complacent in the second half, then I can help all of you make a couple of phone calls right now! One to cancel your hotel rooms, and the other to book flight tickets! The tickets won’t be for you to fly to Barcelona, they’d be for you to fly back to England!”
Barcelona is the venue for the first round of the semi-finals. If England manages to defeat France, they would fly over to meet with the winner of the match between Spain and Czech Republic.
“Is there anyone here who still thinks that I should have praised you for your performance in the first half?”
No one breathed a word.
“If you want to prove to me that I was wrong for not praising you, or if you want me to praise you for your performances, then you better win this match! Are you all satisfied with a 2:0 score? Because I am not satisfied with just that! 3:0, 4:0, 5:0… Who could possibly hate scoring a lot of goals in a match?”
Actually, the England players’ smiles at the end of the first half helped Twain out. Their smiles must have led the French to think that they are gloating over their first half performance. The France team manager, Claude Puel, would definitely think that his team has a good chance of making a comeback in the second half, because he would expect the England players to not play at their best due to their cocky attitudes.
Unfortunately for Puel, it would all just be a trap laid out by Twain. He is destined to become just like the Monkey King, who is never able to escape from the Buddha’s palm.
“I don’t want any of you to think that the match is over. Pull yourselves together for the second half! Continue to pile the pressure on the France team! Our tactics have worked very well in the first half, and we won’t do anything different in the second half. The France team would definitely crumble if you are able to score a goal in the second half! Remember, never go easy on your opponents! It doesn’t matter how many goals you have scored, I want you all to keep scoring! If you go easy on your opponents, then the ones who would be sent packing would be you guys! Don’t you guys think that all the press talks about is how the France team are the favorites to win the Euro Cup? This is a perfect opportunity to prove them wrong!” Twain pointed at the door and yelled, “Let us thrash France and show the world what we’ve got! Let us tell the stupid press who are the real favorites to win the Euro Cup!”
※※※
While Twain was giving his players a pep talk, Puel was giving his own pep talk to his dispirited France players in their locker room as well.
“… There’s nothing frightening about England. They are just a team that goes on the counterattack fast. All we need to do is to pay more attention to their counterattacks in the second half and not let their two fullbacks get to the front of the pitch that easily. What’s most important right now is for all of you to regain your confidence. What’s so scary about England? We are here to become champions. How are you going to do that if you can’t even beat England? I admit we underestimated them in the first half, but luckily for us, we still have 45 minutes left to play in the match. The momentum of the match would definitely shift in our favor as long as we score a goal early in the second half.”
Diarra opened his mouth. He wanted to ask, “What if we don’t manage to score a goal early?”
But, the words were stuck in his throat and he could not get himself to ask the question. He was feeling very depressed over his performance in the first half. His actual performance differed too much from what he expected of himself. He had paid too much attention to George Wood in the midfield, and that has led to England’s first goal. He was contemplating if he should stay at the back of the pitch and solidify the team’s defense when Puel called his name.
Diarra raised his head to look at his manager.
“I want you to pressure England’s midfield with Mathieu in the second half.” Puel did not want Diarra to retreat backwards. He wanted him to continue moving forward so as to pile pressure on England’s midfielders. George Wood and Gerrard are both playing as defensive midfielders, so they are positioned slightly towards the back of the pitch. This meant that Diarra needs to move upwards in order to pressure both Wood and Gerrard.
Diarra did not object to his manager’s arrangement. He nodded his head to signal his assent.
“No problem, manager.” Flamini, who sat next to Diarra, nodded his head as well.
“Gentlemen, our tactic for the second half is still to go on the offense. We’d never be able to win if we don’t attack England. I hope all of you remember that well. Pressure England from the start of the match! Make more runs at the front of the pitch! Intercept their balls! I don’t want to see all of you sleepwalking around the pitch just like the first half, understood?”
※※※
“I don’t think the France players would retreat backwards and play defensively in the second half since they are trailing by two goals. They absolutely have to score goals in order to win the match. But, I think one adjustment that Puel would make would be to decrease the number of times that their fullbacks go on the attack. Thus, we shouldn’t go on the attack straight away at the start of the second half. What we should do first is to solidify our defense. France would definitely attack us ferociously at the start of match, and we could end up letting them score a goal if we are not careful. If our lead is reduced to just one, then I’m sure all of you understand what that entails. All in all, we must never let our guard down. Every tiny mistake that you make could end up putting the team in a dire situation.”
Twain conveyed his tactics to his players in detail. Once he was done, he looked at his watch. The halftime break was almost over, but Twain was in no hurry to leave. He wanted the France players to get out onto the pitch first and wait for his players to arrive.
“There’s still a bit of time left. Let’s talk about what I said prior to the match…”
The England players lifted their heads and looked at Twain in astonishment.
“I know some of you must have been very upset with what I said. You must have thought that I had belittled you… Or perhaps… Insulted you?” Twain laughed as he looked at his players who had looks of confusion all over their faces.
Did we get it wrong? The players thought inwardly.
“Haha!” Twain laughed even louder. “Look at the current score for the match! I don’t think my words were for naught…”
Twain did not make himself clear, but the discerning players would definitely understand what he is getting at. As for those who cannot make sense of what he meant, they would definitely come to understand once the match ends. There is no use explaining to them now.
The eyes of the Nottingham Forest players lit up after hearing Twain’s words. They immediately understood what Twain meant. In contrast, Gerrard and Terry had their heads lowered and they seemed to be deep in thought.
Twain glanced at his watch once again. He figured that the France players should all be standing on the pitch right now, and that is when he stood to his feet. He then opened the door and waved to his players, “Get out there, lads. Don’t forget every single word that I said earlier. My words would definitely become the key to our victory!”
Just as Twain expected, the France players have already made their way onto the pitch, and they have been waiting for England for two whole minutes. These two minutes would have gone unnoticed usually, but not this time round. The France players felt like idiots to have waited for the England players for two minutes in such a cacophonous environment.
When the England players appeared at the tunnel, the France fans immediately started booing and chastising them. The British and the French have never seen eye to eye all this while, and football has only amplified the animosity that they hold towards each other. When the French booed the England team, the England fans immediately retaliated by singing a song that insulted the French. Both sides kept getting in each other’s faces relentlessly.
The players did not appear to have been emotionally affected by the fans’ actions. They got into their respective positions on the pitch quickly and waited for kick-off.
Twain did not return to his seat in the dugout after walking out of the tunnel with his players. Instead, he stood by the side of the pitch with his arms folded before his chest. He wanted to direct his players from the sidelines, and he would only return to his seat if he does not notice any issues after 15 minutes.
He wanted his players to know that he, Tony Twain, the manager of the England national team, is standing right by the side of the pitch!
※※※
The France team kept attacking England’s penalty box ferociously the moment the second half commenced. However, the England defense that is led by George Wood did not crumble. Wood’s interceptions in the midfield acted as a shield against France’s attacks. Any attack by France that had a chance of threatening England’s goalpost were all stopped by Wood.
Neither Gourcuff nor Nasri were able to win against Wood in the middle of the pitch. All they could do was to bring the ball forward via the flanks and try to find a chance to break into England’s penalty box from there. However, the England players were all well-prepared to deal with France’s attacks down the flanks.
In the end, France had to rely on the individual abilities of their star players to break through England’s defense. This type of attack was the kind that Twain feared the least. His team’s defenders are good at holding the line, and he was confident that they would be able to defend against all the France players who come their way.
In addition, France’s star player, Benzema, appears to be in a poor form for the match, and he has wasted numerous chances to score a goal so far. Twain felt relieved to see Real Madrid’s top striker hug his head in frustration time and time again.
Did you think that you can perform well after falling into my elaborate trap? Well, I hope you keep on daydreaming!
※※※
France attacked relentlessly for 13 minutes, but they did not gain anything from those attacks. The score remained 0:2, and France still trailed by two goals. Diarra did not get many chances to face off with Wood, and it seems like Wood saw through their plan to pressure him and steal the ball from his feet. He did not maintain possession of the ball for a long period of time, and he always passed the ball to his teammates quickly. A reason for his ability to make such quick passes is due to his ability to observe where his teammates are on the pitch before making each pass. Diarra realized that he was just wasting his energy every time he ran up to Wood, and eventually he decided to just not run towards Wood at all.
Puel was upset with Diarra’s performance. He kept yelling Diarra’s name by the sidelines. He wanted Diarra to be even more proactive and go after Wood more.
It was clear that the ex-manager of Lyon lacks the ability to deal with situations like these whereby his team is trailing in a match. Things have always been smooth-sailing for his team over the past two years… Perhaps a little too smooth-sailing.
All he cared about was the 0:2 scoreline. He kept wanting his team to go on the attack, but he did not sense the danger that lurked behind England’s rigid defense.
Diarra sensed it, and that is why he has gone against his manager’s demands. He did not go after George Wood every time he received the ball. Instead, he took a few steps back and waited quietly at the defensive midfielder’s position.
“You bastard!” Puel chided Diarra angrily after seeing his performance. If France lost this match, he would definitely teach Diarra a lesson in the locker room. He is blatantly going against his orders! This is something that cannot be condoned!
Diarra proved to his manager that he was right to not chase after George Wood soon after.
Wood noticed that Diarra did not pounce at him after he received the ball. He then passed the ball over to Gerrard. Gerrard suddenly carried the ball forward down the middle of the pitch, and he caught Flamini completely unaware. If Diarra had rushed up to Wood to intercept the ball earlier, then Gerrard would definitely have been able to break through France’s midfield by now. But, fortunately for France, Diarra was positioned at the back and he was able to get to Gerrard in time. He ran up to Gerrard and intercepted the ball from his feet. Diarra was able to stop England’s attack successfully.
Both Twain and George Wood raised their brows in unison after seeing Diarra’s performance.
It looks like there is one man they can’t get past in the second half.
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Chapter 961 - Watch out for the England Team
After Diarra blocked one of Gerrard’s attacks, he looked defiantly at Wood opposite him. His meaning was obvious – don’t shrink behind like a coward. Bring it on, boy!
George Wood certainly saw what Diarra meant, but he was unmoved and continued to stay in the backfield to establish his position.
Initially, Puel was still complaining that Diarra did not follow his command. But he fell silent after seeing Diarra intercepted England’s attack in succession. The back of the French team had obviously stabilized…
Twain certainly could not let that situation happen. Once the French team’s defense was stable, they would attack again. At that time, it would be their turn to bear the pressure.
Gerrard was clearly the underdog in his fight with Diarra. His age and physical disadvantage had left him less able in physical confrontations than he used to be. Twain thought about it. He decided to let Gerrard move back to replace Wood and let Wood plug in to get involved in the offense. The two players belonged to the category of midfielders who were good at both offense and defense. Interchanging of positions would not create chaos.
Twain walked to the sidelines and whistled toward the inland. Wood turned his gaze over, and he made a hand signal to change positions, which Wood immediately understood.
Then, taking advantage of a dead ball, Wood and Gerrard completed the handover of positions.
Following which, Diarra was pleased to find that the man who came up this time was not Gerrard, but George Wood!
Although Wood did not take the ball, Diarra remained on high alert against him. He knew Wood was the core of the England team. Although he did not know why he was hiding in the backfield in the first half and not come up, it did not matter for now he had no choice but to finally come out of his bolthole.
Sure enough, Agbonlahor quickly passed the ball to Wood. He met with some trouble on his side. He was unable to play to his speed advantage after his attack was being blocked by the French full backs. So, he could only hand the ball over to Wood to reorganize.
Diarra stuck close when he saw Wood take the ball. Wood did not seem to have the intention of getting rid of him with speed. Instead, he turned around to protect the football and waited for Diarra to come up.
The two great defensive midfielders faced off each other, and Diarra lost on strength.
He only felt that Wood leaned back, and his own body lost its balance to tilt toward the back at the side. He grabbed Wood’s clothes with his hand at the crucial moment and regained his balance.
Wood did not give him the chance to continue to pester himself and leaned back again. When Diarra focused all his attention on keeping his balance, he passed the ball to Gerrard, who came up to receive. Next, he turned around and charged forward. Gerrard once again sent a straight pass just in time. The tacit cooperation between the two midfielders freed them of Diarra.
As Diarra rushed up again to tangle him, Wood suddenly sped up and got rid of him. He also went straight into the middle of the penalty area!
“He’s going to break through from the middle! Stop him!” The goalkeeper, Lloris yelled behind the defenders.
Wood’s sudden breakthrough caught the attention of all the French defenders. Sakho crossed in front of him, and Clichy was moving closer to the middle. Seeing that the two sides were about to meet, Wood gave his ankle a jerk and turned the football to the side!
While Mitchell and Rooney were still under the close watchful eyes of the French defenders, Agbonlahor was not marked by anyone at the side…
After seeing Wood pass the ball to the sideline, Mitchell and Rooney moved toward the ball in sync, while Wood stopped at the edge of the penalty area and did not rush forward.
The center backs’ attention were all attracted by the two strikers breaking through and ran into the penalty area one by one.
A three to five-meter-wide gap appeared in front of Wood.
Diarra was the first one to be perceptively aware of the other party’s intentions. He hurried toward Wood ten meters away.
Meanwhile Agbonlahor made a move and crossed the ball over! Instead of the football flying towards any of England’s strikers, the football was rolling diagonally towards George Wood!
Diarra guessed right!
Wood stood in place and turned his body sideways toward the ball. He picked up his right foot, and he was going to directly shoot!
Would Diarra give Wood what he wanted? Even if he risked getting a card, he had to stop the shot!
Once his mind was made up, Diarra slide tackled Wood’s legs from the side and Wood sensed the danger. If it were to be during normal times, he would definitely kick and force a shot toward the goal. But at the moment, he thought of his right foot, and also thought of the next two games …
At the thought of it, Wood gave up his intention to shoot directly and allowed the ball to cross in front of his feet while he jumped.
He was still a little late. Even though his right foot managed to dodge, his left foot was hooked by Diarra and he lost his center of gravity.
Everyone heard the referee’s whistle as Wood fell to the ground.
They became nervous. Was it a penalty shot or a free kick?
Wood himself fell into the penalty area. But was the location of the foul in the penalty area?
The referee ran to the location of the foul and stopped. He did not continue to run into the penalty area, nor did he point his finger at the penalty spot.
“It’s not a penalty shot!” The French people breathed a sigh of relief.
The Englishmen were a little disgruntled and complained, “It was enough of a foul for him to be sent straight off the pitch!”
The referee only showed Diarra a yellow card, prompting boos from the England fans in the stands.
Wood was pulled up from the ground by Gerrard, which made it awkward for Diarra, who was supposed to have gotten ready to show some goodwill himself. He went up and patted Wood on the shoulder before he walked away. Although the fight was fierce, he did not have to start a feud with Wood. His special feelings for Wood were limited to the pitch.
“Are you all right?” Gerrard asked after Diarra had gone.
Wood shook his left foot and shook his head, “It’s all right.”
It looked like he was really okay, because Wood was walking normally when he left Gerrard’s side. But he was stopped by Gerrard who shouted out, “George, stay.”
Wood felt strange, but he stopped in his tracks and looked back at Gerrard.
Gerrard stepped forward and said, “You just stand here. We can coordinate to do a free kick…”
※※※
Under the situation of Bentley’s absence, Gerrard was in charge of carrying out direct free kicks. He scored several times at Liverpool using free kicks. The French players clearly knew it, so when they saw Gerrard standing in front of the ball, the human wall looked very nervous – on the one hand, they were afraid that he would score. On the other hand, they were scared of being struck by Gerrard’s powerful shot… It would not feel good.
Wood stood five meters away from Gerrard, but no one paid any mind to him, including Diarra. Everyone in the world knew that George Wood did not carry out free kicks, whether at Nottingham Forest or in the England national team. He would have nothing to do with free kicks. He did not even qualify to act as a cover.
He just stood at present and people treated it as he was just standing there. If they were to consider it at a deeper level, he was going to counter press at best after Gerrard’s free kick hit the human wall so as to regain possession of the ball.
Gerrard carefully placed the football in the penalty spot designated by the referee, which was just right on the line in the penalty area!
This position made the French players afraid, but also caused the English people to be extremely displeased – it was almost a penalty shot!
“A free kick on the line of the penalty area … is not really a good position. Playing here requires better technique, otherwise the probability of the football hitting the human wall is very high.” Motson frowned. The position was really not considered good. Not to mention that it was almost a penalty shot, it was not good that it was too close to the goal.
Gerrard’s free kick never scored based on the radian. It was unsuitable for him to carry out the penalty in this spot.
The onlookers had little hope of the free kick succeeding, but Gerrard did not see it that way. Standing in front of the ball, he stared at the goal with shining eyes. After putting the football in place, he stepped back and prepared to kick.
Wood stood five meters away from him and was looking at the penalty area. As they had to defend against the free kick, the players in the penalty area were mainly concentrated in the human wall, in order to block the goal as much as possible to share the burden with the goalkeeper. This time, seven players lined up in the French team’s human wall. It almost blocked the half of the goal. Lloris, on the other hand, was nervously laying out the defense on the other side.
The England teammates mostly wanted to squeeze among the human wall, but they were pushed out by the French players. So, they simply stood directly in front of the human wall, which of course caused the French players’ displeasure. They pushed back hard while raising their hands to protest to the referee: Do you see what they’re trying to do here?!”
The referee had to signal for Gerrard to wait a while. He ran over to mediate the contradiction between the two sides, warning the cunning English players not to stand in front of the human wall and that it was fine to stand beside it… while he also warned the French players not to get started. Neither side was allowed to have a conflict, nor were they allowed to push.
After a minute of effort, England finally managed to squeeze one man into it. Downing was stuck in between Sakho and Mexès. Although the other team was upset, they could not do anything about him since he managed to squeeze in.
With the disturbance from the England players, everyone put their focus on the direct free kick. In fact, even the England players thought so too. They thought that Gerrard would shoot directly. Except for Gerrard himself and George Wood.
The referee finally moved back and signaled that Gerrard could play.
As soon as Gerrard started to run up, the French team’s human wall was particularly tense. One by one, they leant their bodies back with one hand to protect the chest and the other hand to protect the crotch area. They got ready to jump and were also worried that the football Gerrard shoot would roll from under their feet covered with grass. Just as they were at odds about it, Gerrard ran to the football and lifted his leg…
Is he going to shoot?!
The French players cried in their hearts.
Gerrard passed the football to the side instead!
“It’s … George Wood!!”
Whether it was the English commentator or the French television commentator, they were all stunned by it.
As the football rolled, George Wood appeared on camera. This time, he lifted his left foot up and his body slightly to the side and adopted the same posture as just now. But this time no one came up to interfere with him…
“… A long shot ——!!!”
Wood’s left foot hit the ball hard, and the football ball whizzed into the bottom right corner of the goal like an artillery shell!
No one had reacted to this sudden change yet. The human wall of people who were nervous just now, were looking at the ball flying to the other side of the goal in amazement at this time. Lloris did not even pounce to make the save. He just stood there and watched helplessly as the football roll past his side into the goal…
“Huh?”
It was the first reaction of Lloris and the other French players.
Thunderous cheers quickly struck, scurrying their doubts away – they were three goals behind!
“A beautiful long shot! From a positional play between the two players, Gerrard and Wood! England leads France by three goals!” Motson exclaimed.
After the goal, Wood was hugged by Gerrard before he could make his celebratory action. Then more teammates rushed up to surround the two of them to celebrate the goal.
The goal was scored in a fairly timely manner and completely demoralize the French team and killed their fighting spirit. In an international competition like the UEFA European Championship, few teams could reverse the situation in which they were three goals behind.
The England team’s substitutes’ bench was also a scene of jubilation. Their victory was basically sealed with a three-goal lead. It was only a matter of time before they reached the semifinals.
The French players could not believe everything their eyes saw. They had intended to have a showdown to fight back in the second half but did not expect England to score another goal… Such a blow drained almost all of their power. Watching the English players embrace and celebrate the goal, they just wanted to fall to the ground and not get up.
Twain was as excited as his players. But this time he did not go to Puel and twist his buttocks to dance in front of him because he did not need to do that anymore. The French team was about to become the past. Was there still a need for him to take another look at a loser who had been trampled in the mud by him?
※※※
After the game resumed, the French team was a little distracted, or to put it more accurately, they were dazed. When the score was still 0:2, they could still tell themselves that it was necessary to fight. But how about now when the score was 3:0?
Puel did not know what to do as well. Trailing behind by three goals, the possibility of reversing the game was too small. And most importantly, was there any solution when they were up against such a situation?
The England team was no philanthropist and would not give the French team the time. Now that the French team had suffered a heavy blow and appeared to be in a dazed state, it was the England team’s wonderful chance to go on a large-scale offensive. Without needing Twain to remind them on the sidelines, the England players naturally knew what to do.
England scored again after a flurry. The England fans even became a little numb, and some of the French fans even began to leave the stadium early with more than 20 minutes to go.
This time it was still Mitchell, who scored the goal with a header into the goal after he received Downing’s pass from the sideline. It was clear from this goal concede that the French center backs were distracted and not present-minded. So much so that Mitchell, the tall center forward, could easily leap in front of goal to score with a header. Lloris was unable to turn around a hopeless situation no matter how good he was. After failing to save the goal, he did not even have the energy to scold his center backs. He just frustratedly kicked the rebounded football back into the goal.
“The game was over, and the French players are finished.” Twain said as he opened his arms and turned to his partner, Des Walker. The game turned out to be like this, which even Walker did not expect that the England team could beat France so easily…
“4:0…” Motson could not believe his eyes and said, “The French team that was named as the hottest favorite to win the title before the game, was so vulnerable in front of England… Was it because the French team was too weak, or were we too strong?”
No one could answer his question at this time, because even the most hardcore England fans could not believe the scene that was happening right in front of their eyes, and their brains could not comprehend…
※※※
Although there were still twenty minutes to go before the end of the game, it was already clear that the French players had no heart to play further. Only Diarra was still working hard, but he could not find a target with some of his efforts….
After England’s 4:0 lead, Twain brought on Michael Johnson to replace George Wood. He was still worried about Wood’s right big toe. Now that the win was locked in, there was no need to continue to let Wood be on the field. It was just in case a French player flew into a rage out of humiliation and had a go at Wood bearing a destructive attitude, then it would be too late for him to have any regrets.
Twain’s move to replace Wood also meant that the game had ended early. In the ensuing game, the French team had been unable to organize an effective attack. The offensive lineup which everyone placed high hopes on before the game, ended up ineffective. The French commentator was somewhat dismayed to claim that no one in the French team played well in the game.
He said it right, especially for those players who had been touted as a front-field attack cluster. Under George Wood’s iron curtain, all the star players were dim.
The England fans sang non-stop in the stands once the England team scored its fourth goal, until the referee blew the final whistle of the game. The singing suddenly turned into thunderous cheers to send the French players off.
“The French team ended their tour in Spain with this humiliating score …With the England team’s surprise crazy win, they are the first to reach the semifinals! Tony Twain has made one thing clear to all of Europe – his team is very powerful! Very strong indeed!”
The Spanish coach, who was in charge of watching the game and observing the opponents, wrote only one thing in the final summary of the game in his notepad:
Watch out for England.
...
Chapter 962 - If You Hate Me
The major victory of four goals made the England players wild with joy and they were also made feted by many media outlets. After Twain dealt with the reporters, he waited for them in the locker room. He had waited for twenty minutes before people came back in succession. Ten minutes later, the players had all returned.
No one was willing to sit properly on the benches. As soon as they entered the room, they took off their drenched jerseys and tossed them on the floor. They jumped around the locker room, either naked, or just in their underpants as if they were a bunch of drunk monkeys.
“WOOOOOOW—” Rooney even jumped on a table with drinks on it and other miscellaneous stuff and let out a long yell with his head thrown back.
“4:0! 4:0! 4:0! Oh, oh!” The teammates below were chanting the final score of the game in unison as they splashed him with water.
“I’ve never played such a smashing game! It’s so f**king sweet!” Even if he was drenched from head to toe by the others, Michael Johnson did not care either. He wiped the water off his face and shouted at Chris Cohen next to him.
Despite the fact that Twain and the members of the coaching staff were in the locker room, the players did not stop their frenzied celebrations. There were even people who splashed water at the coaches, making them look like wet dogs.
Twain did not speak up to stop it. Instead, he happily stood at the door and looked at the players making a scene. But he was careful to hide behind Des Walker to dodge a “stray bullet.”
What was the saying for it?
“You can hide for the present, but you can’t run forever.”
Poor Tony Twain was still spotted by the sharp-eyed players. The strong and tall combination of Rooney and Mitchell rushed up to pull Twain out from behind Walker, and then everyone swarmed up and poured water on Twain’s head. They finally let off some “steam.” This would show the boss for looking down on them before the game. Look at the results now – 4:0! 4 for England and 0 for France, the team that Twain said was the strongest team!
“Well, guys… Enough!” Twain felt chilly from being drenched but luckily it was summer, and not the World Cup in South Africa. Otherwise, he would definitely catch a cold outside. The players ignored Twain’s plea for mercy. They poured the water from all the water bottles in the locker room over Twain’ body, leaving him completely looking like a drowned rat.
After the players dispersed in a rush, everyone saw Tony Twain looking like he had just been fished out of the water and burst into laughter in the locker room.
Twain wiped the water off his face with his hand. Looking miserably cold with his neck curled against his shoulders, he gave the players a stern glare. But no one was scared of such a boss because his current appearance was so comical.
There was even a distinct smile on George Wood’s face. Those who were lively in nature were bent over with laughter on the floor.
Twain stared at those people who laughed the hardest and said, “Look what you guys have done. How am I supposed to go to the press conference?”
There was another burst of laughter.
Amid the sounds of laughter, Twain’s expression also changed, from pretending to be angry into a helpless smile, and finally a wide grin, revealing a row of white teeth. He smiled exceptionally bright.
“You did great, guys. I’m sorry to have made you feel wronged before the game. The whole English media scolded me for not being confident in my team. But actually, it was not a lack of confidence. It was a strategy to make the French opponent underestimate us. And now… does everyone see the results?” He clapped his hands and was pleased to see the surprised expressions on the many faces of the players.
He laughed more happily.
“All right let’s put aside what happened and enjoy the night to the fullest. That’s the reward you’ve won! After tonight, forget this game. You have to face even more serious challenges. We are only two games away from being the king of Europe. I will not allow you to fall until you touch the championship trophy! Listen well, before you win the championship title, tonight is your last chance to relax. So, enjoy it to the fullest!”
Having said that, Twain took Des Walker along with him and walked out of the locker room.
He only say Twain wiped the water from his head with a towel he had brought out, while he reached out to him.
“What’s the matter, Tony?” Walker was puzzled.
Twain stuffed the used towel into Walker’s hands and said, “Your clothes, take them off quickly.”
“You want me to undress? Over here?” Walker turned his head and looked around, feeling a little awkward.
“I’m not asking you to strip naked. What are you thinking? I’m in a hurry to go to the press conference, and in fact I’m already late… I can’t go, dressed like this.” He did not know whether to laugh or cry as he pointed to his suit, which had been ravaged by water and the players.
It would indeed be an insult to the winner’s status if he were to be dressed like this to meet the reporters.
Walker laughed and obediently took off his jacket to hand it over to Twain while he took Twain’s suit at the same time.
“Do your best, Tony. You’re the winner!” He said to Twain, who was wearing his clothes.
“Of course, when have you see me make the loser feel good?” Twain winked at Walker and walked out wearing Walker’s suit.
“Damn, I’ve been working so hard and yet I’ve put on weight…” Walker laughed happily after hearing Twain muttering to himself.
※※※
The French team manager was being interviewed when Twain rushed to the press conference hall. But it was almost at the tail end. The French reporters were rather dejected. Even so, someone had to be responsible for the fiasco. Seated on stage, Claude Puel naturally became the target of public criticism – holding all the good cards in his hands, yet he did not know how to play them. As a result, Tony Twain played all the cards in his hands, and Puel was still holding the original cards, dumbstruck.
When Twain saw Puel at the press conference, he was already exhausted by the flurry of questions from the French reporters.
“… I’m responsible for this loss…” Puel glanced at Twain, who stood waiting at the entrance. The expression on his face changed and very soon returned to normal. He said, “… However, I will not resign unless the French Football Federation sacks me. I think the achievements of my team for more than two years are obvious to all. But football matches are always full of all kinds of surprises…” Seeing Twain, Puel suddenly felt energized, and spoke more words. The press conference, which was due to end, was extended.
“I’m proud and please with the lads’ performance. We were just unlucky.”
The corners of Twain’s lips curled up as he listened below: from this game alone, the French players’ performance did not deserve the slightest bit of pride and dignity. They did not lose because of bad luck.
“… I repeat, I will not resign. I am satisfied with my work. My contract will run until the end of the 18th World Cup and I will stay to work there until then. I think the French team will accomplish much at the World Cup.”
After saying his piece, Puel rose angrily from his seat.
Seeing his action, Twain immediately stepped onto the stage, reached his hand out, and intended to shake Puel’s hand. He did not expect Puel to walk off from the other side without even giving him a glance.
The scene surprised the reporters. Claude Puel, who had always lived as an authentic French gentleman and maintained a charming manner, had ignored Twain’s invite to shake hands and rudely walked away.
Twain was shunned on stage by Puel but fortunately he reacted quickly. He shrugged it off and then sat down. He said to the numerous microphones on the table, “Obviously, Mr. Puel is a little flustered and exasperated.”
Since the other party did not give him face, he did not have to give the other man any face. He was a lot more skilled than Puel when it came to humiliating people.
“I understand how he feels at this moment. I apologize for even wanting to shake his hand just now. As an authentic English gentleman, I shouldn’t have appeared in front of him to provoke him. For that, I’m guilty.”
Although they were unhappy with Puel’s last words, after all, everyone was people of the same country, and no French reporter could keep smiling in the face of Twain’s blatant taunts. Although they had roundly abused Twain before the game, adhering to the principle of “everything is okay once the game is won”, the English reporters were all laughing, especially happily. Some people even applauded Twain.
Having led the team to a 4:0 win over France, it could be predicted that Tony Twain’s popularity at home in England would be unmatched. It would be wise to say good things about him at this time.
Only The Sun asked the question why Twain had thought the France team was better than England before the game, when in fact it was proven that France was not as good as England. His question caused the faces of the French reporters to look grim again.
For a rare moment, Twain did not make things difficult for The Sun reporter this time. Instead, he grinned and said, “That was just a trick of mine before the game. More than two thousand years ago, China’s great military expert, Sun Tzu once said: there can never be too much deception in war. It applies the same to football for me as well.”
The Chinese reporters present were thrilled to hear Twain mention Sun Tzu’s Art of War, but they were no longer surprised by it. Now the whole world was aware that Twain could speak Mandarin and love China.
The British reporters finally understood Twain’s actions. Although such a trick was not deployed for the first time in the world of football, Tony Twain was definitely top of the list for having acted so realistically and being so committed.
The faces of the French reporters looked even worse at this point. It turned out that Twain’s praises for them before were all false and only to deceive them. How could they endure the “humiliation” … It was as if a man saying “I love you” to a woman just to trick her into sleeping with him and taking her money before leaving.
Tony Twain not only cheated them of their bodies, but also their feelings. For the French people, it was extreme shame and humiliation.
A young French reporter stood up impulsively, trying to regain the last trace of dignity for the failed French team.
“Mr. Twain, don’t you think it’s very rude of you to say that? To be honest, I had disliked you before, but your words before the game made me decide to change my mind about you. I thought maybe I was wrong and that you were a nice person. But now I want to take back my previously childish thoughts! A person like you…” He pointed to Twain’s nose while his lips trembled, and he did not know what to say.
The young man’s impulsive behavior surprised everyone present, except that different people had different surprised reactions. Everyone looked at the young man differently. The French reporters were surprised while at the same time felt some admiration and delight. They certainly thought that the impulsive and reckless young reporter had said what they wanted to say but dared not say, which gave vent to their frustration. His courage was commendable, and his actions must have made Twain feel very embarrassed. Then let us take a look at how Tony Twain is going to respond to this brave man’s accusations!
The English reporters were surprised as well as angry at the French reporter’s action. Now that Twain was England’s national treasure and hero, how can you scold and point at Twain’s nose? Is it not equivalent to scolding us and England? Who do you think you are, boy? You accuse Twain of being rude. Shouldn’t you take a look at how impolite you are being with your action of standing up and blaming others? But the English reporters were not too worried about Twain because they knew that as someone who was cursed and abused by other people every day, Twain must have a wealth of experience to deal with such a sudden scene.
The reporters from other countries were thrilled — A, it was a face-to-face clash between France and England. A brave young man who openly challenged the authority of the world’s famous manager, like Don Quixote, who carried a lance to meet with the windmills head-on. B, Tony Twain paid the price for his previous hubris, and now how would he end it? C, whatever the outcome was, they would benefit from it! Such a good show like a face to face clash between a reporter and the manager was not staged every day. Come on, come on! Let the anger burn more vigorously!
The young Frenchman who accused Twain was still standing, feeling somewhat manifestly superior, which gave the young Frenchman the illusion that he was the only hero here who dared to confront the King of the Great Demons. While his colleagues had their heads between their legs and quaked in fear, only he stood up to challenge. Even if the demon king was a hundred times taller than him, and the great shadow descend from the sky to completely overwhelm him, he was not afraid. And what he stretched out was not a finger, but a sharp sword, pointing directly at the heart of the king with the sword slightly quivering and flashing a chilling brilliance.
The evil demon king, Tony Twain was on stage, looking at the French reporter who stood up and accused him. But he did not angrily shout “Security! Where’s the security?” Instead, he looked at the other party and smiled.
The chilliness of the smile suppressed the sword in the hands of the young French man, making the young man feel a little cold.
Twain pulled back his lips to reveal a row of white teeth. Only in the eyes of the young man, it was the ferocious mouth of a predator with the broken body of the French team hanging from its white teeth and bursts of stench spewing from it, which was disgusting.
“Young man, I have a phrase which I want to share with you.” Twain did not abuse him roundly but rather his look of smiling face was a little kind. And what he said was also surprising. What did he mean by “sharing?” Someone else had scolded him, and what did he want to encourage him for? Furthermore, listening to his tone, it sounded like he was proud of his age and experience and letting him off lightly….
“First of all, I want to explain a little that I have never wanted to win your hearts and favor. You have misunderstood me on this point. I regret and apologize for the misunderstanding caused.” Twain got up, which was a precursor to his departure.
“Next … what I want to say something to share with you, young man. The most important thing on the path of life is not what you want to do or what you get, but that you stick to your principles. Nothing is more important than that.” Twain repeatedly used the “young man” term to give the other person a lesson, which confused people. What was it about sticking to principles? Where was this heading? Besides, what principles was he insisting on? What did this have to do with the young man’s accusations?
Fortunately, Twain solved the mystery very quickly.
“If you hated me before, then please hate me now, too. If you hate me now, then please hate me in the future. Thank you.”
After saying this, Twain smiled at the young man and then waved to the reporters who were shocked by the remark. He turned and walked away. He disappeared out of the door before everyone could react.
It was a while before the reporters in the room responded. Suddenly it boiled over like a heated frying pan.
“What did that bastard mean?!”
“Who does he think he is? I’ve been at for thirty years, interviewed countless superstar managers, and no one was as arrogant and condescending as he is! Maradona? Cruyff? Beckenbauer? No one acts like he does!”
The people who ranted were the French.
A few English reporters who understood French sneered at the side, “That’s because you haven’t met him before in 30 years, mate.”
More English reporters clapped their hands in applause for Twain. As the winner, such a scene was so cool! No wonder Pierce Brosnan would say that as long as he was standing in the same trench as Twain, he would find him adorable. Now the English reporters thought Twain was very cute and could not wait to hold his face to kiss him hard.
The neutral media were just enjoying themselves as they watched the lively scene and full of praises for Twain’s performance at the end.
A group of Chinese reporters gathered to discuss Twain’s previous performance, and the topic quickly changed from Tang’s reference to Sun Tzu’s Art of War to the last sentence: “If you hated me before, then please hate me now, too. If you hate me now, then please hate me in the future.”
“Look what he said, it was so impressive! Although it did not contain a dirty word and his attitude was also very kind, it made people feel that he just gave the Frenchman a slap in the face! That’s so cool!”
“Yeah, yeah! This is the art of language!” A few years ago, due to the then moronic French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, the Sino-French relations were once very tense, and many people in China also developed unfavorable toward France as a result. Seeing Twain insult the French media, the Chinese reporters also felt happy.
“Unfortunately, … Such a person can’t come to China to coach…” Someone suddenly sighed.
“Are you crazy? What can he get out of it by going there? Stop dreaming!” He was immediately awakened from his daydream by someone next to him. “If he really came to China, it’s not that there’s something wrong with our brains. It would be Twain whose head has a problem…”
“What if there’s nothing wrong with him?”
“Then the world’s going to be destroyed!” The same man answered earnestly.
“But I think it’s pretty good. . . We are short of such a big mouth in our football. Let him come to give some people slaps in the face. I think that would be so cool ah…” This person was still dreaming.
The colleagues next to him all shook their heads and ignored him. The man was hopeless.
But an irrepressible memory emerged in everyone’s mind.
Eight years ago, Twain took his wife to China for a visit and accepted an interview from Tang Jing, the then star reporter of Titan Sports. The content of that interview did not appear in any media but was well known to the world. This was certainly thanks to Tang Jing’s move to choose to resign so as to make it public. But this was not the important part. Rather, it was Twain’s words. Even thinking about it now, one would feel stirred up. Everyone who had verbally taunted his colleague’s naivety had to admit how he felt when reading the interview at the time, the panic and excitement, surprise and helplessness. Although they had to please the upper management and had to write articles to attack Twain after the matter to submit their work, every Chinese reporter who still cared about and loved Chinese football, would give a big thumbs-up in their hearts to the British man who had nothing to do with China –
Twain is the man, a real man with nerves of steel!
...
Chapter 963 - Italy Will Also Do the Same
Lippi, the manager of the Italian national team, gave a television interview before leading the team to the UEFA European Championship. In the interview, the elegant “silver fox”, with a cigar from the “paradise” Tuscany clamped in his mouth, spoke frankly with assurance as he said goodbye to the television audience across Italy—-
“This is my last time in charge of the national team. After the end of European Championship, I will leave no matter what happens in the end. Of course, I want to win the championship. Italy is a team with the ability to win the championship. I can’t say too much before anything happens…”
In fact, the people within Italy did not place too much hope for this team. They believed that the host team, Spain and the French team, undefeated in the qualifiers were more likely than Italy to win the title. If Italy had encountered these teams before the final, it would have been hard to say what the outcome would be.
The Italians’ pessimism stemmed from the World Cup in Brazil two years ago. In that tournament, Italy, considered the favorite to win the title before the tournament, was eliminated during the group stage and had to return home. The Italian team was not a “group of death”. It was considered a major upset at the time.
The World Cup defeat of that time caused many people to leave the national team, including the 35 years old Pirlo, the 32 years old Cassano, the 32 years old Dossena, and the 36 years old Buffon. The current national team had been re-established and they had nothing to do with the Italian team that won the World Cup in Germany a decade ago.
But Italian football was so strange that every time the world looked down on them, they could always achieve impressive results. For example, they were the champions in the 1982 World Cup and 2006 World Cup.
Now they had also made it all the way to the final, hoping to win the European Championship. As a four-time World Cup champion team, they had only won once in the highest level of competition on the continent, which was really not in line with their status as the world’s powerful team. The Italians wanted to put their name on the UEFA European Championship for the second time. Although people were generally not optimistic about them before the game, they still made it to the final. Then, at this time, the voices in Italy were naturally unanimous in believing that the blue warriors led by Lippi could beat England and ascend back to the top of Europe.
In order to cheer the team on and boost themselves up, the Italian media took out the game that happened six years ago as an example. In the World Cup in South Africa six years ago, the England team, led by Capello, played well and made it to the semifinals only to encounter Lippi’s Italian team. Lippi had the last laugh in the showdown between the two Italian managers. The Italian media now rehashed this matter to say, “Look, we have a psychological advantage over England.”
Such a statement was far-fetched, but today’s Italians just liked to listen to it.
※※※
An atmosphere of optimism was deliberately created within Italy. But Lippi did not think that there was much to be optimistic about the game. As a manager who had experience a lot of games, he had encountered all kinds of opponents and led teams to play countless games without repeat. He had a wealth of experience and he was aware that this England team was very difficult to deal with.
Although at the start of the UEFA European Championship, Twain’s team gave a bad impression to people and at one point even came close to not being able to advance out of the group stage. But since the start of the game against Germany, their performance had been getting better and better. They defeated Germany by 2:1, ended Sweden’s undefeated 48-year run against them with a 2:0 score, crushed the hot favorite, French team 4:0, and eliminated the host team, Spain with 3:1. Such results were impressive enough. One must know that they basically eliminated the best teams in Europe on their way to the title. Italy, on the other hand, had a much easier path to being promoted.
The good news now was that England fought fiercely with all the top teams all the way and so their physical exertion must have been greater than Italy’s and the England players must be mentally exhausted. Even though Italy had one less day of rest than England, they played so easily in the semifinals that it could be described as “an effortless victory.”
Lippi’s tactics were simple, and not hard to guess. He would emphasize on the defense before he underscored the offense. No matter what happened, the defense was the most important. The England team showed its strong attacking prowess in the UEFA European Championship. The only exception being that they did not score a goal in the game against Wales. It was this game that Lippi needed to focus his research on. Those games in which the teams had lost to England were of little value. Only Wales’ victory over England was worth studying. From there he could find the code to beat England.
Lippi had already thoroughly studied the game. Wales clung fast to defense and counterattack. They deliberately employed a weak approach, and then waited for England to be arrogant and underestimate the opponent. After which, they made use of their ability with place kicks to determine victory with a goal. The tactics were simple, but they worked very effectively. The Wales manager, Toshack seized on the characteristic that England was in high spirits and proud from its recent victory over Portugal to develop the set of tactics, which ultimately paid off. Their only victory at this UEFA European Championship put them in the top 16.
Wales did not continue to use the defend to the last tactics in the game against Italy. Perhaps because they had already achieved their pre-match target, so they let their guard down in the game. Perhaps Toshack wanted to show the other side of the team, so they attacked aggressively the moment the game started and wanted to breach the Italian goal. Unfortunately, they were met with a piece of iron – even when they were up against a weak team like Wales, Lippi insisted on playing defensive counterattack. The copper-walled like defense made Wales’ offensive go home with its tail between its legs and exposed holes in their rear defensive line, in which Italy seized hold of these gaps to counterattack and defeated Wales with ease.
Now, come to think of it, Lippi might have wanted Wales to employ the same tactics as they had used against England in the game, so that he had a chance to test how much the team could accomplish in the face of such diehard defense tactic.
He was currently uncertain as to what tactics Twain would use against Italy.
※※※
“Lippi will definitely persist with the defensive counterattack tactic.” Twain said in a meeting with the coaching staff. “He has led the team to play a lot of games. Whenever he wanted to hold a massive offensive campaign, it always end badly. Personally, I think there’s a game that is a good reference for us. It is not known how many people still remember the game – it was a group stage game during the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup when Brazil crushed Italy by 3:0.”
Once he said so, several knowledgeable coaches immediately showed a dawning look of realization. Everyone still remembered the game.
“Lippi had already deployed the strongest lineup he could have sent for that game. He wanted to attack Brazil because he needed to score goals and a victory to advance from the group stage. The 4-3-3 was Italy’s formation at the time, with Pirlo and Montolivo as the double cores. There was also De Rossi. But the performance from such a lineup was a tragic sight. Because Pirlo was old and Montolivo lacked speed and was not good at defending. While only De Rossi was in the midfield to deal with Brazil’s Kaka, Robinho, Maicon, Melo and the others. Not only did Italy lose the game in terms of the score, but it could not gain the upper hand at all on the pitch. The game caused a lot of shock to Lippi and left him completely disillusioned. From then on he went back to the old way of defensive counterattack…” Twain spoke with confidence, as if the game had not happened seven years ago, but only yesterday.
“In this final, we can’t expect Lippi to make the same mistakes as he did then. I think Lippi will continue to stick to the defensive counterattack tactics. They have players in the front field who can solve problems on their own. As long as they can hold on to the tie, they are likely to win. We have two options: first, try to score goals as quickly as possible in the game and force Italy to press out and contend with us, so that we have more chances.” He put up two fingers and continued, “Second, we also retract to mainly play defense and avoid conceding the goal first. Then we drag the game till the penalty shootout and bet on our luck.”
“Which one do you choose?” He asked.
The coaches were in deep thought one by one.
Generally speaking, the finals in international tournaments were usually boring, because most people chose to play conservatively and making sure that their side did not concede the goal before they would consider scoring a goal. If both teams’ manager thought so, then the final game must be boring without exception.
The oldest manager, the 66-year-old Tony Carr, was the first to express his opinion. He said, “I think it’s better to be more cautious, Tony. Defense should come first, and we have to make sure it’s not us who concede the goal first before we can consider beating Italy. In a final like this, the side that concedes the goal first will become reactive, especially when we’re up against a team that’s widely known for its solid defense…”
Twain did not respond. He did not nod in agreement or shake his head to reject. He just looked at the others, hoping to hear more of their opinions.
“I don’t agree with you, old Carr.” Steve Wigley disagreed, “I think we should be more active. Lippi definitely won’t think we’d take the initiative to be aggressive in the finals. He’d think we would be like what you thought, and I think that’s exactly what we can take advantage of. Take the initiative to attack and fight to score goals first. We have the strength to do so.” He even clenched his fist.
When he heard someone object to his suggestion, Carr did not immediately retort. He just smiled and shook his head.
“I think it’s better to be conservative. It’s the final. We can’t afford to make mistakes, at least we can’t make mistakes first…” Another coach, Steve Gatting spoke, “The final game is not about which team is better than which, but which team makes less mistakes. Even if we have to drag it till the penalty shootout, we have a chance to win. We just need to strengthen our penalty shootout training these days.”
The votes were now two to one, with the conservative coaches temporarily gaining the upper hand.
Twain turned his attention to Des Walker. As an assistant manager, he also had to add his two cents’ worth.
“I’m in favor of Wigley’s suggestion.” Walker’s opinion was simple.
Now everyone looked at Twain again. The votes were two for two for the conservative and offensive coaches. It was a tie.
Twain did not give an immediate answer. Apparently, he was still mulling it over. The conservative coaches had their reasons, and it was persuasive. Such finals were won by teams that made fewer or no mistakes at all. Conservative defense was the way to go if they did not want to make mistakes.
According to reason, Twain was the kind of person who would do whatever it took to win and was not afraid to sacrifice the play. He was also not afraid to take on the blackened name of playing passive football. As long as he could lift the championship trophy, he could trample on all those people who had once scolded him in the mud.
But today, Twain did not really want to do that. Or rather, he did not intend to do so.
“Every one of you spoke with a lot of reason, which makes it really difficult for me…” He deliberately gave a look of being in a tight spot.
※※※
George Wood, who had just showered, received a call from Gareth Bale.
“Guess where I am! George!” As soon as he got on the phone, he heard Bale’s energetic voice.
“At home.” Wood did not bother to play this childish game with Bale, so he just named a place.
“Tsk, you’re so boring! I’m in the Maldives! Palm trees and white sandy beaches, ten million times better than the British weather! I love it here! It’s good to be knocked out early…” Bale said in exaggeration.
Mitchell pushed open the door to enter and saw Wood on the phone, so he casually asked, “Is that your mother?”
Wood shook his head and said, “Just a noisy little monkey.”
Mitchell laughed for he knew who had called.
“Hey, George!” Bale heard Wood’s words and was not happy. He said, “I was kind enough to call you. How can you treat me like this?”
“What’s the matter?” Wood ignored his antics and asked directly.
“Congratulations on getting to the final.” Bale said sourly. Although he had said earlier that it was nice to be eliminated early, in fact he would rather stay in Spain at this time.
“Thank you.”
“I heard that your opponent is Italy, and I have something to tell you. Maybe it might be of some help to you.”
Wood raised his eyebrows in response, “Oh?”
“What do you mean by ‘oh’!” Bale knew Wood was interested. He had finally gotten a handle on Wood.
All right, thank you. Please tell me.”
Bale cleared his throat and fully enjoyed the respect Wood gave him before continuing, “If you can say to the boss, tell him it’s best to take a more conservative defensive counterattack approach against Italy…”
“Italy will do the same as well.”
“I know! But this is the final, not a game in the group stage. There is no such thing as a draw. Even if everyone defends, the outcome will still be determined! A penalty shootout! I think that’s the best way to decide where the championship trophy should belong to. When we played against Italy, being in the top 16 teams had gone to our heads a little. Everyone from the coaches to ourselves, thought we could challenge Italy. So, we tried to take the initiative to attack. And as a result? We were utterly defeated. Lippi was cunning. He waited for someone else to attack him, and then he waited for the opportunity to fight back. He’s really similar to the boss on this. So, I suggest that the boss does the same. It doesn’t matter if the game is awful to watch and never mind if the game is boring. You’re not playing for the television audience. This method gives you a very high chance of winning the title. I believe England’s defense is not a problem with you there. To be honest, if we had continued to use the tactics that were used against you in that game, maybe we could have dragged them into overtime or even a penalty shootout. It’s just a pity…”
Bale was silent for a moment. Obviously he was still brooding over being knocked out and eliminated from the competition.
“If we had defeated Italy, maybe it would have been us you meet in the final! At that time, we could have a psychological advantage dealing with you! Ha ha!” For a moment, his voice was full of energy again.
Soon after, Bale told Wood about the players in the Italian team who needed special attention and reminded him to be extra careful of those players in the game. All of these were first-hand information Bale had acquired after the match against Italy. He certainly knew that the boss was used to thoroughly studying his opponents, but the information collected from the player’s point of view should have something new. Even if it was only a little bit, he wanted to help the boss.
Finally, he was about to hang up after he bragged about the Maldives scenery and weather.
“George.” He suddenly called out again.
“Yes?” Wood, who was going to put down his phone, stopped.
“You must win! Be sure to win the championship title!”
“Of course. We’re not here to compete for the first runner-up spot.”
“He he, that’s good, that’s good…” Bale snickered and said, “Then I can say at that time –’Look, we’re the only team that the European Championship winner had not defeated!”
※※※
It was raining heavily outside the windows and the winds were raging in the distance sea. The huge waves rolled up and hit the dam on the shores. The poor palm trees were bowed down in the ugly weather, seemingly in danger of breaking their trunks at any time. The shore was covered with white mist of water, and nothing could be seen in the distance.
The loud roar could not be stopped even with the closed windows and steadily drilled into the dim room.
The Maldives rarely had such weather, but it did not mean it would never have it. May to November in the Maldives was the rainy season. The heavy rainfall brought on by the southwest monsoon seemed to confront the dry weather brought by the northeast monsoon. It was often blustery with rapid waves and strong gales. At this time, the tourist could only hide in the hotel room and sigh in despair.
The hapless Gareth Bale dropped his phone and laid in bed, bore stiff looking at the ceiling. He had the time to call Wood since his girlfriend was taking a bath.
“Damn it! It’s not easy to come to the Maldives, but yet we encounter this kind of f**king weather … Ah, it’s still better to be in Spain…”
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Chapter 964 - The Encounter
Shaun Barclay’s arrival surprised Twain a little. Because in the entirety of the period during the European Cup, this England Football Association’s main character had never come to spectate his team, he only offered some help during the checkup of Wood, during other times, it was as if he disappeared.
Barclays did not come into contact with the players, but instead directly went straight to Twain. That point satisfied Twain, at the very least, England’s managers were not like the Chinese Association’s managers, skipping the head coach and directly implicating themselves into the team matters. Up till now, in the English team, he felt like he got the respect he deserved.
Barclays and Twain were meeting by themselves for the first time in the coffee shop at the basement of the hotel. Barclays was most concerned about what results England could achieve this time. The Football Association’s minimum target for Twain was a top four finish, but since Twain had already accomplished his task exceeding their expectations. Following logic, the Football Association’s CEO should be relaxed. But humans are always greedy, since we are already in the finals, why not fight for the championship?
Everyone had this exact same idea so of course the Football Association’s CEO would have it as well.
Although Twain had already expressed his ambition for obtaining the championships, he might need to act a little humble when face to face with the CEO of the Football Association.
“I can’t promise anything.” Twain spread his hands, “The competition has not even started, and also our opponents are very strong.”
Barclays was scolding Twain on the inside for being cunning but on the surface, he smiled at him and said, “This is not the Tony Twain that I know, who was the one who proclaimed his team was the one who would win the championships?”
Twain knew Barclays was pressing himself, but his face did not have any change in expressions, he only slightly nodded. “The season is too long, we have enough time to carry out adjustments. But there is only a match in the finals, whether it is 90 minutes or 120 minutes long, the room to allow errors is too small. I don’t want you to be overly disappointed after having high expectations, Mr Barclays,” He rebutted without hesitation.
Barclays continued scolding him inside. He came out this time to hear out what Twain’s true aim was. In the end, Twain’s lips were sealed, not saying anything.
“But I don’t think anyone’s target is obtaining the runner-up, right?” He asked.
This time, Twain nodded definitely. “That is for sure, we would work hard to fight for the championships.”
That line was Barclay’s only gain. To his slight displeasure, Twain remained as unruly as he was rumoured to be and cold-hearted towards the chairman of the Football Association. Towards the end of the meeting he even felt impatient, as if he had a lot of matters at hand, while Barclays himself had an abundance of time.
After leaving the hotel, Barclays was blocked by reporters for a brief interview.
“Our goal is to be champions.” In front of the media, he announced the ultimate goal of the team on behalf of Twain.
In contrast to Barclays’s high profile, Twain was surprisingly keeping a low profile before finals.
In the past, when the team Twain was coaching in an important match, he would never forget starting a vocal war with the opposing head coach, a psychological warfare. But this time, he did not do this at all.
He did not take the initiative to attack Italy, nor did he provoke Lippi. Other than the regular trainings, he would not mention any other extra things. It was as if he wanted to leave his first encounter with Lippi till the press conference on the day before the match.
However, the more Twain was acting low profile, the more worried the Italians were. Considering Italy’s fate, if Twain was acting like a grandson before the game, he would become the sole godfather after the match.
The Italians were worried what Twain was plotting behind his low profile against them. In these few days, the Italian media was trying every method to find out the training conditions of the English team, trying to figure out what the English people was plotting.
In reality, they really had wronged Twain…
※※※
Wood passed on the information Bale told him during the training break onto Twain. This information was helpful for Twain in implementing the tactics, especially for defensive tactics, it was a lot more tailored for the team.
The overall tactics of the game have long been determined. All of the trainings today were carried out based on that one tactic. No matter how different the opinions were in the coaching crew, all of them would have to put down their own opinions once the head coach was decided and work together with all their effort.
The good news spread quickly. With Ben Trey and Walcott both recovering from injury, they would be able to go onto the roster during the finals. Other than Mitchell which was suspended due to the accumulation of too many yellow cards, England was able to send their strongest roster to welcome Italy.
George Wood’s right foot was no longer a problem. The team doctor Derek White thought that Wood was strong as a bull.
※※※
Three days of preparation time passed by quickly,. In the blink of an eye, it was the last day before the competition. On this afternoon, the teams would go to the Bernabeu stadium for a ground adaptation while the two managers would bring a player to the last news conference before the final match.
The Italian team was arranged to enter the Bernabeu adaptation site first, after the adaptation training, the head coach Lippi brought the Italian captain Chiellini to partake in the news conference.
During the meeting, the reporters were most interested in the first and final face-off between the two coaches. Lippi and Twain were both highly-known and successful managers in European football but they have never had an encounter. Lippi did not talk about Twain during his most popular years. Twain would definitely not take the initiative to mention someone who was unrelated to him at all, regardless of whether he was the head coach of a championship team.
But today, it was clearly inevitable that the two of them would be taken out to make a comparison.
After asking the routine questions, a reporter for the Italy’s Milan Sport stood up and asked the question: “Marcelo, what do you think of Tony Twain?”
“He’s a very good manager and the trophies he’s brought to Nottingham Forest are testament to his ability. ” Lippi’s answer was not surprising at all, because this was a fact.
And it was clear that such an answer could not satisfy the journalists.
“But he has not made any convincing achievements in the national team coaching field…” continued the Milan Sports reporter.
“I don’t think it’s a problem. England’s performance at this European Championship was impressive and this was what he has achieved.” This time, the answer was beginning to excite the reporters. Because as an opponent, following common sense, one should not praise the other party so easily, and what’s more is that Lippi was a coach who has gotten almost all of the honour a coach was able to obtain, able to obtain his compliments was not easy.
So was his praise for Twain a smoke bomb or genuine?
※※※
While Lippi was accepting the questions from the reporters, Twain was already waiting outside with George Wood. As the media was interested in the first encounter between Twain and Lippi, the duration of the news conference would definitely be extended.
From the door, one was able to see the situation inside, and also able to hear the noises inside. But most of it was in Italian so Twain was unable to comprehend the conversations inside.
He might as well chat with Wood outside.
“How’s your mother’s health, George?”
“She is still fine…” That was what he said, but his face was expressionless so Twain could easily guess that the situation was definitely not ideal. However, he was unable to help George Wood in this aspect at all so he could only sigh inside. It was as if such a pitiful woman was sent onto mankind just to suffer.
“Would your mum watch the finals?”
“She’ll watch the television broadcast.”
“Perform better, get a trophy to make her happy.”
Wood nodded.
It suddenly turned silent again between the two people, they both seemed to have internal troubles. Wood then took the initiative to break this silence, “How are you… and Shania?”
Twain glanced at Wood with a smile, “Wood would also show some concern to other people, that;s rare. How well can we be? It’s the same every time, I’m busy with my work and she’s busy with hers. Every year we get more and more distant. For you though, you’re already 30 years old, if you do not find any women by this age, there would be people who would suspect your sexuality, George.”
Wood pouted, “Then do what you want.”
“You are really optimistic.” Twain looked at Wood as he chuckled. “The best gay magazines had already placed you as the most ideal partner in the hearts of the gay men for three consecutive years.”
Twain was really worried for Wood’s life issues, so he borrowed the name of homosexuality to affect him. However, the Westerns do not regard continuing the generation as highly as the Asians, else Twain would definitely bring out the theory of “one having nothing to be proud of if he is unfilial”, using his mother’s name to pressurize Wood.
“Tomorrow is the finals, and you still have the mentality to consider all these?” Wood rebutted.
“What should be done are already done, what else is there to do? Frown and stay silent?” Twain was smiling brightly. “That was not my personality. Besides…” He pointed Lippi who was in the room. “We can’t be looked down upon by our enemies. George, relax a little. We are the ones who obtained all three prestigious trophies, what hardships have we not seen? Ha!”
In the middle of their conversation, the news conference inside the room has ended. In the midst of the applause, Lippi pulled back his chair as he left the room behind Chellini out of the exit.
Lippi was a little surprised when he saw Twain who was smiling at him, but his expression quickly returned to normal.
He knew that Twain was greeting him with a smile, as this manager did not seem to be as vicious and untouchable as the outside world had been rumoured. Since the other side took the initiative to show kindness, Lippi also did not need to look arrogant, as he slightly nodded when he looked at Twain.
Perhaps it was due to it being finals but Lippi, who attended the press conference today, did not wear the Kappa T-shirt he usually wore on the training ground. Instead, he wore a very formal dark blue suit and white shirt. The two men passed by. Twain kept his eyes on George Wood instead off Lippi’s back view and the opposing captain Chellini started a spark upon their contact. Both of them stared at each other.
After leaving the press conference, the old smoker Lippi put an end to his own suffering. He pulled out a Tuscan cigar out from within his suit and placed it in his mouth. He lit it and took a deep breath, one so loud that even Twain could hear that noise.
With a cigar in his mouth, Lippi and Chiellini left just like that. And Twain just patted Wood who was beside him, “Let’s go, George. It’s our turn.”
He did not smoke — not that he needed it to look cool. He was the embodiment of the word “cool”. Especially when he appeared in front of the media, that continuous flashing of the lights, could clearly represent that Tony Twain was not far off with his odds from getting the world championships from Lippi.
“What do you think about Marcelo Lippi, Mr Twain? ” After the routine questions, Twain needed to face this similar question as well.
“He is an outstanding head coach. He led Juventus and Italy to obtain those championship trophies, it was long proving that point.” Twain did not hesitate nor was surprised, he answered quickly.
But for the journalists who could understand English and Italian, they laughed out loud. Because this was similar too coincidental, Lippi used the same words to answer the question.
Even their acts of being low profile was so similar, no wonder they are the opponents for the finals of the world championships.
Twain was laughed at inexplicably, but he did not ask what had happened.
“Is it a little difficult to play against such a coach in the final?” A reporter from Milan Sports asked.
“I admit it’s a bit difficult, after all, Lippi is experienced. But …” Twain’s tone changed a little, “No one came to the Bernabeu stadium to compete for the runner-up. I’m sure Lippi would think the same way, being able to beat Italy and obtain the championships, I would be extremely happy.”
“Mr Twain, you intentionally and surprisingly acted low profile, was that to let Italy underestimate you?” The reporter from Milan Sports was very aggressive.
“No, it’s not.” Twain spread his hands. “You’re insulting Mr. Lippi’s IQ. He didn’t forget to use comedy against the Italian journalist, for his constant aggression. “I do have a lot of respect for Lippi and I’m happy to play against him in the final. ”
Twain did not lie. Although as a fan, Twain hated Juventus and Lippi, but after becoming a coach, there has been a change of mind, everything was thought about from the coach’s point of view, his mindset was becoming similar as that Italian coach. Being the head coach, the tactics master was deserving of his respect.
And Twain also knew that, with Lippi’s experience, it’s himself who would end up losing out if he provoked a war of words. Lippi’s Italian team would definitely not be fooled, and for England who was always on the initiative would fall, their morale would definitely take a huge hit. Psychological warfare was not always a treasure that was sure-fire.
This double-edged sword, if used poorly, would hurt yourself, so Twain had always went for the easier alternative.
Lippi was an old fox, a stone, if he screws up, he would mess up his own and teammates’ morale.
“I hope that there would be an exciting contest tomorrow, but that does not mean I would promise that I’ll play an offensive ball game.” Twain slyly laughed, “For me, the results are the priority.”
Hearing him say this, some of the reporters sighed. It looks like the finals match tomorrow would be a boring match, if there are no surprises, it is mostly likely going to end in a penalty shootout.
On the other hand, some reporters heard what they wanted. Tomorrow, tomorrow England was likely to be defensive, probably prioritizing defensively counter-attacking, sacrificing offense, and dragging them into extra-time and penalty shoot-outs.
The original tactic that was covered up for three days, and this was what Twain implemented for the English team? That was so boring…
Defensive, defensive, defensive… someone please knock open his brain to see if there was anything inside other than “defense”.
Twain would not go ahead and think about what the reporters were discussing, after answering the reporters’ questions, Wood and him left the Bernabeu stadium as he took the team bus and followed the team back to the hotel that they were staying in. There would be a final tactical meeting tonight, then after would be the quiet wait for tomorrow’s night.
His first time leading a country team into the World-level championships match was approaching so quickly. (To be continued, if you want to know what happens later, please log in to www.qidian.com, where there would be more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!
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Chapter 965 - Tickets
The hotels in Madrid were having a booming business and it was impossible to get a room at this moment. The main reason for that were the English.
As the England national team had reached final of a major international competition for the first time in 50 years, there was a huge repercussion back in England. Many of the England fans who were not planning to watch the competition live in Spain initially, packed up and flew to Madrid. It was already extremely difficult to get a ticket to the final, but the English still hoped to meet people who were wanted to get a refund for their tickets outside the Bernabeu stadium.
As for the problem of no lodging? That was not a problem at all. They would sleep on the streets just to watch the match. Many England fans brought their own tents as if they were going to camp out in the woods. The passion of the England fans was obvious for everyone to see.
Due to the massive influx of England fans, the Madrid government had no choice but to announce that all the major parks in the city would be open to public at night for those fans who could not get a hotel room to camp in.
“I feel extra blessed watching them!” Skinny Bill exclaimed as he pointed to rows of colorful tents on the streets opposite the seat of a bar that he was seated in, “Not only do we not need to sleep on the streets, we also have tickets to the final!”
He was a little loud and he attracted the attention of the people around them. John noticed the look of desire in their eyes and he knew that those were the people without tickets to the final. They were very sensitive to everything about tickets.
“Keep it down you fool! Are you trying to get us attacked?” John gave Bill a slap on his head.
“Uh…” Bill looked down and drank his beer. However, it was not long before he stretched himself and said, “It’s five more hours to the match, that’s a long way to go… Why don’t we go wait at the hotel that the England team is staying in like the others? We might even get their autograph…”
John glared at him and said, “Have you forgotten what kind of person Tony is? Forget about the fans, he would even chase the reporters out at a time like this. What do you think you can achieve there?”
“Ah, that’s right… It’s the same situation every time Nottingham Forest got into a final. Hey, do you think Tony’s nervous?”
“Nervous?” The others asked, perplexed.
“Yes, even though he’s not a rookie who just started managing, this is the first final he has been to as the manager of the national team after all. And it’s the final of the European Championship which we’ve never won before.”
After hearing Bill say that, everyone grew silent. After a long while, someone muttered, “Has any of you seen Tony nervous before?”
He looked at the rest and they answered him by shaking their heads.
“Tony had never been afraid of anyone in my impression. He fought with Michael the first day he was at Burns’ bar, ha ha! Michael is well-known to be a good fighter in our area!” Someone laughed and said.
However, their moods dropped the moment they mentioned Michael. They thought about their old friend whom they had not met for a very long time. He was working hard for his family and career in America and they did not know if he was still paying attention to football, or if he even knew that England had reached the European Championship final. They were all football fanatics and the stories that they had with football were different for each of them. However, it only brought sadness to Michael once, and it was unforgettable.
The person who mentioned it realized that he should not have mentioned that name. He gave a couple of awkward laughs and looked down while drinking his beer.
“I know that Tony would send Michael a ticket every time the team got into a final. Too bad there isn’t a chance anymore ever since he resigned from Forest. I wonder if he did it this time?” Fat John mentioned their old friend deliberately.
Everyone became silent as John mentioned the past. They were thinking if their old friend on the other side of the earth received a ticket.
※※※
Michael was in his suit at his door with his suitcase next to him. It was seven in the morning in West America and he needed to get to work.
His wife carried their child as they sent him off.
“I’ll be back for dinner if I don’t have to entertain anyone at night…” He wanted to kiss his wife, but she avoided it.
“You have to come back for dinner no matter what,” His wife glared at him, “Don’t tell me you forgot about Shannon’s birthday?”
“Ah…” There was an apologetic look on Michael’s face.
“What are you thinking about recently, Michel? You’ve been very distracted, and you were even in a daze while eating,” His wife complained unhappily.
“I’m sorry, I was too busy at work. There were some personnel changes in the office and the pressure is mounting…” Michael could only appease her with that, “After this period of time, I’ll definitely take a few days off and take the two of you out for a good time.” After saying that, he pinched the pinchable cheeks of his daughter in his wife’s arms, “Sorry Shannon. Daddy forgot about your birthday, don’t be mad okay?”
His three-year-old daughter replied in her cute voice, “I——won’t——.”
Michael laughed and looked at his wife, “See, our little princess isn’t mad.”
“What am I going to do with you, “His wife pouted helplessly and gave him a goodbye kiss.
After a passionate kiss, Michael opened the door and left.
On his Ford, Michael was waiting for the traffic light at the crossroad. Even though his hands were on the steering wheel, his eyes glanced towards the black suitcase on the front seat. His wife was really observant. He was indeed distracted recently, but it was not because of stress from work. He was busy, but after being so busy for so many years, he did not forget about the death anniversary of his son, Gavin Bernard.
The reason for his distraction recently was sitting quietly inside the suitcase.
Michael looked up at the traffic light and thought that the red light was a little longer than usual. It was normal for there to be traffic during morning rush hour anyway. He grabbed hold of the suitcase and took out an envelope. The handwriting on the envelope was familiar to him, and it reminded him of that person’s face.
Michael opened it and took out something from inside——A ticket to the European Championship final.
The passion that Americans have for football was pitiful when compared to the Europeans. The European Championship which had no relationship to America was something that they had even lesser interest in and there was hardly any news about it on the news media. The media was all over the NBA grand finals between the Lakers and the 76ers. That attracted the attention of all the basketball fans in the world. It was a totally different world here when compared to Europe.
Michael was not a basketball fan. Not before, not now and probably not ever. But he had indeed not cared about football for a very long time. Looking at this ticket, he knew that Tony Twain must have led England to the European Championship final.
That was something to be happy about. After all, England had not reached the final of any major international competition for the past 50 years. However, this ticket brought back many memories. Memories that had nothing to do with England or the European Championship.
He was keeping his promise made to his wife so many years back. Therefore, when Twain did not send him tickets to any finals for the past two years, his life had no relationship with football at all. He lived like any other normal person, working hard everyday for a living and to support his family. Three years ago, they had a daughter and the focus of their lives turned to his daughter, Shannon Bernard. He loved this daughter of his and gave her all his love. He did not want the story that happened to Gavin to happen to Shannon too. His wife loved their daughter too and her smiling face will always make her forget about the pain of losing a son.
However, two years later, a ticket from the continent of Europe brought Michael back to the days when he was fanatical about football.
He started to seriously think about finding a quiet place during breaktime in the afternoon for him to watch a match.
A sharp horn woke the reminiscing Michael and he realized that the traffic light had turned green, and there was a line forming behind him. There were horns all around him, hurrying the bastard who was blocking traffic ahead.
Michael placed the ticket back into the envelope and drove his car out.
※※※
Kerslake was standing in the quiet cemetery alone. This was a place of few visitors and the trees covered the skies. The temperature there was a couple of degrees lower than outside and there were some birds chirping. Other than that, there was no sounds from any other living creatures.
This was his second time there. The first was during Gavin Bernard’s funeral. All the Nottingham Forest members attended it. Even the old club chairman sent his assistant so he, as the youth team coach, naturally did not absent himself from it.
After that, he had never returned here. For some people, the child who passed away that day was one of the most important people of their lives, but to David Kerslake, he did not have that feeling.
Two days ago, Kerslake received a call from Twain while having a break at home. Twain asked Kerslake for a favor over the phone. Twain would usually do this himself, but he was far away in Spain then. He could not possibly leave the team and fly back to Nottingham himself, therefore, he could only ask his friend in Nottingham for help.
On the next day, Kerslake received an express mail with a ticket inside.
Today, he was here to send Gavin Bernard a ticket.
Of course, he did not forget to buy some flowers. Twain did not ask him to do that but since he was here to visit Gavin, some flowers was just the necessary etiquette.
Placing the fresh flowers on the grave carefully, Kerslake noticed the line of words on the bottom of the tombstone.
He suddenly felt that the world was so unpredictable. The most loyal fan of Nottingham Forest was buried here yet he was still loafing at home after leaving Forest where he had worked for more than a decade.
He did not know if Twain would ever return, but maybe the period of time in his life which belonged to Nottingham Forest had reached the end. He should seriously start to think about the invitation of the other clubs.
“Gavin, this is the first time I’m talking to you but I didn’t expect it to be under this kind of circumstances,” Kerslake laughed and said, “Tony asked me to give you a ticket, and I want to take this chance to say farewell to you. Thank you for your support towards the team, I bet you’re very sad at the state of affairs of Nottingham Forest now, aren’t you? I tried my best, too bad… Maybe this is for the best. At least we’re still in the Premier League. 14 years ago, we were still struggling in the Championship. Maybe this is where Nottingham Forest belongs to. No team can win forever, and no team can conquer Europe forever. We’ve done it before, there’s nothing to regret about.”
He took out the ticket and did as Twain instructed. He lit it on fire with a lighter and held on to it until the fire reached his fingertips. The ticket burnt to ashes on the way down and landed on the fresh flowers.
“It’s not bad to be a fan too… Goodbye Gavin, remember to watch the final.”
Kerslake waved at the grave and tuned to walk towards the gate of the cemetery.
A gust of wind blew behind him and moved the flowers on the grave, blowing the ashes into the air. There were rustling sounds coming from the thick woods, as if they were saying goodbye to Kerslake.
※※※
Tang Jing was sitting on her husband’s legs as she flirted with him. Their son had just been brought back to their home in China and her parents were taking care of him. They could enjoy some time alone now. In her plans, she was going to have a romantic candlelight dinner with her husband tonight, then put on some erotic lingerie that she just bought and have a night of passion with him.
However, her plans were stopped by her husband before she even said anything.
“I can finally not be disturbed when watching the match tonight,” Tang said while holding Tang Jing. Tang Jing immediately felt disappointment.
“It’s not a match involving China, why are you watching it?”
“I’m a football coach, I have to know everything related to football,” Tang felt that it was strange for Tang Jing to ask such a silly question.
Tang Jing rolled her eyes at him, “But tonight, I…” She stopped herself, Tang must have known what she meant.
As expected, Tang knew, but his reaction infuriated her.
“We can do that every night, but the European Championship final only happens once every four years…”
Tang Jing was furious, but she had to admit that there was nothing wrong with the logic. They could make love every night but the next time the European Championship final happened would be four years later.
“Can’t you record it?!”
“Of course, I’ll record it, but it’s also important to watch it live…” Tang was sticking to his guns——Tonight, football was more important than coitus.
Tang Jing got up from Tang’s legs furiously, and she pinched Tang on the shoulders violently. The look of Tang gritting his teeth in pain did nothing to sooth the anger in Tang Jing’s heart.
She had already decided that she would be a force of disturbance when Tang was watching the match tonight.
To the simple-minded Tang, tonight was all about football. However, to Tang Jing, tonight was a battle between her and football. She wanted to see whether she was more attractive or whether football was more attractive.
Fighting with me over my man? Football, I’ll show you!
...
Chapter 966 - Are You Nervous?
Where in England would there be a lot of customers after night falls on the 8th of July?
Without a question, it would be the bars. And, to be more specific, the bars where one is able to watch a televised football match.
The British enjoy watching football in groups. They would rather head down to a bar and watch a football match with their friends over a drink instead of watching it in their own homes.
The BBC5 channel aired a pre-match analysis two hours before the finals kicked off. The pundits did an in-depth discussion of the match and analyzed it from different angles. It was the first time in 50 years that England has made its way into the finals of an international football competition. The channel has to make sure that their show reflects the significance of the match or the viewers could end up being upset.
Dunn was not the kind of person who enjoyed being in a crowd. He prefers watching the live coverage of the football match at home quietly than in a noisy environment.
However, it seems like he would not be getting the peace and quiet that he seeks tonight.
“Dear~” His wife, Tang Jing, stood before him while being dressed in sexy lingerie, and she blocked the television screen with her body. “Do I look beautiful in this?”
“You do.” Dunn’s eyes never left the television screen. He shifted to a different seat after seeing that Tang Jing had blocked his view. Alan Shearer was predicting the England team’s potential line-up for the match on the screen. Twain did not change one bit. He would not reveal his starting line-up for the match until the very last minute, just as he has always done in the past.
Even a fool could tell that Dunn did not really meant what he said. Fury flashed across Tang Jing’s face. She shifted her position after seeing Dunn change his seat.
“Do you want me or not?” Tang Jing was not embarrassed to say such words. She has become bold after spending so much time in England. The Chinese might be known to be more bashful when it comes to speaking about topics like these, but no such bashfulness exists in Tang Jing any longer.
Dunn averted his gaze towards Tang Jing. He watched as his wife lowered her bra straps all the way to her elbow and revealed her breasts partially. Thereafter, he shook his head and said, “No.”
His words made Tang Jing feel humiliated. Dunn realized that he had said something wrong after seeing that his wife was about to explode from anger. He quickly added, “I just don’t feel like doing it tonight.”
He did not salvage the situation with his words. All he did was to add fuel to the fire.
Tang Jing erupted like a volcano. She removed her bra and tossed it at Dunn’s face. “Do it with your football then!”
Tang Jing stormed back into her room with two balls of bouncing flesh before her chest, and she did not forget to slam the door shut behind her after entering the room. The impact of her door slam was so great that some of the dust on the ceiling fell off.
Dunn looked at the closed bedroom door and smiled helplessly before directing his attention back onto the television screen. He can finally watch the match in peace now. He heard sounds of items being thrown onto the floor from the bedroom shortly after, but he ignored them.
“… England has yet to set off for the stadium, but we can already see some players at the hotel’s lobby…”
Scenes of the hotel’s interior were being shown on the television screen. The video was taken by the reporter from a distance, and it was a little blurry as a result. However, one is still able to make out players like Rooney and Mitchell from the video. As for Twain, he is still nowhere to be seen, and the camera continues to shift about in an attempt to search for him.
※※※
Twain sat at a corner of the lobby where the cameras would not be able to capture him. He was able to see the lift from where he sat, and he conversed with Des Walker while paying attention to the players who walked out from the lift. He was trying to take attendance and determine if there are any players who are still in their rooms.
“Des, are you nervous?” Twain asked.
“A little. Are you not nervous?” Walker asked back.
“Of course I’m a little nervous.” Twain laughed. “Can’t you see that I’ve been chewing on gum all this time?” He pointed at his mouth. “I’ve been chewing for close to an hour.”
“Why do you still chew on it when it’s tasteless?”
“You are right.” Twain spit his gum into the wrapper and tossed it into the bin. He then fished out another piece of gum and placed it into his mouth. “I should buy bubble gum next time. At least it’d be fun to chew on it.”
“I don’t think you are nervous at all, Tony…”
Twain was surprised by Walker’s words. “Really? That’s good!”
Twain was truly feeling nervous at the moment. However, he did not really want others to discern that he was nervous. He wanted to divert his attention onto something else, and that is why he chose to sit at the hotel lobby and have an idle chat with Walker. It seems like talking to Walker has definitely helped to calm his nerves.
The player who walked out of the lift was Mitchell. His height caused him to stick out like a sore thumb. Twain noticed the look of depression upon his countenance. It looks like the kid is still harping over the fact that he is unable to play in the finals.
“Aaron, come over here!” Twain shouted and waved his hands.
Mitchell walked over obediently.
“Sit.” Twain pointed at the sofa across of him. “That seat is reserved for the coaches. The players who are playing in the finals later are not able to enjoy this privilege that I’m offering to you now.”
Twain joked with Mitchell.
“Thanks boss…” Mitchell knew that Twain was trying to comfort him. He was still feeling upset on the inside, but he did not show it through his mannerisms.
“Don’t think too much about it. Just sit back and enjoy the moment when we are crowned champions.” Twain walked over and patted Mitchell on the shoulder.
“But, it’s not like I did anything to help the team achieve it. I just can’t enjoy becoming champions like this…”
“That’s not true. You are doing something for the team in your own way. Think about it. What do you think your teammates will feel when they see you sitting by the side of the pitch with a glum face? They would definitely be affected emotionally and they would end up performing poorly in the match. I’m not joking about this. Won’t you feel upset if you saw someone who is pulling a long face or who looks disinterested sitting by the side while you are working hard on the pitch?”
Mitchell froze. He has to admit that his boss’s words were very persuasive. He imagined himself being on the pitch and encountering a situation like that, and he came to the conclusion that he would certainly be affected emotionally if he saw those scenes.
“Smile, Aaron.” Twain grinned at Mitchell. “Our smiles possess a mysterious power. Your smile can infect your teammates and it can help them feel even more confident about overcoming their obstacles and defeating their opponents. Remember this. No matter what happens, all of you form a whole entity. You are always going to affect your teammates whether you play in a match or not, and affecting your teammates means that you will affect the results of the match as well. I would get angry when we are losing in a match, but I’ve never pulled a face while I’m watching a match from the side. Do you know why? It’s because I can convert my anger into motivation, but being depressed only causes others to lose their fight and confidence. It’s just like a contagious disease.”
Mitchell suddenly saw the light once Twain finished his words.
“I understand now, boss.” Mitchell led out a smile.
“Good. Go back to the team now. You have been stripped of the right to sit at that very seat from here on out!”
Mitchell stood to his feet and left hastily.
“I want you to talk to them. Don’t let them play in the match while being worried about you.” Twain’s voice emerged from behind. Mitchell turned his head around and replied, “I know that!”
“I’m very impressed, Tony.” Des Walker lamented as he watched Mitchell run away from them looking full of energy. Mitchell looked like a totally different person. The kid who had walked over to them with a sullen face earlier was nowhere to be found. “I’ve not come across many people who are as skilled as you are when it comes to managing the psychological state of players.”
“It’s actually very simple. You just need to put yourselves in the players’ shoes and be sincere with your words.” Twain reclined against the sofa, and he noticed Wood walking out of the lift. Wood was the last one to come down. It looks like he had carried out his duties as the captain of the team, and he had only come down after ensuring that all his teammates had already gone down ahead of him.
Twain lifted his wrist towards him and glanced at his watch. There were still close to two hours before the match kicked off.
“It’s about time. I don’t want to stay here and be watched by the reporters as though we are a bunch of monkeys at the zoo. Let’s go.” Twain stood to his feet. His gesture signaled to the other players who were still lounging around the lobby and chatting with one another that it was time to leave. Everyone stood to their feet and walked towards the bus that was parked right outside the entrance to the hotel.
The reporters outside the hotel became excited when they noticed that the players were headed towards the entrance. They all came out of hiding and rushed towards the entrance to capture photos of the players up close, but they were blocked by a line of security guards.
The England fans were less rowdy. All they did was to stand behind the security guards and shout, “We are the champions! We are the champions! England! England! Ohhh!”
“They have set off!” The reporter from BBC5 yelled excitedly.
※※※
Elsewhere, an Italian television host also announced how the Italy national team was on its way to become the champions excitedly. Both teams had set off for the Bernabéu Stadium at the same time.
Two buses of different colors drove towards the Bernabéu Stadium in different directions. Several police cars drove before the buses, and they helped to control the traffic. There were also helicopters flying above the buses, and they have been flown by the television stations to capture the teams’ journeys towards the stadium. It was truly a sight to behold. Both teams were making grand entrances.
The bus carrying the England team pulled up outside the Bernabéu Stadium soon after. The entire England team could hear the din coming from within the stadium as they sat within the air-conditioned bus.
The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium is basked in a blinding white light before them. It is just like the ‘White House’ of the footballing world, and it eagerly awaits the arrival of the two stars for tonight’s show.
The players alighted from the bus a moment later. A commotion broke out when the players appeared before a crowd of reporters and fans. The security guards at the scene fought hard to keep the crowd back. The players are used to seeing scenes like these, and they did not stop in their tracks to entertain the crowd. They simply walked into the stadium and towards their locker room.
The last one to get off the bus was Twain, and he accepted a brief interview from BBC5 as he stood behind the line of security guards.
“It is said that there are many British fans who have flown over to Spain over the past few days. Clearly, none of them expected their team to be able to make its way into the finals. What are your thoughts on this, Mr. Twain?” The reporter pressed onto his earpiece with one hand and held onto a microphone with the other. He had spoken very quickly, but Twain was still able to make out what he said due to his good pronunciation.
“I’m very pleased.” Twain raised his voice as he responded. “I actually wish that the Bernabéu would allow the England fans without tickets to enter! Ha! That’d help us turn this stadium into our own home grounds! But, I doubt the Italians would agree to this!”
“Is Italy a very strong team?”
“Of course. All teams that are able to make its way into the finals are strong teams. Even teams like Greece have to be regarded as a strong team if they are in the finals.”
“You have good memories about the Bernabéu Stadium, don’t you?”
“Indeed.” A smile emerged on Twain’s face as he spoke. “I was able to achieve the Treble at this very stadium two years ago. I like the Bernabéu.”
“If you don’t mind me asking again, how has Mitchell’s absence impacted the team for the finals?”
“I don’t think his absence affects the team much. We are not a one-man team. We are a whole entity. Every single player who has been selected to be a part of the national team is talented. I’m not worried about the absence of one player.”
Twain waved his hands and signaled that he wanted to leave.
The reporter heard an anxious voice coming from his earpiece. “Ask him one last question! Don’t let him go just yet! The audience needs to hear his declaration! His declaration that England would become the champions! Get him to say it!”
“Wait a moment, Mr. Twain. Please wait for a moment…” The reporter reached out a hand and stopped Twain from leaving before he pressed a hand on his earpiece and listened to the director’s newest set of instructions. “One last question. Have you ever thought about what happens if…”
Twain cut the reporter off curtly before he could even finish his words. “Impossible. That’s definitely impossible. We are not here to work hard and get second place!”
Twain was quite upset with the reporter’s idiotic question. He turned around and walked away with no intention of stopping this time round.
After Twain left, the reporter noticed that the cameraman had given him a thumbs up. He then heard the director’s voice from his earpiece, and the director sounded pleased. “Excellent work, Louis! Those words from Twain were exactly what I was looking for! Okay, I want you to go into the stadium now and wait for the players to do their warm-ups!”
※※※
Likewise, at another entrance leading into the Bernabéu Stadium, the Italy team was also warmly greeted by the press and their fans.
Lippi was dressed like an Italian gentleman. He had donned a tuxedo and he held onto a cigar in one hand. There was an air of poise and elegance around him.
He stopped in his tracks and accepted an interview with Radiotelevisione italiana while his players walked past him from behind and entered the stadium.
“Is it good news that England is without Mitchell for this match?”
“No, they still have Rooney and other talented attacking players.” Lippi did not display any optimism. “Mitchell is not the core of the team. His absence does not affect England by much.”
“Do you think the match will go to a penalty shoot-out?”
“I can’t say for sure. It depends on the score after 90 minutes have been played.” Lippi did not give anything away.
“This is your last time in charge of the Italy national team. Do you wish to end your career with a Euro Cup trophy?”
“Of course. I hope we can bring the Euro Cup trophy back to Italy.”
“There are some people who are worried that you’d experience a lack of motivation to win the competition since you are a manager who has lifted almost every possible trophy in your career…”
“I’ve never lifted the Euro Cup trophy before.” Lippi was not upset with the comment. He responded with a smile.
“Thank you for accepting the interview. Good luck for the match.”
“I wish Italy all the best,” Lippi replied.
“He’s never arrogant and he never underestimates his opponents either. He’s a mature and composed manager. He is a manager that instills confidence in us.” The reporter spoke before the camera after Lippi left. “I believe that Tony Twain has met his match this time. Should I wish Twain all the best? No, I should wish that all the good luck in the world would not get close to him and his team. We would see you again after the break!”
※※※
“Crap, I’m feeling a little nervous…” Joe Mattock stood by the side of the pitch and lifted his head to look at the stadium that was packed with spectators. A thought flashed by his mind – he was really at the finals. This is the finals match of the Euro Cup. This is the very first time in 50 years that England is participating in the finals of an international competition!
Mattock felt his knees go weak at the thought. His heart started palpitating at an accelerated pace, and his lips became dry as well.
“F*ck!” Mitchell cursed from the side. “If you are nervous then switch places with me! I can play as left back! Can you please get yourself together? You are a player from Nottingham Forest! Don’t embarrass us!”
The words that Twain said to Mitchell earlier had clearly worked. Mitchell was all pumped up and full of fight now.
“Uh…” Joe Mattock scratched the back of his head in shame. He felt less nervous after being scolded by Mitchell.
In truth, Joe Mattock was not the only player who was feeling nervous. The other players were simply not as forthcoming as he was. However, they all felt like they were foolish to be feeling this nervous after hearing Mitchell’s words. There was someone amongst them who was unable to feel nervous even if he wanted to! How could they be thinking about how nervous they are when they are playing in the match later? Their minds should be full of thoughts about the match that they would play in soon!
“Go and do your warm-up, lads. What are you all doing here? Discussing about the weather?”
Twain’s voice rang from behind the players’ backs, and a group of people rushed onto the pitch hastily.
...
Chapter 967 - Nepotism
Twain was a little bit nervous himself, however, it was not as bad as some of the players. He had been to many important finals previously, but he was just a little bit nervous about this first time——The first time he led the national team to the final of a major international competition.
As a manager whose past life was a Chinese football fan, he had a little “international competition” complex. The World Cup and European Championship were the main focus of his football life for a very long time. There was even a period of time when he thought that national teams were better than clubs as they represented the best team in the country.
All these became a joke later. However, he is still a little excited to be able to take part in the final of a major international competition like the European Championship.
He chose to leave the empty changing room to calm himself down. Work could make him forget about all other emotions and he watched the players warm up at the sideline.
He was very satisfied with the players’ warmup. Everyone was very excited when faced with a final like this and he had no need to be concerned about their morale. All he had to worry about was that someone might be overzealous during warmup and hurt himself.
The coaches had the warmup under control and Twain turned his attention to the stands as he had some time. The Bernabéu, with a capacity of 80,000, were full to its brim. The noise from the crowd was deafening and there were thousands of flags waving about in the wind. There were even some people who could not control their excitement and set off mini fireworks in the stands.
The English fans in the stands started to sing together when they saw the England team appear on the pitch for their warmup. Just like what they did during the English Premier League matches, they used their singing to convey a message to the players——We are with you.
This singing gave the English players the feeling that they were at their home ground. In fact, the number of fans from both sides were almost even. As Spain lost in the semi-final, most of the Spanish population lost interest in the final. This meant that the England fans who flew to Spain from England just before the final were in luck. There were many Spanish fans selling their tickets outside the Bernabéu the day before the final. The same could be said for the Italy fans who just flew in from Italy.
The neutral Spain fans on the stands were just the supporting cast for this match.
Right after the England fans started singing, the Italy fans started singing themselves. The fans from both sides started a “singing contest” across the pitch.
The media from different countries started to get busy as the teams started their warmup on the pitch.
“This is Spain Football at the Santiago Bernabéu. There will be a heavyweight battle right here, in front of millions of fans all over the world!” The China national television CCTV5 also dispatched a commentator and reporter to the stadium to give live commentary about the match. Even though the standard of China football was very low, the Chinese fans were still considered to be quite blessed. The development of television and the internet network allowed them to watch the best games in the world, and it was basically free.
“England will be in their white jersey in this match. However, it was said that their manager, Tony Twain, hoped that the team would be wearing their red jersey as red is not only his lucky color, but also the same color as the Nottingham Forest jersey. Looks like his wish was not fulfilled…” The reporter from Spain Football was introducing some of the smaller details, such as the jerseys, to the audience, “Italy will be in their traditional blue jersey with white shorts. This is the jersey that they were wearing when they won the World Cup 10 years ago. And further back, 16 years ago, when they lost to France in the European Championship final, they were in their white jersey. Maybe to the Italians, blue is more auspicious than white.”
“The temperature tonight is 31 degrees, not too hot but it’s not exactly cooling either. It was very hot in the day and the heat from the day has not disperse yet which will inevitably affect the play of both sides. The humidity of the stadium…”
Even though their own teams were eliminated, the media of the other countries still paid a lot of attention on the reporting of the final. Just the satellite vans outside the Bernabéu stadium alone had 27 of them. It was quite a sight to see them lined up together.
“Here we see the players of both sides appearing on the pitch for their warmup. We’ve already gotten the starting lineup for Italy but England’s starting lineup is still nowhere to be seen… Seems like Tony Twain will not release the starting lineup until the final moment. He seems to be too cautious when compared to the experienced Lippi…”
“From the lineup that we have, it appears that Italy has sent out their strongest team here. The goalkeeper is AC Milan’s Marco Amelia. The left-back is AC Milan’s Simone Vitale and the right-back will be Inter Milan’s Davide Santon. Their two center-backs are the Juventus pairing——Giorgio Chiellini and Domenico Criscito. Their midfield, from left to right, comprises of Juventus’ Sebastian Giovinco, Roma’s Daniele De Rossi and Alberto Aquilani and Davide Lanzafame, also from Juventus. The two strikers are AC Milan’s Alberto Paloschi and Juventus’ Salvatore Foti. What we can tell from this lineup is that Lippi trusts players from the traditional strong teams more than players from mid-table teams. The starting lineup comprises of players only from the top four teams of last season Serie A and amongst the four teams, he prefers players from Juventus…”
When the England players finished their warmup and returned to the changing room, the media finally received the starting lineup for England from Twain. Twain did not give them lots of surprises as he did in the past few matches, and his starting lineup here was not much different from the one that experts predicted before the match. The only surprise was that Vaughan, who performed very well in the semi-final, did not get to start.
※※※
Even the England players themselves did not know who was starting until now, let alone the media.
Goalkeeper, Joe Hart, was the only one who was sure of his position. Almost every other position had been changed during the course of the competition except for his position. As long as there were no major mistakes or injuries, the position of starting goalkeeper would usually not be changed.
The right-back was still Richards, who had been starting ever since the match against Wales. Twain preferred his defensive capabilities. The left-back was Joe Mattock. In this European Championship, Mattock was under scrutiny and he passed the test. It was normal for him to continue starting. Just like how Lippi preferred the Juventus players that he managed before, Twain also preferred the Nottingham Forest players that he managed before.
The center-backs were John Terry and Steven Taylor. This center-back pairing had been playing for England ever since the first match of the competition, the synergy between them had been tested.
In midfield, there was the pairing of Gerrard and Wood. Twain’s “Wood-Gerrard” pairing was much more effective than the “Gerrard-Lampard” duo during the Eriksson and McClaren era. That was because he had a all-rounded George Wood who could play as a core or as a supporting role for other players, which meant that the England midfield would not be too messy due to too many core players. There are some teams that can play with a duo core, but England definitely could not.
On the right was Walcott, coming back from his injury to claim a starting berth. The right winger position was one which had the most changes due to injuries throughout the competition. Walcott’s advantage over Bentley and Moke was that he had faster speed and better dribbling abilities.
On the left was Middlesbrough’s Downing. Just like Walcott, he had superior speed and dribbling technique. He returned to the starting lineup due to Twain’s tactics for this match.
The striker’s position was one which people were most interested in. Mitchell was suspended because he accumulated too many yellow cards, and this became the position where the competition was most intense. Everyone hoped to start in such an important final. Rooney was definitely going to start for sure. As the most experienced player amongst England’s striking options, Twain needed him very much.
But who would be Rooney’s partner?
James Vaughan was one of the favorites because of his brace in the semi-final. He himself thought that he was in good form recently and should be able to start in the final. So, when Twain started to announce the starting lineup, he was anticipating to hear his name being read out.
After reading out Rooney’s name, there was only one last name to be read. Vaughan sat up straight and prepared to welcome the historic moment——He would be the starting striker in the European Championship final.
“Agbonlahor.”
However, the name that came out of Twain’s mouth stunned him.
He did not expect Twain to pick Agbonlahor, who did not have any standout performance, instead of himself. He looked at Twain with a bemused look on his face, but he did not say anything. He looked down and clenched both fists in anger.
Twain’s decision shocked the other players. Everyone else thought that the other starting striker would definitely be James. Even Agbonlahor did not expect himself to be starting in such an important match and the surprise and happiness combined to make give him a very complex feeling. He did not even dare to look at Vaughan who was seated next to him.
“Why is Agbonlahor the one starting?!” All the reporters had the same question when they saw the starting lineup.
“Based on current form, James Vaughan should be Rooney’s starting partner. If not for his brace in the semi-final, Spain might be the one playing in the final!”
“I don’t know why Tony made such an arrangement…”
“Sigh, what’s there to not understand? Just look at Lippi. All these successful managers do the same thing when it comes to important matches——They would rather pick players that they are more familiar and like more, instead of players who are performing better. It’s just experience. Agbonlahor is a Nottingham Forest player and he worships Twain. Twain likes him a lot too. Compared to Vaughan, Twain is more familiar with him, that’s why he starts.”
The reporters were embroiled in a discussion and for a moment, “nepotism” was the trending thought amongst the reporters.
※※※
After reading out the starting lineup, Twain looked at the players and remembered the expressions on everyone’s faces.
“This is the starting lineup.”
The match tactics had been discussed during the tactical meeting the day before and even though everyone did not know who would be starting at that time, they had to remember the tactics for their own positions.
“I hope that everyone still remembers what we discussed last night. Let’s give them a surprise!”
This starting lineup was too much of a blow to everyone, so much so that they did not hear what Twain said after that. They were all concerned about Vaughan.
Twain had to bring their attention back to the match. He clapped and raised his voice, “What’s wrong? Pre-match anxiety causing you guys to be distracted?”
The players could tell very easily that their Boss was a little unhappy. So, despite their unhappiness about Vaughan’s treatment, they had to keep it to themselves and focus their attention back onto the match.
However, due to the starting lineup issue, they had forgotten about their nervousness. They were only a little bit confused. How could Boss make such an obvious mistake when he had always been treating everyone in the team very fairly? They did not feel that Agbonlahor should not be starting, but even an idiot could tell that Vaughan was in better form and him starting would be much more effective than Agbonlahor. Did he not want to win this match? Could he really be doing this so that his favored players could make a name for themselves in history? Then why did he not let Moke, Cohen and Bentley start too? They were also players of Nottingham Forest, were they not?
The players headed to the pitch of the final with all these questions in their minds.
※※※
“They’re out! Let’s welcome the eleven starting players for England!” John Morrison shouted passionately as he started to introduce every starting player for the fans.
Even though he was surprised about Agbonlahor starting the match, his voice and tone did not appear to be any different when he read out Agbonlahor’s name.
To be honest, Twain’s starting lineup was basically just as Lippi expected. He was only surprised that Twain did not start the impressive James Vaughan in the striker role and allowed Agbonlahor to start instead. This was a change that he did not understand. As a striker, Agbonlahor’s shooting was not comparable to Vaughan. Other than his speed, he had no other advantage and he was more suitable on the flanks than in the middle. Italy had specially analyzed Vaughan for this match but they did not expect Twain to not start him!
Even though he was surprised, Lippi also felt very interested about it. He thought that the match would be very interesting since he was able to be surprised. As the last match before he retired, he was not just looking for a result, it would be best if it would be a match that he would never forget.
Tony Twain and his England team. They were obviously good enough to be the opponent for his final hurrah.
An explosive final, then we’ll become champions.
This was Lippi’s final wish.
...
Chapter 968 - Like a Sleepwalker
After the game began, both teams did not devote full strength in the game but rather poked about respectively according to usual practice,.
Although England and Italy played against each other in the World Cup semifinals six years ago, the England team of that time was completely different from the current England team, and that Italian team was not the current one too. Especially for the team that Twain led, it required them to feel it out properly. How else would they know what kind of trap he had waiting for them?
After five minutes of trying out, Italy began to adopt a steady defensive counterattack stance. They were not in a hurry to attack, but first solidified their defense and stationed players in the midfield and backfield. This did not come as a surprise to everyone. Lippi had led the Italian team thrice and his most favored tactics had long been figured out by everyone. He himself was also aware of it. In this regard, it was more difficult to be surprising. It was better to play a tactic to the extreme.
It was not that he had not tried to make the Italian play better and more actively. For example, he had used the attacking style of 4-3-3, which resulted in being humiliated by Brazil with three goals in the FIFA Confederations Cup. That game also caused him to completely break off the idea of playing beautiful football. He thought it was more secure and easier to obtain victories by playing defensive football.
From this point of view, he and Twain fell in the same category.
Everyone obviously saw it this way, so they also thought that in the final, Twain would not choose conservative tactics without hesitation, and strive to not make mistakes or at least make fewer mistakes, in order not to concede the goal as a prerequisite to fight for victory in the game.
In that case, the final would be a dreary showdown between extremely conservative players. The competition between the two teams would not be which one was more capable of breaking each other’s goals, but rather which team would make fewer mistakes. The outcome of a game played to a full 120 minutes would not come as a surprise. The probability of finally using a penalty shootout to determine the champion and runner-up was more than 50 percent … In short, it was best for everyone to prepare for a protracted game. Those football fans from non-European areas staying up late to watch the game would be unlucky. They would have to wake up late in the night, yawning and feeling drowsy as they looked forward to a thrilling match. However, they did not expect to watch a game that would make them drowsier. How many people would stare at a pair of “panda eyes” during the day and curse the two conservative managers?
Twain looked at his watch in the technical area and it was already five minutes into the game. The probing phase was basically over. It was time to carry out his tactics.
So, he got up from his seat and walked slowly to the sidelines. He did not make any hand gestures. He did not whistle nor shout the name of a certain player. The England players on the pitch knew what to do when they saw him on the sidelines.
Everyone remembered what Twain said to them at the tactical meeting the day before the game. But even if the boss did not say it, they could guess what tactics the team would use in the game, because the training sessions for the last three days had been revealing that kind of information.
During last night’s tactical meeting, Twain told his players not to play too conservatively in the first half. They had to attack aggressively and try to score a goal first so that the game would turn advantageous to themselves. If they could not score in the first half, it still would not be too late to play conservatively in the second half.
“… They’re going to think we will adopt more conservative tactics to deal with them. If they think so, we’ll seize the decisive opportunity to exploit this point to catch them off guard!”
As the Italians wanted to withdraw their defensive line and not give the England team too many chances to get near the goal, their control of the midfield was slightly weaker. It was easier for George Wood to take the ball further in the back, and no one came up to tackle and interfere.
After his teammates passed the ball to him, England’s offensive relied on him.
As England’s metronome, he controlled the rhythm of the team’s attack. It was up to him to determine when it was time to speed up or slow down. If he controlled the wrong pace, not only would he not bring a goal to the team, he would put the team in a dangerous situation. It was up to the metronome how well a team played.
After Wood got the ball, he had initially wanted to send a long pass to Rooney in front. He had seen the empty spot before he took the ball. But when the football was passed over, things changed again on the pitch. The previously glimpsed gap was filled in by the Italian defenders. Rooney had also been noticed by Criscito. If the ball had been passed as planned, the ball would most likely have fallen into the hands of the Italians and allowed them to fight back. This was not the result that Wood wanted.
He made a feint to attack and left the football in place. Then he looked around and found that his teammates were some distance away from him. This would not do… He made a hand signal for them to come up and receive.
Gerrard saw Wood in the front and ran back to support. The Italian midfielder, Aquilani also followed him as well.
Wood saw Aquilani following behind Gerrard and did not really want to pass the ball over. Instead, he suddenly dribbled the ball forward!
He and Gerrard passed each other by. Aquilani was so astounded that he threw Gerrard aside to pounce toward Wood while Wood had waited for him to make a move like this. He watched as Aquilani left Gerrard’s side before he used the outer instep of his foot to knock the football to Gerrard, obliquely at the back while he lured Aquilani away.
Once Gerrard picked up the ball, he turned around and moved forward. When Lanzafame rushed toward him, he did not keep the ball, but passed the ball to Downing on the sideline where Lanzafame was.
It was what Twain had specifically asked for. He wanted the team to hold the ball as little as possible when it was going through the midfield and to maneuver the opponent’s defensive line through quick passes. This approach was particularly important in dealing with a defensively tight team like Italy, as it was difficult to find a breakthrough point in a catenaccio style defense solely based on individual skills. Only quick passes could rip it apart.
Downing had just received the ball and Joe Mattock, who was behind him, suddenly charged past the center line.
The scene stunned the commentators in the press box – a full back’s assists were quite “symbolic” in a football game. It suggested that the team’s tactical thinking was not conservative, but an aggressive pursuit of attacking opportunities. Otherwise the manager would not have let the full back plug in so boldly to assist. In today’s game, for example, the Italian team’s two full backs had not crossed the center line once.
“Joe Mattock suddenly plugs in and participates in the attack! Can this be a signal that they are going to be more active?”
Lippi’s eyebrows were raised. He had also noticed it. It was clear that Downing did not go along the sideline to break through after receiving the ball. Instead, he suddenly cut inside as if he wanted to go in the middle. Italy’s De Rossi soon came up to block his way, but it appeared that his real purpose was not here…
Sure enough, in the next second, Lippi saw Mattock overtake at a high speed from behind Downing. His move also caught the attention of De Rossi and the Italian right back, Santon – an assist from the full back? Although it was an old trick from the book, it was still very useful and could be described as a classic routine.
Now Santon was trapped in an impossible situation. Previously, Rooney had pulled to the side and Criscito did not follow, out of consideration for the stability of the overall defense. Instead, he let Santon guard the other party. Now there was also Joe Mattock on this side and there were three players within the small area, which suddenly kept him a little busy. In fact, Santon’s qualities were in offense. He was fast, nimble, powerful break out ability and was excellent in crosses from the byline. He was average in defense. He mainly relied on his overall strength. It was unrealistic to let him face three players alone now. De Rossi noticed it, too, and he decided to help Santon.
These things were just flashes of thoughts.
Just as Mattock was plugging in from behind Downing, who acted like he was going to pass. But he suddenly zipped into the penalty area at a diagonal line!
De Rossi, who had changed his focus, did not expect Downing to break through so determinedly. He watched helplessly as his opponent broke through in front of his side and had no way of stopping it at all.
Before he broke through, Agbonlahor had pulled out and positioned at the penalty area line to receive. While the Italian defense also tacitly pressed forward and maintained along the same line as him. They knew that this man was fast and an effective way to deal with a speedy striker was to make him fall into the trap of being in an offside position.
Downing saw Agbonlahor being marked by Chiellini and passed the football over.
The Italian defenders’ personal skill level was quite high, especially for someone who was the team captain. Chiellini’s defense was impenetrable. Agbonlahor felt that he could not guarantee that he could turn around while dribbling the football. Perhaps it could only be intercepted. Fortunately, he saw Downing continue to plug in after he passed the ball and he knew what to do.
He immediately passed the football over!
“A beautifully executed one-two combination!” Motson cried.
But he called it a little too early.
Criscito, Juventus’ main full back, apparently had anticipated that England would play such a combination. He locked in his position early and shoveled the ball out before Downing!
“Ah ha! A brilliant defense!” This time it was the Italian commentator’s turn to cheer.
However, he called it too soon as well…
The football that was shoveled out by Criscito did not fall at the feet of the other Italian players such as Aquilani, but it was picked up by George Wood…
Wood did not stop the ball and then seek to continue the attack. Instead, while the Italian defense had not yet reacted, he directly kicked a powerful shot when the ball came!
“George—-Wood!!”
The football flew out after a brush with the goalpost, hitting the billboard behind it and emitted a muffled noise. It was as if it had hit the Italians in the heart, startling them.
The goalkeeper, Amelia tried his hardest to pounce over, but it was not enough to get to the ball. Wood’s shot was very fast, and he was too late. If the ball had been shot within the frame of the goalpost, then it would be hard to say what the outcome would be…
Despite not scoring, Twain still stood on the sidelines to applaud England’s attack just now.
He had not forgotten to glance at Lippi next door. The other man was sitting in a chair. But looking at him, it was as if he had been meaning to get up. Apparently Lippi could not sit still.
This is my gift to you for our first meeting. I hope you like it, wily old fox.
※※※
For the rest of the game, England had no intention of relenting, but it became more and more aggressive. Not only did Joe Mattock plug in frequently, even the defensively strong right back, Richards also tried to come up and coordinate with Walcott.
Wood was in charge of dispatching and diverting the ball in the middle while Gerrard was more of a shadow striker, threatening the goal guarded by Amelia with his long shots.
Rooney also used his strong body several times to look for opportunities in front of the goal and grab points of landing to shoot.
Only Agbonlahor’s performance was mediocre. On the one hand, he was marked by Chiellini. On the other hand, his special feature was speedy attacks, rather than a target-man type of center forward. The Italian team withdrew its defense and compressed the space in front of the goal, leaving him little room to play …
Seeing his performance, the commentators expressed their views one by one on why Twain did not let Vaughan start, and brought on Agbonlahor whose performance was mediocre and consistently sluggish. Was is it because he was a Nottingham Forest player?
“If the England team ends up losing the final, I think this starting lineup position has to bear a lot of responsibility. Tony Twain has pushed himself and Agbonlahor into the fire pit.”
“Agbonlahor’s performance has made the England team play on the pitch as if there were only ten men fighting!”
“One of his best performances so far was just to coordinate a wall pass with Downing and kicked a pass. Tsk tsk, it’s really an ‘excellent’ performance…”
Commentators from all over the world displayed their linguistic talents as they mocked Agbonlahor’s performance.
In fact, Agbonlahor was really under great pressure. Although he was keen to play in the final, he did not expect to receive a chance in this way – James Vaughn was more qualified than he was but could only sit on the substitutes’ bench. Was he really here on the basis that he was a “Nottingham Forest player?” It made him feel like a thief, stealing the starting lineup qualification from Vaughn.
There was always this idea in his head. How could he play well?
Maybe Twain had made a mistake in letting him start.
※※※
While Agbonlahor was playing like a sleepwalker over there, James Vaughn sat here on the substitutes’ bench, staring at Twain’s back with flames shooting out of his eyes. He had already planned in his mind that if they failed in the final, he would bombard this obstinate and self-opinionated man in front of the media.
He simply felt so aggrieved. Previously, he did not get any decent opportunities in the tournament. During his unexpected debut in the semifinal, he tried hard to save a desperate crisis by scoring two goals on his own. He had wanted to continue to be in the starting lineup with such a fine performance and make his mark in the history of English football. Unexpectedly, the manager’s completely unreliable adjustment continued to put him out on the cold. However warm his buttocks were, it would not warm the bench.
However, much he searched his brains, he could not figure out why Twain had made such a decision. Now as he watched Agbonlahor’s poor performance on the pitch, he did not know whether he should be worried about the England team or show a little thrill for the success of revenge.
Twain did not have the energy to think about what Vaughn thought of being cold shouldered by him. He was taking advantage of a dead-ball opportunity on the field, shouting Agbonlahor’s name.
“You better f**king act like a professional player! Do you want me to bring you off?! This is the final! The final of the UEFA European Championship! Do you know how many people want to be in your position, a**hole!”
Agbonlahor’s performance somewhat startled Twain, infuriating him. His sleepwalking performance was entirely ruining his own arrangements. If he did not play properly, England’s offense would be hampered in the first half. Then he would probably be forced to use defense to fight against Italy in the second half and drag the game to a penalty shootout.
Twain’s words roused Agbonlahor. He suddenly understood his situation – Indeed, how could he think about whether he should be standing here in a game like this? The important thing was that he was already standing here, so he should consider his mission here.
All right.
He took a deep breath and tried to calm his emotions again.
Even if I have stolen the right to be in the starting lineup, so what? Am I not part of the England team? Am I not eligible to make my appearance in the starting lineup? Don’t tell me that I can’t score a goal?
If you all think I’m just playing an insignificant role and that only James Vaughan can save the team, that’s good. I’d love to show you where you’re wrong.
...
Chapter 969 - Qualified to Be in The Starting Lineup
No one knew what was going on in Agbonlahor’s mind at this moment. Even he himself did not know how the idea rose from the depths of his mind.
Anyway, he now had a feeling surging within his chest. He would not be satisfied with just going on and running a couple of laps in the UEFA European Championship final. The team’s starting lineup had eleven players, but only a goalscorer could leave his name in the final. As a striker, he innately had more advantage than the other teammates in other positions. So, what was the purpose of fecklessly running for dozens of minutes?
Of course, he wanted to score goals!
He must score a goal!
Agbonlahor threw himself into the game again. It was clearly seen that he was more actively running and moving than he had been before, and that he no longer seemed to be stationed at the forefront. Instead, he had pulled out of the opponent’s penalty area and took the initiative to raise his hand for the ball.
With regards to his change, Twain was very satisfied, so he also did not continue to supervise the game on the sidelines but went back to the technical area to drink water.
Everyone in the coaching unit was aware of why he wanted Agbonlahor to be in the starting lineup and give up on Vaughn. But they could not tell the players the reason why, because it was related to whether the team could win the game.
Three minutes later, England’s sustained offensive finally created a chance for Agbonlahor. After receiving Wood’s pass on the edge of the penalty area, he broke through to the penalty area to face the goalkeeper, Amelia. He attempted to get around the other person using his outer instep of his foot. Unfortunately, the arc was slightly too wide, and it went straight out of the far end of the goalpost.
The Englishmen felt a great pity for the shot while the Italians broke out in a cold sweat.
But the commentators who opposed Agbonlahor in the starting lineup were still picking on his faults as they said, “What a shame! If it had been Vaughn, maybe he would have gotten it in…”
The statement was completely irresponsible because James Vaughn’s shooting was not so accurate down to the millimeters. Shooting required some luck. With some good luck, even a terrible shot could score a goal, and it might even be a world-class goal. If there was bad luck, even a striker with the level of Romário would also miss his shot with an empty goal. Moreover, in terms of having the experience of a major competition, Agbonlahor was clearly stronger than Vaughan, as Nottingham Forest was still able to play in important tournaments like the Champions League in previous years and Agbonlahor had also won. Twain put Agbonlahor in the starting lineup was not simply an act of cronyism. It was only because Agbonlahor did have the ability to be in the starting lineup in such an important game.
The main reason for the media’s criticism was that Agbonlahor had only scored one goal in this UEFA European Championship which was really not compatible with his position as a striker. However, he did a fairly decent job in the right back position.
Agbonlahor’s shot failed to score a goal but Twain stood on the sidelines to applaud his performance just now. There was no problem with the use of his technique. It was just a bit of bad luck…
Agbonlahor himself could not hear the commentators’ remarks about himself. He was able to locate an area which he could make use of through this shot.
In the attack that followed, Agbonlahor was more likely to appear in the flanks of the Italian team’s rear defensive line – the area between the center back and the full back was a position that made things difficult for the other team. It was sort of an unregulated area, which was tricky for everyone.
Wood also discovered this, and he had his own plans.
Generally speaking, Rooney should be the England team’s main offensive point because he was physically strong, had excellent techniques and experienced. But these were just text and line diagrams on the tactical board. When it came to the actual game, it was not possible for Rooney to get that many chances. Mitchell was suspended and Vaughan, who excelled in the semifinals, was put on the bench by Twain. In the eyes of the Italians, the most threatening man in the England team’s forward line was Rooney, and there was no reason why they should let him be.
As a result, in the actual games, Rooney suffered from the toughest defense.
Just looking at Criscito, one would know how risky it was to pass the ball to him…
Wood was a man, not a machine. With the instructions received before the game, he had the right to modify according to the situation on the pitch. Now that Rooney’s path was not working, he had to change the way. He took aim at Agbonlahor, who had moved like a sleepwalker earlier.
He did not know why Twain did not let Vaughn play, but he did not think that Agbonlahor was incapable or unqualified to be in the starting lineup. Furthermore, in his view, Agbonlahor’s previous sleepwalking performance was a big advantage. If it was well taken advantage of, it could produce an unexpected effect for the Italians.
Because his previous poor performance had already caused the Italian defenders to relax on the marking of him. Now the Italians must think in in their hearts that Agbonlahor must not pose a threat to them, right?
That would be fantastic…
Wood ran to the front field to participate in the attack and Gerrard passed the ball back to him. Wood gave the football directly to Agbonlahor in the flanks. Sure enough, when he got the ball, the Italian defenders did not pounce over to him at the first instance.
Agbonlahor took advantage of the little time to quickly complete the turn of his body to face the goal.
When Chiellini pounced over, he was not engrossed in dribbling the ball inside, but suddenly diverted the football to the middle!
The Italians really did not expect the move. Gerrard in the middle received the pass and did not hesitate to swing his leg for a long shot!
Fortunately, Amelia was very focused, and Gerrard’s long shot was firmly pressed under his body.
But this attack made the Italians aware of one thing – Agbonlahor was still the guy who passed the ball to someone else and he was definitely not England’s main attacking direction.
This reinforced the Italian defenders’ thinking to focus on Rooney and Gerrard.
※※※
“Actually, in the first half our tactics were not suitable for Agbonlahor to play…” Walker said to Twain, standing on the sidelines. “He’s better suited to counterattacks, and I think he should be more useful to bring on after we’re ahead…”
“Most people think so too, including Italians.” Twain turned his head to say to Walker as he shook his head. “Agbonlahor is too fast and dazzling. Everyone had formed a fixed idea of him. Including the current Nottingham Forest manager… But I don’t think so. In all the years he has played for me, he’d have been out of the team if he only uses his speed to play. He has another side, which is just not very noticeable. I’m just trying to make use his unobtrusive side to help me open the situation.”
At this point, Twain laughed and said, “Now the Italian players think so too.”
He pointed to the field for Walker to see.
Agbonlahor’s position was pulled back a little, but not one of the Italian defenders pulled out to follow and defend against him. The Italian midfielders players were all paying attention to Gerrard and Wood, who frequently plugged in from behind, as well as two other wingers.
Agbonlahor was raising his hand for the ball. He had not forgotten to look around to see the situation around him. Unsurprisingly, no one noticed him. He was taken lightly.
Agbonlahor was angry about such treatment, but Twain was laughing instead. And he laughed happily.
“Lippi…” He glanced next door and said, “is a very cautious manager, but he did not think I’d let Agbonlahor, who has performance averagely in this tournament, to be in the starting lineup, so he certainly did not make any targeted arrangements for Agbonlahor. It’s all up to the players to judge. You know, Des. Everyone makes mistakes. They have their own ideas, and that’s something the manager can’t control…”
Under Lippi’s repeated emphasis, the Italian players, gave the England team a high degree of attention. But Agbonlahor, who was outside of the plan, was not given the respect he deserved. Of course, his previous poor performance “helped” him. No one would waste time on a player who was not in good form. Compared to Agbonlahor, even George Wood’s shots were more threatening.
※※※
Wood did not plan to tell his teammates what he thought, and then for everyone to pass the ball to Agbonlahor. This was a gamble to bet that the Italians would not react so quickly. If the England team had fed Agbonlahor the ball, it would only expose the real intent. So, he decided to do it alone.
It was certainly a bit of a risk. But as the team’s metronome and core, choosing when to take the risk and when to be conservative was basically within his remit.
Agbonlahor raised his hand again for the ball, and Wood passed the ball over. Then he charged forward and made a move to look like he was going to do “one-two combination” with Agbonlahor. The Italian defenders did fall for the ploy. Whether it was Chiellini or Aquilani, they all turned their attention to him and ignored Agbonlahor, who had already gotten the ball.
Receiving the ball and turning at the same time, Agbonlahor did not intend to pass the ball. He looked up to see a straight path through to the penalty area …
In the flank of the defensive line between Chiellini and De Vita, there was a crack, from which Agbonlahor could see the penalty area.
After Agbonlahor falsely appeared to look like he was going to pass the ball, he suddenly pushed the ball forward and then set in movement!
Chiellini was watching Wood, while De Vita was marking the “Tiger” Walcott. No one expected Agbonlahor to choose to dribble the ball on his own to see a breakthrough!
He was really fast. In a flash he already had rushed in, and that was when Chiellini began to turn around…
“Stop him!” De Rossi cried panicked a little.
Criscito charged in from the side. Once again, he made a crucial decision to drop Rooney and pounce toward Agbonlahor. It was all out of the instinct of a good defender.
Agbonlahor, who broke into the penalty area, also did not hold back and immediately lifted his leg to shoot at the goal. Just at the same moment, Criscito did a slide tackle and shoveled him out along with the ball!
“A penalty shot!” John Motson screamed.
“A beautiful defense!” It was the voice of the Italian commentator.
Agbonlahor, who fell to the ground, thought he could hear the whistle for the penalty shot, but there was nothing. The ball that was shoveled by Criscito was kicked out by Chiellini, who had rushed back. The referee gave no indication of Criscito’s action, and Agbonlahor jumped angrily from the ground. He rushed toward the indifferent-looking assistant referee to complain, “It’s a foul! It’s a foul!”
Like him, there were other England players who were equally unhappy. Wood ran to the referee and pointed to the penalty area to remind him that Criscito’s defense was absolutely a foul. Rooney was also upset for Agbonlahor even though he made a gesture to get Agbonlahor to pass the ball to him when Criscito headed for Agbonlahor.
The referee simply waved his hands at Wood’s protest, signaling that he was clear about it and he did not have to say more.
Twain was also angry off the field, but the man who endured his rants and spats was the fourth official.
“Please believe the referee’s decision. Not every fall to the ground is a foul…” In the face of the manager, who was described by the media as a demon, the fourth official showed a lack of confidence when he said these words.
“This is why I support the use of electronic eyes instead of referees! Humans make mistakes!” Twain threw out the remark and walked back in anger. He knew that he would not get the penalty shot no matter how much noise he made. The referee’s decision was not allowed to be changed. Looking for the fourth official was just to vent his feeling of dissatisfaction. It was not good for the health of his heart to bottle those feelings …
※※※
England still did not get the penalty spot and the Italians had a narrow escape. They began to pay attention to Agbonlahor and closely mark him. They no longer gave him the space to move freely. Any fool could see that the sleepwalker was gradually waking up. Not to mention Lippi’s displeasure with the Italian team’s defensive performance on the pitch just now. He reminded them to stand guard against Agbonlahor.
They still thought Agbonlahor was not a threat as long as they did not give him the space to sprint with the ball.
Twain started calling Walcott’s name off the pitch and Walcott, who had returned from the recovery of his injury in the first half, was not active enough in his performance.
“Take more balls, what are you afraid of? Do more crosses… from the byline!”
“George! Go over and coordinate more with him… Yes, yes, that’s it!”
Walcott and Wood ran forward after a one-two combination on the sideline. Then Wood gave him a pass over the head to bypass De Vita’s defense.
Once he received Wood’s pass, Walcott crossed the ball from the byline. Rooney grabbed the point of all in the middle, but he was clearly unable to contend against Italy’s entire rear defensive line. The football was headed out by Chiellini.
Despite the lack of success in the attack, Twain still applauded the players’ performance off the field.
The England fans were also clapping. Because the strong attacking stance that the England team displayed had completely suppressed the Italian team.
The Italian commentator did not think so and remarked, “I think the situation is currently in our favor. The more the English players attack, the better our chances of winning. When Lippi decided to use defensive counterattack before, I was still worried that the England team wouldn’t come attacking and in that way, we couldn’t win the game. Now, it’s all good. There is one side willing to play along first and I think the game will be over within 90 minutes …”
※※※
After Walcott and Downing increased the passes from the sides, Agbonlahor seemed to be forgotten again. He did not have excellent header skills and did not have the upper hand in jumping to compete for headers. But Rooney frequently appeared in front of the goal and compete against the Italian defenders.
But Agbonlahor himself did not give up. He was still looking for a chance to score a goal, like a hunter waiting patiently for the rabbit to appear in front of him.
When Walcott dribbled the ball to break through again, the Italian defenders split into two group. One group was to prevent him from breaking through and the other to keep a close eye on Rooney and Gerrard.
This time Walcott did not simply overtake by relying on speed and then cross from the byline. He made a feint to cross, tricking De Vita to shift his center of gravity. Instead, he suddenly slammed the ball between De Vita’s legs and then made use of his nimble figure to get past De Vita.
“A beautiful way to knock the ball past the opponent.”
Walcott, who broke through De Vita, made Italy’s defensive line extremely nervous because cracks had already appeared in their defensive line. Walcott could either continue to break through on his own, or he could cross the ball now. He could even directly strike the goal.
Chiellini rushed toward Walcott. While Rooney was very important, it was always important to remember during defense that the player who had the ball was the most dangerous.
Walcott passed the ball while he was rushing up. He did not pass to Rooney nor to Gerrard, but to Agbonlahor who was hanging near the penalty spot.
Agbonlahor was not unmarked. Aquilani was next to him. Seeing him receive the ball, he came forward to interfere.
Agbonlahor lifted his leg to act as if he was going to shoot at the goal, so Aquilani simply threw his center of gravity.
It was almost instinctive. Agbonlahor basically did not have the frame of mind to think about why he would receive the ball as well as what he should do next. Seeing that he had thrown Aquilani off balance, he simply knocked the ball to the left and ducked to the other side. It just looked like there was more than one trouble…
Having just evaded Aquilani, De Rossi appeared in front of Agbonlahor again, blocking the angle of his shot.
Agbonlahor once again picked up his feet to act as if he was going to shoot. This time De Rossi was not fooled. He stood in place and did not move …
“He should have passed the ball! Rooney’s asking for the ball!”
His hesitation will lead to the failure of this attack. He already has no angle and space to shoot…”
“Our defense is very successful. Agbonlahor now has to either send the ball out or wait for the ball to be intercepted!”
De Rossi thought Agbonlahor must have made a feint this time, but he did not expect when Agbonlahor’s right foot came down, he really hit the football …
It was a very covert shot. Agbonlahor used the tip of his toes to poke the football under the circumstances of being unable to use force to kick in place. In order to exert as much force as possible, his body had to lean back to help with the push.
The football, which was poked by the toe tips, flew straight between De Rossi’s legs towards the goal.
De Rossi’s position blocked the angle of Agbonlahor’s shot, but he was unable to narrow the gap between his legs. Instead it blocked the goalkeeper, Amelia’s line of sight. When Amelia saw the football flying towards the goal post, he was already too late to make any save. He could only turn his head to look as the football flew toward the goal while he prayed in his heart that it would not enter the goal at the same time. It was best that it would just brush against the goalpost to fly out…
Unfortunately, the Italian’s prayer were not heard by God. The football brushed against the goalpost to fly into the goal!
“What?” The Italians had not reacted yet. Looking at it from the stands, it appeared as if the football brushed against the goalpost to fly out of the goal and swept the side of the net, giving people the illusion that the ball went in. But when they saw the referee’s gesture, they were stunned – the referee’s finger pointed to the center circle, which effectively meant that it was a goal!
“It’s truly unbelievable! England has taken the lead!”
“Agbonlahor! That’s right! He scored the first goal in the final! He has helped England to take the lead!”
“When blocked by two Italian players, Agbonlahor calmly shot straight! Beautiful!”
At this moment, the commentators totally changed their tone and switched to praising Agbonlahor’s performance. No one mentioned the matter of whether he was qualified to replace Vaughn to be in the starting lineup anymore …
※※※
Off the field, after Twain saw Agbonlahor kick the ball into the goal, he jumped up excitedly and hugged Walker next to him.
Agbonlahor’s goal took away a heavy load off himself and Twain. Even if Agbonlahor was brought off later in the game… Or, more extremely, even if England eventually lost the final, no one would question Twain’s adjustment anymore.
※※※
Agbonlahor was so excited after he scored the goal. He could not stand properly when he got up from the ground. He almost fell to the ground again. After running staggeringly to the technical area, he gave Twain an enthusiastic embrace. He had to thank the boss. If he had not insisted on sending him on the pitch, and if he had not roared to wake him up off the field, then the UEFA European Championship final would perhaps have been a permanent regret for him in his professional career.
Now it had all worked out. He scored the goal, and there was no regret. He was a striker who had scored in the UEFA European Championship final. He could already face others’ scrutiny with his head held high and chest puffed out.
He had used his actions to prove that he was qualified and had the ability to represent England in the UEFA European Championship final. Whatever Vaughn had thought, Agbonlahor was a well-deserved starting striker at this time!
“Well done, kid!” Twain patted Agbonlahor on the back and shouted in his ear.
...
Chapter 970 - That Old Fox
“Agbonlahor! YES! YES! YES! Agbonlahor!”
The England fans in the stands leaped from their seats, raising their arms high to cheer on their goalscoring hero. It as if there was an earthquake at the Bernabéu stadium. Even the camera lenses were trembling.
Amid the earthshattering cheers, Agbonlahor broke free of his teammates’ tugs and hugs to run all the way to the technical area, where he gave Twain a strong hug. Everyone was aware that for him to be able to appear in the finals, it had a lot to do with Twain. And his goal was the best way to repay the trust of the boss.
“Ah ha! Twain’s unexpected adjustment has left the Italians completely unable to respond! In the 24th minute, we are in the lead with one goal! Well done, Agbonlahor! Well done, Twain!” John Motson did not question Twain’s substitution in his previous commentary, so at this point he was fully confident when he made these remarks at this time.
After he finished hugging Twain, Agbonlahor found Mitchell in the crowd and rushed up to embrace him.
“This goal is for you, Aaron!” An excited Agbonlahor roared in Mitchell’s ear.
Mitchell was a little surprised, but he was soon caught up in the mood of the players around him. He leaned down to tightly hug his teammate who was 21 cm shorter than himself. They were teammates twice over, both in the national team and the club team. He felt that perhaps due to this relationship, Agbonlahor would take the initiative to hug him after the goal.
“Well done, The Flash! Score another goal!” Mitchell affectionately called him by the nickname he gave to Agbonlahor.
Twain was very satisfied to see the scene at the side. The atmosphere in the locker room was very harmonious. This team was united. With such a team, he was not afraid of any opponent.
※※※
The English people cheered for their lead, while the Italians were collectively silent.
Lippi did not get angry on the sidelines for the goal concede. In fact, whatever the situation was, it was hard to see him show his emotions on the sidelines. Now he was just sitting in the technical area. His eyes hidden behind the gold-rimmed glasses, were staring at the field. He was thinking about the mistakes they had made before.
He did not think Twain would let Agbonlahor be in the starting lineup. It was really unexpected. As a result, he did not make any targeted arrangements for Agbonlahor in the pre-match preparations. This led directly to his players not knowing what to do with Agbonlahor on the pitch. If England’s number 18 had played a little more actively, it would have been a good thing for the Italian players would know from experience that he was an important figure and naturally shifted their defensive focus to him. However, as it happened, Agbonlahor’s previous performance was like a sleepwalk, so that everyone, including himself, had lowered his status by several levels in their minds. They thought there was no threat to this kind of performance…
Now it seemed that Twain was indeed a master of psychological control and very good at analyzing the psychology of other people. He had figured out what he thought…
Lippi admitted that he made an empiricist error and took it for granted when it came to studying Twain’s starting lineup – James Vaughan was outstanding in the semifinals and there was no news of any injury during training these few days, so he thought he would definitely be in the starting lineup for the final game. He did not expect Twain to stubbornly stood up to the enormous pressure and put Vaughn on the bench.
This opponent was interesting.
He got up from his seat and walked to the sidelines, making hand signals to the players on the field.
He wanted Chiellini to step up his defense against Agbonlahor and not give him that kind of chance easily. He believed that with the ability of the Italian defenders, as long as they attached importance to Agbonlahor, the other party should have little room to play.
※※※
Lippi’s adjustment was well within Twain’s anticipation because if he was still unmoved after seeing Agbonlahor play actively and score the goal, then Lippi must have been brain-swapped by the aliens and was not normal.
He was not worried that Agbonlahor would be closely marked. Now that they were ahead of Italy, it did not matter even if Agbonlahor was subsequently rendered ineffective from the marking. The important thing was to hold on to the one-goal advantage and then use that advantage to lure the Italians out to make their tight defense non-existent.
He just asked the team to pay attention to the defense for a while to come.
※※※
Lippi did not intend to rush to equalize the score in the first half. Although the players were certain to be eager to fight back after the goal concede, it was only a matter of time before they returned.
The reason he was in no hurry to equalize the score was that a one-goal lead would be a huge psychological burden for the England team. Like running a marathon, it was an unwise move to be a leader from the start. No coach would let his own athletes develop such tactics. The person with real strength to win the title must be hiding in the second group, maintaining the pressure on the leader at any time and overtaking at the last moment.
Lippi’s current thinking was the same as those of the long-distance running coaches. He had thrown the intense mental pressure of being in the lead upon his opponent. Because it was not a regular game. It was the finals, the final game of the UEFA European Championship. As time went on, a one-goal lead would become a huge psychological burden for the England players. Everyone would think in their minds – we must absolutely never concede the goal. Otherwise our championship will be gone…
This thinking would become heavier and heavier as time went on until England completely collapsed.
Lippi decided to make adjustments during the halftime interval and step up in the second half. By then, as long as the score was equalized, the huge psychological advantage would tip to the Italian side, and a fundamental reversal would happen to the situation on the pitch. At that time, there would be little time left in the game. Their morale would be boosted, while the England team would suffer a major blow. Ultimately, the victory must belong to the Italian team.
※※※
The Italian team organized a few attacks after the game resumed, wanting to equalize the score. But in the face of England’s tight defense readied in advance, they did not manage to gain any traction, so they simply retreated.
Twain was happy at first – the Italians finally pressed out. However, after a brief moment of delight, it did not take long for him to find a problem.
The Italians did not panic about conceding a goal in the final and stormed up to surround and bombard England’s penalty area – even though that was what Twain wanted to see. After a few attacks without any results, they immediately retracted and returned to their previous defensive counterattack stance as if they were the leading team.
It obviously had to do with the white-haired old man who directed the game on the sidelines.
Twain bowed his head in deep contemplation for a while and he guessed Lippi’s idea.
Just like what he had often said to his players, “A one-goal lead is the least secured score in the world,” it was not of his original creation, but just a generalization of what he had surmised. All the football managers in the world were aware of this kind of reasoning. Even if they were proponents of 1:0, they often had to mentally suffer the pressure from being bombarded by the other side surrounding the goal in the game and fearing that they might be equalized at any time.
Lippi must have thought so, intending to pass the psychological pressure on to the leading England team.
From this point of view, it was not a good thing to be in the lead too early…
In a long marathon race, the Englishmen took the lead in storming out the majority of their forces. While the seasoned Italians, on the other hand, were mostly hidden among their forces, keeping an appropriate distance away from the leading England team. In the beginning, it was a battle of skill and strength. But towards the end, things like skills and strength were no longer important. Mentality would eventually determine the champion.
Since that was the case, then he would let the team continue to strengthen the offensive and make the one-goal lead into a two-goal lead!
Twain walked to the sidelines and looked at the field. It was at this moment he remembered: England’s forward line had been largely frozen after Lippi asked Chiellini to step up his defense against Agbonlahor. Even if he wanted to step up the offensive, how should he do it?
Twain scolded in his heart, “That old fox!”
Agbonlahor was not, after all, a true center forward. Once he was closely marked by the opposing defender in the penalty area, the function of his role was actually quite small. At this point Twain would especially miss Mitchell. At least his headers would help the team tear up the Italian defense.
※※※
With the two managers were fighting a battle of wits on the sly, the remaining time in the first half of the game was no different from before the goal was scored. The England team attacked ferociously and wanted to score another goal before the end of the first half, while the Italians solidified their defensive build-up and were determined not to let the Englishmen get what they wanted.
Right up till the last minute, Twain did not see his team breach the goal for the second time.
The England team entered the locker room with a one-goal lead. The Italians, who was behind by a goal, was not so frustrated. Lippi’s face was calm as he walked back down the tunnel, making it difficult to guess whether he was satisfied or dissatisfied with the situation.
The commentators from various countries had expressed optimism about the England team one by one.
“The England team is one goal ahead! In such a final, the side which first scores a goal must have the advantage. And more advantageously, they have maintained this lead until the halftime interval!”
“England’s tactics were so successful that the Italians did not expect Agbonlahor to become the England team’s goalscorer. They had neglected to mark him. Despite their subsequent tight watch on England’s number 18, the reality remains that they are a goal behind…”
“The first half was fantastic! It did not turn out to be as dreary as I had expected before. England’s aggressive attitude has earned my respect. Their efforts also deservedly paid off – one goal to take the lead! The champion belongs to the aggressive side, belongs to the offensive football!”
Even the England fans were pleased with the result.
In the stands, Skinny Bill was extremely thrilled about the first half and shouted, “That’s fantastic! We’re actually ahead!”
“Hey, Bill, what do you mean by that? Don’t tell me we shouldn’t have been ahead?” Someone next to him feigned anger.
“Nonsense, of course, we should be in the lead! I just did not expect it to go so well! As long as we maintain this result, we can win the championship title! Tony is the best at defense. Under such circumstances, he can definitely win the game! It’s only an hour before we win the UEFA European Championship for the first time in our history… Just thinking about it makes me excited!” Bill was not lying. He was slightly shaking.
“Tony really had the good idea of letting Agbonlahor start. Not even I, a Forest fan, could anticipate it. I think Lippi and the others must not have thought so. Otherwise, why was there no one to specifically defend against Agbonlahor?”
“That’s right! Before the game everyone was talking about Vaughn, Vaughn… I’m sick of hearing it. The best result will be that England wins the UEFA European Championship and our Nottingham Forest players scores the only goal, ha ha!”
※※※
The fans and commentators were extremely optimistic, but Twain was not bullish at all. As he walked into the locker room, every England player could see the creases in between his eyebrows. It was clear that their boss was not happy with the one-goal lead, but rather worried about something.
The players always thought less than the manager because they were the players and they were only responsible for implementing the manager’s tactical intent on the pitch. To put it in a not-so-nice way, they were tools while the manager was the captain steering the team. He must think more than any other clever player and look further afield. Or his ship would hit a submerged reef unknowingly, stranded if it was not so serious or worse, sank.
At the moment, none of the players could think of the crisis they would face next. Maybe it would not happen, but Twain had thought of it. He would have to consider it regardless of whether it happened or not. His task was to try to prevent bad things from happening.
“We’re one goal ahead and that’s very good, guys. It is reasonable to say that I should praise you at this time and congratulate you. But I’m sorry that I can’t do it at the moment.” Twain shook his head and said, “I’ve thought about the crisis we may face in the second half and I want you to know that a one-goal lead is definitely not a good thing.”
The players thought their manager would say, “A one-goal lead is the least secured score in the world” but it was not the case.
Twain just said, “The Italian team is used to gaining mastery by striking only after the enemy has struck. Think of the 2006 World Cup final in Germany, how did Italy equalize the score under the circumstances of trailing behind by one goal and dragging the game into a penalty shootout to eventually defeating France to pick up the gold trophy? We can learn from the previous mistakes of the French team and we cannot be satisfied with the score. In the second half if it’s possible, I would like you to try to seize opportunities to score…”
※※※
“You’ve done a good job, gentlemen.” Lippi was in the locker room, speaking to his players. He was not in a hurry. The tone and manners of his speech were still elegant. “I’m not mocking you. I’m actually glad that you only concede one goal to England in the first half. Now it’s time to think about our counterattack.”
“In the first half we gave England the chance to take the ball at will in our midfield and that will no longer be the case in the second half. We need to regain control of the midfield.” He glanced at De Rossi and Aquilani. These two men would be the key.
“Their two sides pressed forward quite tightly. We will take advantage of that in the second half. Paloschi, you have to run more toward the sidelines in the second half to get more chances in this way. Foti, you continue to stay in the middle. We need you to make the transition in the middle to provide support and push their rear defensive line toward inside to create space for our midfield.”
The two forwards nodded. They were barely seen in the first half, and some people even suspected they had not played. For them, the 45 minutes of the first half were a real torment. They desperately needed to do something in the second half. It was the final of the UEFA European Championship and no one wanted to do nothing in such a game. Just looking at Agbonlahor, the kid was like a sleepwalking man before, but once he scored the goal, he became a hero.
※※※
“In the second half, we will stop the strong offensive and change to a steady counterattack.”
No one was surprised when Twain said it. Because it was what they knew the day before the game. According to their plan, it was to try to score a goal to take the lead in the first half, and then gradually shrink the defense in the second half to start to play defensive counterattack. It was either to retain this one-goal advantage or taking the opportunity to launch a sneak attack to widen the score when the other side pressed on with the attack while eager to equalize the score.
It was the England team counting its chickens before they were hatched. It was difficult to say if it would be successful.
“We have to be quick during the counterattack…” Twain looked at Agbonlahor when he said this. He would continue to play in the second half rather than be replaced immediately. Because he had amazing speed, which was a very important weapon in the counterattack.
“Gabriel.” Twain called his name and said, “In the second half you don’t have to be at the fore front anymore. You have to actively retreat and pick up the ball in the midfield. We also have to pass the ball in front of us during our passes, giving Agbonlahor and Rooney space to run. But if the counterattack is blocked, you must immediately stop and put the ball under your feet. Do not easily waste the opportunity to attack.”
Hearing Twain say so, Agbonlahor knew he would not be replaced too early while the other person would not feel good.
James Vaughan knew Agbonlahor would continue to be trusted. He looked down at his jersey. There was also a T-shirt inside that said, “We’re with you, Aaron.” It was what he specially prepared for Mitchell.
But now it looked like it might not come in handy. He was wondering if he should take it off in a while. After all, it was a little hot wearing two T-shirts.
Since he could not make an appearance, then why would he still wear the T-shirt with the written words?
...
Chapter 971 - The Silver Fox’s Decision
“Our team needs to attack in the second half. However, I need to remind all of you to watch out for England’s counter-attacks.”
Lippi could already guess what sort of tactics Twain would employ in the second half. He had studied Twain’s tactics prior to the match, and he would not be surprised if Twain chose to sit back and wait for Italy to attack them before going on the counter-attack. If his team had taken a one goal lead just like England, he would have instructed his team to play counter-attacking football as well.
Italy not only needs to focus on its offense in the second half, but they also need to be wary of England’s quick counter-attacks as well.
“I want all of you to snatch the ball back if you lose the ball, and I want everyone to retreat backwards and defend if England gets the ball. You can foul them when necessary, but make sure you only foul them when they are in their own half of the pitch. All in all, do all you can to stop them from launching their quick counter-attacks.”
Throughout the entire halftime break, Lippi only conveyed his tactics to the players. He did not give them a pep talk or say things such as ‘hang on for another 45 minutes, the trophy would definitely be in our hands’. The man who is about to turn 70 knows very well that those words would not benefit the players in any way. To the Italy team, tactics were more important than the players’ psychological states.
※※※
Tony Twain was still speaking to the players, but James Vaughan did not hear a single word that he said. He was certain that he would not get the chance to play in the second half later on. He did not think about why he was not given the chance to play in the match. All he thought about was how he was going to become a spectator just like Mitchell. At least Mitchell knows why he is unable to play in the match. He was barred from playing because he picked up too many yellow cards, and that is something that cannot be helped. But, what about him? He has been forced to sit on the bench without any explanation from his manager…
He found it really suffocating to not know the reason behind why he has been dropped from the match.
Des Walker nudged Twain lightly, and gestured him to look at Vaughan.
Twain glanced over and noticed a depressed Vaughan sitting by the side.
This is not what he wanted to happen…
Twain lowered his head and looked at the watch. It was about time for the second half to commence. He waved his hands at the players and said, “Get out there, lads. There are only 45 minutes left in the match. I don’t want any of you to leave the pitch with regrets.”
Vaughan smiled wryly to himself after hearing those last few words from Twain. The players who are playing in the match later might not end up with regrets, but what about me?
“Vaughan, I want you to stay back for a while.” Twain suddenly called his name.
Vaughan froze in his tracks. His teammates averted their gazes towards the two of them, but they did not start whispering amongst themselves over what had just happened. All they did was to send a glance in their direction before they turned around and left without saying a word.
They all felt that the boss owes Vaughan an explanation. It was really too cruel of him to leave Vaughan on the bench when he has been performing well on the pitch thus far.
The pair stayed behind in the locker room and waited for the players around them to leave. Vaughan looked at Twain, but Twain had his eyes on the outside of the locker room.
Twain only directed his gaze onto Vaughan when everyone else had left the room.
Twain tried his best to make out traces of anger in Vaughan’s eyes. But, to his disappointment, it seemed like disenchantment was the prevailing emotion that could be discerned from his eyes.
Vaughan thought that his boss would explain to him why he failed to start in the match. He did not expect the first few words from Twain to be:
“Don’t take off the shirt underneath your jersey just yet.”
Twain then gestured for Vaughan to leave the room after finishing his words.
Vaughan left the locker room feeling utterly confused. His head was still in the clouds when he walked out of the tunnel, but the deafening cheers from the crowd snapped him out of reveries. A moment later, Twain’s words began registering in his mind. Maybe the boss is trying to tell me that I have a chance of playing in the second half?
But, should he be happy or upset to hear those words from Twain? Why did the boss not make me a starting player if he intends to play me in the match? Why did he put me on the bench? Oh well, at least there is a glimmer of hope that I might be able to play in the match later.
Twain walked out of the tunnel a while after Vaughan made his way to the bench. He walked over to his seat in the dugout and found Des Walker looking at him. “How did the talk go?”
“I told him not to take off the shirt underneath his jersey just yet.” Twain shrugged. The people who sympathized with Vaughan would have blown their tops if they saw the kind of attitude that Twain had towards the situation.
Walker smiled wryly. “Aren’t you afraid that he would come to despise you?”
“That’s exactly what I want him to do.” Twain answered grimly.
He did not mind being hated by a player if it meant that he could lift the trophy. Besides, Vaughan would just become one of many people in the world who want him dead.
※※※
The Italy players marked the England players closely and performed more interceptions in the midfield in the second half. The way in which Italy defended against the England players made them feel quite uncomfortable. The England players were no longer given the time to think about whether they should pass the ball away or bring the ball forward themselves. The ball would be snatched away from them the moment they hesitate.
The importance of ‘passing the ball quickly’ becomes all too apparent in situations like these. This was also a point that was emphasized by Twain repeatedly at halftime.
The players need to carefully observe the situation on the pitch and have a good grasp of where their teammates and opponents are before they receive the pass. Doing so would allow them to instantly know what their next step should be. They should not be observing the pitch and thinking about what they should do next after they have received the ball.
Twain has been training the England national team players to observe before they receive the pass for two years. It did not matter which football club the player comes from. He has to play in this manner if he wants to play for England. Any player who fails to play in the way that Twain wants or refuses to change his playing style to suit Twain’s methods would be dropped from the team, no matter how talented or famous he might be as a player. Twain would not change his mind and let the player back into the team even if the press lambastes him for it.
That is how he has managed to build an England national team that listens to his every word.
The players were not at a loss either when Twain told them to make quick passes at halftime.
England’s tactics in the midfield became very simple after Italy started to pressurize them and intercept their ball in the midfield. George Wood and Gerrard were both positioned at the middle of the pitch, and their main role was to pass the ball forward. The two side midfielders played more like wingers when they moved forward to attack. Agbonlahor’s position on the pitch was shifted backwards and it became very flexible. He essentially merged the line where the forwards are with the line where the midfielders are.
The entire England midfield would retreat backwards during defense, and all the midfielders will form a line right before the team’s defense line. Their main role is to try and stop Italy’s attacks before they reach their penalty box.
The players from both sides were constantly locked in a fierce battle for the ball, and fouls became inevitable eventually. The managers for both teams have instructed their players to commit fouls when necessary, and thus, the referee’s whistle kept going off repeatedly during the second half. Both teams’ attacks kept getting interrupted, and neither side was able to launch a complete attack.
Lippi soon came to realize that it was a quite difficult to find a hole in England’s defense. Twain appears to have mastered the art of defense just like Italy, though it is unclear who taught it to him.
Even Rooney, who is typically positioned at the front of the pitch, has to retreat to the center circle during England’s defense. There are several different parts to England’s defense, and each and every part is closely linked with one another.
Alberto Paloschi tried attacking down the flanks, but his attacks failed to draw the defenders away from the middle of the pitch. The England defenders stood their ground and did not allow the Italy team any space to attack. Salvatore Foti was closely marked by John Terry the entire time, and he rarely got a decent chance to make his way past the England defender.
Lippi realized that the only way to break through England’s airtight defense was to pin all his hopes on set pieces rather than on a particular player’s moment of brilliance.
He looked down at his watch. 17 minutes had gone by in the second half, and the score remained 0:1. His team was still trailing by a goal. He has to make a change fast. This is definitely not the time for him to consider the pride or feelings of certain players.
He glanced at the players who were seated on the bench before pulling his assistant manager, Ferrara, over to him. “Ask Balotelli to do his warm-ups.”
※※※
Balotelli is an attacking player who possesses several unique traits, and he is quite famous as well. His absence from the list of starting players for the match was just as surprising as Twain’s decision to keep Vaughan on the bench. However, unlike Twain, Lippi was not criticized by the press over his decision to not play Balotelli in the match.
The reason is simple. Everything went wrong for Balotelli ever since he made his decision to transfer to Nottingham Forest. He had chosen to transfer to Nottingham Forest because he was unhappy at Inter Milan, but Nottingham Forest has been going on the decline for the past few years, and both his form and fame as a player have been affected as a result. In addition, there is a ‘tradition’ among the Italy national team’s managers – they do not pay much attention to players who play football overseas.
Balotelli used to be a starting player in the Italy national team, but now he is demoted to a mere substitute. Many Inter Milan fans could not help but lament his fate.
There can only be one reason why Lippi would choose to play Balotelli in the match at a time like this. Balotelli is good at taking free-kicks, and Lippi must be planning to make full use of that. Italy has the upper hand in the match at the moment, and they have been able to gain several free kicks in England’s half of the pitch due to the fouls committed by the England players. Given how the players from both sides have been committing a lot of fouls in the match so far, Italy would definitely be awarded even more free kicks from here on out. Thus, putting Balotelli on the pitch would help Italy capitalize on those free kicks. Balotelli’s free kicks would also add creativity to Italy’s offense and create more chances for the team to attack as well.
Additionally, Balotelli is a Nottingham Forest player, and he might be able to provide his teammates with some insights as to how Tony Twain might direct his players to play in the match…
Balotelli stood by the side of the pitch and waited for the referee to announce the substitution. Lippi had already relayed his role in the match to him half a minute ago. His role was very simple. All he needed to do was to make use of his techniques to create chances for the team to make their way past England’s defense. He would be the player to take all the free kicks and corners in the opposition’s half, and he has to make sure that he makes full use of those free kicks and find the way to break through England’s airtight defense.
※※※
Twain began searching his memory for information regarding Balotelli after he saw the Italian player stand next to the fourth official.
Nottingham Forest’s results for the past two seasons have been mediocre at best, but the black player has slowly cemented his place as a starting player on the team. This is hardly surprising, given how he is a player who cost the club 35 million pounds to bring in. Are there any managers out there who would possibly dare to put such an expensive player on the bench? Unfortunately for Forest, Balotelli was never able to make use of his own skills and abilities to boost the team’s results. His form mirrors the ups and downs of his team and has been largely inconsistent.
It has been reported that Balotelli is not happy at Nottingham Forest. There were numerous news stories about how he wanted to transfer to a different club all summer, and it is said that he would prefer a move to Manchester United where he would be reunited with his teacher, Mourinho.
Lippi must have put him on the pitch after seeing how Italy has been given a large number of free kicks in the past few minutes…
Guess it’s time to remind the players to pay attention to where they are committing the fouls on the Italy players…
Twain stood up and walked to the side of the pitch before calling Wood’s name. He wanted the captain to convey his newest set of instructions to his teammates on the pitch.
“Pay attention to where you are committing the fouls!”
The truth was that most people did not have high hopes for Balotelli. Lippi was one of the few exceptions who did, since he was the one who made the decision to put him on the pitch.
Balotelli’s form for this season has simply been too inconsistent. When he is playing well, he would be able to lead his team to victory by performing hat tricks. But, when he is not playing well, he turns invisible on the pitch, and the commentators would be left wondering if Nottingham Forest even played him in the match.
To make things worse, his poor performances occur much more frequently than his good performances.
However, Lippi did not see Balotelli in the same light as the others, and that is why he had given him a detailed analysis of the match before he sent him on the pitch. He told Balotelli about the issues that he needed to pay attention to, and he also advised him on what he should do when he faced those issues. In addition, he also gave him the authority to take every single set piece for the team. It is evident that Lippi has placed high hopes on Balotelli.
Sadly, Balotelli betrayed Lippi’s hopes when he received the ball from his teammates for the very first time after getting on the pitch. He tried to stop the ball at his feet, but he ended up giving it away to George Wood instead.
The England fans at the stands all broke into a laugh after seeing his mistake. John and Bill even started singing a song that praised Balotelli. Their gesture was clearly one that was done with the intention of reminding everyone about the relationship between them and Balotelli.
“Does Balotelli think he’s still wearing a red Nottingham Forest jersey? He actually stopped the ball for George Wood who stood across of him! Even Wood himself looks to be surprised by Balotelli’s mistake! Aha!” Motson criticized Balotelli mercilessly. It was as if he had forgotten the times he had cheered for Balotelli’s wonderful goals in the Premier League.
The Italian commentator, on the other hand, did not react by criticizing Balotelli just like Motson did. Instead, he held a hand to his face. He could not bear to watch such an embarrassing scene.
Some of the Italy fans like to come up with conspiracy theories, and after seeing Balotelli’s performance earlier, they would definitely buy into the theory that Nottingham Forest had deliberately bought Balotelli just to ruin him as a player. They have been laying the groundwork for their victory in this finals match since two years ago! Everything that they did back then was all for today’s match! They have been plotting to render a gifted Italian player useless by buying him over!
And, it looks like they have succeeded!
The conspiracy theory caused several Italy fans to be furious at the England fans. The fact that Tony Twain was the manager of both Nottingham Forest and the England national football team also lends credence to the theory. Tony Twain could have been the mastermind behind all of this! He knew that this day would come, and that is why he got Nottingham Forest to buy Balotelli! We thought it was odd that Balotelli did not go to Manchester United where his teacher, Mourinho, is at, but now we know why!
Tony Twain truly is a man who would do anything to win…
※※※
Laughter would erupt from the stands every time Balotelli received the ball. The laughter comes from the England fans, and they are all intent on making fun of Balotelli after seeing the mistake that he committed earlier.
One cannot help but wonder what Davide Lanzafame is feeling at the moment. He was the player who got substituted for Balotelli after all. But, what people are most curious about must be what Lippi is thinking about right now…
Twain began laughing along with the crowd. He felt a little proud. Balotelli’s mistake had delivered a blow to Italy’s morale, and it had also caused his teammates trust in him to waver.
He did not understand why Lippi would risk playing Balotelli in the match. Balotelli might be skilled at taking free kicks, but his flaws as a player still outnumber his strengths. Balotelli did not play in many games in the Euro Cup so far, and his performances when he did play have also been decent at best. His most noteworthy contribution to the team has been an assist.
Then again, Lippi is a man who is referred to as the ‘Silver Fox’. Did the ‘Silver Fox’ really make a mistake, or does he actually have something up his sleeves?
“I think putting Balotelli on the pitch is an absolute mistake. If Italy goes on to lose this match, Lippi would definitely be criticized heavily by the press for that substitution.”
“I think this is a chance for England to go on the offense and attack Italy even more ferociously than they are now. They should fight to get that second goal. The game would be over the moment they score, and the British would be able to celebrate winning their first ever Euro Cup trophy early.”
“Balotelli’s performances as a Nottingham Forest player have been mediocre. The relationship between him and the club has soured over the summer, and he is looking for a move away from the club. All the various transfer rumors surrounding him must have affected his state of mind and his form as a player. I think Lippi made the wrong decision to play such a player in the match…”
“Lanzafame was not outstanding in the match earlier, but he still made lots of contributions to the team’s defense. I wonder what exactly was going through Lippi’s mind when he made the decision to take off a player like Lanzafame, who had put in a solid performance thus far, for a problematic player like Balotelli?”
The commentators working for different countries did not miss out on the opportunity to criticize Lippi.
“Lippi has truly gotten on with age. I can’t believe he actually made a mistake like this in such an important match… I guess age really spares no man. We have to remember that he’s a 68-year-old man this year…” There were even people who shook their heads and sighed at Lippi’s decision. They made it seem as though Lippi’s decision to play Balotelli was truly a disastrous one.
The man who became the target of discussion sat firmly on his seat at the dugout. Many people expected to see either anger or impatience upon his countenance, but his face remained stoic and emotionless. He did not furrow his brows at Balotelli’s mistake, and neither did he berate his players from the side of the pitch. He did nothing and simply remained still like a statue at his seat.
The aged man sitting at Italy’s dugout resembled Paul Newman. Lippi was really getting more and more handsome the older he aged. He had a refined, gentlemanly air to him that was hard to go unnoticed by others.
Lippi’s lack of reaction was actually able to achieve a positive effect on the players. It boosted their confidence and made them believe that they still had a chance of winning the match.
The manager is not panicking, so why should we?
There were numerous Italy players who thought that way, and Balotelli was one of them.
...
Chapter 972 - Counter Every Move
Everyone wondered about the substitution Lippi made, and unceremoniously questioned the substitution.
But the main person who was being questioned sat calmly in the technical area, as if he was not the one who had brought Balotelli on.
Or he did not see Balotelli’s mistake at all…
In fact, he certainly saw it, and he was clear about it in his mind. It was just that he could not express his displeasure with the player who had just been brought on. He sat on the sidelines with a calm face, but he was sending a message to the players that –
Don’t worry, we still have the time and opportunity. Don’t be thrown into confusion.
The players all calmed down one by one on the pitch when they saw such a calm manager.
Why are we in a panic about when the manager is not panicking?
Even Balotelli, who had just made a mistake, thought so, too.
In fact, Balotelli knew what this UEFA European Championship meant to him. Before the UEFA European Championship, his agent had told him that if he wanted to leave Nottingham Forest smoothly, he had to produce a convincing performance at the UEFA European Championship. That way he could lobby around for him.
Two seasons at Nottingham Forest had gradually left him without a name in European football. At this point, he had to work hard again like a rookie.
With this idea, Balotelli played actively. Despite the mistake he made, he did not take it to heart. He just wanted to focus on scoring goals or assisting his teammates.
Balotelli played as a striker for the Forest team, but he went up and played as a right midfielder in this game. His main task was to help the team attack on this sideline, cross from the byline and allow Foti to compete for headers in the middle. But that was not enough to play his best.
※※※
Italy’s Giovinco broke through and cut inside on the left side. He flashed past the unsuspecting Walcott and intended to break though further when George Wood made him fall down.
The referee whistled to give Italy a free kick on the left side of the penalty area and gave Wood a verbal warning at the same time. Wood was smart enough not to step forward to defend himself. He did not rush at Giovinco, but Giovinco was a thin and weak guy. He just fell down with one hit. He was the same in the first half, so he could not be bothered to explain to the referee.
Seeing the Italian team scored a free kick, Balotelli rushed over from the other side and held the ball in his hands. His teammates were aware of Lippi’s latest arrangement and Balotelli had officially taken over the right to carry out all of the place kicks in the front field.
The England players were no strangers to Balotelli’s free kicks. In the Forest team, he and Bale were usually the ones to carry out penalty kicks. Balotelli had regularly used free kicks to break through the goals of those Premier League teams.
The England fans in the stands booed him when they saw him place the football on the ground and appeared to be the one to carry out the free kick.
Balotelli’s kick went over the crossbar amid the widespread roars.
The England fans shouted out cheers of victory, while Balotelli looked a little annoyed at the turf under his feet. There seemed to be a bit of unevenness here, which caused his kick to be flawed.
Based on the free kick, it looked like Balotelli still could not find his form, which in turn gave the commentator another chance to attack Lippi.
Fortunately, the television commentary could not be heard in the technical area. Otherwise it was really known how many managers would throw the games aside and rush to the commentators’ box at the back to find those who only knew how to move their lips to vent at them.
Balotelli had underperformed twice in a row and Lippi still remained unmoved. He had already made up his mind. Since he had brought him on, what else did he have to regret about? As long as it was not a major mistake, he could not bring him off, could he? The valuable substitution spots could not be wasted in this way.
Balotelli played poorly but the England team did not dare take it lightly. Because they had exploited Italy’s underestimation of the underperforming Agbonlahor in the first half and cracked open the goal which had impenetrable defense. During the halftime interval, Twain also warned them not to underestimate their opponent and must be cautious.
Therefore, when Balotelli took the ball on the sideline, there was no sign of Joe Mattock’s slackness at all. Although they were teammates of the same football club, they were currently playing for different teams.
Balotelli was going to force a breakthrough. Although he had overtaken Joe Mattock, Downing had rushed up from behind and blocked his way. With the slight delay, Joe Mattock came up again, and the two men joined forces to keep Balotelli out and force him near the corner flag.
Balotelli saw that there was no way to complete the pass. It seemed difficult to break through, so he retreated to seek another chance. Even a corner shot was good. As a result, after the ball that was kicked out hit Joe Mattock, the ball inexplicably bounced back instead of bouncing straight toward the end line and hit Balotelli’s shin bone before bouncing out of the end line…
This time he did not even get a corner kick. The assistant referee immediately pointed the flag to the goal area, which meant that it was a goal ball.
The England fans sat in the stands behind the England team’s goal in the second half. Seeing that Balotelli had failed in his bid for a corner kick and instead gave out a goal ball, the fans over that area burst into laughter.
※※※
“He’s completely marked to death by our men…” Des Walker sighed. The England coaching staff had already thoroughly studied this particular Forest player. Thanks to the Forest team’s poor performance over the past two seasons, Balotelli’s form had also become poor.
If he did not know or understand Twain, he would have wondered if it was a conspiracy… It was such a coincidence!
The England team’s coaching staff had analyzed everyone in the Italian team before the game and made specific arrangements targeting their different characteristics, regardless of how many of them were able to play in the game.
Balotelli was naturally among them. At the time, the team’s coaching staff analyzed two possibilities. First of all, Balotelli certainly would not be in the starting lineup, but he might come on as a substitute because he was a player with specific traits and his place kicks were excellent. And if the England team were to employ a solid defensive counterattack against Italy, a tight defense was something Lippi needed to consider. That was when Balotelli could simply do a good job.
In that case, he could play as a striker or right midfielder when he came on, because Balotelli could play well in both positions. So, they needed to make two different arrangements – what do we do when he is a striker? What do we do when he’s a side midfielder?
When he was a side midfielder, Twain asked both the full back and side midfielders to actively defend and minimize Balotelli’s chances for passes while cutting off his links with the others at the same time and trying to isolate him.
Judging from the defense just now, Joe Mattock and Downing did it well. They blocked Balotelli with their double team front and back which completely cut off the path for the ball to be sent out.
Twain had done a lot of work for this final, and now they all came to life one by one.
※※※
Balotelli played averagely in the game. After being caught several times by the England team, he began to do more passes and not dribble the ball himself to break through. He knew he had been targeted by Twain. When he played for the Forest team, he had heard much about the legend of that man, who was always being referred to as a god, as if he was not a football manager but a wizard in a medieval legend, full of power to stir up people’s sentiments. Every member of staff at the Wilford training base always had a look of worship when they talked about Twain, and had little feeling toward the club chairman, Mr. Evan Dougherty.
Although he was frozen in the game, Balotelli was not too worried. Because he still had a weapon that the English players could never freeze. It was just that he was trying his best to warm up his legs now…
Facing Joe Mattock’s blocking, Balotelli forced to pass the football. Although the ball bypassed his teammate in the Forest team, it was also too high …even if Foti was 2.03 meters tall, he could not reach such a “pass.”
“It looks like his form is really bad…” This time even the Italian commentator could not help shaking his head as he spoke.
Balotelli then tried a long shot from outside the penalty area. This time the shot was rather accurate, only that it was too straight on and was grabbed by Joe Hart.
“Ah ha! It is his best performance since he came on!” Motson quipped.
※※※
Balotelli was actually not the main character. Lippi did not instruct anyone else to pass the ball to him in Italy’s offense. From the gap opened up from where he was, De Rossi was still in charge of dispatching. He was the core of the Italian team, and Giovinco was also active in front of the penalty area, causing a headache and tension for the England defenders.
As time went on in the second half, the Italian team’s offensive grew stronger and stronger, adopting a stance of turning out in full strength.
Lippi also noticed the time. Time was the most precious at present. There were now 20 minutes to go before the end of the 90-minute game. These 20 minutes might not seem short, but they could actually flash by in a blink of an eye. If they did not hurry up, the Italian players would only become more impatient as time went on, and the scales of victory would tip in favor of the England team.
Something must be done.
Lippi thought about it and instructed a few things to Ferrara, the assistant manager sitting next to him.
Ferrara listened and bobbed his head in between words. Then he got up from his seat and walked to the sideline, gesticulating across the other side. Following which, Italy’s two full backs could be seen starting to plug in from the back and assist with the offense.
The Italian full backs joined in the attack and England immediately felt a lot of defensive pressure, especially on Joe Mattock’s side.
While Lippi let the full backs go up and assist with the offensive, Giovinco and Balotelli also changed positions. Balotelli did not achieve much on the right side. Since that was the case, it was better for him to switch to the left and face the defensively stronger Richards. He was not seeking a breakthrough to pass. He just needed to hold the other side down. Italy’s main offensive direction was changed to their right side, which was England’s left.
Paloschi also ran to the right side to get in on the action. With three players targeting this area, Joe Mattock and Downing could not hold any longer.
Downing was not the kind of player who was good at defense. It was not good to have him focus solely on defense.
Twain looked on with a frown, and then he turned around to say to his assistant manager, Des Walker, “Go call back Cohen and Vaughn in warmup.”
Walker knew what he wanted to do. He nodded and ran away without saying anything.
When Vaughn heard that Twain wanted him to go back, he was a little surprised. It was normal to come out and warm up. The coaches would regularly pick a group of players to go warm up, and he was naturally among them. But in the next second he thought of what Twain said to him at the end of the halftime interval.
He looked down at the T-shirt inside the collar of his jersey.
It was already soaked in sweat. He hoped that the writing on it did not become fuzzy.
Vaughn and Cohen both appeared in front of Twain at the same time. Twain looked at them both, did not say much, and began to lay out specific tactics.
For Chris Cohen, the focal point of Twain’s instruction was on the defense. He wanted him to go up to help Mattock and ease the pressure on his defense. It would not work if he were to always get Wood to fill in on the sideline, because there were Aquilani and De Rossi in the middle.
As for Vaughn…
Twain glanced up at him before assigning him the task.
“James, are you still brooding over the fact that I did not put you in the starting lineup?” He asked.
Vaughn was not a fool. If he honestly answered, “Yes, I still can’t figure out why it is so till now.” Then he would be done for. He just shook his head and replied, “I defer to you, boss.”
He said these words a little reluctantly. How could Twain not discern it? But he did not mind. He had wanted this result. “Let’s not talk about why I did it first. I just want to know this. Do you have enough passion and desire to go on the game? I’m going to bring you on to play now. Are you going to surprise me, or are you going to muddle through the game until the end?”
“No one wants to mess up, boss.” James Vaughn said this sentence most willingly, “This is the final of the UEFA European Championship.”
Vaughn felt that Twain asking such a question was an insult to him. Which professional athlete would want to muddle through to the end of such a big game?
Who would not want to score a goal or two and go down in history in a game like this? Wouldn’t it be better if he could be the hero that saved the team in distress?
Twain looked at the unfriendly-looking Vaughn and was happy.
That was the effect he wanted when he stifled Vaughn for 70 minutes. It would have been a failure if he had not been infuriated from being held back.
“Well, don’t say I did not give you a chance, James.” The way Twain was acting now felt a little “shameless” in Vaughn’s eyes. He only gave him 20 minutes. Could it even be considered a chance?
However, since this was now the situation, not to mention 20 minutes, Vaughn would even take ten minutes too. He did not say any other nonsense. He just nodded and did not want to delay any longer.
Twain discerned his thoughts and did not say anything else. He directly told him the mission, “Your task is simple, Vaughn. Just like the semifinal, score a goal. You are coming on at this time when the Italian defenders’ physical strength is at its weakest and when they are the least focused mentally. They have fully pressed ahead, so there will be a lot of gaps behind them. Seize them well.”
Vaughn nodded.
Twain gave him a push him again and pushed him to the sidelines. Then he gave him two pats on the back, hoping he would grasp the deep meaning within.
※※※
“The England team is asking for a substitution!”
Just at this moment, Gerrard had tripped Aquilani who had rushed up on the pitch. The Italian team scored another free kick at the edge of the penalty area.
The referee signaled for Balotelli to wait before he carried out the free kick as the England team wanted to make a substitution.
Downing, who was building a human wall, looked at the signboard in the hands of the fourth official at the sidelines, and then stepped out from the human wall. He slowly walked toward the sidelines. Chris Cohen was going to replace Downing.
Following which, Agbonlahor also walked toward the sidelines at the behest of his teammates. James Vaughn was going to replace him.
Both men received the latest instructions from Twain on the sidelines when they came off the field.
“Slow down! Walk off! Don’t run!”
Therefore, the two men weathered the widespread boos from the Italian fans and moved unhurriedly to the sidelines amid protests from the displeased Italian players. Cohen and Vaughn completed the handover.
Twain first shook hands with Downing and then gave Agbonlahor a hug as he said, “Well done, lad, ha!”
He had strongly advocated for Agbonlahor to be in the starting lineup. And he had scored the only goal in the game so far, so he did not embarrass him. Of course, he had to give him high praise.
If this had been ancient China, Agbonlahor would be bound to say, “Your loyal subject did not bring you shame and succeed in the mission!” However, he only asked cheerfully, “Boss, we’re going to be the champion, aren’t we?”
Twain nodded firmly and said, “That’s right, who else can it be but us?”
As he said that, he looked at the pitch. Vaughan and Cohen had just went on. Both of them were just squeezing into the human wall. The England and Italian players were fighting around the human wall.
There were still 20 minutes left in the game. He just hoped that it would just pass by and no complications would arise…
...
Chapter 973 - Two Minutes
Twain made two substitutions in one go. Vaughan was the player who replaced Agbonlahor, and Downing was substituted by Cohen.
Twain was only able to make his substitutions this quickly because Italy had been awarded a free kick in England’s half of the pitch. If not, the two players would have stood by the side of the pitch for quite some time.
The England fans immediately started booing Balotelli after they cheered for Agbonlahor as the latter walked off the pitch. The fans appear to have reached a tacit agreement to disrupt Balotelli by booing him every time he takes the free kick or the corner kick.
Balotelli re-positioned the ball after both of England’s players had gotten into position on the pitch. Once he was done, he retreated backwards by a few steps, and was ready to charge at the ball and kick it. The boos from the England fans had no impact on him. He simply ignored them. He has to thank Nottingham Forest for allowing him to gain the ability to drown out the sounds of the fans’ booing… Nottingham Forest is a team that would be constantly booed by opposing fans no matter where they go, and as the first choice striker for the team, Balotelli has been booed countless times over the past two seasons as well. His time in Nottingham Forest has allowed him to grow immune to the fans’ booing, and their boos do not disrupt his play in any way now.
Balotelli was well aware that he has not performed well in the match so far, but he also knew why Lippi had chosen to put him on the pitch. In the second half, England had solidified its defense, and they mostly remained in their own half of the pitch to guard against Italy’s attacks. As a result, Italy was able to earn more and more free kicks in England’s half of the pitch. Lippi has brought him on because he wants to capitalize on those free kicks. He hopes that a technical player like him would create the spark needed for the team to score a goal and thereby break the deadlock in the match.
England is definitely doing a fantastic job at defending. Italy is hardly given any chance to score at all, and their only way of scoring a goal now is to take their free kicks well.
“This is the fourth time that Balotelli is taking a free kick. Two of his previous shots went over the bar, and one was blocked by the players…” The commentator did not hesitate in pointing out the fact that Balotelli had not performed well when taking free kicks for his team either.
“I think the very last match of Lippi’s managerial career would be ruined by the black player.”
“It might be a little too early for me to say this, but I’d still say it anyway. Lippi is 68 years old this year, and I think his old age has affected his ability to make decisions. I cannot understand why he would play Balotelli in the match. It is utterly puzzling.”
※※※
Twain walked back to his seat at the dugout after completing his substitutions. The cacophonous environment in the stadium had forced him to raise his voice to talk to his two players earlier. His voice was already hoarse to begin with, but it had become even more hoarse now. He desperately wanted to drink some water to make his throat feel better.
Right when Twain had his back towards the goalpost, the referee blew on his whistle once to signal that Balotelli could go ahead and take the free kick.
Balotelli inhaled deeply, then exhaled. Thereafter, he began his run-up to the ball.
His first two steps were done at the same spot, and he only took a big stride forward on his third step. That one big stride was all Balotelli needed to reach the ball. Once he was positioned next to the ball, he raised his leg and smashed his foot against it. The ball flew into the air and went past the wall of England players who stood before Balotelli. It then flew straight towards the top left-hand corner of the goalpost!
It was the corner that was furthest away from where Joe Hart stood on the pitch.
Joe Hart immediately pounced towards the ball when he saw it make its way past the wall of players and straight towards his goalpost. However, it was too late by then.
The ball had already made its way into the goalpost when he pounced towards it…
“This… GOOOAL! GOOOOOAL!” The commentator who did not work for either Italy or England only started cheering after a brief moment of shock.
Twain was startled by the sudden cheers that had erupted in the stadium. His hands trembled slightly, and the tremor caused the water from his water bottle to spill onto his tuxedo. “Goddamn it!” Twain cursed. He wanted to ask Walker for a towel, but when he looked up, he noticed that Walker was as angry as he was.
Twain did not fathom why Walker was furious. Before he could ask his assistant manager about what had happened, he noticed movement at the Italy dugout from the corner of his eye, and he directed his gaze towards it. He saw Lippi seated at his seat emotionlessly while everyone else around him embraced one another…
A bad thought raced through Twain’s mind. He immediately turned around and looked at the pitch, and he saw a group of players dressed in blue hugging one another in the middle of the pitch. His players, on the other hand, all had their heads lowered and they appeared crestfallen.
Twain did not need to look at the screen. He could tell what had happened…
He had spent less than half a minute to drink a gulp of water, but in that short span of time, Italy had scored their equalizer! Balotelli’s free kick must have gone in!
“F*ck!” Twain put even more emotion behind his curse this time round.
“We all thought he was also poor at taking free kicks, but…” Walker shook his head in anguish. There were only 20 minutes left in the match. Victory was right there before them, but now they have been pulled back to the starting line by their opponents with an equalizer…
※※※
The commentators who have been mocking Balotelli all this while were suddenly heaping praises on him.
“That was a wonderful goal! Mario Balotelli! He has leveled the score for Italy!”
“Super Mario! Super Mario! An absolutely brilliant goal!”
“He is the only player who can be counted on when his team is in a dire state!”
Not only that, they were also full of praise for Lippi’s decision to play Balotelli as well. “This goal proves that Lippi was right to substitute Lanzafame for Balotelli earlier! Balotelli has effectively shut all his critics up by scoring a goal!”
“We have leveled the score! There is hope of us becoming the champions once again! Twain always says that ‘having a one goal lead in a match is the most dangerous situation that a football team can find themselves in’, and I am very happy that Balotelli has used a goal to prove that his words are true! Both sides are now back at the starting line and there are 20 minutes left to play…” The Italian commentator was the happiest out of all the other commentators. He was dancing before his microphone excitedly.
※※※
The England players were frustrated after letting Italy score a goal. They have blocked every possible attacking route that the Italy players could take, but there was absolutely nothing that they could do about free kicks.
“Reduce the number of fouls that you make on them!” The depressed England players heard Twain yelling by the side of the pitch. “Try not to foul them at areas whereby they would have a good chance of scoring from free kicks!”
Twain understood very well that fouls are an integral part of defense. Generally speaking, one can know whether a defender is good or not by looking at the number of fouls that he makes. A defender who knows how and when to foul another player is a good defender.
However, the opposition just scored from a free kick that had been given to them as a result of a foul. The players would definitely be worried about giving away too many free kicks now, and this could lead to increased pressure on them during defense.
Hence, Twain is left with no other choice but to get his players to reduce the number of fouls that they make. The only weakness to his tactic is that his team would end up awarding a lot of free kicks to the opposition…
Twain wanted to pull Wood over to him and give him further instructions about what to do next, but the Italy players were in a hurry to get the game going once again. The ball had been placed at the center circle shortly after Italy’s celebration of the goal. The players from both sides quickly got into their positions on the pitch and waited for kick-off.
What upset Twain the most was the fact that he had only just finished making his adjustments to the team moments before Italy leveled the score. He would not be able to make any further changes to his team now, and all he could do was to put his faith in the players and hope that they are able to find a way to turn the match back in their favor. To make matters worse, his tactics for the match have been rendered ineffective by the opposition, and he needs to come up with a new set of tactics soon. He had asked his players to primarily focus on defense for the match, and even players like Chris Cohen who typically go on the attack have been asked to prioritize defense over offense. The team would only counter-attack when an opportunity to do arises.
However, things are different now.
Twain yelled at the pitch. His voice has to be as loud as the cheers from half of the spectators in the stadium, or else it would get drowned out.
“Cohen! Cohen!” He yelled by the side of the pitch. Chris Cohen was situated far away from where Twain stood, and it was quite difficult to catch his attention.
Fortunately for Twain, he had a transmitter on the pitch. Wood heard Twain’s yells in the middle of the pitch, and he immediately called out to Cohen. Cohen then directed his gaze towards where Twain was.
“Go on the offense more!” Twain gestured to Cohen and he wanted him to stop focusing on defense.
Cohen nodded his head to signal that he understood.
After seeing that Cohen had understood his words, Twain began calling out to the other players. “Rooney! Rooney! I want you to retreat backwards! Help out in the midfield!”
“Walcott, I want you to run forward whenever you get the ball! Go on the counter-attack!”
“George, be quicker with your passes!”
Italy would definitely press forward and attack now that they have equalized the score. They want that second goal that could potentially allow them to win the match. There is only one way for England to deal with the situation, and that is to play counter-attacking football. All they need is a chance, and they would be able to turn this match around. The situation is not dire just yet.
※※※
The match resumed soon after, and just as Twain had predicted, Italy pressed forward and attacked England ferociously. They wanted to make use of the momentum of the match that had shifted in their favor to take the lead in the match. England was forced to retreat against Italy’s attacks, and things looked bad for them for a while. Italy looked like they were going to score a goal at any time.
Both of Italy’s fullbacks ran to the front to join in the attack, and this provided Italy with more attacking options. They attacked England down the flank and down the middle. England had no way of going on the counter-attack because they had their hands full from trying to defend against Italy’s relentless attacks.
England’s defense was not as tight as it used to be prior to Italy’s goal. The England players were constantly worried about giving free kicks away, and this resulted in a lot more space for the Italy players to exploit.
Sebastian Giovinco tried to make his way past England’s defense by making use of his flexibility and ball control. He noticed that George Wood had run up from the back to defend against him, but he did not choose to force his way past the England defenders. Instead, he cleverly passed the ball over to the middle of the pitch.
Daniele De Rossi was the player who received his pass, and he immediately raised his leg and did a long shot at goal!
Joe Hart pounced sideways towards the ball, and he fought hard to send De Rossi’s powerful shot out of bounds.
The fans of both teams were no longer able to contain their wildly beating hearts after watching all that had happened on the pitch.
Italy was awarded a corner kick just one minute after scoring their previous goal.
The England fans could not help but be on tenterhooks every time Italy takes either a free kick or a corner kick. They had mocked Balotelli earlier, but it was clear that he had regained his form and was capable of taking both free kicks and corner kicks well now.
The sight of both Salvatore Foti and Giorgio Chiellini before England’s goalpost left the England players in a state of anxiety. Both Foti and Chiellini are players who are good at headers, and now that Balotelli has regained his form, things might get really bad for England…
Everyone was under the impression that Balotelli would cross the ball into the middle of the penalty box. However, they were all wrong. Balotelli chose to pass the ball to De Rossi, who had run up to him to receive the ball.
A short corner!
Joe Hart saw De Rossi receive the ball, and he immediately bellowed, “Retreat backwards! Make them be ruled offside!”
The England players obediently retreated backwards in unison, and they were just like a tide. Everyone was worried that they would move too slowly and end up putting the Italy players onside. De Rossi passed the ball back to Balotelli who had run away from the corner flag. An England player raised his hand to suggest that Balotelli was offside, but both the assistant referee and the referee were unimpressed.
Balotelli raised his head to look at the penalty box after receiving the ball. The England players were still retreating backwards in an attempt to make him be deemed offside.
However, all hope was not lost yet. It was still possible for them to try and score a goal.
Balotelli keenly realized that his team’s midfielder, Alberto Aquilani, had run up from the back as the England defenders retreated backwards…
Balotelli did not hesitate the moment he saw that, and he instantly crossed the ball into the penalty box. It was a perfectly placed pass, and the ball was sent into a space that Aquilani would run towards. Aquilani received the ball right as he was positioned between both Terry and Joe Mattock. He was not offside!
The entire England defense was in a state of chaos after Aquilani received the ball. It was clear that there was little use in trying to get Aquilani offside now… All the England players immediately charged towards the Italy player.
Joe Hart ran towards the ball the moment he saw Aquilani receive the pass from Balotelli. The angle in which Aquilani could make a shot was very narrow. All Joe Hart had to do was to try and block off the angle, and he should be able to stop Italy’s attack.
The goalkeeper naturally assumed that the opposing player would choose to shoot at the goalpost the moment he received the ball. However, shooting was not on Aquilani’s mind at all. He knew what he had to do the moment he saw Joe Hart rushing towards him.
He did not bother checking who was right before the goalpost. He simply passed the ball sideways towards the goal area.
None of the England players dared to stretch a leg out to deal with Aquilani’s pass. They were all afraid of scoring an own goal…
But, there was one player who was not afraid!
Foti slid towards the ball. His foot reached the ball!
“Balotelli passed the ball over to De Rossi, and De Rossi passed the ball back to him. Balotelli then passes the ball into the penalty box… Aquilani! Aquilani has received the ball! There is no one marking him! Joe Hart has rushed towards him! A sideways pass! Well done! Aquilani’s pass… Salvatore Foti…” The Italian commentator was just like a machine gun. He spoke extremely fast and there were no pauses in between. And, at the end, he went, “GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!!”
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Twain held his slightly wet tuxedo in his hands. He had taken it off after spilling water over it moments ago. After seeing that Italy had scored another goal within two minutes, he instantly threw his tuxedo onto the ground in a fit of rage.
“F*CK! F*CK! F*CK!” Twain was so furious that he cursed three times in a row.
Even the typically emotionless Lippi could not sit still this time round. He jumped from his seat and ran to the side of the pitch to hug his assistant manager Ferrara after seeing his team come back from behind to take the lead in the match.
Everyone at the Italy dugout were celebrating.
“2:1! 2:1! We are the ones in front! We are the ones in front!” The Italian commentator yelled at the top of his lungs. He was very emotional and there seemed to be a low sobbing tone in his voice.
He might have provided commentaries for countless matches in the past, but this finals match has been an emotional roller coaster ride for him. Italy was still trailing in the match a few minutes ago, but now, they have managed to turn the match around. He could not contain his excitement at that fact.
“Absolutely unbelievable… Italy has come back from behind and they are now in the lead! Both of their goals have come so fast that the England players were not even able to react!”
“What did we just see? The Italians have staged a comeback in just two minutes! They have come back from behind in this finals match!”
“Balotelli was definitely offside when he received the ball from De Rossi!” Motson believed that the goal should be disallowed because Balotelli was in an offside position prior to the goal being scored.
There were numerous England players who felt the same way as Motson. They crowded around the referee to protest that Balotelli was offside when he received the ball from De Rossi.
The referee shook his head in response to their protests. He did not change his judgement.
A slow motion replay of the moment where Balotelli received the ball from De Rossi was displayed on the screen at the stadium, and it was shown that Balotelli was not in an offside position when he received the ball. He would have been if De Rossi had passed the ball to him a fraction of a second later.
Italy’s goal was a clean goal. There were no problems whatsoever.
There were still several England players who refused to give up in their fight, and they continued to protest to the referee. The rest of the England players, on the other hand, stood rooted on the pitch and looked to be at a complete loss…
...
Chapter 974 - Five Minutes
When Italy scored the first goal, they still brought the football back to the center circle, hoping for the match to restart as soon as possible. However, when they scored the second goal, they simply embraced each other in their celebrations. The football was sitting alone in the goal and nobody cared about it.
That was because they were leading then, and they were the ones who needed to waste time.
Twain merely cursed a little on the sideline before recovering from the negative emotions of conceding a goal. He stood on the sideline and kept waving his hand, indicating for his players to bring the ball to the center circle and prepare to restart the match.
To the England team, there was really no time to lose…
Without counting injury time, they had only less than 18 minutes left.
“England is in a difficult situation now. From one goal up to trailing by one goal. Let’s see what Tony Twain has planned for the last 20 minutes!”
What plans could he have? It was nothing more than attacking more and be wary of the Italians’ counterattack.
Italy knew that England would be attacking now that they were trailing. They had the initiative and they could retreat and play on the counter, which was what Lippi and Italy were best at.
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The England players did not perform up to standard from the start of the match up till now. Many of them were dealt a heavy blow after conceding two goals in two minutes. The goals came too quickly and all of them were not prepared for it…
In the match afterwards, they did not demonstrate the “increased offense” that Twain asked them for, instead, they stayed in their own half, not knowing what to do.
The Italians wanted to make use of the opportunity to attack while the English had not reacted yet and get another goal to seal the match. They surrounded the England penalty area and dispatched balls after balls into it. For a moment, Joe Hart became the busiest player in the England team.
“Long shot by De Rossi! Not far wide…”
“Giovinco with the ball…he’s through! What a move! He shoots… Saved by Joe Hart…”
“Long shot by Paloschi, over the bar… He should have passed the ball to Foti at the side…”
“Balotelli is not backing off against George Wood, he’s trying to get past him… Foul by Wood! Free kick! Great, Italy has another free kick!”
Wood could only shake his head helplessly at the current situation. He is not superman and no matter how well an individual performs; it is pointless if the team does not support him.
He was furious at the current situation. Were they going to give up just like that?
Balotelli had another chance to take a free kick and the Italy fans were filled with anticipation. They hoped to see Balotelli scoring twice with free kicks. These people had totally forgotten that they had complained about Lippi sending him on to “waste chances”.
“Super Mario! Super Mario!! Oh oh!” The Italy fans were chanting Balotelli’s name in the stands.
The England fans got nervous as the Italy fans chanted. They were trying to disrupt Balotelli with their jeers, but they did not know whether it was effective at all…
Twain stood on the sideline and bit his lips as he stared at Balotelli on the pitch. His heart was pounding rapidly beyond control, but he could not care much about his heart now.
Balotelli took a run-up and kicked… The ball flew over the wall straight towards the goal. Joe Hart did his best to dive towards the ball, but he was not able to touch it. The ball did not drop into the goal, flying over the cross bar instead.
That was close!
Twain gave a long sigh of relief. There were thousands of England fans who did the same.
※※※
At the 80th minute mark, England’s attack did not get better. On the other hand, Italy were doing better as they were more relaxed after taking the lead and they were able to perform all sorts of combinations.
The England fans watching from England stared at the television screen for fear of missing out on any scene that might be the crucial moment that changed the direction of the final match.
England’s performance disappointed them a little, but they did not give up hope. After all, there were 10 more minutes to go in the match and they were only one goal down. There was still hope.
※※※
Lippi took a look at his watch and saw that 80 minutes had already gone by. He looked at the situation on the pitch and decided to play it safe. If they continued to attack like this and there was a weakness in defense that England took advantage of to score, then everything would be over… Tony Twain was a sly one, how could it be possible for him not to do anything at the final moment?
He walked to the sideline and indicated to his players in the pitch to drop back and focus on defense. They would be victorious if they could drag till the end of the match.
The England players felt the pressure on them lessen and they knew that it was the final moment.
The Italians have dropped back, what should we do? There’s almost no need to think at all, we must attack of course!
Twain stood on the sideline and called out to Vaughan. It had been 10 minutes since he was substituted in but he did not perform at all…
“James! Do you remember your task?!”
Vaughan remembered of course. However, his team was being suppressed in their own penalty area, they had no chance to counterattack at all. No matter how good he was, there was no way he could score from his own penalty area…
In fact, even if Twain did not remind him, he knew it was time to perform. Agbonlahor started the match and he got a goal. Yet he had not made any contribution even though he was expected to be starting the game. If England was the lose the match, then it would undoubtedly be his responsibility… People would start thinking: If Agbonlahor was still on the pitch, would they have still lost the match?
Lippi was also a little surprised that Twain only brought Vaughan on in the final 20 minutes. However, his team managed to comeback afterwards, so he did not mind so much. There was only 10 minutes left in this match, if they could hold on, even if Twain brought 11 Maradonas on, it would not have mattered.
Lippi brought in defender Fabiano Santacroce for Giovinco next as Giovinco did not have the stamina to continue and to strengthen the defense. Italy was playing a 532 formation now and the three center backs did not give England any chance to attack.
In the last 10 minutes, Italy started to use all the tricks in the book to waste time.
They would fall whenever someone touched them and they would take their time to get up. In the span of two minutes, there were three players who went to ground because of cramps.
Twain was furious about that and he kept protesting with the fourth official. The fourth official was powerless as well, “We can’t possibly pull them to their feet using force, right?”
“Why not?! They’re obviously wasting time!” Twain glared at the fourth official. If he was the one playing, he would have grabbed the players on the ground and dragged them out of the pitch when faced with such a situation…
The fourth official had no way to deal with this unreasonable manager, and he decided to stop talking and not waste his breath.
Twain did not care about his image now. He had already thrown his suit on the ground and did not pick it up——The tie that he had on was already off, the top button of his shirt was undone, sleeves rolled up, the back of his shirt and his forehead were wet with his sweat. He looked exactly like a gambler who had lost too much.
On the other hand, Lippi was calm as a cucumber. One still could not see any expression on his face. It was as if he was neither worried about Italy nor was he happy about having the lead. This elderly gentleman did not even have a hair out of place. His full head of silver hair were hugging his head and the gold-rimmed glasses he had on reflected the lights above and nobody could see his eyes.
These two were ice and fire, a stark contrast and it was especially eye-catching.
Twain was not someone who would only vent his frustration at the fourth official. He called Bentley on the bench and brought him on in place of Gerrard. England then changed their formation to 433 with Walcott on the flank and Vaughan in the middle alone.
When Italy made the substitution, their player took their time to get off. Gerrard jogged all the way to the sideline and gave Bentley a high five and the substitution was completed. Not a single second was wasted.
The commentator from China saw that Twain changed his formation to 433 and said, “He is going for broke here. Twain doesn’t seem to be considering about anything else now.”
Whether it was extra time or penalty kicks, it would be dumb for him to be thinking about those now. If they did not score, there would not be extra time, and there would definitely not be any penalty kicks!
Bentley shouted to his teammates after he got on, “Boss asked me to tell you guys, the final is only these five minutes!” He stretched out five fingers. It was the 85th minute now, Twain did not even think about injury time or anything else.
It was as if an alarm bell rang in the minds of the England players. “The final is only these five minutes” immediately brought an urgency into them and all of them started to focus. We’ve fought so hard all the way here, how can we lose right in front of the trophy?
Even Terry went beyond the halfway line. He was not thinking about defense at all now.
England’s attacks were like waves of water gushing towards the Italy goal.
“James Vaughan with the header… It’s too straight!”
“Long shot from George Wood! Too high! What a pity…maybe he should have been calmer…”
“Walcott has broken through and the pass from him! Wayne Rooney with the shot!”
Rooney’s shot hit the near post, bounced back to Chiellini and just when the ball was going to bounce into the goal, Amelia punched the ball out and the Italians broke out in cold sweat.
England had a corner and the two center backs, Terry and Taylor went towards the Italy goal. When Bentley took the corner, Terry jumped for a diving header!
The ball flew towards the near post and just when it was about to cross the goal line, Amelia miraculously got a hand to the ball through two people and got it away!
No goal again!
Balotelli got the ball and he wanted to hit England on the break, but his ball was intercepted by Wood. After intercepting the ball, Wood turned and passed the ball to the front. It was lucky that Italy was not really planning to counterattack, otherwise Wood would definitely be overwhelmed there.
After regaining possession, England passed the ball to Cohen on the other flank. When it came to penetrative power, Cohen was not as impressive as Walcott, that was why he crossed the ball directly. This time, the cross was caught by Amelia. The attacks by England stopped for a moment.
During this suffocating attack, the match had reached the 89th minute.
Ever since Bentley was brought on, Twain remained stagnant on the sideline, not moving at all, just like a statue.
In his management career, he had seen his fair share of times like this. Sometimes, his team would level the match and even comeback to win it. Sometimes, his team would not create any miracle and they would watch the team lose the match.
What would be the result this time?
Next to him, the fourth official walked out with the board. At the same time, there was an Italian defender walking behind him. Twain took a glance at him and understood that there was only one objective to making a substitution now——To waste time and let time slip away here.
Paloschi took his time walking off the pitch, turning back a few times every step, shaking the hand of a teammate, then hugging another before turning one round with his arms raised to thank the fans… Twain gritted his teeth in anger when he witnessed this, he protested loudly on the touchline, “Why don’t you crawl out? Damn Italian! You ballless turtle, bastard!”
Too bad Paloschi did not understand Twain’s English which had a thick accent. The referee also noticed that he was deliberately wasting time and such an obvious intention could not be tolerated… He rushed forward and showed Paloschi a yellow card.
This yellow card gave Paloschi an excuse to waste even more time. He showed his displeasure at this and protested to the referee, intending to waste even more time.
Paloschi was almost at the sideline now and Lorenzo De Silverstri, who was waiting to get onto the pitch was just a step away. He was in no hurry to get on though and he wanted to wait for Paloschi to tag him in.
Twain could not tolerate the timewasting tactics of the Italian any longer. He took one step forward, grabbed Paloschi by the arm and dragged Paloschi out of the pitch!
Paloschi was about to lose his temper when he got dragged out by Twain, but when he saw Twain glaring at him, the fierce look on his face gave him a stare and he could not say what he wanted to say… He knew he was in the wrong and he could only complete the substitution with Silverstri under the watchful eye of Twain before walking towards the Italy bench.
Twain’s action brought him a lecture from the referee of course, but he did not care. If the referee did not want to punish them, he would do it on their behalf!
※※※
Right after the substitution was completed, the fourth official put down the electronic board, pressed a few buttons on it and raised it again. This time, it was to announce the amount of injury time.
“Five minutes of injury time!”
Boos rang out from the England fans as they thought that five minutes of injury time were way too little for the time that Italy wasted. It should have been 10 minutes of injury time!
The Italy fans were similarly unhappy with the five minutes of injury time——It was too long! A customary three minutes of injury time should be sufficient…
Twain raised five fingers towards the bench.
This time, the final was really just the five minutes…
※※※
...
Chapter 975 - One Minute
Michael Bernard had never been so fretful as he was today. Even in the face of difficulties from his clients and official duties that came out of the blue, he always coped with them with ease. His subordinates would be full of confidence when they saw the polite smile on his face. That no matter what difficulties there were, he would certainly be able to deal with them.
But it was different today.
During noon time, he locked himself in his office and specifically instructed the secretary not to let anyone disturb himself. Then he planned to watch the game live on the Internet. But it was unfortunate that he was called into a discussion by his boss just when he was going to do it.
It was a disaster. What was even more tragic was that his boss came to him in high spirits this time to talk to him, telling him that the company intended to promote him to the next level and that he might be entrusted with a heavy responsibility. He did not dare to refuse to attend such a discussion and he also did not dare show any impatience during the conversation… even though he was really impatient.
Looking at his boss across from him, he really had such an impulse: to pick up the heavy glass ashtray on the table, put it over his head, and then make a dash for the door to run to watch the game. As for his job…how could this be the time to think about it?
The unexpected conversation made him realize one thing – that he still could not let go of football in his heart. He thought he had forgotten, but in actual fact, he had not. He only buried it in the deepest part of his heart, so deep where he himself could not even detect it. Until today, the rush to watch the UEFA European Championship had woke him up as if he had been in a dream.
He was only able to leave when his boss had covered the matters of proper business. Looking at the watch on his wrist, it was less than five minutes to go until the end of the 90-minute game.
He trotted all the way to the elevator, and discovered the elevator was still ten stories away. Looking at his watch again, he did not have the time to wait for the elevator here, so he simply rushed to the stairwell next to it. He skipped and hopped down the stairs as he ran.
Although it was only a few minutes, he did not want to give up just like that. His feelings for English football had faded, and the only team in his life that had impassioned him was Nottingham Forest. He just wanted to see how his old friend would look like, standing on the most dazzling stage of the international tournament.
I don’t know if he still has that kind of arrogance, ha!
Like a whirlwind, Michael whooshed past the papers and documents on the tables on either side of the aisle and dashed into his own office under the surprised gazes of his subordinates, not forgetting to shut the door.
Flying over to his desk, Michael eagerly opened a link to the live stream and began to wait impatiently for the streaming to load.
The quality of the online network in the United States was very good. The online broadcast took only ten seconds to get on, and it was very smooth.
Still breathing raggedly, his eyes were fixed on the computer screen and he almost forgot to breathe.
In the player, the first scene he saw was the fourth official standing on the sidelines, holding up the signboard for the injury stoppage time: 5.
“Five minutes of injury stoppage time!” The ESPN commentator informed Michael, who had just opened the broadcast, in English. “And England is still 1:2 behind, leaving only five minutes for them. I can’t imagine how Twain’s team can salvage the situation…”
In between the commentary, the camera was aimed at the England team’s manager, Tony Twain, who was standing in front of the technical area.
Michael saw his old friend whom he had not seen in a long time, but he did not see his face, because the first sight he had was of Tony Twain’s back. The man was standing on the sidelines with his arms around his chest, and the back of his white shirt was drenched with perspiration.
The live broadcast did not give him a direct close-up of his face, because the game on the field had entered the white-hot stage. The camera only panned to Twain’s back once and then turned back to the field.
※※※
“The England team is in trouble. With five minutes into the injury stoppage time, they must seize it or it’s all over! But can they grab the opportunity offered by the five minutes? Or can it be said…that how much time can the Italians give them? For it is the Italian team that’s holding the ball now!”
“Are we going to let them just pass the ball back and forth at the back? That’s not going to work!” Vaughn rushed up and wanted to intercept the ball in the front field.
Chiellini rushed to pass the football to Silvestri next to him.
But Silvestri had just come on the field. Both his legs had not even fully warmed up from running and all of a sudden, he received a pass from his teammate. He stopped the ball with a slightly bigger movement. Like a shark that had smelled blood, Rooney appeared in front of him in an instant. At this point, he could not even think about continuing to control the ball at his feet. In order not to make a mistake, Silvestri directly sent the ball with a long pass.
England finally got possession of the ball. It was less than five minutes away at this point. They had to hurry up and attack.
The Italians also did not have the strength to interfere in the front field. After 90 minutes of fierce fighting, their physical strength was lacking. In order not to have anything go wrong, they chose to retreat to the back half of the field to defend. Lippi did not care how pathetic his team would look in the last few minutes, as long as they could hold on. Then the final victory would be his.
England was a little at a loss with an Italian team that even had its strikers retreated to the front of the penalty area to defend. After passing the ball horizontally several times in a row, there was still no suitable opportunity for a straight pass. The somewhat anxious Bentley simply did a long shot from the flank that was outrageously deflected …
The Italian fans in the stands warmly applauded his shot, thanking him for helping to waste an attacking opportunity for England.
Twain was no longer as restless as before. He was indifferent on the sidelines to Bentley’s blind long shot. He did not make any rueful action and did not yell. It was as if it was not his team that was trailing behind. Perhaps it should be said that at present he had run out of ideas. As a manager, he had done all that he could. He could not possibly go on the field and help the team play?
What happened after would depend on the performance of the players.
For example, James Vaughan had not been able to achieve anything since he came on.
Vaughan himself was also unhappy with it – he complained that he was not put into good use before he came on whereas Agbonlahor, who was his substitute, had scored a goal. But when he had a chance to play and the team was in danger, he did not contribute, which was really unacceptable.
※※※
“We need to score goals! Rooney! Vaughn! And Walcott, what are you all doing?”
In pubs across Britain, countless people stared at the screens, asking such questions. Twain had used all three substitutions, and there was nothing else he could do after.
“What else can we do at this point? We can’t go up there and help them score goals, but we can inspire them with our songs!” John fervently pleaded to his friends in the stands at the Bernabéu, “Guys, sing with me – Saint George blesses England! Saint George blesses England——!!”
“Saint George blesses England!!”
The song came out of everyone’s mouth, as if rivers flowing into the ocean, and ultimately forming the momentum of stormy waves beating against the shore.
At this point, the England fans became the absolute masters of the stands, and the voices of the Italians were completely suppressed by them.
However, it seemed their singing did not help. England failed to threaten Italy’s goal in the first three minutes of the injury stoppage time.
“The Italian team proves itself worthy and so is Lippi. Their defense has left Tony Twain’s England team at a loss. The Italian team is a little closer to their second ever UEFA European Championship, while the England team, leading at first, is moving further away from their first UEFA European Championship title. It is a reality that has left England fans dispirited and saddened…”
It was not known if anyone else thought so, but John and the other fans in his section did not give up singing due to it.
Even Motson was a little frustrated and said, “Perhaps only the gods that come from the heavens can save us… Such a reality is so cruel. Who would have thought we were still one goal ahead twenty minutes ago?”
※※※
The injury stoppage time had officially entered in the fourth minute.
Now the two managers had no other cards on hand. All they could do was to watch the game at the side. Lippi also got up from his seat and walked slowly to the sidelines. During such a tense moment, even he, who had experienced numerous storms, could no longer sit still.
The outcome of the game was almost finalized.
George Wood was holding the ball. He was under little defensive pressure because he was in a position that was relatively closer at the back while the Italian players had retreated even further back. There was a long distance between the two parties. The cautious Italians did not rush up to intercept the ball. They did not want to give the England team a chance to play behind them.
Wood gave the ball to Bentley on the sideline. Bentley then sent out a long pass to give the ball to Chris Cohen on the other side.
It seemed that England could still only pass horizontally across so pointlessly and were unable to send the football to the front.
Chris Cohen got his leg up to cross the ball, which Rooney struggled to get the ball, but the ball flew off out of the end line when it struck Criscito’s body.
The England team quickly send out a corner ball, which was a tactical kick. Wood came forward to receive and pass the ball back to the full back, Joe Mattock, who rushed forward. Mattock faced Balotelli’s defense. After a feint to grab the ball, he wanted to break through, only to be knocked to the ground by Balotelli.
The referee’s whistle sounded, and the England team was awarded a low-angled free kick on the left side of the Italian goal. It was more like a closer 30-degree corner kick.
At this point, every place kick had the possibility of cracking open the opponent’s goal. Terry and Taylor were all pressed forward. Even Joe Hart was restless and wanted to rush up and score a goal for the team.
Bentley was a right-footed player. Rightfully speaking, the free kick should be crossed over at this angle and would make more sense for a left-footed player to kick it. But for a right-footed player to carry out a free kick on the left, it had another function.
Bentley put the football in place and got up to walk away. He waited for the referee’s whistle.
“It’s an inner curve ball! Be careful of their plug-ins from the back!!” The goalkeeper, Amelia shouted in front of the goal, urging his teammates to step up on the defense.
At this point, the players on both sides were concentrated near the penalty spot and did not huddle in front of the goal like it was a corner kick. It was obviously to let the player carrying out the penalty shot to kick the football toward the goal, rather than to swerve the ball outside, and then for the group of people in the middle to plug in from the back and simply rush to do a header to break the goal. And because those players who were defending also had to rush toward the goal with the attacking players, it was somewhat difficult to let them shake their heads to put the football in the opposite direction in the process … Even if no one could head the football, it would continue to follow the established trajectory straight to the back corner of the goal. As long as Amelia was momentarily blocked by anyone in the whole process, and lost the decisive opportunity and due judgment, it might lead to the football flying directly to the goal.
That was the advantage of having a right-footed player execute a place kick on the left side and for a left-footed player kicked a place kick from the right.
How could the Italians not possibly see such obvious tactics? The Italians stepped up their guarding of the England’s players. They were even willing to use the pulling and tugging of the football jerseys to stop their attack.
Everyone turned their attention toward Bentley’s shot in the air.
George Wood stood next to Bentley without attracting any attention. Although Wood had used a free kick combination to score a goal in the game against France, the free kick’s position was directly in front of the penalty area on the penalty area line. The angle of the shot was very good. Now that the football was at about thirty degrees angle from the goal, Amelia could easily seal the angle. A volley shot would not work here.
In the penalty area, the England players and the Italian players were entangled together, with one side trying to get away and the other side struggling to stick to them. Both sides were unwilling to give in. But the England players had their own little plan – it did not matter, let them pull. When the ball comes out, we just need to follow the momentum and fall. Maybe it will yield a penalty kick?
The referee retreated from the penalty area and he blew the whistle to kick off the free kick.
Bentley did not pass the ball straight into the penalty area after he ran up to kick, but instead pushed the ball aside!
Wood, standing on the side, rushed up, picked up his left foot and directly volleyed the football straight in!
From Amelia, to the striker, Foti, Italy’s eleven players had put the center of gravity of their defense in the air. No one expected the football to roll along the turf toward the goal!
Could it really be a direct shot at the goal?
Amelia turned pale with fright and quickly dropped his center of gravity. He hunkered down and tried to pounce on the ball by throwing himself sideways.
At the same time, the penalty area was like the Royal Ascot with warning shots fired. The Italian and English players fought hard to be the first and rushed toward the goal.
In fact, it was not a shot to the goal, but a cross pass. It was a Wood-style pass. The football rushed to the far corner of the goal. During the process, as long as someone touched it, then it would be…
Rooney, in the front position, did not manage to kick the football under Criscito’s interference. He narrowly missed the football. Wood’s powerful “volley shot” was indeed too fast. The chance to shoot was fleeting.
Walcott and Terry, both in the middle, also did not touch the football either. Instead, it bumped into Chiellini and Di Natale and made a mess.
This multiple collision also interfered with Amelia. When he managed to shake free of the situation in front of him and got ready to make a save after much difficulty, he realized it was too late!
In the chaotic penalty area, people outside could not see exactly what was going on. But only a white figure could be seen suddenly sprang out of the crowd as if it were a flashing cold dagger. Then the football was seen changing direction all of a sudden just a step away from the goal and rolling over the goal line!
It was a really unexpected scene. No one thought this free kick could actually turn into a goal!
“What? What…what a great GOOOOOOOOAL!!!”
John Motson, who was still somewhat dejected just now, was instantly revived.
“What are we seeing here? A miracle that’s happening! England has equalized the score in the fourth and ten seconds of the injury stoppage time!! Who has scored the goal? Or is it simply an own ball?!”
Just when he was still baffled, one person rushed out of the crowd in front of the Italian goal, and it was James Vaughan wearing the white jersey!
As he ran toward the corner flag, he lifted his jersey in front of the camera lens, revealing the T-shirt which he had long prepared, that read, “We’re with you, Aaron!”
“This ball is for you, Aaron!” He shouted to the camera as he pointed to the T-shirt on his chest.
“James Vaughan! James Vaughan!! He saved England!! He saved Tony Twain’s heart!!”
Motson roared so hard that he almost lost his voice.
“What just happened? The ball has gone in? The England team has equalized the score?” The Italian commentator asked three questions in a row. The shock in his mind was unmistakable. “Good God, what’s going on here?!”
The thunderous cheers from the England fans in the stands answered him, “Long live! James Vaughan! All hail! Saint George!”
※※※
Amelia laid on the ground with his hands outstretched to form a large shape. At this time, he did not even have the strength to get up. He only felt that he lacked energy and his entire body’s strength was drawn away with this goal concede.
What was going on? His brain was still unclear up to this moment.
How did this happen?
It was perhaps also a common question among countless Italians.
Lippi stood on the sidelines and watched helplessly as the football rolled into the goal. His face was still expressionless.
Next door, Tony Twain jumped from the ground and waved his fists hard, as if he were about to yank his arms off to celebrate the goal.
His heart that had just beat faster in his chest suddenly slowed down, and his breathing was no longer ragged.
It was an escape from calamity…
※※※
Vaughn yelled at the camera near the corner flag, followed by the equally excited players behind him. The score was equalized at the final crucial moment of the game, so they wanted to celebrate it well.
But someone interrupted their celebration.
George Wood stormed into the Italian goal and snatched the ball away from Santon with a lightning move of the hand. Then he shouted at his teammates, still in the corner flag area, “The game is not over yet!”
Seeing him like this, Lippi, who had remained immoveable, suddenly felt a chill in the intense heat – he’s truly a frightening guy …
Lippi felt that even if the two sides tied for the game, it was not unacceptable. At least with 30 minutes left, he could make adjustments again and drag the game into the penalty shootout for the Italians would not suffer. But George Wood obviously did not think so. He wanted the game to end in 95 minutes!
Even with one second left, the game was not over for him yet.
※※※
“YES!” Michael waved his fists at the monitor. Vaughan’s last-minute goal was so thrilling that it made him, a man located as far away as the United States, felt impassioned.
Meanwhile, in pubs of all sizes in Britain.
Golden colored beer sprayed over everyone’s head, and countless beers were tossed into the air.
“Cheers to England!!”
※※※
Vaughn wanted to turn around and hug Wood, who had helped him with the attack, but he saw Wood waving to him to signal to get back on the field.
He was a little surprised by his action. Was it not enough to tie the score?
There was not much time left. What else did he want to do? Did he still want to score a goal?
Before he could think about it further, he was swept along by his teammates back to the field to prepare for the remaining game.
※※※
Lippi only paused on the sidelines for a while before he turned around and went back. He had to talk to Ferrara about the tactical strategy for the overtime.
Similarly, Twain called Walker to his side and began to prepare for the overtime as well as even the penalty shootout.
“We must curb their morale! We will storm to attack in the first half of the overtime!” Lippi himself might not have noticed that the volume of his voice had been unwittingly raised by a lot. He was clearly in a very emotional state. He said, “Take back the initiative of the game in our hands. Tell them, don’t rush and don’t panic. With a few dozen seconds left in the game, England must be thinking about playing overtime!”
“This damn five-minute break…” Twain complained that the game was coming to an end while England’s hard to come by high morale could suffer a loss due to the five-minute short break. “Well, let’s put this aside… The game is bound to head into overtime and we have to be ready. Tell them don’t get besides themselves with joy during the break. The Italians are still very strong. Thirty minutes of overtime is like giving them a tranquilizer… Son of a bitch!” He still could not help but swore.
※※※
The two managers were racking their brains off the field for the sudden additional 30 minutes in the game, hoping to overwhelm each other and continue to take the initiative in their own hands.
Meantime, on the field, Wood seized the last bit of time to tell his teammates what to do next.
“I don’t want to play overtime, not even for a minute. They will think we’d accept the outcome…” He pointed to the opposite side and said, “We’re going to surprise them.”
“But what are we going to do to score another goal? There’s no time, George…” Terry was doubtful.
“I don’t know too…” Wood was honest and shook his head to answer. If he was not familiar with his temper, Terry would have really thought that he was joking before…
But as the captain, he must have been using this method to boost morale, right? It is not really that he cannot accept a draw. In fact, a draw is actually a good result. At least we don’t lose the game in 90 minutes. Now there are still thirty minutes left, we can rouse ourselves and make a comeback.
That was what Terry thought. Wood did not really want to score a third goal. He just talked big to keep everyone’s morale up.
The football was rearranged by Wood on the center circle for the kickoff, with James Vaughan and Wayne Rooney standing outside the center circle, waiting for the Italians to come up to kick off.
Vaughn became a hero, but now he did not have the energy to think about how a hero should be treated. Because the game was not over yet. It was only a tie. The captain was right in that the game was not over yet.
Lippi stood on the sidelines, yelling at the Italian players inside, “Keep the football under your feet, don’t send out any long balls easily! Drag out the time to the end!!”
At this time, his original meticulous silver hair had been messed up because of his fierce movements. His gentlemanly manners had long gotten away from him. England’s equalizer in the final minute gave the cunning silver fox a taste of danger. Years of experience told him that they should absolutely not think about scoring a goal again to take the lead at this time. It was what a dangerous “risk-taker” would do. There was only less than a minute left in the game anyways. There was only hope of winning the game going into overtime. In his original tactics, there was a deployment targeted for overtime.
Twain did not rush to the sidelines to shout because he felt it was foolish to run to yell nonsense since the game was bound to be dragged into overtime.
The Italian forwards, Foti and Balotelli had come up to prepare for the kickoff. They had already been given the latest instructions from the manager that the game would continue to be played in overtime.
The likes of Vaughan, Rooney and Walcott, who were waiting in front, suddenly heard the voice coming from behind.
“Go up and make a grab for it! Don’t mind the defense. Go grab their ball!” It was George Wood! He urged, “Get the ball and we will have one more chance to attack!”
With a whistle from the referee, Balotelli knocked the ball to Foti, who then sent the ball back. Meanwhile, George Wood was the first to rush up. Vaughan and Rooney were slightly behind. Then Walcott, Bentley, Cohen, Joe Mattock, Richards… and the other people all rushed to the Italian team’s half of the field. They only have one mission which was to grab the ball!
Like the “monkey in the middle” game played during training, the Italian players were passing the ball back and forth in the backfield while the England players seemingly act like they were rookies playing professional football for the first time, giving chase to the ball without any counterpoint defense.
The scene looked slightly comical.
The England fans in the stands were booing as they were unhappy with Italy’s cowardly action. They could eager for the Italians to send the football directly to the feet of the England team.
In such a situation, Twain could only secretly swear for he had no other ideas.
It was the England players who were anxious on the field.
If the football was allowed to pass back and forth at the feet of the Italian players, then the referee might not wait for the injury stoppage time to really be up before he blow the whistle to end the game. That was not what they wanted to see.
Vaughn did a dangerous slide shovel, but he did not shovel the ball, nor did he shovel anyone. De Rossi dodged his rash tackle and passed the football to Aquilani next to him. Aquilani, facing Rooney’s closing down on him, passed the ball to Chiellini behind him. Chiellini then passed to Santon on the right side.
Joe Mattock rushed up and Santon passed the ball to De Rossi in front. No matter how the England team fought, the football was always at the feet of the Italian players. In terms of the footwork skills alone, the Italians were indeed better than the English.
But when it came to interception of the ball, England’s best man had not made his move yet.
Wood had been checking out the referee. Although he had not looked at the watch so far, there was little time left for England.
De Rossi took the ball again and this time, he passed to Balotelli in the middle. At the same time, Wood followed suit. In the face of his club’s captain, Balotelli was not afraid, he even decided to bypass Wood, and then pass the ball again. But the next second he discovered how stupid the idea was. Wood pounced quickly and basically did not give him any time to show his footwork skills.
Helplessly, Balotelli had to turn around quickly and guard the football in front of him while blocking Wood with his back. He thought this would save the football for a while, but he did not expect Wood to suddenly extend his leg from the side to jab the football!
Balotelli watched Wood skirt around him to give chase to the ball. He hurriedly reached his hand out to yank in a panic. Originally, it would have been impossible for Wood to give up his pursuit of football in the face of such a pull. But when he found out that it was Aquilani the front of the football while he was yanked by Balotelli, it was probably not enough for him to reach the football, so he calculated in his mind.
Balotelli naturally pulled Wood with all his strength, but Wood’s fall to the ground was a little too smooth…
The referee’s whistle followed closely.
“Balotelli has fouled! England is awarded a free kick in front of goal! This can very well be England’s last chance to attack!” In actual fact, the injury stoppage time had long gone for more than five minutes. But the England team had scored a goal earlier. The celebration of the goal and waiting for the Italian team to come forward to kick off had delayed the time a little. Although the fourth official did not raise the signboard again, the little bit of time still had to be added accordingly.”
The atmosphere on the pitch was not tense, because everyone’s mind was currently thinking about overtime, not the game at present. Even John Motson began to speculate about what tactics the two managers would use in overtime.
After Gerrard was brought off the game and even though Bentley could also carry out the free kick, the current free kick was somewhat special – 32 meters from the goal. If he wanted to shoot directly at the goal, Bentley’s leg power could not reached that far. He could only choose to pass the ball.
Bentley had the same plan when he carried the football over.
But someone stopped him.
“If you kick the ball out, the game is over.” Wood stopped him halfway.
Bentley looked at the captain and could not understand what he meant by that.
Wood took the football from his arms and said, “I’ll do it.”
This remark greatly surprised Bentley. He and Wood had been teammates at Nottingham Forest for many years, but he had never seen Wood practice free kicks because his free kicks were not good at all,. He himself was aware of it, so he never asked to carry out a free kick during a game.
Why did he suddenly want to execute the penalty in the final moments of the game?
Bentley kept guessing and could only take it that Wood wanted to get a kick out of it. Anyway, it was the last attack and the chances of a goal were too small.
So, he allowed Wood to take away his right to carry out the place kick.
Looking at Wood place the football on the ground, Twain also wondered: Could it be that he was going to kick the ball himself? What did that mean?
Lippi saw Wood prepare for the penalty shot and he had no more worries on his mind – the game looked certain to head into overtime.
“George Wood? It looks like England is going to give up this last chance to attack, ha!” The Italian commentator was no longer flustered.
※※※
The Italian players were forming a human wall. The ball was indeed a little far away from the goal. The human wall did not line up with five or six people. There was only four people blocking in front of Wood. The referee looked at his watch and prepared for after the free kick was played. He was going to blow the whistle to signal the end of the game, no matter what the outcome was.
Thinking that they were going to play overtime soon, there were not as many English players going on the attack as there were before.
The stands suddenly quieted down. Regardless of whether they were the England fans or Italian fans, they both chose to shut up. Maybe the endless fighting for 95 minutes had exhausted them at the end. Maybe it was because they felt it was a critical moment, for fear of any noise disturbing them.
Equally quiet as they were, were also the fans of the two countries in front of the televisions as well as Michael Bernard, located as far away as the United States.
Sophia could not watch the game live at the stadium. She sat at home, staring fixedly at the television screen with both her hands clasped together as if she was praying to God.
In such a quiet environment, it seemed that everyone’s heartbeat could be heard.
※※※
Wood put the football in place, which was in a blink of an eye. However, so much had happened around him that it felt like another 90 minutes had passed.
The Italian human wall did not step forward. They thought the ball was too far away and it was going to be kicked by Wood. So, it was not really a threat.
Wood set the ball and began to pull back to help with the run-up distance.
He did not take two steps and stop. Instead, he kept backing until he was almost at the center circle. The distance to run up was about ten meters.
Could it be that he wanted to take a leaf out of the long-retired Roberto Carlos, Brazil’s left-back and master of powerful free kicks?
Wood looked at the football ten meters away and the human wall further afield, as well as the goal at the end of the path. At this time, he recalled something that happened a long time ago. At the time, Demi had not yet retired and was still playing at the Forest team. Twain had asked Wood to follow Demi to learn how to be a good midfielder. So Wood was often with Demi, including when Demi was having extra practices on free kicks. He was never far from his side.
He had revealed the idea of trying to practice free kicks at the time, but he dropped the idea since he did not have the talent. But Demi said something that deeply impressed him. It was what Demi had advised him when Wood wanted to master Albertini’s banana kick. He said, “I have my own style and Beckham has another. There are many styles of free kicks, George. A powerful volley shot is also a style of …”
A powerful volley shot was also a style!
The referee blew the whistle, signaling that Wood could make the penalty kick.
Wood took a deep breath and then stomped his feet hard. Following which, he leaned his body forward and adopted a stance to start a 100-meter sprint. His entire body’s muscles contracted and tightened. And he launched like a cheetah in the next second!
The distance of ten meters was covered in a flash. He had already rushed to the front of the football. His left foot stamped firmly at the side of the ball and his left hand swung out, drawn in a circle, while he picked up his right foot. The power traveled up from the ground through his left foot and right foot respectively and the strength from the left foot was then amplified by the waving of his left hand. He twisted to the right at the waist, combining the force from the left and right sides which directly sped up to the arch of his right foot.
In the end, the force which came from the ground reached its final destination –
Wood’s right leg was like a whip, and the arch of his foot was the tip of the whip, pumping the ball hard.
The football shot to the sky as if it had been shot out by a cannon and whizzed forward.
The people nearest in distance were the Italian team’s human wall. They only felt a gust of wind blowing over their heads and the football flew past them.
The whizzing sound emitted by the football’s friction over the air sounded like an alarm, ringing out over the Italian team’s defensive zone.
WARNING! WARNING!! WARNING!!!
With the sound of “whizz–“, the football had already flown into the penalty area.
Amelia began to move once he saw the football went over the top of the human wall, ready to pounce. When the football flew into the penalty area, he jumped and made a saving action.
But a terrible thought suddenly emerged from his mind – I may not get to the ball…
“Wow!” The image of the football in his eyes did not gradually magnify, but it was as if it suddenly expanded, twice over, and then doubling again. Now it was close at hand, but his hands were not in place yet.
“Crap…”
It was the only thought in his mind as the football flew over his defense.
Soon after, in the quiet pitch, he heard the rustling of the football brushing against the net, as well as the gasps of his Italian teammates.
※※※
The people outside the field only saw a white line piercing through almost half of the pitch, then crashed head-on into the goal and lifted the net.
The first people to react were the England fans in the stands. They jumped from their seats with their hands raised high. The deafening cheers from the crowd broke the silence of the stadium.
It was closely followed by John Motson who had also woken up from a trance and was extremely thrilled as he shouted, “Saint George! Saint George! Oh my God, what just happened? What do I feel like I’m dreaming? Is it true? Did the football really enter the goal, and not just hit the net at the side? A goal scored at the last second… Yes, not the last minute, but a goal scored at the last second! It’s simply unbelievable!!”
Not to mention him, even the England players on the pitch could not believe what they were seeing. It was reasonable to say that after their teammate had scored, they should raise their arms high and cheer. These people’s arms were opened, but they were holding their heads and staring at the ball inside the goal …
Terry stood in the back as he did not go up to take part in the attack because he thought the game was over and it was a wise move to save his strength to play overtime. But now as he looked at George Wood’s back, only then he realized that he was not talking big to boost morale. He was for real!
“I can’t believe that George Wood can shoot a ball like this! If he were to do it again, he would most likely shoot it to the sky! This must have been a shot by God! It was God who used Wood’s right foot to kick a goal like this! In the last second of the game, England got their last chance and they reversed the game! Can anyone believe such a game if we were to tell them?” The Spanish commentator was also very excited as he said, “But this is happening! We have the privilege of witnessing a game like this… No, it’s a miracle!”
Wood, who scored the goal, was not as excited as the other people. He did not dash to the sidelines or take off his jersey. He just stood there in the same spot, with his arms open and his clenched fists pointing to the sky.
Even if he was not excited, other people would naturally be excited. His teammates rushed excitedly from all directions to fully surround him. In the end, they simply lifted him up and threw him into the sky! Such a celebration was really a rare sight. In the past, no matter how excited they were, they only piled on top of the goalscorer…
“George Wood – what an incredible goal! Whether it was the way he scored the goal or the timing of a goal, it’s incredible! The Italians lost at the last second! They did not manage to drag the game into overtime. They lost the championship trophy in the last second!”
Amelia knelt on the ground, while his teammates next to him looked at the excited Englishmen in a daze. No one could accept such a reality – just a minute ago, they thought they were going to be champions. Just a second ago, they thought the game would be dragged into overtime. And with their impenetrable defense, they would still be the winners.
Wood’s world-class kick shattered their dreams. The post-victory revelry had now been shattered into pieces and scattered away in the night wind in Madrid.
Lippi stood blankly on the sidelines. This time he was not calm, but completely lifeless… He did not expect his team to lose the game in this way. In the most unlikely moment, the most unlikely person had become the one to end the game.
They almost had the game in the bag…
While Lippi was struck dumb, Twain did not jump up and down like the people around him. He stood in place but held out his right hand and pressed on his heart.
He was feeling his heartbeat, which was very fast and strong.
“Hey, Tony! We’re champions! The European champions!” Walker did not give him a chance to feel the emotions here. He ran up from behind to hold him. “We did it, we really did it!”
Twain did not struggle and just let him hold himself as he howled crazily.
He felt as if a weight had been taken off his mind. It was a good thing someone was holding him. Otherwise he really doubted that he could continue to stand any longer…
At this point, he did not have to care about what kind of counterattack Italy would do, because he was certain that the game was already over. This time it was really over!
No one would need to fish out the football from the net and put it in the center circle. The leading England team would not do that. Nor would the trailing Italians do the same.
The referee followed closely with three whistles to end the game after he blew the whistle to declare the validity of the goal.
The game was over!
The England team’s substitute players rushed to the pitch along with the coaches to celebrate their first ever UEFA European Championship in history.
Twain did not follow the crowd to rush up. He stood on the sidelines and got ready to shake Lippi’s hand.
It was a post-match etiquette.
Lippi was back to normal after the game ended. Having won numerous championships in his life, he also had won a lot of runner-up titles. He had experienced a lot of such defeats.
“Congratulations, Mr. Twain.”
He politely congratulated as he held Twain’s hand.
“Thank you, Mr. Lippi.”
The two men did not have any more conversation. Lippi needed to be busy appeasing his players. Those people were already crying as if they were dissolved in tears. And as for Twain himself… he was already surrounded by a large group of reporters, waiting for him and Lippi to finish shaking hands before they rushed up to interview him.
Lippi had just turned around to walk away when the reporters swarmed up to surround Twain for fear that he would run away.
“Mr. Twain! First of all, congratulations on winning the first UEFA European Championship in the history of English football…”
“Mr. Twain, can you talk about what you are thinking now?”
“Was it beyond your expectations that you would win the game at the last minute, Mr. Twain?”
“Do you have anything to say about George Wood’s goal?”
“Mr. Twain…”
“Tony…”
“Mr. Twain…”
“Mr. Tony Twain…”
Countless questions, microphones, recording pens and mobile phones were stuffed to the front of Twain’s lips. Now even if he were to let out a fart, it would be considered fragrant. Any remark he made would be presented as famous. No one in the world of football would dare to question his ability to coach the national team anymore.
Tony Twain was the champion. The established law would come into effect again in the national team.
At the end of the first installment of the classic film, , Michael Corleone finally became the new godfather of the Corleone family. With his wife peeking at the door, he accepted the kiss on the hand from his men as vows of loyalty and devotion, completing the transformation from a young officer full of ideals to a ruthless mafia don.
Now, at the Bernabéu, the old godfather of Italian football was walking off the stage, step by step. He was comforting his players. No media outlet expressed any concern about him, and no one cared how he felt as the “loser.”
And Twain had received unprecedented welcome and popularity.
Tonight, the whole of Europe squirmed at his feet and kissed the hand that he extended to acknowledge their allegiance.
As the old godfather alone departed in disappointment under the Sicilian afternoon sun, the new godfather sat high on the throne of power, enjoying the pledges of allegiance from the new recruits. Overlooking the world, he was full of mettle, as if there was nothing or anyone in the world that could stop his steel horses from conquering the world.
It was only Europe tonight. Two years later, he wanted the whole world to surrender at his feet!
He had no doubt about it, for the champion’s heart in his chest was beating powerfully.
...
Chapter 976 - Two Years Later
When Tony Twain led the England team to win the first UEFA European Championship in history, the English media heralded that the football world had entered “Twain’s era.” During that period, Tony Twain’s prestige in England even showed trend of surpassing that of the British prime minister’s. Even Carl Spicer, his arch enemy, did not say anything bad about him. Just thinking about when he brought the England team back home, the scene of multitudes coming out from everywhere to welcome them, he already knew how unwise it was to say bad things about him at this time …
But Carl Spicer did not have to wait too long. When the World Cup qualifiers were reignited, they finally found a chance to attack Twain. The England team, which was awe-inspiring in the UEFA European Championship, seemed to have lost all its drive and faltered in the qualifying rounds.
There was even a time when Tony Twain’s manager position was precarious. The media admonished him and put him up against all kinds of charges. There had even been a number of authoritative media outlets that had proclaimed that the English Football Association was seriously considering whether to let Twain go. As for the great feat of leading the England team to make history a year ago, it had long been forgotten by people.
Competitive sports was so cruel. The losers were always in the wrong.
It was the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup held in Australia that saved Twain. As a preview for next year’s World Cup, the FIFA Confederations Cup, which gathered the champions from all continents, had received more and more attention. As the 2016 UEFA European Championship winner, England was invited to the tournament.
The England team, which competed in the Confederations Cup, was very different from the one that competed in the UEFA European Championship a year ago. The old players such as Gerrard and Terry had left the national team, with the 25-year-old Wilshere being appointed with the heavy task. The media all saw him as George Wood’s future successor in the England squad.
At this point, the England team was overwrought over whether they could advance out of the European section. The Confederations Cup would be a break away from it for them. No one had any hope of their results before the game. There were even rumors that Twain would be sacked by the Football Association when the Confederations Cup was over if the results were bad.
It was just that no one thought Tony Twain would show his talent once again. He led the team that no one was optimistic about, and surmounted all difficulties to finally beat his arch-rival, the Copa América champion, Argentina, to lift up the Confederations Cup trophy.
With a victory over a team like Argentina in the final and winning the Confederations Cup, Twain’s position was firmly established overnight again.
So much so that Carl Spicer said sourly in his program, “Twain always gets a good chance at a critical moment. The Confederations Cup was his good chance…”
And Twain had also completed the team’s generational change and reshuffling through the Confederations Cup. The new England team was younger, more dynamic and had more driver. They would not halt and go no further just because they won the title.
In the subsequent World Cup qualifiers, they went from third place to finish second in the group and eventually qualified for the play-offs. During the qualifiers, England beat Russia to secure a last-minute ticket to Australia’s World Cup finals.
But at that time, just as England was celebrating their qualification for the World Cup, perhaps anyone who was bold enough, did not expect them to see what they were going to see today.
※※※
Sydney’s Stadium Australia had never been as lively as it was tonight, like a volcano erupting. It was not spewing with lava, but with passion. Stadium Australia, which could hold up to 81,000 people, was the venue for the World Cup finals this time and was currently at full capacity. The snow-white lights shone out of the stadium, and the surrounding sky was lit up. The helicopter responsible for the aerial filming could be clearly seen hovering over the stadium.
Overlooking from the air, players of the two teams were caught up in an irresolvable fight in the middle of the green field. It was a brouhaha in the crowd within the stands and the heatwave shot straight into the clouds. It could be clearly felt in the helicopter.
More than 200 countries and regions around the world are watching the game live, with about 1.2 billion people watching it on the television. In a game like this, there was Tony Twain’s figure!
“… With less than five minutes to go until the end of the match, the England team is now 2:0 ahead of the last World Cup winner, Brazil! It is an unexpected score which no one could have anticipated before the game. Perhaps a lot of England fans will think they’re dreaming, even until now…”
The Brazilian team is turning up the full pressure. If they can’t equalize the score in these five minutes…”
“There are five minutes left! Just hold on for another five minutes! And we will hold up the World Cup trophy for the second time! Our tight defense has left the Brazilian team with no way to attack… From the beginning of the game, the initiative has fallen into our hands! Tony Twain completely figured out their tactics!”
“Twain is standing on the sidelines. I can’t tell what he’s feeling at the moment. His face is so calm that he’s not worried about the Brazilian’s counterattack.”
“I need to recap Tony Twain’s career since he became a manager – only one word consistently pops up in the entire list: champion! Now, the World Cup title is close at hand and within reach. If England can finally win the World Cup, then to Tony Twain, there’s no championship trophy that he hasn’t gotten in the world!”
The man who was commended by people was standing on the sidelines with his arms across his chest and looking calm. In fact, his heart roiled like boiling water, bubbling over. Although he had long set himself a goal to dominate the world, his heart was still beating uncontrollably at this moment as if it would jump out of his throat the moment he opened his mouth. So, he just tightly pursed his lips, which made him look unperturbed and serene…..
The England team was now completely in a defensive stance on the pitch. Wilshere, who had scored his second goal for the team, had long since been brought off by Twain. England deployed a double defensive midfielder formation in the midfield, with the two players, George Wood and Michael Johnson locked in their positions in front of the penalty area. It was hard even for the Brazilian team to attack.
The current situation was also thanks to the fact that Brazil’s current manager was not Dunga from four years ago. Dunga had left after he succeeded in leading the team to their sixth World Cup using a more conservative approach and then went to Europe to make his fortune. He was replaced by the former Brazilian under-20 national team’s manager, Rogério. Unlike Dunga, he was a supporter of the classic Brazilian football tradition. He preferred offense, emphasized the short passes on the ground and aspired to restore the glory of the Brazilian art of football.
It was a pity that his ambition was no use in the face of Twain. Rogério, who wanted to play offense head to head against England in the final, found they faced a shrinking England team that fought defensively. As a result, the Brazilian team did not score and instead, the England team made use of its defensive counterattacks to score two goals in a row, forcing them to the brink.
Twain did not stay and stand on the sidelines to watch the game. He turned around and walked back to the technical area. Next to him, no one could sit still in their seats. They all went to the sidelines, waiting for the referee to blow the final whistle of the game so that they could rush into the field to celebrate the historic moment with the players on the pitch.
The other people were excited. Only he felt tired.
He had been under a lot of pressure over the past year and he himself had exerted most of the pressure. Now it looked like the England team would win the World Cup title without a doubt. And after that?
Go back home to celebrate…
Twain thought even further.
Before the World Cup, the Football Association had hoped to renew his contract with Twain, but he refused. Despite Shaun Harvey’s displeased look, Twain still laid his cards on the table – he would not renew his contract with the Football Association when the World Cup ended, and his contract expired. That meant he would not continue to be coaching the England team again. The piece of news was nothing new.
As the national team manager, he had won all the championship titles there were. What was the point of staying? Twain did not want to lead the England team to create to create a great undertaking of all ages. He had no interest in the future of English football. For him, leading the England team was just to satisfy his love of football as well as a challenge to himself. Now that the challenge was over, he was tired.
As Twain sat alone in his chair, lost in his thoughts, the referee blew the final whistle.
“The game is over! England has won the 2018 World Cup title in Australia! Congratulations to them! Congratulations to Tony Twain, too! He has led the national team to accomplish the national team’s grand slam honors – the UEFA European Championship, the FIFA Confederations Cup, the FIFA World Cup! This is indeed an enviable achievement!
Twain only stood up from his seat at this moment and raised his hands high, appearing as a winner in front of the camera lenses. Fatigue was not displayed at times like this.
“England is a world champion! This is an unexpected result! Who would have thought they would have a day like this when they couldn’t even get out of the European qualifiers at one point? Two years ago, Twain had led the team to the top of Europe. Two years later, they have become the king of the world!”
“We are the champions! We’re the champions!!” John Motson was incoherent from the excitement. He only knew how to shout the phrase, which everyone knew well.
Around him, the coaches and players rushed about in ecstasy. Some people even cried tears of excitement. And Twain? He was in a calm mood and was being interviewed by reporters at the moment.
The reporters surrounded him. They thought that Twain had become the world champion tonight, so he must be in a very good mood. So, he would answer every question. They could also use this occasion to get more insider news to satisfy a wide range of audience and readers.
As Twain looked at the reporters who kept throwing questions and microphones at him, he just waved his hands and signaled that they did not need to hurry.
Seeing his hand gesture, the reporters did calm down. Yes, the game was already over, so there was no hurry. They had a lot of time to ask questions. The award ceremony was another half an hour away.
“First of all, I have a name list here…” Twain said as he pulled out a folded piece of paper from the inside pocket of his suit. He unfolded it to wave it at the press. No one could see clearly what was written on it. They only saw a swath of dense text.
“For the names of the media outlets which I call out, I will refuse to accept interviews from them.”
Once he said it, it was as if a heavy artillery had been dropped in the crowd!
What did that mean? Why did he have to have such a grim expression and refuse to be interviewed during such a happy time? What was going on with Tony Twain? Was there something wrong with his brain again?
It was during this time that a lot of the English media suddenly realized – the person they were facing was still Tony Twain. More than a decade had passed. Even though there were more wrinkles added on his face and the hair on his head was getting whiter, he was the unruly Tony Twain who liked to clash with the media.
“The Sun, News of the World…” Twain looked down and read the names on the “blacklist” one by one. These names were the media outlets which had hit him while he was at the lowest and during his most difficult times. They viciously scolded him and clamored for him to be fired from the England national team manager position. At that time, Twain also had his own column to fight back, but his voice was like a small stone dropped into the sea. It did not even create a ripple.
At the time, these media did not think that one day they would have to put up a smile to interview Twain and hoped that he would open his mouth to let them have their reports.
Gentlemen, it was time now to settle all accounts.
Twain had long remembered each and every name of these media outlets and written them down on the list to be carried with him at any time. He was preparing for this moment. Of course, if he did not win the championship in the end, the list might not come in handy, because even if he wanted to refuse to be interviewed by these media outlets, he would not be able to stop the others from rebuking him.
When these media outlets heard Twain read their names, the expressions on their faces suddenly became excited. Twain’s list included the vast majority of the English media outlets, as well as several foreign media, including one media outlet in China, which once described him as “impotent.”
After he read not so short list, Twain looked at the crowd of stunned reporters in front of him and asked, “Do the other people have any questions?”
The first people to react were the Liverpool Echo reporters. Because they had an anti-Twain representative, Christopher Beesley, so there were a lot of bad stuff written about Twain in the newspapers. They appeared to be agitated by Twain’s announcement that he would reject their interviews. They said, “You can’t do this, Mr. Twain!”
“Of course, I can, Mr. Reporter. I’m a world champion!” He roared cockily. “You’re the ones who asked to interview me while I’m not the one who asked you to come and interview me.”
“You…” The Liverpool Echo reporter was rendered speechless by Twain’s words for a long time.
On the side, The Sun reporter was relatively sly. He would not directly protest. Any fool could now see that Twain was in the limelight. It was fruitless to clash with him. Although they had clashes before, being flexible and taking advantage of the situation was a basic quality of an excellent reporter.
He moved closer, adopting a humble approach as he said, “I’m a reporter for The Sun. We’ll publish an apology in the newspaper, and offer you our sincerest apologies for what we’ve said in the past…” His submissive attitude made the other media outlets “wake up” – that’s the right thing to do now! Use an apology to ease the strained relationship with Twain and make the boss happy after the World Cup first. Why did not they think of it? Instead, they had let The Sun reporter seize the key moment!
The Sun and other media outlets all thought that it was the only solution to the problem.
But Twain’s words shattered all of their dreams as he said, “I refuse to accept any form of apology, and I will not accept any form of interview from you.”
His attitude was very firm and had absolutely no intention of making any jokes or giving in. He laughed when he saw the group of media reporters dumbfounded.
“It looks like everyone has nothing to ask. That’s good. I have to be with my players. Sorry, step aside.” He pushed away a few people in front of him and squeezed out the huddle of reporters.
The group of reporters watched as his figure mixed in with the celebratory crowd before they reacted. But in the face of the meritorious manager who had just led the team to win the World Cup, they could only lament – they did not dare to say anything bad about Tony Twain in their respective published media all because he was now the national hero. Anyone who went against him would be going against the whole of England, and even the whole of Britain. He would be the public enemy of the country.
Furthermore, what made the media even more frustrated was Twain would announce his departure after the World Cup. Since he was not in the manager’s position, there was naturally no handle for the media to seize upon, not to mention such talk of “it was never too late for a gentleman to exact revenge.”
Twain was suave with the turn of events and cut off the possibility of the media looking for an opportunity to pick a quarrel with him. He had incensed this group of people with no ways of venting it till they stifled from the bottled-up anger.
The group of reporters sighed helplessly and dispersed.
On this happy night, they were not happy at all.
※※※
Twain was not done with dropping bombshells yet. At a press conference that evening, Tony Twain, who had just led the England team to its second World Cup title, had announced a somewhat unexpected piece of news:
“I’ve decided to retire. Yes, it’s retirement, not resignation. Not only am I going to step down as the England manager, I am also not going to consider invitations from the other teams. I’m no longer Manager Tony Twain from today onwards,. I don’t have any plans for the future. For the moment I just want to enjoy the joy brought by the World Cup victory. I want to thank my team and to the fans who have supported me.”
When he finished his speech, the reporters below the stage were in a frenzy…
Everyone had been looking forward to Twain creating a new glory. How could he retire? He was currently not even fifty years old… As a manager, how could he retire when he was in his prime?
No one knew what Twain was thinking. Since more than a decade ago, no one had been able to guess what was on this man’s mind. He always liked to be unexpected. When he was admonished by people and during the most difficult times, he persisted and did not resign. Now that he was at the peak of his success, he suddenly announced his retirement.
Maybe he just liked to dally with the masses like this…
Twain stood up and waved to the media, preparing to say goodbye. Perhaps realizing that this was his last public appearance as a manager, the reporters lifted their cameras in succession, pressed the shutters, and set his image with the cameras.
Just that for such a mad man to suddenly bid farewell, even though those media outlets had been checkmated by him, they still inevitably felt that it was a great pity – what are we going to have to attract the attention of readers in the future?!
...
Chapter 977 - A Child
”Tony Twain has announced his retirement!”
“This time, it’s goodbye for real!”
“Unbelievable, he actually chose to leave at the peak of his career…”
“His retirement is a massive loss to English Football!”
Even those media bodies who were put into Twain’s blacklist after the final felt that it was a pity that he left. Although it was not news that Twain was going to resign from his post as England’s manager after the World Cup, nobody expected him to choose to leave completely——To retire.
England’s triumph in the World Cup dominated the headlines of the newspapers for two days before it got replaced by Twain’s decision.
For a moment, there were many rumors about his reasons for retirement, but none of them was trustable. That was because Twain did not explain why he was going to retire instead of just resigning.
※※※
“You actually resigned?” Shania’s beautiful eyes widened as she looked at Twain opposite her.
Twain smiled as he enjoyed the expression on his wife’s face. She looked beautiful even when she was surprised.
“That’s right, I quit! Aren’t you happy? I only see surprise in your expression.”
“Er…” Shania did not know whether she was happy with the news. She did not even know if she should be happy.
The two of them were in France, Paris, not in England at that time. Shania had a show to attend there and Twain was accompanying her.
“I wanted to give you a surprise, do you like it?”
Twain spread his arms out and waited for his wife to jump into his embrace.
However, Shania did not do that. She merely cocked her head as she examined her husband, “I’m just thinking about the number of days that you can keep it up this time…”
Twain blushed in embarrassment at this comment. The last time Twain said that he would quit, not go back into management and focus on accompanying Shania, he went back on his words within the month after his heart got restless after a call from London.
“I’m retiring this time!” Twain raised his right hand and swore, “I’m going to have absolutely nothing to do with football now.”
Shania merely gave him a smile. She was not a silly girl who would believe everything a man said.
Twain could tell that she did not believe her, and he had no choice but to mutter, “Let time prove everything then.”
Shania only leant onto him after seeing that he was feeling down, “What will George say about you quitting again?” The last time he left his job as Nottingham Forest’s manager, Wood got into a cold war with him for a very long time. Shania knew all about that incident.
“You don’t have to worry about it this time,” Twain patted Shania on her back gently, “I’ve already talked to him about it.”
※※※
George Wood received a call from Pierce Brosnan, asking him about “insider information” regarding Twain’s retirement.
“He said he wanted to take a break, “George’s answer was as succinct as ever.
“That’s it?” Brosnan could hardly believe what he was hearing. How could something so grave be decided so easily?
“Yes.”
“How could that…wait!” Brosnan finally reacted to it, “You didn’t try to stop him when he told you?”
“I did, but it didn’t work,” Wood was honest and did not lie.
Brosnan stayed silent for a while before asking, “George, can you tell me the details of the events at that time?”
“Um…” Wood became hesitant as he did not know what he should or should not tell the media. Twain did not agree to it, nor did he disagree.
Brosnan decided to use the door-in-the-face technique, “It’s fine if he forbade you from talking about it. I won’t make things difficult for you, George.”
“No, he did not say that…” Wood shook his head.
He thought back to a month ago, the night before England was due to play Australia. Twain suddenly asked Wood to go to his room as he had something important to talk to him about.
“Actually, this is not something that I should be telling you before such an important match. However, I trust that you have the mental strength to cope with it, and if I talk to you about this when it happens, there will be many disruptions which will make it difficult for us to have a sit and talk properly,” Twain was very direct at what he wanted to say, “My contract will be up after the World Cup and I don’t intend to extend it. You know about it, don’t you?”
Wood nodded his head. Not only him, the whole England knew about it. After the FIFA Confederations Cup, England returned in glory and the media guessed that the Football Association should have given Twain a new contract. After all, it was only a year till the World Cup. However, the Football Association did not do that then, choosing to wait till after the World Cup before deciding if they wanted to extend Twain’s contract based on the results. It sounded like they did not trust Twain.
Even though Twain did not openly lose his temper, he lost his faith in the Football Association because of that. He could not feel the cooperation between him and the Football Association anymore. The only thing left was for them to make use of each other. Harvey was merely using him to solidify his position as he led the England team to a series of good results, yet he was unwilling to take responsibility for any possible future failures. Twain, on the other hand, was just doing it for the 14 million pounds annual salary.
Since that was the case, then it was better to end this earlier. So, after leading England to the final round, Twain released an announcement to say that he would not be extending his contract with the Football Association. Regardless of the results in the World Cup, he would be leaving his position after the competition.
At that time, England barely made it out of the group stages and the public did not think that England would be able to achieve any good results in the World Cup, that was why they did not protest against Twain’s announcement. In their views, Twain was giving himself an out first, in case England performed badly in the knockout stages——This was still a very big possibility to them——This way, he could leave with his dignity intact as he would have left on his own accord, instead of being forced out…
As he looked at Wood nodding his head, Twain continued saying, “However, this time it’s not as simple as just stepping down as England manager. It’s leaving the game altogether. It’s retirement. I’ve decided to retire.”
Wood looked up at the man in front of him in astonishment.
“I’m not joking or anything, George. I’m telling you because I don’t want to hurt you again,” Twain was referring to the time he left without a word.
“Why retire?” Wood asked.
“So that I can give more of my time to my wife. For the past few years, I’ve been too busy and too tired to take care of Shania.” The manager of England was probably the busiest manager in the world. And in a country where paparazzi was so rampant such as England, there was almost no private life at all. Twain was not being spoiled or exaggerating when he said that. “I’ll be fifty in September next year. How much more time can I have by her side?” Wood had a special relationship with him, that was why Twain could tell him heartfelt words like this. Otherwise, for someone who needed to maintain his image in front of others, he would never had revealed his inner feelings.
This made Wood fall into deep thought. He was facing the same problem as Twain. His mother’s health had been getting worse, which is why he had not been looking for a girlfriend. That was because to him, there might not be much time for him to stay by his mother’s side anymore.
As they had similar feelings, Wood had no rights to stop him at all.
“So, it’s because of this…” Brosnan muttered to himself after hearing the narration by Wood.
Tony Twain was the man of the moment after all. Even if he led England to the World Cup triumph, his popularity was off the charts for now and his retirement led to a great discussion. Not every fan understood his decision. If this was the reason, then there would probably be no one who would complain about it.
“I understand now George. Thank you.”
Brosnan hung up after thanking Wood. Wood did not know if he did the right thing by telling this to a reporter.
But he shook his head very soon and shook this thought away. If there was a problem, Twain should be the one troubled by it, not him. It was his fault for leaving him again anyway.
※※※
“What other plans do you have after the show in Paris?” Twain asked his wife who was cuddling in his embrace.
“I have some time off,” Shania understood the meaning behind Twain’s question, “Do you have something planned Uncle Tony?”
Twain went silent for a while, as if he was making a very important decision. He looked at Shania again and said, “Let’s adopt a child from China.”
This was a decision that Shania did not expect. She escaped her husband’s embrace and looked at him in shock, as if she heard wrongly.
“I’m sorry that I couldn’t make you pregnant…” Twain sounded apologetic and remorseful. His life since the transformation had been very successful. He enjoyed great success in his career, he married a supermodel wife who was 21 years his junior, but this was the only thing that troubled him. He did not know whether it was a residual effect from the transformation, or maybe it was God’s punishment for having the best of his career and love lives, or maybe it was retribution for having too many enemies… He seemed to have become impotent.
Shania shut Twain up with her hand, preventing him from continuing to blame himself, “The person I fell in love with is Uncle Tony, not some kind of stallion. It doesn’t matter if we have no children, I love you Uncle Tony.” She was a little worried that Twain would think there was some cracks in their relationship because of his biological flaw. She had to ease Twain’s mind.
Twain could not say anything after Shania covered his mouth. He could only stare at his wife’s eyes and Shania similar stared at him. They did not say anything but they both understood each other perfectly.
Twain opened his mouth and gently bit on Shania’s hand. Shania frowned and lightly gave Twain a slap and took her hand back.
“Let’s adopt a child from China,” Twain repeated his plan.
Shania did not object to it. Since her husband wanted a child so badly, how could she possibly object? Even though she did not know why her husband wanted to adopt a child from China.
It was natural for her to not know that Twain wanted to make up for his own regret——He could not be a Chinese anymore in this life, the next best thing was to have a Chinese child.
“When are we setting off? I’m free from the day after tomorrow. What kind of procedures do we have to go through to adopt a child from China?”
Twain shook his head, “I don’t know, let’s go check it out. If there is none who is suitable, then we won’t adopt one first,” Twain was very cautious about picking a child.
Shania looked at Twain’s eyes as they moved in their sockets. If Twain had decided to adopt a child, then do they have to continue to make love so frequently? Making love is part of being in love and to be honest, Shania loved the tussles she had with Uncle Tony on the bed. Even though Uncle Tony was almost fifty, he did not feel like he was old at all in the bedroom.
Twain seemed to know what she was thinking and carried her all of a sudden before tossing her onto the bed next to them. Shania exclaimed in shock but very soon, her lips were sealed…
※※※
Tang Jing was still in a shock when she received the call from Twain as Twain rarely called her. If he had something to discuss, he would call Tang, not her.
When Twain told her to find out about the materials that he had to prepare and the certifications that the adopter had to have to adopt a child in China, she was even more shocked.
Even though she agreed immediately, she did not recover from the shock until she hung up the phone. There were rumors that Twain was impotent as he and Shania did not have any child between them after so many years of marriage. So, Tang Jing was not shocked about that. What shocked her was that they actually thought of adopting a child from China.
Tang noticed that his wife was a little restless after receiving the call and he asked with concern. He did not expect it to be related to Twain. His wife did not understand why Twain wanted to adopt an orphan from China, but Tang knew the reason. It was too bad that this was a reason that he could not tell Tang Jing. He could not possibly tell his wife, “Your husband and Twain exchanged their souls and Twain is actually a Chinese. That’s why he wanted to adopt a Chinese child.”
At that moment, he merely said, “Twain loves China, doesn’t he? Maybe he loved the children from China too?”
That was a valid explanation too. Besides, how could anyone understand the likes and dislikes of someone else perfectly?
Tang Jing felt that something was off, but she did not take it to mind. Instead, she was very active in making calls back to China to enquire about the relevant information for Twain.
※※※
After two days, Twain and Shania returned to England. They looked for the relevant authorities in England to certify their age, occupation, marriage, health, wealth and whether they had any criminal records. They also contacted the English embassy and Chinese embassy to make some preliminary preparations for adoption.
In England, where the media were highly trained, how could their actions escape the attention of the paparazzi?
The media inferred that Twain was planning to adopt a child from the information that Twain was preparing for. There had always been rumors floating about regarding the lack of a child between Twain and Shania’s marriage after so many years so this news was not that surprising.
In China, it might be an embarrassing thing for a man to be impotent, but not so much in England. It was very common for couples to adopt an orphan when they were unable to conceive themselves. Even if they were able to conceive, families would also adopt children from other countries too.
There were reporters who stopped Twain outside the Chinese embassy, but they did not ask him about the adoption, instead, they asked, “What made you decide to pack up and leave at the peak of your career?”
Twain was not angry that he was stopped by reporters, instead, he waved the Chinese visa in his hands excitedly and said, “I’m working hard with my wife to build a new family. This is what I intend to do now and in the future!”
...
Chapter 978 - Teresa
Adoption was not something one could easily hide from the media, so Twain did not go about the issue furtively. The Chinese media knew that Twain was returning to China to adopt a child but news like this regarding a celebrity’s private life would only make it to the tabloids. Mass media would never publish something like this — since when did the Xinhua News Agency or China Central Television publicize news of a famous person coming to China to adopt a child? Never, right? In reality, there were a lot of foreigners who visited China to adopt children and quite a number of them were celebrities, too, so the media did not really report things like this.
On top of the paperwork that came with adopting a child in China, the foreigners had to fork out a large sum of money as well. China set a high threshold for foreigners who were looking to adopt children. Even if the person was someone as famous as Twain, they would have to do it by the book: pay the requisite amount of money and abide by the necessary formalities and procedures. But for Twain, problems that could be resolved with money were no problems at all. He had no lack of money and there was no issue with the procedures either; he was determined to get what he came for.
Right from the get-go, Twain specified for the adoption area to be in Sichuan. He would not settle for anything else — he was born there and he had a deep attachment to his hometown, a sentiment that carried over to the children of this land.
He went round to the welfare centres in Sichuan and picked out a few of the better children before discussing with Shania again. Finally, they chose a four-year-old girl. In the more backward and remote parts of China, there was still a clear preference for sons instead of daughters. Many families had a lot of children because they desperately wanted a boy but they did not have the means to raise all the children, so they either abandoned or gave away their daughters. As such, there were a lot more girls than there were boys in the welfare centres. Even if there were boys, half of them had a physical disability. Twain did not have the same preference, and neither did Shania. To them, boys had their own merits and girls were cute in their own way; it just so happened that there were more girls in the welfare centre and so they settled for adopting a girl.
The little girl who was on the cusp of turning five was not as rowdy as the other children when she met Twain and Shania. She was very quiet. Decked a red floral dress, she sat on the chair and blinked at the two strangers in front of her. She seemed a little apprehensive, much like an innocent animal, and was extremely loveable.
Shania was taken by the little girl the moment she laid eyes on her and Twain was also very much enamored of the way she sat quietly. Because of the nature of his work, he preferred for his life to be calm and silent so he did not really like children who were too rowdy. Quietness was just right up his alley. According to the case file the welfare centre had, this little girl was from Zigong, Sichuan. She was left on the doorstep of the welfare centre not long after she was born. Her parents were heartless, leaving her on the doorstep without even giving her a name. The parents left the child there and no other information or message. As such, the people at the welfare centre named her Liu Ai, homonymous with the Chinese phrase for “keep love”, in hopes that the little girl would hold on to love. They decided her birthday would be the third of October — the day the welfare centre found her.
Now that they had decided on a child to adopt, they would move on to settle the paperwork. Once that was done with, Liu Ai would have no more ties with the welfare centre and would officially become Twain and Shania’s first child, even if she was adopted.
Twain realised how fortunate he was when he was dealing with the paperwork. According to regulations in China, foreigners who wanted to adopt from China had to be older than thirty but younger than fifty. Twain was two months shy of fifty, falling just within the age range. Had he been two months later, there was no way he would have fulfilled this wish of his.
Twain was a celebrity; even in Zigong, a small town in southern Sichuan, he was still rather popular. On top of that, the person accompanying him was much more popular amongst the Chinese public than he was. Shania was a worldwide model and Hollywood star who had long broken into the Chinese market. The public had long familiarized themselves with posters of the products she endorsed as well as television advertisements.
There was a perk to being a celebrity: much emphasis was placed on his status as a celebrity and so it was a lot easier to get things moving during his discussions with the welfare centre and the Civil Affairs Department, which was really satisfactory.
In just a day, Liu Ai had become the child of Twain and Shania. Now that she was a foreigner’s child, she had to have a foreign name, too, though Twain decided to keep her Chinese name. He had an inexplicable affinity with China and this child was part of that, so how could she not have a Chinese name? And so, Shania was tasked with giving her an English name. She eventually chose ‘Teresa’, Greek for ‘harvester’ and the Portuguese Goddess of Harvest. This was a name often given to girls with black hair who were beautiful, demure, direct, and pious. Faith aside, everything else seemed to fit Liu Ai’s appearance and personality to a tee.
After the paperwork was done, the lady at the welfare centre helped Liu AI — she was Teresa now — pack her belongings and handed them over to the Twains. Not that there was much, really, just a few gifts from different people as well as some toys and coloring books donated to the welfare centre. She had some clothes but Twain rejected them, opting to keep only the toys and coloring books. Why would she still wear those old clothes? He would definitely be buying her new ones. She was his daughter and he would make sure she was dressed to the nines, like a princess.
Little Liu Ai said little through the entire, trailing behind with a little toy doll she owned clutched to herself. Twain thought she was really likeable; he really liked children who were quiet and sensible.
At the end, when they were standing at the door of the welfare centre, a bunch of the kids came out to send Liu Ai off. She was adopted by parents who came from overseas and had to move there with them, so this would probably be the last they would see of her. The bunch of kids were crying and laughing, reluctant to see her leave. The Twains were stood by the side, talking to the director who was probably thanking them for being so kind and adopting little Liu Ai, and hoping they would treat her well.
“Mr Twain, Miss Shania. Ai-ai doesn’t like to talk a lot and she keeps a lot of things to herself instead of talking to us. I know you’re both celebrities and have a lot on your plate when it comes to your job, but I do hope you take care to not neglect her,” said Liu Ai’s caretaker, who went out of the way to mention this. This was the lady who looked after the little girl and she seemed rather worried still. She knew Liu Ai rather well and feared that the little girl would be unhappy moving to a foreign country with that personality of hers, but also because of language barriers and a possible inability to adapt. There was something else that worried the lady, though she did not vocalize this concern. Twain and Shania were, after all, foreigners — celebrities, at that. Celebrity marriages were often tumultuous, and what would happen to Ai-ai if they ended up splitting? Who knew if Twain and Shania even loved each other in real life? Could they really love their adopted daughter?
Twain was not aware that the lady had her doubts about him and was just happy that he had a daughter now. He nodded at what she said, “That won’t be an issue at all. I’ve retired and can look after my daughter now.”
Twain dealt with the bulk of the communicating since Shanie still did not know how to speak Chinese. All she did was stay by his side and stare at the little kids nearby who were bidding Teresa farewell with eyes full of love. She had always wanted a child of her own but she never got pregnant despite trying for nine years, so she had no choice but to take another route and adopt a child instead. Now that she had a daughter, the maternal instincts she had suppressed for so many years had resurfaced. Twain was probably going to be neglected in the coming days.
The children were ultimately herded by the other ladies. After saying their goodbyes, Teresa was brought to Twain and Shania’s sides.
Shania saw tear tracks staining her daughter’s face — the girl had obviously been crying. She hurriedly fished out her handkerchief and gently dabbed away the tears on Teresa’s face. Her eyes were filled with worry and her smile was a little forced. It was as if this short interaction had established some sort of telepathic bond with her daughter, and the sight of her daughter’s sadness was enough to trigger her own.
But Twain was focused on something else. The little girl had been very sad when she was saying goodbye to the other kids but she could control her emotions when she was in front of them. She was obviously a very sensible child and Twain liked this very much.
The director of the welfare centre was a lady in her fifties who had been working here for more than two decades. Now that she had to send off a kid, she was a little reluctant too. She squatted down to stroke Liu Ai’s head, whispering, “Hey, Ai-ai, you have parents from today onwards. Are you happy?”
Little Ai-ai kept her head down. She snuck a glance at Twain before casting her gaze down again, then nodded.
“Granny hopes you’ll live well and healthily in England.”
The director stood up and patted her shoulders, signalling for her to walk over to her new parents on her own.
The little girl slowly took two steps forward to stand in front of Twain and Shania. She then said in a whisper, somewhat embarrassedly, “Daddy, mommy.”
She spoke in Chinese, but it was a Sichuan dialect. Despite that, “mommy” sounded almost the same in every language so Shania could pick up on that. She bent down, elated, hugging her daughter and kissing her face.
Twain was not as expressive as his wife so he only smiled brightly. He had been married to Shania for nine years and now they finally had their own child. It did not matter that she was adopted; he was still very much content with this. After all, he knew he was sterile. This summer, he had led his team to clinch the World Cup — the highest accolade in football — then retired after that accomplishment to adopt his first child. This was arguably the happiest year he has ever had.
Just like this, Liu Ai — she was Teresa now — boarded the car with her new parents. She was leaving behind four years in this welfare centre with her friends, who were sending her off reluctantly, to start a new one.
Now that he had his first daughter, Twain was in a really good mood. He was now a father. Twain had little experience in that field and all he knew was that he had to keep his child happy. As such, he took Teresa around Chengduthe next day. He brought her to see the charming and adorable pandas, even buying her a few panda dolls. They then headed to Jiuzhaigou to sight-see after roaming around Chengdu. He wanted the little girl who had never left the welfare centre to experience the scenic sights the world had to offer.
During the course of the trip and having interacted with the child over these few days, Twain understood the problem that the lady at the welfare centre had told him about: Teresa was just too quiet, almost as if she did not know how to laugh happily anymore. This was not a good habit; it was scary for a child to not know how to smile. Twain decided he would do something about her overly introverted personality. Since she was still a child, then she should be sprightly when the occasion called for it.
And so, Twain and Shania brought her to themes parks in Hong Kong like Disneyland and Ocean Park after they returned from Jiuzhaigou, in hopes of giving her a new experience and a taste of happiness.
They headed to Beijing after Hong Kong and Twain brought her to Tiananmen Square for the flag-raising ceremony. This was not Twain’s idea. Teresa had brought it up herself; she had always watched the ceremony on television and so she wanted to see for herself what it was like. This was his daughter’s request, so how could he not grant her wish? Twain brought her to Tiananmen Square for the ceremony and even brought her to the Great Wall of China, the Summer Palace, the Temple of Heaven, and other tourist attractions in Beijing. He brought her to the zoo as well to see the lions, tigers, monkeys, and elephants. He brought her to the amusement park to ride the roller coasters and Ferris wheel. On the roller coaster, the quiet girl screamed for the first time, a sort of cathartic release. Though she was still rather frightened when they stepped down from the roller coaster, Twain caught a trace of exhilaration on her little face. Teresa was the only child from her welfare centre who had been to Beijing to have fun, and this was as good as her buddies back in the welfare centre having their wish granted as well. After this day came to an end, she printed out the pictures from this excursion and sent them back so her friends could share the experience with her.
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The Twains got closer to their daughter after the trip around China. At the very least, she was no longer calling out for them in a timid and quiet voice. In fact, she was interacting with her new parents very liberally.
After their China trip, Twain and Shania brought their daughter straight to Brazil from China. They brought her to visit Shania’s parents so the latter could meet their granddaughter. Shania’s parents were also very fond of the obedient and sensible granddaughter. They did not care that she was not related to Shania by blood, and the loved the child if their daughter loved her. On top of that, they were not the type to prefer sons to daughters. On the contrary, they seemed to prefer daughters.
“But I’ll never allow Teresa to follow in my footsteps!” Shania swore to her parents as a precaution. She was not expecting her daughter to be making big bucks or building a name for herself — it was still much too early to be thinking about something like this. All she wanted was for her daughter to have a healthy and happy childhood.
“She’s your daughter, Jo. Whatever you say goes.”
Her parents were not angry. After all, parents knew their children best. They knew that their daughter had always wanted a child and felt helpless that Twain was sterile. Now that she finally adopted a daughter, she was over the moon, and her parents were too content with that to be fretting over a training plan for the little girl.
Teresa was on her best behaviour, too, which her grandparents really adored. They bought her a pile of new stuff to bring back to England.
They stayed in Brazil for about a week before Twain and Shania returned to England with Teresa. The Twains were surrounded by a bunch of reporters who had caught wind of their arrival at Heathrow Airport. It was a chaotic scene and the airport security was there as well. The flash of the cameras and the noise of the crowd frightened Teresa, who hurried to hide behind Twain.
Twain furrowed his brows at this. It seemed like the vicious reporters had scared Teresa.
He did not care if he was the one being harassed by the media, but there was no way he would just let his daughter suffer through this. The child could not understand why there were so many people here to see her, which would surely stress her out somewhat.
And so he pointed at his daughter who was hiding behind her and said to the reporters, “This is my daughter, Teresa. You’ve scared her and so I’m declining any and all interviews here. If you have any questions, ask me when I’m alone. I hope that you won’t harass my daughter like this in the coming days as well.” After saying his piece, he guided his wife and daughter out of the crowd and hurriedly disappeared at the airport exit.
The reporters shook themselves out of their shocked stupor. Tony Twain has a daughter! Not only that, but it was also very obvious that he loved her. Seems like this will be something they have to take note of when they deal with him in the future…
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PS,Twain has finally gotten a child, please give more of your support~~~
PS2,There are people who cursed me in the comments to be unable to bear a child and only able to get children through adoption. I have to thank this friend for giving mercy and not cursing me from having a bastard child. I would rather not be able to bear children than having a bastard child. If I am unable to bear a child, then I would just go ahead and adopt a child, isn’t that a lot more simple. However, if I were to bear a bastard, then I would be in trouble… (To be continued, if you want to know what happens afterwards, please log into www.qidian.com, where there would be more chapters, support the author, support legal reading!)
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Chapter 979 - After Retirement
”Okay, no matter what, Tony Twain has left the footballing world. It’s time for us to stop focusing on him,” On BBC’s “Match of the Day”, the three guests said this when discussing about the important events that happened in the footballing world. They unanimously agreed that Twain’s retirement would be the second biggest event in England sports this year. The first was naturally England’s triumph in the World Cup.
This also represented the media’s attitude. After hogging the limelight for more than a month, with the start of the new season on the horizons, a retired manager would not be able to attract more attention anymore, even if he was a top manager. Besides, if Twain was to not manage any teams anymore, there would be no point in making a big hoo-ha out of his retirement. Outside of football, Tony Twain was nothing and the media did not have to entertain him anymore.
Twain was happy about it. Naturally, Shania had to work, and Twain was able to take care of the child at home without worries. The good thing was that Theresa spent the most difficult times of taking care of a child inside the orphanage and it was not difficult for a man like Twain to take care of her now. Twain had no experience being a father, but he kept a saying in mind, let the child be happy.
A man who was almost fifty acting like an overaged child in front of his kid, spending the whole day playing with Theresa, doing everything he could to make her happy. For now, his whole life revolved around Theresa. Football? He had already thrown that out of his mind.
Furthermore, in order to let Theresa get used to life in this foreign country, he would bring her out for walks often, or take her to Burns bar. Of course, beer was forbidden. He even allocated the area around Theresa as a “non-smoking zone”, and he forbade the fans from smoking there. Now that he was no longer busy with work, he could finally have more time to chat with his old pals in the bar. Everyone was more than happy for him to come daily and they could not care less about being unable to smoke. Theresa was very popular too. Even though she was adopted, the people did not care about it at all. If her father did not care, why should an outsider mind something like that?
This was the happy life that Twain led after retirement.
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“Who do you think have the greatest chances of being champion in the new season?” Lineker asked the guests in the show.
“Liverpool,” Alan Hansen replied without hesitation.
“What’s the reason?”
“Do we need a reason for that? I’m a fan of theirs… Fine, I was just joking. I wish that Liverpool can become champion, but if we analyze it properly, I think Arsenal or Manchester United have the best odds of being champion…”
Lineker switched his attention to the other guest, Mark Lawrenson.
“Ahem,” Lawrenson cleared his throat and replied, “I think Chelsea has a good chance…”
“Then, the teams that will be able to qualify for the next UEFA Champions’ League?”
The two of them had the same answer for this question, “Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea.”
Lineker suddenly popped up with a follow-up question, “No Nottingham Forest?”
Alan Hansen and Mark Lawrenson shook their heads in unison, “No.”
Lawrenson added, “It’ll be difficult for them to even qualify for the Europa League.”
The Europa League was previously known as the UEFA Cup. Following a change in format, the full name was then called “UEFA Europa League”. After the change, the Europa League made some adjustments to the competition format and the qualification process. Previously, the champions of the cup competitions for the various countries would be allowed to participate in the UEFA Cup. If the champions of the cup competitions could participate in the Champions’ League, the runners-up would take their place in the UEFA Cup. This was no longer a viable method now. For the medium to small clubs that wished to enter a European competition, the barrier to entry had become higher.
And Nottingham Forest had already failed to qualify for the UEFA Champions’ League for two seasons in a row, having to settle for a spot in the UEFA Europa League.
To many clubs, participating in the Europa League was a result that deserved praise. However, Nottingham Forest had been achieving very impressive results in the highest European competition just a few years back. Now that they had to settle for the Europa League, it gave people a feeling that they had “fallen”. After all, the influence and profits of Europa League could not be compared with that of the Champions’ League.
And there was something else that had affected Nottingham Forest’s performance. It was no longer a rumor but already a fact——Evan Doughty had always wanted to sell Nottingham Forest. How could a club chairman who had no intention to continue managing the club bring it forward? Up till now, Nottingham Forest had been changing managers so often that the media had already started to mock Nottingham Forest by saying the doors to their manager’s office was a “rotating door”.
One of the reasons why he failed to sell the club was because of poor results, which dropped their market value and therefore, nobody was interested in them. Nottingham is not a big city like Manchester, Liverpool or London after all. A small place is destined to have limited potential for growth. Therefore, the possibility of attracting a foreign investment group was very low. Another reason was because of price negotiation. There would be an occasional buyer, but Evan Doughty would always say that the price they offered was too low for him to accept. And so, this situation was stuck for two whole years. Every year, during preseason, during the January break and after the season ended, there would be news that said Doughty wanted to sell the club, but it was never fulfilled. The fans were disgusted by his lack of loyalty. Initially, they were furious at his behaviors, but now, they merely treated it as a joke and Evan Doughty became a clown in their eyes. The Robin Hood Grandstand of the Crimson Stadium would always have banners scolding Evan Doughty. It had already become a familiar sight here and during live broadcasts of the games, there would always be a close-up of that.
The good thing was they would always qualify for a European competition every year. The Champions’ League a few years back and the Europa League for the last couple of years. This meant they were still not in a stage where they could not make ends meet. However, the results for these competitions were no longer satisfactory. The frequent change of managers meant that people started to fear for their future, and they could not agree on a tactic to use. A new manager would bring with him a new tactic which would be abandoned mid-season when he was sacked, and everyone would have to start from scratch again…
Rinse and repeat, if they could still get good results after that, it could only mean that the English Premier League had no good teams left.
Once a team loses the ability and motivation to fight for the title, the team will inevitably find it hard to keep its players.
Michael Dawson, the center-back that Evan thought was good business, had been plagued with injuries ever since he joined the club, and he retired at the age of 34 due to injury. David Bentley had left Nottingham Forest for Blackburn and his transfer fee netted Nottingham Forest a cool 12 million pounds. Adriano Moke did not leave the club willingly, but he had no say over it. Both his agent and the club chairman wanted him gone because he could command a transfer fee of 18 million pounds. The agent could get a cut of the fee and he eventually left for Arsenal…
For the fans of Nottingham Forest, the four seasons after Twain left were the darkest times of the club. Ignoring the fact that the team won nothing, they had to witness the heroes of their times leave the club every summer. It was as if they had returned to the start of the century when Nottingham Forest was still languishing in the lower divisions.
At that time, they missed Brian Clough, saying that, “If Clough was still here, he’ll never let things become so bad.” Who did they miss now? Tony Twain of course. Too bad Twain had already retired.
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“The target for the club in the new season is to qualify for the Champions’ League? Ha! Be more realistic, mister chairman!” The fans from the surrounding areas were discussing about the future of the club in Burns’ bar. There was a tone of mockery in their words when they mentioned the club chairman, Evan Doughty.
“It’ll be not bad if we can qualify for the Europa League!”
“Even though it’s good to have lofty aspirations… It doesn’t apply to Doughty. Even if the results of the team become better, it’ll only increase his chips for selling the club…”
Twain ignored the serious discussion going on at the other side of the bar. He took his daughter, Theresa, with him to sit at one side and was trying to entertain her as she was starting to get bored.
“Theresa, do you want to hear a joke from Daddy?”
Theresa nodded her head.
“It was a very hot day and there are two bananas walking on the road. Suddenly, the banana walking in front said, ‘It’s so hot, I’m going to take off my clothes.’ And he took his clothes off after that. Then the banana behind fell! Ha ha ha ha!” Twain burst into laughter himself, holding his stomach, after telling Theresa the joke, “Isn’t it funny?”
Opposite him, Theresa pulled at the ends of her mouth, trying very hard to laugh. However, she could not complete such a difficult task after several attempts and she said to Twain in a sad tone, “Daddy, I can’t laugh…”
This time, it was Kenny Burns’ turn to burst into laughter.
Twain felt very awkward, “Okay then… I know that this joke is a little difficult for you to understand…” He scratched his head and turned to look at the bar owner who suddenly appeared. He changed the topic in a hurry, “Why are you not wiping the glasses?”
Burns placed a glass of freshly squeezed fruit juice in front of Theresa, “Theresa, this is my treat to you.”
“Thank you, Uncle Kenny,” Theresa’s English was improving by leaps and bounds. A child’s learning capability would always surprise an adult. Now, she can already understand some English and she can also converse in basic English.
Burns took this opportunity to sit next to Twain, “They all wish that you’ll return…” He pointed at the fans at the other end who were still in a heated discussion, “But, they don’t dare to tell you directly.”
“Twain looked at Theresa drinking her juice opposite him, “I’m retired.”
“Jordan retired three times and he came back three times too,” Burns laughed.
Twain looked at him, but he did not sense any unusual expression from him. It was as if it was just a passing remark.
Burns collected the empty glasses on the table before walking slowly back behind the bar table. Twain looked at his back view behind him. This man used to be a famous thug in the English footballing world. He used to be someone that all his opponents feared. Legends said that if he took part in a competition somewhere, the hospitals nearby would set up a new “Burns” wing. Before the 1980 Champions’ League final, he used a set of dentures to threaten the Ballon d’Or winner then, Kevin Keegan, causing him to play badly in the final. During the game, Keegan did not see much of the ball and Hamburger SV lost that match, allowing Nottingham Forest to retain their trophy. After he retired, he managed a bar here. His ability to make the leaders of the football hooligans listen to him definitely had something to do with his notorious reputation. But now, he had a head of white hair and his back was also slightly bent. No matter how one looked at him, he did not look like the butchering thug that everyone was afraid of.
This man later became a middle-aged uncle, wiping glasses daily behind a bar table. Now, he had already become an ordinary old man wiping glasses daily behind a bar table.
Twain turned back to look at his daughter, and he realized that his daughter was also looking at him, saying sheepishly, “Daddy, I can’t finish it…”
Twain reached out to pat her on her head, “It’s okay if you can’t finish it. It’s time to go back, Theresa.”
With that, he left his seat and held Theresa’s hand.
Theresa jumped down and held her daddy’s hand as the two of them walked out.
“Goodbye pals,” Twain waved at the fans who were still involved in a heated discussion.
When they realized that he was leaving, they stopped their discussion and looked at him, as if they had something to say, but nobody said anything. In the end, only Fat John shouted as Twain was about to walk out of the door, “Are you coming tomorrow, Tony?”
Twain turned back to look at him, “I can’t say for sure. I can’t be coming over here everyday. If I bring Theresa here everyday, I’m afraid she might turn bad. Ha ha!”
Twain did not stay to chat as he laughed and pushed open the door to leave.
Tony Twain had never thought that he was old. However, in the eyes of these people, Twain walking out slowly with his daughter in tow probably could be considered as an old man now.
He was not even fifty years old yet and his body was not considered old yet. However, his heart was already old. That nuclear-powered heart of a champion that never stopped beating had slowed down and was slowly becoming quiet. Now that he had won all the trophies that he should have won, what was left to excite him? Nothing, absolutely nothing. He had no reason to come back with a body that had a heart condition to satisfy the desires of the audience.
Maybe this was what he had always wanted. He had already planned long ago that he would leave in glory after winning the world cup. His glorious image would not be smeared, and people did not have to talk about the “the end of a hero”.
However, to the audience, what was the point of watching a show if the most eye-catching leading character had left the stage? During the final concerts of the biggest stars, they would always be asked back for an encore by their fans, sing a few more songs, leave, and then called back for another encore, again and again to show their popularity.
Too bad they could not shout in front of Twain, “Come back Tony! Sing another song for us!”
“I hope that Tony can have a happy and healthy life, especially now that he has a daughter. By why do I prefer that guy who would be so animated on the sidelines, spitting at the fourth official?”
Skinny Bill muttered.
“I like that too…” Someone else muttered next to him.
Bill took a look and found that it was John. They looked at each other before laughing together.
“Why would he return? Forest is in a mess, come back here to smear his reputation as the Godfather of Champions? It’s better if he doesn’t come back…”
Both of them shook their heads at the same time.
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Chapter 980 - My Legend Is Still Here （Part 1）
The countdown to the 2018-19 Premier League season officially commenced when the Premier League champions Arsenal defeated the FA Cup champions Liverpool and lifted the FA Community Shield trophy.
All eyes were on the traditional ‘big four’ teams of England this season, with Manchester United and Arsenal being the teams that receive the most attention from the press and the rest of the world. There were not many people who talked about how England had just won the World Cup, or why Tony Twain had decided to retire.
Twain would often be surrounded by fans asking for either a photograph or an autograph when he takes his daughter out for a walk, but other than that, his life has been quite peaceful and he has never been bothered by the press. Twain does not like interacting with the press, but he likes interacting with football fans, especially fans of Nottingham Forest. Nottingham is his home ground, and every single Forest fan is just like a friend to him.
Of course, there were also times where Twain found himself in an awkward situation when he interacted with the Forest fans. For example, there would often be fans who ask him, “Will you come back, Tony?”
Twain knew very well what they meant when they asked that. Nottingham Forest is in a mess right now, and everyone is hoping for a great manager to come and rescue the team. They thought about who this ‘great manager’ could be, and the only person that comes to mind is Tony Twain.
Twain does not wish to sadden or disappoint the fans who hope that he would return to Nottingham Forest as the manager, but at the same time, he cannot take back the words that he said previously either. Therefore, he would always respond to the fans with a wry smile, “I don’t know, who knows what will happen in the future?”
Sometime later, Twain received a call from John Motson. “Tony, are you interested in coming over to the BBC5?”
BBC5 is a sports channel just like the CCTV5 channel. Every single match involving the England national football team would be broadcasted on the BBC5. Twain has worked as a guest commentator for BBC5 for a short period of time in the past, and he has provided commentaries on the World Cup and Euro Cup before. However, he has not worked for them ever since he took on the role as the manager of the England national football team.
“Go over to the BBC5?” Twain was puzzled initially, but he understood what Motson was getting at shortly after. BBC was able to triumph over Sky UK and ITV last year, and they managed to get their hands on the broadcast rights for a portion of the Premier League matches. Now, they are trying to recruit people from all across the country to become commentators for those matches, and the only way they would be able to recruit a popular commentator like Twain would be to make use of Motson’s relationship with Twain.
“Yeah, I want you to come over and provide commentaries for the new Premier League season. Are you interested?”
“Ah, John… I still want to rest some more.” Twain shook his head and refused Motson’s offer. “I have only retired for two months. Surely the break that I deserve after working for the past 10 years is longer than two months?”
“That’s a shame…” Motson knew Twain’s disposition very well. Twain would not do anything that he is not inclined to do. Persuading him any further would just be a waste of saliva. Motson found it to be a shame that the British football fans would not be able to hear Twain’s interesting commentary for the upcoming Premier League season.
A day after Motson called, Twain received a call from Martin Taylor. Just like Motson, Taylor also invited him to be a guest commentator for Sky UK for the upcoming Premier League season. Taylor had retired years ago, but he still has the company’s best interests at heart since he had worked at the company for over 20 years. Hence, it is not surprising that he would try and recruit a good commentator such as Twain for his company even though he no longer works for Sky UK.
Nonetheless… Twain still rejected Taylor’s offer. His reason remained the same: he still wants to rest some more.
Twain was well aware that working for the television station would be a very good option for him if he wishes to continue working after leaving his managerial post. However, he likes his current laid back and carefree lifestyle, and he also wishes to continue taking care of Theresa. His daughter has only been in England for half a month. How could he possibly throw her aside for work? Shania is the one working now, and he should just concentrate on being a ‘house husband’ for now.
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The new Premier League season commenced on the 17th of August. The opening match featured Manchester United against the newly promoted side Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club, and Manchester United eventually went on to win 2:0 at home comfortably.
The Premier League was in full swing the following day. Nottingham Forest welcomed their first ever opponent for this season at their home grounds – Everton.
Nottingham Forest might not be performing well in recent times, but their ticket sales have been impressive. They sold a total of 38,000 season tickets for this season, which is roughly the same as the number of season tickets sold in past seasons. The number of season tickets that were sold when Nottingham Forest was at its peak cannot be used as a reference because the capacity of the City Ground Stadium is much smaller than the Crimson Stadium. 38,000 season tickets might be about 10,000 tickets lesser than the 55,000 season tickets sold by Manchester United this season, but when one takes into the account the size of Nottingham, 38,000 is definitely an impressive number.
One can tell from the number of tickets sold that Nottingham Forest is not encountering any financial issues, and the money earned from the ticket sales gives Evan the capital he needs when he has to bargain with the financial groups.
Not only that, one can also tell that the Nottingham Forest fans are ‘die-hard’ fans based on the number of season tickets sold. The Forest fans might be upset with the board of the club, but they still continue to support the club by buying the tickets to the matches. However, one of the fans said this when asked about why he was willing to buy season tickets, “I just take it as spending 35 pounds every home game to scold that son of a b*tch Evan Doughty.”
The anger and hatred towards Evan Doughty is one that is shared by numerous Forest fans. Some of them even came together and formed a group called the ‘Son of a B*tch Evan’, and its members are the ones who create most of the banners that insult Evan Doughty at the Robin Hood stand.
Twain sat down on the floor and watched his daughter play with her rag doll after they finished eating the lunch meal that Twain had prepared. A moment later, he asked his daughter, “Theresa. Do you want to go out and play with Daddy?”
“Okay.” Theresa stopped whatever she was doing and lifted her head to look at Twain. She was generally well-behaved and rarely disobeyed her parents.
“Okay. Then, do you want to watch a match with Daddy?” Twain magically dished out two match tickets from behind his back and waved them before Theresa’s face.
Theresa tilted her head and mulled over what her dad just said. It took her a while to understand what he meant by ‘match’. Thereafter, she nodded her head and replied, “Okay.”
Twain was overjoyed. He quickly scooped up Theresa into his arms before planting a kiss on her tender cheeks.
“Let us leave at once!” He got into the car with Theresa in his arms and drove towards the Crimson Stadium that was located in the south-western part of Nottingham.
In truth, Twain did not plan to bring his daughter with him at the start. However, it is too dangerous to leave his daughter all alone at home. Thus, he decided to bring her along and let her experience the atmosphere at the stadium when a match takes place. Who knows? Maybe Theresa would start liking football! Her mother dislikes football, but if Theresa ends up liking football, then it would be two against one, and the majority would win!
Twain was the manager of Nottingham Forest for 11 years. He might not have been a Forest fan before he was appointed as the manager of the club, but now, he is a die-hard Forest fan. Just like all the other Forest fans, he too has invested a lot of his time and emotion into the club after so many years at the helm. It does not matter how disappointing Forest has become. Twain has been consistently buying the season tickets for Nottingham Forest every single year ever since he was the manager of the club, and he did not stop buying the tickets during the four years when he was the manager of the England national football team either.
The truth was that he has never actually watched a Forest match from the stands as an ordinary football fan before. There are only two situations in which he would watch a match from the stands: the first is when he is sent to the stands by either the referee or the Football Association for verbally abusing them, and the second is when he comes to watch the performances of the Forest players as the manager of the England national football team. All in all, he has never watched a Forest match as an ‘ordinary football fan’ before.
Watching as an ‘ordinary football fan’ meant that he would not analyse the tactics being used by both teams and he would not try and find a flaw in either side’s tactics as well. He would not think about what he would do at halftime or what he would change in the next match either… Basically, he would not watch the match as a ‘football manager’.
Twain felt very happy when he thought about how he would be able to watch the match without any burdens being placed on him, and he began humming a song as he drove.
Theresa looked like a doll as she sat on the passenger seat next to Twain with a seat belt on. She turned her head to look at her father, and she most likely is not able to understand why he is so happy. Why would her father be happier than her when they are going out to play?
Twain was not in a hurry to step out of the car when they arrived at the stadium. The first thing he did was to don a pair of sunglasses and a baseball cap. Thereafter, he turned his collar upwards and donned a pair of sunglasses on Theresa as well. The sunglasses was so big that it covered half of Theresa’s face. He then placed a hat over her head and made sure that both of them would not be recognized by anyone else at first glance. Once he was satisfied, he opened the car door and stepped outside. He then held Theresa in his arms and followed the crowd towards the stadium.
Twain lifted his head to look at the gigantic Crimson Stadium before him as he trailed behind the crowd. This was the first time he has been able to admire the new stadium’s exterior while being so relaxed. He has always entered the stadium via a special tunnel in the past – the manager of the England national football team would definitely not enter the stadium alongside the rest of the spectators.
This stadium took six years to construct and there were also several accidents that occurred during its construction. However, the finished product was truly magnificent… It is no wonder Evan sounds so confident when he says that ‘the stadium is the best stadium in the world’. The stadium looks utterly imposing on the outside, and one can already tell how it would feel to be inside just by looking at the outside. Sadly… This great stadium has only witnessed Nottingham Forest’s decline over the past few years.
Twain sighed softly before turning his head to look at the fans all around him.
It did not matter how Forest performed the previous season. The new season is about to begin, and the fans are all brimming with hope. To the fans, the club’s board and the team were separate entities. There were numerous fans around him who were discussing about the upcoming match excitedly. They were speculating about how George Wood would perform during the match, and they were also wondering if Aaron Mitchell would score a goal later on…
A group of fans near Twain continued to discuss about the match for some time before the conversation topic suddenly shifted onto the new Forest manager.
“McAllister is no good as a manager… Look at the kind of manager this club hires! Nottingham Forest is a club that won five Champions League trophies! How can they let a nobody be the manager?”
“That’s right! I don’t think there’s any other manager besides Tony Twain who is able to manage Forest’s locker room…”
“It’s a shame that Tony has retired… He’s barely 50 years old…”
“How great it would be if he could return…”
“That’s right!”
Theresa, who was in Twain’s arms all this while, suddenly leaned towards Twain’s ear and asked, “Daddy, are they calling you?”
Twain instantly felt very embarrassed after hearing his daughter’s words. It has been two months, but he still has yet to tell Theresa what his previous job was. On one hand, he thinks that Theresa is still too young to understand what a ‘football manager’ is, and on the other hand, he does not think that there is a need to talk about what he used to do now that he has retired.
He kept bringing Theresa over to Kenny’s bar a while back, and Fat John and his gang would refer to him as ‘Tony’ every time they ran into him. That has allowed Theresa to memorize the name ‘Tony’. She is still young, so she does not know that there are countless other people named ‘Tony’ in this world. She probably thinks that only her dad is called ‘Tony’.
“Er… No, they are talking about a different ‘Tony’.” Twain was unwilling to explain the situation to Theresa because he was afraid that the fans around them would recognize him. He became self-conscious and pulled down his cap further before saying, “Let’s go in, Theresa.”
※※※
Twain held his daughter in his arms as he slowly ascended the steps towards the stands. However, he was not in a hurry to find his seat once he had reached the top of the stairs. Instead, he stood at the entrance for a moment. He could see everything in front and beneath him from where he stood. The stands opposite of him were fully occupied, and there were players doing their warm-ups on the green pitch below. The fans of both teams streamed towards their respective seats in the stadium and began singing songs.
Twain did not find those scenes before him to be foreign. But, he could not help but feel fired up now that he was seeing those scenes from the stands. This is what football is all about!
Theresa, who was being held in Twain’s arms, suddenly cupped her ears with her hands. She found the stadium to be too noisy… The noise that is produced by the fans at every match can be quite frightening. The FC Schalke 04 fans once set a record for shouting during a certain period of a home match. Their shouts were deemed to be as loud as the noise that a plane makes during take-off, and it is likely that the shouts in the Crimson Stadium right now are as loud as that too.
Fortunately, Twain came prepared. He dished out a pair of furry earmuffs and placed them over Theresa’s ears. The noise in the stadium was instantly reduced by a quite a bit.
“Let’s go, darling.” Twain patted Theresa’s face gently before walking away from the entrance with her in his arms.
A broadcast was being played in the stadium, and it called for the fans to welcome the Everton fans. Numerous fans responded to the broadcast by standing to their feet and singing songs for the Everton fans at the top of their lungs. Of course, they did not exactly welcome them amicably. Twain searched for his seat with Theresa sprawled on his back. Theresa kept looking around at the people around her, and she showed keen curiosity about what they were doing. She was no longer as afraid as when she first entered the stands.
Twain soon found his seat and he sat down quietly. He did not stand to his feet and shout chants like ‘Die, Everton’ like the other fans around him.
Honestly, a stadium is truly not the kind of place that one should bring their kids to, because swear words are constantly thrown about by the fans and a kid can be negatively influenced when they stay in such an environment for long. Twain still remembers a picture that he saw on the internet when he was a Chinese football fan. The picture showed a kid pointing his middle finger at the camera while standing at the stands and being dressed in a jersey of one of the football clubs in England. The shape of his mouth clearly suggested that the word that he said was ‘f*ck’.
Well, it is not like Theresa can understand whatever the Forest fans are saying right now. They are speaking in their incomprehensible Nottingham accent and using slang words that only people living in Nottingham would understand.
※※※
The fans cheered for every single Nottingham Forest player who was starting in the match when they made their way onto the pitch. Twain had remained seated initially, but he eventually stood up and joined the other fans as they shouted ‘St. George!’. He felt compelled to shout partly because he was influenced by the atmosphere and partly because he felt that he would attract attention to himself if he remained seated while everyone else was shouting and cheering.
Twain felt pleased and proud when he saw Wood appear on the pitch. That lad has become the leader of the team, and he even seems a little domineering now.
Theresa pointed at Wood, who had his back towards her, and shouted excitedly, “Big brother! Big brother!” Twain did not expect Theresa to recognize Wood. He had brought her along when he visited Sophia and Wood’s house previously.
Fortunately, the fans around them were even more excited than she was, and no one paid much attention to a little girl. Twain was shocked that his daughter was able to recognize Wood without even having to see his face. She had only seen him once, but she was able to tell that it was him from behind. Theresa has remarkable memory!
When Twain directed his attention back onto the pitch, he noticed that the players for both teams had already walked onto the pitch. They formed two separate lines on the left and right side of the referee and posed for a photo. Twain scanned the Forest players who were standing on the pitch, and he realized that most of the players on the team were strangers to him.
It was not that he knew nothing about them. He knew their names and positions that they play in.
But, that’s it. His knowledge of them is limited to just their names and positions. He knew nothing else about them, and that is why they feel like strangers to him.
He reminisced about the time when he was still a manager of Nottingham Forest ten years ago. Back then, he thought of every player, even the substitutes, as a part of his family and he knew them inside out. When they stood together, they formed a whole. They were a sea of red, and their name was ‘Nottingham Forest’.
But, what about now?
The players looked like 11 separate entities as they stood on the pitch. George Wood, Mario Balotelli, Gareth Bale, Nkoulou, Joe Mattock and Chris Cohen… They were all standing side by side together, but they were not a team.
The fans around Twain continued to shout at the top of their voices, “Forest! Forest! Nottingham Forest!”
But, no one knows just how much of those cheers are actually heard by the players…
...
Chapter 981 - My Legend Is Still Here （Part 2）
In fact, the game could not be said to be exciting, not one bit at all. McAllister was the new manager who had only recently joined the football team this summer, and he was not a manager of standards. The new tactics designed for the Forest team were still in the trial period and he was not to be blamed for that. Evan Doughty had not given him the lineup he had wanted to put together, so his tactical training had not been able to develop properly.
Speaking of Nottingham Forest’s new manager, Gary McAllister, Twain and he had quite a connection. When Twain first became a manager and coached Nottingham Forest, it was in January 2003. At the time, the Forest team was just knocked out of the FA Cup by West Ham United and Twain was suspended after he talked a lot of nonsense in the post-match press conference, criticizing the referee and the Football Association. During the next League One game (the now English Football League Championship), the Forest team’s away game was against Coventry City. At the time, the Coventry City manager was this very man.
At that time, Twain was still a true-blue rookie, and was also penalized to stay in the grandstand. McAllister, on the other hand, was no better. He had to play two roles – both as a manager and as a player on the pitch. The game eventually ended with a goal resulting from a free kick from McAllister, with Coventry City forcing a tie at home with Nottingham Forest. The first and only match between the two men was a draw.
Later, Twain did not care about this opponent with whom he had the single affinity. McAllister, who had drifted along years in the lower leagues and also briefly coached Premier League teams, had never accomplished much results. His best result was to lead the Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club back to the Premier League last season and then he was poached by Evan Doughty to the Forest team.
After more than a decade of training, his coaching level was much better than when he first encountered Twain. But it was not enough to manage Nottingham Forest…
Nottingham Forest did not have a mature set of tactics and was more dependent on the individual players during the games rather than the entire team. The offensive starting point was launched wherever they thought and completely without rules. Even if they had a high ball possession rate, it did not make people feel at ease. Instead, it was Everton, the visiting team, which had a couple of attacks that threatened the Forest team’s goal. Moyes, who had run Everton for two decades, was remarkable. If it had not been for Everton’s poor financial resources, he could have achieved a lot more…
Twain shook his head and found himself distracted again. Why was he still thinking of tactics? It looked like he had not completely shook off the identity of a manager. Ah it was an occupational hazard, ah an occupational hazard.
※※※
If anyone were to mock the American, Evan Doughty for his ignorance of football, he would definitely find it unacceptable. Even though he did not comprehend professionally to the level of a manager, he could also tell that the game currently in progress was boring.
His team did not gain the upper hand at all. Instead, it was worried about the other side’s counterattack. It was the result of what McAllister had trained for over a month…
“Like a sheet of loose sand…” Evan Doughty snorted as he sat on the podium.
Allan Adams sat next to him in silence.
In the front left side of both of them, it was the Robin Hood Grandstand, where most die-hard Forest fans congregated. Right above there were lots slogans criticizing and insulting Evan Doughty and Allan Adams as usual.
“Go back to America and eat sh*t!”
“This team does not belong to the two of you. It’s our team!”
“F**K YOU! Evan Doughty & Allan Adams!”
“You two gay guys! Go home and f**k each other!”
…
Of course, the most popular slogan went something like this: “Give me back Tony!””We want Tony!!””No one can replace Tony Twain!”
Although four years had passed and Nottingham Forest had replaced countless managers, the fans here still count not forget Tony Twain. So much so that every time a manager was replaced, it would only make them miss the former boss and now the England national team manager.
The game had progressed to the 11th minute. The fixed program at the Crimson Stadium began. The home fans rose from their seats one by one and then faced the direction of the podium. Without any command and advance rehearsals, they began to sing the chorus with great tacit understanding:
“Tony Twain won the championship for us, but he left. Evan Doughty will only sell people for money, which he keeps. Evan’s a stupid c**t! A stupid c**t! Oh, yes! If you agree, just stamp your feet with me!”
With a series of rumbling sounds, the stamping of the feet traveled throughout the stadium. The Crimson Stadium seemed to shake like it was a minor earthquake.
“Evan is a stupid c**t!!”
When Twain heard such revealing lyrics filled with profanity, he really had a feeling of not knowing whether to cry and laugh. Actually, his dissatisfaction with Evan Doughty and Allan Adams, had long disappeared in these four years. They only had a difference of ideas. The so-called going on their separate ways could not be considered as a personal grievance. So, it was not necessary to hang onto the entanglement. But for the fans, it was absolutely unforgivable that Evan Doughty and Allan Adams had joined forces to drive Twain away.
Such a distinct tremor, how could the two people sitting on the podium not feel it? Moreover, the exact meaning was no secret after such lyrics had been sung over and over again. Every time he heard such a song, Evan Doughty’s face looked rather ugly – to be called “a stupid c**t by tens of thousands of people in person and still remained nonchalant, the face of that person must be thicker than the earth’s crust. But Evan Doughty could not cultivate to that state. But at present, Doughty did not behave as usual. He was not angry, or it could be said that on the face of it, one could not discern if he was angry. He sat in his seat, looking at the pitch below, as if he lost in his thoughts.
The song lasted for a minute before it stopped. The fans sat back in their seats and returned to watching the game mode.
It was a pity that the team’s performance still did not improve.
Allen had little interest in the game, which had no sense of beauty and no hope of winning. He began to turn his head around and chat with the two guests sitting next to him. These two people were the Arabs from the Middle East, with their striking white robes and headscarves. Their presence here suggested that the club appeared to be in contact with a consortium from the Middle East.
In fact, most of the guests sitting on the podium were not interested in the game. They just took advantage of the football game as an opportunity to socialize. For example, they would talk to each other about their gains in the stock market and futures market, chat about how their franchises were opening new stores, spoke about the investment projects they were bullish on to attract people around them to invest and so on…
It was like a social dance being moved to the stands on the football stadium.
Evan Doughty turned his attention around and found the buzzing discussions behind him. The subjects they were talking about had nothing to do with football. These noises sounded like countless flies swarming around his ears which irritated, but he could not stand up and scold them, telling them to all “SHUT UP.” These people were sponsors who could not be offended lightly…
When he could not find anyone to talk to, Evan turned his gaze to the field again. The score was still 0:0. However, Everton had taken the initiative and Nottingham Forest could only come under attack. The Forest team was indeed in contact with a consortium from the United Arab Emirates. With the invitation to them this time to watch the Forest team’s first game of the new season, the club hoped the team could use its outstanding results to boost their value in front of the wealthy Arabs.
It just so happened that the performance of the team was so bad…
McAllister was just a stopgap solution and a transition manager. If the Forest team was to make a comeback, they needed to find a manager with standards and a prestige enough to control the locker room. It was just that such a manager was far and in between in the current football world. Where were they going to find him?
Evan Doughty’s eyes wandered around and his gaze settled on the banners in the Robin Hood grandstand.
“No one can replace Tony Twain!!”
※※※
Twain wanted to yawn, but he held back. The game was too boring, but Theresa was very interested in everything and looking everywhere. She could not keep still in his arms and he did not have to worry about having nothing to do …
Everton’s players had the ball on the pitch and the fans around him were booing to put pressure on the Everton players. The middle fingers were commonplace. He regretted bringing his daughter, because Theresa had already asked him thrice what the “upright middle fingers” meant …
In order to distract her, Twain could only do everything possible to let his daughter pay attention to the football game itself. And the way to coax her was to say, “Quickly look, your brother Wood is playing football!”, “Look! Your brother Wood has fallen!””(Actually, he was shoveling the ball) “Quickly, look at your brother Wood…”
At long last, it made his young daughter slightly more interested in the game.
But her brother Wood did not touch the ball. The man who had the ball on the pitch was now an Everton player.
The Belgian midfielder, Marouane Fellaini currently had control of the ball. He was a tall defensive midfielder and Everton’s mainstay as well as the main midfielder for the Belgian national team. As his position was further back, the Forest team did not have anyone rushing up to tackle. Fellaini controlled the ball with ease and eventually passed the ball to James Vaughn who withdrew to provide support.
Vaughan and his partner on the forward line, the Polish player, Robert Lewandowski, did a two-versus-one pass to shake off George Wood who came up to defend. After he received the ball again, he did not give the Forest center back a chance to pounce over. He suddenly fired a long shot around the top of the penalty arc!
The football stuck to the turf and rolled past the hands of the goalkeeper, Wayne Hennessey to cross the goal line…
“A gorgeous long shot! James Vaughn! Everton leads Nottingham Forest 1:0 in the away game!”
The blue-clad fans in the opposite stands jumped and cheered loudly while the Nottingham Forest side fell into silence. Many of the fans around Twain held their heads in their hands and watched helplessly as the Everton players dashed around in celebration on the pitch.
In fact, they were more or less used to facing such scenes for the past four years, so they did not boo the team for the goal concede. They just chose to be silent.
This type of silence was more numbness in Twain’s eyes. In the past, the Forest fans would overwhelm the goal-scoring side with thunderous hissing as soon as the team conceded the goal. How can you not be booed when you score a goal in our home game? Dream on!
After a while, there were boos coming in the other direction at last. It was coming from the most aggressive group of fans. It was just that it was not known if they were not booing Everton, or Nottingham Forest.
※※※
The goal scored on the pitch distracted from the lively discussions of the guests on the podium, with a group of people turning their attention back to the pitch. When they discovered that it was Everton that scored the goal, they soon returned to their respective topics.
“I know a project that is guaranteed to make a lot of money…”
“Even Cambodia is almost hollowed out. Where else in the world has it not been developed? Antarctica? Ha…”
“I’m going to fly back to New York next weekend, where I have some business to take care of…”
“Ms. Nancy, you are so beautiful…”
“No, we don’t have any problems at the moment. There are no operational difficulties. I guarantee this is a deal that benefits both parties…”
Only Evan Doughty stared blankly at the Everton players celebrating on the pitch and felt distraught. Even he, who did not know much about football, could feel the team’s morale drop.
※※※
The game went on and the Forest fans in the stands were a little frustrated. This period of time belonged to the Everton fans, who sang and cheered on Everton in the stands, while the Forest fans could not summon up the energy to go head to head against them.
The broadcast of each game could not always be aimed at the field. The footage would often insert some other scenes such as give the technical area some close-ups, or when some interesting slogan was found in the grandstand, the camera footage would also give it some extra attention. When there were some famous people in the stands, they would also be given close-ups.
The live footage of the game spanned across the stands. It first aimed at the few banners. Then it suddenly changed and cut into a scene in the grandstand.
The close-ups footage of live television was usually visible on the big screens of the stadium, so when the live matches were televised, one could often see some of the fans appearing on the televisions and waving excitedly to the cameras while looking at the big screen on the other side.
This was nothing new. But the Forest fans were not in the mood to give a show. Their team was falling behind. Whomever could still laugh for the camera, must not be a hardcore Forest fan.
This close-up was not to let the fans in that area act for the camera. They obviously had another reason. The camera angle zoomed closer and closer till it was fixed on a certain someone.
“Ah ha! Let’s see who this is!” The game’s commentator laughed when he saw the man. “Wearing a pair of sunglasses and a baseball cap, he looks like a spy…”
There was no doubt that the person who was betrayed by the live television cameras was Tony Twain, who did not care at first, because his mind was on the field. It was not until the looks in people’s eyes around him were different, that he realized something was not right because everyone was not watching the game. Instead, they turned their gazes to him.
Without waiting for him to react to what was going on, a voice suddenly sounded on the live broadcast, “Let us welcome—”
An earth-shattering chorus of voices rang out in the stands, “Tony Twain!!!”
The sound startled Twain, who stood up reflexively. As a result, the cheers became even louder.
“Tony! Tony! Tony!!”
Only then Twain reacted. He knew that he had been exposed, so he simply lent Theresa’s hand to say hello to everyone.
Truthfully speaking, he was feeling a little smug to have received such an applause after having left here for four years.
※※※
The sudden cheers also jolted the players on the pitch. Mitchell, who should have caught the pass, let the ball go out of bounds when he heard the cheers, but he was not booed by the fans. Instead, the fans were shouting “Tony! Tony!”
He looked up and easily found the focal point of the cheering. A man was standing there in the upper level of the grandstand. It was as if a king was there to receive the deference from the people.
Not only he, many players were also looking up.. But the people who would be dumbstruck when they saw the man were not many. After all, the Forest team’s old players were almost gone.
Mitchell was still distracted when Wood came up and yelled at him, “What are you doing?! Why are you not defending?”
“Look there, George! It’s the boss! It’s the boss!” Mitchell pointed to the stands and shouted excitedly instead.
Wood did not even turn his head. He just stared at Mitchell and yelled, “Are you going to let him see you sleepwalking on the field?”
His remark was like a wake-up call to the sleepwalker. Mitchell ran to participate in the defense. This time it was Wood’s turn to look back at the stands.
※※※
The cheers continued and Evan Doughty was initially startled by the cheers. Then he saw Tony Twain’s figure on the television screen. It greatly surprised him – they had not been in touch for a long time. He did not expect Twain to come to the stadium to watch the game. He thought Twain must have hated him.
Behind him, the social symposium was interrupted by the cheers of the fans who welcomed Twain. One by one, they asked around in a startling inquiry, looking for the cause of the cheering.
“What happened?”
“What are they shouting?”
“Tony? Which Tony? Tony Twain? He’s back?”
Allan also stopped his conversation with the Arabs and turned his gaze toward the big screen. He did see Twain and his daughter.
Four years have passed, and he even has a child…
※※※
More than 40,000 Forest fans in the stands had their hands outstretched as they bent over to worship and paid tribute to His Majesty, even though the Majesty had been away for four years. As the banner had indicated, no one here could replace Tony Twain.
Twain waved to his subjects and sat down again. After such a display, he could no longer watch the game.
The cheering lasted a while before it faded away.
But the homage to the king was not over yet. At this moment, someone came up next to him and said, “Hey, I did not think the guy sitting next to me is Tony Twain. Give me an autograph, Tony!”
“I want a picture!”
“Your daughter is so beautiful!”
…
For a time, he was surrounded by enthusiastic fans, and Twain had to deal with them, one by one. After satisfying everyone’s requests for autographs, photographs, handshakes, hugs, etc., he was able to sit down and watch the game again…
When the surrounding voices finally returned to normal decibel range, Theresa came next to Twain’s ear and spoke into his ear, “Daddy, which ‘Tony’ are they shouting for?”
Twain laughed this time and said, “They’re shouting for your daddy!”
“Is Daddy a big star?”
“Yes, a big star!” Twain answered with great pride and confidently. “Daddy is the king here.” He looked down at the pitch below and muttered the last remark, “I once was…”
※※※
Perhaps because Twain came personally to watch the game. Nottingham Forest’s morale was boosted dramatically. In the ensuing game, they gradually took the initiative and the score was finally equalized by Mitchell before the end of the first half.
The goalscorer, Mitchell, ran to the area below the stands where Twain was and gave a salute to the top. Everyone knew what he meant with this celebration.
In the second half, Nottingham Forest continued with the efforts and went on to score another goal. In the end, they overtook and beat the visiting team, Everton by 2:1 to secure their arduous first victory of the season.
But after the game, people did not concern themselves with the Forest team’s victory, but Tony Twain’s “return” to the Crimson Stadium. In the post-match press conference, the media repeatedly asked McAllister questions about what he thought of Twain coming to watch the game. McAllister replied with an unfriendly expression, “I’m sorry, I’m not interested in an ordinary spectator.”
But the media did not “let him go.” After the game, in order to attract more eyeballs, some of the media outlets even used the headline –”A return to Nottingham Forest after four years, His Majesty helped the team reverse the game!”
It was made to look like Twain had led the team to victory. Poor McAllister…
...
Chapter 982 - Visiting Michael
In the blink of the eye, the new season had already begun for more than a fortnight. Nottingham Forest’s results were one win, one draw and one loss. This was a mediocre result and nobody knew what to evaluate it as.
Twain could hardly get any information about Nottingham Forest unless he went online as he was in America now.
During this fortnight, he completed another massive task——His second autobiography was finally done, and it was being published at the same time all over the world. Twain had announced that this would be his last autobiography. Since he had already retired, what else would there be for him to write about?
This autobiography talked about Twain’s whole managerial career. The difference between this and the previous autobiography was that his time with the national team took up a large portion of it this time. At the same time, this was his first time talking about the details about him leaving Nottingham Forest even though the media had already dug out most of the information about that.
Next, he flew to Los Angeles with Theresa to participate in a book-signing event for his latest autobiography there. After that, he met up with a few Hollywood stars and directors after introduction by Shania and his good friends, Beckham and Tom Cruise, to discuss about another major event——An autobiographical movie. This movie would be produced by Tom Cruise’s United Artists Studios. Twain and Shania also donated a huge sum of money. It was an autobiographical movie after all, so it was not completely commercialized and there was no need to expect too much in terms of ticket sales. It was mainly for audiences who like Twain. If one wants to watch the story of the most arrogant and most successful manager in the footballing world on the big screen, then this was a movie that must not be missed. As for whether he was popular amongst the viewers…that was not important.
In truth, it was Twain using his own money and the help of his friends to complete a small wish of his——Making a movie out of the story of his life.
As the producer, Cruise thought that this was good material for a sports movie——This was because it accurately reflected the football culture in England.
However, the media provided a different view after catching wind of this news.
“…Arguing with his opponents, full of vulgarities, going against the Football Association, criticizing the referee, arrogant, causing trouble everywhere… I really worry about the effects of this movie on kids when it’s made. Anyway, I’ll not be allowing my son to watch this movie in the theatres!”
“This piece of news shattered the last trace of good feeling I had for him because of the World Cup… The thought of seeing his face on the big screens sounds like a tragedy to me…”
Cruise did not mind the criticism of the media. In fact, that was the exact effect that he wanted. As a controversial character in the sports world, Twain’s presence brought along voices of differing opinions everywhere he went. This was his advantage as he was able to attract enough attention. The producing studios had already witnessed the power of this advantage——The movie had not even started to be made yet and there were many calls from different media sources calling for an interview with the studios. Many other media sources became free advertisement for it too.
※※※
“As a movie that’s planned to be about 100 minutes long, we’ll definitely not be able to show the full 15 years of your managerial career. Therefore, we’ll have to take certain parts…” The United Artists Studios’ producer was telling Twain about his ideas for this movie. Tom Cruise, the boss of United Artists, was accompanying Twain and Shania by their side as their good friend. “This won’t just be purely a sports movie. We wish to express some thinking towards soccer as a sport.”
“We’ve read your two autobiographies thoroughly,” Next to the producer’s hand were the two autobiographies by Twain. The one below was the first autobiography that Twain published after 10 years of managing, “Ten years”. The book below was the latest new autobiography that was being published at the same time all over the world, “Champion”. “We think that the story that is most suited to be made into a movie is your first season in Forest, or should we say, half a season. It was very dramatic and at the same time, it provokes thought… I love Shankly’s quote, ‘Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I don’t like that attitude. I can assure them it is more serious than that’. I think what you experienced during that half season was proof and an introspection of that quote…”
It was a good thing that this producer was Scottish and not an American who knew nothing about football. Otherwise, the movie would bear no resemblance to the real thing——Even though there were no good players from Scotland, there were many good managers from that country. He had some pretty good insights regarding a movie which featured a manager as the main lead.
Twain, who had been listening quietly all this while, suddenly interrupted him, “Sorry, can I ask you a question? Did you just say you want to use the second half of the 2002-2003 season as the base for the movie?”
“That’s right!” The producer replied, “Even though your team failed in their bid to win the title, but that’s okay. We can list out all your achievements during the end credits of the movie…” He thought that Twain was worried that the eventual failure at the end of that season would not be able to satisfy the audience.
Little did he know that Twain was worried about something else.
He stroked his chin in consideration for a while before shaking his head and saying, “I’m afraid I have to discuss this with someone…”
Tom Cruise looked at Shania next to Twain and she could only smile at him helplessly. She did not know what had gotten into Twain as well.
“Okay then, we’ll do this again next time…” Cruise looked at the producer who was going off to get his car, then turned back and asked Twain, “How long are you going to stay here, Tony?”
“Don’t worry, we’ll be here for quite some time.”
When the producer drove the car over, Cruise gave Twain and Shania a hug before saying goodbye to them. After he left, Shania asked Twain, “Who are you going to discuss the movie with?”
“An old friend,” Twain smiled at Shania, “an old friend whom I’ve not met for many years… I wonder if he still remembers me.”
“Do you want me to go with you?” Shania asked as she lied within Twain’s embrace.
“No, it has been too long, I’m afraid that it might become awkward, “Twain patted Shania’s shoulder gently.
※※※
Their young daughter was chasing butterflies on the lawn, exclaiming in joy here and there while Fiona Bernard was seated on the white lawn chair, reading her magazine and asking her daughter to lower her voice occasionally.
“Shannon, keep it down, you’ll disturb the neighbours!”
“Don’t dirty your skirt. I just washed that yesterday.”
Her daughter’s voice was actually reminding her mother what she was doing. If she did not make a sound, then something would be wrong.
Now, Fiona could feel that something was wrong as her daughter was no longer making a sound. She dropped her magazine and looked up to search for her daughter. She found her on the lawn, shyly looking at a strange man standing outside their door.
That man was in a dark suit, wearing sunglasses, and he was standing right outside the door which reached his waist.
“We don’t need a vacuum cleaner or whatever you’re selling…” She stood up and walked to where her daughter was, grabbing hold of her.
“Madam, I’m not here to sell you anything. May I know if this is Michael Bernard’s place?” That man asked politely.
Fiona nodded.
A smile broke out on the face of the man in front of her and he removed his sunglasses, placing them in his shirt pocket. “Hello Madam. I’m a friend of your husband’s. We’ve met once, but you might not remember me anymore. My name is Tony Twain and I’m a long-time friend of your husband’s.
※※※
When Michael returned home from work, he realized that there was a pair of man’s shoes at the door.
“We have a guest?” He asked his wife who came to receive him.
“A friend of yours,” Fiona said as she took her husband’s coat and suitcase.
“My friend?” Michael changed his shoes as he thought about who it might be. Could it be that bank executive he met at the golf club, or maybe the lawyer he met when he went fishing the other time… But he was stunned when he entered the living room and saw who it was.
“Hi Michael,” Twain stood up and greeted Michael Bernard.
Michael looked at the man in front of him in shock for a long while before muttering, “Ton…Tony? Why are you…why are you here?”
“Good thing you didn’t move, otherwise, I won’t be able to find you,” Twain laughed as he said, “Actually, I have a place in Los Angeles too. I’ll come over here to keep my wife, Shania, company sometimes, you know about that, don’t you? I’m very sorry that I haven’t come see you all this while, because… Um, I’m worried that I won’t know what to say when I meet you.” He shrugged, then shook his head and sighed. However, he smiled again shortly and said, “I’m glad to see that you have such a cute and beautiful daughter now.”
Shannon was holding on to her mother’s skirt as she stayed close to her. She looked at her daddy and the stranger with much curiosity.
“Actually, I came to look for you because of Gavin…”
The Bernard couple shuddered when Twain said this name.
Later, Twain told the two of them his reason for coming and hoped to get an answer from them. Ever since he reached Michael’s place and saw pictures of Gavin all over the place, Twain felt that he made the right decision to come. Little Gavin still held a very important place in Michael and his wife’s hearts.
Since he was going to bring the incident involving Gavin to the big screens, he definitely had to seek his family’s approval.
If he was being honest, Twain thought that Michael’s wife would object violently. He even prepared to get a scolding from her, but he did not expect Fiona to take a look at Michael, then stood up and walk away saying, “I’ll go make dinner.”
Next, Michael examined Twain for a long time before saying, “I heard that you’ve retired?”
Twain nodded.
“Why retire?”
“Erm… I have nothing to fight for anymore, I guess I’m tired…”
Michael laughed, “Who would have thought that the arrogant Tony Twain would feel tired too? Too bad… The World Cup final was very exciting.”
Twain was a little surprised to hear him say that, “I thought you stopped watching football? Didn’t you cut all ties with football?”
“I can still watch the match on television.”
Twain stole a glance at the kitchen, “Your wife…”
“I told her everything. Come to think of it, I have to thank you, Tony.”
“Thank me?” Twain did not know what Michael meant.
“Thank you for sending me tickets for every final. It wasn’t until the European Cup final before I realized that I can never leave football…” Michael sighed, “Even though I won’t watch matches live at the stadium now, I don’t have to think of football as a terrifying devil. I have finally found peace… Do you know, Tony? If you had asked about this two years ago, we would definitely have not agreed to it. Gavin is like a stone in our hearts that we cannot put down, and it was getting harder for us to handle it. Now…” He shrugged. “We’ll allow you to bring the story of Gavin to the big screens. I believe this will be a kind of consolation to Gavin.”
This was the answer that Twain wanted, and he was very happy about it. Out of reflex, he reached out, looking to shake Michael’s hand, but he did not expect Michael to give him a high five instead.
“Don’t treat me as a negotiation partner. Do you remember how we met, Tony?”
Twain laughed as he heard him say that, “Of course, that’s a piece of beautiful memory…”
Twain gave Shania a call that night, telling her that he would be staying at Michael’s place and would not be going home that night. He reminded her and Theresa to rest earlier, then he continued to chat with Michael, all the way till late night. Ever since Michael left England in 2003, they had not talked to each other so amicably. Even though they did not drink a single drop of alcohol, they were flushed with excitement, as if they were both drunk.
They would laugh for a while, then cry for a while. The two of them were in their fifties, yet they were behaving like youngsters then. Thinking of how fast the past decade passed for them, they could not help but reminisce about it. When the two of them first met, they were enemies who fought with each other. At that time, the two of them never thought that they could ever sit and chat like this one day.
※※※
The next morning, Twain said goodbye the Michael, his wife and their daughter, Shannon, then took the car back home.
Next, Twain gave the producer a call to agree to his proposal and gave him the go-ahead. There was nothing else he needed to say as there was someone more professional than him taking charge of it, so he had no need to worry about it. All he needed to do was to be an extra for some scenes and enjoy himself, that was all.
What was left were some miscellaneous stuff such as signing the contract. When all these were done, Twain was enjoying the company of his wife and daughter at his home in Los Angeles when he saw the calendar and suddenly realized that it was almost 9th September.
His fiftieth birthday was coming soon.
...
Chapter 983 - At 50, I Know the Decrees of Heaven
“Happy birthday, Uncle Tony!”
When Twain opened his eyes in the morning, the first thing he heard was his wife, Shania, speaking softly as she laid next to his ear.
But he could not muster up a smile. Instead, he sighed and looked unhappily at Shania, draping herself over his own body. He said, “50-year-old birthday, what’s so happy about that…”
Shania said with a grin, “I don’t care so much, it’s happy as long as it’s a birthday! Happy birthday, Uncle Tony!” She repeated it, giving Twain a good morning kiss, and Shania jumped out of bed.
The maid and nanny had already prepared breakfast downstairs. Since there was a child in the family and such a big villa, Twain no longer insisted on their family living on their own. Theresa would always be afraid when the night came – the house was too big, even if all the rooms and corridor lights were turned on, she was always afraid of monster suddenly jumping out of the corners. So, they simply hired a live-in maid and nanny so as to add some vitality to the house.
And even after Twain and Shania returned to England with Theresa, the house would still be left to the helpers to live in.
A house was meant for people to live in. Otherwise no matter how nice the house was as long as no one lived in it, the rate of dilapidation was amazing. As long as people lived in it, it would be cleaned regularly, and the house would be fresh every day.
Thinking about it on this level, Twain no longer cared about their privacy…
Twain also followed suit to get out of bed, get dressed and washed up. And Shania, who got out of bed first, also did not have the habit to waste time in front of the dresser. As long as she was not going out for any activities, she would emerge fresh-faced without any makeup. Even though she was alluringly gorgeous like she was in promotional posters, movies, advertisements and runway stages, she was still equally beautiful. Twain looked at her for a long time and felt the bare-faced Shania even more beautiful.
By this time Shania had gone to knock on her daughter’s door.
“Theresa, are you up?”
When her daughter jumped to open the door, she was suddenly pulled in the arms of Shania waiting at the door. Shania tickled her armpits. Her young daughter’s twinkling laughter instantly tinkled all over the room.
Twain ignored the mother and daughter playing over there and went alone into the bathroom to begin to wash up. He habitually looked up at his reflection in the mirror. His hair was still black, but that was only superficial. He used a comb to tidy his hair, and the white hair could not be covered under the black surface. All the white strands popped out. In fact, a 50-year-old person’s hair would not be so obvious quickly. But a manager was a profession that used the brains and endured immense mental pressure. Therefore, it was not uncommon for the hair to become whiter more quickly than an ordinary person.
Twain touched his snow-white hair and there was nothing he could do. The aging of the body could not be shifted with his own will.
It was just that there were more and more creases on his face, and he looked a little depressed. With his transmigration, even though he had won a lot of championship titles and married a beautiful wife, he also lost a few years on his lifespan for no good reason and could not borne a child of his own. He could only adopt one. This was really “the equivalent of paying for what you get.” He did not know whether those championship titles and money were equivalent to the lost years of life and lack of offspring…
He splashed some cold water on his face and the water splattered everywhere. With that, those distracting thoughts in his head was also splashed away.
Today’s breakfast was more abundant than usual. Obviously, the help had already been given special instructions by Shania and knew that today was the 50th birthday of the man of the house.
“Do you have any plans for today?” Shania asked during breakfast.
“No.” Twain shook his head. He had been busy a few days ago and was finally able to relax today. Moreover, he was completely free today and perhaps there was nothing to be busy with in the future for a period of time. Twain felt that the older he got, the less meaning the birthday held, so there was no big fanfare to invite people to a birthday party. Otherwise his house would have become a Hollywood’s over the top party.
Perhaps some people liked to use their birthdays to make friends with celebrities and use the opportunity to promote their fame and status. That was their prerogative. But Twain did not like to do it. At such times, he wanted to be with his loved ones, even if it was to watch television on the couch at home. It was better than to deal with those movie stars. Anyway, he was a football manager, and not of the same circles as the Hollywood stars. He only guest starred in movies for the thrill of it. He did not have to make any connections or kowtow to anyone.
Twain’s lack of desires made things difficult for Shania instead. He should not spend his birthday without any fanfare at all, shouldn’t he? It was his 50-year-old birthday. How many 50-year-old birthdays could a person have in his life… Well, just one. She was really reluctant to spend such a special day at home…
Seeing Shania having a headache alone, Twain advised, “Don’t think about it. I don’t want to go anywhere.”
“How can we do that? How can you spend your birthday by staying at home?”
“I can go shopping with you.” Twain spread his hands.
“It’s your birthday, not mine. How can you be doing what I want?” Shania widened her eyes and stared at Twain as she asked.
She did not expect Twain to retract his smile and did not evade Shania’s stare. Instead, he stared very seriously into her eyes, as if to see her heart through her eyes. He directly looked at Shania till she was little embarrassed before he said, “For me, the important thing is not how I celebrate this birthday. The important thing is whom I spend it with. My birthday wish is to be with you, and…” He glanced at his daughter, who was having breakfast next to him and continued, “Theresa. It doesn’t matter as to where we’ll spend it at. It’s nice to watch TV at home, it’s also nice to go to the supermarket and buy things. It’s all the same.”
In fact, he still had some words he did not say. It would be too inauspicious to say those words. He would not mention them on such a festive day. All that mattered was it was clear in his own heart.
Twain’s words, which were spoken from the heart, touched Shania’s heart, but she did not show it on the surface. There was tacit understanding between them, so there was no need for any superfluous displays, such as eyes moved to tears, holding of hands and looking at each other wordlessly … She only pursed her lips helplessly. She said, “Anyway, it’s your birthday today, so it’s up to you.”
Twain immediately brought the smile back to his face and went to play with his daughter, Theresa.
Shania looked at the father and daughter getting along well and sighed gently in her heart. Uncle Tony was really fifty years old… It made her sad to think about it. Although she said “Happy Birthday” to Uncle Tony, she was actually in the same mood as Uncle Tony – she was afraid that it would only become sadder each birthday after the age of 50.
She first met him 15 years ago, when she was 13 years old and Uncle Tony was 34 years old. There was even a misunderstanding after the two people met… At the thought of Uncle Tony’s wolfish look as he glanced at her bosom, Shania could not help laughing.
She did not expect to “mistakenly board a pirate ship” and never got off just like that….
I was only 13 years old at the time. How did I fall in love with this middle-aged uncle?
“What are you laughing about?” Twain heard Shania’s laughter and looked back at her. He discovered that she had an obvious smile on her face, but her eyes were not focused. She was clearly lost in her thoughts.
“Ah… Thinking of the first time you and I met.” Shania did not hide, and plainly told Twain.
Twain recalled it when she said so. He was once mistaken for a pervert by his wife in front of him … At that time, he had just lost an important game and also lost six months of hard work put into the season. Michael had left him for the far away United States and little Gavin had died tragically in the fans’ riot. His emotions were in a mess. But because of his encounter with the quirky Shania, his mood was able to lighten up soon after, as if the clouds had lifted.
Twain suddenly thought of a phrase, “If only the time stopped at the moment when we met for the first time.”
The relationship between himself and Shania was quite in line with the meaning. It was as if only a day had gone by and not 15 years. It was as if they had met for the first time. He was never tired of Shania, and Shania did not tire of him too. Maybe it was because they spent more time apart than they had been together for 15 years?
“Theresa said she wants to go to Hollywood and watch people make movies. Anyway, it’s my birthday and it’s not nice to always coop up at home.” Twain told Shania their daughter’s wishes. In fact, Theresa did not want to see her father and mother quarrel, so she said that on purpose.
Shania naturally had no objection. She took Theresa upstairs to change and put on make-up.
Twain left the dining room and sat down in the living room to rest while he waited for the mother and daughter.
He did not wait long. Since she was just going out to play, Shania just put on a touch of makeup while Theresa just changed out of her pajamas she wore at home.
Watching Shania lead Theresa walk down the stairs, Twain discovered that although she was an adopted child, there was a resemblance in the features between the raven-haired Theresa and the dark brown-haired Shania. Shania had a little Chinese heritage, so they looked like a pair of mother and daughter. For the rest of their lives, Twain had no other desire as long as the two of them were by his side. Anyway, time would not go back, no matter how reluctant he was. He was already 50 years old. Since that was the case, rather than sitting here, feeling how time flew and bemoaning getting older, it was better to live well with his wife and child.
When Shania saw Twain’s hair at a glance as she walked down, she frowned, “Aren’t you going to dye it?”
Twain shook his head and said, “No more dyeing. I’m not going to dye it in the future.”
Shania was taken aback and said, “Did you suffer a blow, Uncle Tony?”
“I just suddenly figured out one thing.” Twain took Shania’s arm and added, “The snow-white hair looks good too.”
※※※
In fact, Twain did not get a peace of mind when he went out to relax. His cell phone constantly rang with calls from friends, as if they had planned it in advance. Everyone wanted to wish him a happy birthday. Michael, Wood, Brosnan, Dunn, Kerslake, Walker… Shania was a little displeased. Shania was not at fault. What was supposed to be family time for the three of them, was interrupted by a series of phone calls.
“Well, no one else should call me.” Twain knew his wife was a little unhappy. Their conversation only lasted a few words before it was interrupted by the phone ringing, which was annoying. “I’m going to turn off the phone.”
He lifted his cell phone and planned to turn it off. But coincidentally the phone in his hand started vibrating again.
Shania rolled her eyes.
“All right. This time, whoever it is, I’ll turn the phone off.” Twain glanced at the phone screen, and a somewhat unfamiliar name flashed on it – Evan.
When the name first appeared in Twain’s eyes, he actually did not think of who it was. He was just about to hang up and then turn it off when his finger hovered over the hang-up key, because he suddenly remembered who the person behind the name was.
The question was, why would he call him? He and the club chairman had not been in touch since he ended his contract with the club in 2014. Other than he once called him again later in hopes that he would return to the Forest team, the two men had not been in touch since. What was the matter with him calling at this time? Could it be that he had called to wish him a “happy birthday” too?
Twain frowned and could not figure out why. Then he reacted – wouldn’t he find out once he answered the call?
“Oh hell…” He muttered as he pressed the answer button.
“Hey!”
When Shania saw Twain raise the phone to his ear, she took Theresa to quickly step straight into a store.
“Happy birthday, Tony!” Evan Doughty’s voice came on the phone. But Twain did not know how to react to it.
Hearing such a warm voice, Twain became even more confused about why Evan was calling him.
“Thank you… Evan.” He thought about it and did not address him as “Mr. Doughty.” Instead, he changed it to a more cordial “Evan.” Although he and Evan had a falling out when he first left, the incident was four years ago, and it was not a murderous feud. What else could he not let go? Moreover, for him to have so many championships titles, part of it was to Evan’s credit.
“I heard you went to Los Angeles?” Evan Doughty seemed to be in high spirits over the phone.
“Yes, to be with my wife. She also misses her daughter.” Twain did not want to talk too much to him, not because he was upset with Evan, but because he did not want to keep his wife waiting for too long. If she found out that he was still on the phone when she came out of the store with Theresa in a while, she was going to explode…
Evan Doughty also seemed to sense the coolness of Twain’s tone. He could only take it that he still held a grudge toward him for when he drove him away at the time.
He laughed bitterly, “Tony, do you still care about what happened at that time?”
Huh?” Twain stared blankly for a moment, and immediately understood. Evan was clearly mistaken. “Oh, not at all. Let bygones be bygones. I actually bought season tickets every season, and occasionally I would go to the home stadium to watch games.”
Evan certainly knew because he saw Twain’s figure in the Forest team’s first home game of the new season appeared in the stands at the Crimson Stadium.
※※※
“Mommy, what are you looking at?”
Theresa felt strange. After her mother took her into the clothing store, she did not take her to pick out clothes as usual. Instead she used the excuse of “take a look on your own” to move to this corner to peek through the window.
“Of course, I’m looking at Daddy.” Shania touched her daughter’s head and looked over again.
“Who’s on the phone with Daddy?”
“Mommy doesn’t know.”
Despite the separation of the window, Shania could see from Twain’s expression that he was not as happy as he had been on previous phone calls.
Who on earth was calling him?
Although he had said to let bygones be bygones, there was no way to skirt around the matter since it was mentioned. The topic suddenly made Doughty feel that Twain was a little further away from himself, because the tone on the other end of the line was getting colder…
But in fact, Twain was anxious that Shania would come out in a moment. If he was still not done with the phone call, he was going to have a hard time.
Realizing that it was not a good idea to take such a risk to make the call, it was inappropriate to talk any further. So, Evan Doughty politely wished him a good time and hung up.
Once the other side hung up the phone, Twain was relieved on this side. He immediately turned off the phone, and then put it back in the pocket as he waited for Shania and Theresa to come back from the shopping.
But instead, the mother and daughter returned emptyhanded.
“Did not you buy anything?” Twain asked somewhat diffidently.
Shania shook her head and went straight to the point to ask, “Who’s that on the phone?”
“… Evan, Evan Doughty.” Twain hesitated a little and chose to tell his wife honestly.
Shania was no stranger to the name. She frowned and said, “What does he want with you by calling?”
“Just to say, ‘Happy Birthday.’” Twain shrugged.
Shania looked suspiciously at her husband. She knew her husband too well. His love of football had always surpassed everything. Sometimes she often wondered whether the man loved her or football…
“That’s all. We did not chat too much. I was afraid that you would come out and saw that I was still on the phone, so I just exchanged a few words with him.” Twain hurriedly explained for fear of Shania’s suspicion.
Shania looked at Twain, and then the corners of her lips slowly curled up, forming into an arc. Then she leaned her body over and nestled in Twain’s arms, putting her arm around him, while her other hand held Theresa.
“I’m hungry. I know a store with delicious ice cream. Let’s go!”
※※※
Twain, who quietly spent his 50th birthday with his family, did not return to the United Kingdom, but remained in Los Angeles. When his wife was at work, he spent time with his daughter. When his wife had a break, the whole family would go out to play. The days went by with ease.
People often said that at thirty, one stood firm. At forty, one had no doubts. At fifty, one knew the decrees of Heaven.
The 50-year-old Twain felt that his destiny was this.
...
Chapter 984 - I Have Decided to Retire
“… Let’s do five sets of passing exercises next. George, you’re in charge of passing the ball from here to the two sidelines, five passes each on the left and right sides. For one group…” Manager McAllister was explaining the specifics of the training on the training ground to the players, “When Freddy kicks the ball to you, you have to pass it directly. You can’t adjust. Got it?”
Wood nodded.
“As for the players on the two sidelines, cut inside to shoot after you receive the ball.”
The players on the two sidelines indicated that they understood.
“Very well, start practicing.” After he had given all the instructions, McAllister retreated from the training ground and handed it over to Coach Freddy Eastwood to handle it while he himself stood at a side and watched carefully.
The team’s recent record had been up-and-down. He was under a lot of pressure too. The league tournament was already in the month of October and the Forest team was still in tenth place. Such a placement was absolutely unsatisfactory to everyone. There were rumors outside that Evan Doughty wanted to fire him but could not find a better excuse because he had led the team to an immediate win when it looked like he was about to be fired and that eased the pressure a little.
But it was not a long-term solution. He had to find a way to stabilize the condition of the team. Unfortunately, he was not a master of psychological adjustment. He could only find a way from the skills and tactics. He strengthened Wood’s core position and developed all the tactics around him. It was the only way McAllister could think of. After all, Wood’s form was stable. Over the years, there was almost no issue with his form. With him as the core, and as long as his condition was stable, then the team’s condition would not be too much of a problem.
By contrast, the other Italian player was simply too unreliable… Balotelli always wanted to leave the club, which always caused a din for a spell before every season. It had made the fans tired of him. Miraculously, though, he always ended up not leaving. Now that McAllister considered fixing him in the right midfielder position, the Forest team at least did not have to rely too much on him to score goals.
In order to improve the team’s performance, McAllister decided to sacrifice Wood’s defensive ability and let him focus on the offense. Therefore, Wood had to carry out more offensive drills during training such as the previously mentioned straight passes, diagonal long passes or even plugging in with his own long shots … The intensity of these training programs had increased.
Since becoming the Forest manager, he had to admit that even though Twain was an annoying person, he had cultivated George Wood for England, much to his credit. And now he was benefiting from it too.
As McAllister stared at the training ground and mulled over how to maximize Wood’s role, someone had hurriedly walked behind him.
“Mr. McAllister.”
“Ah? What’s the matter?” McAllister’s thoughts were interrupted, and he was a little annoyed. He did not turn his head around and kept staring at the training ground. He was using this method to let the unexpected person know that he was hard at work. If there’s nothing urgent, you’d better not come and disturb me!
“It has to do with George Wood…”
That person whispered behind McAllister. As he listened, the expression on McAllister’s face immediately changed from puzzlement to shock as well as at a complete loss …
※※※
Wood was on the field for practicing the passing drill. This training subject was on long passes, mainly to practice the accuracy of his direct long passes without adjusting in the face of the opponent’s scramble. McAllister did not arrange for someone to make a scramble. He just instructed him not to adjust after receiving the ball. The actual effect was still somewhat different.
From the first three sets of training, Wood’s long passes were becoming more and more skilled, whether in terms of the speed of the ball and the accuracy of the final target of the passes. Both could be considered top notch.
Just as he was about to continue his fourth set of passes, he saw Manager McAllister, who had been standing on the sidelines, make a time-out signal to Eastwood. Then he walked over directly toward him.
Was there something wrong with training? Wood did not think so. The quality of the practice was high and he himself was satisfied with it. Wood always demanded high standards of himself. Even a tough manager like Twain thought he was sometimes too tough on himself. Experience had also shown that as long as he thought it was fine, the coach would basically not be able to find any fault.
He stood there, waiting for the manager. He did not know what the manager wanted from him by pausing the training at this time.
When McAllister walked up to Wood, he opened his mouth and could not make a sound because he did not really know how he should relay the news to the other party.
After a moment’s silence, the rest of the players on the training ground noticed the unusual situation happening here and turned their attention over one by one.
McAllister also clearly realized that standing here while saying nothing made it even worse. “Well, there’s something I need to tell you, George…” His voice was hoarse and low once he spoke, which startled McAllister – his usual voice did not sound like this.
Wood looked at the other man in bafflement. When had the manager spoke so carefully?
“Well…” McAllister hesitated for a while and decided not to just blurt out the matter directly, but to start with the process to mentally prepare Wood. “The club has received a call just now from the Royal Hospital of Nottingham University … Your mother is in a critical condition and has just been taken to the hospital…”
Wood stared blankly at the manager. His mind was completely blank.
※※※
In fact, in the last two years, Sophia’s health had increasingly worsened, so Wood had spent money to hire professional nursing staff to take care of his mother at home. He had to train and also traveled around to participate in tournaments. There was no way for him to stay next to his mother.
Professional nurses could handle any usual situations. But if she had to go to the hospital, it meant her problem was serious…
When Wood rushed to the hospital’s intensive care unit, his mother was still in a coma. Ms. Nancy, the private nurse in charge of caring for his mother, was sitting outside the ward, somewhat at a loss. Her job had been taken over by the hospital. If Sophia did not leave the hospital from now on, there was basically nothing left for her to do.
Wood tried to rush straight into the ward but was stopped by a young nurse wearing a face mask.
“What are you going to do, sir? You can’t enter the intensive care unit at will!”
“I want to see my mother!” Wood yelled at the other person.
“Please keep your voice down!” The female nurse, who stopped him at the door, frowned and said, “You are not allowed to enter the intensive care unit without permission.” She spoke in a low muffled voice because of the face mask she wore.
“I’m her son. Why can’t I go in?” Wood did not care too much about it. He just wanted to get in there. The nurse was also unwilling to back down. She came up and blocked in front of Wood with her chest out.
“The patient is still not out of danger yet. The doctor is keeping her under close observation. Please do not disturb our work!” She stared sternly at Wood.
“You…” Wood raised his fists, wanting to push aside the tactless nurse, but was stopped by Ms. Nancy, who saw what happened at the side.
“Calm down, Mr. Wood! This is the hospital…”
Even though Nancy was a lady, she was not a petite woman. She was sturdy, had broad shoulders and strong thighs – although it was not suitable to use these words to describe a lady, it was a true portrayal – Not weaker than men in terms of strength, she was able to hold Wood back with some difficulty.
“Are you the patient’s family?” The female nurse on the other side saw that Wood was being held back, so she pulled out a sheet and glanced through it.
“I’m her son. She’s my mother.” Wood had calmed down after being persuaded by Nancy. He replied in a low voice.
She did not expect the other party’s attitude to suddenly became so good. The female nurse lifted her head and gave him a strange look. How could it be that she did not recognize the man in front of her? As long as she was from Nottingham, even if she was not a fan, she should recognize the man in front of her at a glance. Because he was the legendary team captain of the Forest team, George Wood. No matter how bad the team’s performance was and how difficult his situation was, he never had the heart to leave the Forest team. He was respected by countless people because of it.
She just did not expect that the team captain who kept a low profile of his life off the field, would have such a fiery side to him. It was not the stadium here…
But even if she recognized him, it did not mean everything would be according to his wishes. It was the rule that the intensive care unit could not be entered at will. Even if the Queen were to be here, she would not let her in without permission.
Thinking of it, the nurse’s attitude eased a lot. She told Wood, “Your mother is not out of danger yet. We have just completed the resuscitation. She’s still in the observation stage. You can look at her through this glass panel.”
Needless to say, Wood had already leaned against the front of a thick glass panel, gazing fondly at his mother lying on the bed inside. Various types of tubes were stuck in her body and connected to many of the medical equipment which he could not name. A doctor in a sterilized suit was observing the equipment and taking notes inside the ward.
Looking the other person’s appearance, he also realized that if he had barged in just now, he would have screw things up.
With this in mind, Wood turned to the nurse still standing next to him and said, “What happened just now… I’m really sorry… I was too impulsive, I hope… you can forgive me…”
When the nurse looked at the man’s awkward appearance as he apologized, she could not help laughing. She guessed he was not in the habit apologize to anyone.
Thinking that he had clashed with her due to his anxiety about his mother’s wellbeing, the last trace of dissatisfaction in the female nurse’s heart also dissipated. She smiled and shook her head, “I’m fine.” Those eyes which looked straight at Wood just now, had transformed into two beautiful crescents of eye smile.
Generally, after the opening of this sentence, they should chat further and get acquainted with each other. But Wood was not in the mood to chat to the nurse. After he apologized to the other person, he turned his eyes back at his mother separated by the glass. Apart from his mother, he had no room for anyone else in his heart and eyes at this time.
Wood gazed at his mother in the ward, while the nurse outside the ward gazed at Wood.
※※※
Reporters soon discovered that something odd was afoot. During a routine filming the next morning, they did not see George Wood’s figure.
Ever since George Wood became a member of the Forest team, he had only been late once. That was because when AC Milan wanted to purchase him, he had a conflict with Twain and came in late as a protest. Of course, the media did not know the real reason behind it. Only that Wood wanted to leave but was eventually persuaded by Twain to stay.
Other than that, Wood had never been late for training.
This time, it was different. Wood was not only late, the reporters waiting outside did not see Wood’s figure even until the end of the training session in the morning. He was not late. He was absent from training…
It was a serious matter – indeed, if it had happened to the undisciplined players, it would not have been a big deal. But it had happened to George Wood, so it was a very serious matter – naturally it attracted a lot of media attention. They surrounded Manager McAllister after training. They wanted to ask him the reason behind Wood’s absence.
Before asking McAllister, the media were also speculating among themselves on whether that meant something was wrong within the Forest team. Was it a conflict between the manager and captain? That could be big news!
McAllister was surrounded by dozens of reporters. If he did not give a reason why, he might not be able to leave Wilford today.
“Everybody…”
He had just opened his mouth and was overwhelmed by a louder clamor of voices.
“Mr. McAllister, has Wood applied for a leave of absence from training through you?”
“Mr. McAllister, do you know why Wood is absent from training?”
“Mr. McAllister, the team’s not doing well recently, and now Wood is absent from training, are you going to penalize him?”
“Mr. McAllister…”
“…”
“All right!” McAllister shouted in frustration, “Just keep quiet!”
He waited till the reporters shut up one by one before he continued to say, “I regret to tell you that George’s mother is hospitalized and in a critical condition, so he took time off to take care of his mother in the hospital.”
As soon as the answer came out, the reporters present just looked at each other in dismay. They did not cotton on to what had happened for a while.
McAllister slipped away from the side while the reporters were still in a daze.
※※※
Vivian Miller was the nurse on duty in the ward. She had just finished her job here and was getting ready to leave. She wanted to give some space for Wood and his mother. But as soon as she closed the door, she heard a sudden rush of footsteps coming from the end of the corridor. Following the rush of footsteps, a large group of reporters holding cameras appeared in front of her eyes.
What are they doing here? It was her first thought. Her second thought was – George Wood! They must have rushed here for Mr. Wood and his mother!
Vivian then made the same move as when she stopped Wood a day earlier. She stood at the door to stop the uninvited mob from approaching.
“This is the hospital. May I know who you are looking for?” Vivian asked despite knowing the answer so as to buy some time.
“Miss Nurse, can you please tell us if George Wood’s mother is staying in this ward?” Someone came forward among the reporters and asked.
Miss Vivian Miller stared at the ill-intentioned group of reporters and did not answer.
The reporters took her silence as admittance and wanted to charge inside.
“This is the intensive care unit. You are not allowed to enter without permission!” For fear of disturbing the patient inside, the female nurse could not raise her voice, so she appeared a little powerless in front of such a large group of men. If that group of men really want to break in, she might have no way of stopping them as a girl…
“We’re all friends of George. We’re here out of concern for him. We know that he did not attend the training this morning…”
Some of the reporters were okay and knew to make excuses for themselves, even if they were lies. The others reached out directly to push aside Vivian Miller, the meddlesome nurse.
“I don’t know you, this so-called group of ‘friends.’”
Vivian felt that she could not hold on any longer. She scrambled at her feet and took a step back but did not hit the door. Instead, she knocked into a person’s chest.
George Wood had showed up at the door to help Vivian fend off the impact from the reporters.
Seeing the man in question show up, the thick-skinned reporters suddenly became spirited and took out the cameras to start taking pictures of him. Some people even reached out with the microphones and recording equipment, wanting to ask questions.
Wood did something that the reporters did not expect. He pulled the nurse behind him to protect her with one hand while his other hand grabbed the nearest camera lens.
“If you dare to shoot, I’ll crush it.”
The remark surprised the media. They did not expect to get such a response. “Hey, George… We just care about you…”
“Thank you, but I don’t need it.” Wood answered with a grim face. His voice was low, as if he were a beast growling from the depths of its throat. It was a precursor to an attack.
The two sides seemed to be in a stalemate. The atmosphere at the scene was tense. Miss Vivian Miller, hiding behind Wood, only felt her heartbeat accelerating, for fear that the two sides would break out in a fight over a clash of words…
“A patient needs rest and a quiet environment. If you continue to cause a scene here, I will make sure that all of you will receive a letter from my lawyer.” The man who said this was not George Wood. The voice came from behind the crowd of reporters.
Everyone turned around and it turned out to be Wood’s agent, Billy Woox, as well as a large group of hospital security guards behind him…
※※※
Relying on the security guards and threat of lawyer’s letters, they finally drove away the huddle of reporters at the door. Woox was talking to Wood in a room outside the ward.
“I rushed back the moment I got your call. How’s Sophia doing?”
“She just came out of the critical stage, but the doctors say we can’t be too optimistic…” Wood said in a soft voice, as if he was afraid of disturbing his mother who was in the room.
Woox looked at her listless face and did not know what to say for a moment. After all these years of working with Wood, he deeply understood Sophia’s place in Wood’s heart. It was not enough to say that she was Wood’s everything. Now it looked like Sophia was not going to hold on for much longer. What would happen to George when the time came?
Wood sat in front of Woox and pursed his lips tightly. There was a silence in the room, which was extremely uncomfortable. Just when Woox planned to say something to ease the tense atmosphere in the room, Wood was the first to break the silence.
“I’ve thought about it for a night. I have decided to retire.”
...
Chapter 985 - It is Decided
“The American sports news are so boring…” Twain muttered as he switched off the television. He had wanted to watch some sports news on it, but there was a shocking lack of football news as the sports news comprised of only basketball, baseball, ice-hockey and American football. It was not really boring, just lacking in news regarding football.
He decided to search the internet for news about European football. Even though he was retired, he could not possibly rest at home his whole life and depend on his wife for a living. His job in the future would definitely involve football, that was why he wanted to ensure that he paid attention to football as a whole, so when the time came where he needed this information, he would not know nothing.
Twain had already planned his future. After resting for a few months, he would go look for a job. If there were no surprises, he would accept the invitation from BBC5 and be a commentator. As for his future after that… He had not thought about it. Maybe he might host a football program like Lineker.
Twain could not rest even though Theresa was napping in his room. That was because he could only make use of the time when Theresa was napping to do his own things. Otherwise, if Theresa was awake, he would have to go keep her company.
Just when he booted up his computer, his phone rang beside him.
Twain took a look at the caller ID on the screen of his phone and saw that it was the old Billy Woox.
That took him by surprise. As far as he knew, ever since he stopped being Nottingham Forest’s manager, Billy Woox, Wood’s agent, had not looked for him much. There was no personal friendship between them and since there was no longer any work relation between them, they naturally did not contact each other much.
Why was he calling Twain at this time?
Twain thought for a while before answering. He did not really like to have anything to do with this old man with questionable sexual orientation. Twain would get goosebumps when he heard the feminine voice of his. However, he had to show him some respect. After all, this agent did not urge George Wood to leave when he was still Nottingham Forest’s manager.
“Hi Mr Woox. What made you call me?” Twain teased, “I’m not longer the Nottingham Forest manager.”
“Are you still at Los Angeles, Mr Twain?” What Twain did not expect was that Woox did not give him a sarcastic rebuttal.
“Huh?” Twain was surprised by this question and he took a while to recover. “Yes, I’m at Los Angeles. Are you here too? Are you on holiday?”
“I was there two days ago, but I’m in Nottingham now. It seems like you’re doing well in Los Angeles. I’m sorry but…can you return to Nottingham now?”
Twain thought that it was weird, “Return to Nottingham? I have to wait for another month…” A thought suddenly appeared in his mind, “Is something the matter, Mr Woox?”
“George is planning to retire. I tried to convince him for a whole night, but he wouldn’t listen. I think that there are only two people in this world who could possibly convince him, and that’s his mother and you. However, his mother is in a coma in the hospital now, you’re the only one who can…”
Twain did not even listen to a word after that.
It felt as if there were many flashes of lightning inside his mind. This piece of news was such a shock to him that he could not react, as thought his brain had stopped responding.
George Wood retire? Sophia in a coma?
What happened?
“…Mr Twain, I hope that you can come back immediately,” Woox’s words found their way into Twain’s ears again and he finally snapped out of it. “George is going to call a press conference to make this announcement… But you should know that if he really made the announcement, things would only get worse. He would not listen to me so I could only tell him that he has a contract with the club. If he wanted to end the contract and retire, then the very least he could do is to discuss with the club… I’m stalling for you, Mr Twain.”
After Woox was done speaking, Twain opened his mouth, but he did not know what to say. This was the first time that Woox did not have his usual demeanor, saying so many things at once.
After many flashes of lightning in his mind, there was now a thunderstorm inside, and his brain was mush. He shook his head forcefully, then pinched his thigh so hard that he exclaimed in pain.
“Mr Twain?” Woox heard Twain exclaimed over the phone, but he did not understand what had happened.
“Um… It’s nothing, I’m fine. I’ll go back immediately. I’ll book the tickets now,” He pinched himself so hard that he was in tears, but this also cleared his mind a lot, “You must stall him before I return! Keep in touch!”
He hung up after saying that.
Next, Twain stood up and paced a few rounds in his room to calm himself down. Then, he made two calls. One to Shania, telling her that there was an emergency and he had to return to Nottingham. Theresa would stay with her in Los Angeles and he would return after the matter was resolved. Shania was surprised that Twain would decide to return to Nottingham so suddenly and she asked him about it. Twain told her that George wanted to retire, and she immediately understood the gravity of the situation. She promised Twain that she would rush home to take care of Theresa after her work was over.
The second call was made to the local ticketing office, and he requested for the earliest plane ticket to London.
After making these two calls, Twain took out his luggage and started to pack. There was nothing much to pack actually, just a few under garments and a few outfits, which was thrown into the luggage by Twain very quickly. After all these, Twain finally sat down and thought about what he just heard.
Sophia in a coma… Obviously her illness had taken a turn for the worse. She had been in a bad shape for the past few years. If he was being a heartless, he would say that Sophia did not have long to live. Twain was prepared for that, but not Wood… No, it was not that Wood was not prepared, he was, but he did not want to admit it.
Wood’s retirement had a lot to do with Sophia’s coma. Twain thought about it carefully. Based on his understanding of Wood, he must had had no mood to train or compete now that his mum was in a critical stage. For the past decade, his mother was his motivation for everything he did. Now that his mother was in a critical stage, he obviously had no interest to continue playing football anymore. Choosing to retire and keep his mother company was the only future plan that he could think of.
But this plan…
“You idiot!” Twain cursed.
※※※
News of Sophia being in coma spread across England very quickly. Everyone knew that the person Wood loved the most was his mother. So, nobody thought it was strange that Wood missed training because of Sophia’s illness. However, the number of people from the media waiting outside the hospital became more and more as days went by. Both the hospital and the police had to arrange for people to ensure things were in order and prevent the paparazzi from entering.
Vivian Miller was still in-charge of taking care of Sophia’s daily requirements, even though there was nothing much to take care of now. Wood’s mother was still in a coma after two days and the doctors in-charge were worried that Sophia might not wake up and become a vegetable. Of course, they did not tell George Wood about their concerns, they merely discussed amongst themselves privately.
Wood talked to his agent outside for a very long time the night before, their tones were rather intense. Vivian did not hear what they were arguing about, but she could see that they had a very grave look on both their faces when they reappeared in front of her. She did not know what happened between them and she did not need to concern herself with it. Her job was only to take care of the patient, and it did not entail taking care of the patient’s son. However, when she was free, she could not help but wonder about what made them argue so fiercely.
At that moment, Wood was sitting on the couch outside the ward with his head in his hands. It had only been a night, but he was a mess mentally.
Woox entered.
“I called the club and they heard about your intention to retire. Do you want to hear their response?”
Wood shook his head, “I’m going to retire anyway.”
“You still have a contract with the club. If you want to cut the contract short and retire, you’ll have to discuss it with the club first. The club obviously does not approve of your retirement request. They’re willing to let you go on an extended period of leave, but they do not wish for you to retire now,” Woox had already said whatever he could to persuade Wood yesterday. He did not intend to say much more now, just repeating what the club said.
After that, Woox sat across from Wood and asked him, “Is your mother awake?”
Wood shook his head slowly. This was the source of his worries. His mother had not woken up yet and he did not know if she would ever wake up again.
“If you really want to retire, it’s better for you to talk to the club first…” Woox started again.
This time, Wood did not object to it. He merely nodded and the ward fell into silence again.
※※※
Even though Wood needed to talk to a representative from the club, the club did not send someone immediately. They were in a mess internally because of the news of Wood’s impending retirement.
“Retire?!” McAllister was shocked by this news. If it did not come from the club chairman, Evan Doughty, he would most likely think that it was a prank. Even though Wood was already 32 years old, he was still in good shape and everyone thought he could at least play till he was forty. Just like the previous legendary captain from Nottingham Forest, Stuart Pearce.
“George’s agent called us. He said that Wood decided to retire last night.”
Evan looked at the two people in front of him. One of it was the manager, McAllister and the other one was Allan Adams. He hoped that the two of them could offer some ideas.
“I think that this is ridiculous…” Allan Adams frowned, “How could he decide to retire so easily?”
McAllister said, “It’s true that retirement can be an impulsive decision. Just like the previous Emperor of Manchester United, Cantona…”
Evan waved his hand. If he allowed them to continue this path of thinking, they would be off topic by miles, “I don’t care why he decided to retire, but we cannot let him do it. We’re all very clear that Nottingham Forest cannot do without him. You guys have to think of something.”
McAllister hesitated for a while and stole a glance at Allan Adams next to him. There was nothing coming from him and it seemed like he was intending to just watch. However, it was true that Wood was McAllister’s player. The manager would have a greater say in such matters as compared to a marketing director.
“Let me go talk to him…” It seemed like he had to do this himself. It was not an easy task to communicate with Wood… McAllister had not really talked to Wood even though he had been at the club for a few months. That was because when he talked to Wood, he could speak for a good half hour, until his throat was dry, but he might only get a couple of words in response. To be honest, he would rather lead a team out against Manchester United at Old Trafford than to talk to George Wood in private.
Evan Doughty nodded in satisfaction when he heard that the manager was taking the initiative to handle the situation.
He thought that Wood was only doing it on impulse. Now that the manager was going to talk to him personally, and he would have a day to calm down, he should definitely take back his decision to retire.
※※※
With arrangements from Evan, McAllister went to the hospital to see Wood on the day after. Wood had treated the ward as his home for the past couple of days, doing everything he needed there. He would not sleep until his mother was awake. When McAllister saw him, he could hardly believe his eyes. The legendary Nottingham Forest captain was so haggard that his eyes were sullen and unshaven. He looked like a totally different person from the impressive George Wood on the pitch.
After greeting Wood’s mother, McAllister told Wood about his reason for coming——To talk Wood out of his decision to retire.
McAllister analyzed the pros and cons of Wood’s retirement from all angles in an attempt to calm him down, but he failed.
No matter how McAllister put it, Wood would not say anything. After he was finished talking, Wood said, “I’ve already decided. I’ll retire.”
Hearing him say that made McAllister think about retreating. He had been doubtful that he would be able to convince Wood, and this was an opportunity for him to retreat.
Evan Doughty had no choice but to do it himself after hearing McAllister tell him about Wood’s determination. He brought Allan Adams to the hospital with him, under the pretense of visiting Wood’s mother. He told Wood to keep his mother company without worries, the club had already given him an extended period of leave and he could return to the team after his mother’s condition improved.
He said nothing about retirement.
Too bad Wood was having none of it. He did not thank Evan Doughty for his arrangement, and the first words out of his mouth was, “When can I talk to the club about my retirement?”
Evan was stumped by the question and it took him a long while before he thought of stalling him.
“George, we can talk about it after your mum wakes up…”
Other than stalling, he could not think of any other way. Maybe Wood would change his mind when he was feeling better after Sophia was awake?
However, if Wood insisted on retiring after Sophia was awake, what should the club do then?
Evan Doughty, the club chairman, had no idea at all…
...
Chapter 986: Twain and Sophia
Evan Doughty currently did not know how he should feel. Did he hope that Wood’s mother would remain in a coma or smoothly regain consciousness? He told Wood to wait for his mother to wake up first and then talk about retirement. If Sophia woke up, the matter would be on the agenda. What should he do at that time? Would he agree to Wood’s request for retirement? Stop kidding! He’s only 32 years old and without reservations, he’s the core of Nottingham Forest. If he were to retire, what will we do?!
There was another thing that angered him – the Arabs suddenly slowed down the progress of the negotiations.
What made him even angrier was that this matter had to about Wood!
George Wood’s sudden absence from the team overshadowed the team’s prospect. Not knowing where these Arab infidels obtained the information that said Wood might retire, so they would need to reconsider their bid for Nottingham Forest if that were the case.
Allan Adams was also very frustrated with this. He thought it was simply a ploy by the Arabs. They were looking for any excuse to keep the offer low and try to buy Nottingham Forest at the lowest price. Otherwise, how could a player be compared to a football club?
If the Arabs were to use this excuse to push down the price, Evan Doughty would not accept it. When they first went to this Arab consortium, it was because they were keen that they had the money and could afford to fork out big money. They did not expect that the more they talked, the less money there was…
Now Evan Doughty wanted very much for God to be able to save him from this.
※※※
There were far fewer reporters outside Wilford than usual. Everyone knew the reason why – it was clearly worth paying more attention to the Royal Hospital of Nottingham University than here. Even the players training here were absent-minded. Physically, they were here on the training ground, but their minds were in the hospital. George had not appeared in front of everyone for two days. No one knew what was going on with him. People like Gareth Bale and Aaron Mitchell, who were usually close to him, were a little distracted during training due to this matter.
McAllister took it all in and was anxious in his heart. He had already warned his players not to put their focus on areas other than football and what they should do was to set their minds at ease to prepare for the next game. But his words were useless, and the players’ minds wandered as before. Knowing that their next game was to challenge the strong team, Liverpool at Anfield, it was not an easy-going opponent, and Anfield was not a stadium that could be conquered if their minds were elsewhere. If the team’s mind was not in the game, what would be facing him as a manager?
McAllister was afraid to think further.
“After the training, I’m going to the hospital to visit George and his mother.” Bale told Mitchell during a break in the training as he looked at him.
Mitchell certainly knew what that meant, and he replied, “I’ll go with you.”
Bale heard his answer and smiled. But the smile only flashed across his face, and it was replaced with another look. Bale looked around and motioned to Mitchell to bend down. He got close to his ear and said, “I heard a piece of news that George might retire…”
“What?!” Mitchell screamed in surprise. He could hardly believe his ears. He saw Bale gesture to him, asking him to lower his voice. He quickly suppressed the shock he felt and whispered, “Where did you hear it?”
“There was a rumor coming out of the hospital that someone had overheard George talking to his agent… It’s just a rumor. I don’t know if it’s true or false.” Bale saw that Mitchell seemed completely disinterested to continue training and wanted to leave the training ground immediately. So, he hurriedly said a few words to set his mind at rest him.
Hearing that it was a rumor, Mitchell calmed down again, “I don’t believe it… The captain is not that kind of person. Besides, he’s only thirty-two years old. How can he retire?”
In fact, Bale only managed to placate Mitchell, but did not succeed in calming himself. In his mind, he was constantly worried that George would retire just like that.
When they saw Freddy Eastwood calling the players back to the training ground to continue training, Bale patted Mitchel on the shoulder and soothed him as well as by saying, “Don’t think too much. We’ll go to the hospital after training and find out.”
※※※
It was quiet in the ward. Only the sound of the medical equipment could be heard working. George Wood waited by his mother’s bedside. He gently held his mother’s hand and refused to let go. Vivian was at the side, recording the various data that appeared on the equipment to collate it into a report for the doctors to have the important references when diagnosing the treatment. His agent, Billy Woox was outside, figuring out how to deal with the increasingly impatient media. He did not know how the new was leaked. Some of the media outlets actually guessed that Wood wanted to retire. A lot of “excitement” was generated all of a sudden and the reporters which came to interview were more than twice of yesterday. If these reporters were to swarm in, the hospital would not been able to carry out the day-to-day work.
Vivian stole glances at Wood sitting in front of the hospital bed while she recorded the data on the equipment. She had already learned of the latest rumors from the newspapers that Wood was retiring. She was not a hardcore fan, but as a Nottingham native, she still had an understanding of football. At the peak of the Forest team’s most glorious period, a grand parade would be held in the city at the end of the season to celebrate another championship title that the Forest team had won. Besides, the hospital she worked for had a partnership with the English Football Association. How could she know nothing about football?
Was he really going to retire?
Vivian looked Wood and thought.
Wood noticed that someone was peeking at himself. He looked up, just as he met gaze with Vivian. The startled Vivian hurriedly averted her gaze and turned to look at the equipment screen. She took a pen and just scribbled something in the notebook, pretending to record data. How could she actually have the presence of mind to work?
Wood could feel someone peering at him, and she could also feel that Wood did not look away immediately.
It felt like an hour had passed, when in fact only a minute had passed on the clock on the wall. Vivian felt that Wood had taken his eyes off her and was secretly relieved. Once she relaxed, she felt strange. When she and Wood were looking at each other outside the ward the other time, she was not nervous or afraid at all. So, why would she feel a great pressure now when he was watching her closely? It was like he was a lion, and she herself was just a helpless prey in front of the lion…
After recording the data, Vivian should have gone straight out because her work was done. But she said to Wood, “Mr. Wood, you’d better take a break first…”
Wood looked up again and regarded Vivian, who did not evade this time. She also looked straight at the other man.
Wood did not agree her suggestion offer, but he said, “Thank you.”
Vivian knew she could not persuade the stubborn man. From what she had seen and heard working here these past two days, there might only be one person in the world who could make Wood listen obediently, but she was in a coma in the hospital bed. Perhaps no one else could persuade Wood to change his mind once he had already decided, even if it was just a small matter of taking a break.
Vivian sighed softly and turned to walk toward the door of the ward. She and Wood did not know each other. Their first encounter was less than two days ago. She really was not in any position to be overly concerned about Wood.
As she opened the door of the room outside the ward, she saw two men walking towards her from the end of the corridor. One of them, whom she knew, was Mr. Billy Woox, while the other person he was with was somewhat familiar. She could not recall who he was at the moment.
“Mr. Woox.” Vivian stepped aside from the door and greeted Wood’s agent, who she was familiar with from these few days.
“Miss Miller. How’s George’s mother today?” Woox stopped and said to Vivian.
“She still hasn’t woken up yet. But her vitals are stabilizing.” Vivian answered Woox’s question, and then glanced at the man next to him. Because she thought the man looked familiar, but she could not recall where she had seen him this instant.
How could Woox not be able to see what she was thinking? So, he simply pointed to the quiet man next to him and introduced him, “Mr. Tony Twain. I think you must have heard the name, so I will say no more.” He smiled.
The name was famous. How could Vivian not have heard of it? Just four months ago, he had just led the England team to win the World Cup, and then announced his retirement, disappearing from the public eye. She did not expect…
Vivian rushed to greet the legendary figure of the English football, “Hello, Mr. Twain. I’m Vivian Miller, the nurse in charge of taking care of Ms. Sophia.”
She reached her hand out to Twain with an easy manner. Twain shook her hand while he nervously stared at her eyes. Such a look was not polite, but Twain had always been like this. He was taking the opportunity to observe the other person. The eyes were the window to the soul. One could discern a lot of things from looking at the eyes.
When Twain let go of his hand, he also moved his gaze away.
Vivian was also secretly relieved. The feeling of being stared at by him was almost as the same as the feeling of being watched by Wood just now, and it all made her feel great pressure.
Woox naturally did not know what had just happened in the exchange of glances. He informed Twain, “Miss Miller is a very responsible nurse. Both Wood and I feel reassured with her taking care of Sophia.”
Twain nodded and said, “Thank you for taking care of Wood’s mother, Miss Miller.”
Vivian smiled back in reply, “This is my job, Mr. Twain, no thanks needed.”
The three people did not chat further. After thanking Vivian, Twain and Woox went into the ward, while Vivian closed the door and left.
But as she was leaving, she suddenly remembered that it was a well-established fact that Twain and Wood had a good relationship. Perhaps he could persuade Wood to change his mind? For Mr. Woox to appear here with him, it was obvious that he had asked Mr. Twain to come.
※※※
As Twain entered the room, Wood clearly heard someone come in, but he did not look back. Apparently his focus was on his mother.
When Woox saw that Wood appeared to care about nothing but his mother, he planned to make some sound to remind him that he had a visitor. But he was interrupted by Twain reaching out. On the way, Woox had already briefed him on Wood’s recent state, but seeing was believing. At the first sight of Wood’s back, Twain realized that it was going to be tricky this time.
Twain stood behind Wood and said nothing. Woox also did the same until Wood felt something was wrong. He remembered that someone had just gone out and people had come in, so he turned around…
When he saw Twain standing in front of him, he could hardly believe his eyes and a look of surprise showed on his face.
Twain, who also saw Wood’s face, was heartbroken when he saw Wood looking thin and pallid. Twain had not doubt that Sophia was Wood’s everything. What he saw in front of him just confirmed this fact once again. But it made him feel bad. His feelings for Wood were complex. It was not simply a relationship between a coach and a player, and it was not just a master and disciple relationship because he had took him off the streets to develop and cultivate his talents. It was hard to put into words that complex emotion.
“How many hours have you slept in total these two days?” Twain asked the moment he opened his mouth.
“I… Five hours… not even.” In the face of Twain, who suddenly appeared in front of him, Wood’s mind was a little unresponsive and even stammered a little.
“Go to rest.” Twain’s tone left no room for argument.
Wood’s mind was finally back to normal. He shook his head and refused, “No, I want to stay with my mother.”
“Don’t kid, George. When your mother, Sophia wakes up, are you going to let her see your haggard-looking face? Your unkempt beard, sunken eyes, messy hair, your entire body giving off an odor that the air conditioning cannot make it go away? Did you come straight from the training ground? You haven’t had a shower, have you? Are you trying to knock your mother out again?”
Watching the show on the side, Woox had to admit that Twain, who was better at talking glib than himself, as well as his special relationship with Wood allowed him to speak so brazenly without fear of facing a backlash from Wood. He himself could not do so…
Twain’s words hit the nail on the head. He just had to refer to Wood’s most vulnerable spot – his mother. He dare not refuse to listen whenever the name of his mother was invoked.
Wood was still hesitant, but his stance had loosened a lot, so Twain drove home another point.
“What are you still doing here? Go take a shower and have a good sleep. Then when your mother, Sophia wakes up, let her see a healthy you. Do you want your mother to worry about you in the hospital bed? George, do you know how many years your mother has been worried about you?”
The last sentence touched Wood’s heart. He was not someone who could not tell the good from the bad. He certainly knew that his mother had always worried about him. When he was young, she would worry that he would be as weak and sickly as she was, so she would be reluctant to eat nutritious and good food herself and feed them all to him. Growing up, she worried that he would become bad like those scumbags in the slums, that he would take drugs, go whoring and get into fights, and eventually be sent to prison. Consequently, she would rather work as a prostitute to make money to send him to school and let him receive an education so that he could find a decent job in the future. Later when he finally became a professional player and could make a lot of money, Wood thought his mother finally need not worry about him, because he was an adult, but he did not expect that his mother began to worry about his marriage prospects. She was worried that he could not find a girlfriend …
Wood got up from his chair and said, “I’m going to take a shower.”
It was a VIP ward. The patient’s room was inside with a visitor’s room outside, as well as a sleeping area for a caregiver and complete with a rest room with a shower in it, satellite television, telephone, Internet and other facilities. Wood rushed into the bathroom outside, and soon the sound of running water came from inside.
“It looks like I was right to call you.” Woox laughed.
Twain did not answer him. Wood had given up his seat by the hospital bed, so Twain walked over to sit down.
He looked at the face of the one lying in the hospital bed.
He still remembered the scene when he saw the face for the first time.
At that time in Sneinton, everything he saw was grey. Grey walls, grey roofs, grey skies, and everyone’s faces were gray, like black-and-white televisions. The first color that shone into his eyes and heart was Sophia, the only light source in that small, dark room. She was the only color in the dark grey world.
At that time, he stared at her and was lost to the world.
Now he was just as preoccupied.
The colors of the past were gradually fading away, and that light that once lit up the whole room was slowly waning. With her eyes closed, she laid quietly in bed and her complexion ash colored. Her face was much more wan and sallower than the last time Twain had seen her. Countless tubes and wires connected to her body to the cold equipment. He was unable to feel any anger.
Twain gazed blankly at Sophia, lying in the hospital bed, and was lost in past memories. Those things had already passed many years. He thought he had long forgotten them completely. He did not expect that at this moment the memories would re-surface from the bottom of his heart.
He had given her a violet dress which made her gasped in pleasant surprise.
To protect her from Collymore’s philandering, he even confronted Collymore, who was then the First Team manager at the time, in heavy rain.
And that night of ambiguity, the two of them, with their thoughts wandering in the room as they waited for George Wood who was out to come home…
In the time that had passed, was a moment that he developed an affection for her deep in his heart?
As Twain was lost in his thoughts, heard Woox suddenly cry out behind him, “Madam!”
He snapped out of his reverie in an instant. When his eyes refocused, he saw Sophia opening her eyes and gazing at him.
“I’m so glad to see you, Mr. Twain…”
It was so heart-wrenching to hear her voice so weak.
...
Chapter 987: Everyone Has Their Own Worries
When Wood changed into a new track suit that he brought from the training ground and exit the bathroom, he could see through the thick glass window that his mother’s ward was full of people. Doctors, nurses, and also Twain and Woox, who were pushed to the outside.
The doctors all looked serious and solemn, and Wood had his heart in his mouth when he saw that. He had a bad feeling about it, and he could not stop himself from rushing into the ward. He pushed everyone in front of him away, he could not have cared less about who those people were. When he finally made it into the circle, he saw his mother smiling at him.
Wood’s rapidly beating heart finally calmed down after he saw that. The first thing he asked when he calmed down was to ask the doctor, “How is my mother’s condition?”
The doctor replied without even looking up, “We’re still checking.”
Wood knew that being hasty now would not have any results, so he walked over to Twain as he saw him beckoning him.
“Let’s get out of here. There are too many people here, let’s not disturb their work,” Twain pointed to the visitor’s area outside.
The three of them took a seat outside and watched as the people inside were busy with work. Miss Vivian kept going in and out and she was so busy that her face was flushed and sweat glistened on her neck.
Twain and Woox sat on the couch but Wood could not sit for long. It was not long before he stood up and looked into the ward from the window, peering at the busy crowd.
After a while, Wood realized that there was another person next to him. Tony Twain’s reflection appeared on the window.
“Don’t worry, your mother will be fine,” Twain said.
Wood did not reply to that, instead, he asked him a question, “Woox asked you to come back? I heard you were holidaying in Los Angeles.”
A smile broke out on Twain’s face as he laughed silently.
“I’m afraid you might do something silly,” Twain said as he smiled.
Behind them, Billy Woox had already left when Twain stood up to walk towards Wood. He left the place to the two of them so that they could be totally alone, and they could then speak their minds.
“I’m not doing something silly, I considered for very long.”
“As long as one night?”
Twain turned to look at Wood. Wood only had eyes for the bustling scenes inside the ward.
Wood obviously was not in the mood to discuss about this with him now. The fact that he did not reject him with an aggressive tone showed that he had matured a lot, and that he was showing Twain a lot of respect. After all, Twain brought him up himself and they were like father and son.
When Vivian came out again, she did not walk towards the exit, instead, she walked straight to Twain and told him, “Madam would like to see you, Mr Twain.”
That surprised Twain, and Wood also could not help but to look at him.
Twain pointed to himself as he looked at Vivian with lots of questions on his face. Vivian nodded.
Twain did not rush inside but waited outside by the door instead. He waited for the doctors to leave before he entered the ward. Wood saw his mother say something, then Twain turned to close the door.
Looks like it was a confidential talk.
※※※
Twain sat down in the same chair as the one Wood sat in earlier, then held Sophia’s thin hand naturally.
“Why are you here, Mr Twain?” Sophia was very soft as she was still very weak. It was a good thing the room was very quiet and Twain could still hear what Sophia was saying, “I heard from George that you’re accompanying Shania and your daughter in Los Angeles.”
“Woox asked me to come back,” Twain was thinking in the back of his mind. If he told this patient in front of him that Wood had decided to retire, he was afraid that Sophia might not be able to take the blow and faint again. That would be disastrous…
As the thought flashed across Twain’s mind, he decided not to tell Sophia for now. He had better let her rest well for now. If Sophia’s condition became better, Wood would not think about retiring anymore.
As for the reason why Woox called him, it was not something that could not be explained. Wood and Twain were very close, and Sophia had also known Twain for many years. Now that she was hospitalized and she was even in a coma, how could he not be here?
“You should rest and recuperate; Wood is still waiting for you.”
Sophia looked towards the large glass window and she saw Wood standing outside, focusing all his attention on her.
“That kid… I can never stop worrying about him,” it seemed like she was chiding him, but she sounded full of pride and there was a smile on her face.
Twain turned and looked at where she was looking at.
When he realized that they were both looking at him, Wood averted his gaze and he saw Vivian Miller who was waiting at the door. Vivian was looking at him too…
Twain found out that Wood seemed to be acting strange outside and he looked back at Sophia.
Sophia continued to say, “It’s all thanks to Mr Twain that George can have the accomplishments that he has now. At first, I was merely hoping that he would get a proper job and not get into trouble all the time like the thugs in Sneinton…” She stopped to catch her breath. She was still very weak and could not speak too much at one go.
“But I didn’t expect George to become a star one day. I have to thank Mr Twain for that.”
“Hey, we’re good friends, aren’t we? Twain waved his hand, “Besides, that was all due to George’s own hard word. I’ve seen so many talented people who were not willing to put in the hard work. George only got his accomplishments today because of his diligence, that has nothing to do with me.” The first part of what Twain said was true. A person who had talent, but was unwilling to work hard, was not worth cultivating. Wood was indeed the most hardworking person he had ever seen. It might be because of his family’s situation which caused him to have no sense of security about life. In order to have a better life, he had to work doubly hard. But the second part of what he said was wrong. No matter how talented and hardworking someone was, if he did not have the opportunity, he would still amount to nothing. A sharp blade needs someone to wield it too.
Sophia did not care about Twain’s humility, she continued saying, “George is a stubborn child, but he listens to you. I hope that Mr Twain can continue to guide him…”
“My words are not as effective as yours, Madam,” Twain replied with a laugh, “Take care and recuperate, Wood is waiting for you.”
Sophia nodded.
※※※
When Vivian realized that Wood actually turned to look at her, she knew that there was no way for her to avoid it this time. Rather than turning away, she would rather be more open, and so she took the initiative to talk to Wood, “Now that your mother is awake, you should be very relieved now, right Mr Wood?”
Wood did not expect her to take the initiative to talk to him and he was stunned for a little. Even though he appeared to be calm, he was contemplating if he should reply, and if he was to reply, what should he say?
The problem was regarding Vivan’s question… He was very happy that his mother was awake, but he was not relieved yet.
However, he found another topic to talk about, “How is my mother’s condition?”
Vivian was put in a spot because of this question. That was because the specialist doctors were not optimistic about Sophia’s illness. Even though she was awake, she was not out of danger yet. The illness had been tormenting Sophia’s body for a very long time and her immunity system was already destroyed by it. Any minor illness would bring upon disastrous results to Sophia. However, was it really a good thing to tell Wood these? Judging by his feelings for his mother, if he knew about the truth, it would just be another heavy blow for him.
When she thought about it that way, Vivian smiled and told Wood, “It’s getting better.”
After saying that, she could see Wood breathing a sigh of relief. She felt guilty for lying to a good man.
Just when the both of them were feeling the awkwardness of this conversation, the door opened.
Twain appeared at the door and said to Wood, “Go see your mother, George.”
Wood hurried into the ward past Twain. He was in such a hurry that he even forgot to close the door.
Twain was the one who closed the door behind him, then he looked at the nurse, Vivian Miller, who was still waiting outside.
“Thank you for taking care of Sophia.” This famous Englishman who was almost as famous as the queen was nodding at her to express his gratitude.
“It’s my job…”
“We’ll have to trouble you to continue taking care of her in future.”
Looking at his sincerity, Vivian did not reject. However, she cautiously asked a question, “I heard that Mr Wood is going to retire, is that true, Mr Twain?”
Twain did not expect this girl to ask such a difficult question right off the bat. He touched his nose and looked at her awkwardly.
When he was on the way here, Woox had told him that someone from the media had caught wind of the news that Wood might choose to retire. Someone from the hospital had leaked this news to the outside. It should be someone who overheard the conversation between Wood and him and leaked the story out to the media. However, they did not know who the leak was at that time. Even if they did, they would not be able to do anything to that person.
But when he thought of someone being so nosy, Twain felt uncomfortable. He had never had any fond feelings for the media, which he felt were troublemakers.
Could this girl be the one who leaked the news?
The girl was still waiting for Twain’s answer. She looked up at Twain, who was half a foot taller than her with questions in her eyes. As Twain stayed silent, her questions turned into an awkward situation. She had obviously realized that she had asked a difficult question.
If they continued to stay silent, would this girl be so embarrassed that she would leave with her face in her hands? Twain had an evil thought in his mind. When he arrived, he caught her gaze twice. Twain did not see anything wrong with her gaze both times. Even though he could not be sure, Twain was more willing to believe that this girl did not sell any information to the paparazzi. Once he thought about that, he could not allow the girl to continue feeling awkward anymore.
“Yes, there’s a possibility of that.” He did not deny it.
“Ah!” Vivian exclaimed in shock, but she quickly covered her mouth. Her beautiful eyes were wide open as she looked at Twain, then turned to secretly look at George Wood through the glass window.
Twain was suddenly interested about this interesting girl. He asked, “Are you a football fan, Miss Miller?”
“Not really,” Vivian shrugged her shoulders after she recovered, “it’s just that, it’s difficult for me to not know about football as a local living in Nottingham, isn’t it?” She asked Twain.
Twain chuckled. She was indirectly praising him for his influence in leading the team some years back. Who would not like to be praised? Twain suddenly liked this well-behaved girl a lot.
Next, the two of them chatted a little about some other topics. Twain knew that she was the nurse who was in-charge of taking care of Sophia. So, he reminded her as a joke that Wood was a very stubborn person, and he was not someone whom others found easy to get along with. He told her not to take what Wood said seriously. Actually, he was also reminding her not to let the emotions of the patient’s family affect her work. After all, the nurse in-charge of taking care of Sophia controls Sophia’s life. If they were in China, Twain would have given Vivian a big, fat red packet.
Vivian did not think much about it, instead, she started talking about the first time she met Wood. Her story was interesting, and her tone had no trace of grievance at all. Twain enjoyed it very much. He had a good time communicating with this girl.
As Wood left Sophia’s ward, Twain could not detect any change in his emotions from his face. He told Wood to have some rest, at least get some more change of clothing from home if he was still insisting to live in the hospital. Vivian took the opportunity of them talking to enter the ward and help Sophia lie down, cover her with the blanket properly, ensuring that none of her limbs were out. Next, she started to copy the data on the monitoring devices into the report.
“This is a good nurse,” Twain praised.
Wood grunted in agreement.
“Go get some rest. I think you should just stay here, I’ll get someone to get you some clothes.”
Wood did not object to it. He took another look at his mother who was resting on the bed, before he turned to get some rest in the visitor’s room.
At this moment, the door opened behind him.
Billy Woox who just left appeared in front of them again, but there were two more people behind the old man…
One of them was very prominent. His tall frame blocked the whole door so much so that one could not even see his face. Other than Aaron Mitchell, Twain could not think of anyone else who might appear here. Next to Mitchell was another person who was peeking in, this was naturally the “Little Monkey”, Gareth Bale!
Twain was surprised at the arrival of these two, but the level of his surprise could not be compared to how surprised the two of them were to see him.
“Boss!!” The two of them shouted at the same thing. The volume was so loud that they thought that it would have summoned some reporters over.
“Long time no see, pals,” Twain waved at them as he gave them a greeting.
...
Chapter 988 - You Really Want to Retire?
Mitchell and Bale had no idea at all that they would be able to see the head coach in Wood’s mother’s ward. They then excitedly surrounded Twain, almost forgetting why they had even come in the first place.
It was Twain who took the initiative to update them on Wood’s mother’s condition, and the two then realized they were a little disrespectful. Luckily, Wood was not the petty type who would take their uncouth behaviors to heart.
Mitchell and Bale were visiting Wood and his mother at the hospital as friends. Wood did not tell them about his decision to retire as a football player, but they brought up the subject themselves.
“George, I heard you are thinking about retirement. Is that true?” Bale stared at Wood, questioning him.
Twain and Wood glanced at each other when they heard Bale’s question.
Bale did not notice the little look Twain and Wood shared so he and Mitchell looked at Wood, hoping for a reply from him.
Twain suddenly felt a headache coming on. Knowing Wood, he would probably not lie. However, if he spoke the truth, how would Bale and Mitchell react? Would they lose their spirits? And if that happened, what would he do? Wood was enough of a handful by himself, and if Bale and Mitchell joined in, the outcome would not be very pleasant.
Twain assumed Wood would lower his head and nod. However, Wood instead shook his head. “How is that possible? I have never said this.”
This surprised Twain, and he quickly turned back to Wood, realizing how Wood was also looking at him with suspicion. Maybe Wood changed his mind after his mother woke up and decided not to retire?
If that was the case, that would be great.
Twain heaved a slight sigh of relief upon hearing this.
Hearing Wood say that, Bale happily turned to Mitchell to exclaim, “You see! What did I say? It was all rumors! Rumors aren’t credible!”
Mitchell was relieved, too, as he felt embarrassed for doubting the team captain initially. He scratched his head and said, “That’s good, I would not know what to do if you retired and left the team…”
” George is older than you. He would eventually retire, and you’re going to have to keep playing,” Twain said suddenly.
However, Mitchell unexpectedly shook his head and said, “I’m 28 this year, while George is 32. He would at least be able to play until he’s 40, by which time I would be 36 and long retired.”
Not knowing that Mitchell had this idea all along, Twain did not know whether to laugh or cry. Everyone said that Wood would be able to play till he was 40, but was that really true?
Wood did not elaborate further. He pulled Bale and Mitchell over to ask about the squad’s condition for the past two days. Naturally, there would not be any good news. Bale told him that the players in Nottingham Forest were very worried after losing the core of the team in an instant.
Mitchell asked Wood if he would be available to participate for the away game against Liverpool on the day after.
Wood hesitated for a moment. In this period, he really did not have the spirits to play football, so even if he forced himself to go onto the field, he would definitely be off form. Regarding this point, he was blunt and said at once that he would definitely not be able to go Anfield.
Mitchell was obviously a little disappointed, but he did not push any further. Wood’s mother was stuck in the hospital with a severe condition and forcing him to play would be inhumane, so he was simply asking for reference.
They did not talk for too long since George Wood needed to rest, so Wood walked with both of them out of the ward. As they were leaving the hospital, this naturally attracted a large uproar of reporters, but with the aid of the security and policemen, they were able to leave without much trouble.
As soon as they left, Twain immediately asked the question he had on his tongue. “You have decided not to retire, George?”
Wood shook his head. “I lied to them.”
Twain did not continue to question or try to convince him to change his decision. Once he knew that was the final decision George Wood made, he did not offer any additional comments. He only slightly nodded. This guy was definitely very stubborn, and would not change his mind so easily? George was currently not himself, so it was better not to mention this subject.
Wood then went on to rest, while Twain sat at the guest room for a little longer. After Wood came back, he bade farewell to him, then left. As Wood was able to rest in the ward while he could not, he would rather return home to rest and think about how to convince Wood to change his mind.
※※※
At 10.30 in the morning, the bar was not even at its designated opening hours, and a “Closed” sign hung on the main door, reminding customers that the bar was not operating.
Kenny Burns was sitting behind the bar wiping glasses as the door made a squeaking sound, indicating that someone walked in.
“I’m sorry, we’re not working yet, please…” He raised his head whilst talking as he realized that the figure was familiar. As he was blinded by the light from the door, he could not tell clearly who the person was. He could only guess from his body shape.
John? Nope, he was too thin. Bill? No, he was a little fatter…
So who was it?
That dark shadow opened his mouth, and the voice made Burns pleasantly surprised.
“For more than a decade, I’ve had a question which I could never solve. Kenny, are those glasses in your hands never-ending? Will you never finish wiping them? I was thinking, other than the first time when I met you, you were always sitting in that same position wiping glasses.”
“Ha, Tony!” Burns put down his cup, came out from behind the bar, and welcomed Twain with open arms. “Why are you back?”
Twain also opened his arms and gave Burns a warm hug.
“I got a call from George’s agent and came back.”
Burns stayed silent, as the news about Wood’s mother being in a critical condition and staying in the hospital was no longer news since everyone knew about it. Twain and Wood had such a close relationship, so his rushing back was not a surprise either.
Twain sat at the bar with a glass of water placed in front of him, and Burns stayed behind the bar, continuing to wipe his glasses.
Because the place was not operating, not a lot of the lights were switched on in the bar. Only a few ceiling lights were working. The curtains were still shut at the windows, where only a few rays of light were able to come in, lending a bit of light to the dark room. The dust within the room was rolling around under the light, looking like the water vapor special effect used for the dance stage.
Such an environment was suitable for talking about some intimate topics.
After the two chatted for a while, the conversation was back onto Wood. “Recently there were rumors saying how George was going to retire.” Being a Nottingham Forest fan, Burns was also concerned about Wood.
Twain nodded. “It’s not a rumor.”
Burns did not act surprised, he only looked slightly at Twain and continued wiping his glasses. “Because of his mum’s medical condition?”
“Yeah.”
“You came back because of this?”
Twain made a slight ‘mm-hm’ noise.
“Have you seen Wood?”
“Yes, I’ve met him, but I haven’t mentioned this issue… I don’t even know how to start.”
Burns nodded. “George has been emotionally unstable lately. Let him cool down for a while before you try to convince him…”
He did not expect Twain to interrupt him. “No, Kenny. There isn’t enough time. Woox told Wood that if he plans to retire, he has to discuss it with the club. In order to stall him, Woox wanted to wait for Sophia to wake up before dealing with this issue. During yesterday’s afternoon, Sophia regained consciousness, so we can’t stall this matter any longer.”
Burns was relieved to hear that Wood’s mother had woken up. “Now that his mother is awake, isn’t it much easier? Wood only listens to you and his mother, so you can let his mum convince him.”
Twain shook his head again. “Sophia’s extremely weak, and she is in poor spirits. I do not want to tell her such groundbreaking news. We have to prevent her from getting agitated again…”
Twin did not continue, but Burns knew what was going on. Now he had nothing more to say. He knew convincing Wood to change his mind would be a very difficult task.
However, staying here was not a solution as well, after finishing that glass of water, Twain bade farewell to Burns and left for the hospital.
※※※
Wearing shades and a hood, Twain bought a copy of the newspaper at the stand outside the hospital. He did not intend to buy it initially. He did not have the mood or the time to read the newspaper. It was while he was walking past the newspaper stand that he incidentally chanced upon the title amongst the colorful newspapers which caught his attention.
“George Wood has retired!”
The title was printed in large black and bold font, fit for groundbreaking news. There was no way he could not notice it. Previously, the titles were all labeled as “questions”, but today the punctuation was changed to an exclamation mark. After thinking back to what Bale and Burns had said, it seemed like the rumor had turned into reality.
He walked over to put down the money, took the last newspaper, rolled it in his hands, and hurried away.
Under such circumstances, he had to convince Wood to change his mind immediately, and disperse this rumor. If not, the morale of the squad would definitely decline, and Nottingham Forest’s results would take a turn for the worse.
Despite what some people thought, Twain did care about Nottingham Forest’s record. If not, he would not even bother about their results. It was a fact that he worked with that team for 11 years and there were even players that he brought up from the beginning, so how could he avoid having any feelings for the team? Seeing how the majestic red tornado had declined into this state devastated him.
The great results he produced with his own efforts had now been reduced to nothingness.
Entering the hospital from a different direction to avoid those troublesome reporters, Twain dashed into the ward and saw that Vivian Miller was waiting outside at the guest room while Wood looked like he was speaking to his mother.
When she saw Twain enter the room, Vivian politely greeted him. “Good morning, Mr. Twain.”
“Good morning, Miss Miller.” Twain sat down on the sofa and began to read the newspaper he brought.
Vivian noticed the headline of the newspaper in Twain’s hand. It was so eye-catching that it was hard to miss. The media really tried the hardest to blow up this topic.
“Mr. Twain…”
Twain, who was still reading the newspaper, heard her call him. He replied as he put the newspaper down, “What’s the matter, Miss Miller?”
“Ah…” Vivian only realized then that she might have been rude, but it was not like she could simply say, “Nothing, I only spoke to you for fun.” She could only harden up and ask curiously, “Is Mr. Wood really retiring?”
Twain did not answer the question immediately, but only tilted his head to look at the young nurse for a while. She had golden hair and beautiful eyes. She was pretty, with a few freckles that only enhanced the fairness of her skin. She was concerned about Wood…
After evaluating her looks, Twain then shook his head and said, “No.”
“That newspaper…” Vivian pointed to the paper which was set aside.
“It’s all rumors.”
While the two were talking, Billy Woox pushed the door and entered. The two men looked at each other. Vivian was polite and knew the two must have things to discuss, hence she stopped talking to Twain and found an excuse to leave the ward.
When Vivian left, Woox fixed Twain with a questioning look. “The club knew that Wood cannot participate, so they attempted to make an excuse for delaying the match against Liverpool.”
Twain heard this and broke into laughter. It looked like Evan was not dumb when it came to these matters. The man knew that Wood was his last hope and that if Wood retired, he would be finished. They might as well have not met with Wood at all.
“It’s all up to you, Mr. Twain,” Woox said as he looked at Twain.
There was a bitter look on Twain’s face. “Convincing him not to retire might be a lot more difficult than convincing him to take a rest.”
“It’s all the same, use his mum as a reason to talk him around,” Woox said.
Twain glanced into the ward through the glass window. The relationship between the mother and her son was particularly close.
※※※
Sophia suddenly remembered something that did not feel right yesterday. Because she had just woken up with an unclear mind, she could not recall what it was. Now that she has been talking to Wood for almost a day, she finally recalled what the issue was.
“That’s right, George. What day is it today?”
Wood did not know why his mother suddenly asked that, and honestly replied, “Saturday.”
Sophia took her eyes off Wood’s face as she stared at the ceiling silently for a moment, then said, “Ah, I have recalled, don’t you guys have a match against Liverpool this Sunday?”
Seeing how his mother mentioned the issue, Wood felt like that was a bad omen.
“Well… The club gave me a holiday, Mom. I won’t have to play in tomorrow’s game…”
Sophia frowned. She cherished her son’s reputation. In professional football, when someone mentioned George Wood, he was the symbol of dedication. Those who were unhappy with him could abuse his ruthless actions on the field with rough play and injuring other players, but no one dared to blame him for being sloppy or unprofessional. Hearing Wood’s praises from the media, Sophia was happy as well – she could be proud of her son.
Now that she has heard that Wood was not going to play, however, it did not seem right. In her simple mind, she knew that a professional footballer’s role was to play football. Participating in competitions and training was part of the job and if George did not go to work, how could he be called a “professional football player”?
“George, Mom’s alright. There is Miss Miller here looking after me, you know. You’d better go to Liverpool for the game.”
Wood felt awkward. He did not know what to tell his mother in that instant. He heard Twain’s voice behind him calling out, “Madam, the club has already reported the final roster for tomorrow’s match and even if George rushed over now, he would not be able to play.”
It turned out that while Twain was talking with Woox, they felt like the atmosphere was different within the ward as if something had happened between Wood and his mother. He felt compelled to enter the ward, and that was when he chanced upon what Sophia said.
From this statement, Twain could guess Sophia’s attitude towards this issue, and he felt like there was finally a possibility to convince Wood to change his mind. However, at the moment, he felt like he should help Wood cover up first. Wood was grateful that Twain helped him this time and that he should not show him such a grumpy attitude the next time they talked about his retirement.
Sophia thought about it carefully before realizing that Twain was right. She was too weak just now. However, thinking that her son could not play in the match because of her, she did not have the mood to continue talking about this topic. Twain saw the change in Sophia’s face from the side, and knowing that she did not have the mood to talk anymore, he told Wood, “Let your mom rest for a while, George.”
Having said that, he walked out of the door and waited outside.
After saying goodbye to his mother, Wood also walked out of the ward, but he saw that Twain did not sit on the sofa. Instead, he was standing by the door, as if waiting for Wood.
“How long have you been in the hospital?” Twain looked at Wood as he invited him out. “Let’s go out for a walk, staying here for too long is bad for your state of mind.”
Wood did not reject Twain’s request. He simply nodded. It was clear that Twain’s attempt at helping him get out of that sticky situation was useful.
Twain pressed the alert for Vivian to stay at the ward to take care of Sophia while he walked out with Wood. (To be continued. If you want to know what happens next, please log into www.qidian.com, where there would be more chapters. Support the author, support legal reading!)
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Chapter 989 - The Conditions
The University of Nottingham’s Royal College of Physicians was situated in the southeast corner of the campus, and a lake separated the college, which also served as a hospital, from the rest of the school. One would be able to admire the beauty of the lake as it glinted in the sunlight through the windows of the hospital. Not only that, but one would also be able to see the iconic Trent Building in the distance. The Trent Building was white and resembled the White House.
Twain and Wood did not admire the lake from the hospital. Instead, they chose to take a stroll next to the lake itself. It was approaching noon and there were very few people around the lake. The patients who had been standing by the windows at the hospital earlier all retreated into their wards after experiencing the blazing heat from the sun. Twain and Wood did not mind the heat. They continued strolling along the side of the lake.
“I don’t think you need to do a press conference to announce your decision.” Twain passed the newspapers in his hands over to Wood. “Someone has pretty much done one for you.”
Wood lowered his head to look at the newspaper. There was an article about his retirement, and the journalist who had published the article sounded convinced that everything he had written was the truth. Wood did not know how the journalist was able to gain access to this information, but he did not particularly care.
“My mum is in a bad condition now. I want to be by her side as her life comes to an end,” Wood said in a low voice.
Twain jerked after hearing Wood’s words. He then stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Wood. Did he know that his mother’s days were numbered?
Wood paid no heed to Twain’s gaze. He turned around and looked at the building behind him. He appeared to be searching for his mother’s ward.
“I can’t bring myself to play football given these circumstances. I would definitely affect the team as a whole.”
“And so you decided to put your cards on the table and retire so that the club does not need to worry about you from here on out?” Twain asked.
Wood nodded.
Clearly, Wood did not act on impulse. It was just like he said. His decision to retire was made after careful consideration. However, if that was truly the case, Twain had an even bigger problem on his hands now.
There was a row of benches before them where patients could sit at and rest. Twain pointed at the benches and said, “Let’s go over there and rest for a moment.”
The pair sat down on one of the benches that faced the lake. The clear surface of the lake was painted in blue as it reflected the azure sky and white clouds above.
“Do you really think that announcing your decision to retire in the middle of the season would not affect the club in any negative way? Do you have any idea just what kind of status and influence you have as a player right now, George?” Twain said as he stared at the lake’s surface. “Do you remember how we first met?”
Wood froze. The images of what happened over a decade ago were hazy now.
Twain noticed that Wood did not respond, so he continued to speak, “You were covered in dirt when you suddenly appeared before my house and returned my wallet. You then told me that I should sign the best player in England.” Twain paused to glance at Wood, before going on to say, “The best player in England has suddenly announced his decision to retire. Do you really think that your decision would not impact others?”
Wood still did not respond. However, the fact that he did not refute Twain at once was a good sign.
“The team has already been impacted while you went into hiding in the hospital. Do you think Nottingham Forest can win against Liverpool tomorrow?”
Wood finally broke his silence and said, “It’d be difficult to win even if I were in the team.” He lifted his head to look at Twain before going on to say, “The Nottingham Forest of now is nothing like the Nottingham Forest of the time you were in charge…”
Twain was rendered speechless by Wood’s words. Wood was right. With the way Nottingham Forest wasnow, it would be very difficult for them to defeat Liverpool at Anfield even with Wood on the team. He reminisced about how his Nottingham Forest team had conquered the whole of Europe back then. They slaughtered every single foe who stood before them. Twain’s heart began to beat faster as those images from the past surfaced in his mind. Those were the times…
Twain raised his head and reclined against the backrest of the bench. He then squinted as he gazed at the skies.
Nottingham Forest has won! They were the champions! The champions of Europe! Tony Twain and his team have defeated AC Milan!
Absolutely unbelievable! Tony Twain’s team becomes the first-ever team to defend its title after the Champions League changed its format! Nottingham Forest has made history!
They won the Premier League, the FA Cup, and the Champions League! The 2013-14 season belongs to Nottingham Forest! They are a treble-winning team!
What would things be like now if he had chosen not to leave and had forced himself to stay at Forest for a few more years? Nottingham Forest would most probably have had a few more years of glory. It would be nearly impossible to win another treble, but winning a few more trophies should have been possible.
“George, do you still despise me?”
Wood turned his head to look at Twain.
“It’s partially my fault that Nottingham Forest has become the way that it is now, right?”
“Of course I despise you,” Wood was honest with his answer. “How’s life after retirement?” He suddenly changed the topic of the conversation.
“Er…” Twain did not expect Wood to ask this question all of a sudden. He thought about it for a moment but quickly realized that there was nothing much for him to say. “Nothing special. I stay at home every day to take care of my kid, and I also spend some time with Shania. What kind of life do you think a retired old man can possibly have?”
Wood smiled when he heard Twain say the words ‘retired old man’. This was the first time in two days that Twain saw Wood smile.
“Why are you smiling?”
“I’m imagining the kind of life that a retired old man would have.”
“Did you think I’d be in the garden watering plants and planting tomatoes or potatoes every day? Nuh-uh. No way. I won’t ever do those things. I am still very interested in football. There might be a chance that I’d become a commentator in the future, and I might even provide a commentary on your matches, George.” Twain seemed to have forgotten that Wood was intent on retiring as a football player. “You have been performing poorly for the past few matches. Why are you positioned at the front and playing as an attacking midfielder? How can you play as an attacking midfielder when you can’t even receive the ball? Have you forgotten that offense is derived from the defense? Do you know why I insisted on playing you as a defensive midfielder back then and not at any other position? The defensive midfielder is the pivot of both the team’s offense and its defense. You are able to get the ball a lot more when you play in the defensive midfielder’s position. You would also be able to get a better view of the entire pitch, and the opponents would not harass you as much either. All these factors are beneficial to you performing well on the pitch. But look at your position in the past few matches. You were almost playing as a second striker!”
Twain sounded sterner and sterner as he spoke. It was as though the two were having this conversation while seated in the locker room rather than on a bench behind a hospital.
“I am not to be blamed for that. It was the manager’s decision,” Wood defended himself. “McAllister thinks that the team’s offense is a huge problem, and so he decided to move my position further upfront. He wanted me to organize the team’s attacks, and he told me to shoot from the distance whenever a chance to do so arose.”
Twain frowned after hearing Wood’s words. “I don’t understand how Evan Doughty picks his managers…”
“There was only one managerial appointment that he got right all these years,” Wood replied.
“Ha!” Twain started laughing. “That’s right, he only got it right once.”
The pair was not able to find any other conversation topic to talk about afterward, and silence settled between the two.
Twain gazed at the lake’s surface absentmindedly, whereas Wood did not know where he should look. Quite a bit of time had passed before Wood finally opened his mouth to break the silence. “You are here to persuade me to not retire, right?”
Twain grunted his assent.
This whole situation was something that made Twain feel immensely vexed. He would rather be the manager of the China national football team as they competed in the qualifiers of the World Cup than sit here and face an obstinate Wood.
“I have an idea.”
Twain turned his head sharply to the side and stared at Wood. He was afraid that he had misheard him.
Wood did not mind Twain’s blazing gaze and went on to say, “I will not retire if you return to Forest.”
Twain’s mouth hung agape. He never expected to hear Wood say those words.
Wood continued speaking as Twain looked on in astonishment. “I’m not joking. I only said those words after thinking it through carefully.”
“I’ve already retired, George…” Twain did not know what he should say. This was not an outcome that he saw coming.
“You took a plane back from Los Angeles just to persuade me not to retire. However, it’s just like you said earlier. You’ve already retired. You are not the manager of the England national football team, and neither are you the manager of Nottingham Forest. Then what does my retirement have to do with you?” Wood stared at Twain, almost like he was trying to read his mind.
Twain was at a loss. He never knew that Wood was this eloquent.
“Do you really want me to stay?” Wood asked again.
“Er… Yeah, of course, I do…”
“Why? You are not my manager any longer. Why do you care if I retire or not?”
“Why?” Twain thought about Wood’s question. “All right… I watched you grow up. You were just some hooligan on the streets at first, and I was the one who made you into a football superstar. I feel emotionally attached to you. I don’t wish to see you leave this stage that belongs to you just yet. It’s too early for that.”
“What else can I possibly gain by continuing my career as a footballer? Why did you choose to retire? It’s because you have achieved everything that a manager wants to achieve. You achieved success as the manager of a football club, and you also achieved success as the manager of the national football team. There’s no motivation and drive left in you to achieve anything else since you’ve done it all, and it’s the same thing for me,” Wood responded to Twain calmly.
“No…” Twain shook his head. “Don’t you think that playing football makes you happy? Don’t think about fame, reputation or money. Just your joy in playing football…”
Wood laughed. “Who was it that said we would only be able to feel happy when we win in football? Who was it that said we only have the right to say that we enjoy football when we are the champions? Do you think there’s any joy left for me as a player when I have achieved everything? Do you really think I’d still be able to enjoy playing football?”
Twain felt as though Wood had transformed into him, and that he had become the George Wood who needed to be persuaded.
“I’ve lifted the trophy for almost every competition. There’s no joy left for me. So, tell me. Why shouldn’t I retire?”
Twain realized that everything Wood had said was right. It only made sense for a player like him to retire. There was absolutely nothing wrong with that. But why was he so reluctant to see Wood retire?
He suddenly remembered something. It was an incident that had happened in the past, before he had not transmigrated, when he was just an ordinary Chinese man who liked football and playing Football Manager. There was a demonic-looking player in the Football Manager game whom he had groomed for over 10 in-game years, and the player announced that he was going to retire by the end of the season. How did he feel when he saw that scene back then? He told the player, who was nothing more than an NPC, that he should reconsider his decision to retire.
Honestly, what was there left to enjoy in playing Football Manager when you have pretty much cleared the game? He could lead even the worst of teams to become champions of Europe. It was as easy as ABC to win all the domestic competitions, and he also won the Champions League countless times. He never could finish spending the in-game money that could be used to bring in players, because all the players in his team were the top ones from back then. It was just as George had said. He had won everything in the game, and he would never feel that same kind of joy as when he lifted his first domestic cup trophy ever again. He would never feel that same sense of accomplishment as when his team got promoted to the highest division of the football league for the very first time. What was the point in continuing the game when he no longer felt anything when he made yet another accomplishment? The only thing that kept him in the game was his desire not to see the players, whom he had grown familiar with, leave before him.
A total of 10 seasons had gone by in the game, and the NPCs who had nothing more than a name and data at the start were not just cold, emotionless NPCs to him any longer at the end. They felt real and alive. They would thank the manager for his guidance during an interview after they won something, and they would also tell how the manager had admonished them in the locker room after they lost a match. ‘All of us felt his anger’ were the words that the players would say. They would feel happy when he praised them about their recent performances, and they would react differently when he criticized them for performing poorly… To others, Football Manager was just a game. Everything in the game had been pre-programmed. But the true fans become emotionally invested in the game.
Indeed, that was exactly what was happening to Twain now. He was emotionally invested in Wood.
Hence, Twain did not wish to see Wood retire early. He was just like one of those true fans of the Football Manager game, and he would advise his most favorite player to reconsider his decision to retire even if he was well aware that his advice could lead to conflict between them.
“I can’t help but feel a little lonely when there are fewer and fewer people on the pitch whom I’m familiar with,” Twain sighed. “And that’s why I don’t wish to see you retire. You are one of the few people on the team who I am still familiar with.”
Wood opened his mouth, but no words came out. He continued to stare at the surface of the lake, and silence settled among them once again.
A long time had elapsed before Twain heard a soft voice coming from Wood’s side, “You are one of the few people left in football who I’m familiar with, too…”
※※※
BBC made the decision to broadcast the blockbuster match between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool throughout the whole of England. Thus, millions of spectators watched as Liverpool thrashed Nottingham Forest by scoring five goals against them. The Nottingham Forest team had no fight in them. They played like a team who wanted to leave the pitch as quickly as possible the moment they stepped onto it. When the team went one goal behind, McAllister blew his top at the side of the pitch and was visibly upset with the team’s performance. However, when the team went three goals down by the 15th minute, McAllister displayed indifference and simply remained in his seat quietly.
Motson, who was the commentator for the match, said that Nottingham Forest’s performance had clearly been affected by George Wood’s absence from the team. Twain and Wood were watching the live broadcast of the match on the television in the guest room. Upon hearing those words from Motson, Twain turned his head to glance at Wood, and he found Wood’s face to be bereft of emotion.
In the end, the team suffered a humiliating 0:5 defeat to Liverpool, and the Nottingham Forest’s fans’ nightmare came true.
The next day, Wood was forced to end his ‘break’ early and return to team practice due to Sophia’s insistence. Before he left, he told Twain that he still had not changed his mind about wanting to retire and that the only way he would not retire was if Twain returned to the team.
Twain did not make any form of response to his words.
That same day, Nottingham Forest Football Club held a press conference to announce that their manager, McAllister, had turned in his resignation and that the club had agreed to his request after careful consideration. The youth team manager, Greenwood, was appointed as the caretaker manager for the time being.
In the eyes of the outsiders, the change in personnel at the club signified that the once almighty Nottingham Forest was spiraling down into an abyss of nothingness, and its descent was gaining pace…
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Chapter 990 - Nottingham Forest’s Circumstances
Wood had no intentions of discussing about his impending retirement in front of the interim manager, Greenwood, and club chairman, Evan Doughty. Faced with the intense pressing of the reporters, he remained tight-lipped, as if nothing ever happened.
Evan breathed a huge sigh of relief.
No matter what, the crisis had been averted for now. However, Evan Doughty could not feel relaxed about it. With the piling up of all the negative news such as the continuous defeats, the frequent change in managers and the rumor of Wood’s retirement, the Arabian consortium suddenly changed their minds. Although they did not indicate that they wanted to stop all negotiations about taking over Nottingham Forest Football Club, they had obviously slowed the process down and they had also leaked out some news to indicate that they would prefer to take over the club at a lower price.
This was something that Evan Doughty did not wish to see. Allan Adams was on the receiving end of numerous scolding from the chairman with a growing temper. Even though there was a friendship between them coming from the time when they started their careers together, it had been more than a few decades, the friendship had already faded. Besides, he was the most trusted person for Evan, yet he could not settle such a major issue properly, how could Evan not be infuriated by that?
Ever since Tony Twain left, Allan Adams was the only one that Evan Doughty could depend on in the club. However, Allan’s performance planted a doubt in Evan’s mind——He might not be able to depend on this person in future.
※※※
Tony Twain did not return to Los Angeles just because Wood went back to attend training and play in the matches as the matter was far from being resolved. Besides, now that Wood was back at work, he had to stay behind to take care of Sophia. Even though Miss Vivian was around, Twain was the only one who could have a heart to heart talk with Sophia.
Therefore, Twain gave Shania a call to inform her that he would not be able to return for a while, and if she was not too busy after her work concluded, she could come to Nottingham too. After Shania heard that Sophia was not doing well, she specially gave her a call to check up on her. She agreed with Twain’s request without any other conditions.
Twain had originally sneaked back without any media knowing about it. However, as he stayed on, the media eventually caught wind of his whereabouts too. It was not long before pictures of Twain visiting the hospital appearing on the sports section of a few newspaper.
The day after news of Twain’s return hit the newspaper, there was a special guest for him at Sophia’s ward.
Officially, Evan Doughty was visiting Sophia on behalf of the club to wish her a rapid recovery, however, in truth, he was here for Twain.
“When did you come back? Why didn’t you tell me?” Evan Doughty acted as though he was very close to Twain in the visitor’s room outside.
Twain smiled, “A couple of days ago. I was too busy to tell you. You still came, didn’t you?”
This was the first time the two of them met each other face to face in four years. The conflicts they had then was already water under the bridge. At least, one could never imagine that they had treated each other as enemies before from what he observed on the surface.
Later, the two of them chatted about anything under the sun, except for football and the recent difficult times that the club faced. Eventually, when they had nothing else to talk about, Evan Doughty took his leave.
Twain saw him out until the entrance of the ward. After Evan left, he returned to the ward and was deep in thoughts on the couch.
Based on his understanding of Evan Doughty, he would always bring Allan Adams with him, no matter where he went. However, he came to “visit” Sophia alone this time. Even though Evan said that Allan did not come because he was in-charge of negotiating with the Arabs, it had become public knowledge that the Arabian consortium had called off the negotiations for now and had returned to UAE. This had even been reported in the minor newspaper as they wanted to reconsider their offer for Nottingham Forest Football Club. It was obvious that they did not think that the price quoted by Evan Doughty was a fair evaluation of such a terrible club. It did not matter how glorious its past was, a businessman would only care about now and the future, not the past. If it could not bring them profit now, then there would be no value to them. If there was no room for improvement in the future, then the value would be even lower.
Everyone knew by now that the takeover of Nottingham Forest had reached an impasse, but the Forest fans did not know what they should be feeling now. They were tired of the club chairman who had brought them countless glorious moments before but was just a clown now. However, they did not wish to see their club handed over to a bunch of Arabs who knew nothing about football, about English football in particular. Just take a look at Manchester City, a mercenary team built by money. They were just a plaything for the Arabs.
As one of the clubs with the longest history in the world, how could it fall to such an extent?
If Nottingham Forest was a club like Notts County, the fans could resort to crowdfunding and buying the club themselves. However, Nottingham Forest was a club with a long history and glorious achievements, it was not a club that could be taken over by the fans through donations alone. Tony Twain’s annual earnings were quite considerable, but even his life’s savings were not enough to take over the club, unless he could get a more powerful consortium to invest in it. However, he had never had any contact with the financial world as he had no interest in it. Evan Doughty placed a price of 1.2 billion pounds for the sale of the club, which the media mocked as an unattainable price. Nottingham Forest was under a debt of 400 million pounds, after taking that into consideration, the club was worth 500 million pounds at most, which meant that a price of 900 million would be reasonable. The Arabs drove a tough bargain too, offering a price of 600 million pounds. After using 400 million pounds to pay off the debt, the club was only worth 200 million pounds in the eyes of these people from the middle east.
It was no wonder why many Nottingham Forest fans did not like the Arabian consortium at all, with an offer like that——For a team that had a history of winning five UEFA Champions League, an actual offer of 200 million pounds was a humiliation. That was why the Forest fans were tired of the “selling drama” that Evan Doughty put on every season on one hand, yet on the other hand, they did not want the Arabs to really take over the club.
Twain was still deep in thoughts.
Allan Adams was Evan Doughty’s right-hand man, and he was fully in-charge of negotiations with the Arabian consortium. In Nottingham Forest Football Club, which could no longer be considered as a listed company, Allan Adams was the most powerful person after Evan Doughty. However, Allan did not come with Evan this time. Twain was very concerned about this.
Could this be a sign of Evan’s attitude?
He knew that Evan Doughty was a person who craves power, that was why Twain did not believe that he came alone today because Allan was “tied up at work”.
Looks like something is brewing internally in Nottingham Forest Football Club…
But, what has that got to do with me?
Twain shook his head and stood up. He decided to go for a walk as his identity was already exposed so it did not matter anymore. It was a good opportunity for him to visit his old friends at Forest Bar.
※※※
If Wood had read “The Romance of Three Kingdoms”, then he must have understood the story of “being in the Cao camp but mind is in the Shu camp”. His situation now was the typical “being in the Cao camp but mind is in the Shu camp”. Even though he rejoined the team and the training, his mother’s condition did not get better and she was still very weak. She even had to be warded into the clean room this week, which was a sign of her illness getting worse.
Under such a situation, how could he remain calm and focus on training and the match? Wood was just human after all, with blood, flesh and emotions, and not really just a piece of wood. He was also not a robot killer from the future. Even though he promised his mother that he would rejoin the team, she could not control his emotions. He missed his mother, and she did not forbid him from missing her.
Greenwood had no solutions for that either. He was not an expert in controlling a player’s mentality, and Wood did not listen to him either. There was only one manager whom Wood would willingly listen to, but that person had already retired.
His teammates could do nothing about it too. Nobody could possibly ask Wood to focus on football and lead by example at this moment as they had no rights to do so. As the only kin to Wood, his mother was lying in the clean room in the hospital now, with her life in danger. What they should do now was actually to persuade Wood to forget about football for now and take care of his mother, not request him to stay in the training grounds to lead by example, playing football without care for his family. To these professional players, football was just a job. No job could be more important than family.
However, once Wood made his decision, there was basically no room for anyone to change his mind. That was why even Wood’s best friend, “Little Monkey” Bale, could not persuade him to go back and take care of his mother.
The Europa League match that followed was George Wood’s first game after his return to the team. In the end, he performed very badly in the game. Even though he ran a lot, he was running like a headless chicken. He could not organize the attack or defense. Nottingham Forest’s tactic revolved around George Wood. If Wood performed badly, the team would be like a pile of sand scattered in the wind, without any organization.
In the end, Nottingham Forest lost 0:2 to Sporting Lisbon at home.
For the next match in the League two days ago, Nottingham Forest faced Fulham at home. George Wood’s performance did not improve, but Greenwood changed his tactics and did not use Wood as the core, choosing to use Balotelli as the core instead, focusing all the attacking moves around him. Under Balotelli’s impressive performance, the team defeated Fulham 2:1 at home to put an end to their slump.
However, the good times did not last. In the next league match next week, Nottingham Forest lost to Newcastle. This time, using Balotelli as the core did not achieve the required impact as it was much easier to mark out a forward than a defensive midfielder…
Nottingham Forest’s position in the table stopped dropping after the last round in the league temporarily, but it continued after the loss to Newcastle. Losing the Blackburn 1:3, then losing to Tottenham Hotspurs by 0:1… By the end of October, Forest’s position had slipped from 10th to 14th. For the whole October, other than a 2:1 victory over Fulham, there was no other victories. There was not even a draw other than that. They only managed three points despite playing five games in October.
There was something even more troubling for Evan Doughty which followed. After leading the team for just four games, Greenwood felt that he was not ready to lead the first team yet after three losses. He approached Evan Doughty after the defeat against Tottenham Hotspurs, hoping that the club chairman would agree to him leaving the post as manager of the first team and return to coaching the youth team.
How could Evan Doughty possibly agree? He was already finding it difficult to find a suitable manager. However, his desire to keep him as manager was no match for Greenwood’s strong desire to leave his post and he had no choice but to agree to Greenwood quitting as manager of the first team eventually.
Next, Evan Doughty had little choice but to name Freddie Eastwood as the next interim manager, to manage the team while he looked for a suitable manager.
To be honest, if Eastwood had a choice, he would definitely choose not to take this job. Firstly, he did not think that he was good enough to become manager, and the second reason was naturally because Nottingham Forest was like a blackhole for managers now. No matter how good, or competent a manager was, he would suffer reputational damage if he took over this job.
Eventually, Eastwood could only take the job unwillingly. He did not show any joy of being promoted to manager during the press conference. Even though it was quite interesting for him to manage his previous teammates, he had no mood to joke about it. When faced with questions by the reporters regarding the team’s results and outlook, he merely said that he hoped he would not let the supporters and the club down, and he said nothing else. The atmosphere of the press release was a little uninteresting.
After the press release, the media released their articles describing the outlook for Nottingham Forest as bleak. This time, they were not trying to smear Nottingham Forest, or going against Nottingham Forest on purpose. They were simply stating the truth now. Even the most die-hard Nottingham Forest fan would come up with the same conclusion now.
“Looks like Evan Doughty should change their target for this season——It should be to avoid relegation, instead of qualifying for the Champions League…”
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Chapter 991 - Are You Coming Back, Tony?
“…Freddy Eastwood, formerly the legendary forward of Nottingham Forest, is now an acting head coach. Currently, he’s trying to prove the media’s predictions through practical actions — the first match played by the team Coach Eastwood led has lost. Nottingham Forest has now lost four matches in a row… The whole team is in a panic and it’s rumored that Balotelli wishes to leave and has already officially submitted his transfer request to the club. And as for the rumors regarding George Wood’s retirement, the man in question has yet to step up and clarify—”
Kenny Burns’s Forest Bar had been unusually crowded and busy the moment night fell. Fans of Nottingham Forest who had been nearby always gathered in the bar after a day of hard work to discuss the recent happenings of their favorite team. If the team had achieved good results, the bar would be filled with cheers; everyone would chug pint after pint of beer with their eyebrows raised. Truly, they would leave the bar as they entered — exhilarated beyond belief. On the other hand, if the team had lost, then the bar would be filled with grief. Everyone would be sighing or complaining that their luck was bad, or they would resent some of the players for their sub-par performance during the match. It was either that or they would turn into armchair coaches and lament that the team’s tactics were wrong.
But one thing was sure — whether or not the team lost, the bar would be abuzz with energy.
However, things were different tonight.
It was so quiet that everyone could hear every single sound coming from the television.
The fans’ only reaction to the news being broadcasted on the television was a deep sigh.
What else could they do?
Wood was in a bad condition because he was worried over his mother’s critical condition, were they to curse the man out or something? Eastwood was the legendary forward of the team but he lacked experience as a coach, so the burden should not be his alone to bear. It seemed like the chairman of the club was the only person they could really rag on but they had been ragging on the man for so long that it has since lost its novelty. No matter how harshly they criticized Evan Doughty from here in the bar, there was no way they would be able to have him removed from his position. What else would they achieve other than wasting their saliva?
At the thought of this scenario, no one else was in the mood to talk. There were twenty or so men sitting there in the bar and all they could do was down glass after glass or beer and hope to drown their sorrows.
“Is there really no way for us to save our team?!” A young man stood up as he shouted, unable to bear this oppressive atmosphere any longer.
His friends who were sat beside him tilted their heads up to glance at him, then continued drinking their beer with their heads down. They were probably better off staring at the television screen and zoning out.
This was a question that had been asked repeatedly throughout the four years, and what was the result?
But today, this young man seemed to have come prepared. He stood up and realized that no one was answering him, so he cast his gaze to the other side of the bar. He then held up his glass and pushed aside his friend who was in his way to stumble over.
Twain had been drinking fruit juice at the bar and chatting idly with Kenny Burns. Shania and Teresa were still in America as of today and he did not want to stay in that enormous villa all on his own. All his time was spent in the bar if he was not already in the hospital.
Since he was no longer the head coach for the team, he intentionally kept his distance from John and the rest instead of mixing in their circle. Even if he came to the bar, he would only be there to chat with Kenny. If John or Bill were looking for him, they would come to him alone instead of pulling him to their circle.
Everyone tried their best to avoid one topic in their conversation — the head coach of Nottingham Forest.
But today, there was a young man drunk off his beer who charged towards Twain. He stopped in front of Twain and slammed his glass down heavily. He then turned his head to stare at Twain. “T-tony!”
Twain turned to stare at the unwelcomed guest.
“Come back!” The young man shouted at the top of his lungs. “Come back!”
John stood up hurriedly to restrain the impulsive young man who had had too much to drink. “Joseph, you—”
“Come back to Nottingham Forest, please! The young man was so agitated that his eyes were brimming with tears. “Please come back, and bring us—” Before he could finish his sentence, he stumbled and slipped, falling from the barstool. He had fallen.
Fat John finally made it to Twain’s side at this moment and he helped the young man up. “Joseph talks too much when he’s had too much to drink!” He explained to Twain, then forcefully dragged Joseph back to where he had been sitting.
“He didn’t say ‘Joseph talks a load of crap when he’s had too much to drink’,” Kenny Burns commented from beside him.
Twain did not express any hint of displeasure at this gesture of Burns’. He looked at the John and the young man as they walked away. The pair had returned to the center of where the fans were gathered and it seemed like not a lot of them were chiding Joseph’s impulsive actions. On the contrary, a few of them were sneaking glances at Twain to observe his reaction.
Twain felt that they could not tell anything from his face since there was no expression at all.
※※※
Eastwood did not expect to have to welcome a guest this late into the night. He had his wife, Sabina, bring the kids up to sleep and leave the living room for him to entertain this late-night guest.
“I thought over it for a long time. Although I’ve already retired, I still keep tabs on soccer and on Nottingham Forest. I think that I can maybe help you a little, Freddy,” Twain, who had been sitting across from Eastwood, said as he stared at the man.
Eastwood said as he chuckled bitterly, “You coming back to coach the team is the greatest help you can possibly offer me… Alright, I know this is an unrealistic request. To be honest, I don’t think I suit the role of head coach… You know, head, I actually forgot to give the team the starting roster before their first match. If not for Jimmy reminding me, I might have made a fool out of myself. Thinking back, I really do suck…”
Eastwood seemed a little upset. To mess up this bad in front of his team when he was their head coach had caused him a great deal of grief in the past few days.
Twain chuckled. “That’s no big deal, Freddy. The first time I led a first-string team to a competition, my own player bumped into me so hard that I fainted. The crowd was staring down at me as I left for home. After the competition, I became the laughing stock of the whole of England. Even when I was in the bar drowning my sorrows, someone would bring up the incident to laugh at me. Don’t take something so trivial to heart. The role of a head coach is actually rather simple. Even if you forget to give your team the starting roster, that can become part of your legend as long as you lead them to victory.”
“Here’s the thing, boss. I don’t know how I’m supposed to lead them to victory. You know, when I’m looking down at them playing on the field, the urge to go help them score a goal and win is so strong. But as a head coach, I don’t know what I should do…” Eastwood was extremely upset, a rare sight for the Romani who was extremely optimistic.
“That’s because you lack experience. Also—” Twain suddenly thought of an issue. “There’s no one beside you who’s good enough to help you.” He had been a rookie back then, too, but he had Old Ian and Walker. The two of them had plenty of experience from their time as players and had spent quite some years as the coaches for the team. They then continued to flourish under several head coaches, before Twain sat at the table they had set for him. But things were different in the Nottingham Forest of today. The team was a mess; all the good coaches were leaving one after the other and being poached by other clubs. An outstanding coach like Kerslake was only fired because his results were unsatisfactory and Evan did not even let him stay on the team.
Although Eastwood had also been coaching for four years, but the difference between a manager and a coach in England was just too big.
Eastwood did not want to talk about himself any longer. He suddenly asked, “You coming to visit me this late at night tells me one thing, boss.”
“And what is that?”
“You can’t let go of Nottingham Forest.”
Twain glanced at Eastwood. “Of course I can’t, I’m a hardcore Nottingham Forest fan. I buy tickets every season.”
“Come back if you can’t let go,” Eastwood stared into Twain’s eyes as he spoke.
“I’ve retired, Freddy—”
“No one said that retirees can’t come back.”
“I have to spend time with my daughter—”
“Aren’t you in England now? And isn’t your daughter in America right now?”
Twain shook his head. “Let’s not talk about this anymore. If there’s something you don’t understand when you’re coaching, you can come to me for help and I will tell you everything I have learned from my experience—”
But it seemed like Eastwood was set on going against Twain today. He threw him another hard-to-answer question, “George is the heart of this team. If his condition never gets better, then the team’s results will never stabilize. Do you have any solutions for this, boss?”
Twain was at a loss for words. He knew why Wood was in a bad condition, but this was an issue that he could not solve. As long as Sophia was still ill, Wood would still be in a bad condition.
This was not something he could solve with tactics. It was not even something a head coach could resolve.
Twain would think about what Wood had said to him in the yard of the hospital every time someone brought up the latter. “Come back if you don’t want me to retire.”
Were the two of them in cahoots? Why was it that either of them persuaded Twain to go back every time they met him?
※※※
Actually, not many people came up to him to tell him this when he had still been the head coach of England. But now that he had retired and was lazing about in his house, this was no longer the case. He could say he was retired as many times as he wanted but other people might not be this understanding.
For example, he received a call from Tang Jing the next day, a call that was like lightning on a clear day.
The China Football Association had reached out to him through Tang Jing and were actually asking for him to coach the Chinese national team.
“I’m just the messenger, Mr Twain.”
“You can reject them directly and say you couldn’t reach me,” Twain did not want to have anything to do with the China Football Association since their reputation was a little…
“I’m also Chinese, after all, and I honestly think it’d be rather interesting if you head over to coach the Chinese team—” It was obvious that Tang Jing was laughing on the other side of the line.
“I would not. I don’t want to mess up my reputation this late in my life,” Twain rejected very curtly. Tang Jing might find this interesting as an outsider, but Twain was directly involved in this issue and he did not find this the least bit amusing.
Tang Jing was, as she said, just a messenger. She did not try to persuade Twain to change his mind after he rejected her and cheerfully promised to relay the message to the association. As for the reason, it was because Twain had not had enough rest yet and did not want to leave retirement to teach.
The thing was, the Chinese media found out through Tang Jing that the China Football Association had reached out to Twain to have him coach the national team and had rather mercilessly mocked the association for punching above their weight. They had basically called the association shameless and immoral, just not in those exact words, but what they had said more or less meant the same thing. Unfortunately, the China Football Association was probably the only government organization they could curse out as much as they wanted without having to bear any responsibility for their words. Although the FIFA had made it a rule for the football association in every country to be non-governmental organization, China was a special case and its football association was a government organization.
The issue of the China Football Association seeking Twain out to coach their team was over on Twain’s end, but he did not expect to have caused such a stir over in China. The people there were focused on whether the association should have looked for Twain to coach and whether Twain should be coaching in China, et cetera. Whether it was mass media or online forums, the discussions were unceasing and heated. Some people thought that they should be inviting top-grade coaches like Twain to coach the team or China’s football would never improve, while others thought that the association should not be inviting Twain over with that reputation of theirs since the man could run the risk of damaging his reputation if he really did end up coaching the team. There were also people saying that the association had lost its mind, thinking they could control Tony Twain even if they did manage to get him on board. The association delegating their authority to Twain was completely out of the question, unless their men’s national team ended up clinching the World Cup……But this would just be an endless loop. Long story short, it was a meaningless and futile effort.
Actually, it was Tang Jing who leaked the news intentionally in hopes of disgracing the association yet again. China’s football had not made any progress over the years despite the numerous changes in leadership since every new leader was more concerned with keeping their post than they were with football as a sport. It was inevitable that China’s football had come to a standstill — regressing, even. Tang Jing had long since left the media industry and left to start a family in England where she could focus on her husband and children, but any mention of China’s football would make her blood boil in an instant. She was not a bigwig and her words did not carry much weight, so there was little she could do to vent her anger aside from such methods.
※※※
Twain had little concern for the chaos he caused in China with his rejection of the association’s offer. His mind was on Nottingham Forest.
Eastwood had mentioned that the greatest help Twain could possibly offer was to return to coach the team with the former returning to his role as a trainer, but this was obviously not possible, so Twain offered his help in another way. He analysed the problems that Nottingham Forest was encountering together with Eastwood so they could try to find a solution.
Twain told Eastwood that he should just bite the bullet and remove Wood and Balotelli from the starting lineup if both of them were unreliable, swapping them out for members from the youth team or second-string members. It was obvious that these players had much more fighting spirit than the first-string players. Nottingham Forest’s problem now lay not in their tactics — or, at the very least, this was not the biggest issue — but in their fighting spirit and mental state.
He was completely invested in helping Eastwood that he did not notice the look the latter threw at him. There was also something else he did not think about, which was whether or not it was appropriate for a retiree like him to be so heavily involved in someone else’s job. All he hoped for was for Nottingham Forest to perform better so a soccer fan like him would not be this worried.
After Eastwood did as Twain said and switched out half of the first-string members from the lineup, he managed to stop the downward spiral in the second match. During this away match, they relied on a tenacious defence and overall attack through the match and tied at no goals with the powerful Manchester United. Although it was a messy match with no goals to speak of, they ultimately managed to stop losing. On top of that, it was the mighty Manchester United they were going against, which made the result all the more precious. As such, much of the media was shocked at the results when it was released. Before the match, they had predicted that Nottingham Forest would be humiliated by Manchester United in Old Trafford, just like Liverpool.
Neither Wood nor Balotelli were in the starting lineup for that match and the former had only been substituted in during the last ten minutes. This was fodder for the media to bring up old debts. They dug up past incidents were Wood and Eastwood had been at odds with each other to spark some discourse. In their analyses, they said that Eastwood had been aggressively suppressing Wood every since he stepped up. On top of the previous rumors of Wood’s retirement, it seemed like what used to rumors would very soon become fact…
Of course, all of this was just mindless drivel. Eastwood was not the kind to mix his personal affairs with business. Besides, whatever tension had been between the two of them no longer existed, and it was Twain’s idea to remove Wood from the starting lineup. In fact, Twain did not even want to let Wood step out on the field for even a minute. He wanted to let the man cool down completely, but it was Eastwood who felt that it was better for Wood to go out there so he could maintain his state.
But the media was really running their mouth this time…
The team returned from Manchester United to Nottingham after preventing a fourth consecutive loss, their hearts heavy with doubt. Just then, Wood had been moving with the team when he received a call from the hospital.
His mother was in critical condition.
...
Chapter 992 - Please Come Back, Tony
The press might have used the words ‘critically ill’ to describe Sophia’s condition all this while, but that was simply because they have always been careless in their choice of words. The hospital has never once told Wood that his mother was ‘critically ill’. Not until today.
When Wood rushed to the hospital, his mother had already been wheeled into the emergency room, and the only people he saw standing outside were Twain, Woox, and the nurse Vivian Miller.
“How’s my mother?” The first thing that Wood asked about after seeing both Woox and Vivian was his mother’s condition.
Woox shook his head and said nothing, whereas Vivian stood quietly by the side and hung her head. Vivian was just a nurse who took care of Sophia, but she looked as though she was responsible for causing this crisis.
Since neither of them spoke, the only person who could answer Wood’s question at the scene was Twain. Twain’s voice was low as he spoke, “She’s not in a good condition, George. You’d better be mentally prepared…”
All three of them conveyed a single message to Wood through either their gestures or words – his mother might really leave his side this time around.
Wood did not know what to think all of a sudden. He did not know what he should do or say, either. He simply stood rooted at the spot and panted heavily.
Twain was surprised by Wood’s lack of reaction. He had expected Wood to fly into a rage and yell words like, “I don’t believe you” or “you all must be lying to me”.
To Twain, it was normal for a person to have an outburst when they heard that their loved one might pass away soon, and he expected Wood to have an even bigger and more aggressive one than others might. He had braced himself for a fit from Wood all this while, but it never came.
Twain’s surprise quickly turned into worry as Wood continued in silence. He also appeared to be dazed as he stood rooted to the ground. Twain was worried that Wood was in a state of shock because he could not cope with the news that his mother might leave him. As a manager who was good at handling his players’ psychological state, Twain knew very well just how troublesome psychological issues were.
A while later, Woox left to deal with the reporters who had crowded outside the hospital after hearing word that Wood’s mother was in a dire condition. Likewise, Vivian also left because she still had work to do. The only people who remained outside the emergency room were Twain, who had nothing to do, and Wood. Twain looked at Wood and sighed after seeing how the latter had continued to stand rooted to the ground, seemingly oblivious to the departure of both Woox and Vivian.
Twain wanted to go up to Wood and comfort him, but he did not know what he should say. He knew very well that Sophia did not have much time left even if she managed to pull through this time around. Twain’s impression of Sophia ever since their first meeting was that she was a feeble woman who could die and leave Wood all alone at any time. None of the doctors expected her to be able to live until this day. It was hard to imagine the kind of willpower she must have had to be able to persevere for such a long time.
Wood had experienced the pain of Gavin’s death years ago, and now it looked like he was going to experience the tragedy of losing a loved one once again. Everyone knew that death is inevitable, but this fact might be hard to accept for Wood. Twain was extremely worried about how Wood would react to his mother’s passing when it happened. To Sophia, Wood was her sole pillar of support. Likewise, she too was the only source of support for Wood. Sophia could not lose Wood, and similarly, he could not bear to lose her either. Wood has lived with his mother ever since he was born, and they have both become an integral part of each other’s lives. Unfortunately, the pair would have to experience the greatest pain in this world soon. They have to endure the pain that was brought about by death and separation. Will Wood be able to deal with his mother’s death?
Twain would not be this worried if it had been any other person who was about to lose his mother. Wood was probably the only one who could make him feel this way. He was just like a child who has not grown up. His affection for his mother was far deeper than anyone could imagine, and he would not be just losing a loved one when he lost his mother.
Wood finally seemed to have gotten tired after standing for so long, and he walked aside and sat down soon after. However, his eyes never left the doors to the emergency room the entire time.
※※※
A while later, Evan Doughty arrived at the hotel to visit Wood and his mother. Twain could tell that Doughty had something on his mind, and whatever it was had nothing to do with Wood.
Wood was absent-minded, and so was Doughty. The two exchanged a few quick words while being preoccupied with their own thoughts. Thereafter, Wood continued in his seat and stared at the emergency room’s doors. Evan Doughty, on the other hand, did not seem to be in a hurry to leave, and he stood in the hallway and looked about. His eyes fell on Twain numerous times and it seemed like he wanted to say something, but he never did.
Doughty averted his gaze towards Wood and realized that the latter still had his eyes fixed on the doors to the emergency room. He then decided to walk towards Twain.
“Can we speak privately for a moment, Tony?” Doughty said quietly as he stood before Twain.
Twain lifted his head to look at Doughty as he was still in his seat. Doughty was alone and Allan Adams did not accompany him this time around.
Twain could not find a reason to reject the request, so he nodded in response.
The two walked past Wood and down the stairs before heading towards the back of the hospital. They then had their conversation as they strolled by the side of the lake.
“To be honest, I was quite surprised to see you on the big screen during the opening match of the season, Tony,” Evan Doughty said.
“I’m a Forest fan.” Twain was speaking the truth. He could not bring himself to support another football team, especially a Premier League team, after managing Forest for 11 years. Every other football team was an opponent that he had to fight against in the past, after all…
“Have you seen Forest’s recent matches?” The conversation topic was shifted onto Forest’s recent performance naturally.
“Of course.” Twain was a little wary.
“What do you think about Forest’s current situation, Tony? As a professional football manager…”
“I’m not a manager anymore, Evan.” Twain refused to answer.
Doughty did not expect Twain to cut him off. It looked like Twain had no intention of being compliant now that he was not working under him… Then again, when has Tony ever been compliant? Doughty was rendered speechless by Twain’s comments and did not know how to continue the conversation.
The pair walked side by side in silence for quite a distance. Twain tried his best to direct his attention to his surroundings to keep himself from feeling awkward. He noticed that there was a small island covered with trees in the distance, but there were not any bridges that led to it. He looked around trying to find a boat of some sorts but did not see any either.
Evan Doughty remained silent, and his eyes were fixed on the road before them. He seemed to be trying to make up his mind on whether he should say something.
“Uh, I’ll be honest, Tony. I came to find you today because I hope you’d be able to… to manage Nottingham Forest once again.”
Twain’s vague bad feeling had materialized!
He could not pretend that he did not hear Doughty’s words no matter how hard he tried.
Twain stopped in his tracks and directed his gaze away from the small island in the distance. His eyes then fell on Evan Doughty, who was next to him.
“I’m no longer a manager, Evan,” Twain repeated the words that he said earlier. He hoped that Evan Doughty would back off and leave him be. However, it seemed like he had underestimated Doughty’s determination.
“I know you have retired, but you are only fifty years old, Tony… You’re still considered young for a manager. The Forest team needs you. Wood needs you… and I need you too!”
Twain led out a smile. What an improvement Doughty has made. He would definitely not say such words to him in the past.
Doughty could discern the sarcasm behind Twain’s smile, but he paid it no mind. Or rather, he could not do anything about it even if he wanted to. Twain was not the one begging him for a job now. He was the one begging Twain to return to the club.
“I know you are upset with me, Tony. I have to admit that I… Uh… Made a mistake back then…”
Twain kept quiet and simply watched as Doughty admitted to making a mistake four years ago. He remembered the scenes of that night in the Madrid hotel room when he fell out with the club’s board after leading his team to achieve a historic treble. All the glory that he had earned with Forest became a distant memory in just one night.
The scene before him now was a stark contrast to that very scene from four years ago…
Evan Doughty would probably not have to beg Twain to return to the club if his behavior back then had been at all similar to what it was now.
After all, Forest was a team that Twain had built from scratch, and he was reluctant to just leave it behind.
“… Look at me now. I’ve already been sufficiently punished for my decision back then.” Doughty threw his hands before him in a helpless gesture.
“Did you really mean what you said, Evan?” Twain asked as he cast a sideways glance at him. He did not believe Evan Doughty’s words. “The reason why you have come to find me today is that the team’s poor results have made it difficult for you to get a good selling price for the club with the Bin Zayed Group, right?”
Doughty opened his mouth, but no words came out because Twain had hit the nail on the head.
Doughty was still hoping that the Bin Zayed Group would offer him a good price for Forest. When that happened, he would be free from all the mess that Forest found itself in. Forest’s results, Wood’s retirement, and all these other issues would have nothing to do with him from then on.
“Evan, I’ll repeat this again. I don’t care about how you treated me in the past. All you need to know is that I’ve retired now.”
Twain turned around and walked back to the hospital. The conversation with Evan Doughty was over.
Evan Doughty did not say anything to stop Twain from leaving. All he did was stare at Twain’s back and frown.
※※※
Sophia had already been wheeled back to her ward by the time Twain returned to the hospital. When he got to Sophia’s ward, he noticed Wood leaving and saw Vivian tending to Sophia at the side of the bed.
Twain scrutinized the expression that Wood had on his face. It did not seem to have gotten better, but it did not seem to have gotten worse either. It was hard for him to guess what Sophia’s condition was based on Wood’s expression alone.
However, there was no need for him to guess. The moment Wood saw Twain, he said, “My mum wants to see you.”
After he said this, Wood walked to a nearby sofa to rest.
Twain glanced at Wood before walking into the ward. The first thing he did after entering was to greet Vivian, whom he was getting increasingly familiar with. He then took a seat next to Sophia’s bed.
Sophia’s appearance had changed over the past ten days. She looked different from when Twain first saw her after he returned to Nottingham. She had gotten even thinner and weaker than before, and it would not be an exaggeration to describe her as being ‘skin and bones’. Her once beautiful face had been ravaged by sickness. Her cheeks were sullen and her cheekbones protruded. She was hollow-eyed and her once lustrous hair had become thinner after long periods of treatment. Her lower body, covered by the blanket, was skeleton-like.
The sight of a debilitated Sophia caused Twain agony. The once beautiful woman has become almost unrecognizable now. Twain could not bear to take a second look at her and directed his gaze elsewhere.
Sophia seemed to share his thoughts. She did not want Twain to see her in her current state either.
She did not pull on Twain’s hand and say many words like before. All she said after Twain sat down was, “Mr. Twain, I know you have always cared for George. He’s a 32-year-old man this year, but he still acts like a kid who knows nothing. I’m really sorry that you had to fly back from Los Angeles for this…”
Twain had a bad feeling once again…
“… I hope you will continue to look after him in the future.”
Twain’s heart skipped a beat, and he immediately held Sophia’s bony hand. “George has you to take care of him. You are his mother.”
Sophia did not say anything in response. She only closed her eyes. Twain understood from her gesture that she wanted to rest, and he took his leave.
Twain noticed Wood sitting on the sofa after he left the ward. Wood raised his head after hearing Twain walk out of the room, and their eyes met. However, Twain could not bear to look at Wood, and he averted his gaze quickly.
Twain wondered what Sophia had said to her son earlier. Did she tell Wood the same thing that she said to him? What would Wood think about her words if she did?
Could Wood accept that the day when his mother would leave his side might very well be coming soon?
※※※
Twain received a call from Pierce Brosnan shortly after he had reached the lobby of the hospital. The man who has not called him in ages sounded frantic as he asked, “Tony, I heard that you might return to manage Forest?”
“Who told you that?” Twain asked back.
“There are rumors going all around that you will go back and do it! I ran into numerous Forest fans recently, and they’ve all told me that you’d come back to rescue the team! Is this true, Tony?”
Twain was not in the mood to discuss those rumors with him. He cut Brosnan off curtly. “I’m sorry, Pierce. I’m not in the mood to give you an interview.”
“I’m not trying to interview you, Tony. I’m just seeking confirmation from you as an ordinary fan…”
“That’s just a rumor, Mr. Reporter.” Twain addressing Brosnan as ‘Mr. Reporter’ was a sign that he was in a bad mood.
The call ended soon after that. He was not willing to say anything else on the matter. He was not in the mood to speak at all now.
Twain decided to leave from the front entrance instead of the side entrance that day. Before he could even reach the doors, however, he heard noises coming from outside. Countless reporters had crowded in front of the hospital’s front entrance, and they were all trying to seek confirmation from the hospital staff about whether Wood’s mother was truly critically ill. Woox, who had left earlier to deal with these reporters, was nowhere to be seen by then. The security guards saw Twain appear, and they immediately knew that the situation was going to get worse.
Sure enough, the reporters behind them acted as though they were on meth when they saw Twain. They started shoving about wildly in their attempt to get to the front and threw all their microphones and questions at Twain at the same time. They were all hoping that they would be able to get some valuable information from Twain.
Of course, there were also some reporters in the mix who did not care about Wood and his mother’s condition. They yelled at the top of their lungs, “Tony! Hey, Tony! Is it true that you’ll be coming out of retirement?”
“Mr. Twain, there are rumors that you will manage Nottingham Forest once again. Is this true?”
Twain acted as though he did not see the crowd of reporters before him, and he pretended not to hear any of the questions that were thrown at him. He stopped in his tracks at the entrance and fished out a pair of sunglasses from his shirt pocket before putting it on. He then descended a flight of stairs and squeezed his way through the crowd under the protection of the police officers and security guards at the scene.
He soon left all the clamor behind him.
...
Chapter 993 - Hey George
Three days later, Nottingham Forest met Charlton on its home ground. George Wood returned to the starting lineup, and his performance was solid and powerful. He had swept away his previous indifferent state, both defensively and in the organization of the attack, causing his supporters to chant, “Saint George is back!”
Ultimately, thanks to his excellent play, the Forest team defeated the visiting team, Charlton, at 2:0to enjoy their first victory in two months. After the game, the media speculated whether Wood’s mother’s condition was better to give him the motivation to play so well.
In fact, when Wood assisted Mitchell to score the first goal at the Crimson Stadium, his mother was in a deep coma in the hospital and had been unconscious for a whole day.
Twain had once thought that if Sophia were unconscious again, Wood would definitely miss the game. However, Wood surprised him by announcing that he was going to play in the game and was ready for it.
Before his appearance, Wood and Twain had a conversation between them, and the conversation clarified some things for them both.
“I’m still the captain of the Forest team, and the team needs me.”
The team’s previous poor performance had also affected Wood. Fortunately, he remembered that he was still the captain of the team.
Just when Twain thought Wood had finally figured it out and was going to change his mind, he added, “I will stick to my post until I retire. But I will make an announcement as soon as possible.”
Twain knew that Sophia did not have much time. She had been in a coma a lot lately and was unconscious for long periods. The doctors and nurses stood guard by her hospital bed 24 hours a day and were ready to perform emergency care on her at any time. He did not want to lose Wood too once he lost Sophia. Although Wood would not kill himself, what was the difference between a non-playing Wood and a dead one? For someone like Wood, if he did not play football, he would simply have no sense of existence. Twain really could not imagine how Wood would live if he no longer played football.
But then again, even if Wood suddenly decided to follow in his mother’s footsteps, Twain would not be surprised…
※※※
Twain stood at the door of the patient ward, unaware that he had blocked many people’s way. The doctors and nurses coming in and out continuously knocked against him, one after another, but he stood there as if he was unaware of it. He just remained rooted to the spot, looking at the empty bed in front of him.
It was two days after the Forest team’s victory. Sophia had been in a coma the whole time and only woke up once briefly. It happened late at night, and Wood was outside, resting. Twain was not at the hospital. Only Vivian was with her.
Twain did not know what Sophia said to Vivian when she woke up. He did not know what the woman had in her mind when she was awake either.
Did she long for her life, which was filled with long periods of pain and brief moments of happiness? Or did she have a big awakening, realizing that death was actually a form of relief? Could she have hated to part with her own child, George? There were very few people in the world whom she was worried about…
Standing in front of a thick glass window, Wood looked quietly at the busy doctors and nurses in the ward as they took apart the equipment and removed the items his mother had used. A bouquet of flowers in a vase on the bedside table had already withered. A nurse took away the flowers along with the vase.
It seemed she was going to dispose of it like regular trash, but Vivian reached out and stopped her.
Vivian took out the bouquet from the vase and found a card stuck inside. She pulled it out. The following words were written on it: “Your son is a real professional player. Wake up and praise him. He’ll be very happy, Sophia.”
The bouquet was sent by Twain yesterday. From this message, it seemed Twain found that Wood’s mood had not improved after winning the game. He had hoped to make Wood a little happier through his mother’s praise. It was just that Sophia did not notice the bouquet of flowers when she woke up briefly. Wood also missed the last chance to hear his mother’s encouragement. His mother would never smile and stroke her son’s head while she said, “My George is the best in the world.”
Vivian looked down at her left wrist, which was still a little red. It was the spot where Wood’s mother had gripped her. Late that night, Sophia suddenly woke up, and Vivian was right next to her at the time.
It was an exceptionally brief moment of consciousness. Sophia did not even see who was in front of her. She just grabbed Vivian’s hand and whispered, “I don’t want to die…”
The fresh flowers withered as quickly as the poor lady’s life.
※※※
Shania received a call from Twain asking her to bring Theresa back to Nottingham for Sophia’s funeral.
Evan Doughty was preparing a report for the English Football Association to apply for a minute’s silence for Wood’s mother at the start of the Forest team’s next league game. All the Forest players would be wearing black armbands on the sleeves of their jerseys at that time. The Forest team’s opponent, Sunderland, had already agreed to the suggestion.
※※※
Wood gazed at himself in front of the bathroom mirror. He had not taken care of his appearance for days. His hair had been messy and his beard scraggly. Now, however, it was a fresh and clean-looking George Wood in the mirror. He had carefully groomed his short hair and his chin was clean-shaven.
His appearance was impeccable, but his eyes were bloodshot, indicating that the person in the mirror was actually very tired.
“George!”
His agent, Woox, called his name outside.
Wood pushed the door open and found Woox holding a black suit in his hand as he said to him, “Change your clothes, it’s time for us to set off.”
Woox, the old gentleman, had always paid attention to his own appearance. He used to be a big shot in the entertainment agency industry, so his usual dressing was classy and fashionable. However, today he discarded any unnecessary embellishments, only wearing a very ordinary black suit.
Wood took the suit and put it on. He went out of the door together with Woox.
Once outside and looking at the wet streets, Wood paused for a moment.
It was raining.
“Umbrella…” Woox thought Wood was worried about the weather when he stopped.
“No, I don’t need it.” Wood stepped out into the rain.
※※※
Twain was not worried at all that his daughter would do something out of place at the funeral. The sensible Theresa was serious after she saw both her parents looking somber.
It was a private and intimate funeral. Sophia herself had no relatives or friends in the United Kingdom. Her family had long broken ties and contact with her, even though Wood had made a name for himself in the football world. There was no news of family members from Jamaica reaching out either. But with Wood’s temper, even if the people from there came to pay their respects, Wood would probably kick them out…
Woox only invited Twain and his family, as well as the doctors at the Royal Hospital of Nottingham University. They had taken excellent care of Sophia during her stay in the hospital and were meticulous in her treatment. Although they were ultimately unable to save Sophia’s life, they did their best. In addition, he also invited a representative from the Nottingham Forest Football Club and good friends of Wood from the team.
The representative from the club was the chairman, Evan Doughty himself. However, Twain thought that Evan had an ulterior motive. His real purpose was probably not as straightforward as attending Sophia’s funeral.
Wood’s team was represented by his two friends, Gareth Bale and Aaron Mitchell. While he was popular in the team, not many people could be counted as really good friends.
The priest concluded the eulogy at Sophia’s gravesite. “She was a good person, may she rest in peace…”
Twain thought to himself that it was customary for the pastors to say this at any funeral. However, this time, the pastor was right. Sophia was such a good person, but unfortunately, her life was too short. During this time, when Twain was alone and had nothing to do, he would let his imagination run wild. What was the purpose of Sophia’s difficult life in this world? Before Wood met him, her life was basically miserable. She fell in love with someone but was abandoned. She brought up her child alone and would do anything for his sake, even if it meant selling her own body. When she finally saw her child succeed after much difficulty and did not have to worry about their livelihood anymore, her health quickly deteriorated. She did not enjoy any of the good fortune George met with. As for familial affections, she did not have any before giving birth to Wood She did not have any romantic connections after Wood was born either. Such a life must have been dreary for an average person, but Wood became her whole world.
Maybe she came to the world just to be George Wood’s mother.
Wood stood by the grave, acknowledging those who had come to the funeral. The people lined up to toss flowers onto the grave. Then they went to hug Wood, say a few words, and leave. Twain’s family of three was also in the line. Twain saw Miss Vivian Miller’s figure among the representatives from the hospital. She was wearing a long black dress today. The hem of her dress was drenched from the rain, but she was unaware of that. After gently placing the flowers in her hand on the grave mound, she walked up to Wood.
From where Twain was, he could not hear what Vivian and Wood said. However, he could guess what it was about. It was nothing but some words of condolences and so on. Most people would turn and walk away after they said those words. Vivian, however, went to stand behind Wood and did not leave.
In fact, the people who stood there had a close relationship with Wood, such as Bale and Mitchell, who were also standing behind Wood to accompany him. However, the relationship between Vivian and Wood was not that close.
Twain looked at Vivian again. The girl’s expression was very natural and she did not appear too awkward standing among the three men.
Evan Doughty also completed the necessary etiquette. After comforting Wood, he was not in a hurry to leave but instead went to have a private exchange with Woox. Presumably, they were discussing Wood’s retirement. With Sophia’s departure, the last person able to control Wood was gone. He obviously wanted to get back to the same issue again. Evan Doughty looked concerned. He was not grieving over Sophia’s death but was worried about the future of his team.
After Shania had dropped the flowers in her hand, she walked up to Wood. She had traces of tears on her face as she had just cried. Of those people who came to the funeral, except for Wood and Twain, perhaps she had the closest relationship with Sophia. Although she was somewhat aware that Sophia once loved Twain, it was a thing of the past. She was genuinely saddened by Sophia’s death and worried about how Wood was going to cope with his life in the future – she knew what kind of person Wood was.
Wood was older than she was by a few years, and she always saw him as her good friend.
Walking up to Wood, Shania did not just say a few meaningless words of “my deepest condolences to you” like everyone else. She hugged Wood and sobbed as she whispered in his ear. Wood kept his lips tightly pursed, trying to control his emotions, but his eyes gradually reddened as Shania whispered.
The hug was a long one. When Shania bowed her head and let go of Wood, it was Twain’s turn.
Since his own wife had embraced Wood, there was no need for Twain to hug him. He stood in front of Wood, awkwardly noticing his reddened eyes, and attempted to say something.
“Hey, George…”
Unexpectedly, Wood interrupted his words and asked instead with a hoarse voice, “Are you going to comfort me?”
Twain felt somewhat uncomfortable, knowing George had seen him through. He touched his nose and did not know how to go on.
“I’ve heard too many comforting words these few days. If you really want to help me, then take some action for my good.”
Take some action? Should he hug him like Shania did? Twain thought.
“I’ve already lost my mother. I don’t want to lose you too!” Wood’s voice choked with emotion. It was rare for him to lose self-control in front of everyone. However, the content of his words was even more surprising. “Once the funeral is over, you’re going back to America, right?”
Twain really did not expect Wood to say such things in this kind of situation. He looked at the three people behind Wood. Aaron Mitchell and Gareth Bale obviously did not imagine Wood would say these words. However, looking at their faces, he realized they were very interested in Wood’s words because they knew what that meant. Miss Vivian Miller was curious about the relationship between Twain and Wood too.
“You should start a new life of your own, George…”
Twain could only say that to avoid Wood’s question.
Wood did not want to say too much either. He shut his mouth and stopped talking.
Twain sensed that the atmosphere was a little awkward, and he could not say anything. He just patted Wood on the shoulder and turned to walk away.
A man at the back came up and said to Wood a low voice, “My deepest condolences to you…”
※※※
Twain asked Shania to take their daughter to the car first. He wanted one last moment with Sophia. Walking to the tombstone, he gazed at the words inscribed on it: “My true love.” People who were unaware might think it was George Wood’s wife who was laid to rest here…
Ah, Sophia, I really don’t know how to face your son. Can you help me out a little? So Twain thought.
The fine drizzle struck Twain’s umbrella and made a light drumming sound. The image of Sophia on the gravestone smiled and just looked at him.
Twain was silent when suddenly, he felt a person standing next to him. He looked down at the tips of the person’s shoes, which had some mud and grass bits stuck to it.
“I’m sorry. I did not mean to disturb you, Tony.” It was Evan Doughty’s voice.
“What’s the matter?” Actually, Twain could guess what it was about.
“I heard Mr. Woox say that if you come back, George won’t mention the matter of his retirement again. Is that right?”
Twain turned to look at Evan, who was standing next to him. The other man was looking at him intently, anticipating an answer.
“Yes, that was George’s suggestion.” Twain did not lie. It would not feel good to lie in front of Sophia.
“Can I extend the invitation to you again, Tony? Please come back to coach Nottingham Forest. If you’re still angry about the things I did to you four years ago, I’d like to sincerely apologize to you. I will agree to all your demands, as long as you return.”
Twain snorted. “So that you can sell the team at a good price?”
Evan shook his head and said, “I’ve decided not to sell the club.”
“Was this prompted by a sudden impulse?”
“No, I thought about it for a long time after I came to you that day. I can’t be the chairman of the club all my life. I’m turning sixty this year, Tony. You always say you’re an old man, but I’m ten years older than you. My eldest son is an avid football fan. He’s not like me. He has loved football since he was young and has always been interested in running a football club. When I just wanted to sell the Forest team for a good price, I never thought about him. I plan to leave the club for him to manage. He loves football and maybe he can do better than I. Not right away, of course. I want to stay a few more years and at least make up for the years I’ve wasted. Then I’ll retire with peace of mind. When the time comes, we can retire together. How about it?”
Twain looked into Evan’s eyes. Evan did not flinch, letting Twain look straight at him.
“I don’t want to lie in front of this remarkable mother. Tony, I’m tired of the topics unrelated to football at the chairman’s podium. I’m tired of people who just want to take advantage of me and leave. I’m tired of losing one game after another and I’m tired of the banners that hang in the stands, attacking me… When you were around, those things never happened. To be honest, I’m weary of these past four years. I implore you again, come back to coach Nottingham Forest. I can’t really get the team back on track on my own.”
The club chairman spoke humbly and bared his feelings in front of Twain. He no longer had the bossy and domineering demeanor he had when he broke off relations with Twain. In the pitter-patter of the drizzle, Evan Doughty, whose pant legs and shoes had been drenched by the rain, became pathetic and downhearted in front of him.
He noticed that on this day, Allan Adams was no longer by Evan Doughty’s side. It seemed that the friendship between the two of them was over.
“Let me think about it. It is no small matter,” Twain began to speak.
When Evan heard such an answer, his face betrayed a look of surprise. Twain had outright turned him down twice before.
“Don’t get too excited yet, Evan. If my wife doesn’t agree, I won’t go against her wishes.”
“Yes, I understand.” Evan hurriedly nodded for fear of making Twain unhappy.
Looking at the club chairman, who was no longer so impressive, Twain shook his head and turned to walk away.
※※※
After getting into the car, Twain did not start the engine immediately. He turned his head around and looked back at his daughter, Theresa, who was wearing a seat belt in the back seat, and again at Shania, who sat in the front passenger seat.
“You must be very tired when I’m not in L.A., having to work and take care of Theresa.”
“It’s okay. Theresa is very sensible. If I’m busy, she’ll play by herself. I took her to the film set and runway shows. She was very curious about everything there.”
Shania also looked back at the well-behaved Theresa.
“What did Evan Doughty talk to you about?” Shania, sitting in the car, also noticed Twain and Evan talking in front of the gravestone just now.
“He wants me to go back and coach Nottingham Forest again.” As Twain spoke, he also looked out for any change in his wife’s expression.
“Did you refuse?” Nothing could be discerned from Shania’s beautiful face.
“No… But I did not say yes either,” Twain admitted.
The corners of Shania’s lips suddenly curled upwards. Her smile had a teasing quality to it, which Twain was most familiar with. “I remember what George said to you just now,” she said. “There are so many people who want you to return.”
Hearing her somewhat jealous tone, Twain hurriedly said, “If you do not agree, I will turn them down. Then we’ll go back to America.”
“In that case, Sophia would be sad, wouldn’t she? Didn’t she entrust you with Wood?”
As her husband, Twain told his wife everything that happened during his time with Sophia. Therefore, Shania was aware of what Sophia said to Twain the last time.
Twain hesitated and said, “But I don’t want to upset you…”
Shania yawned and said, “I’m suddenly tired of Grandpa Tony who has nothing to do but take care of his kid at home. If you want to, just say yes. We’re going home now. I’ve got to get some sleep. I haven’t adjusted to the jet lag since flying back from America.”
Instead of obediently starting the car, Twain turned back and said to Theresa, “Theresa, will you close your eyes?”
Theresa was not sure why, but she closed her eyes obediently.
Shania was equally confused. Then Twain suddenly pulled her into an embrace and gave her a deep kiss.
“Wow – oh…”
※※※
Even when Bale and Mitchell said goodbye to Wood, Vivian remained standing behind him.
“Aren’t you heading back, Miss Miller?”
“I’m a little worried about you, Mr. Wood…” Vivian said softly. “You’re not in a good state of mind…”
“We’re not in the hospital,” Wood said unceremoniously. He was a little impatient. The nurse was right, however. He really was not in a good state of mind.
“This is not about work. I can sense that you’ve been struggling emotionally these days, and I’m worried about you…”
“I’m not a child anymore!” Wood roared.
“Even though you are older than me, Mr. Wood, you are completely immature in my eyes. You’re a child who has not grown up!” Vivian also raised her voice a little bit and retorted, undeterred.
Wood turned to look at the young woman, who tilted her chin and glared at him. It was like when he was going to break in at the door of the ward that day, and she had refused to back down.
“You need a rest, Mr. Wood!” Vivian did not budge at all.
“I did not ask you to be my nurse.”
“I speak just out of… concern as a friend.”
“Are we friends?” Wood asked in return.
“I think so,” Vivian stood straighter and spoke with courage.
In the face of the nurse who had diligently cared for his mother, no matter how difficult it was, how tired she had been and how many sleepless nights she endured without a word of complaint, George Wood was really unable to speak viciously or make a move to drive her away. He knew how to be grateful. Otherwise, he would not have followed Twain all this time.
Helplessly, Wood just sighed and turned around to stand in place, looking at his mother’s picture on the gravestone. He did not speak further.
Behind him, Vivian was equally stubborn and stood with him. The two were engaged in a wordless battle of endurance and determination.
※※※
“Want to know what I said in George’s ear when I hugged him?” said Shania, who leaned against the front passenger’s seat in the car on their way home.
“What did you say?” Twain was really interested because she had actually made Wood’s eyes redden with a few words. Twain himself did not have that kind of power.
“I just sang a few phrases of a song and said a few words,” Shania hummed gently.
“Hey, George, don’t make it bad… And anytime you feel the pain. Hey, George, refrain. Don’t carry the world upon your shoulders. For well you know that it’s a fool who plays it cool. Life will always have its downs… Hey, George, don’t make me sad. If you find someone you love, now go and love her… Hey, George, time really flies, don’t delay any longer. Don’t always expect to rely on others, you know? You can do it… do it your own way… Hey, George, don’t be so sad. Take a sad song and make it better. Remember to love her forever and start a new life… To be better, to be happier…”
It was Beatles’ “Hey Jude”, where Shania replaced “Jude” with “George”. The meaning it conveyed was, in her eyes, a perfect fit for the occasion.
After she finished humming, Shania gently swept aside a strand of hair that covered her forehead. “Then I said to him, ‘This is what your mother would want you to hear, and she wants your future to be better and happier. Don’t let her down, George.’”
...
Chapter 994: He Is Back
Twain flipped through his phone book at home. There were very few numbers written in it because he did not have many friends. He did, however, have many foes who wanted him dead.
He has yet to give Evan Doughty a reply, but that was something he could do later. After all, it was not like Evan Doughty could ever refuse his return to the club.
There were other things he needed to do before that. For example, he needed to find an assistant he could work with. Twain has always worked with a talented assistant for the past 15 years of his managerial career, and it has become a norm for him. A good assistant could save him a lot of time and energy. Twain was never the kind of manager who would do everything by himself. There were numerous times when he would step back from the players’ training, and this is where his assistant would come in.
Des Walker won the World Cup with Twain during his stint as his assistant manager in the England national football team. As a result, his net worth as a manager skyrocketed. Walker also chose to leave the England team after Twain left, but unlike Twain, he did not retire. Instead, he was appointed as the manager of Leeds United, who were intent on making their way back to the top.
Dunn was still working as the manager of Notts County. His team has made remarkable progress as a whole after playing in the Championship for two seasons. They barely survived relegation in their first season, but they were now one of the top 10 teams in their second season. However, Twain could not possibly get Dunn as his assistant manager once again. It would be a waste of talent.
Twain focused his attention on the name ‘David Kerslake’.
Kerslake has not been able to achieve any notable results after he left Forest. He was appointed as the manager of Bolton Wanderers for half a season before being sacked due to poor results. Thereafter, he worked for numerous Championship teams and even coached a team overseas. However, he was never able to replicate the results that he achieved at Forest. Not every manager would be able to achieve the results that he had at his previous club after switching to a different one. Adaptability was an important skill for football managers. Evidently, Kerslake was not as good as Des Walker and Dunn when it came to adapting to a different environment and team.
According to Twain’s knowledge, Kerslake would be unemployed and spending most of his time at home now. Twain remembered the wonderful days when the two of them worked together. It would be a complete waste for someone as talented as Kerslake to be idling about at home. Hence, he dialed Kerslake’s number and hoped that the latter has not changed it in the past four years.
※※※
Kerslake felt like he was caught in an awkward situation. He was never able to achieve good results as a manager again, and his most prominent result to date came during his stint as the caretaker manager of Forest. He did not feel happy working as a manager, but he could not bring himself to become an assistant manager either. Kerslake still believed that he would be able to achieve some kind of notable result as a manager someday. All he needed was one good opportunity. Wouldn’t it be humiliating if he took on the role of an assistant manager once again? Who would be willing to eat McDonald’s and Kentucky when they have gotten used to French cuisine?
Now he spent most of his time idling about at home with his wife and kids. Fortunately for him, he had saved quite a bit of money working as a manager. He also managed to earn quite a hefty amount of prize money by working under Twain. However, his savings have become depleted over the years, and there was not a lot of money left. It was becoming increasingly difficult to support a family of four, and he was considering getting a job once again. A few clubs had offered him work. Three of them wished to appoint him as their manager, but they were all teams in lower division leagues, and their offers were not very attractive. He also received an invitation from a Premier League club to work as an assistant manager. It seemed like most people in the football world knew that he has achieved much better results as an assistant manager than a manager…
Kerslake was not like Twain. He might be 54 years old this year, but he had no thoughts of retirement.
Just as Kerslake was pondering about which club’s offer he should accept, he received a call from Twain.
“Great! You didn’t change your number, David!” Twain’s voice sounded very happy over the phone.
“Tony?” Kerslake was a little surprised – why would Twain call him?
“Are you still in Nottingham? Can I meet you for a cup of coffee or something?” Twain asked.
“Uh, no. I’m in London now.”
“You moved?” Twain was a little taken aback.
“Of course. I moved after I left Forest.”
“That’s not good…” Twain mumbled.
“Why did you call me, Tony?”
“Okay, it’s like this.” Twain thought about what he should say for a moment. “Are you interested in becoming an assistant manager once again, David?”
“Assistant manager?” Kerslake thought that Twain was acting as a go-between and that he had only called on behalf of someone else. He guessed that Nottingham Forest could be that ‘someone else’ because he heard that Freddy was struggling at Forest and was in desperate need of an assistant. However, becoming the assistant manager to Freddy was a little…”No, Tony. I don’t want to be an assistant manager anymore.”
“That’s a shame…” Twain was disappointed with Kerslake’s response, and he muttered to himself, “Looks like I have to find someone else to be my partner…”
Those last few words from Twain were very soft. It was clear that he was mumbling to himself. Twain must have forgotten to hang up the phone before complaining about the situation.
Kerslake was astonished after hearing what Twain had uttered.
A moment later, he heard Twain say in a disappointed voice, “Really sorry to have bothered you, David. I know you have turned me down, but I still hope we can have a drink together when I head over to London.”
Kerslake snapped out of his reverie right as Twain was about to hang up. He frantically shouted, “Wait! Wait, Tony! Wait…”
“Hmm? Is there something else that you want to talk about, David?”
Twain’s focus was no longer on Kerslake. He could understand why the latter had rejected his invitation. Kerslake has gotten used to working as a manager, and it would not be easy for him to go back to being an assistant manager now. Take Carlos Queiroz for example. He failed as the manager of Real Madrid, but he would not be willing to become an assistant manager of Manchester United again unless he was working under a legendary manager such as Alex Ferguson. Twain did not bear a grudge against Kerslake for turning him down. After all, men should always strive to achieve greater heights…
Twain was flipping through his phone book at the moment. He hoped to find another suitable candidate to become his assistant manager.
“Who do you want me to work with as the assistant manager?” asked Kerslake. He thought he already knew, but he just wanted to make sure.
“Who else? Me, of course!” Twain replied.
“Didn’t you retire? Wait…” Kerslake’s mind suddenly snapped into action. “There’s a rumor going around that you would take over at Nottingham Forest once more?”
“It’s not a rumor anymore, David,” Twain laughed.
Kerslake jumped from his chair. “Are you really going to take charge at Nottingham Forest once again?”
“Today’s not April Fools’, David.”
“So you are asking me to be your assistant manager?”
“Yes. You already asked that earlier.”
“I’ll do it!” Kerslake did not hesitate in giving his response this time around, and his sudden change in attitude surprised Twain.
“Didn’t you say you didn’t want to be an assistant manager just now, David?”
“I choose who I want to work under. Ha!” Kerslake felt a lot better suddenly. All the worries that he had regarding his future just a while ago were all gone. “I would never refuse to be your assistant manager! You might think I’m exaggerating when I say this, but no other manager is good enough to have me as his assistant manager!”
Twain felt embarrassed after hearing Kerslake’s praise, and he rubbed his nose in response. That had to be one of the biggest compliments he had ever gotten in his life…
“When do we start work? Thank goodness that my house in Nottingham has not been sold yet. I can just get it back from my real estate agent…” Kerslake was thrilled at the thought that he was going to work with Twain at Nottingham Forest once again.
However, Twain rained on his parade. “Hey, David. Don’t get too fired up just yet. I don’t intend to work at Forest for long.”
“Huh?”
“As you know, Forest is in a very bad state currently. Freddy lacks experience and prestige as a manager, and he would not be able to lead Forest out of their predicament. Thus, Evan Doughty contacted me, and he hopes that I would be able to lead the team out of this mess. I definitely do not want Forest to become the laughingstock of others, but you know how my health is. I definitely would not be able to stay at the helm for long. I’m only thinking of managing the team till the end of the season…”
“So you’d only manage the team for half a season?” Kerslake was a little surprised.
“Yeah. I’m just there to salvage the situation. I’m not there to create another dynasty or something.”
“Is that so?” Kerslake found it to be a shame. However, what Twain said was true. His health was not what it once was. The fact that he was willing to come out of retirement to salvage the situation showed his deep affection for the club.
“Well, it doesn’t matter. I’m still going to be your assistant manager, and I’ll work till you retire.” Kerslake was determined to work for Twain. The most glorious days of his managerial career were during those ten years when he worked as Twain’s assistant manager. He was content with managing Forest alongside Twain once again, and he was not going to think about anything that would happen in the future for now.
Twain wanted to shout, “What a great friend you are!” after hearing Kerslake’s words, but he decided against it. All he said, in the end, was, “Thank you, David. I don’t have anything to fret about if I have you as my assistant manager.”
“Heh heh. Of course. We work flawlessly together!” Kerslake was in a good mood and began joking with Twain.
Kerslake remained sitting in his chair after ending his phone call with Twain. Memories of the time he spent working with Twain welled up in his mind, and they filled him with anticipation. He could not help but look forward to the remaining half of the season.
Tony is back! I can’t wait to see how our rivals react to that!
※※※
A change in personnel in the Nottingham Forest’s board occurred during the period of time when Twain had yet to give Evan a call to tell him about his decision, and it caught the attention of numerous outsiders.
The club’s marketing manager, Allan Adams, who was also the person responsible for negotiating with the Bin Zayed Group regarding the takeover of Nottingham Forest, turned in his letter of resignation, and his request to resign was approved by the Chairman, Evan Doughty.
That was how the media had reported it, but everyone close to Nottingham Forest knew that Allan Adams had not resigned on his own accord. Evan Doughty had fired him. Doughty’s action surprised many. They did not think that Doughty would fire the very person who has been working on the sale of the club all this while, especially given how Doughty was dead set on selling Nottingham Forest. The Bin Zayed Group had renewed its interest in purchasing the club two days ago after going quiet for two weeks, but now the man who has been negotiating with them regarding the sale of the club was gone…
Everyone found Evan Doughty’s action to be odd. No one knew what was on his mind.
The only person who could know was Twain. Doughty knew that he did not get along with Allan Adams, and he had fired Allan as a way of telling Twain that no one in the club would get in his way when he returned…
It was something like a proof of allegiance from Doughty. However, Twain did not care if Allan was still at Forest or not.
“I’d only be managing Forest till the end of this season, Evan,” Twain told Evan Doughty over the phone.
There was silence on the other end. Doughty had clearly not expected Twain to only come out of retirement for such a brief period.
“I’ve never thought of managing Forest for the rest of my life, just like you’ve never thought of being the Chairman of Forest for the rest of your life. The reason why I’ve decided to come back and manage Forest is not because of you, Evan. I just don’t want the team that I’ve managed for so many years to become a laughingstock for others. Did you see the comments in the tabloids regarding Forest? We have become a joke to them.” Twain then went on to explain his plan to Doughty, “I’d manage the team for the rest of the season, then I’d help to find a suitable successor for you. After that, I’d retire once again and continue to spend time with my wife and kid at home. What do you think? I think this is a pretty good plan.”
How could Doughty possibly say ‘I don’t think this plan is good’? He was the one who begged Twain to come back, not the other way round. Twain made use of this advantage and listed all his conditions to Doughty. If Doughty accepted his conditions, they would work together for the second time in their lives. If he rejected, then they would part ways. However, Twain was not in the least worried that Doughty would reject his terms…
Just as Twain had expected, Doughty agreed to Twain’s stipulations. He figured that there were still six months till the end of the season, and there was a chance that Twain would change his mind in that period of time. Perhaps Twain would regain his passion for managing a football team after returning to the club, and he would then refuse to leave when the time was up! In any case, there was still time for Doughty to think about his next course of action. He was confident that he would be able to persuade Twain to stay at the club after the season ended.
Twain did not care about what was on Doughty’s mind. He was an obstinate person just like George Wood. No one would be able to persuade him otherwise once he has made up his mind. He was the only one who could change his own mind.
Now that Twain has decided to return to Forest, the next question would be: when?
Doughty hoped that Twain would return as soon as possible, but Twain was in no hurry because there were still several issues that he needed to settle before that. He has to deal with those issues now that he had time on his hands. He would definitely be too busy to settle them once he became the manager.
It was not a problem to delay Twain’s return for a while since Eastwood should still be able to manage the team for a while longer. The results that Forest would achieve before Twain’s return did not matter to Evan Doughty. All he cared about was the fact that Twain was coming back.
However, Doughty had a request. He wanted to release news of Twain’s return to the public as soon as possible to instill confidence in the fans and the sponsors. Twain did not object to Doughty’s request.
The next day, on November 12, the Nottingham Forest’s official website changed its homepage design. Every single netizen who frequented the website would find a huge advertisement poster when they landed on the homepage.
The poster’s background featured a large photo of Twain, and the following words were written on it:
‘That’s right, the king has returned!’
※※※
A few hours after the poster was put up on Nottingham Forest’s website, the news channels also began reporting the interesting piece of news. “…I have a piece of bad news to share with the managers of the other 19 Premier League teams,” the announcer said with a smile that seemed a little teasing to some. “Tony Twain is back!”
※※※
The news of Twain’s return to Nottingham Forest sent shock waves throughout the whole of England’s footballing scene. However, the man who had set it all off was no longer in England by then. He was on a journey to Spain alone.
...
Chapter 995 - Mr. Xia
“Is it true? Has the boss really decided to come back?”
Before the start of training, the players gathered in groups of three or four to chat while they waited for the manager on the training ground. The topic was naturally the news that had just been announced yesterday – Tony Twain would return to coach Nottingham Forest.
Joe Mattock looked at Bale eagerly, hoping to get confirmation straight from his mouth.
“Isn’t it all written clearly on the official website? It was even reported on the news,” Bale said with a shrug, but he could not suppress the smile on his face. “This time it’s true!”
“Ha! I knew the boss wouldn’t stand by and do nothing! Now that the team’s results are so poor, who can turn things around? Only Tony Twain!” Mattock danced and gesticulated with joy.
“Shh! Lower your voice!” The defender Nkoulou hurriedly put his index finger to his lips and signaled for them to tone it down. “Don’t let Freddy hear it!”
“Don’t worry. I think Freddy will be the happiest, knowing that the boss is coming back,” Mattock said, shaking his head.
As his teammates were discussing this intensely, Mitchell put his hand on Wood’s shoulder and said to him with a smile, “Are you relieved, George? The boss is finally back.”
“There’s little over half a season left,” Wood replied expressionlessly.
“Don’t be too demanding, George. I’m content that he is able to return for however long. Look at the guys! I think even if we meet Manchester United again in the next game, we can win, even if it is an away game.”
While many people were happy with Twain’s return, some people took exception to it, like the Italian player, Balotelli. Now he could not be bothered to focus his attention on the return of a former manager. His agent told him that a transfer in the winter was not a good move. If he could put it off until the summer, he would be able to fight for more in terms of the package. Now Balotelli’s mind was full of thoughts on the transfer away from the Forest team. He did not care what the team’s next results would be. He was already 28 years old and did not have enough prime years to spend on such a team.
With the news of Twain’s imminent return announced, the team was clearly divided into two factions. One of which was naturally Twain’s original players, waiting with joy for his return. The other group was those players who had nothing to do with Twain. They had come to the Forest team one by one in the last few seasons. They did not know how the new manager would treat them. Would they still be able to guarantee their current main positions and continue as the main players in the future? Would the fate of the formerly fringe players in the team change? These questions lingered in their minds and caused them to feel ill at ease. Some people even informed their agents in advance that if the new manager did not cooperate with them, they should leave without delay.
Before Twain had officially become the Forest team’s manager, there was already an undercurrent of turbulence within the team. Without knowing all these things, had Twain, who was far away in Spain, considered it?
※※※
The sun shone much brighter in Spain than in Britain. The damp salty sea breeze felt soothing on the face as it blew. Twain sat in an open-air cafe with a cup of coffee in front of him. A view of the beach stretched into the horizon. Although today was not a weekend or a holiday, plenty of visitors could still be seen on the beach. The wind made the waves roll, and the crashing sounds drowned out the playful beach activities.
However, he was not in a relaxed frame of mind that would allow him to play in the water. He was not here in Barcelona, Spain, on vacation this time. At present, he was waiting for someone.
The terms ‘flush with success’ and ‘smug’ were just about right to describe the football agent, Xia Yang, of today. Four years ago, he was just a moderately well-known agent in China, making a living by introducing young players to Eastern European and South American clubs. He might seem to know the European clubs very well as portrayed in the Chinese media, but in fact, those relationships were only obtained through his groveling and shameless pestering. The big shot agents could directly make calls to the clubs’ managers and chairmen. Whereas he had to make an appointment in advance to meet with an Eerste Divisie team’s manager to see if the other party had the time, or whether they were in the mood … If he had not been thick-skinned, he could hardly make it in this line of work.
However, things were different now. Although he was not a big shot like Mendes in Europe, he did not need to beg, borrow, and steal to promote his own players either. He would receive many calls from European clubs every year, hoping that he could recommend cheap and good quality East Asian players, or help pull strings and establish connections to build cooperation with China. He had also become a well-known top-notch agent. He no longer limited his scope to introducing young Chinese players to the moneyless Eastern Europe and South America clubs. He even started a sports industry development company, introducing some foreign clubs interested in the Chinese market to play commercial games in China, from which he took a cut and made a lot of money.
All these changes should be credited to the young man he took an interest in at the time.
When Chen Jian was recalled to England for the second time by the Forest team and given a place in the youth team, there was no media coverage of the matter in China. However, Xia Yang used the channels he had from his long-term connections in European football to hear about the news. The professional agent’s keen perception made him think that this might be an opportunity – in fact, he was not interested in Chen Jian’s future at the time, but in establishing a relationship with Europe’s then most powerful club, Nottingham Forest, through Chen Jian. Long-term cooperation in the future would not be an extravagant hope. It was like Mendes gave Pepe to Twain for cheap.
During Chen Jian’s years at the Forest team, his relationship with the team did not progress as well as he had imagined. Although the Chinese media hype made him a little famous due to his connection with Chen Jian and the Forest team, Chen Jian’s prospects and his own aspirations all came to nothing when Tony Twain spectacularly announced his resignation after winning the Treble. Without a choice, he accepted Chen Jian’s suggestion and did not talk to Nottingham Forest about renewing his contract. Instead, he let the Forest team put him on loan once again, while they slowly looked for the right team to take over. As the player under him and, moreover, the player who once brought him some fame, Xia Yang had really hoped that Chen Jian could have a good team to belong to. In the end, the Forest team found him a team in Eredivisie and loaned him out again.
No one thought that Chen Jian, whom no one was optimistic about, would actually forge a path in Eredivisie. At the end of the first season, Xia Yang received numerous transfer offers from clubs in different national leagues. This included a fax from RCD Espanyol in Spain’s La Liga.
Through making contacts and communication, Xia Yang was even more surprised to find that RCD Espanyol’s intention to buy Chen Jian was definitely not a whim. When Chen Jian was still playing for FC Volendam, their football scouts had already noticed him. After watching him for three seasons, they finally decided to make a move. At that time, Chen Jian contract with Nottingham Forest had also expired. The Forest team did not intend to continue to provide a contract for the worthless Chinese player. If they were to transfer Chen Jian at this time, they would not have to spend a single cent on the transfer fee, which was a very attractive condition. Xia Yang also took the opportunity to play up the cheap deal and said that Chen Jian was a “bargain” and an investment with lots of upsides and absolutely no risk.
At that time, the Eredivisie team, which had loaned Chen Jian, also wanted to sign him. However, after Xia Yang and Chen Jian discussed this, they felt it was time to go to a bigger stage. In this way, Chen Jian joined RCD Espanyol, which ranked mid-stream in La Liga then.
García González, RCD Espanyol’s football director at the time, described Chen Jian as “a younger George Wood.” He believed that Chen Jian’s dogged fighting spirit and clear-mindedness shown in the midfield were exactly what the team needed.
For a Chinese player to make his mark in European football, it was far from enough to rely on his own strength. He also needed luck and opportunities. Chen Jian had pretty good chances. Nottingham Forest was first interested in him and then the RCD Espanyol football director thought highly of him. Without those opportunities, even if he had the ability, perhaps he would have continued to play in the lower-level leagues.
Chen Jian has gradually shown his ability in RCD Espanyol after going through about half a season of adaptation. He managed the defense and offense in the midfield in a smooth and orderly manner. He gradually established himself in the main starting position in the La Liga team.
For a Chinese player, to be able to play in a team in one of the four big leagues was a remarkable achievement. Even those players who only occasionally played as substitutes in the lower level leagues would receive lengthy coverage and sustained interest from the Chinese media. This was doubly so for Chen Jian, who was trusted and liked by his teammates, coaches, and fans based on his own strength, rather than playing in a mid-stream team in La Liga sponsored by Chinese companies.
In fact, the Chinese fans were very self-aware. They did not expect Chen Jian to become a world-class star player. It was enough as long as he could secure a main position in a team.
During the weekly broadcast of La Liga games, RCD Espanyol received more attention than the traditional La Liga powerhouse teams such as Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Although he initially wanted to start his professional football career at Nottingham Forest, Chen Jian did not expect to fulfill his dream with RCD Espanyol in the end.
Now, his five-year contract would expire in a season and a half. However, Xia Yang was in no hurry to negotiate another contract with RCD Espanyol.
These four seasons had not only enhanced Chen Jian’s reputation and strength but also expanded Xia Yang’s horizons. In any case, RCD Espanyol could not even guarantee to participate in the UEFA Europa League (formerly the UEFA Cup) every season. Xia Yang currently deemed the team’s level to be not high enough. Chen Jian was 28 years old this year, which was the golden age of a professional footballer. He did not want his ace player to spend his last playing years in such a team. If there were better options, why should he not leave?
Therefore, starting a season ago, Xia Yang has asked for sky-high prices in the negotiations with RCD Espanyol. He not only asked for Chen Jian to get the highest level of wages in the team but also demanded a huge signing fee. RCD Espanyol was only a small team and could not meet Xia Yang’s demands, so the two sides were in a deadlock. It dragged on until this summer and still remained unresolved. RCD Espanyol now seemed to have figured out that the Chinese player obviously wanted to play in a higher-level team. Originally, selling players that other clubs were interested in to make money was the way for clubs like RCD Espanyol to survive. Even though Chen Jian was the core of the team’s midfield, if there was a club that could offer the right price, he was definitely not an indispensable player.
RCD Espanyol simply did not continue the negotiations with Xia Yang about renewing the contract. They just waited for other clubs to make an offer. Of course, outwardly, they were still going to announce that “we’re trying our best to keep Chen”, “Chen Jian certainly wants to stay with RCD Espanyol, but he needs a contract that corresponds with his contributions” and so on…
Xia Yang was not worried about wasting efforts and having all his hopes and plans come to nothing. Chen Jian’s performance in RCD Espanyol’s three seasons spoke for itself. Many European teams had privately contacted him before, so he was aware that Chen Jian still had a lot of potential to unearth.
Seeing that the winter transfer window was about to open, he had recently received calls from several clubs. Among them were teams from the Premier League, but also from Serie A. Of course, most were from La Liga teams. After all, they had to play against RCD Espanyol twice a season and were most familiar with Chen Jian’s level. Now Xia Yang simply looked down on those low-level league teams, expressing interest. He basically would not consider any teams other than those in the three major leagues. Even if they were France Ligue 1 and Bundesliga teams, he was not interested.
Just as Xia Yang was waiting for a good offer on Chen Jian, he and Chen Jian received a phone call from a long-lost person.
The call was made to Chen Jian, and when he heard the greeting in Mandarin spoken with a British country accent on the phone, Chen Jian immediately knew who the caller was.
Tony Twain called him as the Nottingham Forest manager and Chen Jian suddenly recalled the four years that had lain dormant in his mind. With the departure of Twain, he had originally thought that he would never have a chance to cross paths with that red team again in his life. Unexpectedly, fate declared otherwise. Tony Twain was actually back in his old position!
Hence, the meeting between Xia Yang and Twain took place…
※※※
“I’m really sorry to have kept you waiting, Mr. Twain. There was a traffic jam on the road…” Xia Yang, dressed in an Armani casual suit, shrugged apologetically in front of Twain. In fact, he was deliberately late. There was no traffic jam. Today was not the weekend and the appointed time was not during rush hour. He drove on the highway like a snail, just so that he would be late to let Twain wait. In the beginning, it was tough for him to get to meet with this man, as the other party simply did not care for him. He had to grovel for it to happen. Now things were not the same. I’m not the one begging you now, he thought. You have come to beg me, Mr. Twain! How can I get back my lost self-respect without putting on some airs? I’m sure you won’t mind, will you?
Sure enough, Twain just smiled and shook his head as he said, “It doesn’t matter. The scenery here is beautiful. I was enjoying it.”
“I haven’t seen you for so many years. I did not expect Mr. Twain to still speak Mandarin so fluently, ha!” Xia Yang’s tone made people think that he and Twain must be old friends. Xia Yang deliberately affected it. In any case, Twain was also a well-known European manager who just led the England team to win the grand slam of the national teams. If he were friends with him, would his status not be elevated as well?
Twain did not mind the Chinese agent’s deliberate friendliness.
“Let’s get straight to the point, Mr. Xia. How did Chen Jian react to the Forest team’s invitation?” Twain directly asked.
“Well…” When it came to the main topic, Xia Yang hesitated. “You know, Mr. Twain. Chen Jian is currently happy with RCD Espanyol. He’s the core player and has a good relationship with his teammates and coaches. The fans also adore him and want him to continue playing for RCD Espanyol… You know, just this summer, we even turned down Kaiserslautern’s invitation…”
Twain sneered in his heart. Who did not know that Xia Yang wanted Chen Jian to leave RCD Espanyol, which did not have much of a future? What was the reason that caused the renewal negotiations not to go well? Wasn’t it due to the man in front of him asking for a sky-high price? RCD Espanyol simply could not satisfy the conditions put forth by him. He basically did not want to let Chen Jian stay here. However, he still said, “Chen Jian is currently happy with RCD Espanyol”… This kind of bullsh*t could fool maybe a three-year-old child, but not Tony Twain.
“Kaiserslautern is only a team that had just returned to the Bundesliga last season and could barely manage to keep its place. It’s understandable that you are not interested in them,” Twain mocked Xia Yang without batting an eyelid to remind him that he was not an idiot and would not be imposed on.
How could Xia Yang not understand the meaning behind Twain’s words? He felt a little embarrassed at the moment, but fortunately, he was thick-skinned, and a smile immediately showed on his face. “Of course, of course. As Chen Jian’s agent, I also hope he can have a better stage… He’s only 28 years old, it is time to accomplish great things… I want him to go to a team that can steadily play in European tournaments every year, whether it’s the UEFA Champions League, the Europa League or whatever… Chen Jian himself also feels this way.”
The agent became well versed through years of struggle and hardships. If Twain mocked him, he would mock Nottingham Forest’s current situation, for they might not even be able to play in next season’s Europa League…
Twain re-examined the agent in front of him. His manners had undergone a huge transformation as compared to four years ago. The most important thing was that he was more confident. He found that Mr. Xia was more difficult to deal with than formerly… The agent of four years ago would simply have no courage to speak in front of him. Now he stood his ground.
Nottingham Forest was currently in the 16th spot in the league tournament, one step away from the relegation zone. It would indeed be difficult for them to participate in any European tournament next season.
Obviously, the agent had thrown out one of the conditions that were most attractive to them – to qualify for next season’s European championships. If you want Chen Jian to join Nottingham Forest, then you have to lead the team back to Europe, Mr. Twain!
...
Chapter 996 - I’m Going to the Forest
”… You should know that now he is only 28 years old, which is a very promising age… I hope he can join a team that allows him to participate in UEFA matches continuously every year, whether it is the Champions League or the Europa League… Chen Jian himself also thinks like this.”
Xia Yang, as Chen Jian’s agent, told Dunn a message through these words: If he wants Chen Jian transferred to the Nottingham Forest F.C., please get the qualification to participate in European matches.
What he had in his mind was to let Chen Jian transfer and leave in summer, as then they would have ample time and there would be more teams on the transfer market which were interested in Chen Jian. It would give him more leeway in seeking the best interests for both himself and Chen Jian.
Certainly, he didn’t know the fact that Dunn would only serve Nottingham Forest F.C. for a half-season. After the end of this season, he would leave the position as the team’s manager. It would be useless to introduce Chen Jian then. New talents and fresh blood were now needed for this team. Chen Jian was an eligible and reliable midfielder who could partner with Wood, and he was also a utility player in the midfield and backfield. He could handle different situations, and such a player was rare.
Dunn would not wait until the summer transfer window to talk to the RCD Espanyol about Chen Jian’s transfer. He wanted to get Chen Jian in this winter.
“I want to see Chen Jian wearing the red jersey of Nottingham Forest F.C. this season, Mr. Xia.”
“This season?” Xia Yang was greatly surprised. He really didn’t expect it, and then he began to think… Since Nottingham Forest F.C. is in such a hurry, can I take the opportunity to fleece it? For example, playing for time, forcing the club to pay a higher commission…
It seemed that Dunn had seen through Xia Yang’s wishful thinking at this time. “Cut to the chase, Mr. Xia. Chen Jian is the player I need. If you can assist me in putting pressure on the RCD Espanyol and cut the transfer fee, I will be willing to give you the money from the cut as your commission. ”
Dunn didn’t mind letting the agent earn some more. After all, he wasn’t the one who paid for Chen Jian’s purchase or the commission. Wouldn’t it be a pleasure for him to be generous and give a present for which he didn’t pay?
Xia Yang did not expect Dunn to speak out his mind and met his eye with a little smile of embarrassment.
Since the other party had made such a big promise, what else could he haggle over? Naturally, he meant to agree. However, Xia Yang was very cunning. It wasn’t like he would accept immediately. Who could know whether there would be a bigger fish than Nottingham Forest F.C. in the future?
He only said was that he could never make a decision as important as this alone, and he still needed to go back to ask about Chen Jian’s opinion and discuss it with him before he could reply to Dunn.
It was fair enough, and Dunn had no objections.
“I’ll stay in this place for a few days more, Mr. Xia Yang. I hope we can talk again before I leave Spain.”
Dunn shook hands with Xia Yang to bid farewell before leaving and reminded Xia Yang that he shouldn’t play for time.
Xia Yang, after getting into the car, looked down at his right hand, which Dunn had just shaken. Like before, that old man was a bit haughty, but anyhow he got the chance to shake hands with him. The famous world-class would actually one day come to beg at his door! Ah-ha-ha! Xia Yang, Xia Yang, you are someone now! Hmm… Should I be on my high horse and play for time? So the agent thought.
※※※
While Xia Yang was scheming against Dunn in an outdoor cafe at the seaside, Chen Jian was in the training camp of RCD Espanyol. In order to prepare for the Barcelona Derby in the next round, the team had put all other matters aside.
For a team like RCD Espanyol, winning the championships of La Liga and the Copa del Rey was basically hopeless. The goal of this team was to go on a rampage at the very beginning of a season. If it was in good shape and got lucky, they would start to yearn for UEFA matches. However, no matter which season and regardless of their strengths and luck, one thing would not change: the hatred of Barcelona, their enemy from the same city.
As long as they were still in La Liga, the two most important matches of each season must be the Barcelona Derby.
Chen Jian had served this team for more than three seasons and spent three years in this city. He had gotten used to this derby atmosphere long ago. He was sort of expecting such games. Playing in RCD Espanyol, honestly speaking, gave him very few chances to participate in high-level games, so the Barcelona Derby of twice a year was regarded as a Champions League Final.
Chen Jian didn’t hate Barcelona, but as a player of RCD Espanyol, he was obliged to dislike the Barcelona team when facing it. Thanks to his fierce action against Messi during the derby, which put the latter on the ground, and the following tit-for-tat against Dani Alves who took up the cudgels for Messi, he won the fondness of RCD Espanyol fans. He and Alves locked horns like bulls and kept on trash-talking, which almost resulted in a fight. That was when the RCD Espanyol fans really accepted him.
Actually, Chen Jian was not that violent, but in such a frenetic air, this brutal act was understandable, as the professional player stepped aside and a man’s passion inside was ignited…
Chen Jian was the lead in the training ground today, for some of the Chinese media was shooting from the sideline. It was a production unit from China Central Television, a team dedicated to producing a feature of Chen Jian in the derby. The club gave the green light, allowing them to take some pictures of the training from the sideline. It was a golden opportunity for this club to promote itself and project a powerful image to distant Chinese fans. How could they reject it?
Other players were allowed to go to the locker room to take a shower and change clothes, but not Chen Jian. He had to accept a few interviews from the Chinese media on the sideline to talk about his training for the Barcelona Derby this weekend.
Meanwhile, many fans came to him for autographs.
Off interviewing, the TV reporter joked with him: “Good for you, you have many fans.”
A reserved smiled appeared on his face, and he continued to give out his autographs to RCD Espanyol fans. He carefully signed the Chinese characters of “Chen Jian” on star player posters and postcards of him and handed them to fans. Some of the fans wanted to take pictures with him after they got the autographs, and he agreed in every instance.
It looked like he was a sort of a celebrity now.
Such a scene could never be fathomable when he just joined the Youth Team of Nottingham Forest F.C.
Chen Jian went back to the locker room after the interview, but almost all his teammates were gone. He took a shower, changed his clothes, and then headed for the parking lot, where his white Audi was waiting for him.
Today he lived in an independent condo and had a prestigious car, which was totally different from when he was in the low division league.
Who gave all this to him?
Was it the agent, Mr. Xia Yang?
Upon this thought, the cellphone in the pocket rang with an incoming call from his agent.
“Chen Jian, have you done with training?” Xia Yang asked.
“Yes, it’s over, Uncle Xia.”
“Have those journalists left too?”
“They have.”
“Well… I’ve met Dunn. We can’t discuss it on the phone, we should talk about it when we meet. ”
“OK, I’ll go home and wait for you.”
After they hung up, Chen Jian got into the car and fastened his seat belt to get ready to leave.
He skillfully backed his car out of the parking lot with the wheel in his hands, then headed to the gate of training camp. Back to the question again: Who brought all this to him?
In Chen Jian’s mind, it was the English man whom he had known for a long time.
※※※
“… That’s exactly what it is.” Mr. Xia repeated every detail of what he had talked about with Dunn during their meeting to Chen Jian. After he finished, he expressed his own idea: “It’s so weird. He was the one who totally ignored you at the beginning and didn’t give you any chances when you were at Nottingham Forest F.C., but now he wants you back. Now Nottingham Forest F.C. is having bad days, and it may not even avoid relegation. Hear me, Chen Jian. If I were you, I would stay in RCD Espanyol rather than go to Nottingham Forest F.C. At least you don’t have to worry about the possibility of playing for Segunda División next season.”
After Chen Jian heard Xia Yang’s words, he was silent for a while, and then he said, “It wasn’t that he didn’t give me chances; I just couldn’t accept his conditions…”
He was referring to how Dunn asked him to renounce his Chinese nationality and apply for British citizenship so that he could represent Nottingham Forest F.C. Of course, he couldn’t agree to that request. He never considered giving up being Chinese for playing football.
Chen Jian still remembered the call from Dunn at the airport, in which the man told him: since you want to be a professional player, why bother worrying about where you play?
This sentence changed his future. That was why Chen Jian, the No.10 in RCD Espanyol now, was doing very well.
“He wants to get you this winter transfer window, but I don’t think it’s the right time. The schedule is too tight and I can’t get you more advantages from it. Moreover, the future of Nottingham Forest F.C. is still much of an uncertainty. I suggest you wait until this season ends, then make your decision based on the performance of Nottingham Forest. In addition, more clubs will be interested in you at that time… ”
However, Chen Jian shook his head.
Xia Yang knew he had made his decision then.
“Uncle Xia, after the call from Mr. Dunn, I actually made up my mind…” He looked at the agent in front of him. “I’m going to Nottingham Forest F.C., and going this winter.”
“You’re out of your mind!” Xia Yang jumped off the sofa.
“I’m not out of my mind.”
“If it were 4-5 years ago, I’d try my very best to join Nottingham Forest F.C. Now things are different. The world has changed drastically! Nottingham Forest F.C. is actually worse off than RCD Espanyol! You are 28 years old, Chen Jian. It won’t be very long before you are past your prime years as a professional player. I hope you can take this opportunity to join a better team, to get a better stage and better performance. Basically, this is your last chance. When you’re over 30, it will be difficult for you to find favor in the eyes of the major teams!”
Xia Yang got more and more emotional as he continued to speak. He stood in front of Chen Jian, bent slightly, and made threatening gestures toward Chen Jian with saliva spraying all over. How could he avoid getting emotional like this? It wasn’t easy for him to gain some chips for bargaining with other European clubs, chips that came from Chen Jian’s rising fame. How could he let Dunn steal the fruits of his labor so easily?
No! Absolutely not!
When the agitated Xia Yang finished speaking, Chen Jian said in a very calm tone: “I won’t go to any club except Nottingham Forest, Uncle Xia.”
Xia Yang felt discouraged. He said all the right words, yet the boy didn’t hear any of them!
He stared at Chen Jian for a while, and Chen Jian looked at him as well.
Then, Xia Yang sat down on the sofa again and asked, “Why?”
“Remember my first aspiration, Uncle Xia?” Chen Jian asked in reply without answering directly.
Xia Yang kept silent for a while, pondering this question. Then he recollected it. “To actually play professional football. You have achieved it already. ”
“Yeah, I did. But,” Chen Jian laughed, “The full edition should be playing real professional football in Nottingham Forest F.C.”
“Damn it…” Xia Yang clutched his head. “Any other hidden agendas?”
“None.” Chen Jian shrugged. “I am going to realize my aspiration. Go back to Nottingham Forest F.C. to play.”
“I don’t understand.” As an agent, Xia Yang could not understand why Chen Jian made such a decision.
“Because Nottingham Forest F.C. gave me the chance to come to Europe.”
“So this is gratitude?”
“No, it’s affection… I have a sense of belonging, belonging to Nottingham Forest F.C. Anyway, I was trained in Nottingham Forest Youth Training Camp, Uncle Xia.” Chen Jian slightly raised his head and looked at the ceiling, lapsing into memories.
Those years in the Nottingham Forest Youth Training Camp; Manager Tang’s care and the strict requirements from Manager Greenwood; Manager Tony Twain, who was seemingly cold but personally approached him to ask if he wanted to bet his future on Nottingham Forest F.C.
Nottingham Forest was not simply another European team for him.
“Uncle Xia, do you know which team I support when I am just a fan?”
“Nottingham Forest?” Xia Yang joked even though he knew it wasn’t the answer.
“No, Barcelona.”
“Huh!” Xia Yang couldn’t resist laughing. He thought of the derby that would be held on this weekend and Chen Jian’s dazzling performance in the previous one…
“But my love for Barcelona is pure admiration. It’s different from my affection for Nottingham Forest. I want to play for it, I want to be part of the team. I got this in my mind when I was just the 3rd pick of the business draft for the trial training.”
Xia Yang pouted, indifferent to such feelings of Chen Jian. A professional player’s affection? Fewer and fewer people believed it nowadays.
“And one more reason, Uncle Xia.”
“What?”
“There used to be an ambition that I didn’t realize, but now I’ve got the chance to. I want to play soccer under Manager Twain or Manager Dunn.”
Tony Twain!
Xia Yang thought of that man.
“Are you sure? I think the reason why you want to play soccer under him is that at present there is a certain distance between you and him, and distance increases desirability. Once you become his player, things may no longer seem so attractive. ”
Chen Jian smiled without saying anything.
“I think you should think twice, Chen Jian…” Xia Yang was still trying.
“No need for that, Uncle Xia.” Chen Jian smiled and added, “Derby will start this weekend, and I don’t have the energy to think about it. So now I make the decision to transfer to Nottingham Forest in the winter fallow. I should talk to the club.”
Xia Yang was unhappy, among other reasons because he felt a little bit jealous. He had been with Chen Jian for many years and could be deemed as his most intimate confidante other than his parents. He didn’t expect that he was much less important than Tony Twain in Chen Jian’s mind, even though the latter had only seen Twain a few times.
However, what could he do? If the agent met a feeble player without his own views, he could control the player very tightly. Chen Jian was not the kind of person who was feeble and without his own views.
If he was infuriated, he could change his agent and it wouldn’t be a big deal… The fact was that there were many agents from both home and abroad who would love to replace him.
In the end, facing the cooperation between Dunn and Chen Jian, Xia Yan could only bow and concede. “Fine, Chen Jian… I hope you won’t regret the decision you’ve made today!”
Seeing he was a little reluctant, Chen Jian added, “After I achieve success, I’ll give you my share of the signing fee, Uncle Xia.”
Xia Yang didn’t expect such a resolve from Chen Jian. He was dumbfounded and shook his head hopelessly. “You are really ready to do it at any cost.”
“It’s my first aspiration. How can money be compared to it?”
Xia Yang went speechless after Chen Jian’s rhetorical question. (To be continued. If you want to follow the story, please visit www.qidian.com for more chapters. Please support the authors and legal reading!)
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Chapter 997 - The Barcelona Derby
Twain might have acted confident before Xia Yang earlier, but the truth was that he was on tenterhooks. Chen Jian did express his desire to play for Forest in the past, but it has been four years since then. Why would he return to Forest when he has been performing so well in Espanyol?
Twain had given Chen Jian a call previously, but it was hard to tell what Chen Jian really thought from his voice alone. What if he did not fancy a return to Nottingham Forest? What if he found Nottingham Forest to be not good enough for him? It was not impossible for him to think that way. After all, the current Nottingham Forest team was truly in a bad state.
Most people in England believed that Nottingham Forest’s goal for the season was to avoid relegation, but even that might be a challenge for them now. Something needed to change at the club soon, or else relegation might very well be in the cards. The possibility of George Wood’s retirement also loomed ominously above the club like a dark cloud, and many people at the club were left feeling restless as a result.
Not only that, very few players who have transferred to Forest over the past few seasons have performed well. In contrast, there were several players who went on to perform very well at other clubs after leaving Forest, and this has led many people to view Forest as a ‘black hole’ for footballers. How could a player be willing to go towards this black hole when everyone else was running away from it?
Another issue in this whole situation lay with Chen Jian’s calculating agent. Twain might have promised to offer him a higher bonus if Chen Jian signed for Forest, but he did not seem to intend to cooperate with Twain just yet. He was still trying to make sure that he got the most money out of the deal.
All these various conditions made it difficult for Twain to sign Chen Jian…
Any player with a brain would most likely not sign for Forest. However, Twain still decided to make a trip over to Spain because he wanted to try his luck. After all, he was a world-renowned manager. Perhaps his fame and influence could affect the final outcome?
Weren’t there many players who craved to play under Wenger? If that was the case, why couldn’t there also be players who craved to play under Twain?
And it was this thought that prompted Twain to travel to Spain alone.
A while later, he received a call from Xia Yang.
“Congratulations, Mr. Twain.” The voice on the other end did not sound reluctant. It seemed like this was a decision that Xia Yang concurred with from the bottom of his heart. “I have discussed the matter with Chen Jian, and we both think that joining Nottingham Forest would be a good idea. Chen Jian has always wanted to play for Forest, and I respect his decision. I’d definitely work to help both Forest and Espanyol reach an agreement over this deal.”
It did not matter if the agent truly meant what he said. His words had lifted a weight off Twain, and he finally heaved a sigh of relief. The next step would be for both clubs to negotiate a deal. Allan Adams had been fired, but there would definitely be other people at the club who would be able to work on transfers. In addition, Evan Doughty would definitely step in and help to close the deal when necessary. After all, he was the person begging Twain to come back now. He would definitely satisfy Twain’s every demand, and Twain was going to take full advantage of that.
Now that Chen Jian’s issue has been settled, Twain could finally sit back and enjoy the Barcelona derby.
※※※
The day before the match, Chen Jian received a call from his manager, Xia Yang, who told him that he had already reached an agreement with Twain with regards to the transfer and that all that was left to do was to speak with Espanyol after the Barcelona derby was over.
Chen Jian heaved a long sigh of relief after hearing his agent’s words. He could finally focus all his attention on the upcoming match now.
“Hey, Chen. You’d definitely be tightly marked by the Barcelona’s midfield in the match tomorrow. Our attack and defense would both be in jeopardy if you were kept out of the match since you are the core of our team. What do you intend to do about it?” Chen Jian’s teammate, Gavrilovič, asked him about his plans for the upcoming match during their idle chat before the team’s tactical meeting.
The Serbian center-back’s question piqued the interest of the other Espanyol players in the room, and they all crowded around to hear what Chen Jian had to say. In truth, this was actually a kind of game for the Espanyol players. They all knew that Chen Jian was a player with a clear mind, and he also seemed to possess a naturally keen insight into matters related to football. The Espanyol players enjoyed getting Chen Jian to speak about what he would do if a particular situation arose in a match. They would then keep his comments in mind and compare them with the manager’s tactics or how the match actually unfolded to see if he was correct.
Of course, they would also place small bets among themselves as to whether Chen Jian was right or not, and the loser had to pay a bit of money or treat the others to a meal.
Chen Jian won the bets most of the time, and it was to be expected. After all, how could a Chinese player like him ever become the core of a Spanish football team if he did not have the brains? It went without saying that he had only earned his position in the team by winning over his teammates and the manager with his performance. Talent was everything here. One would be respected if he had talent. Chen Jian’s intelligence was what helped him gain the trust of his teammates.
“If they mark me tightly, I’d just retreat backward,” Chen Jian smiled. “I’d move from a midfielder’s position to a defensive midfielder’s position. Barcelona’s defensive midfielder can’t possibly rush all the way to the front of our penalty box just to mark me, right?”
“But they can just get someone else to mark you, right? Maybe their forward or their attacking midfielder.” The person who asked this question was another of Chen Jian’s teammates. He was an Israeli defender by the name of Jofo Fogelman.
Chen Jian thought about his question for a moment. “The possibility of that happening is very small. Barcelona’s forwards are all quite lazy… But it’s not impossible. If that really happened, I’d make my passes quickly and pass the ball to all of you more. I need you to be careful, Jofo. I don’t want you to miss out on my back pass.”
He pointed at Fogelman who had asked him the question.
His teammates around him all burst out laughing.
Chen Jian was well-liked by his teammates. He had a good temper and rarely blew his top. Not only that, he would always smile at his teammates whenever he interacted with them as well, and they found that part of his personality to be very endearing. No one liked to play with someone who always had a long face after all.
During the tactical meeting, Espanyol’s manager, Gregorio Manzano, told Chen Jian to shift backward and move from his midfielder’s position to a defensive midfielder’s position in the event that he was tightly marked by the Barcelona players. It was just as Chen Jian had said.
After hearing the manager’s words, several of his teammates could not help but cry out internally, “There goes our money!”
Chen Jian smiled happily. However, it soon dawned on him that he would be leaving this team and his teammates in the coming winter, and his smile vanished from his face instantly. He had no choice but to forsake everything that he has gained so far to achieve his dream. However, would his sacrifices be worth it in the end?
※※※
The Barcelona derby that was due to take place in a day’s time would become the highlight of La Liga for the week. Espanyol has consistently been ranked in the middle of the table for the past three seasons, and they were no longer a team that had to fight to survive relegation. The current Espanyol team definitely had what it took to create problems for the Barcelona side, and it would not be an easy match for Barcelona. The results that Barcelona has managed to achieve at Espanyol’s home ground for the past three seasons were two draws and one loss.
Conversely, they were yet to lose against Espanyol at home. The results that they have achieved at the Camp Nou stadium were two wins and one draw.
Today’s derby match would be played at the Camp Nou stadium.
Twain was invited by Xia Yang to watch the match with him at the stands. Since it has been decided that Chen Jian would be transferring to Nottingham Forest in the upcoming transfer window, both Xia Yang and Twain could be regarded as being on the same team now, and it was not awkward for the two to sit together.
Just as many had predicted, Barcelona marked Chen Jian tightly in the match. Chen Jian was wearing the number 10 shirt, and this spoke of his importance and status in the team. Espanyol was a small team. They did not have many outstanding players, and they did not have depth in the team either. This inevitably made their tactics one-dimensional, and the task of organizing the team’s midfield has always fallen on the shoulders of Chen Jian for the past few seasons. Chen Jian was the core of the team’s tactics, and the team’s performance as a whole would be negatively affected if he were kept out of the game.
Chen Jian could not be regarded to be a world-class superstar player just yet, and he probably could not be considered a first-class player in the whole of Europe either. If he were truly on the same level as the other first-class players in Europe, then surely Espanyol would not just be a mid-table club now. However, the players’ individual abilities did not matter in a derby match. No one really knew how a derby match would play out or what the results would be until the very last minute. Both Barcelona and Espanyol were on the same starting line at the start of the match. How many football stars Barcelona had on its team, how powerful they were as a team, how many trophies they have lifted over the years, or how well they have performed recently… None of these mattered before the start of the match.
Ability would not decide who won the match in the end. The two factors that would decide the match would be the players’ fight and spirit.
The players from both teams went at each other the moment the match kicked off. They kept intercepting and tackling the ball away from one another’s feet.
It was the first time that Twain witnessed such a fiery side of Chen Jian.
Chen Jian received the ball in the midfield five minutes into the match, and he was quickly tripped over by Barcelona’s defensive midfielder, Sergio Busquets. A minute later, Chen Jian found his chance to exact revenge on Busquets. Busquets had intended to run forward and make his way past Espanyol’s defenders after receiving the ball from his teammates, but Chen Jian stretched a leg out and clipped his heel from behind, which caused Busquets to lose his balance and fall onto the pitch.
Busquets was furious with Chen Jian’s action, and he picked a fight with the latter after climbing back to his feet. Chen Jian did not take Busquets’ behavior lying down, and he went up to Busquets and butted heads with him at once. Chen Jian might be shorter than Busquets, but the expression on his face was extremely fierce, and it made him seem much taller and more imposing than he really was.
Twain broke into a laugh at the stands. “Dear me! This lad’s starting to resemble George a little now… No wonder the press describes him as a small-sized George Wood.”
“Jian is usually not like that.” Xia Yang did not appear to like such a fierce Chen Jian. “The image that he gives others is one that is sunny and positive, and he’s very popular with the sponsors as a result.”
No wonder he looks so displeased, Twain thought to himself and smiled. He did not say anything else and simply continued watching the match.
Barcelona was the stronger team between the two in terms of abilities, but they were the ones who were forced to defend for the majority of the first half. The Espanyol players did not seem to care about conserving their energy for the second half. They went all out in the match since the start, and they chased after and intercepted the ball from the Barcelona players relentlessly. They also went on the attack numerous times after intercepting the ball in Barcelona’s half of the pitch. The Barcelona players had to deal with their constant interceptions and attacks, and they were left extremely worn out.
Espanyol’s tactics for the match were spot on. The momentum of the match would have definitely shifted in their favor if they had one or two strikers who could find the back of the net when given the chance. Sadly, they were just a small football club and did not have such talented strikers on their team…
As the saying went, ‘one cannot make bricks without straw’. It did not matter how good a tactic the manager came up with, or capable he was. Even the best manager in the world would need a team that was capable of executing his tactics in order for them to work.
Twain might not have met Manzano before today, but that did not stop him from being impressed with the latter. He thought that it was a remarkable achievement for Manzano to have managed to keep Espanyol as a mid-table team for the past few seasons. Not only that, Chen Jian was only able to perform as a player because he gave him the chance to. It would not be wrong to describe Manzano as both his and Chen Jian’s benefactor.
※※※
Just as everyone had predicted, the team who scored first in the match was the team who has showed more fight and determination thus far – Espanyol. On the 31st minute of the match, the Espanyol players wore out the Barcelona defenders with a series of furious attacks. Just as Barcelona’s defense tried to regroup itself, Chen Jian, who received the ball near the center circle, suddenly performed a long driven pass to the front of the pitch. The ball made its way past three of Barcelona’s players before landing at the feet of his teammate Emilio, who was running towards the penalty box from the flank with pinpoint accuracy. Emilio then proceeded to make his way into Barcelona’s penalty box with the ball, and he performed a lob after seeing that the Barcelona’s goalkeeper, Roberto, had run out to intercept him.
The ball flew into the back of the net, and the Camp Nou stadium that had been like a pot of boiling water just a second ago instantly quietened down. The only people who made noise amidst the silence were a group of Espanyol fans. They flailed their arms about in the air wildly and shouted the name of the goal scorer, Emilio, at the top of their lungs.
Twain stood to his feet and applauded Espanyol’s goal. However, his applause was not meant for Emilio. Rather, he was applauding the number 10 player who made the 35-meter driven pass to Emilio that led to the goal.
Chen Jian has really matured a lot in these four years…
The pass that he just made was incredibly difficult to achieve. Not only did he need to find the right moment and trajectory to make the pass, but he also needed to determine whether his teammate would be able to run towards the space that he intended to pass to. His pass had to be timed to perfection. If he were too fast, his teammate would not be able to receive his pass. If he were too slow, his teammate would be deemed offside by the time he received the pass. In addition, it was a shot that required a superb technique as well. There was only one route that the ball could take to reach Emilio, and its width was not more than three meters. Chen Jian had to ensure that the ball was able to travel in that narrow space and he also needed to make sure that his pass would not be intercepted or blocked by the opponent along the way. All in all, the pass that Chen Jian made was definitely one that required a combination of technique, power and precision, and it was not something that any player would easily be able to achieve.
The only thing that the good-for-nothing Xia Yang did after Espanyol’s goal was to praise Chen Jian’s performance. His voice was extremely loud and he seemed to be hoping that Twain would hear his praises and thereby increase Chen Jian’s salary in the contract. Twain did not care what his intentions were. He was able to understand a myriad of things from Chen Jian’s pass, and it made him all the more certain that he had to bring Chen Jian over to Nottingham Forest.
There was no need to worry about whether Wood and Chen Jian’s roles would overlap in a match since they were players with very different styles. In fact, it would be more advantageous to play both of them at the same time as it would help to prevent the opposition from marking either one of them out of the game, and this would prevent the team from being immobilized during the offense. Both Wood and Chen Jian were good at offense and defense. It did not matter which one of them went forward to attack and which stayed back to defend. Both would do an equally great job either way. Wood was physically stronger and he was a threat down the middle when the team attacked. In contrast, Chen Jian was a player who relied on passes more during offense. The two players could complement each other and make the team’s attacks much stronger than they were now.
Twain spent the next few minutes envisaging how Forest would offend and defend with those two players on the pitch.
※※※
A while later, Barcelona showed everyone what it meant to be a powerhouse team.
The Espanyol players looked visibly worn out in the second half and they could not keep up with Barcelona’s tempo. Barcelona capitalized on that weakness and scored two goals against them in 10 minutes.
Chen Jian was one of the few Espanyol players who still had quite a bit of stamina left in him in the second half because he did not need to run about the pitch as much as his teammates did. Unlike the wingers who constantly had to make runs forward, Chen Jian only had to make a few sprints from time to time. His teammates began passing the ball over to him a lot more after noticing that he still had the energy left in him to run forward. However, Barcelona saw through their plan soon, and they focused on marking Chen Jian every time Espanyol tried to go on the attack. The fact that it was a derby match caused the players from both sides to be more fired up than usual, and the Barcelona players certainly did not go easy on Chen Jian when they defended against him. Chen Jian was fouled three times in the second half, and a Barcelona player picked up a yellow card for fouling him.
Twain was quite worried that Chen Jian would pick up an injury in the match and he hoped that Manzano would take him off the pitch soon. However, Manzano did not share Twain’s worries. He continued to let Chen Jian play in the match, and his only instruction to him was to shift his position forward. He wanted him to play in the attacking midfielder’s position instead of his current defensive midfielder’s position.
Thereafter, Manzano made a substitution for his team. He substituted the exhausted goal scorer Emilio for a defensive midfielder by the name of Benjamin. It was clearly a substitution that aimed to strengthen the team’s defense.
The way in which the match unfolded following the substitution left Twain feeling extremely impressed with Manzano and his tactics. The only issue he had with them was that they felt a little… desperate.
As the core of the team, Chen Jian could not help but be shoved and kicked at a lot more than his teammates. It was not rare to see him fall to the ground during the match either. The fact that it was a derby match made the referee blow his whistle much more than he might otherwise. He was worried that he might commit a mistake that would lead to a brawl between the players from both teams, and thus he chose to blow his whistle at every foul.
As a result, Espanyol was awarded numerous free kicks at the front of the pitch.
The substitute Benjamin appeared to be a player who was evidently good at taking free kicks because he took over that role for the team the moment he stepped onto the pitch.
It did not take long for Twain to figure out what Manzano’s plan was.
On the 77th minute of the match, Espanyol earned yet another free-kick from a foul on Chen Jian in a position that was about 25 meters to the front of the fans behind Barcelona’s goalpost. Benjamin took the free-kick without hesitation. The ball went past the row of Barcelona players who stood before him and ended up at the back of the net.
The Camp Nou Stadium went silent for the second time of the day.
Twain, on the other hand, laughed and clapped as he stood up. Manzano’s plan had worked!
The derby match ultimately ended in a 2:2 draw. Barcelona might not have lost, but as the home side for the match, not winning was tantamount to losing for them. Similarly, Espanyol felt infuriated that they were not able to defeat Barcelona.
There was bound to be much discussion and squabble after a football match, but Twain did not care about any of that.
The moment the match ended, Twain asked Xia Yang to send Chen Jian a message and tell him that he wanted to meet with him.
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Chapter 998 - A Bigger Stage
Having just finished a fierce derby, the head coach was not as strict with the players as he used to be. Everyone needed to relax, whether a player or a coach. So Chen Jian could dress neatly to go meet Twain, enjoy the night with him, and experience Spain’s colorful nightlife.
“Is it time for me to congratulate you on the draw at the mighty Barcelona, or regret that you didn’t finally win the game?” Twain said to Chen Jian with a smile.
“Regret,” Chen Jian replied.
Looking at the man before him, who had more gray hair than before, Chen Jian could not help but feel how time flies.
When he first met Twain, he was in high spirits. He was in his peak and it seemed like he could never tire, but now, Twain was almost like an old man.
Xia Yang became obsolete. Tonight was a conversation between Twain and Chen Jian.
“Well, I didn’t think I’d ever ask you to return again when you got out of Nottingham Forest.”
“I didn’t expect to become who I am now after leaving Nottingham Forest.”
Both of them were lamenting the impermanence of the world.
Today, Chen Jian was not only the core of the RCD Espanyol but also the main player in the Chinese national team. That’s why Twain was looking for him, because there was nothing wrong with applying for a labor certificate. As for the national team rankings, the England Football Association has canceled that thing.
China was still second rate in Asian football, and Chen Jian was one of the few shining stars on the team.
The most insignificant person in the draft was clothed in the national team’s robes to fight for the country, and those who had done better than he had now had no idea where they might look for jobs.
“I feel like I should thank you for my achievement today, Mr. Twain. The moment I received your call, I decided to transfer to Nottingham Forest.”
Twain smiled. To tell the truth, when he picked up the phone and asked Chen Jian aloud whether he would dare to give up everything to come to Nottingham and start over again, he was just encouraging him. He didn’t really think Chen Jian’s future would be much better. Chen Jian’s achievements now exceeded his original expectations, and he was also very gratified. At least he has given a person’s destiny a better direction.
“Even if the mountain stops turning, the river shall still keep flowing. And so we come back together again. Chinese people believe in fate. Chen Jian, you and Nottingham Forest are bound by fate.”
Xia Yang, who was listening silently to this dialogue, secretly rolled his eyes. What fate? It was still unknown whether Chen Jian’s choice was good or bad. He was able to play so well for the RCD Espanyol because RCD Espanyol’s head coach, Manzano, put a Chinese player at the core. Would Nottingham Forest do this too? Their core was George Wood, whose technical features were similar in style to those of Chen Jian! Chen Jian would only have a supporting role, a foil, and his play could hardly be as good as in the RCD Espanyol. The reputation he assembled with great effort before might be lost after he went to Nottingham Forest.
The agent, Mr. Xia, was only distracted for a few seconds, but the two men at the table have already talked about the issues of going to the Forest team.
“I’ve seen the derby. You’re at the core of the RCD Espanyol. I’ll give you a showdown here, you can’t be the core in Nottingham Forest. There’s George Wood…” Twain spread out his hands.
Chen Jian did not say anything like “just let me get to Forest, I’ll be willing to go even as a substitute.” He just said, “I think that if Mr. Twain is seeking me out personally, it’s not to get me sitting on a bench?”
Having fought for more than three seasons in La Liga, Chen has matured a lot and this experience made him more confident.
Twain looked at the Chinese player in front of him with a deep liking. Although some Spanish media would call Chen Jian a “smaller-sized George Wood”, in Twain’s view, this man was probably more of a “Wise General”. He may be better than George when it came to intelligence and strategy. After all, there were many people along the way to help George and teach him. Without himself, without Dunn, without the help of Albertini and other people, George would not amount to much, while Chen Jian was basically on his own.
“It’s too much luxury to bring you on as a substitute, ha!” Twain smiled happily. “According to my plan, you’re going to play together with Wood, and you two will be Forest’s double core.”
“Double core?” Chen Jian lowered his head and thought about how he would fit in with Wood. He was no longer the kid who would be excited just about stepping on the Football Field, playing the game.
He inadvertently played the game of guessing the coach’s intentions. However, this time he couldn’t figure out how he was going to fit in with George Wood, who resembled him in technique and style.
Therefore, he looked up at Twain.
“You both have good long passes, but you’re better at short passes than Wood, and Wood’s long-range shooting technique is better than yours.” Twain didn’t tell everything, he just pointed out the difference between the two men. “It would be too difficult for an opponent to keep an eye on both of you.”
Chen Jian’s mind already had a vague picture of him fighting side by side with Wood. It was then that he began to get excited – from his childhood ambition to the time he became a professional player, the goal has always been George Wood, No.13 of Nottingham Forest. When he was in the youth team he continued to hone himself with Wood’s training schedule. Wood became his idol. Now he would finally have the possibility to play side by side with his hero!
The meeting with Chen Jian was mainly about promising him his place in the team face-to-face – certainly not on the bench and, for now, in the main force. People in Spain were good at living at night, and Chen Jian, who has been here for more than three years, was more or less used to it, but the 50-year-old Twain was not Spanish. After only four days in Spain, he was not accustomed to it yet. Barcelona’s club derby as a major game in this round of the league, of course, was scheduled for the last game of the day. When the game was over, it was almost midnight, and now it was nearly one in the morning. Twain was tired. He had said everything he could say already. There was no need to stay. They would have plenty of time, with lots of opportunities to contact.
Twain and Chen Jian said goodbye. As they were leaving, Twain reminded Xia Yang to step up his efforts to put pressure on the RCD Espanyol Club and Chen Jian promised a showdown with the club to express his wishes of going to Nottingham Forest.
Early the next morning, Twain flew back to England, thus concluding his trip to Spain.
※※※
It wasn’t long before news came from Barcelona that a number of local clubs were attracted to Chen Jian, hoping to take him away from the RCD Espanyol during the winter break.
With such news, Twain knew that Xia Yang had already begun to act.
He didn’t care that much. Let the professionals do the job.
David Kerslake has entered the team’s coaching staff in advance as an assistant coach, to carry out the preliminary work. He was responsible for summarizing the team’s situation, submitting it to Twain, and then letting him analyze the decision.
Now, a week after Kerslake entered the team, the team’s internal report has basically taken shape.
In the two weeks since his absence, Nottingham Forest has narrowly stayed in the 16th with one win, one loss.
That was a pretty low starting point. Nottingham Forest has been at its lowest since returning to the English Premier League. No wonder a bunch of people was pessimistic about Forest’s prospects for this season. They believed that if Nottingham did not pay attention, even a relegation eventually wouldn’t surprise them.
In addition to Kerslake’s report, which showed the Forest team’s lack of effectiveness was a cause for concern, there was a growing feeling of insecurity and tension. In addition, the bench thickness was not enough. Together with all the other shortcomings, all let Twain feel the pressure on his shoulders.
This comeback was certainly not an easy getaway…
Before that, there was one more thing Twain needed to do. Once he became Forest’s head coach, it wouldn’t be very convenient.
※※※
At the end of November, winter came. The weather was the same in Nottingham as in the whole of England, with more cloudy and rainy days, less blue skies and less sunshine.
On a rare good day, and after four consecutive days of rain, the skies over Nottingham finally cleared up. Everyone who went to work in the morning could see the golden sun rising in the east, the brilliant shining sunlight on the sky and the earth, the leaves still shimmering with last night’s raindrops, shining in the sun. From a distance, the forest seemed to be hung with strings of gold beads.
Surrounded by these picturesque woods was the training ground for the Notts County club, which was half as small as the Nottingham Forest Wilford training ground. The training facilities were somewhat old-fashioned. As the oldest modern professional football club in the world, there was a taste of history from inside to outside. Cynics would say it smelled of rot. Fans would call it a scent of the glory of long-gone history.
Although the training facilities were old, the players on the training ground were young. There was nothing in their faces that showed the pressures and burdens of a long history.
It was just a warm-up exercise, but everybody was serious. A man in his thirties, wearing a hooded training shirt like an assistant coach, ran ahead with a whistle in his mouth. The man with black hair and an oriental face was the Chinese Dunn, who had left Nottingham Forest more than seven years ago.
Now he was the head coach of the English Football League Championship team, Notts County.
Outside the barbed-wire fence at the training ground, some fans were assembled, although the number was small and there were few media outlets, with two of them being Nottingham natives and one from the port city of Portsmouth – Notts County’s opponent in the next round of the English Football League Championship.
On this cold morning, the whistle in the training ground was so clear and sharp that it even startled some birds in the woods. The distant woods were shrouded by a rising white haze of water vapor that began to evaporate under the sun and spread out, wrapping almost the entire training ground in a gentle mist.
Twain, who was wrapped in a thick coat, took a deep breath. The air in the woods was much better than in the city center.
The so-called one more thing that couldn’t be done after he began coaching the Forest team was to meet Dunn here. Although his relationship with Tang Zhijian offered him many opportunities to engage in private, once he became Forest’s head coach, he was bound to be a key target of the paparazzi, and his meeting with Dunn was a secret that he didn’t want to become the headlines of tomorrow’s newspaper.
Watching Dunn leading the team’s warm-up, Twain had a smile on his face. It was completely different from his own style. Dunn was doing a good job here. Although he didn’t know much about Notts County, from only seeing the players, Twain believed that it was a team that worked well with Dunn and that his goal was achieved when he left Forest.
However, such a team could not go any further. A small team in Notts County lacked funding. Dunn’s success in bringing it to the English Football League Championship has already surprised a lot of people. However, it would end there. If they wanted to go to the Premier League, without strong financial support it would be absolutely impossible. Even if they were lucky enough to make the Premier League, in a huge advantage over their opponents, the only way left to them would be to return to the English Football League Championship.
In 2004, when Notts County was on the verge of bankruptcy, its fans made voluntary donations in the hopes of saving their beloved team. However, in the end, it was the unrelated team, Chelsea, who became the savior. It was because Notts County had drawn Chelsea in the Football Association Cup that they received a lot of ticket revenue. When the Chelsea club agreed to give all the ticket income they received at Stamford Bridge to the Notts County club to help them get through, the share of television broadcast fees and ticket revenue saved the team, preventing the demise of the world’s oldest modern professional football club.
This told enough about the situation of Notts County. The cost of filming a game and the revenue of tickets were not worth mentioning in the eyes of the Premier League teams, but it was enough to save Notts County. How pitiful the budget of this team was!
Dunn’s success in recent years was inseparable from his insistence on the youth team construction from the beginning of his term. Without the youth training camp to provide him with enough good players, the poor budget for every season in Notts County would not be enough to buy all eleven starters in the transfer market alone.
Despite having a good youth camp, he also faced the same grievance as a number of small club managers – he couldn’t afford to keep the most prominent young players from going out of Notts County in pursuit of a higher stage. For a club like Notts County, the only way to survive was by selling some of its promising young players. Dunn was just a head coach, he couldn’t interfere with the team’s business strategy, and he was in no position to interfere – the team wouldn’t be able to survive, so why keep the talented players? The level of these players was not the type of world superstar who could lead a team to the Premier League alone. They were exchanges for a good price while they were still worthy. Then he would reorganize the first team out of the youth camp to train them from the starting point.
Thus it moved in circles.
Twain shook his head. That was the tragedy of the little club. Didn’t the same thing happen to the Forest team before he took over? Michael Dawson, Andy Reid, and Jenas were all sold to other teams in times of financial distress for the Forest. It was just that Nottingham Forest, compared with Notts County, was, after all, well-established, and with better funding, it was not too difficult to rise again.
For Notts County, it was really difficult to rebuild with almost nothing.
Twain finished all the morning training and then met Dunn at noon.
On the phone last night, Twain told Dunn he was coming to him today, so Dunn wasn’t surprised at all to see Twain in front of him.
“You certainly didn’t come to invite me to dinner, Tony,” At a Chinese restaurant, Dunn spoke to Twain, who was sitting opposite from him.
“Of course. And the Chinese restaurant is too unauthentic,” Twain commented on the most famous Chinese restaurant in Nottingham as if there was no one else around them, ignoring a Chinese waiter standing beside him. It made this Chinese overseas student – judging by his look, he was here for a part-time job – stare at the old man wearing sunglasses.
After the waiter had gone, Dunn began to laugh. “What you say about the restaurant is too offensive.”
Twain shrugged and didn’t go on with the topic. “I came to you to ask you a question, Dunn.” He leaned forward and lowered his voice so that only Dunn could hear.
“Do you want a bigger stage?”
...
Chapter 999 - The Past and Present Twain
“Would you like to stand on a bigger stage?”
Tang Jing had also asked him a similar question in the past, but it was even blunter. She asked him if he wanted to spend the rest of his life managing a small club like Notts County.
Dunn had thought about that question before. If Notts County could somehow get their hands on a large sum of money and also have the ambition to get promoted to the Premier League, he did not see any issue with remaining in the club. After all, he has grown attached to the club after spending seven years here as the manager.
However, if things stayed the way they were now and Notts County continued to be content with a place in the Championship… Then what should he do next? Should he continue to stay in the club whatever happened?
Did he have ambition?
There would definitely be a few people who would reply, “No, Dunn is a man who is happy with the status quo” to that question. However, Dunn knew very well how deep his passion for football ran and how much he craved a challenge. In a nutshell, he was just like Tony Twain who sat across from him.
“Are you trying to get me to become your assistant manager, Tony?” Dunn asked with a smile.
“No. It’d be a waste of talent to get you to become my assistant manager after seeing what you have achieved at Notts County over the past seven years. There is no need to use a sledgehammer to crack a nut.” Twain shook his head.
“Then why…” Dunn was confused. Frankly, he had assumed that Twain wanted to persuade him to become his assistant manager ever since he received the call from him the previous night. He mulled over the issue for the whole night, and he eventually came to the conclusion that he would not be able to go back to being an assistant manager anymore, even if it meant that he could work under the illustrious Twain once again. He was going to refuse Twain’s invitation at all costs if the latter truly invited him to be his assistant manager.
He did not expect that Twain had something else in mind.
Twain looked around him. The waiters were all positioned several meters away from him at the moment, and none of them seemed inclined to attend to him. Their attitudes spoke of their dislike for him, given how he had publicly criticized the restaurant’s dishes as being unauthentic in the past. However, that was exactly what Twain wanted. After making sure that no waiters were near him, Twain leaned forward and told Dunn in a low voice, “This is something that I’ve not told anyone else yet. Actually, I’m only managing Forest for half a season.”
Dunn nodded his head. He already knew about that, and it was not just him. Everyone else knew about it as well, as it had been reported all over the news.
“Think about it, what’s going to happen to Forest after I leave? It can’t possibly revert to being how it is currently, right? I can’t keep coming out of retirement to rescue the team either.”
Dunn could tell what Twain was going to say next, but he believed that there was another solution to the issue. “You can just continue at the club, Tony.”
Twain shook his head. “I’m going, to be honest with you. I know my body the best. I’ve been very busy for the past few days. I flew to Spain to find Chen Jian, and then I came over to find you. When I have some free time, I will need to read up about those reports that David gave me regarding the team and… Guess what happened!”
Dunn looked at him quizzically.
“I fell asleep twice while reading the reports! My body is not like it used to be anymore. This might have something to do with me resting for four months prior to this… All this while I’ve always had a drive in me. I want to go against the world. However, that drive has vanished since the day I lifted the World Cup trophy and the thought of retirement surfaced in my mind. It’s impossible for me to regain that same level of drive that I used to have in the past.”
Twain clenched his fists tightly before releasing them.
“I came to the conclusion that I can only work for half a season after thinking things through. I’d try my best to help Forest stay in the Premier League during this period of time, and after that, I’d retire once and for all…”
Dunn smiled after hearing Twain’s words. “I still think that’s impossible, Tony.”
“That’s true, it might have been impossible before our talk. But things are different now.” Twain nodded. Surprisingly, he did not refute Dunn’s words. “I hope that you can take over my role as the manager of Nottingham Forest from next season onward, and I hope you can stay as the manager for a long time into the future.”
Dunn did not show much surprise. He had more or less guessed that Twain was going to say those words.
“Neither Freddy nor David are suited to work as managers. But you are different. You have seven years of experience. You can definitely take on the role as the manager of Forest now.”
Dunn frowned and mulled over Twain’s words before voicing his concern. “We are very different, Tony. I’m not like you. I can’t motivate the players like you. I’m not a madman either. I can’t divert the attention of the press away from them…”
“But you managed to lead a team of youth players all the way to the Championship.”
“Notts County and Nottingham Forest are two completely different teams. They play different styles of football and the managers who lead them have to be different as well.”
“I don’t expect you to lead Forest to glory the moment you take over. The club would most likely give you a few years to get used to your role and to the team. Make use of that time to assemble the team that suits you the most, and slowly get that team used to playing your style of football. By the time you are familiar with the team, the players who are used to my playing style would have retired, and you’d be able to start building a team that belongs to you, just like you did at Notts County.”
Dunn did not respond to Twain. He lowered his head and remained silent.
The two only changed the conversation topic when the dishes were served. They then began to talk about their respective lives as they ate.
Twain was the one who spoke most of the time, and Dunn merely listened. Dunn was never the talkative type. He had always played the role of a listener when he worked with Twain as well, and he did a very good job at it.
Twain talked about how Teresa was a good girl, how her English had improved tremendously, how she would definitely be a beauty when she grew up, and how her deep interest in movies and acting worried him. He was worried about what he should do as her father if she went on to work in the entertainment industry when she grew up.
Over two-thirds of their conversation revolved around Twain’s daughter Teresa.
The corner of Dunn’s lips went up as he listened to Twain speak of his daughter. Twain looked just like any blissful father in this world.
Dunn suddenly understood what Twain meant when he said that he was unwilling to work as a manager for long. Twain had a beautiful wife who loved him deeply, and he had an adorable, sweet and intelligent daughter. His life was wonderful and he was living in bliss, but all this has gradually worn away the ambition that he had in the past.
He recalled how Twain was like 15 years ago. Back then, he was a man who did not know what fatigue was, and he would burn the midnight oil just to analyze his opponents and their tactics through match videos. His mind was imbued with thoughts about how he was going to go against the world, and how he wanted to get his hands on every single football trophy possible. He would always make sure he got himself pumped up before he gave a passionate speech to the players in the locker room. After all, how could he possibly expect the players to excited if he himself wasn’t? A football match was just like a deathmatch for him in the past. There could only be one survivor at the end, and it was either him or his opponent. He had more fight than everyone else did because he was so keen on surviving in the footballing world. He wanted to defeat all the rivals who looked down on him, and he wanted those ignorant spectators to eat their own words. For those reasons, he transformed himself into a demon and a bastard.
Which Tony Twain did he prefer?
His memories of the past and present Tony Twain overlapped in his mind and became blurry.
I guess they both have their pros and cons, Dunn thought to himself.
The Tony Twain of the past was happy because he was working hard to achieve his dreams. The Tony Twain of the present was also happy because he was beginning a brand new life.
The two finished their meal soon after. Dunn’s plan following the meal was to return home and rest for a short while before preparing for his second training session that was due to take place at 5 p.m. Twain was also planning to return home and begin his preparation work to take over as the manager of Forest.
“I hope you would seriously consider my invitation, Dunn,” Twain told Dunn as they bid each other farewell at the entrance to the restaurant.
He did not expect Dunn to shake his head and say, “I accept your proposition, Tony.”
Twain was taken aback by how fast Dunn had reached a decision. He never thought of Dunn to be a decisive person. Dunn has always been someone who took a lot of time to think things through before making a decision. Did his personality change over the past seven years?
“You’ve already decided? You aren’t going to discuss this matter with Tang Jing first?”
“My opinion is all that matters when it comes to work,” Dunn sounded manly when he said those words.
Twain looked at Dunn and laughed. His eyes were narrowed into a thin line.
“Nottingham Forest is the place where things began for me. I also want to… Prove myself once more there.” He still could not forget the failure that he experienced after he took over as the manager of Nottingham Forest for a short period in the past…
Twain was certain that Dunn had accepted his invitation because of hearing those words from him.
He heaved a long sigh of relief. He had settled the very last thing that he had to do before taking over as Forest’s manager. He could finally focus on managing Nottingham Forest without any worries now.
“Good luck, Tony. Nottingham Forest now is nothing like the Nottingham Forest under you back then.” Dunn did not forget to give Twain his blessings before he left.
Twain was in the midst of opening his car door when he heard Dunn’s words. He turned around and told Dunn in a serious tone, “They’ll quickly realize that the Tony Twain now is still like the Tony Twain from the past.”
In that split second, Dunn thought he saw the old Tony Twain before him.
※※※
“Tony Twain is coming out of retirement? Ha!” Carl Spicer discussed Twain’s return to Forest with a face of disdain in his show. “I think he should just continue to enjoy his new life in America. The Nottingham Forest now is nothing like the Nottingham Forest in the past, and it’s not like he’s Superman either. Does he think he can become the club’s savior? He’s a 50-year-old man! His mind should have become clearer by now! I can’t believe that I’m wrong about him once again…”
Spicer fiercely derided the news of Twain’s return in his show. To others, it would seem like he was against Twain’s return to Forest, but in reality, it was the opposite. He desperately longed for Twain to return. He felt like he had been forgotten by the masses in the four months since Twain went into retirement. The viewership for his show has been on the decline over the past few months as well.
Spicer was one of several critics who heavily censured Twain when he experienced disrepute during his time as the manager of the England national football team. His show came under the spotlight consequentially, and Spicer was at the pinnacle of his career at that time. However, ever since Twain announced his retirement at the end of the World Cup in July, his show had lost its focus and he did not know what kind of content he should create any longer.
The news of Twain reaching an agreement with Nottingham Forest Football Club to take over as their manager was music to his ears. Spicer seemed like a completely different man ever since he heard the news. He was all smiles every single day as he made preparations for this week’s episode.
The topic of this week’s discussion was: is Twain’s return to Forest a mistake or the right move? He had invited three guests for the episode, but they were all nothing more than props. It did not matter what sort of views they might have. Carl Spicer was the focal point of the show. All the viewers of his show admired his eloquence and enjoyed watching him deride various issues and people related to football. Of course, Tony Twain was a man who was frequently dissected in the show.
“It has pretty much been confirmed that Tony Twain would return to Forest and take over as the manager, and I can say this with absolute certainty: he is bound to fail miserably at the job that he is the most familiar with. Nottingham Forest is the team that he is the proudest of, but he will suffer crushing defeat as its manager. The reputation that he has built up over the years would be gone by the end of the season!”
Spicer ended his show with the aforementioned words.
At the same time, BBC’s ‘Match of the Day’ show also discussed Twain’s return to Forest after they did their post-match analysis of a Premier League match.
“You never know what’s going to happen in life. I truly did not expect Twain to come out of retirement and return to Forest as their manager. I felt like this is not a decision that he would make…” Alan Shearer, who was a guest on the show, expressed his thoughts on the matter.
“It just shows his love for Forest,” Mark Lawrenson said.
Gary Lineker pressed a hand to his chin and laughed. “I think it’s great that Twain is coming out of retirement. I have something to look forward to in the Premier League now!”
“…I am so excited about how things would unfold in the Premier League from here on out. We can see the madman, Tony Twain, go wild once again. Honestly, the past four months following his retirement have been the most grueling months for me as a sports reporter… I spend my days not knowing what I should do next. Now, I no longer need to beat my brains and mull over what I should write for this week’s article. There would definitely be many things for us to write about with Tony Twain around. Tony Twain’s return has constantly made the headlines for the past two weeks, and there is so much discussion surrounding his return even though he has yet to start managing the team and had only announced that he would return to Forest as the manager.” Mark Heskey, who wrote sports articles for The Sun, was over the moon at the news of Twain’s return to Forest.
“The year might not be over yet, but Tony Twain is definitely England’s newsmaker of the year. I don’t think there’d be anyone else who’d be able to steal the limelight from him. He’s just coming out of retirement to manage Forest once again, but the news of his return has sent countless media outlets into a frenzy. It would be very hard for the world to see another man like him who attracts so much attention everywhere he goes. I think Tony Twain’s return is not just a football issue. It’s also a social issue that we should delve deeper into…” The Times published an editorial just to discuss Twain’s return.
“The Premier League feels lifeless without Tony Twain. The sponsors would definitely not wish to see the Premier League in such a state. However, which is great news for them, Tony Twain’s back and he’s attracting a lot of attention to the league. The newspaper sales and viewership for television shows have all increased substantially following news of his return. There are even people who make a living off abusing Twain, which I find to be miraculous. Now, the man behind the miracle is back, and those people will get to enjoy it once more.” Sky TV also published an article on its website about Twain taking over as Forest’s manager once again.
“Bringing Twain back to the club is undoubtedly the best decision that Evan Doughty has made over the past few years. Look at the amount of attention that this struggling club is receiving worldwide. Doughty has already won. It does not matter what Forest’s results are like at the end of the season. At the very least, Forest will be at the center of attention once again…”
The press only looked forward to Twain’s return because they were looking forward to the various benefits that came with it: an increase in sales, viewership, and sponsors…
However, none of them spoke about how Twain would transform the current Nottingham Forest as its manager. Evidently, no one thought that Twain would be capable of bringing about any change to the team. Forest was in a terrible state just then, and not even Tony Twain would be able to change it for the better…
...
Chapter 1000 - The Legend
“It seems that the media’s area of interest is in your style and popularity.” Said David Kerslake, Twain’s assistant manager as he flipped through the newspapers. Recently he liked to read these newspaper articles about Twain, because the reporters’ biting articles filled with their forte of sarcasm always made him laugh and put him in a happy mood for the day.
“No one has ever mentioned the matter of results when you’re mentioned.” After reading all the papers, Kerslake stacked them up and put them aside. He looked Twain opposite.
Tony Twain was having another look at the desk in front of him.
It was exactly the same as when he first came to this club 15 years ago. The style of the dark red solid wood desk completely looked like it was from last century inside out.
He placed his hands on the table, gently caressed it back and forth, feeling every tiny bump and scratch on the table.
The table was currently empty. There was nothing on it except for LCD computer monitor. Freddy Eastwood had already taken all his personal belongings away. Reports and information were neatly stacked on the bookcase at the side.
“Isn’t that good? That way, we won’t have too much pressure.” Twain ran his hands over the table with his head lowered as he answered.
“I thought you were going to fly into a rage because you were being looked down upon by the media.”
“I’m not an idiot, David. With these kinds of doubts about the results, talking won’t do any good. You must use actual results to beat them.” After he finally touched every inch of the table, Twain sat down in his chair.
“It’s good that they love to hype my personal style. I’m eager for no one to care about what happens to the team Nottingham Forest right now. Let’s talk about the team, David.”
Hearing Twain say so, Kerslake also put away the smile on his face and opened up a thick notebook on his lap.
“Currently, there are 26 players in the First Team. The goalkeepers are Vincenzo Fiorillo, Mark Howard and Chris Kelly. The defenders are Thiago Silva, Mamadou Sakho, Ryan Shawcross, Mathias Jørgensen, Jan Vertonghen, Joe Mattock, Nicolas Nkoulou, Jack Cork, Nedum Onuoha and Carl Dickinson. In the midfield, we have George Wood, Jake Livermore, Fernando Gago, Stephen Ireland, Chris Cohen, Alex Teixeira, Georginio Wijnaldum and Kieran Gibbs. The forwards are Aaron Mitchell, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Mario Balotelli, Matt Derbyshire and Steven Fletcher.”
As Kerslake read the name list, Twain’s eyebrows were constantly knitted together Although he knew all these names and was able to put the names to their faces, these names currently gave him a sense of unfamiliarity. This sense of unfamiliarity was due to the fact that he did not know much about these players.
Twain’s so-called understanding was definitely not as simple as knowing what their names were, what positions they were playing and how well they had been playing recently. His understanding was comprehensive, even to the extent of knowing what the players liked to eat and what they liked to do before a game…
“In fact, most of these players are very good…” Kerslake added after he finished reading the list. He said, “The goalkeeper, Fiorillo is the Italian national team’s substitute goalkeeper and was known as ‘Little Buffon’ when he first made his debut. Nkoulou is Cameroon’s main defender and Sakho is France’s main center back. Jørgensen is also a regular with the Danish national team. Vertonghen is Belgium’s main player and can play multiple positions in the midfield to backfield. Onuoha has also played for the national team led by you. Gibbs is a great player trained by Arsenal and you had once selected him for the England team. Ireland is the main midfielder in the Irish national team. While Teixeira has not been selected for the Brazilian national team, his ability speaks for itself. Wijnaldum is a key player for the Netherlands national team. Derbyshire also played for you before and Fletcher is Scotland’s leading striker… But yet they play so terribly when put together.”
Twain laughed and said, “A football tournament is not won by putting eleven Maradonas together. Some of these players’ style may not be suitable for Nottingham Forest while some people lack the fighting spirit. Then there are some people who just want to leave, and the others are getting older with frequent injuries. You tell me, how can such a team achieve good results?”
Hearing Twain say so, Kerslake also felt the team had no prospects.
“Continue with the summary of your observations, David.”
“Well… I don’t think there’s any problem in Freddy’s main lineup. It’s the strongest lineup the Forest team can deploy, and I don’t think the reason for the team’s poor performance lies with the players. But in terms of techniques and tactics…”
After listening patiently to Kerslake’s analysis, Twain muttered for a moment before shaking his head as he said, “The techniques and tactics are couple of the reasons. But the root of the problem lies squarely with the players. No matter how good the tactical arrangements are, if the players don’t execute them, there is no other way. But the problem is not urgent… Let’s talk about the tactics. McAllister’s attempt to get Wood to play as the attacking midfielder is not worth keeping. It is no use having the two sides lean towards the middle either. To be honest, I think the team has already forgotten what the Forest tradition is.”
Twain spoke boldly as if he had not just taken over the team but had been coaching the team for a long time.
The Forest team had changed managers frequently over the years and had changed seven managers within four and a half seasons. The immediate consequence of this was that the tactical thinking was chaotic. The players did not know which way to follow and eventually might as well not follow any to simply play according to their own habits and style in the games. It was the reason that caused the team’s performance to increasingly worsen.
Twain certainly was aware of it. It was absolutely impossible to get the team back to the top of the league table with more than half a season left to go. Now that he had decided to let Dunn succeed him in his career, all he had to do now was to make a transition. He could not set the course of Nottingham Forest’s development for the next decade. It was not what he should be doing. His job was very simple – to use whichever means it took to restore the team’s fighting spirit in a short period of time, so that they could stay in the Premier League for the next season. It was just as he told Dunn, “A bigger stage.”
And that was exactly the job Twain did best.
Isn’t it to just lead the team to win? I have been doing this for fifteen years.
“No need for an attacking midfielder; restore the offense from the sidelines; the two strikers can’t be positioned in parallel, one forward and one back, staggered them. The second striker must actively withdraw to establish links with the midfield; stabilize the defense … Our immediate work has to start with the defense, to stop the trending decline of the team’s performance and boost the low morale. The key factor is to not concede the goal and not lose the game.”
Kerslake nodded in agreement with Twain. After consecutive losses, what they should consider was not whether the attacking power was strong or not, but whether their own defensive line was solid. Defense was the basis of victory and defense was also the source of offense. To not fix the defense and ask the team to step up the offense was akin to putting the cart before the horse.
“Then in terms of the arrangement of the players…” He asked a crucial question. Would Twain still be interested in the players who previously played as the main force in the team? If the starting lineup required adjustments, it would certainly stir up some people’s interests. So, in that case, how could the atmosphere in the team’s locker room be guaranteed?
“Look at their condition during training.” Twain replied simply. Then he realized that Kerslake was actually worried about the locker room, so he asked, “Isn’t George the leader in the locker room?”
“The local players all obey him. As for the foreign players… In fact, the locker room is mainly divided into several factions.” Speaking of which, Kerslake became a little embarrassed. The forming of such cliques and factions had never happened before when Twain coached the team and would be absolutely impossible to appear.
“Local cliques and foreign factions?” Twain was not surprised by this. He did not feel awkward talking about it – anyway it did not occur under his command.
Kerslake nodded and did not want to say more.
Twain grinned, and it was not known whether he was smiling or expressing helplessness.
“Interesting.” He pinched his chin and muttered.
Then he sat in the chair for a while without saying a word. After about ten minutes like this, when Kerslake was a little bored waiting, he turned his wrist over to look at his watch and got up.
“Let’s go, David. I think the players should all be here, right?”
※※※
“The boss is coming back!” In the locker room, Joe Mattock excitedly announced the news, which was definitely not news. “I can’t believe I’m able to wait for the arrival of such a day!”
But not many people were interested in the topic of his conversation. On the one hand, the news that Twain was coming back was more than two weeks ago, and the upsurge of such a discussion was long over. On the other hand, it was natural that the players in the locker room each had something on their minds.
What Kerslake said was true. In the current locker room, invisible factions did exist. The English players were in a league, while the other non-England players each formed small groups. At the same time, the Forest team’s long-serving players had harmonious relations, while there was a chasm between those players who only joined after Twain had left and those old players.
The 33-years-old Brazilian center-back, Thiago Silva was a leading figure in the foreign legion because of his age and seniority. He joined the team that summer when Twain had just left the Forest team. He once represented the Forest team and played against the England team that Twain led in a friendly match. He had always been unimpressed by the legendary manager. On the one hand, he was influenced by the media. On the other hand, … He could not understand why those old players would still keep a manager who had abandoned his team constantly in mind. He felt that it was foolish.
Another person who was not interested in the news of Twain’s return was more solitary. He did not belong to any cliques or factions. He was alone against the entire team. He was Mario Balotelli, the “Super Mario” who made noise about leaving every summer but never walked away, and the more noise he made, the higher his wages went.
His character and temper left him with few friends in the team. As a fellow Italian, the goalkeeper, Fiorillo was not accustomed to seeing Balotelli’s proud and aloof temperament and conduct. He thought that he should be the real core of the team, and not George Wood. But the coaches did not get a clear picture of this fact, so the team’s performance was so poor. If Tony Twain still could not recognize his role and value, it was believed that his return was just another tragedy.
The leader of the English and old players’ clique was naturally George Wood. But Wood would not do the kind of thing that would split his own locker room, so he was actually just a figurative leader, like a totem erected by others. The players unhappy with Silva and Balotelli gathered spontaneously around the totem to confront them in Wood’s name.
This was the current state of the Forest team’s locker room. When there was such a fractured locker room, how could there be fighting strength? David Kerslake said the team’s problems were tactical, and not on the players. However, Twain was right. The root cause laid squarely with the players …
“Don’t shout.” Wood appeared behind the excited Mattock and said, “You’ll be late if you don’t change your clothes quickly. The boss doesn’t like anyone to be late.”
He had said these words to Joe Mattock, but his eyes were on everyone in the locker room.
Thiago Silva and Balotelli, with their backs toward him, gave no indication.
Mattock quickly looked down and went to change into his training clothes.
People were still talking in the locker room, but they did not stop what they were doing. Both the old and English natives knew Twain a stickler for time – he used to hold a stopwatch on the training ground as he waited for the players. The way he would require the latecomer to run one lap for every ten seconds he was late was spread through word of mouth by the players and had long been well known.
※※※
“Do you want to prepare a stopwatch?” Kerslake asked on the training ground. There was not one single player on the training ground yet at this time, but it was too early for the set training time to begin.
“Do you have it in your hand now?” Twain asked.
Kerslake took his hand out of his pocket and showed Twain what he had in his hand. It was indeed a black stopwatch.
Twain cracked open a smile and said, “You really know me well. Let’s start the time.”
The other coaches also came to the training ground and greeted Twain and Kerslake. Some of them were the same people who had helped Twain when he was still coaching here. A few of them were poached from other clubs and had a good relationship with Kerslake. They were new to Twain.
When Twain saw Freddy Eastwood, who went back to be an assistant manager among the coaches, he went up to say hello to him, “Do you feel free now, Freddy?”
“Of course, I feel good now, Chief!” Eastwood smiled and said to Twain, “I don’t have to think about matters like what tactics the team should use to beat Manchester United when I get up in the morning anymore.”
Twain smiled. People like Eastwood were fit to be assistant managers and did not have much ambition. It was good this way. He could feel comfortable as an assistant manager to Twain. Eastwood was familiar with the team and popular with the players and fans. He would be a good assistant manager …
The coaches also saw the new manager come so early and came to the training ground earlier. So, a scene was formed where the coaches had all gathered and waited for the players on the pitch.
When Mattock first ran from the locker room to the pitch, he quickly muttered to himself what a close call it was when he saw such a situation. If he had dawdled and came later, then he would be in trouble … Joe Mattock was clear about the boss’ temper. He might usually have a good relationship with him, but if he violated one of his rules, then he would still get into trouble despite the good relationship.
Since he was not late, then there was no need to be afraid of his boss. Mattock smiled and said hello to Twain, “Good morning, boss.”
“Good morning, lad. Where are the others?” Twain asked.
“They are all in the back and will come out soon…” Mattock turned his head back to look toward the direction of the locker room. He was not certain if his teammates would actually follow and quickly come out. But he hoped that Silva and Balotelli would be five or six minutes late…
He did not get what he wanted. All the players appeared on the training ground, neatly dressed before the stipulated time to gather.
Twain looked his soldiers, his men, and felt sorry. “You’re so lucky, guys.” He shook his head and said, “How I wish you could delay in the locker room until 10:15, from 9:30 to 10:15, 45 minutes, one lap every ten seconds. My math is not very good, so you can calculate how many laps you have to run. Maybe the whole morning’s training session would have to be spent on running, but I don’t care. Nonetheless it’s a shame…” He sighed heavily.
“You lucky bastards. But don’t be in such a hurry to breathe a sigh of relief.” He pointed to the players who were just getting ready to let out a long breath. He said, “From now on, until the end of the season, we’ll have six months’ time of interaction. I’ll have a chance to catch you.”
With that, Twain paused for a moment. He swept his gaze across all the players. He could see a lot of things in the eyes of those people. Some people looked at him excitedly and were full of anticipation for the future; some people bowed their heads and he did not know what was on their minds; there were also other people who averted their eyes in the moment he met gazes with them, unwilling to make further contact; of course, some people looked him unfalteringly as if to deliberately remind Twain of their own existence.
After sweeping his eyes over everyone, Twain spoke again, “I’m a retired man. Look at the white hair on my head.” He said, pointing to both sides of his temples, “But if any of you think I’m old, I say to you, bring it on!”
The eyes of some people among the players lit up.
...
Chapter 1001 - An Unfortunate Opening
There were definitely many issues in training and to a TV announcer or a spectator, the mistakes were very obvious.
For example, in the case of Balotelli, what surprised him was that this kid did not mean to be sloppy. On the contrary, he was very hardworking and competent during training. Before this, Twain thought that Balotelli was going to go against him for sure, but his current performance really surprised him. Initially, he even wanted to pick on Balotelli, to pick on his weaknesses and mistakes and suppress the rest of the team, using him as an example.
It seemed that he did not know anything about his players and it really was a setback.
Thiago Silva was not much of a worry. Would a 33-year-old full-back like him still want to be a starter? If Twain placed him in the reserves this instance and it came down to either him or George Wood, would he still come up with any tricks? For the external factors affecting the squad, just use realistic defragmentation measures to resolve the issues.
The formation of the Foreign Legion had something to do with the lack of a strong manager in the dressing room. Because they could not find a core player to trust, they would become individually attached to the people they thought were strong, and gradually form their respective small cliques. Now that there was a strong character in Nottingham Forest’s changing room, these people would need to reconsider their initial choice.
Twain decided to approach Eastwood to find out more about Balotelli’s situation. After all, Kerslake’s period in the team was short, and there was no way he could fully understand the individual situations of the players. Eastwood has been in the Nottingham Forest team for five seasons, and he definitely had a lot of information about those players who were added to the team after Twain left.
“Balotelli?” Eastwood frowned when he heard Twain mention this player. Twain noticed his unusual expression.
“He’s really talented…” Eastwood mused, weighing his following words. “However, he has a few traits that made him seem boastful and he has always wanted to leave the team so he’s not on great terms with the rest of them.”
“I could tell,” Twain recalled the situation during training in these two days. During the break times in between training, there was no one who would take the initiative to talk to Balotelli. During the team selection during training, not many were willing to be on the same team as him. However, he wanted to ask about something else. “Was he always as hardworking in training?”
Eastwood thought for a while, then shook his head. “No.”
“Oh…” Twain then turned silent. He did not question Eastwood further, because he generally knew what was going on in his mind.
“Are you thinking of transferring Balotelli out, head coach?” Eastwood was trying to guess the intention behind Twain asking him about the Italian player.
Twain shook his head. “No. Now the team is having a lack of players, and I would only complain about having insufficient players, so why would I transfer one out? During this winter transfer window, I do not plan to take any players out.”
Afterward, Twain went ahead to find a few more coaches to understand Balotelli’s situation. He really did not want to transfer Balotelli out of the team, unless the two of them argued like there was no tomorrow. Like the situation between him and Anelka, when both totally lost their trust for each other. It was just like what Eastwood had said: this person had talent, and the current Nottingham Forest team needed his capabilities.
So Twain did not have any ideas of transferring him out. Instead, he wanted to utilize him properly.
Nevertheless, just relying on his conversations with the other coaches was not enough. It seems like he needed to have a direct conversation with Balotelli. However, he did not have the time for this.
He took over the team in the middle of the week, and there was a match on the coming weekend.
※※※
Nottingham Forest’s away game against Aston Villa was not the main show that was most talked about, but the game was selected by the BBC channel in the last minute to be broadcasted for the whole country to watch for free. The reason was very simple – this was the first match since Tony Twain’s return to Nottingham Forest. It made sense that this match was placed on high priority for all to view.
During the few days before the game, the media started to hype up the competition and there were many Premier League team coaches would were asked about their views on Tony Twain’s return to Nottingham Forest.
There was a variety of answers. Some were supportive, some simply did not care, and some even thought that Twain’s return was a mistake as he would definitely not be able to reach the peak he had achieved in the past.
“If I were him, I would definitely just stay at home.” Mourinho did not express any joy in his reunion with his rival. “His capability has long expired.” During the interview, his expression was cold and detached, as if he did not know who Tony Twain was at all.
“I welcome Tony’s return, and I personally think that was a very brave decision.” This statement made by Everton’s coach Moyes seemed to make everyone think that he was on the same side as Twain, but the following speech was not well-liked by Twain’s supporters at all. “But it’s best if we don’t get our hopes high for the results his team is going to bring. His return to the team is already a victory of its own kind.”
“I think you all are very lame in hyping up this topic. It’s simply a head coach returning to his old team.” There were people who were not very concerned with Twain. The one who delivered the aforementioned statement was John Robertson, the current head coach for Aston Villa. His team was going to face Twain’s team very soon. It was certain that he did not want the crazed media, which was exaggerating in the amount of attention they gave this topic, to disrupt his team. “He could change today’s Nottingham Forest overnight, but he would definitely not be able to get the team to return as the current season’s main character. What is there to talk about?”
Of course, it was impossible for Twain to have everyone’s good opinion.
“I don’t think that Tony’s return was just for show. I know him very well. If he decided to get back to the team, it must have been after endless consideration. He must have thought that he would be able to take on the role properly before he agreed to the decision.” This comment was made by the head coach of Leeds United. He was Twain’s golden partner in coaching the England team, so he definitely knew Twain a lot better than others. “Hence, I don’t think that his return was simply just to hype up Nottingham Forest’s reputation. Anyways, I just want to remind the rest to be wary of him.”
Regarding all these comments, Twain kept his silence throughout, neither rebutting nor agreeing. This was because he was busy trying to settle all the internal relations within the team so there was no time to fuel the media circus.
It was almost as if he wanted to prove right those who were looking down on him. On the debut match after Tony Twain’s return, he had suffered a terrible loss. In Aston Villa’s home court, Villa Park, Nottingham Forest was flattened with a 1:2 defeat and their ranking fell to 17th place.
This match puzzled many people, including those who knew a lot about Twain. For instance, the one who was commentating about the match, Mortensen, was shaking his head throughout. “I really don’t know what Twain is thinking…”
No matter what situation his team was facing, he was simply sitting at the coaching seat and did not stand up at all. Throughout the whole match, he did not make any adjustments. Some people even joked about whether the actual Tony Twain had really returned to Nottingham Forest to coach. Maybe this was just a wax model that was stolen from the museum that came back to coach.
There was not much difference in the tactics employed by the past Nottingham Forest and the current team, save for the fact that Balotelli was back in the forward line, partnering with Mitchell. George Wood continued to stay on the middle path and Gago was assisting him from the side. The spectators did not see the fatal side flank attacks by Nottingham Forest, the attacks made by the team concentrated in the middle path, creating huge congestion in the middle sector.
Aston Villa was happy to see how Nottingham Forest concentrated their offense in the middle path as this made things a lot simpler for them during the match.
Twain used all three substitutions in the game but none of those had much purpose. Agbonlahor replaced Mitchell and Balotelli stayed on the pitch for the full 90 minutes. Alex Teixeira replaced Gago, as he went forward and played as the offensive midfielder, Cohen replaced Wijnaldum in hopes to strengthen the offense. After the substitutions, the Nottingham Forest’s flanking offense looked a lot better, but it was too late. The score was already 0:2 with Nottingham Forest being behind.
After the end of the match, the reporters were all waiting for the press conference that came after the match. They were excited to hear Twain’s statement after that defeat – he definitely would not be able to escape from this topic.
Twain was sitting on stage and looking at those reporters who were mocking him. He knew exactly what the reporters were expecting. He surely would not be able to escape this freely. That way, the media would definitely talk about his integrity.
“Aston Villa played well, so they won the game. We played badly, so we lost the game, that’s all there is to it.” His post-match comments were very brief.
The reporters showed no mercy. “Can you elaborate on how badly you guys played?”
Twain was not infuriated upon hearing this provocation. Instead, he gave a detailed evaluation of the issues in the tactics implemented by his team and this really caused a shock to those in the media waiting for a good show.
“Our offense was stacked in the middle, it was over-congested…” Twain spread his arms. He noticed the changes in the expressions of some of the reporters. That was the effect he intended. You all want to watch a good show, but I simply will not give you what you want!
The whole press conference continued for fifteen minutes, and the loser Tony Twain instead became the focal point. The head coach of Aston Villa, John Robertson, was extremely depressed. He realized that even when he won over Twain, he was still unable to become the main character.
Twain was very comfortable on stage, so much so that he was able to prevent the media from getting hold of too many of his weaknesses. After the end of the press conference, there were some who were uneasy and thought Twain was simply too cunning. They were unable to adapt to this low-profile Twain. Actually, it was most unfair to John Robertson. Though he was the winner, he had only been asked two questions throughout the whole press conference. Twain had completely stolen his limelight.
Even though Nottingham Forest scored a goal before the end of the match, it only won them back a bit of fame. None of their pride was regained. Twain and his team had become the target of the mockery from the media.
“Look, I’ve said it from the start, you guys should not have high hopes about the results from the team he is coaching.”
“Twain needs some time to fully adapt to his new job after having left football for four months…”
“The main takeaway from this match was not the score. I feel that one should focus on the process instead – commenting on the process, this match was a total disaster!”
“I discovered a problem. In the face of questions from so many about his ability to coach, it was unusual that Tony Twain did not fight back like he did last time. Then recalling his attitude during the press conference after the match, it is most probable that Tony Twain had already predicted this loss. Expanding on this fact, regarding this situation on returning to Nottingham Forest, he might not have sufficient confidence in handling this issue…”
※※※
“These media people really guessed one matter accurately,” Twain said during his meeting with the coaches. “Before the start of the previous league match, I was indeed not sure if we would be able to win. After this match, everyone might have realized that taking the middle path was not the right way. We must ensure that Nottingham Forest returns to the same track it took in the past.”
“Now that we have a week’s time, let’s throw away the tactics used in the past and start from the beginning.”
“From now on, adjust your mentality before the training, expand on the focus on the defensive, and strengthen the tactics on the offense after the free-kick. Before January, we will rely on these two tricks to stabilize the position of the team.
The coaches had no opinions on the arrangements made by Twain. They were professionals who knew that defense and free kicks were tactics that would immediately show effect. Change the offense? Take your time. First, they needed to restore the confidence and the morale of the team, then they would be able to see an efficient offense.
After the routine tactical meeting, David Kerslake and Freddy Eastwood stayed.
“Tony, you’re really tolerant,” Kerslake shook his head. “The only thing media hasn’t called you was an infamous liar.”
Twain laughed dismissively. “It is only a game, the media is often like this. You must understand them, David, it’s rare for them to see situations like this.”
Eastwood, who was beside him, was frowning upon another matter. “The next match will be on our home court, head coach. We definitely can’t lose this one…”
It was normal for him to worry about this; there was nothing much to losing on an away court. But on the home court, the expectations that the Nottingham Forest fans had of Twain were different. They definitely did not care about those theories of “head coach needing time to familiarize with the team he just took over”, they only knew that Tony Twain was the savior of the team, and were sure that once he took over the coaching seat, no matter how tough the situation was, he would be able to achieve victory. This did not sound possible for a human, but in the hearts of the Nottingham Forest fans, Tony Twain was comparable to a god.
Eastwood was thinking about this point. If Nottingham Forest lost on their home court, then Twain would have a difficult path ahead of him. The doubt and the disappointment of the fans and the segregation within the team would send the team sinking too deep into the abyss.
Although their opponents were not strong in the upcoming match, it was extremely important for Twain that there would be no room for errors.
Twain clearly knew the importance of this match. The issues behind the tactics were entrusted to the coaches and the daily training was thoroughly settled, so it did not require much effort from him as well.
The thing that really required his attention was the players; he felt like he needed to quickly find Balotelli for a one-on-one chat as soon as possible.
...
Chapter 1002 - Balotelli
Balotelli thought his position in the team should be promising, because he was rearranged to play forward, and he scored the only goal of Nottingham Forest F.C. in that lost match. He considered himself the best player on the team in that match, but of course, the media didn’t agree. One point of the game evaluation was the same among many different media people. They all agreed George Wood was the best player in Nottingham Forest F.C.
Balotelli admitted Wood’s performance was not bad, but when it came to the best of the team, he could not admit anyone was superior to him.
In addition, more importantly, he had the faith that this goal made the new manager see his value clearly. That was a brilliant goal after the breakthrough of the double team!
Upon his thinking, Dunn called him over after the training ended.
“Do you have time, Mario? I want to talk to you privately.”
Seeing the smile on the face of his manager, Balotelli became more certain of his idea. He paused deliberately to prevent himself from appearing to be overexcited. Then he nodded slowly: “Fine, I have a few minutes.”
“Come to my office.” Dunn turned and walked away.
Balotelli was dumbfounded for a moment. He didn’t expect the manager to turn and walk away so quickly. Somewhat unhappy, he followed Dunn, though at a very slow speed.
In fact, Dunn didn’t mean to put on airs in front of Balotelli. All that was on his mind was to find out how to start a conversation with the player, to make their talk more harmonious and to get the desired result.
His aim was nothing more or less but to bring out the best in Balotelli to help the team.
After he achieved that, he could focus on other details.
Balotelli felt that he did not get enough respect, and following this way of thinking, he decided that this conversation with the manager would have to be an unpleasant experience.
Nobody else was in the manager’s office except the two of them.
Dunn motioned for Balotelli to sit down and asked what he wanted to drink.
Balotelli shook his head and declined.
Dunn didn’t expect a straightforward rejection like this and felt somewhat awkward. At this time he noticed a problem. Compared to when he was in Inter Milan, Balotelli was now much fatter…
No wonder his performance was unstable.
Dunn decided to start with the goal, for goals were all forwards cared about. “Mario, your goal of the last round league was wonderful.”
Balotelli was secretly delighted upon hearing this from the manager. He finally got his worth acknowledged!
“However…” Dunn changed his tone, “Can you score such a goal often?”
Balotelli was taken aback by this question.
Under double team, he still managed to break and shoot the ball in through a gap between the defender’s two legs, bypassing the goalkeeper. He surely couldn’t score such a goal very often…
Dunn didn’t give Balotelli a chance to answer. In fact, he did not expect Balotelli to answer this question at all. The answer was obvious.
He asked another question: “Do you prefer playing right midfielder or forward?”
Balotelli said without hesitation this time: “Forward, naturally.”
Dunn smiled. This was exactly what he had anticipated. “Can you tell me your view regarding the team now?”
Balotelli’s answer was not much of a surprise. “I think I should be the core. With me as the core, the team can score many goals, and winning matches will not be a problem.”
Dunn nodded slightly and appeared to agree with Balotelli’s words. However, after hearing him out, he said, “But I’ve never used a forward as the core…”
He was telling the truth. He never considered using a forward as the core of a team since he became a manager. Whether it was Anelka, Van Nistelrooy, Eastwood, or Ľuboš Micheľ, none of them was the core of a team, and the team’s tactics had never been centered around those forwards. How could a manger who preferred defense make a forward the core? All offense came from the backfield, and naturally, the defensive midfielder was the most suitable person to be the core.
However, Balotelli didn’t know that. He didn’t expect those discouraging words from his manager and changed color abruptly.
How could this change of his expression escape Dunn’s eyes? Of course, the purpose of the conversation was to make use of Balotelli’s talent, but if Balotelli asked for too much, he would say no. Like now…
To be the core?
It was ridiculous! Having a forward at the core was contrary to all his tactics. How could he turn his tactics around and change the core? And get the entire team to adapt to the change in time? Time was most precious now. He could not waste it on such issues.
Besides, if Balotelli was an unstable player, why should he be the core? A core must be stable. If he sleepwalked in a match, wouldn’t the whole team suffer?
He wouldn’t do such a silly thing!
Although Dunn thought so, he could not say it. He stressed his opinion that the core as a forward and the core as a midfield were not the same thing. If he got Balotelli to score more goals, he might reconsider…
Since he aimed to motivate Balotelli, this could be regarded as a way to do it.
Therefore, he changed his expression immediately: “But you know, Mario, our tactic is to stagger two forwards, one in the front and one behind…” He made a gesture of staggering, and Balotelli nodded to show that he had understood. “I let you play forward. The aim is not to let you stay at the forefront to play center-forward.”
Balotelli understood that a center-forward should thrust into the penalty area of the opposition, where he would be surrounded by the opponent’s backs. Not just scoring goals, but even taking possession of the ball wouldn’t be easy.
“Your position is the second striker.” Dunn took a piece of paper, scribbled on it, and showed it to Balotelli.
As the picture showed, Balotelli’s position was wandering around the penalty area and seemed to be sort of away from it. However, this place was more suitable for his style and he would be freer in this area than in the penalty area.
Balotelli’s view of this manager changed gradually as he saw this picture. It looked like this boss was different from the previous ones, and had really researched his skills to make the best of them.
“Your position is more flexible…” Dunn pointed to the picture and looked at Balotelli. He didn’t expect the conversation to be a tactical discussion, but it was good. Better cut to the chase than talk nonsense.
“Mitchell will distract the attention of the opposition’s backs for you, and you need to connect our midfielders and forwards. He will push the opponent’s defenders to the forefront, leaving you with this vacancy…” Dunn drew a circle in front of the penalty area. “It’s up to you to shoot or pass here.”
Hearing this, Balotelli’s first thought was to shoot, but Dunn seemed to know what was on his mind. “Of course, if you always shoot regardless, I will reconsider your position…”
In fact, Balotelli wasn’t that much of a lone wolf player. Otherwise, the right midfielder wouldn’t be one of his most accustomed positions. He liked to cross from byline for his teammates, which was a very prominent tactic when he was in Inter Milan. It was just that he was the player with the highest net worth after he came to Nottingham Forest F.C. George Wood hadn’t transferred to another team and didn’t have an exact net worth, so no comparison was made between the two. Naturally, he was somewhat arrogant; he wanted his teammates to pass the ball to him rather than cooperate with teammates.
Now Dunn had to adopt and carrot and stick approach to let Balotelli regain his willingness to cooperate with his teammates. He didn’t need a forward who only focused on shooting and scoring, because the tactics of his team put emphasis on collectivism, and on one under his charge could be a lone wolf. If this were the case, it would be his fault as the manager.
“A second striker who can shoot by himself as well as cooperate with his teammates is better than one who only shoots all by himself. I hope you understand me, Mario.”
Anyway, Dunn was a manager who won the grand slam in both the club and the national team. No matter how contemptuous Balotelli was, he had to restrain himself in front of Dunn.
In fact, what was on the players’ mind was simple: if the manager had an impressive resume, no matter how famous and influential a star player was, he would obey the manager. One of the reasons why Balotelli was conceited and intractable was that the previous managers were not very important in his eyes.
“When should I shoot by myself and when should I pass the ball?” Balotelli asked a question that he immediately found foolish.
As expected, Dunn grinned at him. “You are the genius, Mario. Don’t you know the answer to this question?”
Ridiculed by Dunn, Balotelli was a little embarrassed. “I know, of course I know!” He resented how his question represented low confidence and vigor.
Dunn, too, didn’t want him to be too embarrassed. For exceptionally talented players, the management methods should not be too harsh. He was now 50 years old, no longer a young man in his thirties. Back then, he could hold Anelka on the substitutes’ bench very tightly for maintaining his authority. He couldn’t do such a thing now. Maybe because of advanced age, or because he had experienced too much, that sort thing of thing felt trivial now. He didn’t resent Balotelli’s pretentious pride.
That was why his mind was filled with ideas on how to make use of Balotelli rather than drive him away.
Of course, the authority of the manager should be maintained, but it should not be done by driving players who were talented and in their prime years to the stand. Didn’t Ferguson make the threatening remark that “I’d rather let him rot in the stands than sell him to Real Madrid”? However, did he really do so? No. Not only he did not, but he also made Ronaldo the core of Manchester United and even sacrificed Rooney for doing so. That was what a godfather-like manager should be: broad-minded and skillful. It was all in the team’s interest.
Tony Twain, who was 50 years old, really became mature, but regretfully, he would only be in charge until the end of this season. If he hadn’t had a heart condition and had been healthy, one could imagine what glorious achievements he could have reached in his position…
Well, in that case, was his retirement a fortune or misfortune to global football?
Dunn and Balotelli were discussing the details of tactics and strategies on the pitch in the future. The atmosphere between the two was harmonious, which was much of a surprise to both of them. As far as Dunn was concerned, Balotelli, the 28-year-old Italian player, was entitled to be arrogant, because he was really talented. Balotelli could understand his tactics without too much emphasis; he only needed to state them once. In Balotelli’s eyes, this manager who had countless glorious achievements was not just a glib and lucky guy; on the contrary, he really understood football and himself, and he was a boss one could pledge his loyalty to.
When in Inter Milan, there was a man who made him feel that way. That man later went to Manchester United. During his four years in Nottingham Forest, he always thought about going to Manchester United, which was in fact for following that person. Now he realized he didn’t need to do that anymore.
The private conversation was planned to last less than fifteen minutes, but when Dunn and Balotelli looked at the time, it was already 2 o’clock…
When Balotelli realized this, he simply laughed. Looked like it was a funny thing as it happened with a godfather of champions.
Dunn didn’t care much how players looked at him. He touched his belly and said to Balotelli, “Let’s have lunch, my treat today.”
After one hour’s communication, their relationship became very friendly. It was not strange to Balotelli that Dunn offered this.
“Anything is OK, I don’t want any food in particular. Actually, I’m not hungry…”
“Don’t say that. There will be a training course in the afternoon. You think you can handle my training on an empty stomach? If you have to quit halfway because you are physically inadequate, I’ll certainly take this chance to punish you. You should know how much I would dislike anything to go wrong in this team now…”
Dunn said this with a poker face, which really scared Balotelli, who was sure that his boss was serious.
Remembering how Twain treated Bale, the veteran of this team, Balotelli thought he ought to be careful. Just because Bale slacked in a group of shuttle run, Twain let Bale run another 20 rounds under the scorching sun.
He was the King of Wilford. Here, no one dared to go against his will.
“Okay, I’ll follow your order, boss…”
※※※
During the training interval, everybody found that Balotelli was actually chatting with his countryman Fiorillo, which didn’t happen usually. Even Fiorillo himself was surprised, and he couldn’t keep up with Balotelli’s conversation at times.
Kerslake and Eastwood looked at Dunn with inquisitive eyes and wanted to know what he said to this Italian.
“Just cater to his pleasure,” Dunn shrugged. “He is eager to be taken seriously, so take him seriously. Trust him, I think he won’t let us down…”
...
Chapter 1003 - Thoughts of an Ordinary Man
Thiago Silva felt a little depressed lately because he realized that his position in the dressing room was under a major threat. The threat did not come from his teammates whom he spent a lot of time with, but from the powerful manager who had come back.
Within two days, Twain had talked to many players alone. These were players who joined the team after he left Forest, but he did not ask to talk to Silva. To Silva, it was obvious that he was way down the pecking order in Twain’s mind…
Other than that, there was another reason why he felt insecure. That was because the players who were usually always hanging around him were slowly moving away from him and he felt that he was no longer a core member of the dressing room.
The age of 33 was not an age that rendered a center back unable to play as his experience would be able to give him good positional sense to compensate for his decline in physical attributes. However, Silva could feel that the new manager was obviously overlooking him, and did not plan to start him at all. Forest lost to Aston Villa away during the last game and the media focused their criticism on the attack, as they believed that the team lost not because they were poor defensively, but because they lacked firepower. He was unable to refute that because that was the fact.
Silva had a two-year contract with the club. He had originally planned to fulfill his contract and retire straight after that. However, it seemed like nobody would want him to remain even if he wanted to stay in the team…
He wanted to remind Twain of his status in the team, but he could not find a suitable excuse and opportunity to do so. Hence, he decided to continue waiting and observe from the side. If the results were bad, there would bound to be voices of displeasure against the manager. When that happened, he could just add on to it…
Twain had just lost a match and if he continued to lose the next home game, the day that Silva was looking forward to would come soon.
After all, Forest had not won anything for the past few seasons, but they had quite a number of new managers. He did not mind getting another new manager.
※※※
“We’ve been training defense for the whole week. There are some players who are worried that we would not be able to solve the issue of insufficient firepower,” David Kerslake reported the concerns of the players that he had gathered to Twain.
“How is that possible? We’ve arranged for offense practice during our daily training,” Twain shrugged. “Fine, I admit that our attacking patterns are much simpler than before… However, under the current situation, the simpler it is, the more effective it will be. They should be able to understand the meaning of this during the next game.”
Twain did not continue talking as he got back to his data and continued analyzing his future opponents.
Kerslake looked at Eastwood next to him and shook his head. It looked like they could only hope to win at home. If they lost the game, they would be hit by waves of criticism. He was sure that Twain knew that.
Twain thought for a while before looking up and realizing that his two assistant managers were still around, and then he seemed to have recalled something. He took off his glasses and said, “Okay, I’ll explain it to them myself during the tactical briefing this afternoon.”
Only then did the two assistant managers leave as if a huge burden had been lifted off them.
Twain thought that it was funny as he looked at the back views of the two of them. It looked like there was a lot of pressure on him. Everyone who cared about him wanted him to win whereas all those who hated him could not wait for him to lose at home…
Could he feel the pressure brought on by this burden then?
Twain placed his hand on the left side of his chest. His heart was beating rather quickly.
※※※
During the tactical briefing in the afternoon, Twain gathered all the players and started to explain the tactics for the game that would take place two days later, as well as the objective of the training for the past few days.
“Is there anyone who thinks that our lack of firepower won’t change because we’ve been doing defensive training for the whole week? Is that it?” Twain asked his players as he stood in front of the blackboard. However, nobody answered his question.
It was one thing to complain in private, but quite another to openly question the manager…
“But we’ve also been doing attack training,” Twain said, raising his arm. “Isn’t Mario being positioned as the second striker? And the attacking patterns on the flanks… Are you guys taking the training seriously?”
“Yes, boss!” The older players knew that things would be bad if they did not say anything after Twain frowned, so Bale stood up in a hurry to speak.
“In that case, why would you guys think that we’ll be lacking in firepower?” Twain asked again. He looked at Bale since he was the one who stood out.
Poor Bale did not know what he should be doing or saying at that moment.
“This tactic is too simple, it’ll be very easy for them to see through us,” Someone finally answered Twain’s question, but it was not Bale. It was someone behind him.
Twain tilted his head slightly to see the one who spoke out as Bale shifted to one side.
Thiago Silva’s face appeared in Twain’s view.
Twain was not surprised. He had a feeling that the Brazilian would definitely look for another chance to undermine his authority. This was a good opportunity for him.
Twain looked at Silva and then asked him, “Before I came here, the football you guys played was very complicated. Your possession went as high as seventy percent, your offense was mesmerizing, and you had all the advantages on paper… How were your results?”
Silva had no answers to that. The results were indeed pathetic previously, everyone knew that.
However, the question was, did their results improve after Twain’s arrival? If they were judging based on the previous game, the answer was no. However, Silva could not continue to question Twain that way. After all, Twain was the manager now, and unless Silva was prepared to openly go against him, it was not wise to continue this argument.
Silva wisely chose to shut up and watch. He was waiting for the next opportunity patiently.
“I agree that the offensive tactic that you were practicing might seem to be too simplistic, but in our current situation, I don’t think it is suitable for us to be attacking as if we’re on a show. What we need are goals, not fifty passes outside the opponent’s penalty box before passing it to the opponent’s goalkeeper. Simple and direct. That’s the requirement that I have for you in the attack. Our strikers have the height to be a threat in the air, that’s why I want you guys to cross more from the flanks. If Mitchell can get a shot on goal, it’s good. If he can knock the ball down for Balotelli or any other midfield players pressing up, that’s good as well. I don’t want our strikers to always be facing away from the goal and fighting for every inch of the ground with the opponent. There’s no need for that!”
Twain waved his arm. “We have the aerial advantage, why fight with them on the ground?”
“We’re playing on the counter, not full-out attack. There are many times when there will only be two, or maybe three people up front when we have a chance to counter. In such a situation, finding the fastest way to tear through their defense and the space to take a shot is what you should be doing.”
In the current Forest team, there were not many who had experienced the days when Twain had first managed the team. Defend and counter was the trademark for Forest then. If this team were the same team as it was at that time, there would be no need for Twain to be saying all this in front of them. To that team, all these were a given.
The situation was different now. There were too many new players and they had to sit through this talk of Twain. Otherwise, if they were hesitant on the pitch and could not agree with the manager’s tactics, they would naturally lose the game…
“If we can score with one pass, why must we pass the ball three times? If we can come up with a shot after three passes, why must we pass back and forth twenty times? My football philosophy is all about efficiency. Anything that will slow down the game or make us miss a good opportunity won’t fly with me. That’s why I hope you can change the style of play that you’re used to. It’s impossible for me to accommodate you guys. In this team, there’s only my way or the highway!” Twain said while pointing to his feet.
Even though he had only returned to management about a week ago, it seemed like he was more like the master of the place than the players who had been there for four years.
He was the King of Wilford indeed. This was his back garden.
Twain paused after he finished speaking. He was observing the players. There was nobody else who stood out to refute him and he was satisfied with that.
“Since nobody has any other opinions, let me talk about our tactics for the next game in detail. Long balls and crosses…”
※※※
Many people believed that Twain’s team could never win the match at the Crimson Stadium and that they would at most get a draw. The tone used by the local media in Nottingham gave a feeling that “even a draw would be a good result for Nottingham Forest now”.
The “Nottingham Evening Post”, a staunch ally of Tony Twain’s previously, seemed to be finding it hard to adjust after four years and they did not seem to know how to be on the same page with Twain anymore.
“Even a draw would be a good result for Nottingham Forest now” was written by Pierce Brosnan himself.
Actually, Brosnan had been feeling very uneasy after his article was published as he waited for Twain to call and give him a scolding. However, up until the day of the match, there was no call from Twain.
He thought that Twain was too busy and did not read the article. This disappointed him a little…
It was not that Twain did not read the article. In fact, he had read it thrice. A few years ago, he would most definitely have picked up the phone next to him and called Brosnan to give him a piece of his mind, telling him to be on the same page as his team. However, Twain did not do that this time. One reason for that was that his mentality had changed after going through so many things. Another reason was that the team belonged to Dunn anyway. He was just a transition manager, so why would he go against the local media?
The local media from Nottingham were a little biased towards Twain and the stuff they came up with was still rather friendly. The media from outside were not as friendly and wrote about everything they could think of to insult Twain, then waited to watch Twain make a fool of himself at home.
“I can predict the cheers that Twain will receive when he returns to the Crimson Stadium. They will be deafening. But what I’m interested in is the treatment that he will receive after 90 minutes,” Carl Spicer said in his pre-match show. “Just like how the sequels to most classic movies are usually bad, a lousy script such as the return of a legend usually does not end well. Oh? Did I just admit that he’s a legend? Oh well, since he led the team to a World Cup victory, and he almost got knighted by the Queen, I guess he can be deemed a legend… But that’s not important. All that belongs to the past. Other than helping him stabilize the dressing room and bring about greater attention to the team, his reputation doesn’t guarantee that his team will win. When he goes on a losing streak, his reputation will become the straw that breaks the camel’s back… I’m not trying to be an alarmist, and I believe Mr. Twain will agree with me, won’t he? Ha!”
Spicer was a stronger representative of the anti-Twain camp, and he was someone who did not mince words.
The voices of doubt reached a peak and stormed Nottingham Forest before they hosted Middlesbrough at home. These voices were just usual gossip, stuff like “the Nottingham Forest today is not the same as the Nottingham Forest before, the Tony Twain of today is not the same as the old Tony Twain”, “Nottingham Forest fans should not worship one person blindly and they should not have too much hope”, “Middlesbrough is higher than Nottingham Forest in the league standings, and even though they are playing at home, Forest should first think about not losing, instead of winning.”
“Logically speaking, they are right.” There was still half a day before the match started in the afternoon. The team was resting in the hotel that they were staying in and Kerslake was having coffee with Twain, chatting to pass time. Kerslake was talking about the negativity of the media.
“That’s right, logically speaking,” Twain nodded and said, “But these are the thoughts of ordinary men. Now, do you know why some of them can only be failures as managers and can only earn a living by talking?”
Kerslake was unable to react for a moment.
Twain continued, “People who think that we can at most get a draw will definitely be proved wrong. People who think that we will lose will have to eat their hats. Ordinary people? Ha, too bad I’m not one of them!”
He snorted as he looked at the reporters outside, wanting to come in but unable to.
...
Chapter 1004 - Long Live Your Majesty
“At this time there are still people begging for tickets…” In the camera footage, a number of Forest fans stood outside the Crimson Stadium holding up “I need tickets” signboards.
“It feels like a World Cup final.”
“It is all to see Tony Twain’s return, and it’s so hard to locate a ticket… Despite having left the Forest team more than four years ago, Twain has still retained his popularity.”
“If the Forest team’s results haven’t been so terrible in recent years, maybe there wouldn’t be so many people who miss him.”
“This sounds a little sour. If we think this way, if it wasn’t for his departure, Nottingham Forest would never have become a big joke in the Premier League. Then he would be the guarantee to win the championship title and the trophy. That’s why we chose this game as a live national broadcast. With him around, the ratings will be high.”
The two BBC television crew members were sitting in the broadcast van, watching the monitor and chatting.
In front of them was a wall of monitors, and a dozen of them showed every corner of the stadium. On the monitors that showed the entrance to the stadium and square, ticket seekers could be seen everywhere.
Inside the stadium, fans had already entered the stadium more than an hour in advance. They were hanging banners in the Robin Hood grandstand to prepare for the game that was about to start soon.
※※※
Pierce Brosnan realized something.
Since he became a sports reporter for the Nottingham Evening Post, he had attended every Nottingham Forest home game. However, the circumstances today made him feel special because he saw a lot of old, white-haired fans among the entering crowd. Most of these fans were older men who had followed the Forest team for decades. They had witnessed the Forest’s most glorious years and seen the team’s darkest times.
However, as he grew older, he would rarely see them come to the stadium to watch the games these few years. Although they bought season tickets every time, they really did not have the energy to go to the stadium. That place, which was full of noise and passion, was a great enemy to the health of the elderly.
However, today, he saw many white-haired fans at the entrance.
A media outlet from London was at the entrance, conducting interviews. They naturally noticed the older fans who had come together.
“At your current age, wouldn’t it be better to watch the game at home?” A young female reporter stopped a few of the old men and held her microphone out.
Several old guys looked at each other and grinned, revealing the gaps in their teeth.
“We’re here to see an old friend,” the tallest among them answered.
“An old friend?” The female reporter thought it odd. She was not from Nottingham and there was no way for her to understand how the Nottingham Forest fans felt about Twain.
Seeing her puzzled look, a short and fat old fan smiled at her and said, “Young lady, you’re not local, are you?”
The female reporter shook her head and replied, “I’m a Londoner.”
“You must not be a Nottingham Forest fan either, ha! Other than Tony, who else can be an old friend of Nottingham Forest?”
Seeing the female reporter’s sudden look of realization, several old guys put their arms over each other’s shoulders and sang with the other fans around them the song Nottingham Forest fans wrote for Tony Twain as they walked into the entrance tunnel.
“…We have a cyborg and he has a nuclear-powered heart! He never tires and absolutely does not accept defeat… He’s hated by people, but we love him! Because he can bring us championship titles and the enemies hate him, hate him! Tony, Tony! An a**hole, loved and hated by people, ha ha ha!”
“This song sounds weird…” The female reporter muttered with a frown. “It’s completely tuneless. It’s just shouting…”
“That’s the way it is,” a man next to her said. “It’s just some things that the fans yell out at the stands with a little bit of melody added in. The fans thought there was no melody worthy of Tony, so they simply expressed their feelings in the plainest way.”
The female reporter looked at the person who spoke unprompted in disbelief.
The other party calmly reached his hand out toward the quizzical-looking female reporter and said, “Pierce Brosnan. I’m a reporter from The Nottingham Evening Post, and I know Tony Twain better than any other reporter. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
※※※
If Twain knew that Brosnan was going to pick up a girl using his own name, the look on his face would have been awed.
However, he currently was not in the frame of mind to think about others. He was only focused on his own home game.
Was he nervous? No, but his heart did beat a little faster because of excitement.
It was like a trip to his homeland, which he had left decades ago. It was his first time as the Nottingham Forest manager, directing a game at the Crimson Stadium. Previously, he was at the Crimson Stadium as the England team manager. Although the fans also gave him a lot of support at the time, that feeling was not the same as now after all.
The England team only occasionally borrowed the Crimson Stadium. Its real home ground was the Wembley Stadium.
Now the Crimson Stadium was his home ground.
In the beginning, he had tightened the belt for several years to build the stadium. He plundered all over the world for those bargain players and then had to sell the outstanding players whom he had painstakingly nurtured in exchange for funds to the club. However, when the new stadium was built, he did not lead the Forest team to play a game here before, which was something he had regretted.
Now he was about to make up for it. He would be coaching and leading the team in this stadium that had been constructed with his whole heart and soul until the end of the season.
“It’s time for us to go, Chief,” Eastwood stood next to Twain and called out. He noticed that Twain had been lost in a state of contemplation just now. What was he thinking of?
“Huh? Oh… The players are all down?” Twain looked up at Eastwood, the assistant manager, in front of him.
“Yes, they are all on the bus.”
Twain got up and put his coat on.
“Let’s go, Freddy.”
※※※
“Tony Twain has already boarded the bus. The bus is slowly pulling out of the hotel… Heading for the Crimson Stadium… We’re going to keep track and continue the coverage for our audience,” the television reporter waiting outside the hotel spoke excitedly as he looked at the camera. Behind him, the Nottingham Forest red bus was leaving the hotel.
It was only ten kilometers from the hotel to the stadium, but the police cars cleared the way. The bus was surrounded by the reporters’ cars, which were following and filming. Such a spectacle had not been seen by the Forest players for years. They all knew who the focus of the reporters’ pursuit was.
Twain, sitting in the front row seat of the bus, was chatting in a low voice with Kerslake and Eastwood.
Through the window on the left side, they could already see the red roof of the Crimson Stadium.
“Welcome home, Chief!” Eastwood spoke as he pointed to the Crimson Stadium in front.
Kerslake, next to him, also laughed. He was finally home.
The red bus caused a commotion as it drove into the square. The police officers in charge of maintaining order at the scene were almost unable to hold on due to the impact. The fans who had not yet entered the stadium, as well as the fans still waiting for tickets, flocked toward the Nottingham Forest bus in droves. They shouted Tony Twain’s name.
“Tony! Tony! Tony! Tony!”
“Welcome back, Tony!”
“Isn’t nice to be back home, Tony?”
“Tony, we love you!”
…
“Haven’t seen such madness in a long time…” Eastwood muttered as he looked at the excited fans outside.
Thiago Silva looked out of the window with a gloomy expression. He was a popular star player at the Forest team, but the excitement caused by his appearances could never be comparable to this.
He remembered that some time ago when those old players talked about Twain, they referred to him numerous times as “The King, His Majesty.” At the time, he sneered at it, thinking it was just Twain’s self-promotion, and that the man just liked to toot his own horn.
However, looking at the scene today, the faces of those fans… It was just a small portion of the crowd outside the stadium. Many more fans were already in the stadium, waiting there.
Can I really go up against this guy? Can I really expect that kind of opportunity? He thought.
A seed of doubt grew in his mind, challenging his previous thinking.
No!
Soon he was back in a calm state of mind. The more these fans adored him, the more they liked him, the bigger the blow they’d suffer once he lost a game on the home ground, and the more disappointed they would be toward him. Here was the balance between heaven and hell. They could send him to heaven, but they could also let him go to hell.
Although Silva did not understand Mandarin and was completely ignorant about Chinese culture, it was remarkable that he understood the principle of “the water that bore the boat could also capsize it.”
※※※
The bus was parked at the entrance and the players alighted one after another. They were surrounded by reporters and fans, and the policemen were struggling to stop the overexcited crowd. Twain was on the bus, waiting for everyone to get off. If he were to be the first to alight, the players behind him could forget about getting out of here. The scene would become chaotic.
The situation was such now. Twain, escorted by four police officers, squeezed through the crowd toward the entrance of the tunnel. Along the way, people kept reaching out toward him with microphones, cell phones, tape recorders, and interview equipment, trying to touch him.
The path was only a short ten meters, but it was unusually tough for Twain to walk through…
“How does it feel to be home, Tony?” When he finally got to the entrance of the tunnel, there was a loud cry behind him.
He did not look back. He just raised his right hand and gave a thumbs-up. Then he quickly went in at the urging of the policemen.
“It’s so crazy… just like a rock star coming here to give a concert!” A beautiful young reporter lady could not help exclaiming as she looked at the scene in front of her.
Standing next to her, Brosnan smiled and said with a little pride, “The most successful manager in English football history has come home, so of course his fans will welcome him.”
The female reporter looked back at him.
“But you can’t imagine how this successful manager was down and out in the beginning, ha!” Brosnan laughed. “When he first appeared, all he got were boos and middle fingers.”
The lady reporter shook her head gently and said, “It’s hard to imagine…”
Brosnan pointed to fans who still refused to leave and said, “To them, Tony is synonymous with an entire era. From 2003 to 2018, 15 years’ worth of memories is here.”
As Brosnan spoke, he was also caught up in his own memories. Back then, he was a rude and impetuous intern reporter. He was a 24-four-year-old young man who just graduated from college. He did not know anything and had no experience. He was ridiculed and sneered at by Tony Twain at a press conference. They have almost become enemies. Who would have thought that in the future he would write an autobiography of this person?
The female reporter looked back at the middle-aged man. His eyes looked to the distance without any focus. A faintly discernible smile hung at corners of his mouth.
“It includes your memories, doesn’t it, Mr. Brosnan?”
Brosnan turned his eyes back and nodded at the young intern reporter who had just graduated from college, as he had done back then.
“Yes, Miss Alina. Memories of my youth.”
※※※
“Defensive counterattack, guys!” Twain clenched his fists in the locker room and seized the moment to repeat the main points of yesterday’s tactical meeting for his players. “Long balls! Don’t care how the laymen criticize this. You know what we need most right now. Not good-looking offensive cooperation and not gorgeous passes with your heels, but goals and victory! Middlesbrough will be pressing on us in the midfield. George, you’ll get their special care…” Twain pointed to Wood, who was changing his clothes.
Wood nodded and continued to put his jersey on.
“So, I ask you all not to hold the ball too much in the midfield. There is a great deal of risk in passing the ball more than three times in the midfield. I don’t want to see a scene where you pass the ball back and forth in the midfield and then send it to the opponent’s feet only to let them counter-press. Whether it’s George or Fernando, I mean Gago, we have to solidify the backfield in the game. Do not pass the ball past the centerline easily. Make use of long passes to organize attacks. The two sides…”
He also pointed to the two midfielders, Chris Cohen and Wijnaldum, who were in the starting lineup today.
“Your task today is the most important. You need to keep sprinting back and forth. During an attack, you must press forward. During the defense, you have to withdraw. If you can’t do it, I’ll bring you off! Anyway, I have a lot of people here who want to play.”
There was a burst of laughter in the locker room.
Twain also laughed. The atmosphere was very harmonious. There was no trace of nervousness. It was the pre-match atmosphere he wanted.
“The two strikers…” This time he stopped his hand movements. The two people looking at Twain were Mitchell and Balotelli. They were the starting strikers for the game. “Aaron, you have to try to push the opponent’s rear defensive line forward, press them to the front of the goal to create enough space for Mario.”
Twain did not deceive Balotelli. He did give Balotelli enough trust in the game, as well as the corresponding responsibility.
“Mario, thanks to the ups and downs in your performance in previous seasons, our opponent will not mark you too tightly…” Hearing his remark, some people were worried that Balotelli would be unhappy, but to their surprise, in the face of Twain’s teasing, Balotelli laughed along with him and did not care what Twain had said. It was a rare sight. Generally, Balotelli was very sensitive and cared a lot about others’ evaluation of him. If anyone dared to say that he was an inferior imported player with poor capability, he would certainly make the other party suffer. Now, from the looks of it, it seemed the boss had already dealt with this challenge in the locker room. “And they think that you’re used to playing on the right side. This game is your chance to prove yourself again, mate. We all know you’re a genius, but people out there don’t think so. Show them what you’ve got! You’re ‘Super Mario!’”
Finally, he touched on the rear defensive line.
“Guys, you’re the starting defenders for this game. You’re the key to the game.” Twain stood in front of the four starting defenders, who were respectively the left-back, Joe Mattock, the right-back, Nkoulou, and the center backs, Sakho and Jørgensen.
“I want you to strictly defend your zones. The full-backs are not allowed to assist with the offense and move forward. Except in the placekicks, do not use close marking defense. However, you have to be careful when defending in the backfield – do not blindly make a move to lift a siege. The defense is the source of offense. All attacks come from defense. You are not only defenders who break the opponent’s attacks, but you’re also the first stop of the offense. Therefore, I don’t want to worry that you will waste any chance of attack. After intercepting the ball, pass it over to the midfielders and let them organize the attack.”
“No problem, boss,” Mattock answered Twain on behalf of all the defenders.
Twain put his hands together and said, “That’s all that needed to be said. If I say more, you will dislike me for being long-winded. Finally, I want you to know one thing: although we lost the last round of the league tournament, it is not a reason to abandon ourselves to despair in this league round. In any case, my request to you is very simple – I don’t want anything but victory.”
※※※
Once Twain had said all that, there were still more than ten minutes to go before the game began. He gave the players a break and was asked to step outside.
The person who asked him to go out was not a staff member, but the club chairman, Evan Doughty.
Next to him stood a young man who seemed to be in his twenties.
“My son, Bob. Come and meet your idol, Tony Twain,” Evan pulled the young man next to him, pointing to Twain as he spoke to him.
“Hello, hello! Mr. Twain, I’m your admirer…” The young man rushed forward to shake Twain’s hand.
“Ah, hello, Bob…” Twain was a little unaccustomed to the enthusiasm that the chairman’s son showed him.
Evan also seemed to notice that Twain was a little awkward. He hurriedly pulled his son away and said, “If you want an autograph, wait for the game to be over. You go up first, I still have some matters here.”
Bob seemed afraid to defy his father. He turned around and walked away reluctantly.
“It was your father who first introduced you to me as well. He was completely different from you at the time.” As Twain looked at Bob’s receding figure, his demeanor went back to normal. He smiled as he talked about the past. Fifteen years ago, Evan Doughty could not even differentiate between “a manager” and “a coach.” He knew almost nothing about football. Now, however, Bob Doughty was an avid fan…
Moreover, when Nigel Doughty introduced Evan to Twain at the time, he had already intended to retire from the front line to let his son take over. Now he had followed in his footsteps and introduced his son to Twain. It might also be to make clear to Twain that his son would take over in the future. It was just that…
Why did he introduce his son to him instead of to the new manager for the next season? Could it be he still thought Twain could help his son?
“He’s in love with football thanks to you, Tony. Ever since you’ve become the Forest manager, he has fallen in love with the sport after watching a few Forest games with me.”
Twain gave a chuckle and said, “Did you ask me to step out of the locker room just to introduce your son to me, Evan?”
“Of course not. In fact, I came to look for you for another matter. However, he found out and wanted to tag along… It’s this, Tony. You don’t have to go out with the team. You should make your appearance now.”
Twain thought it was a little strange and asked, “Why? It’s still early for the game to start…”
“We have prepared a special welcome ceremony for you, so you have to make your appearance alone, Tony,” Evan looked at Twain with a smile.
“What ceremony?”
“You’ll know soon, Tony. Come on, everyone’s waiting for you.”
Twain looked at the locker room. He turned around and walked over. He pushed the door open and issued a few instructions to David Kerslake, the assistant manager standing at the door, asking him to gather the team and get ready to make their appearance. Then he followed Evan Doughty and walked together toward the tunnel leading to the field.
As soon as he left, the players also walked out of the locker room at Kerslake’s urging, and walked toward the tunnel, getting ready to line up for admission to the field.
※※※
When Twain reached the entrance of the tunnel, only three referees were waiting there. As they saw Twain walking over, one of them extended his hand to Twain to shake his.
In any case, Twain was the manager who led the England team to win the World Cup. That fact alone was worthy of respect.
Twain shook hands with the referee and found Evan still next to him. Then he turned around and asked, “This isn’t what you meant when you said ‘special welcome ceremony’, is it?”
Evan shook his head and patted Twain on the shoulder to say, “Go on and you’ll find out. You’ve got to walk this part by yourself, Tony. I’m sorry I can’t accompany you…”
Twain looked back at Evan Doughty. Doughty gestured to him to keep walking forward, so he stepped outside in puzzlement. Of course, he did not forget to stoop slightly – he was afraid that someone would throw water at him from the stands…
It was the only special welcome ceremony that he could think of, having his poor imagination…
However, it was not the case. There were no water balloons. Twain, who walked outside with his neck tucked in, looked left and right at the stands. He only saw enthusiastic fans.
Meanwhile, the music that was playing on the live broadcast came to an abrupt end and an old-sounding voice shouted excitedly, “And now! Let us welcome… His Majesty!!”
As if it were a flare signal, thunderous cheers erupted inside the Crimson Stadium before the voice faded away. All the fans in the stadium stood up, faced the entrance and called with their hands outstretched as they shouted, “Long live the King!”
Twain looked back in amazement and found that Evan was doing exactly the same thing as the fans in the tunnel.
“Long live the King!!!”
The cheers got louder with every wave.
It was indeed a special welcome ceremony…
Twain returned to his senses. He effortlessly waved in acknowledgment to the fans in the stands and then walked into the stadium with his head held high.
Along with his footsteps, the cheers continued.
With such cheers, he did not pretend to be modest but frankly accepted them. He deserved the address, and he earned the adoration of the fans because he was indeed His Majesty here!
The cheers continued as Twain walked to the center of the field. The players, on the other hand, had just arrived at the entrance of the tunnel. They had already heard the calls of the fans and saw that the boss was in the middle of the field. The old players, unsurprisingly, huddled together and pointed to Twain with smiles on their faces. Meanwhile, the players who had never played for Twain were completely stunned.
At this time, above the Robin Hood grandstand, a giant banner was hanging. The words on the red banner addressed Twain:
Welcome Home, Your Majesty!
“It’s really a surreal scene,” The television commentator exclaimed. He felt as if he was in a dream. How could this happen on a football field? In an era of the increasing commercialization of football, how many more people could still command such a heartfelt greeting?
“This game is the highlight of this round of the Premier League tournament, and Tony Twain is the highlight among the highlights!” Amid the deafening cheers, the commentator had to raise the volume of his voice as if someone had just scored a goal for the home team.
“I have a feeling that if Tony Twain announced that he was running for the British Prime Minister, he would definitely get more than half of the votes in Nottingham, and he wouldn’t have to campaign for them!”
“Even if the Queen were to be here, I’m afraid she would not be able to steal the limelight from him… No, not even the Pope could.”
“Remember that coronation night ten years ago? It is true that ‘His Majesty’ was by no means his own invention, nor was it hyped by the media. Twain is indeed His Majesty the King here!”
“Although many people hate him, he still enjoys a king’s treatment here. He was right to return. Tony! Look at the many people who adore you. You shouldn’t spend your days in retirement, ha!” John Motson laughed.
Standing in the middle of the field, Twain turned in a circle on the spot and waved in thanks to the Forest fans in the stands on all sides. He thanked them for preparing this “special welcome ceremony.” To be honest, he was very touched. Although he had left more than four years ago, his subjects still loved him, and that kind of adoration was the main reason why he finally decided to end his retirement and return to the Forest team.
People were emotional creatures. Even if Evan Doughty and Allan Adams had hurt him, the fans and the Forest team were innocent. His return was not for Evan Doughty, nor was it to make money. He just could not bear to see those fans, who used to shout to him in the stands, “Hey, Tony! Bring home another championship trophy!” to be sad. His conscience was clear about the decision.
Therefore, in the face of these fans’ wild cheers, it was inevitable and right that he accepted his position.
Among the cheering crowd were Fat John, Skinny Bill and all that group of people whom Twain was familiar with. The white-haired old guys that Brosnan had met before, and even some Middlesbrough fans, also followed the Forest fans in worship. In the eyes of all England fans, this guy should probably be ‘His Majesty the King’…
The loud cheers continued for five or six minutes and could be heard clearly outside the stadium.
Those fans in the square who could not get into the stadium also joined those inside and chanted “Long live Your Majesty!”, causing the other passers-by to fix their attention on their phenomenon.
The cheers slowly died down and ended as Twain walked toward the visiting team’s technical area to shake hands with the visiting manager, Tony Mowbray.
When curious reporters asked Mowbray after the game what he thought of the scene before that day’s game, Mowbray said with a laugh, “There’s only one ‘Tony’ today, but it’s not me.”
He was right. He was completely the supporting actor today. Even though he wanted to be the leading character before the game, that wish was gone when he saw the scene.
In the ensuing game, the Nottingham Forest team was clearly influenced by the scene. The entire team tossed out the previous gloomy appearance and shone with astounding and fearsome fighting spirit. With Twain’s long balls, as well as unexpected player and tactical arrangements, the team broke out with a powerful fighting force.
In addition, there was a huge noise created by 60,000 fans.
Middlesbrough surrendered after 17 minutes of resistance in a situation that was similar to a jet aircraft taking off.
They conceded three goals to Nottingham Forest in the second half and were utterly defeated with the score of 0:3 at the feet of the reborn Nottingham Forest.
After the game, the media joked about how they would go down in posterity as the team which personally experienced the return of His Majesty King Tony Twain. When the Premier League’s classic moments were mentioned in the future, there must be no shortage of footage on Middlesbrough.
Pierce Brosnan even excitedly used the following caption after the game:
I came; I saw; I conquered.
No one disagreed with this view, because that was the case.
All the doubting voices and arguments about Tony Twain and how “Twain is past his prime”, “Twain is no longer relevant” disappeared. The media nation-wide were unanimous in their singing of praises. Big and small media and commentators, as well as famous experts, had declared that the prevailing Tony Twain and Nottingham Forest were back. Under their iron hoofs, their opponent could only cry for mercy. Middlesbrough was unfortunate but honored to be the first victim, used as a sacrificial flag by Twain.
Even though Nottingham Forest still ranked 16th in the table after this victory, even the top-ranked teams felt the chill running down their backs.
People could no longer laugh that they would surely win when up against the Forest team. The wolves lurking in the forest bared their fangs again. Tony Twain and his Nottingham Forest team were no longer jokes. On the contrary, those who once vowed to look down on them were now the biggest jokes. However, Twain did not strike back at those who had previously laughed at him in the media.
The king had returned, and everyone had to pay respects from far and near.
However, Twain smiled and looked serene.
In fact, personally rolling up his sleeves to go into battle and give out punches in his enemies’ faces would lower his status …
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Chapter 1005 - The King without a Crown
The media were full of news about Twain’s triumphant comeback, and no one could stop talking of it. There were people who liked him and people who disliked him, but nobody could ignore him.
Every flattering word that was invented since humans had started using written language was directed at Twain. Reporters loved complimenting him these days. Now that Twain was popular, saying good things about him could attract more readers and viewers.
There was another matter that added to his glory. In December, the British royal family issued an announcement stating the names of those who would receive an honor from the Queen on January 1. Tony Twain’s name was, astonishingly, on the list.
Britain issued royal honors twice a year, once on the first day of the year in January and the other time on the Queen’s birthday. The Order of the British Empire was awarded in recognition of those who had made outstanding contributions to the United Kingdom in various fields, such as culture, sports, and economy. Many people in the football world had received the honor, so it was not an extraordinary thing.
However, the controversy surrounding Twain when it came to the question of whether he should receive the honor has existed for a long time. In fact, after Twain led Nottingham Forest to win the Treble, it had been recommended that he should be given the honor for his outstanding contribution. Seeing how the Scottish manager, Ferguson, was awarded the Order of the British Empire by the Queen after leading Manchester United to win the Treble, how could Twain, the most successful of all England’s home-grown managers, not be honored the same way?
However, many people opposed the proposal at the time. The arguments against it were absurd – the opponents stated that the Treble win was not enough for Twain to receive the Order of the British Empire. In fact, it was simply an excuse. Ferguson was also awarded the Order of the British Empire after he led the team to win the Treble. In that case, why was Twain’s achievement not enough? In fact, the real reason was not that Twain’s achievements were not enough to receive the honor, but his dubious character and foul mouth. Many people thought that if the Order of the British Empire were awarded to such a figure, it would be national disgrace…
This might sound unbelievable, but it received a lot of support from many people at the time, including the sports minister and the Prime Minister himself. This went to show how terrible Tony Twain’s reputation was in the country.
Fortunately, Twain himself was not interested in the honor. He never sang the anthem when he led the national team during the games. The honor meant little to him. Therefore, even though the debate over whether he was eligible for the title of “Sir” continued, he himself had turned a deaf ear. Being awarded the Order of the British Empire and receiving the title of “Sir” would not make him more money and could not lead him to make a full recovery from his heart disease overnight. He did not care for the empty title, whether he had it or not. He was fine either way.
Later, when he led the England national team to win the first UEFA European Championship in the country’s history, the media mentioned the matter of the award again. Supporters thought the history-making championship title should qualify Twain to receive the honor. This time, the opponents did not say that his achievements were insufficient. They simply said that Twain’s words and conduct did not conform to the code of a British Knight. Didn’t Tony Twain despise authority? In that case, there was no reason to award him the Order of the British Empire…
The opposition was still strong, and Twain himself did not fight it, so the matter died down again.
However, Twain’s supporters were not happy. They even set up a group calling for Twain to receive the honor. The group was known as “Twain for Knighthood”, occasionally appeared in public, and petitioned for Twain to receive the honor.
It was not until the 2018 World Cup that things finally took a turn for the better.
“If a man had led a club to win almost all the championships that a football club can win, as well as leading the national team to win the highest honor of all, and still he is not awarded the Order of the British Empire by the Queen, it must be a scandal in the British Empire!” This was not a statement issued by a certain media outlet, but something that was said by a member of the British Parliament.
The remark called on the third appeal for Twain to receive the honor.
Three UEFA Champions League titles, three Premier League trophies, one EFL Cup, one FA Cup, two Football Association Community Shield cups, two UEFA Super Cups, one FIFA Club World Cup, one UEFA European Championship title, one FIFA Confederations Cup, one FIFA World Cup… Twain had gained them all.
The Nottingham Evening Post even ran a special issue featuring the photographs of all the honors Twain had received, and then it questioned the opponents, “If these honors and contributions cannot make Tony Twain a knight, how many people do you think are eligible to be honored throughout the United Kingdom?”
The Times also published an editorial pointing out that in today’s British society, peerages were becoming devalued and the intrinsic value was getting lower, leaving only the use of honors as incentives. With the numerous confers of titles, even the most basic purpose of it was becoming cheap. Someone who donated a large sum of money to the government could receive the Order of the British Empire. For such a person to receive knighthood or Order of the British Empire, it could only reduce the prestige of the British royal family and ultimately render it worthless. In such a context, it was a great irony that some people who had truly made outstanding contributions to the government and country were not awarded the title due to such reasons.
Although the editorial did not mention Twain’s name throughout, any fool could see that they were on Twain’s side. This year, Twain must be included when it came to outstanding contributions. After he led his team to win the World Cup in Australia, he not only greatly boosted the confidence of the British people, but also enhanced the reputation of the United Kingdom. This even stimulated the British economy. With such accomplishments, it was really inexplicable to people that there was still controversy around the prospect of him being given the honor.
People even wrote letters to the Queen, imploring her to honor Twain.
It was through the efforts of these people that Twain’s name appeared on the list of honorees, and it was said the Queen herself had personally decided this.
Nevertheless, Twain did not intend to accept…
※※※
Long after the first recommendation for the honor was rejected, Twain knew that many people at the top level of the country did not like him. However, he had not like the country either. As a traditional Chinese man who “lived” in a British host, he was not interested in such a thing as the award. He had not thought to fight for his rights.
The second time that the recommendation was rejected reinforced Twain’s disdain for the royal family as well as his contempt for the so-called peerage. A hundred years ago, perhaps such a peerage still held some attraction. Now that any Tom, Dick, and Harry could be honored, he had no need to shamelessly push for it. Twain was never a man who liked to get in on the action.
As for the third time… His supporters finally put him on the list of honorees, but he was disinterested in the farce.
“Do I have to call you Uncle Sir in the future?” Shania looked at the list in the newspaper and teased her husband.
Twain shrugged it off and gave her an unexpected answer, “You won’t have that opportunity, my dear.”
“Huh?” Shania did not understand what he meant.
“I intend to refuse the honor.”
“What…” Shania’s mouth was agape. She was shocked.
“It’s not that surprising, is it?” Twain was amused by Shania’s reaction. “More than three hundred people in history had refused the Queen’s award of honor. I will be just one of them.”
“I just don’t understand why,” Shania pouted.
“If I had been awarded the Order of the British Empire on the first occasion, perhaps I would have been happy to accept it in front of the Queen as an honor like a championship trophy. Now my mindset is different. The medal is currently not an honor to me, but a charity. I don’t want it,” Twain pointed to the list in Shania’s hand and sneered.
Shania smiled as she looked at Twain. She was not British and naturally did not look at it from the perspective of a British national honor. Anyway, it was just a title. Since her husband said he did not want it, then the matter was settled.
“Anyway, it’s a medal for you, so you can do as you please.” Shania tossed the newspaper aside and put her hands around Twain’s neck. She looked at him with affection in her eyes and then moved her body closer as she gently caressed Twain’s chest.
※※※
Pierce Brosnan was shocked when he received an e-mail from Twain about his so-called “open letter.” Then he immediately called Twain.
“Tony, what are you thinking?”
“Huh?” Twain was not really awake yet and made a confused sound.
“I’m referring to the matter of your rejection of the honor… What the hell are you thinking?” Brosnan was holding tightly the “open letter” he had just printed out. The paper made a loud rustling sound when he trembled as he spoke.
“What am I thinking? I’m not interested in the common and tacky knighthood. It’s as simple as that, Pierce.” Twain stretched and got up from the bed. He turned his head to look at his wife, who was still sound asleep. He pulled the blanket over her and walked out in his pajamas.
It was very cold on the early December morning. He walked to the terrace, where the cold wind that was blowing in his face completely woke him up.
“Common and tacky? Tony, Don’t you know the significance of the honor?” Brosnan thought it must be because Twain had not woken up yet and was talking nonsense.
“Perhaps it was meaningful many years ago, Pierce. Now it’s meaningless. Even the owners of a fast-food chain can be awarded the Order of the British Empire. In a few years’ time, even the parents of newborn babies could reserve a spot ahead. With two thousand names a year, how many people in the UK do you think have not been awarded? Then again… I appreciate all your efforts to get me the award of honor. However, I don’t want this type of honor that smacks of charity. Am I a man who can’t live without the Order of the British Empire and the title of ‘Sir?’ Do you think I care about an insignificant thing like knighthood now that I’ve won so many championships?”
“Er…” Brosnan was rendered speechless by Twain’s words. He knew that Twain was an unruly man. It had not changed with his increasing age. However, he did not expect Twain to act this way with the British royal family…
“Don’t you think it’s such a pity, though, Tony?” Brosnan asked timidly.
“How can it be a pity? At best, I would be called ‘Sir Anthony.’ I don’t think the people who did not respect me before will respect me just because I have a title. I don’t think the people who have always liked me before will stop liking me if I do not become a Sir. I’m still who I am, I’m Tony Twain.” Twain gazed into the distance in the east. The sun was rising, and the brilliant rays lit up the eastern skies and horizon while the white mist in the forest rose and rolled, making it look like a fairytale land.
What else could Brosnan have to say when he brought up this point? Twain was right. He was who he was. He was Tony Twain, so no one could change the decision he made. Even if he were to set himself against the world, all anyone could do was choose to stand with him or against him.
“You’re going to make the royal family feel a great humiliation,” muttered Brosnan.
“That’s the result I want, haha!” Twain put a hand on his hip and guffawed loudly. “Some people did everything they could to make sure that I didn’t get the title. Now they see this as a form of charity and peace offering to me. I’ll tell them: let your self-righteous pride go to hell!”
Putting down the phone, Brosnan looked at the open letter in his hand and gave a sigh. He remembered a past event.
Before Twain, Nottingham Forest’s equally controversial manager, Brian Clough, who led the Forest team to two Champions League titles and had impressive accomplishments, was not awarded a title by the royal family either. There were rumors that Clough himself refused the royal invitation for the honor, and some people said that the unruly old man disapproved of the government at that time. In any case, when people proposed the honor again after Clough’s death, the matter was dropped because the Order of the British Empire and a peerage was not allowed to be conferred posthumously. In this way, Clough and the highest honor available to the British civilian population narrowly missed each other.
Fifteen years later, another Nottingham Forest manager, Tony Twain, also refused the royal honor. Was it fate?
Thinking further, nearly five hundred years ago, an unruly outlaw who felt contempt authority also appeared in this land. He led his men to go against the noble masters of the time, robbed the rich to help the poor, wandering the woods in the mountains with freedom.
Maybe this country has a tendency to produce this kind of characters…
Whether it was Robin Hood, Clough, or now Twain, they were all outlaws who were unruly, dared to challenge authority, and advocated freedom.
No matter what the outside world thought of them, their legendary stories would always spread through the lush Sherwood Forest. They were the heroes here.
※※※
A day later, the open letter written by Twain himself was sent to the Nottingham Evening Post and immediately caused a stir.
In the letter, Twain thanked the British royal family and the friends who campaigned for the honor. However, he made it clear that he would reject the title. As for the reasons for the rejection, he did not say that the current intrinsic value and authority of the peerage had become increasingly lower, even though everyone knew it. His reasons were much stronger than this.
“…I know a lot of people do not want me to be honored. They think I do not deserve it, and I do not wish to comment on that. I just want to say that I never wanted to receive any Order of the British Empire from the start – have any of you seen me come out and speak up for myself during such debates? No, because I did not want it at all. Are those people who were against me disappointed now? Of course, I would like to thank my friends who have advocated for the honor on my behalf. However, I don’t want to go against my principles – I do not want to be addressed as ‘Sir Anthony’, and I do not want to make myself look like a beggar who has been given charity to satisfy others. I am who I am, I am Tony Twain. I have a better reward than an unimportant Order of the British Empire – 15 years as a manager and 16 championship trophies. I don’t need to rely on a peerage to show my worth and make everyone know my achievements. In the face of them, everyone will agree that I am Britain’s… no, the world’s best football manager.
Therefore, for all the reasons mentioned above, I refuse to accept this honor.”
Although many people had refused the honor from the British royal family for various reasons, it was the first time that someone had done it as arrogantly as Twain. His manifesto was so potent that it incited a huge response across Britain.
Once again, people experienced his recalcitrance.
The Sun later commented:
“…He did not open his mouth to strike back in the face of numerous doubting voices in the media after his comeback. He did not give a slap to those people who laughed at him after losing the first game. All this made us think that the 50-year-old Tony Twain was getting old, that he had lost his sharpest teeth and claws, and was meek like a kitten.
However, we were wrong. It was just that he did not meet an opponent worthy enough for him to make a move.
Now, as for the British royal family, the opponent’s name is impressive enough, as well as qualified enough to be his adversary. So once again we meet with the familiar Tony Twain, the guy who is used to set himself against the world.”
“A genius is always different from ordinary people.” Lineker talked about the incident with Alan Hansen and Mark Lawrenson on the television show and said this, “I admit that the appeal of the peerage to the public is declining every year. However, there are still a lot of people who want to receive such an award every year. 2,000 places are still not enough. Under such circumstances, it is incomprehensible that Twain should give up the honor. However, he cannot be understood using an ordinary person’s thinking. The comments I have heard the most since the matter came out were ‘Why?’, ‘Why did he say no?’, ‘Why would he write such an arrogant open letter?’, ‘Why would he employ such a high-profile method of rejection?’… Many ‘whys.’ It seems to me that it would be foolish to ask Twain why. He never needs a reason to do things. If you must find a reason, then I can only say that he was probably in a bad mood, or in too good of a mood …”
The Nottingham Evening Post even gave Twain the title of “The King Without A Crown” and wrote, “…Although I personally regret that I can’t address Twain as ‘Sir Anthony’, it is just as Twain himself said: with 15 years of coaching and 16 major championship trophies, Twain no longer needs a knighthood to honor him for his accomplishments. He is, without a doubt, ‘The King without a Crown!’”
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Chapter 1006 - A Man Should Not Let A Lady Go Home Alone
The speculations about his return continued to be hyped in the media, but Twain was too busy to take notice. The most intense competition schedule had begun. If he and the players still wanted to have an enjoyable Christmas holiday, they could not lose too many games during this period…
Since Twain took over the team, he concentrated the most on defense and stamina. McAllister had neglected the stamina in the summer during preparations for the tournament and had indulged in the practice of his rich and varied offensive routines. To avoid collapsing completely in the second half of the league tournament, Twain could only help make up for what his predecessor did not do. It was why Twain insisted on competing with the simplest of tactics – he really did not have the time and energy to come up with flashy moves to please the crowd.
Since Sophia’s death, Twain had been concerned about Wood’s state of mind. Looking at the past few weeks, Wood had not sunk into despair due to the death of his mother. He did not bring up the matter of retirement again either.
Maybe the song sung by Shania had some effect… Twain hoped so.
Wood was hardworking, serious, and did his utmost more than ever during training. He was using this method to try to forget the pain of losing his mother, which Twain was powerless to do anything about. Time was the best medicine for the recovery from trauma. He believed that over time, Wood would eventually get over those emotions… Of course, it could not happen without the help of others.
“Hey, George.” During a break in training, Twain called Wood over.
Wood thought Twain was going to talk to him about some of the arrangements for the game scheduled for the day after. However, he did not expect Twain to invite him to his house for dinner in the evening. “I’ve asked Shania to cook a meal for you… Why are you looking at me like that? She has honed her cooking skills now… All right, fine, I’ll personally prepare the meal. In fact, Teresa misses her older brother Wood. Can you bear to make a sweet and lovely girl sad?”
Wood hesitated and finally nodded.
Twain looked at Wood’s departing back view and shook his head gently. It was the only thing he could do for Wood. Twain felt uncomfortable at the thought of him locking himself after training ended, in that dark, cold, lifeless house as if it was not a real home, but an eerie and crumbling ancient castle full of ghost legends.
If it had not been for Wood’s refusal, he had even planned to have Wood move to his own home and live with him. After all, there was more life in his own home.
※※※
“Okay, guys. That’s all for today. I’ll remind you again that the busiest period will start from the day after tomorrow. If you don’t want to spend Christmas in the English Football League Championship next season, then give me your best shot. The first target,” Twain put up his right index finger as he spoke, “is to get out of the relegation zone. Always wandering at the edge of the relegation zone puts a lot of psychological pressure on me. That’s all for now, guys.”
The players left the training ground one by one. Twain called out and stopped Wood.
“Aren’t you coming with me?”
Wood pointed to the sweaty training suit he wore and said, “I’m going to go home to change my clothes and take a shower.”
Twain looked at him and said, “George, are you really refusing to consider my suggestion? You might as well move in to live with us.”
Wood shook his head and said, “No, I prefer staying in my home.”
Twain sighed helplessly and said, “All right, that’s up to you. We’ll wait for you at home. Besides, you can come whenever you want.”
“Thank you.” Wood did not turn around straight away but said ‘thank you’, which surprised Twain a little. He thought he would not hear the words “thank you” because of Wood’s awkward temper.
It looked like… he had matured a little.
Twain pinched his chin and pursed his lips.
※※※
Teresa knew that Wood was coming and was excited. After she heard the news, she sat properly in the living room and waited while Twain and Shania were busy in the kitchen, preparing a sumptuous dinner.
However, after they got all the dishes ready, Wood had not come yet.
“He just has to shower and change clothes. It shouldn’t take so long…” Twain looked at his watch. It was 8:30 p.m., and the team’s training was over before seven o’clock.
“Does George have a car?” Shania asked.
“No.”
“He won’t walk here, will he?”
Twain was taken aback by his wife’s idea and said, “Walk all the way here from Wilford? Don’t joke, my dear. He’s not an idiot.”
“Then, could he have met with some trouble…” Shania, with her chin in her hand, looked up at the ceiling and muttered to herself.
“What kind of trouble could he have? I’ll be thankful if he doesn’t give trouble to others…” Twain also muttered to himself. However, he was not sure what happened. Could it be that Wood went home, saw his mother’s photograph, suddenly lost the will to come and decided to stay at home? It was quite possible… However, he should have given him a phone call to explain.
Just as the two people’s imagination was running wild, the doorbell outside rang.
“Big Brother Wood!” Teresa happily yelled as she jumped off the couch and went to open the door, while Twain and Shania looked at each other. It looked as if their guest had arrived.
“Big Brother Wood…” Teresa, who stood at her tiptoes to open the door, looked at the two people outside with a puzzled expression.
“Hello, Teresa.” George Wood, who was wearing a suit, greeted Teresa, who stood at the door looking up at himself and the girl behind him.
“Hello, Teresa,” Wood’s companion gave a friendly wave to the little girl.
Twain, who was still wearing an apron, and his wife came out of the kitchen and were also taken aback when they saw Wood standing outside in the yard with Vivian behind him.
“Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Twain.” Vivian went round in front of Wood and waved her hand in greeting at the Twains.
Seeing the surprised expressions on the faces of both Twain and Shania, Wood pointed to Vivian, who was standing next to him, and said, “I did not ask her to come but she insisted on tagging along with me.”
“I had asked George to have dinner together, but he said you invited him, so I came along. I hope I’m not bothering you,” Vivian said politely to the two hosts.
After seeing the behavior of the couple, Twain understood everything. Consequently, he immediately changed the expression on his face, beamed and invited the two of them in. “It’s no bother at all. We couldn’t be more pleased… You know, George never brings any friends to our place, especially…” he glanced at Wood and added, “female friends.”
Shania also understood what was going on, and hurriedly welcomed them. She patted Teresa on the head and said, “Teresa, show Big Brother Wood and Big Sister Vivian the way.”
Teresa turned back at every step to look at the two as she led them into the house.
Twain and Shania deliberately fell behind.
“She was the nurse in the hospital who constantly cared for Sophia until she passed away,” Twain said to Shania. “You must have met her at the funeral.”
“Yes, she was standing behind Wood at the time… When did they start going out?” Shania whispered.
Twain gave a silent chuckle. “It seems that our woodblock has encountered a persistent character!”
“I think it’s wonderful. The best way to forget a painful period is to find new love.” Shania linked her arm with Twain’s and rested her head on his shoulder. “I’m sure Sophia would be very happy, too.”
※※※
During dinner, the focus of the conversation was on Vivian, as if she were the one invited by the Twains, and Wood was nothing more than a prop.
Shania kept chatting with Vivian, asking her about her job, her current situation, and taking an indirect approach to find out how she and Wood had gotten close enough to have dinner together with his old friends…
All the while, Wood sat there like a blockhead.
Vivian appeared natural and relaxed. She was not nervous at all, facing a legendary manager who had just caused a huge debate across the United Kingdom and a Hollywood movie star and supermodel. She behaved a little like when she first stopped Wood in the hospital.
Twain did not chat with Vivian in the same manner as his wife did. He only occasionally said a few words, and at other times, he observed both Wood and Vivian. He noticed that Vivian always glanced at Wood, intentionally or unintentionally, while Wood was fully focused on eating his dinner.
It was interesting.
“As a friend of George’s, I think he must have been a headache for you, hasn’t he?” Twain interjected. He knew it was not easy to get along with George. He originally thought that only he and Shania could interact with Wood peacefully. Outsiders never knew when they might offend Wood. He was as strong and stubborn as an ox, but tender-hearted like a sentimental young lady.
Speaking of which, Vivian got a little embarrassed. She took a look at the indifferent Wood next to her and laughed as she said, “Actually… I think I’m the one who gives George a headache.”
Both Twain and Shania were taken aback. Oh, my God! Was there anyone else in the world who could give Wood a headache?
Seeing the surprised look in the eyes of the two hosts, Vivian further explained, “I can feel that sometimes George is angry with me, but he will not scold me, nor will he drive me away or anything like that… But I think he must have a headache.”
At this time, Wood, who had not said anything at all until now, spoke up. “She’s right, I do have a big headache.”
Twain laughed, and then Shania laughed along with her husband.
Teresa looked curiously at her parents. Although she did not understand what was going on, since her parents laughed, she laughed as well…
Only Wood and Vivian at the dining table wondered why Twain and his family found this so funny.
Twain stopped laughing after much difficulty and then looked at Wood and said, “Oh, George. I’m so happy that someone is finally able to control you, haha!”
Vivian did not understand why Wood would not scold her even though she made him angry. However, Twain clearly understood. It was because Vivian was the only one who had been with Wood’s mother in the last days of her life. The young nurse had been by Sophia’s bedside the whole time while she was in a coma for the final two days. It was a huge kindness in Wood’s view. He certainly would not mistreat the benefactor who had accompanied his mother and stayed with her at the passing of her last breath.
However, Wood must not like the fact that Vivian was taking care of him, so he felt powerless and annoyed.
Shania also understood the reason behind it, so she laughed as well. The people all over the world who could make Wood yield could be counted on one hand and happened to be here at this table today. She turned to look at her own husband and found him staring at the two people across with a cheeky expression.
What did he see?
George’s future?
Vivian was a little embarrassed by Twain’s words, while Wood was even more uncomfortable.
After dinner, Wood was going to say goodbye. He did not want any jokes at his expense. However, Twain did not want to let him go just like that.
“It’s Christmas in two weeks’ time, George. Come to our place then. Shania is going to work again. Surely you’re not going to let Teresa and me have a lonesome Christmas by ourselves?” Twain was good at finding an excuse. Once he used the sweet Teresa as the trump card, and once Wood had taken a look at Teresa’s bright and beautiful eyes, full of anticipation, he bit back the words of polite decline.
He nodded.
“Are you going to spend Christmas with your parents, Miss Vivian?” Twain asked, turning to her.
“No… They’ve already booked a flight to Barcelona. They’re taking advantage of the Christmas period to go on holiday, which they had been planning since the beginning of the year,” Vivian shook her head.
“In that case, you…”
“And I have to work shifts, so I have to stay in Nottingham,” Vivian gave Twain a smile.
“Well…” Twain turned to look at Wood and said to him, “Don’t forget to bring Miss Vivian with you at Christmas, George.”
Wood looked up in amazement at a smiling Twain.
Vivian also looked at Twain in surprise. Soon, however, she turned her gaze to Wood, as if waiting for his answer.
Vivian was not the only one waiting for it. Twain and Shania were looking at Wood, waiting eagerly.
Wood hesitated and finally gave a curt nod.
Twain smiled and so did Shania. Vivian also lowered her head and smiled.
“Very well, let’s call it a night now.” Twain and his family saw Wood and Vivian out of the courtyard. Then Twain said to Wood, “Take Miss Vivian home first before you go back.”
Wood looked at him.
“A man should not let a lady go home alone.” Twain put his hand on Wood’s shoulder and squeezed it hard.
“If you’re worried you’ll get home too late, I can allow you to be 15 minutes late for training tomorrow morning.”
※※※
Wood was not late for the training session the next day. He was still the first in the entire team to arrive at the training base, the first one to change into the training clothes and the first one to appear on the training ground.
Two days later, in the first game of the devil’s calendar during the Christmas period, Wood led the team to a victory over the visiting Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club. Then a piece of news came from Paris, France, that George Wood was awarded the European Ballon d’Or for his outstanding performance in this year’s national team competition. On the same day, Wood was also awarded the World Player of the Year award by United Kingdom’s World Football publication. In addition, this year’s Laureus World Sports Awards’ Sportsman of the Year award was also waiting for him.
More than a week later, five days before Christmas, Wood and Twain flew together to the Austrian capital, Vienna. In Wiener Musikverein, Wood took the FIFA World Player of the Year trophy from the FIFA President Blatter.
Although the club’s performance was not very good, this year was the year of the World Cup. All the major awards were judged accordingly by a major event like the World Cup. Twain’s England team was an emphasis on the team as a whole. As the core and captain of the team, Wood was naturally the key figure in the team ultimately winning the World Cup. It was indisputable that he should be elected as FIFA World Player of the Year.
Wood appeared a little awkward and slow of speech at the awards ceremony, but his brief acceptance speech made Twain’s eyes tear up as he sat below the stage with a smile on his face and prepared to clap.
“All my glory belongs to my mother, and this is no exception.” He held up the golden cup in his hand and said, “Thank you, Mom. Thank you, Mr. Twain.”
It was the first time Wood had won such a prestigious award and his career had reached a peak. Hopefully, his life would start a whole new chapter from now on…
In addition, Tony Twain, who led the England team to the World Cup, was once again named FIFA World Coach of the Year. This was nothing new. Twain had appeared on this stage to accept the awards when he led his team to win the first UEFA Champions League, as well as the defending UEFA Champions League title and when he won the Treble as well.
It was the fourth time in his coaching career that he had stepped upon this podium.
“I hope you don’t get bored.” Twain’s first words made everyone below the stage burst into laughter. “It’s definitely not a pleasant thing to see my annoying face again. But it doesn’t matter; you all can breathe a sigh of relief.” When Twain said this, he turned to the FIFA and UEFA officials. “I’m only working again for this season, so I want to say goodbye to you in advance.” He waved his hand and continued, “This time, the farewell is real, and I won’t be coming back. So, you can have a good night’s sleep in the future, guys.”
Then, amid the startled expressions of the senior officials, Twain took the trophy and slowly walked off the stage. He was greeted by a standing ovation from the entire audience.
Although there were many rivals here who were his opponents on the field, they still gave respect and acknowledgment to the professional who had won so many honors.
No matter how much they disliked Twain, those championship trophies served as constant reminders for them to respect him.
In Wiener Musikverein, the top classical music hall of Vienna, Tony Twain, the best in his field, had also made it to the top level of football. Everyone, including his opponents, respected him. No one dared to question his status again.
...
Chapter 1007 - Inside First, Then Outside
Although rejecting the Queen’s award caused a stir at home, Twain wasn’t much affected. He was still taking the team everywhere, playing the game. In every Forest home game, their Crimson Stadium was still full of seats. The Nottingham press continued to sing his praises every week. The voices of the few opposing media people did not affect him at all.
Britain’s royal family only regretted that Twain, such a prominent celebrity, has refused to be honored. They did not say much about it. Perhaps they thought that it was really inappropriate to take it so seriously when one had royal noble status like they did.
However, someone must have been dissatisfied with Twain’s open letter, because they felt like they were deeply offended. Twain didn’t care how they felt. Just let those haters keep on hating him.
“Nottingham Forest have risen from 17th to 14th place… ”
Xia Yang was reading the news of international football in the newspaper.
“Are you still questioning my choice, Uncle Xia?” Chen Jian was sitting next to him, peeling an apple for himself.
“Hey…” Xia Yang had to admit that he was not as trusting towards Twain as the young man next to him was. “Just a few victories, that doesn’t make a difference. And I’ve heard that Twain will retire again at the end of the season. What will you do then? You have to know that ‘every emperor has a cabinet composed of his own favorites’, Chen Jian.”
“I’m going to be worth more than I am right now even if I only spent half a season at Nottingham Forest. Don’t you know this, Uncle Xia?” Chen Jian lifted the apple parings, and Xia Yang saw the paring of an apple was not cut off at all. The slices were still connected as one. “Furthermore, maybe the new head coach will like me as well?”
“Stop your daydreaming!” Xia Yang gave him an angry stare, but deep inside he wished this may be true.
“What did the club say?”
“Nottingham Forest has made an official offer, but they haven’t given any reply yet. I think they’re going to wait until the winter transfer window opens. I hope it will get more attention from the other clubs for a better price.” Speaking of this, Xia Yang frowned. “I have given the news to the press, but I think the pressure they put the club under is quite not enough yet.”
“I would like to join Nottingham Forest as soon as I can, Uncle Xia. ”
Xia Yang looked at him. “If you want that, you will have to go to Manzano to talk to him personally, Chen Jian. Media news can only be considered as catching the wind and grasping at the shadow, but as for the player’s own opinion, they will have to consider it.”
Chen Jian put a piece of apple in his mouth and took a bite. “OK, I’ll go to talk to Mr. Head coach.”
Chen Jian went to find his coach Manzano for a showdown, while Twain was making his way to Thiago Silva.
“To be honest, Thiago, the club doesn’t need you anymore. If you think of looking for a new club after the winter window opens, I’m sure many will be ready to appreciate the contribution you’ve made in recent years.” Twain sat in his office chair and looked at the 33-year-old center-back on the sofa.
Both men looked a little aloof. Twain had long wanted to get rid of this “Overlord in the dressing room”. Now the chance was finally here.
During the last round of the league, Twain used the rotation system in the dense schedule. Thiago Silva, who hasn’t played ever since he took the job, finally appeared in the starting lineup. However, his performance was not flattering at all. At the age of 33, he clearly couldn’t resist the impact of a young striker. His speed was low, his turn slow, and his bounce poor. Where he’s been had become a major weak point for the opponent. Twain eventually had to replace Silva at the start of the second half and sent Sacco to finally stabilize the situation.
Although in this game the Forest team only got a draw, it showed to many people Silva’s embarrassing performance.
“I’d like to finish my contract with the club and retire from the Forest,” Silva made his own comments without any expression.
“If you’re willing to leave the team in January, the club will compensate you for the rest of the season.” In order to get rid of this man, Twain spared no effort. And Evan Doughty was also in line with Twain. Even if it meant losing lots of money, he wouldn’t hesitate.
“I have signed a contract with the club for a year and a half.”
Thiago Silva’s remark meant that the club should compensate him for the entire duration of the contract. Twain and Doughty would certainly not agree to such a request, but at least it meant Silva was ready to leave the team, it was only that the price didn’t reach his expectations yet.
Twain could only curse Evan privately in his mind. He could not understand how Evan was thinking to sign another three-year contract with a 32-year-old center-back. It was said that Alan had done this deal, and now he could not help believing that Allen had received some profit from Silva’s agent.
Therefore, it might not have been a whim for Evan to dismiss Allen.
What if Silva insisted on fulfilling the eighteen-month contract?
Twain said, “Then I’ll give you a showdown, Thiago. From today on, until your contract expires, I will not put you on the starter lineup, nor will I put you on the roster. You won’t get a second in all the games, even in the preseason. The team doesn’t need you now. You can go back to Brazil for a holiday, or you can go somewhere else to play or spend your vacation however you wish. I won’t care if you come to train or not. However, every time you miss a training session, I’ll deduct your salary for a week. Every time you are late for training, I’ll deduct your salary for a week as well. What do you think of this condition?”
Thiago Silva suddenly showed a surprised look – this head coach was simply too ruthless!
Seeing his change of expression, Twain grinned silently. He wasn’t at all afraid that doing so would cause the other players to complain. The Brazilian was no better at the dressing room than Balotelli, and many English players and veteran players were eager to see how Silva would suffer.
However, since the conversation has gone this far, there was no need to talk about it anymore. Silva would definitely not discuss it calmly, and Twain wasn’t planning on wasting his breath.
Silva left the head coach’s office with a furious look, and Twain believed that next, he would look for his agent, but he was not afraid at all. If Silva was going to leave, of course it would be the best choice for both of them. However, if he insisted on staying, Twain was determined that the Brazilian would know who was in charge of Wilford and Nottingham Forest.
※※※
However, Twain did not see Silva’s agent, and Silva wasn’t late for training or absent. Instead, he worked harder in the training. Twain thought Silva was testing him to see if what he said was true or just a bluff.
Twain was not concerned whether Silva believed what he said or not. In the next week, in two games, Silva did not even enter the roster.
In fact, that Silva didn’t make the roster list for two rounds in a row wasn’t such big news, so basically, the media didn’t pay much attention at first. But then came the news in The Sun that there was a conflict between Silva and Twain.
Twain had a hunch that it was something Silva’s agent had done in an act of trying to put pressure on him. What a joke. He was not afraid of this.
Indeed the reporters quickly came to Twain to ask him if he had a conflict with Silva or not.
Twain didn’t answer the question head-on. “A nearly 34-year-old center-back was out of the roster list for two rounds in the league. Isn’t it normal for a player of that age? I don’t know what you’re so surprised at.”
As Twain’s partner, Evan stood out at the right time and said, “The club is thankful for Silva’s contribution to the team over the course of four seasons. The club also hopes he can get better at the end of his career.”
This was a subtle expression of the club’s position – Tony Twain and I are on the same side.
In this case, Nottingham Forest club and Tony Twain were both right. They didn’t have to waste their weekly salary on a guy who basically couldn’t get out to play regularly. They didn’t care if they were criticized for being ruthless. How many clubs were charitable these days? Besides, charity was for those with true loyalties, not for everyone alike. Otherwise, the club would turn into a nursing home. AC Milan was once regarded as the most humane club, but they didn’t leave every worthless player in their club. They drove away a large number of players every year. A world like professional football was actually very cruel…
The team actually knew there was a conflict between Twain and Silva, but no one came forward to say anything. Even those foreign players who had been very well with Silva once now saw him as the plague and tried to get away from him as far as they could.
Once a big rival in the locker room to George Wood, he was suddenly deserted by his followers. He no longer had anything to rely on to move against Twain. After these two rounds, he was convinced that Twain was really someone who could do anything as he said. Two rounds out of the roster list were just a warning. Then if he had the slightest slack in the training, and were caught by Twain, it would end up with real punishment.
It looked like his good days here were over.
Twain finally met Silva’s agent, who came to confirm whether if Silva really left Forest this winter the club would compensate him for the rest of the half-season.
Twain nodded and made the promise. They could inform the media about this news. If the club didn’t live up to that promise, Silva could get justice for himself through the news media.
The next thing was simple.
Silva wanted to return to Brazil to end his career. The club was generous enough to say that they could terminate Silva’s contract ahead of schedule and compensate him for the rest of the half-season so that Silva was free to join any club he wanted.
Meanwhile, negotiations for Chen Jian were continuing. The RCD Espanyol offered 20 million, and both Evan and Twain thought it was too much. Even as the core of the RCD Espanyol, Chen Jian was not worthy of this price. Therefore, they deliberately cooled down the negotiations, waiting for news from Barcelona.
A few days later, the local Barcelona media reported that Nottingham Forest was interested in buying Chen Jian, who also found Manzano to give him a showdown and expressed his desire to leave the team.
As a head coach, Manzano certainly didn’t want his team core to leave, but he was under pressure from both the club and Chen Jian. Chen Jian was determined to go, even up to a refusal to train. The club also wanted to sell Chen Jian to obtain next season’s transfer budget.
Finally, after repeated negotiations, the two sides finalized the transfer fee at nine million pounds. Chen Jian has become the most expensive player in the Chinese professional football history. In addition, he has once again attracted the attention of the world’s football community. Of course, it wasn’t just he who caught the world’s eye, but also the Nottingham Forest club that acquired him for this price.
Many media outlets didn’t understand why Nottingham Forest was buying a player with similar technical features and style to Wood, and a Chinese midfielder who was no longer young at that. However, this time no reporters jumped out to mock him in such a hurry. They all learned patience in the face of this man who would always slap the doubting ones in the face. The media were all waiting, waiting for Chen Jian to come to the Forest team to make a fool of himself.
Twain didn’t care what the media thought. It was the best for the media to be confused because his opponents were confusing too.
He was delighted that the transfer negotiation had finally been settled before the winter transfer window opened. In this way, on January 1 next year, they could introduce Chen Jian right away.
In a phone call to Chen Jian, Twain told him the good news. “If you can pass the physical examination, you’ll catch up with the Football Association Cup on January 5.”
Chen Jian didn’t understand why this was good news. If being able to play for the new team as soon as possible was good news, it was good for the player. It had nothing to do with the head coach!
“The schedule has come out early! Nottingham Forest’s first game of the Football Association Cup this season is against Notts County.” Twain smiled on the other end of the line. “To tell you the truth, Chen Jian, my successor is your compatriot and you will have the opportunity to show your strength in front of him in the Football Association Cup.”
Hearing this, Chen Jian understood Twain’s intentions.
He knew Dunn and Twain weren’t the kind of head coaches who would be unfairly privileged. Dunn could become the head coach of Nottingham Forest after that, no doubt, only because of Twain’s recommendation. There would be absolutely no question of opposing Twain’s words in Nottingham. If he didn’t want to just be a passer-by at Nottingham Forest, he would have to show his strength in front of the next head coach. Wasn’t it better to show his strength ahead of time in front of Dunn than after he became the head coach?
This was really good news.
On Christmas Eve, Twain and his daughter Teresa dined at home with George Wood and Miss Vivian. In the passing year, many good things happened to Twain. Although Sophia has left her son this year, Twain was now delighted to see Wood make a fresh start, a new life that was entirely his own.
...
Chapter 1008 - New Force
January 1, 2019.
On this day, Nottingham Forest sent someone away and welcomed a new member.
Nottingham Forest announced that 34-year-old Brazilian center back Thiago Silva was out of contract now. He would be free to join Brazil’s Vasco da Gama, where he planned to end his career.
Silva left the club in the morning. In the afternoon, the team had their only one move that winter – introducing midfielder Chen Jian from the RCD Espanyol.
“Only reporters, no fans, and basically only Chinese reporters. It’s not the future I’ve planned for you, Chen Jian.” Sitting in the Ford car the club especially sent to pick them up, Xia Yang was looking at those reporters out of the window as he spoke to Chen Jian.
“The boss told me that the meeting with the fans was moved to before the Football Association Cup. As for reporters, the English reporters are waiting to see me become the biggest joke in here.” Chen Jian also turned his head to look out of the window, seeing many familiar faces.
Although Nottingham Forest now ranked lower than the RCD Espanyol in the league, after all, they were a traditionally strong football team that has taken the European Champions Cup five times in all. Chen Jian’s transfer this time has attracted domestic attention. He could tell this from the several familiar signs on the press people’s chests alone.
Chen Jian was getting used to all this. He was not the kind of nobody who had first come to England years ago. Now he was the number one Chinese player. The reaction to his transfer was predictable. Chinese fans still had illusions, though they were already very practical. Chen Jian’s achievement already made them happy and satisfied.
“You can really see this through. ” Xia Yang muttered to himself. The domestic response gave him a slight relief. Look at these reporters! It was obvious that Chen Jian was a star. He joined Nottingham Forest for a record-creating £9 million transfer fee, which was unheard of for a Chinese football player and had caused a great response at home.
In fact, £9 million was for the people who didn’t know the details. It was actually £10 million, but £1 million went into Xia Yang’s own pocket.
The negotiations were made personally by Evan, who slashed the price from the initial unacceptable £20 million to £9 million. If it were not for Chen Jian’s firm decision to leave the team, the RCD Espanyol wouldn’t want to sell him at this price at all.
“But this is not too bad. England is the birthplace of paparazzi, and the media industry here is very developed. If you play here you can get more attention.” As an agent, Xia Yang naturally commented on this transfer from his point of view. As for what happened on the court, he had no influence on that, so he did not consider it.
During the conversation, the car stopped at the entrance to The Crimson Stadium. It has long been crowded with media from China.
Chen Jian got out of the car and the flashes of cameras lit up. He didn’t stay long and walked straight into the press conference hall inside the stadium.
At the backstage, he saw the club president Evan Doughty and team head coach Tony Twain.
“Welcome to Nottingham Forest, Chen,” Evan Doughty, the club president, took the lead in welcoming him, reaching out his hand to shake Chen Jian’s.
“Thank you, Mr. President.”
Chen Jian’s attitude was not too humble, nor too arrogant.
Evan knew this occasion was not for him to play the leading role. That role was for the man behind him. So he didn’t say anything else to Chen Jian and went to see how the press conference was prepared, giving the stage to Twain and Chen Jian.
“After a circle, you come to the Nottingham Forest again, Chen Jian,” Twain said to Chen Jian in English.
“It’s always been my dream to join the Forest,” Chen Jian also replied in English.
“From the beginning?”
“From the beginning.”
Twain laughed with joy and stretched out his hand. Chen Jian thought he was going to shake his hand. He did not expect Twain to just pat him heavily on the shoulder.
“I hope Nottingham Forest can be the last stop of your career.”
Chen Jian thought about retiring at Nottingham Forest. It sounded like a pretty good thing. He nodded and said, “I hope so.”
“What do you think of the team’s results? I remember some media saying Nottingham Forest’s league rankings were not even as good as those of the RCD Espanyol,” Twain asked. “Some of the press is saying that your transfer was only for the money.”
It was very understandable for Nottingham Forest to pay Chen Jian a higher weekly salary than he got in RCD Espanyol. At the current stage of Chen Jian’s career, why would he choose to transfer for less pay? The RCD Espanyol hasn’t raised Chen’s salary since his arrival. Chen Jian was the RCD Espanyol’s main midfielder but still held the initial salary he got when he just transferred from the Eredivisie. His salary level was below the rank of the whole team. It was natural that Xia Yang always wanted Chen Jian to leave RCD Espanyol. His salary really didn’t match Chen Jian’s contribution to the team.
RCD Espanyol may still think the Chinese workforce was cheap, but Xia Yang was smarter than they thought.
“I am thinking more about the future. ” Chen Jian avoided the topic of money. He didn’t lie. Compared with that weekly salary, the chance to compete in European events at Nottingham Forest was what he wanted most. As a professional football player, if asked what his biggest regret was, he wouldn’t say it was never having won a title. Rather, it was the fact that he has never competed in a European event. Neither in Spain nor in the Netherlands. He was keen to play in the European Champions Cup and the UEFA Champions League, which represented the highest level of football.
“The future.”
Twain didn’t go on asking. He and Chen Jian were sitting in the background, waiting to come out quietly.
Evan Doughty welcomed Chen Jian on behalf of the club, and then Chen Jian walked out from the background advertisement board with the attention of all the Chinese media on site.
Unlike a big superstar joining the team, the press conference hall wasn’t even half full. Most of the media were Chinese, and the rest were Nottingham local press. Chen Jian’s eyes didn’t stop there. He glanced around, shaking hands with Evan Doughty and Tony Twain, then stood in front of the microphone prepared for him.
“I’m very happy to join the team that cultivated me at the beginning. It’s always been my dream to wear a Nottingham Forest uniform again.”
Many players would say that when joining the new team.
Something like, “I have wanted to play for Real Madrid since I was a kid.”
“It was my biggest dream to join AC Milan. ”
“I’ve always been a Barcelona fan.”
“It’s my pleasure to play for International Milan.”
…
And so on, this was almost the standard template. All the players had to do was change the name of the club.
So no one in the media took Chen Jian’s words seriously, even if they knew Chen Jian was really from the Nottingham Forest youth team.
When the media were free to ask questions, one of Nottingham’s locals immediately stood up and asked: “Nottingham Forest is currently ranked very poorly. Do you feel the pressure on your shoulder?”
“I want to play football and contribute to the promotion of the team through my own efforts.” Chen Jian’s answer was rather careful and mature.
The Nottingham local media was concerned about whether the arrival of Chen Jian could really strengthen the team, while the Chinese media were only concerned about whether Chen Jian could really perform in the team to his advantage.
The CCTV5 reporter stood up and asked, “You’re similar to George Wood in technical characteristics. Did the coach Tony Twain promise you anything before you joined the team?” He asked in Chinese.
Twain heard this, grabbed the microphone instead of Chen Jian and replied, “You will know when the game is played. Now Chen Jian and I don’t answer any of these tactical questions. Thank you for your cooperation.”
Chen Jian heard what Twain said, but he only smiled a bit. He did not say anything.
This has disappointed many people from the Chinese media. The press conference was meaningless without asking their most interesting questions.
The press conference was brief because there was no fan-meeting ceremony. After answering their questions, Chen and Twain pulled up a red Nottingham Forest uniform and showed it to reporters. It had Chen Jian’s last name and the number 14 on it.
If nothing unpredictable happened, this uniform would accompany him through five seasons with Forest, when he would turn 33. If he wanted to retire from the Forest, he’d have to come up with a better performance to please the picky head coach.
Standing in front of the reporters, Twain and Chen Jian both had smiles on their faces, but they weren’t sanguine. They knew that this was only the starting point, not the end for taking a long breath.
※※※
“Chen Jian joins the Euro Champions League hot team; he is called the successor of Wood!”
This was the sports news headline of the most famous portal in China. It was not the text under the heading that was most interesting, but the comments under the text.
“Shanxi netizen: don’t tease! The successor of Wood? Is the editor Chen Jian’s father?”
“Sichuan netizen: Sichuan netizen sends congratulatory message for Wood on finding his successor!”
“Beijing netizen: again the Title Editor. What is the point of sticking to the Title Editor for more than twenty years… Psycho!”
“Tianjin netizen: ‘Chen Jian, when do you become Wood’s successor?’ ‘Tomorrow, tomorrow!’”
“Sichuan netizen: why can’t Chen Jian be the successor of Wood? I think it’s reasonable. I believe Tony really wanted this when he bought him, didn’t he?
“Chongqing netizen: Upstairs Baby son, our captain can kick to 40 years old. Can Chen Jian also do that? When he retires, the captain will still be playing!”
“Shanghai netizen: Ah, we will not see Chen Jian in the Barcelona derby anymore.”
“Zhejiang netizen: Why should not he be happy? Looking at what they’ve done at home to the RCD Espanyol in the last few years, it’s a hell of a ~~”
“Hubei netizen: Yellow dog dies!”
…
“It’s funny, all the news about you can be connected to the other clubs’ resentment.”
Living in his temporary hotel room in Nottingham, Chen Jian was preparing to write on the portal’s blog via the internet.
Xia Yang was watching the news on the website next to Chen Jian. That was the sentiment he felt after reading the comments.
The website was originally contacting him through Xia Yang, who opened a guest blog for him in order to gather popularity. However, the website’s headlines were still tasteless.
“I don’t recall saying anything at the press conference about being Wood’s successor,” Chen Jian looked at Xia Yang.
“Then post an article on your blog for rebuttal! It will increase your popularity.”
“Did you arrange all this, Uncle Xia? ”
Xia Yang spread out his hands.
“You were known in the RCD Espanyol as the ‘Smaller Size George’. This has long been circulating in China, and it’s natural for other people to think about this. ”
Then Chen Jian wrote on his blog about the team’s press conference, explaining why the website sports news said he was Wood’s successor. He said he wasn’t Wood’s successor at all and that no one had said such a thing at the press conference. It must have been a misunderstanding by Chinese reporters.
The original blog title was “Finally, I realized my long-time dream!”
This was originally a very inspirational, but not very creative title. However, the portal editor deliberately changed the title into “I am not Wood II, I want to be Chen Jian I!”
The click rate and the comments were coming like nonstop tides. And of course, there was plenty of negativity.
The next day Chen Jian told his agent to stop blogging on the website after the contract with it expired. What the website was doing was so bitchy. Xia Yang shrugged. “You are a public figure, and every word you say can be distorted by the media with ulterior motives.”
“So I will remain silent from now on,” Chen Jian said with a poker face. “I will only show myself on the football field. If there is any media blog or column invitation in the future, refuse them!”
Xia Yang agreed, but he was still thinking, You cannot refuse all forms of interview, Chen Jian! You have to get used to the fact that the media are playing with their words to make any news more eye-catching!
※※※
The next day, Xia Yang went to find a house for Chen Jian, while Chen Jian went to Wilford to report that he will attend training with the team. At the training ground, George Wood, as the captain, welcomed the new teammate on behalf of the team. As Forest players, they were no stranger to the former teammate who once walked out of Forest.
Without Thiago Silva, and with Balotelli having a more positive attitude, the atmosphere within the team was now very harmonious. Chen Jian has not suffered much trouble or obstacles.
Fortunately, China’s media influence was confined to China. Otherwise, if the Nottingham Forest’s team knew what happened on the Chinese network two days ago, Chen Jian really had no idea what they would think of their new teammate. What idiot would challenge the captain’s authority the moment he first joined the team and plan to take his place?
Therefore, the Chinese unqualified network media could do nothing good, but would pull him back. In order to catch the eyes of netizens, they gave up on any credibility and integrity. Plagiarism, fabrication of fake news and rubbing of the edges were all commonplace, not to mention a twist of the original title.
Anyway, Chen Jian has begun his new life in Nottingham Forest. After four years, he finally got his way and put on a Nottingham Forest uniform to represent being a part of the team. It was believed that, in the history of Nottingham Forest, two Chinese names would be written and memorized. Their presence didn’t change the backward state of Chinese football, but at least it gave a lot of heartbroken Chinese football fans a little solace.
...
Chapter 1009 - Another Derby
There have always been two professional teams in the city of Nottingham.
If not for this FA Cup match, most people might have overlooked this fact.
Many cities were proud of their “high-quality derby matches” as it proved that football had a very strong influence in the place and the quality of the teams was very high. This was almost impossible in the town of Nottingham as Nottingham Forest and Notts County were not on the same level.
Nottingham Forest had already won five UEFA Champions League trophies, while Notts County had not even reached the Premier League yet.
Due to the massive gap in position caused by the inconquerable gap in abilities, Nottingham Forest and Notts County had little chances of an official derby match.
Thanks to the FA Cup, such an opportunity presented itself.
The fans of Notts County had to thank the FA Cup because their opportunity was finally here. They had always wanted to teach their arrogant neighbors a lesson, but they never had the chance to do so. Naturally, Nottingham Forest would not choose Notts County as an opponent for their pre-season friendlies. They were smart enough to be cautious, as an injury to one or two of their key players might affect their whole season…
Notts County had no rights to challenge Nottingham Forest previously. They could only curse them, insult them by saying they were the lapdogs of foreign capitalism and no longer an English team.
However, the situation had changed now. Tang’s arrival had strengthened Notts County noticeably and they were able to stabilize their position in the mid-table of the Championship. This made their imagination run wild and they wanted to prove their abilities to their old rivals. After all, “debauchery is a common vice among the wealthy”… Well, the meaning was not far off. As their abilities went up a level, their self-esteem naturally went up to a new level as well, and they dared to think about things that they did not fathom before.
That was why Nottingham started to simmer when the third-round draw of the FA Cup was out a month ago. At least half of the people in Nottingham were rubbing their hands in anticipation of the match. As for the rest, the Nottingham Forest fans were not that interested in a derby like this.
Maybe one could use this to describe the current state of the two teams: “Notts County only had eyes for Nottingham Forest, while Nottingham Forest only had eyes for the wide world.”
Therefore, even though it was a rare “derby”, the Nottingham Forest training plans did not change much and were the same as the training they did before any other FA Cup matches. The players did not talk much about the FA Cup opponents but focused on the league most of the time.
Chen Jian was the only one who thought that this was an interesting situation. He had experienced another derby in Spain before saying goodbye to that city. He did not expect to face another derby the moment he joined a new team in a different country.
He ended with a derby, and he would be starting with a derby. Interesting indeed.
※※※
“This derby is actually pretty interesting…” The day before the match started, there were finally people who remembered that the match would be a derby.
“The manager of Notts County used to be our assistant manager,” Gareth Bale was recounting the past to a bunch of new players who were engrossed in his tale. In the current team, there were not many who had experienced the days of the “Chinese assistant manager”.
“Come to think of it, I did not expect him to be a manager one day, much less our rival in the same city…” Bale said while rubbing his chin. “And he’s related to Chen Jian…” This brought all the attention of the people onto Chen Jian.
“Ah?” Chen Jian realized that everyone was looking at him and did not know what to say. He had just joined the team three days ago and was not familiar with the people yet. For a moment, he did not know what to say when faced with so many eager faces.
“They are both Chinese, of course they’re related,” Someone in the team said as a matter-of-factly.
“There are over a billion people in China. Do you think all of them are related to each other?” Bale said with some disdain. He pointed at Chen Jian and said, “Chen Jian left us when he was in our youth team then, but do you know how he came to Forest?”
Not many people knew about that. How many people would really care about the past of a Chinese player? The local media did not publish anything about it either.
“A commercial talent show,” Bale laughed as he looked at Chen Jian. “He got third place then. Tang, the assistant manager then, gave him a Forest jersey and that’s how he came here!”
The group of people learned something, and they were satisfied. The story was indeed interesting, similar to a legend.
Chen Jian was a little surprised. He did not expect someone on the team to know about this event of the past. After all, he did not publicize it. When he came to Nottingham Forest for a trial lasting a year back then, it was not a very sensational piece of news. The main team would not be interested in someone like him. Then he joined the youth team’s training, which was expected. Then after that, even though he signed a contract as a member of the first team, he had never appeared on the court and had never played a match in the Forest jersey before, not even a friendly game.
He had thought that nobody in Nottingham Forest of today, other than Tony Twain, would remember him.
He really did not expect the vice-captain of Nottingham Forest, Gareth Bale, to remember his past!
He suddenly remembered something that Twain told him before.
It was just after he participated in the press conference upon joining the team. The reporters had already left, and Twain had brought Chen Jian to the Crimson Stadium to step on the grass as part of another “welcome ceremony”.
“Chen Jian, do you know about the legend of Nottingham in the past?”
Chen Jian was stunned for a moment, then asked, “Do you mean the legend of Robin Hood?”
Twain nodded, stopped and looked at Chen Jian behind him. “Even though the name Nottingham Forest has nothing to do with Robin Hood, the crest is related to him. The thing that looks like a mushroom is actually an oak tree,” Twain pointed at the Nottingham Forest team crest on the stands, “And the oak tree is where Robin Hood and his merry band of brothers gathered. Doesn’t it sound like the Chinese classic Water Margin?”
Chen Jian was surprised. “Boss, you even know about Water Margin?”
“Not only do I know about it, but I’ve also read it a few times,” Twain wanted to reply to him like this.
“It’s one of the four famous classics of China, why would I not know about it?” Twain did not continue to dwell on this topic. Instead, he said, “The oak tree represents the brotherhood between Robin Hood and his companions, and it also represents resilience. The Forest’s legendary captain, Stuart Pearce, was known to have an ‘oak tree’s heart’.”
Chen Jian did not understand what Twain was trying to tell him. What he was saying seemed to be going way off topic. First Robin Hood, then the team crest, then the oak tree and now, the current England manager…
“What I’m trying to tell you is this: Nottingham Forest is just like the merry men of Robin Hood under the oak tree. The people here are very simple. They are either nice or not. If you want to be part of the team quickly, to be recognized and accepted, then there’s no point in acting. Just show them your abilities. If you can make them accept you for your abilities, you’ll be a part of the merry men. After that, you’ll be able to drink and eat with them heartily, ha!”
Twain laughed.
Chen Jian was a little shocked after hearing of such a strange team culture. He stood in the middle of the Crimson stadium, the stands were empty, and the afternoon sun could only shine on the east wing. The green field was inside the shadows of the stands and the roof.
The Nottingham Forest team crest was on the roof of the stands ahead of him. The metallic border shone with a golden light under the sun.
“…Nottingham Forest is just like a band of bandits, do you know what I’m saying? They will do anything for victory; stealing and robbing are just part and parcel of what they do. A team like this actually won the UEFA Champions League five times, what a tragedy for modern football…”
This was what a famous football pundit wrote on his blog after Twain led the team to the famous treble. Chen Jian had chanced upon it while surfing the net at that time.
Now that he thought about it, that person obviously hated Forest. He must have been a Real Madrid fan, but he was right.
Nottingham Forest was a lair where bandits gathered…
When Chen Jian returned to his senses, Bale and his other teammates were discussing Notts County again. They did not know much about this opponent. Twain had already shown them videos of Notts County’s games a few times during tactics briefing in the past few days, but who would care about such a weak adversary?
Therefore, their comments revolved around, “oh, I heard their number 10 is not bad”, “he was chosen to join the England under-21s team”, “number 18 seems to be decent too, but he’s not physical enough”, “they are just a championship team”, “I think we can attack their flanks…”, “What did the boss say?”
Once they mentioned the manager, Twain, everyone shut up.
After a while, the most experienced person, Bale, frowned and said, “I get the feeling that the boss isn’t taking this game seriously…”
Chen Jian wanted to laugh as he listened in. I don’t think you guys are taking this seriously either, he thought.
“To be honest, I think that if hope to qualify for a European competition next season, winning the FA Cup and joining the Europa League is the most suitable method,” Bale continued his analysis, “Yet I have this feeling that boss will give up on the FA Cup and focus on the league. But it’s too difficult to get into the top six…”
Chen Jian had done his research on Forest’s situation. After all, he was part of the team now… He had to admit that the vice-captain made sense. Even though the cup competition was very unpredictable, Nottingham Forest was a team that suited the big matches, and it might be good for them to focus on the FA cup. The league was too long, and who could say that there would be no other issues in the future?
“Why are you loafing around here?”
Just when they were thinking about the future of the team, the captain, George Wood, opened the doors of the dressing room and entered. “If you guys don’t go out now, you’ll all be late and you’ll have to run laps as punishment.”
With a rumble, the dressing room went into a stampede and within the blink of an eye, everyone disappeared from Chen Jian’s view.
“Um…” Chen Jian did not expect his teammates to be so quick to go.
Wood had wanted to turn and leave too, but he realized that there was one more person in the dressing room. When he realized that it was Chen Jian, he stopped and looked at him.
Chen Jian realized that he was misbehaving, and he lowered his head and hurried out of the dressing room.
This captain was really awe-inspiring. I don’t dare to look up while he is looking at me, Chen Jian thought as he jogged out.
Good thing he did not see the news from the Chinese website…
※※※
Bale was right. Twain had indeed wanted to give up on the FA Cup. However, he would never give up in the first round.
The Premier League teams would only begin their FA Cup journey after the start of the new year, so this was the first round to them, but it was actually the third round of the FA Cup.
Not only did Twain not plan to give up, but he was taking this game rather seriously. Otherwise, he would not have shown the players so many videos of the Notts County matches. It was a pity… He took the opponent seriously, but his players might not.
The players had their reasons for being lax about this match. The opponent was too weak. The Forest players estimated they would only need to use fifty percent of their abilities and it would be enough for them to win. So what if it was a derby? It was not as if they had not defeated Notts County in a derby match before. Of course, that was many years ago, and Wood was the only one in the team who took a part in that match. Even Bale was still training in the youth team and reserve team then.
However, this was a piece of history that could be dug out. The Nottingham local media was talking about the derby again after 14 years. That derby was the most recent one, and the media would naturally bring it up again and again.
With this kind of “historical results”, the Nottingham Forest players thought that victory was a given and they would be able to defeat their opponent easily.
Another manager might be thinking the same as his players. However, Twain had a special reason for taking this match seriously, a reason he could not share with anyone else.
He had always wanted to meet Tang in a match, to see the progress that Tang made over the years. He also believed that this was the best chance for Tang to showcase his abilities in front of the Nottingham Forest fans and Evan Doughty, and he would definitely not waste this chance.
Notts County would definitely give their all. This was a match that could not be compared to one of 14 years ago.
If they were not careful, he might… This was no ‘Battle of Waterloo’ this time. Nottingham Forest was no longer the force they were before, and Notts County was definitely not as weak as they used to be.
...
Chapter 1010 - No Derbies, No Football
Twain naturally has his reasons for placing so much emphasis on the match. However, he was not the only one to hold the match in such high regard. The Notts County manager, Dunn, felt the same as well.
Dunn suddenly became very serious after it was made known that his team would be up against Nottingham Forest in the next round. He has always been a thorough couch, but the Notts County players could tell that something was different this time round – he became even stricter during their training sessions. It was clear that their boss wanted to win the derby match.
It was not just Dunn. All the Notts County players wanted to win as well.
Both Notts County and Nottingham Forest were clubs from Nottingham, but they had very different fates. Nottingham Forest stood at the top, whereas Notts County could do nothing but gaze at them from below. Notts County might be playing in a lower league than Nottingham Forest, but that did not mean that their players did not have big dreams. They, too, longed to be like the Nottingham Forest players, and that was why the Premier League clubs were always able to attract many of their players over to their clubs year in and year out.
Men should always aim to reach greater heights, after all…
There was no such thing as loyalty. The talented players would only stay loyal to powerful clubs.
The Notts County players wanted to defeat the former Champions League winner Nottingham Forest to prove their abilities. It would be great if they could help their team get promoted to the Premier League, but even if they failed to do so, they would still be able to make use of the match to attract the attention of the various football teams in the top leagues and increase their chances of transferring to a better team.
To the Nottingham Forest players, this derby match was just like any other FA Cup match. The two teams were simply not on the same level ability-wise. However, to the Notts County players, this was a once in a lifetime chance to defeat Nottingham Forest. They were just like carps that had been given a springboard to help them leap through the Dragon’s Gate [1].
Tang Jing was able to discern the restlessness of her husband. Dunn has always been lost in thought recently, and his brows were forever knotted in frustration. He would lock himself in the study room until past midnight, and he paid no attention to their child at all either. Not only that, her relationship with her husband has become distant in recent days as well…
Tang Jing was worried that her marriage would be doomed if she allowed the situation to go on.
She wanted to talk to her husband regarding whatever was troubling him. Her shy and introverted husband has never been so restless before.
Actually, if Tang Jing had seen what Dunn was like before the 31st December of 2002, she would not be this confused now.
The Dunn from before 31st December 2002 was just like the Dunn of today. The only difference was that he was single back then, and no one else would be able to see him lock himself in the room and discern his restlessness. To everyone else, he was just like a statue with an indifferent exterior.
Tonight was the night before the derby match, and her husband did not seem as restless as before. This could be the best chance to speak to him. Tang Jing made use of the rare free time that she had after putting her baby to bed to head over to the study room. She quietly pushed open the door and tiptoed behind her husband before wrapping her arms around his neck.
Tang Jing felt her husband struggle in her embrace for a moment, but he quickly relaxed after realizing that it was her.
“I think there’s something off about you for the past few days, dear.” Tang Jing tried her best to speak to Dunn in a gentle voice. She did not want to provoke him. “What happened? You’ve been a manager for seven years, but this is the first time that I’ve seen you like this…”
Dunn did not answer his wife’s question directly. He lifted his head upwards to look at Tang Jing, who stood behind him, and said, “There’s a derby match tomorrow.”
It took Tang Jing a few seconds to react – this was the very first derby match that her husband had encountered as the manager of Notts County. The word ‘derby’ had a very, very special meaning in the football world, and as a former football reporter, it was impossible for Tang Jing not to know it. However, she still could not help but be confused: Notts County and Nottingham Forest were not on the same level, which meant that there was not much rivalry between the two sides. They rarely had the chance to face each other in a match, and there was no direct conflict of interest either. Unlike the AC Milan and Inter Milan fans, the fans from both teams would not get into fights with each other over the league trophy. The rivalry between them did not span hundreds of years like between Real Madrid and Barcelona either. In addition, the derby did not involve religion and was not as frightening as the ‘Old Firm Derby’ between Celtic F.C. and Rangers F.C. as well.
Why would her husband care about the derby match between Notts County and Nottingham Forest when their rivalry was not as great as among those other clubs?
Dunn placed his hands over his wife’s. “My opponent for tomorrow’s match is Tony Twain.”
“Aren’t the two of you friends?” Tang Jing was baffled. Twain was probably the only person whom she had been jealous of in the past. There were times where she felt that her husband cared more about Twain than about her.
“It’s precisely because he’s a friend that I have to defeat him.”
That was all Dunn said. He did not explain further.
Tang Jing turned around and stared at Dunn’s face for a while before turning to leave.
“Friendship between men sure is hard to understand.”
Dunn smiled wryly to himself as he watched his wife close the door to the study room.
There would always be words one couldn’t say to others, even if that other person was one’s other half. His wife would never be able to accept the fact that he was actually a soul that had taken over another human’s body. This was an extremely complicated issue to talk about, and it involved very deep ethical problems as well. Dunn did not wish to think about it, but there was one thing he was certain of: the relationship that he had with Twain was definitely not as simple as just that of ‘friends’.
Looking back now, he could not help but wonder if he was the one who had snatched Twain’s body or if Twain was the one who had snatched his. It was impossible to tell any longer. However, it did not matter either way since he was still in a job related to football. He was just working for a different team. Would he be doing much better than he was now if the switch had not happened back then? Or perhaps… Would he be doing much better than Twain was now?
It was meaningless to think about such questions since he was certain that those scenarios would definitely not happen. However, those thoughts kept haunting him over the past few days. He was just like a possessed man who could not stop thinking about those impossibilities.
The glory that Tony Twain – a man whose body had been taken over by another soul – achieved was like a mountain that stood before Dunn. It blocked the sun and cast a huge shadow upon him.
Dunn felt as though he was living in perpetual darkness. Was he really going to live in this never-ending shadow forever?
He would just be called ‘Twain’s successor’ when he took over at Nottingham Forest next season. If that was the case, why did he agree to Twain’s invitation to return to Nottingham Forest next season?
No. He had to defeat Twain!
That was possibly the only way that he would be able to prove to himself he was not the terrified and helpless lad from 16 years ago anymore.
※※※
Twain’s gloomy face probably caused the Nottingham Forest players who regarded the derby match to be nothing more than a practice game to stop belittling their opponents.
“Do I need to remind everyone that this is a derby?”
It was halftime during the FA Cup match between Nottingham Forest and Notts County, and the home team, Nottingham Forest, was trailing by 0:1 at the Crimson Stadium.
Chen Jian had a five-minute meeting with the fans in the stadium prior to the match. He was not some famous superstar player, but the fans still gave him their warmest applause. He juggled the ball before approximately 60,000 fans and subsequently held the Forest scarf before him as a display of loyalty to the club. However, the meeting was not entirely amicable because he heard numerous boos from the stands – most of which came from the Notts County fans.
The Chinese reporters who had gathered at the Crimson Stadium to report on Chen Jian’s debut match must have been disappointed by the fact that Chen Jian did not start in the match. None of the British reporters appeared to care about who Chen Jian was either. Their attention was focused solely on Forest’s terrible performance on the pitch.
They were making comments such as:
“Why does George lack support in the midfield?”
“Gago has really gotten on with age…”
“Look at how the Forest players are performing when they are a goal down. It’s really hard to watch them play now.”
“Mitchell’s not able to receive a pass from the midfield at all, and Balotelli’s just like a headless chicken. He’s clearly not playing well in this match.”
Forest was not able to change the score at halftime even though they were the team with more shots at the goal.
“I’ve suddenly remembered a story. Who wants to hear it?” Twain said before his depressed players whose heads hung low. “We used ten years to build a huge empire. Back then, there was no one on the entire continent who dared to go against us. Our red flags could be seen at every nook and cranny of the continent. Those were such good times…” He lifted his head upwards to stare at the ceiling. It was as though he could see the scenes of those red flags across the world in his mind’s eye.
“The war ended soon after, and everything was peaceful. The cavalry returned to their homes and the calm lives that they led gradually wore away their courage and fight. Thus, when war broke out once again four years later, even the opponents whom we did not think highly of previously could defeat us!” Twain walked to the front of the players and bent over to look at each and every one of them. “Can your horses still run? Can your bodies still carry the burden of your armor? Can your hands still hold your spears? Can your hearts…”
Twain pounded his chest once.
“…Still beat along to the sounds of the war drums?”
Twain suddenly raised his voice and hollered.
His holler was so loud that several players raised their heads in shock.
Twain suddenly remembered a Chinese saying as he stared at the countless startled faces before him:
“Lian Po is old. Can he still eat much?” [2]
Lian Po is old…
Can he still eat much?
※※※
“We have taken the lead, and that’s a good thing. But I don’t want any of you to be too proud of that…” While Twain was trying his hardest to boost the morale of his players, Dunn was thinking about how to curb his players from getting ahead of themselves. “All of you have to remember this. We are facing off with a Premier League team that has lifted the Champions League trophy five times…”
One of his players cut him off. “Boss, that happened four years ago. In addition, the Forest team from back then is very different from the Forest team now. A lot of the players have been changed…”
Dunn looked at the player who had stood up to challenge him. He was the core of their team, Paul Johnson, who wore the number 10 on his shirt. He was just twenty years of age this year, but he was already a starting player for England’s U21 national team. Numerous Premier League clubs were paying attention to him, and he would probably not be a Notts County player after the season ended.
“You are right, Paul. They won their last Champions League trophy four years ago, and they have changed many of their players since then as well. But the person who is at the helm for this match is Tony Twain.”
The name ‘Tony Twain’ was a household name in England, and Paul Johnson could not help but back off a little after hearing it. However, he still did not agree with Dunn’s words. To him, the players were the ones who decided the outcome of a match, not the managers.
Dunn did not want to argue with Johnson over Tony Twain’s importance to Forest. Johnson would most likely not understand even if he explained in detail.
He focused his attention on explaining his tactics for the second half.
“Forest will definitely go on the counter-attack in the second half, but we will not strengthen our defense to deal with their attacks.” Dunn was not like Twain. He did not value defense above everything else, and he did not believe in keeping a 1:0 scoreline. “Tony Twain will do everything in his power not to allow his team to lose to us at home because this is a derby.”
And because this would probably be the one and only time we’d get to compete against each other. Dunn kept this thought to himself.
“We’d be done for if we retreat backward to defend. Therefore, I want all of you to continue going on the attack in the second half. I want all of you to push Nottingham Forest back with your attacks.”
Johnson was right about one thing. The Forest team now was nothing like the Forest team from four years ago. It did not matter how good Twain was. He would not be able to play in the match in his players’ stead. Tactics were one thing, and the players’ performance on the pitch was another. What the Forest players lacked at the moment was the belief that they could win, as well as the fighting spirit to achieve victory. Forest was a team that has gotten used to not playing well, and that was precisely why his team should continue to pile pressure and create difficult situations for them to play in. Doing so would undoubtedly allow his players to gain the upper hand in the match.
Focusing solely on defense was not an option for his team. Retreating backward to defend would only boost the Forest players’ confidence. When that happened, Tony’s roars by the side of the pitch and the change in the mentality of the players would become the trigger needed to shift the momentum of the match in Forest’s favor. Dunn wanted to stop that from happening at all costs.
Dunn knew very well what sort of person his opponent was. He was the kind of man who would grasp at the slightest of chances to shift the game in his favor. All the opponents who have fallen before Twain in the past have proven one fact countless times: one had to be merciless when going against Twain. One had to make use of any lead one might have in the match and attack him ferociously. One could not relax even when he was down. One needed to stab him a few more times and decapitate him before one could even take a breather.
“We have restrained Wood and Gago very well in the first half, and we’ll continue to do just that in the second half. Isolate Wood and cut off all passes that they can make to each other. It’s okay to let Gago attack since he has gotten old and is no longer a player we should fear.”
“Balotelli is the player who acts as the link between the backfield and the midfield. He has a very good technique and is good at dribbling as well. Thus, all of you should hold your positions instead of pouncing at him. He would not be able to influence the match in any way as long as you stay at your positions. He has been very poor when taking the set pieces so far, so don’t be afraid to commit fouls on him.”
“We must continue to make use of the set pieces that we were given to score goals. Do all of you still remember the tactics that we practiced during our training sessions regarding how we should take set pieces? Johnson would be the player to take our team’s set-pieces. He’d choose the most suitable tactic to use based on the situation on the pitch. I leave everything to him.”
“Reduce the number of dribbles you make. Make use of your runs and passes to slice open the opposition’s defense. George Wood might be an excellent player, but he is still only human. He’ll tire fast if you pass the ball about quickly and force him to chase it all over the pitch. I want all of you to run forward after making a pass. You’ll be able to rattle their defense by doing so…”
Dunn issued one command after another. He was intent on pushing his best friend into the abyss.
This was how one should deal with Twain – deliver the finishing blow when he was down and low.
The smiles on the players’ faces gradually vanished as they listened to Dunn’s tactics. They suddenly understood what kind of match it was after experiencing the joy of taking the lead.
The boss has never been this serious before.
This was a derby match!
1. According to Chinese mythology, a carp will be transformed into a dragon when it leaps over the Dragon’s Gate, which is located at the top of a waterfall.
2. Lian Po was a military general of the Zhao state. The meaning behind the saying is that a soldier still has to fight for his country even in old age. How much a person is able to eat was seen as a sign of the person’s physical condition in the past, which was why they would ask if a person can eat a lot to determine if he was fit for war. Twain was implying that the Nottingham Forest players, whom he likened to ‘soldiers’, should still be fighting even if they were ‘old’.
...
Chapter 1011 - Dunn’s Devil in his Dreams
Hey, old man, can you still eat?
Twain walked up to Wood, bent down and asked him, “George, are you old? Do you feel like you are too old to continue running?”
“No,” Wood replied emotionlessly.
“Then, that’s good,” Twain nodded, “In the second half, your defensive duty load will be heavier.”
Wood was a little surprised. He had thought Twain would ask him to strengthen the offense, but instead, he got more work in the defensive aspect.
“The Notts County FC manager is not a ‘huge fan of 1-0′, so in the next half, we will definitely counter-attack, because I would not allow you guys to lose the competition. However, facing our offense, how would Notts County react? I feel that they would not start defending from the start, but instead continue attacking, and their offense will be more aggressive. Hence, at the very least, during the first phase of the second half, you would not have much time for participating in the offense, George,” Twain told Wood.
The players were more confused when they heard this. George was the core of the team, so if he concentrated on defense, who would organize a group attack?
Twain patted Wood’s shoulder, then walked towards Gago, who was beside him. “You’re doing well, Fernando. But you should rest more in the second half.”
Gago knew Twain was being polite. Actually, he made almost zero contribution in the first half. He was getting on in years, and his physical and mental state could not catch up.
However, no one would be willing to be replaced like this.
Gago did not nod to agree, nor shook his head to disagree, but Twain already made the choice for him. “Thanks, Fernando.”
Now that Gago has been switched out, who would replace him? If Wood needed to focus on defending, and Gago was not playing, who would organize an attack?
Twain turned and looked at Chen Jian, who had just been called back from outside.
“Chen Jian, you’re up for the second half.”
This decision surprised everyone, but Chen Jian did not reveal any sign of being shocked. He only nodded.
He already knew that he would be playing in this competition because Twain told him earlier on. Hence, he did not feel surprised. Else, he would definitely have the same reaction as his teammates – he only joined the league team four days ago, and now he was going to play in such a competition. It seemed like Twain was really putting a lot of trust in this Chinese player.
“Your task is to organize an offense. I know that you had always done this type of thing in Spain, so it should not be too difficult for you, right?” Twain asked.
Chen Jian did not answer at once. He frowned and said, “I have only trained with the team for three days. If you let me organize an attack, would it lead to…”
“George will help you,” Twain replied.
Wood also nodded to express agreement.
Chen Jian looked at his teammates, who were looking at him. Although it has only been three days, he was always watching his team from the side. He already knew well the special traits some of the players had, so he hoped he could pull this off.
“Okay, head coach,” Chen Jian replied in English.
“The Notts County FC will start the second half with an aggressive offense, so we must all keep this tactic in our minds – this opponent is definitely not one you could easily beat. This competition is a derby, my comrades! This is the Derby City that would definitely pull ahead in terms of the difference in potential! If you guys still think that you could break through their defense with sloppy dribbling, that you’d be able to pass through with low effort passes, score with lousy shots… then raise both of your arms and surrender at once, because this is not a fight you guys should get into.”
The words Twain said were extremely annoying to some of them. This was exactly what they thought in the first half, from the first second when they stepped onto the field. They thought they could easily triumph over their opponents, and who cared if this was a derby? They were the home team!
In the end, what were the results? After allowing their opponents to score from a free-kick, they went into chaos, everyone fought for themselves and were not able to even out the score until the end of the first half. Instead, they allowed Notts County FC to gain several counterattack opportunities. The Nottingham Forest audience were so shocked that they blurted out jeers of contempt.
If they lost the game in the end, the performance in the first half would really be a disgrace.
“So we launch a defensive counter-attack in the second half, wait till the Notts County presses forward. Balotelli, you have to move a little backward in your position, connect between the front and the backcourt. Our three lines have to be packed together, not allowing our opponents to split them apart. When the two flanks are attacking, you guys must dare to press forward and not be afraid of the gaps behind you, because if you are unable to press forward, you will get beat down by your opponents.”
“The simpler the offensive method, the better, I don’t care how complex and impressive the Notts County FC’s offense is. Playing their game against them would only make us fall into their trap because they would definitely hope that the ball will stay in our half for long periods of time.”
Twain was explaining the second half’s tactics to the team in detail. Actually, the arrangement of tactics has never changed; the reminder was only because of the players’ underestimation of their opponent, which discouraged them from having tactics discipline and led to this type of situation. Now, after such a terrible first half, and with Twain’s criticism during the half-time break, the players saw they had to respect their opponents and take the game seriously.
Twain knew than Dunn’s favorite tactic was offensive football. This could be easily seen from the team he created in Notts County over seven years. Counter-attacking was the best way to handle such a team.
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Chen Jian stood on the sidelines and was ready to play. Although Gago had already gone out of the field, he still needed to complete this substitution ceremony. Hence he was standing by the side of the field and waiting for the fourth official to raise up his number plate.
It would be his first official game for Nottingham Forest, but he did not feel as excited as he thought he would be. Even though it was the first time for him to be playing during a league cup match, when he listened to Twain announcing this decision in the changing room, his expression was deadpan, as if this matter did not concern him at all.
He was wondering why he was so calm. Wasn’t his dream to be able to play for Nottingham Forest? Now that that dream has come true, why didn’t he feel happy and excited?
Maybe this was not really his dream? Was this a self-deceptive illusion?
The commentator was reporting the names of the players who were about to go onto the field.
“Number 14, Chen Jian!”
Some fans stood up to applaud, and as the fourth official behind him raised the number plate, Chen Jian ran forward.
He felt very calm, so calm that it did not feel right. The live scene was very noisy, but his mind was not really engaged, even though he repeatedly told himself, “This is Nottingham Forest’s home field! I am a Nottingham Forest player!
It did not work; he just was not able to get excited. He was wondering whether he was on form…
※※※
Dunn saw Chen Jian run onto the field and gave a look to Twain who was sitting beside him. He had guessed that Twain would allow Chen Jian to play in this match, so he was not surprised about this at all.
Moreover, speaking of which, he was actually a little excited to see what performance Chen Jian would put up in this competition. If next season he took over Nottingham Forest, Chen Jian would play under him.
However, he could not just let him go so easily.
Dunn walked to the side of the field and signaled the nearest Notts County player over. He wanted the player to spread the word over to his teammates on the field, warning them to keep a look on number 14.
The Chinese reporters were excited for a while upon seeing Chen Jian go onto the field, but they could not continue smiling after a while. Wherever Chen Jian was, there would always be a Notts County player, sometimes even two…
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“I really can’t figure out why our head coach would want us to keep a look on that Chinese guy,” Paul Johnson shook his head, talking to the teammates beside him. Currently, the ball was off the field, giving them the opportunity to talk to each other.
“Who knows?” His teammates shrugged.
“From his performance in these few minutes, it seems he is just average…”
Of course, it was average. Chen Jian was still pondering why he was able to stay so calm, so he was not able to get himself involved in the competition. His passes were all mediocre, with many that were passed back, but not many that were passed forward.
Not only did Notts County’s players think that Chen Jian was average. Even the English commentator thought that Twain spent into much on purchasing this average performing Chinese midfielder. It looked disappointing, concerning the disparity in level between him and the rest of the team.
“There is something wrong with Chen’s performance,” Kerslake told Twain. After the training in these three days, the assistant coach has already recognized Chen Jian’s potential, so he also felt something was off with Chen Jian’s current performance.
Twain pinched his chin. “Who knows, this is his first time representing Nottingham Forest in a match so maybe he is overly excited…”
※※※
Chen Jian found out that he was really calm, even when there were two opponents coming forward and blocking him. He could still think about observing the locations of his teammates beforehand. Under the circumstances, what would he do? Protect the ball, try dribbling past the two seemingly strong players, show performance in front of the fans of the home team?
Force a breakthrough, then try a long shot?
Chen Jian’s foot shook. The ball passed through the gap between the two defenders, and rolled to the side defender who was running through, Gareth Bale!
“Beautiful!” The English narrator yelled.
Previously, that location had no one covering it at all, but Chen Jian was able to think on the same wavelength as Bale, and also pass the ball through the gap at the exact right time. It was truly admirable.
Chen Jian suddenly recalled that when he was representing the Spanish in their first La Liga match, when he was awarded the ‘Man of the Match’ by the Spanish announcer, he was also as “cold”…
He then received the ball. Balotelli turned to signal to him to pass the ball, but instead, he waved, wanting Balotelli to run forward. When he saw Balotelli run past him, he immediately sent a straight pass, the ball passed by the Notts County’s middle back, and Balotelli, upon turning and running into the space, was able to receive the ball.
Being calm and analyzing the situation on the field… wasn’t this something that he has always relied upon, even in the La Liga matches?
I am not in bad form, I am in excellent form, he thought.
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Dunn found out that Chen Jian was always able to pass the ball out in the shortest period of time, causing a lot of trouble for the Notts County defenders. A player who loved to dribble by himself would be the easiest to defend against, but a player who tended to pass the ball out quickly would be a lot more of a challenge.
Chen Jian belonged to the second type of player. His dribbling was not the best, and his speed was not fast. His ball control was limited to being able to keep the ball under his foot under pressure but was not able to make fancy dribbling moves. Instead, he had a talent in passing the ball.
Now he did not know if he should be happy for having such a passer in the future or being worried about the results of the current match.
※※※
Notts County did step up their attack in the second half. However, with Wood’s defense and Chen Jian’s passing, the opposing offense was completely invisible.
The Notts County players were losing their cool as the situation changed on the pitch. They were, after all, young and not as good as the players of Nottingham Forest.
Dunn saw Twain’s plans, so he started to make arrangements in bringing back the defensive lines. However, this was Twain’s real intention – once they brought back their defensive line, coupled with Notts County’s low standards in their defensive lines, how would they be able to hold against Nottingham Forest’s thunderous offense?
Seeing that Notts County has shrunk in their formation, he immediately changed tactics, asking his players to commit a full press past the midfield line, bombarding the goal whilst surrounding the penalty area.
Dunn did not predict that Twain would actually make this move, so he could not react in time. Nottingham Forest took this opportunity to even out the score with their offense, then scored another goal to pull ahead in the next three minutes. They were overtaking!
Although none of these goals were directly assisted by Chen Jian, he had played his part. His performance was pretty good.
After the score of 2:1, Twain did not pull back but instead continue strengthening his offense. He substituted in a more offensive player, Teixeira, and replaced Cohen.
Everyone knew Twain would not settle for a one-goal lead.
By the end of the game, using the chances given by Notts County while they were in full press trying to even out the score, Twain finally used his move of “defensive counterattack”, allowing Agbonlahor to get what he wanted. After being substituted late in the game, he allowed the score to end at 3:1.
The pre-match confidence-filled Notts County lost the Derby match in the end. They were very unhappy, but no one cared about them anymore.
After the game, when the two coaches shook hands, Twain wanted to comfort Dunn, but Dunn spoke first.
“It’s a shame, I only created 45 minutes’ worth of trouble for you…”
Actually, Dunn lost due to lack of experience, since he had only led teams in the lower leagues. However, Twain would not admit it now, as he needed to consider the emotions of the loser.
Therefore, he just gave a silly laugh.
“Forty-five minutes is sufficient to allow people to see your potential clearly. Take it slowly, Dunn. ”
Dunn shrugged and did not say anything more. He only brushed past Twain and walked towards the paved path.
Before going onto the paved path, he turned to look at the stadium once more.
It was almost dusk after the game, and the golden afterglow of the sunset could only shine on the upper part of the roof. A large part of Nottingham Forest’s emblem was hidden in the shadows, while the entire stadium was shrouded in the gloom.
Tony Twain, his old friend, had beaten him once more.
Take over his team? This might be the hardest challenge ever since he started coaching.
But as Twain said, how could he improve without a challenge? Initially, didn’t he slowly challenge the champions to reach seemingly impossible goals?
Now, he only wanted to tell his wife: The Dunn she loved was back.
Feeling as though a great weight has been lifted off his shoulders, Dunn gave out a long breath, turned back around, and walked onto the paved paths the players took.
...
Chapter 1012 - After the Derby
The Notts County players must have been very disappointed that they did not win the match. However, what Twain said after the match might have made them feel better.
During the post-match press conference, Twain praised Notts County’s manager, Tang, also known as Dunn, by saying that he caused him a lot of trouble and it had been very long since he felt this anxious about a game…
That was high praise for Tang. In fact, Twain meant to do that. He wanted to let the Forest fans get used to Tang and slowly accept this future manager. There were people who thought that Tang was not capable or reputable enough. That was not a problem; he was looking for his successor, and it was not a beauty pageant. Tang was definitely capable. After all, Twain himself was “taught” by Tang——he started off by reading the notes left behind by Tang back in the day. Fame? He was not famous at all when he took charge of Forest at the beginning. Since Evan had already given up on his unrealistic dreams of being a “strong team”, why would they need to get a world-famous manager as his successor? Besides, world-class managers would not be willing to live in Twain’s shadow. These managers were all too proud to accept being compared with Twain all the time.
Furthermore, Tang came from Nottingham Forest. He was familiar with Forest and he had deep feelings for the team.
Taking everything into consideration, Tang was the most suitable successor for Twain, and he was also someone whom the Forest team could depend on for the next few decades.
It was like Moyes, who was not famous either, yet had been managing Everton for so long that he had already become a name that would never be forgotten in the history of the team. In fact, Twain had not been managing Forest for very long. All his stints added up to only 12 years, which was not even top 20 in terms of duration of management among the English football clubs.
If it were not for the fact that Twain was able to win so many trophies, his 12 years of management would not have left much of a mark in the footballing world.
The English managers would have different plans depending on the length of their management. Short-term plans, mid-term plans, and long-term plans. Twain could at most make a mid-term plan, but Forest needed a long-term plan. Nottingham Forest’s foundation was still not strong enough. A team’s foundation could not be built up just by winning five UEFA Champions League trophies. No number of trophies would be enough. Time was needed for a foundation to be built. If the club could be within the title challengers every season for a period of twenty years, then there would be some foundation for the club. After a hundred years, it would probably be a force to be reckoned with, and it would be able to be among the traditionally strong teams.
Unfortunately, Twain did not have the time to build a foundation for Forest. This was a task for the young and healthy Tang. What he did was build up a glorious history for Forest, a period of history that would become a source of mental strength for the players in the future. It could be said that Twain created mental wealth for the team, while Tang would focus on the material level. The combination of mental and material wealth would lead Forest from strength to strength. It would be unlike the Clough dynasty that faded off after a period of glory as Clough grew old. It was like a shooting star, disappearing after flashing for a moment in the sky.
Twain did not want to see Forest wallowing in the lower divisions after he grew old.
It was easy to attack a country, but harder to defend one. Offense and defense required different kinds of quality. Twain knew that he was not one to defend a dynasty; his impulsive nature was more suitable for attacking. As for defense, someone steadier and calmer would be more suited for it, and Tang would be a suitable choice.
That was why he went to Tang.
This derby match allowed many people who had no idea who Tang was to see his capabilities first-hand. Even a team like Notts County could shine under his leadership. The higher quality Nottingham Forest team would surely do even better.
Twain had not told Evan about his plans yet as he knew that Evan was only thinking about persuading him to stay for a few more years. Even if he were to talk about a successor now, Evan would not think much about it. Twain was not worried that his suggestion would not be taken into consideration. He knew how much influence he had in the club, and his influence became even greater now that he returned to rescue the club when it was in peril. He had always enjoyed massive support from the fans; therefore, as long as he supported the decision, nobody would disagree.
As for people who thought that Tang was not domineering enough? If everyone were like Twain, then the end of the world would be nigh…
It was because of this “selfish motive” that Twain almost didn’t mention his victory at all. Other than praising his team for their performance, he kept praising Tang. The Chinese media were ecstatic about it as they could boast about it in their home country to their fans. This time, they would not be labeled as “clickbait”, as Twain’s words were even more enthusiastic than their headlines!
Tang was almost embarrassed by what Twain was saying and he did his best to stay humble. Yet this humility that he showed became another reason for people to praise him.
And so, this derby that came after 14 years ended in a harmonious atmosphere among everyone.
※※※
After the derby match, Twain did not contact Tang. They were both adults and they knew what they needed to do. Tang was still managing Notts County, but Twain was already preparing to guide his successor. Twain acted as though he had nothing to do for the time being, as if he did not continue thinking about a successor.
January was the winter transfer window. It was time for the big clubs to get some reinforcements. It was a time to strengthen areas that were neglected during the summer transfer window or to correct the mistakes made then. However, Nottingham Forest had no intention to shop for reinforcements. Twain knew that he would only stay in the club for half a season more, and Tang would take over completely before the start of the next season. If he was thinking about the long-term and for the good of the team, keeping the squad as it was during the winter transfer window was for the best.
Otherwise, the players that Twain liked might not be suitable for Tang’s tactics. Buying them would not only delay the players’ progress, but it also would not be helpful for rebuilding the team either.
Chen Jian was the only one that Twain bought as he thought that he would not disrupt Tang’s tactics.
However, not buying players did not mean he would not sell any.
With Chen Jian’s arrival, there were four players in the center of the midfield. The team did not have any plans to fight on multiple fronts so there was no need for so many people in the same position. Gago was getting old. Even though he was very happy about Twain’s return, the Nottingham derby showed him the reality. His impact on the team was getting smaller and smaller. If the boss really did not intend to stay for the next season, there would be no point in him staying too. The new manager would most likely not place much importance on him, and in that case, he might as well return to Argentina and find a team to retire in.
Therefore, Gago talked to Twain alone, hoping to confirm that the boss was only staying for half a season.
Twain told him that he was indeed only staying for half a season, and he’d leave the team after the end of the season. He did not persuade Gago to stay either, as he knew that Gago’s departure would be a good thing for the team. Tang would not need to deal with this problem when cleaning up his team.
Even though it might sound heartless, it had to be done if one analyzed the problem objectively.
Gago also thought about this problem, which was why he did not express any displeasure. Instead, he took the initiative to suggest that he would transfer to another club after the end of the season.
Another familiar face was leaving his peripherals, but Twain did not find it as difficult as before. Maybe he had seen too many departures and was getting numb to it. On the other hand, maybe it was because Gago was not really someone who had been with him for very long.
Twain did not persuade Gago to stay when he wanted to leave. However, when another person wanted to leave, Twain wanted to ask him to stay.
Jake Livermore was actually competing with Gago for the attacking midfielder position, even though he would usually be no match for the experienced Gago. He thought that Gago was already getting old so he would slowly become a key player. Little did he know that Twain would get a new player from China playing the same position as he did into the team. The new guy actually managed to play in the Nottingham derby and performed rather well too.
This made him understand that his status in the team had become even lower than before.
Livermore was a smart person. He knew the reason why his status was low was that Twain did not like him. Otherwise, he would not have gotten four players in the attacking midfielder position. A smart person would not use an egg to smash against a rock. To Livermore, he was the egg and Twain was the rock.
A smart person would leave on his own accord. This way, everyone would look good and his reputation would be intact.
Therefore, Livermore had a private chat with Twain as well. He wanted to know whether he was the last choice within the five attacking midfielders.
Of course, Twain would not say, “That’s right, you’re the worst player out of the bunch in my opinion.” Unless he was an idiot or was trying to provoke him deliberately.
In Twain’s view, however, Livermore was not useless. He was a very suitable impact substitute at least.
However…
“Boss, I cannot accept being a bench player,” Livermore was very direct and frank. Twain liked his attitude. It was nice when people spoke their minds and were not secretly scheming.
“I hope that you’ll think about it carefully, Jake. We need strong substitutes too,” Twain did not give him any false information, telling him directly that his position in his mind was that of a substitute.
“I’m sorry, Boss. When Fernando and George were the big stars, I was their substitute. Now that Fernando is getting old, another player from China appeared… I’m already 29 years old, Boss, I don’t want to end my career as a substitute.”
Livermore looked at Twain with a serious expression on his face.
Even though everyone was thinking about their own personal goals, Twain did not dislike it when someone was frank about it. Wanting to advance one’s career was not something bad.
Twain’s plan for Livermore to be a substitute was simple. In his plans, Wood and Chen Jian would be the key players for the next half of the season. They might even continue to be key players for the next season. After Gago was gone, the team would only have three attacking midfielders left, and that was very unsafe. Even though he did not know what kind of tactics Tang would use, it would not do to have no substitute for this position.
Livermore was the best choice to be a substitute in Twain’s mind. He was good enough to be a starter, albeit with some deficiencies and somewhat lacking in capabilities. It would be a pity to let him go, so it was best if he could be happy being a substitute.
Too bad the players were unlike NPCs in the games. They had their own thoughts, and nobody would be willing to be a substitute. Everyone wanted to be the key player, to be the soldier. However, only eleven players could start in a football team and someone had to be the substitute. This type of player was the supporting cast. They were not as eye-catching as the star players were, but they might just be the most important type of players on the team.
However, Livermore was obviously not this type of player.
He flatly rejected Twain’s attempt to persuade him to stay.
Twain could do nothing when faced with Livermore acting this way. However, it was not difficult to find bench players. If he had no choice, he could always pick a player from the youth team. He was not the one who had to think about this problem, it was Tang’s burden to bear. Twain might as well do Livermore a favor and agree to his transfer request. He hoped that Livermore would not leave during the winter transfer window, though. Instead, he wished Livermore could finish the season. To repay Twain for agreeing to his request, Livermore agreed to Twain’s condition as well.
Just like that, Twain managed to keep a stable core for the team. Under the premise of giving up on the FA Cup and focusing on the league, they did not have to worry about major injury issues or international call-ups causing problems for their lineup.
Under these conditions, Twain was to lead the team to avoid relegation. However, deep inside, he had a greater target—to qualify for European competition.
Twain suddenly recalled the first season when he was in charge of Forest, the first half-season to be exact. He took over after New Year’s Day and the team was not doing well, just like now. The difference was that the team’s finances were in trouble then, and they did not even have a transfer budget of at all. He could only look within the team and make use of the ready resources. Eventually, his team was only a step away from winning the title.
It was from that moment onwards that Twain felt the heart-wrenching pain of failure, and he hated failure from the bottom of his heart. It was also from that time onwards that he would do anything to win.
The situation now was similar to the situation then. The difference was, his lack of dealings in the transfer market was not because he lacked funds, but because he chose to avoid it.
His desire for victory had never changed. Twain would admit that his temper was better than before, but his competitive nature had never lost its edge. If there were people who thought that he had become a ” Nice Guy”… Twain actually hoped that people thought that way. Then he could pretend to be weak and defeat the powerful… However, would people really think so?
...
Chapter 1013 - Losing Competitiveness
Nottingham Forest had nothing at all to do with the tumult in the transfer market. Initially, the media had still been expecting a huge storm in the transfer market due to Twain’s return to Nottingham Forest. In the end, he bought Chen Jian and let go of David Sliva after much deliberation.
The team’s results in January were two wins, two draws and one loss. It was not outstanding, but the results were not too bad either.
This was the current situation of Nottingham Forest. Twain’s return might have stabilized the team morale but the team’s results did not rise all the way to the top immediately. The team was still hovering at the area below average even though they had managed to escape relegation.
The media mostly believed that Twain’s return had a huge influence because Nottingham Forest had immediately escaped relegation, but this was not the intended outcome for Twain. His internal motive was not revealed to the public but he did not care if the media knew about it, because they would have no effect on him anyway. That said, he still needed to find a suitable opportunity to reveal his own goals to the players. This was because it would be impossible to reach his goal if the players did not know what he was thinking and were not in sync with him.
Why did he need to find an ideal opportunity? Because this goal was a little too ambitious for the current Nottingham Forest, and Twain sometimes feared he was not being realistic. It was certain that the people on today’s team were not the same as the ones in the past. Twain himself was not sure whether it was still possible to reach his goals.
※※※
The happiest circumstance for Twain was that Chen Jian had integrated so quickly into the team.
Perhaps it was because Chen Jian had played with Nottingham Forest and so did not appear as a complete stranger to the team. Or maybe it was because his technique specialties were similar to Wood, so it would be natural for him to fit into the playing style of Nottingham Forest. There was no need for any special adjustment for the team to operate as normal.
At the same time, Chen Jian was able to speak fluent English since he used to live in Nottingham for three years, so he would not feel foreign in the current environment. As such, the language barrier would not be a difficulty when it came to him adapting to his new teammates.
After staying for a week at the hotel, he moved out of there because his agent Xia Yang had found a place for him to stay in the city. He bought the apartment under Chen Jian’s name and the latter immediately moved in.
While he was settling into his new house, Xia Yang temporarily stayed over to cook for Chen Jian and take care of his accommodation and meals. At the same time, he also handled the necessary procedures to move Chen Jian’s parents over to Nottingham. Once his parents arrived, Xia Yang would no longer need to act as a housekeeper.
“You can’t find another agent like me in the world, Jian!” While cooking dinner for Chen Jian, Xia Yang stressed his importance to the young man, who was sitting at the dining table playing with his mobile phone. “Helping you to earn money, taking care of buying you a house, a car, your furniture… and I’m even making soup for you. I’m basically your babysitter. Your Uncle Xia is supposed to be a great agent who manages hundreds of Chinese football players!”
Chen Jian had been in the middle of sending a flirty text to a girl he met on his trip back to China last year. After he heard what Xia Yang said, he lifted his head and replied, “The manager was supposedly a nanny, haven’t you heard this song, Uncle Xia?”
“What song?”
“Being her chauffeur, her deliveryman, and her ATM,” Chen Jian hummed.
“Hey!” Xia Yang rolled his eyes. “It’s the girl who’s putting you up to this, no?”
Chen Jian shook his head. “Cui Cui is a very intelligent, kind and sensible girl.”
“Wow,” Xia Yang smiled. “This is definitely a case of being blinded by love. Everything looks great through the rosy lens of love.”
Chen Jian knew that Xia Yang was playing around with him and was not really dissatisfied with Cui Cui. Hence, he did not continue to bother Uncle Xia and kept chatting about anything and everything with his girlfriend.
The fragrance wafted into the dining hall from the kitchen.
Chen Jian suddenly said without lifting his head, “Use less salt, Uncle Xia.”
“I’m making my share!” Xia Yang’s voice carried out from the same direction.
Chen Jian had always insisted on eating like an athlete because this assisted him in maintaining his physique and fitness. However, normal humans were unable to eat his food at all. Xia Yang once ate the same meal as Chen Jian out of curiosity and commented that it was tasteless like candle wax. Hence, whenever Xia Yang lived with Chen Jian, he would always make two separate servings for each meal—one athlete’s meal for Chen Jian and one regular meal for himself.
Xia Yang would use various kinds of gourmet dishes to tempt Chen Jian who was eating at the same table, but Chen Jian was simply unswayable. He just ate his own athlete’s meal. Xia Yang felt a huge sense of defeat and could only complain about Chen Jian not knowing how to enjoy life. He would not even buy a mansion after earning so much money. Other than giving his parents back home a big house to live in, he himself did not have any expectations or wants for his own accommodation. On top of that, he did not buy luxury cars or go chasing after superstars… Now, he was even losing the luxury of enjoying good food. What was the point of earning so much money?
Chen Jian ignored his complaints and continued doing his thing.
However, Xia Yang was also very proud of him, because these were the secrets to why Chen Jian was able to succeed in Europe. He was modest, hardworking, and temperate. Xia Yang had never praised Chen Jian to his face but always used him as a role model for other players he was responsible for, telling them that Chen Jian’s model was the route to success.
If a professional football player wanted to succeed and extend his professional lifespan, then discipline in living and eating could not be compromised. This was also why Twain had so much confidence in Chen Jian, so much so that the man would rather bring him back to Nottingham Forest and allow him to be one of the key players in the “Twain generation”. By nature, Asian players’ peak periods were usually shorter, and this was related to their physical condition. After 30, their lifestyle would start on a steep downfall and if they did not pay special attention to their health, the decline would be rapid.
This would never happen to Chen Jian.
Xia Yang first placed Chen Jian’s dinner on the table, then went back to carry over his clay pot of rice.
After they started eating, Xia Yang asked Chen Jian, his mouth full, “Are you going to start in the upcoming weekend match?”
Chen Jian put down the knife and fork, thought about it and shook his head. “I don’t know.”
“Hey, can’t you tell if Twain’s paying attention to you?”
“If I were to tell from the performance in training, I should be starting, but I can’t guess what the head coach is thinking.”
In fact, other than the first two matches where Chen Jian played as a reserve, he started in all the subsequent matches. Judging by that, Chen Jian thought he should be starting in the next match unless he suffered an injury before it.
However, it was just as Chen Jian had said: Xia Yang could not predict what Twain was thinking either.
※※※
It was not just Xia Yang and Chen Jian; not even the media could not guess what Twain was thinking.
The upcoming weekend match would be Nottingham Forest’s match against Arsenal. This would be another encounter between Arsene Wenger and Tony Twain. This match was a matter of wild speculation by many, otherwise, Xia Yang would not ask Chen Jian whether he was going to start. The match would be broadcasted live on China’s television. This was going to be a huge chance to display a Chinese football superstar.
Before the game, the media had finally gotten a juicy tidbit–Twain’s initiative to provoke a war of words.
In an interview, he claimed that although Arsenal was now third in the table, his team had full confidence in beating Arsenal on away ground.
In the current situation, anyone knew that Nottingham Forest’s capabilities and results were poor. In the first half of the season, Nottingham Forest had been humiliated by Arsenal on their home court in a 1:4 loss, such was the gap in performance between the two teams.
“We all know that Twain wants revenge, but this will be a little too hard to exact….” That was what the media said. “Arsenal is not like Middlesbrough, so it would be too difficult for Nottingham Forest to be victorious.”
“This statement was expected. I think it’s possible to guess what tricks Twain is trying to pull. He is simply trying to agitate Arsenal, get them to lose their calm judgment and draw a benefit from that. But this will not work today. Wenger is very calm and calculative; he will definitely not fall for such provocation.”
“He’s probably just talking big but actually not hoping to win over his opponents. He’s probably just trying to give his players confidence. ”
※※※
“Simply saying a few words would give you all a lot of confidence? This is ridiculous! ”
In Wilford, two days before the game, Twain was giving his players one of their last tactical lessons. Tomorrow, the lesson would take place in North London’s hotel.
Twain did not only discuss tactics during his tactical lessons.
“Is there anyone who has had doubts these few days?” Twain asked the players, who were sitting down.
No one said “yes”, but in reality, they all doubted, and not only a little. Since the start of Twain’s coaching, they had never seen their head coach initiating a provocation on his opponent.
However, the older players who have trained under Twain for a very long time were not surprised.
“I’m going to make it clear in advance that I’m not bluffing or trying to give you all any bullsh*t confidence.”
Twain unconsciously used a few profanities.
“If I said I want to win over Arsenal, then I really mean that I want to win over Arsenal.”
His words caused a huge stir among the players. Arsenal was now third in the league. They were only one point behind the second place and just three points behind first-placed Manchester United. Nottingham Forest, on the other hand, was 13th, 15 points behind Arsenal. The huge gap in the rankings was actually a representation of the difference in capabilities between Nottingham Forest and Arsenal.
They had just lost to Arsenal in the first half of the season on home court, so there was seemingly little hope to win against them in an away game.
Twain saw the hesitation and lack of confidence in their eyes.
He grinned. “What? A team like Arsenal would scare you guys to death? Look at how incapable you guys are. Actually, since I took over the team, I have always had a concept, but was hesitating whether to tell you guys… it might not be possible to turn it into reality.”
His words had baited so many of them—what thoughts would make the head coach so hesitant?
“I didn’t have a press conference when I came back so no one asked me what kind of future I was going to bring to Nottingham Forest.” Twain saw that everyone was interested in what he was going to say, so he knew the time was right. “But I think that most people would feel it would be to successfully stay in the same league,” He paused. “If that is so, then we have already completed that task. Then why do we still need to work hard for the second half of the season?”
Once he said this, everyone realized what he meant. If they only wanted to maintain their league, from the current performance of the team, it should not be a problem.
“So my goal was actually not just to maintain our spot in the league. From the start, it was never just that. My goal is to return to Europe,” Twain calmly stated his real goal, but the players listening were not as composed.
There was an immediate animated discussion. Not even one of them had expected their head coach would have such huge ambitions!
In fact, returning to Europe was not a long way off. In the first half of the season, they had played in the Europa League (formerly the League Cup). They had also played in the Champions League and the Europa League in previous seasons. However, hearing this today, why did it feel that they had not appeared in Europe for a very long time?
After the discussion died down, Twain went on, “So, our lowest target this season will be the Europa League. Are there people who do not like participating in European competitions?”
“No!” There were many voices that answered this time.
“Well, it looks like we’ve found something we have in common,” Twain smiled. “As for me, I love challenges and victories. If we simply end the league on this note, it will be very uninteresting. But now I want to confirm something—” Twain paused for a while.
“How many more people have that ambition?”
As he spoke, he looked directly at everyone present.
He wanted to remember each and everyone’s reaction.
Some people were excited, some were in doubt, and some were confused.
“Do you know why I said we’re able to defeat Arsenal?” Twain observed everyone’s reaction, then continued talking.
“If you’re in doubt over something like this, then there would be no way for you to return to Europe. I want you all to find your lost confidence. This confidence is not what we had while facing Notts County F.C! I want you so fearless that you are not moved at all when facing a strong opponent!
Twain raised his fist in front of the players.
“If you can only be fearless in front of easier opponents but give up entirely against strong ones, then that isn’t confidence, that is inferiority! Inferiority in its core!”
“As soon as I said we were going to beat Arsenal, some people were so scared. How can that be? You guys want to go to Europe in the future, so you are bound to face many stronger opponents. If it scares you, why not quit football altogether?” Twain spread his arms, facing them. “This is a tragedy. The Nottingham Forest of four years ago stole away the Championship from Real Madrid in Estadio Santiago Bernabéu stadium in front of eight million fans, but today you guys only have this much courage?”
No one could answer him, because there were too many people among them who did not experience that game. However, those who had played back then were red with embarrassment and lowered their heads. How would they even dare to open their mouths and talk?
Why was Nottingham Forest falling deeper and deeper into a slump with every year that passed?
They had lost the heart to fight for the championships along with the man who had been the core of their team…
...
Chapter 1014: Find the Heart of the Champion
Twain never thought that as soon as he returned to the Nottingham Forest’s coaching bench, the team’s achievements would be soon improved and they would keep on winning all the way through the league champion title again even if he did almost nothing. Only a child could imagine such a scenario, but any reasonable person would regard it as nonsense.
What was happening now has proved his wisdom. Although by today’s Nottingham Forest have won a few games, there were still many problems to be solved. For example, the restoration of the team’s domination has become the most urgent problem for Twain, waiting for him to resolve it.
If a team did not have the confidence to win, there was no way to defeat the strong enemies. When some relatively small and weak teams faced a strong opponent, if they were determined to win, they could create miracles. There were many classic battles in which weaker teams defeated stronger teams, and the key factor was always the belief in victory.
When Nottingham Forest suddenly rose in England’s football world, they were depending on that relentless strength of advancing and reluctance of being defeated.
At that time, Nottingham Forest hardly knew what “fear” was. Whether it was in the face of a strong domestic opponent, or when they were facing the European famous teams, there was only one thought in their mind: “To fight and win the battle!”
But now…
“For the last four seasons, you have been complaining about losing the Champion, losing the UEFA Champions League qualification and now even losing the European League qualification. But let me tell you, none of this really matters.”
Twain looked at the players who kept their heads down.
“If you don’t find one most important thing again, you’ll never regain what you have lost. Do you want to know what it is? ”
Twain slapped his chest, where the heart was beating. “Put your hands here and feel your heartbeats. Are they accelerating as I speak of a victory over Arsenal?”
Some players really put their hands on their chests, but some players were still confused. They did not know what the coach meant.
Twain wasn’t counting on his speech to suddenly show everyone the way of victory, but he had to bury the seeds. Perhaps they would blossom and bear fruit in due course.
“The game against Arsenal is an opportunity to prove that you guys still have a fighting spirit. This time it’s not for the media out there. Fight for yourselves!”
※※※
Arsene Wenger was 69 years old. His goal was to retire after fulfilling his contract with the club, which had three years left. That meant he would be retiring at 72. The biggest regret of his coaching life was that he had never won a title of the UEFA Champions League and the European Champions Cup.
There was a season when he was very close to the trophy, but someone shut him outside the finals.
This someone was now in front of him, smiling.
“Long time no see, Professor. ”
During the pre-match press conference, Twain and Wenger met each other. While one has just finished his part, the other was getting ready for his.
“It’s only been a few months, Tony. “Ever since Twain won the World Cup, he almost disappeared out of the vision of the public social media.
Twain shook his head. That was not what he meant.
“I mean it has been a long time since we met in this situation here.”
Twain pointed to the back of the press conference hall where reporters were waiting for Wenger to come in.
Wenger immediately understood. As opponents, they really haven’t met for a long time.
“I heard your team is going to beat my team,” said Wenger.
Twain said with a smile, “If we don’t have the spirit of victory, it is impossible for us to win.” He didn’t just nod and say yes. It was better not to be so arrogant in front of this old friend and opponent.
He actually did think so. To be honest, he had no idea whether he could win over Arsenal or not. Although tactically prepared for this upcoming battle, the current Nottingham Forest team was not the one from four years ago, and he didn’t control it completely.
The reason why he said he wanted to win was the same as Twain told his players: “If you don’t have the eagerness to win, how will you play on the field? ”
Wenger shrugged and said nothing more. The reporters were waiting for him and it was not a good time to chat.
He reached out his hand, trying to shake Twain’s, but Twain patted him directly on the shoulder. “I’m leaving one step ahead, Professor. I’ll see you at the game tomorrow night. ”
Wenger watched Twain disappear at the end of the aisle before turning into the press conference hall.
Shortly after he sat down, the reporter’s question came: “What do you think of what Tony Twain said, about his certainty of winning over Arsenal?”
Wenger smiled. It seemed he couldn’t get rid of the topic anywhere.
“I certainly believe he has that ability.” Wenger said “he “, not “they”. He played a little trick in the choice of words, though he didn’t know if anyone could see it. “But this is our home ground.”
Exactly. It was Arsenal’s home ground and Wenger wouldn’t give up the victory easily.
※※※
“I have done the big talk, lads.”
The news of Arsenal playing against Nottingham Forest at home has become mainstream in the sporting news later in the day. Twain and Wenger had an extensively photographed pre-match press conference. Twain’s words, “Yes, I repeat again. We’ll beat the home team at the Emirates Stadium,” were also constantly mentioned.
Twain told his players, after turning off the TV in that evening’s final tactics class:
“If we don’t win, you and I will all become a British national joke. That would be too humiliating.”
Twain never said something like “Judging by our strength, we deserve to win over Arsenal”, so none of the players could offer any objections. Anyone with a little sense knew it would be very, very difficult to win at the Emirates against Arsenal.
Nevertheless, the ‘big talk’ put the Forest team on the edge of the cliff.
It was like Twain said: they were all pushed towards the edge of the cliff. If they lost the game, all the bad words and comments would come to them.
No one wanted to be a joke, to be discussed in disdain.
Certainly not professional football players.
“Arsenal’s style of play is as strong and complex as ever. At home, they’re sure to keep playing like that. This is our chance. ”
Twain began to elaborate on the tactics they were going to use in tomorrow’s game, but the players were able, for the most part, to predict what he would say. This was something the team has been focusing on for more than a week. For more than a week, the most important part of the training was the attack of the set-pieces play. At this point, everybody knew more or less what tactics the team would use in the game.
Between losing the game in a beautiful and spectacular attack or winning the game in a doggedly conservative defense, Twain was sure to choose the latter. However, the risk of the latter was that having held your ground for 89 minutes, you could lose the game at the last minute. That would really mean losing everything, not only the game but also the team’s dignity. If it happened, the team would turn into laughing stock. In the face of this situation, many would choose an overpowering attack against their enemy. That way, even if they lost the game, they would lose with honor.
However, that was really not the best idea in this case. The Forest team was not as strong as it used to be and has already made up excuses for losing. How could such a team beat a strong opponent? They did not have the confidence for an aggressive attack.
As the saying goes, “Confront one with death and they will fight to live”. How could the team summon the right kind of energy if they weren’t determined to win?
“On a solid back-line basis, we need to seize every set-piece opportunity to score. Don’t be afraid of less ball control, ugly scenes, and little chance of shooting. As long as we’re more patient than they are, grab the set-piece opportunity to score, and the final victory will be ours!”
“We practiced set-pieces for over a week and I hope to see them in the game. ”
※※※
Twain did see in the game that his team had painstakingly trained for the set-ball attacking tactics for more than a week. His team was ahead in the score for the moment.
As soon as Arsenal came up, they played with a home team’s arrogance. They were bombing around Forest’s penalty area. They were cooperating cleverly, running flexibly, passing directly. The Nottingham Forest team could only double its defense under the attack by Arsenal. It was a pity they were short of a punching second striker. Although the small squad was flexible enough, it was not enough to face the solid defense wall of the Nottingham Forest team.
Although the Forest were seemingly timid, they never conceded a goal. It wasn’t until the 37th minute that the Forest team got a good attacking chance. Chen Jian was tackled to the ground by an Arsenal player after taking the ball in front, and Nottingham Forest, therefore, secured a free-kick on the right side of the front.
Bale left-footed a free-kick to the late penalty and Aaron Mitchell head passed the ball back with a flick-on header from the late penalty. Then George Wood followed in the middle, rushed ahead of the others, and used a beautiful diving header to send the football into the corner of the net in the ensuing chaos.
Nottingham Forest, an away team, has taken the lead with no advantage in possession or number of shots. This surprised many people.
However, more surprises were waiting for them. Nottingham Forest had another free-kick in the same position on the other side before the last minute of the first half. This time it was Bale’s cross. This time around, Arsenal’s fullbacks focused on the center-field defense, and in the meantime, they never stopped guarding Mitchell. However, Nottingham Forest changed their tactic.
The ball went straight to the late penalty area. Mitchell and Forest center-back Sarko were still pushing back, while the two defenders followed them back. They didn’t expect that halfway there, Sarko would abruptly stop and turn out, running towards the football. He rose high with no one defending him!
He shot a rebound. The football bounced off the Arsenal goalkeeper, making him misjudge the direction of the ball. Goal right through the net!
“It’s unbelievable! “The narrator cried out, hugging his head. “At the Emirates Stadium, at Arsenal’s home ground, Nottingham Forest managed a two-goal lead by the end of the first half! Tony Twain’s ferocious drive, defensive counter-attack and tactics of using set-pieces to score totally undermined Arsenal’s technical play!”
Wenger was clearly aware that he would only lose more and more if he continued to play like this. Some specific changes had to be made against their opponents. Therefore, at the beginning of the second half, he substituted a more powerful striker in front of the goalmouth.
Nottingham Forest also relented after leading by two goals in the first half. On the other hand, Arsenal pulled one back in the second half.
Then Arsenal’s morale was unexpectedly boosted. They kept attacking Forest’s goalmouth to the cheers of the home fans. Twain saw the situation he quickly adjusted his team’s tactic. He did not strengthen the defense, but rather the counterattack.
Surely, the change was very effective. Arsenal’s attack was immediately subdued in fear of a sharp and fierce counterattack from Nottingham Forest. Rebalancing has come back on the field.
Such a score was held until the end, despite the fact that in the last five or six minutes, Arsenal was attacking most ferociously. However, the Forest team’s fightback was just as active, making Arsenal powerless. In the face of the solid defense in front, as well as Forest’s quick counterattack, Arsenal finally lost hope.
In this way, Nottingham Forest won a key victory.
After the game, everybody agreed that Tony Twain’s Nottingham Forest was back to being the Arsenal’s arch-enemy.
Wenger also admitted at a post-match press conference that Nottingham Forest’s tactics had restrained theirs. This made him very helpless.
Twain, as the winner, didn’t take this for granted. He said the team was just lucky enough to win against Arsenal.
It was absolutely impossible to say that there has been no change between the current Twain and the Twain of old. A decade ago, he would definitely proclaim that their victory was a matter of course.
Getting up and shaking hands with Wenger, Twain left the press conference. The team was waiting for him on the bus and, unlike at the press conference, he had another speech to make to his men.
“You have done well, lads! We got three points as an away team and the rankings went up two places. However, more than that, I’m glad to have seen in your performance the desire to win and the heart of the champions! Never give up!” Twain said to the players on the bus, with one hand resting on his chest.
“I hope this game will help you remember that the spirit of a champion who always seeks victory is more important than anything. Now I have finally begun to hope that we can return to Europe,” Twain pointed at his players and went on, “Because you all want to win. And I…”
He pointed to himself, “…would like to work with players who want to win. Nottingham Forest are winners and so am I.” He looked at everyone and grinned.
In fact, he was very arrogant, but it was precisely this confidence that made him more likely to win and turned him into his opponents’ nightmare.
If someone didn’t believe this, the game against Arsenal was an excellent demonstration.
※※※
PS. If all goes as planned, Godfather of Champions will officially end in October. Then I will rest for a month and think about the new book. Thank you for more than two years of support, I am very grateful! Without your support, I wouldn’t be here, finishing Godfather of Champions.
On the last day of the month, everyone has extra monthly tickets. Vote for me, thank you!
...
Chapter 1015: Shankly’s Decision Back Then
Nottingham Forest seemed to have suddenly found their drive to move forward after the match against Arsenal. They achieved three wins and one draw in February, and they shot up to eighth place on the ranking table. They were just two places below sixth.
The team’s results have gotten better, and one man’s brain started becoming more and more active.
Evan Doughty would look at the calendar every single day to see what day it was and how many days were left until the end of the season. Twain said that he would quit after the season ended, and those words of his kept resounding in Doughty’s mind. It was a well-known fact that Twain was going to retire at the end of the season. The press knew about it and so did the fans. He even repeated those words during the FIFA Football Awards ceremony that was held at the end of December last year. Twain was dead set on retiring once the season ended.
However, Evan Doughty was not willing to let Twain leave the club a second time. He once made a mistake in the past regarding this issue and he could not make the same mistake twice.
He wondered if Twain had changed his mind after two months.
Evan Doughty would head over to the Wilford training grounds every single day to observe Twain’s behavior during the team’s training sessions. He wanted to figure out what was on that man’s mind.
This day, he saw Twain chatting happily with his colleagues and joking with his players. He even saw him put an arm around Bale and Wood and say something to them.
It looked like he was in a good mood and was enjoying his work.
Evan Doughty felt that the time was ripe.
※※※
“Hey, Tony. I heard that your wife’s back.” The players would gather around and have idle chat during the breaks in between their training sessions, and the coaches would do the same. After all, they were humans just like the players, and they too needed rest.
The coaches were even more gossipy than the players, and they were always able to get their hands on information quickly.
This was shown in how they were already asking Shania Twain’s husband for more inside information even though the British tabloids had only reported news of Shania’s arrival in England the day before.
Twain could do nothing about his gossipy colleagues.
“Yes, she returned yesterday.”
A few of the coaches glanced at each other and laughed. “Looks like we’re definitely going to win our next few matches! Haha!”
All the other coaches began laughing with them. This was a joke that was referring to a phenomenon that happened before Twain left Forest. The team had a tendency of performing consistently well every time Shania arrived in England back then.
Twain allowed his colleagues to laugh as much as they pleased. There was nothing for him to be unhappy about. To him, harmony in the team was the key to achieving good results. Why would he possibly say something that would ruin the harmony that they had now?
Twain walked back to his office alone after the training session was over. He was going to leave his notebook on the table and pick up his car keys before leaving for home. There might be a restaurant located on the training grounds, but he had no intention of dining there. After all, his dearest wife Shania had prepared lunch and was waiting for him at home. Not only that, the dishes that were served at the restaurant were mostly fit for athletes, and were not meant to be eaten by the average person. Twain was not an athlete, and there was no reason why he should eat a tasteless meal at the restaurant.
After entering his office, Twain placed his notebook on the table. He then took his car keys from the drawer and prepared to leave. However, just as he raised his head, he saw a figure standing at the door.
“Evan!” Twain said in surprise. “You scared me. You didn’t make a sound while you were standing there. You’re just like a ghost, do you know that?”
Evan Doughty laughed in embarrassment after seeing Twain’s reaction. “I’m sorry. I saw that you were busy, so I didn’t dare to call out to you. Are you preparing to head home?” He looked at the car keys that Twain held in his hand.
Twain noticed what Doughty was looking at. He dangled his car keys and said, “Yeah. Shania’s waiting for me at home.”
“Ah…” Doughty was a little disappointed. “Looks like now’s not a good time to talk, then.”
Twain found his comment to be odd, so he asked, “Is something the matter, Evan?”
“Uh…” Doughty hesitated for a moment but was not able to get the words out. “When would you be free? I’d like to speak to you about something privately, Tony.”
Twain thought about his schedule for the next few days and said, “I’d have time this weekend, after the away game.”
Doughty nodded. “I’ll meet you this weekend then. Goodbye, Tony. I don’t want to take up too much of your time, or else your wife would complain about me.”
Doughty was well aware that Shania did not have a good impression of him.
Twain did not say anything else and only watched as the club’s owner walked out of the room. The 60-year-old man before him seemed to have lost all his arrogance and tyranny from four years ago. He was just like any other aging man now. They could try all they want, but the relationship between the two of them would never revert to how it used to be in the past. How could anyone pretend that nothing ever happened when there was a visible crack on an originally smooth surface?
Doughty rarely joked with Twain now, and Twain would not go over to Doughty’s office to have a chat with him either. They might appear to be close to each other on the surface, but one would still be able to tell that there was something different about their relationship if they paid attention to the fine details.
The difference in their relationship was not something that could be described in words. It was something one could only feel.
However, neither of them needed to be told that their relationship was not like it used to be. They both knew that very well.
※※※
Nottingham Forest faced Manchester City in an away game that weekend. Both sides played their strongest possible team for the match, and Forest managed to edge out City with the help of a controversial goal. The press that was associated with Manchester City all believed that the goal was an offside goal, and they could not stop babbling about it during the post-match press conference. Twain responded by pushing all the responsibility onto the shoulders of the referee for the match, “…I was not in a good position then, so I don’t know what happened the moment Chen Jian passed the ball. However, since the referee has allowed the goal, I believe that the goal should stand… What is important is not the process, but the outcome. The outcome of the match is that we won, and I’m very happy about that.”
The press could do nothing about the shameless Twain. They could only watch helplessly as he ‘stole’ what should have been their victory away from them. Of course, that did not stop them from deriding Twain in the papers, but Twain did not care what they said about him. He has been a manager for 15 years, and he has spent the past 15 years attacking and deriding the press, just like they attacked and derided him. He had grown utterly used to their attitude by now.
The highlight for this weekend was not the match against City, but rather what was going to happen in the hotel that the team stayed in following the match. Or, to be more precise, what was going to happen in Twain’s hotel room.
This was a scene that both Twain and Doughty would find familiar. After all, it was similar to the scene that was played out four years ago in Twain’s hotel room in Madrid. The main difference was that one of the main casts from back then was missing today, and the plot for the show was different as well.
If the show they acted in four and a half years ago was about politics and trickery, the show of today would be a tearjerker.
And the man who was acting as the miserable main character was Evan Doughty.
“Evan, you said you had something to speak to me about. Are you just here to persuade me to stay with Forest?” Twain sat at the edge of his hotel bed and stared at Evan Doughty, who sat on the sofa across of him.
“What else would I possibly want to speak to you about? Tony, do you still distrust me?”
Evan Doughty had a bitter expression on his face. He had just spent a lot of effort to express his desire for Twain to stay with Forest, but all Twain did was respond with a question. How could he not agonize over it?
It was true what people said. Some scars could never heal completely…
“Of course I trust you, Evan. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have accepted your invitation to return to Forest as a manager,” Twain said.
Twain’s attitude only made Doughty even more uncertain about what was truly on his mind. To Doughty, Twain had said those words half-heartedly and did not really mean them.
Twain noticed the expression on Doughty’s face and laughed wryly. “How do you want me to prove to you that I trust you? I really meant what I said…”
“Then stay at the club, Tony.”
Evan Doughty gazed at Twain but was not able to discern anything from the latter’s expression.
“That’s impossible, Evan. I have a family, and my health doesn’t allow me to continue working as a manager any longer,” Twain shook his head and refused Doughty’s plea.
“But… You haven’t suffered any health problems for the past few months…”
Twain raised a hand and cut Doughty off. “I know my own body best, Evan. I feel like I don’t have as much energy as I used to… Besides, are you saying that I only have a health problem if I pass out by the side of the pitch and get sent to the emergency room for 48 hours? You are my friend. I’m sure you don’t want me and my family to go through that once again, right?”
Twain’s words rendered Evan Doughty speechless. He had been so desperate to keep Twain at the club that he had not thought about how he should act as a friend. If he truly meant well for Twain, then he would always put his health first.
Neither of them spoke for a while. Evan Doughty had his head lowered and did not know what he should say. Twain, on the other hand, had averted his gaze towards the television. News of the match that just ended earlier between Forest and Manchester City was being broadcasted, and the focus of the news was naturally on whether Mitchell was offside when he scored the goal.
Twain had mentioned during the press conference that he did not see what had happened prior to the goal, and now he finally had the chance to take a good look at it. The news replayed the scenes before Mitchell scored the goal. Mitchell was positioned in a straight line with the Manchester City’s defenders before kicking the ball. The camera then froze at the moment he kicked the ball, and Twain could clearly see that Mitchell’s upper body was slightly further ahead than the defense line…
Strictly speaking, Mitchell was definitely in an offside position when he scored the goal. However, whether or not an offside was ultimately given was at the referee’s discretion. If the referee thought that Mitchell’s upper body being slightly further in front did not have any major bearing on the match, he could choose not to rule it as being offside. However, if he had gone by the book and ruled Mitchell as being offside, Twain would be the one defending his team at the post-match press conference.
The voice-overs in the news did not share Twain’s opinion. They believed that Manchester City had lost the match due to the referee’s poor decision, and they condemned the referee for it. Twain then cast a glance at the logo of the channel and realized that it was a local news channel. No wonder, he thought to himself.
Twain did not have any interest in listening to the rest of the news. He looked away from the television screen and at Doughty again. To his surprise, Doughty also had his eyes on the television and appeared to be lost in thought.
Twain contemplated for a moment. He then laughed and said, “Look at me now. I’ve really gotten on with age. I need the referee to help me win games these days.”
Doughty shook his head after hearing Twain’s words. “It’s the referee’s mistake. What does that have to do with you? We might not have had as much possession as Manchester City for the match, but we had more shots on goal, and we deserved to win. We were just unlucky with several of our shots. There were numerous times when we could have scored but didn’t…”
Twain did not interrupt Doughty. The edge of his lips went up gradually without his knowledge as he quietly listened to Doughty speak.
Evan Doughty noticed the change in expression on Twain’s face, and he realized that he had said too much. He immediately stopped talking and looked at Twain.
“Ha!” Twain laughed. “I just find all of it really interesting. You were once a man who could not differentiate between a ‘coach’ and a ‘manager’, but now you are able to make good analyses like that. We are always changing… Evan, I do not wish to continue working as a manager for another decade. I’m already 50 years old this year, and I have a heart problem as well. I will definitely die before Shania, so I want to make the most of the time I have left. I want to spend more time with my wife and Teresa… You are also a man of family. I’m sure you can understand how I feel.”
Doughty nodded. He could not possibly shake his head, could he?
“But…” Doughty decided to fight back eventually because did not want to be so easily persuaded by Twain.
“I know that you are thinking about what’s best for the club, and I mean it. I’ve always believed in you, Evan. However, I’m really not fit to work at Nottingham Forest any longer. We are all changing, and so is Nottingham Forest,” Twain said. “There is no such thing as a club that will always win in this world, and there is no such thing as a team that will always become the champions. The clubs that have managed to create a dynasty in the past all had their ups and downs, and the same happened for Nottingham Forest…”
Twain became distracted as he spoke.
The days when Hebert Chapman led Arsenal on a rampage in England were too far away. Sir Matt Busby, the man who led Manchester United to their very first Champions League title, had passed away a long time ago. Bill Shankly, who has a deep, lasting influence on Liverpool, was nothing more than a name now. Brian Clough, the man who fought against Liverpool when they were at their strongest and the man who created ‘England’s Red Generation’ alongside Liverpool was just a bronze statue that was situated in the Nottingham city center now. The all-powerful Ferguson, who dominated the Premier League ever since its inception, has become an elderly man who basked in the sun in his backyard every single day and who did not even watch his favorite horse races anymore. Arsene Wenger, the godfather of Arsenal who was also a legend of the sport like Ferguson, was already 70 years old this year, and his retirement was imminent…
Every single one of those glorious names would become buried in the sands of time someday, and their achievements would become nothing more than a memory. Twain believed that he, along with his Nottingham Forest team from four years ago, would be destined to a similar fate in a few years’ time. It was just like how the children who were born these days would never truly appreciate the greatness of Michael Jackson. Similarly, the fans of Ronaldo would never know how great Maradona was, and the fans of Maradona would never know how great Pelé was because they had never had the chance to see him play football before their very eyes. Likewise, Pelé’s fans would find Alfredo Di Stéfano foreign. Everything in life would have to come to an end someday. Twain had gone through so many things in his life up until now, and there was nothing he could not put behind him.
“I cannot stay in this managerial position forever, and I should not have to stay in it forever. What Nottingham Forest needs is a long-term plan that you will slowly execute over several years. However, I’m a man who is too eager to achieve success, and I also want instant gratification. A man like me is not suitable to lead Nottingham Forest into the future.”
Doughty looked like he wanted to stop Twain from self-deprecation, but Twain quickly went on to say, “Do you still fail to understand, Evan? Why did Forest’s results plummet the moment I left? Why did nothing change even after hiring numerous good managers? I don’t wish for Nottingham Forest to become ‘Tony Twain’s Nottingham Forest’. We might have won countless trophies if I stayed as the manager, but we’d never become a truly strong team. Most people cannot live a hundred years, but many football teams in the world have been around for centuries. It’s impossible for a team to be truly strong and powerful just by relying on the abilities of one person. Why is Liverpool considered a powerhouse team? They were nothing before Shankly, but what’s important is that they managed to win five Champions League trophies after Shankly left.”
Twain leaned forward and looked at Doughty.
“There are certain media outlets that have touted me as Nottingham Forest’s Shankly. Do you know what was the best decision Shankly had made in his life?”
Twain smiled as he watched Doughty’s expression change from confusion to realization and then to frustration.
“His decision to resign out of the blue and leave Liverpool forever.”
Twain had heard about Shankly when he was just a regular football fan. He was also familiar with Shankly’s successor, Bob Paisley. However, he could never understand why Shankly would choose to resign when he was doing a great job as Liverpool’s manager. Given his success at the club, Shankly should have stayed as the manager and worked to achieve greater things with the club. For example, he could have led Liverpool to their first-ever Champions League title. Twain and many others believed that he was capable of achieving that if he had remained at the club.
Twain did not understand why he left back then, but he did now.
Twain’s words stunned Evan Doughty, and his mouth dropped open. He then sat on the sofa in a daze and did not make a single sound for a long time.
...
Chapter 1017 - Leave? That’s Really a Problem
Bill Shankly was the greatest football coach of his time. He had brought the previously unknown Liverpool to a Championship football team level. He had left many famous football famous sayings, the most widely known of which, of course, was, “Football has nothing to do with life and death. Football is much higher than life and death.”
However, he abruptly announced his resignation at one of the finest moments of his coaching career and this decision shocked the whole of England at the time. Shankly’s argument was that he was going to spend more time with his wife. Seven years later he died of a heart attack.
Twain wasn’t very close to Shankly at that time and he didn’t know if Shankly had made such a decision entirely because of his wife or for some other reasons. However, from a peer’s point of view, it was not difficult to understand Shankly’s choice. Putting aside the idea of health and the necessity of taking care of his wife, just thinking about the team’s development, Shankly’s retirement was a pretty good thing for Liverpool.
Because if he didn’t retire, how could the obscure Paisley rise from being unknown to being a world-famous head coach? Until Shankly retired, Paisley was just an ordinary player who hadn’t proven himself in the coaching position at all. Moreover, Paisley and Shankly were the exact opposite type of coaches. Shankly preferred to deliver inspiration and encouraging words to the team through the media as Twain would always do. Paisley was more pragmatic and more low-key. Dunn and he were very close in characteristic.
It was a coincidence. However, it was as if it was determined by fate.
Twain and Dunn were just like Shankly and Paisley at the beginning.
Bill Shankly took Liverpool from Football League Second Division to England’s top-flight – England Football League First Division. In terms of making champions, he was certainly no match for his successor Bob Paisley. However, he paved the ground for Paisley, who made Liverpool an undeniable force to be reckoned with in England. On the basis Shankly had made, Paisley was able to make the miracle of “19 Champions in 9 years”. However, it could not be simply attributed to the fact that Shankly had done the foundation work in advance. Shankly’s reputation was so high at the time that his influence at Liverpool was like that of Busby at Manchester United. No matter who his successor would be, the pressure on his shoulder was enormous. But Paisley, a low-key successor, has always put himself in a position of “transition coach”. He was the man who led Liverpool to go beyond Shankly’s great influence. He did what Shankly could not do during his coaching.
Would Dunn accomplish the same result in the future? Lead Nottingham Forest beyond the influence of Tony Twain and create the Forest Dynasty that would belong to him?
Twain was looking forward to seeing that day.
He chose Dunn as his successor, which was, of course, entirely and carefully considered. He had full confidence in Dunn, which was definitely not the result of a whim.
Shankly’s story was well known in England, and Evan should be aware of it if he really knew football. However, did he know the story beyond the surface?
Twain wouldn’t know.
※※※
Once again, after refusing Evan’s invitation to stay at Forest, Twain returned to Nottingham to continue their league campaign. In the Football Association Cup, after passing Dunn, Twain gave up the whole tournament altogether. The Nottingham Forest, who were almost all second-tier and youth team players, lost to Everton in the next round.
For many Forest supporters, this loss was a big shame. They believed this was the only chance for Nottingham Forest to return to Europe, and that the team had to take advantage of this opportunity to revitalize and rise again. However, the team lost the game and judging from the performance on the field, Twain didn’t care about the Football Association Cup at all.
After the loss of the game, some minor dissent came out through the media. They believed Twain must still think the Football Association Cup was a non-essential game and did not know that the Football Association Cup was the last straw for Nottingham Forest in the current situation.
However, with the ranking of the team rising in the league, the voice of criticism gradually faded. They saw Twain’s intentions: from the beginning, he didn’t expect to rely on the Football Association Cup winners to get a European ticket for the game. The Football Association Cup was so randomly won that it had always been called a “race of dark horses”. Twain was reluctant to bet in it. By comparison, the long-running league was better suited to Nottingham Forest today.
The purpose of giving up the Football Association Cup decisively, securing enough fitness and stamina for the Forest team, was to ensure they wouldn’t collapse in the end because of the double-line battle and end up with nothing.
The rest of the team also endorsed Twain’s strategy. Watching the rankings rise, they were trusting the head coach more.
Evan Doughty has not come to Twain since that day to talk about the subject of staying with the team.
Twain didn’t know if Evan had given up, but he has made up his mind. He didn’t care how hard everyone else tried to persuade him to stay.
However, from the home game stands of this round, Twain was surprised to hear the voices from the Nottingham Forest fans.
On Robin Hood Grandstand, one of the fans hung a banner that read, “We Hope to See You Again Next Season, Tony.”
Although there was only one banner, Twain saw it. He was very sure that it was not Evan Doughty’s initiative. The president of the club had a very low reputation among the fans and would be unable to get them to cooperate with him.
This must be a spontaneous action of the fans themselves.
It was no secret that he only planned to spend half a season with the Forest. It was written in the contract and fully covered by the media. Many people were then wondering if he could lead the Nottingham Forest team out of trouble again. So the half a season news did not surprise all the fans at the beginning. They could think that Tony Twain had no confidence in himself, so he chose to sign only a half-season contract.
Therefore, fans knew, of course, that Twain only had half a season’s contract with the team. However, they had always wanted Twain to stay. From the very first interview in the press conference to the present, as the season was getting closer and closer to the end. They channeled this emotion into practical actions and expressed it directly.
Twain then saw a banner in the stands, begging him to stay with the team.
Two days later, in Wilford, he saw the banner again. Twain saw the fan who raised that banner, and it was not John. It was another group of people, who were supposed to belong to another fan group, and Twain had no personal relationship with them.
The banner hanging alone outside the barbed-wire fence attracted much attention around. The media took photos of the banner before they left the training ground. Players training on the pitch would also look at the banner from time to time. Even colleagues in the coaching staff were getting interested in studying the distant banner at their leisure.
“I think if I were a fan, I’d do the same,” said Freddy Eastwood, looking at the banner fluttering in the wind in the distance.
His words got the approval of the majority. Twain was the isolated minority.
“You guys don’t want me to leave the team?”
“That’s an interesting question, Tony. Who wants you to go?” David Kerslake replied.
Twain looked into the eyes of his colleagues. He knew they were not lying. However, he had to go.
He didn’t want to go on with this conversation, so he lowered his head and smiled, touching his nose tip.
Everyone knew Twain had his personal reasons to go, so there was no further discussion.
Twain looked up again at the distant banner, deeply lost in thought.
※※※
On the weekend, Nottingham Forest was playing at home. This time Twain saw more similar banners at the stands. All the banners are asking him to stay.
Even the live cameras noticed the situation, giving several shots of the banners in the stands during the live game.
Nottingham Forest had won the game. Their ranking continued to rise to 7th.
Such results have made the fans more reluctant to let Twain go.
After the game, fans have spontaneously formed a group to persuade Twain to stay. The name of the group was, ‘Tony Stay’. They quickly set up the group’s official website, calling on more fans to join online, creating a force that could not be ignored trying to retain Twain.
After that, the “Tony Stay” slogan could be seen everywhere. Twain opted for silence in the face of fan voices and media attention.
Reporters wanted him to comment on this, but Twain rejected their questions on the grounds that “now he just wanted to focus on the team and the play”.
His silence didn’t mean the media had nothing to say. When would the media give up? They could even let the dead speak, not to mention a living man.
The next day, the following headline appeared in the press: ‘Tony Twain Silenced in Face of Fans’ Call, He Is Hesitating!’
If one didn’t speak, the media would figure out a headline title themselves. The more silent one was, the easier it would be for them. They even had their way to get dead people to speak.
Really.
“It’s not going to work like this, Tony. ” A large crowd of fans gathered outside the Wilford Stadium, holding up portraits of Twain and signs pleading with him to stay. They were so numerous that they have completely disrupted the team’s normal training order. Looking at the crowd, assistant coach David Kerslake spread his hands out helplessly and called Twain.
The players looked at the enthusiastic fans and felt a little overwhelmed. They certainly knew what the boss’s personal reason to leave the team was, but they could not say so. They could only secretly look at Tony Twain with concern on their faces.
Twain frowned as he looked at the growing crowd of fans. Since a few days ago, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of fans gathered outside the training ground. Moreover, they have only come for one purpose: get him to change his decision of leaving the team after the end of the season.
However, he did not expect that the spontaneously organized activities of the fans could get so many responses and gather such a large crowd.
Should I be flattered, or should I be overwhelmed?
So Twain thought to himself.
“Keep training, and I will talk to them,” Twain waved his hand and told the team to go on. He walked to the side of the training ground, where the crowd was gathered.
Seeing Twain from behind, Eastwood sighed, “This is the trouble with being too popular!”
The fans who stood outside saw Twain coming towards them but did not make a loud, excited noise. Instead, they went very quiet, quietly watching Twain walk up to them, staring at them through the barbed wire.
“What shall I say, lads?” Twain shook his head with a bitter smile. “I appreciate your devotion to me, but you really interfere with our normal training. I don’t want to do any closed-up training these days.”
“Tony, we just want you to stay.” One of them was clearly the leader of the group. Twain noticed the T-shirt he was wearing. It was emblazoned with his picture, which read “Stay” under it. There were many people wearing the same T-shirt. It was really well-organized. Even the themed T-shirts were already printed.
※※※
When David Kerslake blew the whistle, the players on the pitch were still a little distracted. Some of them were glancing at the area where the fans gathered from time to time. Twain was still talking to them.
“Hey, George. Do you think the boss will stay?” Joe Mattock asked George Wood when they were assigned in pairs to do the passing practice.
Wood hasn’t answered yet, but the teammates next to them were all listening carefully and waiting for his words. They all knew that of the entire team, Wood had the closest relationship with Twain. If anyone knew the boss, it was Wood.
Wood did not pass back when he received the ball from Mattock. Instead, he adjusted the football twice on his foot, thinking about the question for a short time. When he passed the football back, he shook his head and said, “I don’t think so.”
There was an immediate sigh of regret and disappointment around them.
“Why not?” Mattock passed the football over again. “I think he enjoys his work. Can’t he change his mind at the last minute? ”
“I don’t know. However, this time I don’t think he’s coming back.” Wood passed the football and the answer back to Mattock.
“Is that your intuition?” Mattock continued to pass to Wood.
“Yeah, my intuition.” Wood passed back.
This time Mattock didn’t pass the ball to Wood. Instead, he rested one foot on it and sighed.
“Why wouldn’t the boss want to spend more seasons here? I don’t think there’s anything wrong with his health.”
No one answered this time, even George Wood. He was twisting his head towards the training ground sidelines, where Twain was still talking to the fans. It was a quiet discussion.
“Why don’t you try to persuade him to stay? Aren’t you the captain?”
The questioner was not Mattock this time, but Balotelli.
Tony Twain had won Balotelli’s heart in just a few months. Now he just wanted to play for Twain. If any other head coach came instead of Twain, he would find it hard to obey his orders. Now that Twain was going to leave the team, how could he remain indifferent?
Wood looked back at Balotelli. This man has always despised his captain’s authority, and Wood didn’t know what to make of him.
“Everyone has his own life,” He replied indifferently. “I have no right to interfere.”
※※※
“All right, guys. In order not to interrupt the training of the team, I hope you will leave. Don’t do this again. As for your wishes, I will consider them seriously. Please give me a few days to think about it. When the time comes I will hold a special press conference to inform you of the final decision,” Twain told his loyal fans through the barbed wire fence.
“Our team is now in a critical period. Whether we can go back to Europe next season depends on the performance of these days. I don’t want the team disturbed by anything out of field. Look, they can’t even concentrate on training now,” Twain pointed at the training ground behind him.
The fans could also see the performance of the team’s training. It was true that the players have been a little distracted since the crowd appeared on the sidelines of the training ground with great fanfare. They even made some mistakes that definitely should not happen in training.
They knew they were interfering with the team’s training. They just wanted Twain to stay so badly that they had to take extreme action.
“Come on, guys. Just leave and go back home. Thank you for your support of the team and me. I will consider your request seriously. ”
Twain fell silent and stood right over the barbed wire, looking at the fans.
The leader was the first to speak. “Okay, Tony. We don’t want to affect the training and performance of the team either. Thank you for coming here to talk to us, we know you are very busy.”
Then the leader waved his hand and turned away, leaving the training ground first. Others followed him and left one by one. Of course, many of them did not forget to look back at Twain. He was still on the sidelines, watching them leave the stadium.
A voice in Twain’s head asked: Will you really consider their request seriously?
Twain could not answer that voice.
...
Chapter 1018 - A Successor
Shania had also taken notice of the recent media reports. She was not blind or deaf. She was aware of the things that the fans did in the stands and at the training ground. If she were about her thoughts, she would certainly be selfish and want Twain to stay by her side and quit. However, after more than a decade with her husband, she also knew that only he could make the final decision. Therefore, she cleverly chose to remain silent.
At such times, she could only choose to trust her husband.
“I’ll have to hold a press conference in a few days to announce whether I’m staying or leaving,” Twain suddenly said during dinner, which surprised Shania a little. While the media was abuzz with speculation a few days ago, Twain kept mum at home.
She was keenly aware of something.
“It’s time to resolve all this,” Twain said.
Her guess was right.
However, Shania did not “What’s your decision?” but just nodded and did not say anything.
Twain was not surprised by Shania’s reaction, so he did not offer to explain what he would say at the press conference.
There was a mutual understanding between the two of them.
※※※
The question of whether Twain would stay or leave obviously affected the team’s performance. Nottingham Forest came close to losing against Fulham in an away game during the weekend. Fortunately, Balotelli broke through Fulham’s goal with a beautiful free-kick at the last minute to equalize the score at 1:1 and save the team a point. However, because of the tie in the game, their ranking did not continue to rise but remained in seventh place.
For the Forest team to end up with a tie against Fulham was still lucky. In terms of both overall skills and actual situation, Nottingham Forest was at a complete disadvantage. If the Fulham striker had not been too wasteful with opportunities, they would have been defeated even if Balotelli had scored a goal.
Perhaps Fulham did not expect Nottingham Forest to play so poorly. They were overly excited.
For example, there were a few occasions when the goal was almost empty, and it was easier to score in such situations, but the Fulham striker excitedly shot too hard and pumped the ball straight into the stands behind the goal…
After the game, Twain admitted in an interview that he and his team had been “very, very, very lucky” today, which were his original words. He had used “very” thrice.
However, he did not criticize the team’s performance.
He knew that the team’s erratic performance had something to do with himself. If the crew of a ship did not know whether their most beloved captain would be able to stay after this adventure and continue to lead them to take on the world, they would grow doubtful and be swayed. It would naturally affect their combat effectiveness in battle.
Twain had thought that by staying silent, he could minimize the impact. It turned out that he was wrong. He must give his crew a decision to let them know what the future would hold.
A reporter asked, “I’d heard you promised to give a reply to the fans who want you to stay?”
Twain did not deny it. Instead, he nodded and replied, “Yes. When I get back to Nottingham, I’ll announce the matter at a press conference.”
The reporter did not expect Twain to answer so readily. He thought he heard wrong and hurriedly asked again, “Are you saying that you will announce whether you will be staying after the end of the season when you return to Nottingham?”
Twain nodded and did not say anything anymore. However, it was enough. The media and fans were excited by Twain’s answer. As for the game… Who cared?
※※※
On the way back to Nottingham from London on the bus, Twain found that Evan Doughty was around, and he came to him on his own initiative.
“David…” He looked at Kerslake, the assistant manager who sat with Doughty.
Kerslake was a smart man. He knew Evan must have something to discuss with Twain from the looks of it and that it had something to do with Twain’s going or staying. Therefore, he got up and gave his seat to the chairman while he saw in the seat behind, next to Eastwood.
While Kerslake gave up his seat, Twain did not say a word but looked up at the two men who exchanged seats.
When Evan sat down, he did not beat about the bush, got right to the point, and asked, “Have you made up your mind, Tony?”
Twain nodded.
“I guess it’s not a good decision for me. Can I persuade you to change your mind?”
Twain shook his head and said, “If you still want my friendship, Evan, you won’t do that.”
Evan Doughty turned his eyes away and looked ahead with some disappointment.
Seeing how disappointed Evan Doughty was, Twain could not bear to stay indifferent, so he consoled him: “There is a saying in China that states, ‘If the old doesn’t go, the new will not come.’ The same holds true for the Forest team and you. If I, the old guy, don’t leave, how can you have a fresh new wind?”
Evan Doughty did not care about any Eastern proverbs. He only cared about one thing and said, “But I can’t think of any new manager that would be as good as you. I’ve been looking for more than four years, but I still haven’t found him.”
Twain smiled. It looked like it was going to be easy for Evan to accept his departure. He just had to find him a suitable successor.
“Of course, I have a good candidate for the new Nottingham Forest manager. I think very, very highly of him. He can definitely bring the Forest team back on track.”
Evan Doughty was stunned by Twain’s comments because the unruly Twain seldom used such blatant flattering words to describe a man, so he searched through world-class managers in his mind.
“Don’t tell me it is Mourinho?”
It was the only answer he could think of because the two had similar temperaments and he was the only person whom Twain could think so highly of.
He did not expect Twain to shake his head.
“No, it’s not.”
He did not explain to Evan why Mourinho was not the man. He just named his candidate.
“It’s Dunn.”
The name gave pause to Evan. He was not shocked, but… he basically could not recall who this Dunn was.
Twain saw the doubt in his eyes, but it did not mean anything. It was normal that the chairman of a football club could not remember an assistant manager who had left the team eight years ago. At the time, Evan was full of self-importance and was not concerned about the people and things around him.
“Do you still remember when I first brought him to the club and wanted you to give him a job?” Twain slowly recounted the story to Evan. Anyway, it was almost two hours’ drive from London to Nottingham, so he had time. The journey was boring, and it was rather interesting to tell stories.
That was when Evan remembered. “That Chinese young man?”
Twain nodded and said, “He started as a regular coach in the youth team and worked as the manager of the youth team, First Team coach and assistant manager of the First Team. He left the club seven-and-a-half years ago to become the manager of Notts County team and now Notts County is ranked midstream in the EFL Championship.”
When he heard “Notts County”, Evan frowned. When he heard again that it was currently just a midstream team in the English Football League Championship, his frown grew deeper.
Twain naturally took note of Evan’s reaction.
“Tony, this man…”
“You don’t think he’s famous and has an impressive enough resume?”
Evan nodded. It was what he thought. He felt strongly that a manager without prestige could not control the locker room. How many of the managers who had been brought in before could manage the big-name players? Almost none of them could control the locker room, so it became factional and the team fell apart. How could they have the strength to compete? If the manager’s resume was not stellar, it meant that there were no brilliant results and it would not impress the public. Neither could it convince him that the team would have a brilliant future in this person’s hands. Furthermore, the lack of brilliant results also implied that he did not have enough experience to play big. Nottingham Forest was a Premier League team and its goal was in Europe. Was an English Football League Championship manager able to cope with that level of competition?
“Not all managers need to rely on their own prominence to manage the locker room. It doesn’t matter if his resume does not look good because it is easier to draw a better picture on a piece of blank paper,” Twain said. “Before I got my first championship trophy, my resume didn’t even look as good as Dunn’s.”
His words were true. Twain’s resume really did not look good when he first made his debut. He lost his team’s chance of qualifying for the Premier League in the most crucial game. Shortly after, he was sacked and returned to the youth team. Then, when he became Forest’s First Team manager again, he had only half a season of First Team coaching experience. However, he still created the most glorious 11 years in the history of Nottingham Forest Football Club.
If Evan had kicked Twain out for not being famous and having a bad resume, perhaps Nottingham Forest would never have had that kind of glory.
“And Dunn is indeed capable enough. He just needs a better stage than Notts County. Think about the Nottingham Derby in January, when his team did well and was ahead of us for 45 minutes. I’m sure he’ll do great work for you if he’s given time.”
“A Chinese man…” Evan was still a little worried and was not willing to be persuaded by Twain just like that.
“What’s wrong with that?” Twain raised his eyebrows and added, “Chen Jian is also Chinese, but he is now part of our main force.” Actually, Twain was itching to say to Evan:
I am a real Chinese man and Dunn is the true Englishman. If you’re unwilling to believe in a Chinese man, it means you don’t believe me. Is that it? But I’ve won so many championship titles…
He certainly could not say such words aloud. Twain only muttered a few remarks in his heart to express scorn for Evan’s prejudiced views.
Following which, Evan fell into a long silence. The bus was moving fast and smoothly on the highway, with the players and coaches each doing their own thing. Some people listened to music with headphones on and some took a nap with their eyes closed. Some people even played games with their handheld consoles and cell phones.
Twain adjusted the angle of the back of his seat slightly and leaned back, intending to catch a few winks on the bus. As he had said, he was prone to feeling sleepy. He took the opportunity to get some rest to keep a clear head.
Evan did not seem to pay any more attention to Twain and continued in silence. Twain did not care that the club chairman was next to him either and closed his eyes to sleep right away.
※※※
Twain woke up when the bus arrived in Nottingham. He found that Evan Doughty was still sitting next to him. Doughty looked like he waited for him to wake up.
“What’s on your mind, Evan?” He asked.
Hearing Twain’s question, Evan seemed to rouse himself from deep thought and turned to look at Twain. He said, “I was wondering if your recommended successor would be willing to live in your shadow…”
Twain pulled a face. He had thought about this issue before. To Dunn, this arrangement of his might be a bit overbearing. Twain had always considered problems from his own point of view but did not seem to consider Dunn’s. A young manager with little to show for in his resume suddenly wanted to become Tony Twain’s successor. Such pressure was enough to overwhelm many ordinary people with poor mental strength.
However, having interacted with Dunn for so long and sharing the same unspeakable secret, Twain was fully convinced that Dunn was not an ordinary man.
“In the first few years, there may be such an influence,” Twain muttered, “But it will get better slowly. Take it slow, Evan. The Forest team still has a long, long way to go…”
Evan sighed and knew he was not able to convince the stubborn man next to him.
“Very well. When would be a good time for me to approach him?”
“Wait until the season is about to end. If it’s too soon, the groundless talk in the media could cause a needless stir.” Twain was very glad that Evan had finally decided to accept Dunn. In that way, he was partially at ease already.
What about the other part?
As the bus pulled into Wilford, Evan patted Twain on the shoulder before getting out of the bus and said, “When do you think it’s best to have a press conference, Tony? The club can arrange it for you.”
“Erm…” Twain opened his mouth and looked at Evan Doughty’s back as he alighted the bus, thinking that he must be feeling pleased for turning the tables…
He thought of the fans, full of anticipation, the banners dancing in the stands. Twain felt that it was much harder to deal with the fans than with the boss…
It was the truth. He had to consider feelings when dealing with the fans…
...
Chapter 1019 - An Era Is About to Come to An End
It was easier informing Evan Doughty of his decision because it would not involve too much emotion. However, it was another matter with the fans. The fans trusted him, liked him and supported him, but he still had to leave. How on earth would he tell this to the fans?
The debate about whether Twain would stay or not had been brewing and abuzz for a long time, but Twain would not give in to the pressure the media had put on him.
In the media, on the Internet, and even on the streets, the discussion about whether Twain would eventually stay on had never stopped. Even the bookmakers gave the odds on whether Twain would stay or leave so that everyone would come to place bets on it. In terms of the bets and odds, people tended to believe that Twain would stay in the end.
The team was dismissed after they arrived back at Wilford and Twain drove home. Before leaving, he informed Evan Doughty that the press conference would be held tomorrow afternoon.
Having driven out of the Wilford training base not far away, Twain noticed that there was a betting station on the side of the road, where the odds chart about whether he would stay or leave was displayed. However, at this time of the night, no one was placing bets there. The store manager was also yawning repeatedly as he got ready to close the shop.
Twain suddenly had an idea. He pulled his car over and stopped.
The store manager perked up considerably when he saw that there was a customer dropping by. He was stunned when he saw who walked over.
“Tony?” He squinted and cocked his head to the side. He carefully appraised the man who came in.
There might be many men named “Tony” in England. However, in Nottingham, there was only one “Tony” among the public figures – the Nottingham Forest head manager, Tony Twain.
Since he had been recognized, Twain did not have to hide his identity. He asked, “Do more people place bets on me leaving or staying?”
The store manager recovered from the initial shock and replied, “More people bet on you staying.”
“What do you think, boss?” Twain continued to ask.
“Erm…” The store manager did not answer immediately. He was caught in an internal conflict. His shop was the closest to the Wilford training base, so he could always overhear a lot of gossip and inside information that no one else could hear. And when it came to Tony Twain, he was also very well aware of how matters stood. From a reasonable standpoint, he thought that the chances of Twain staying might not be very good. However, emotionally speaking, he could not accept the fact that Twain might leave.
Consequently, he hesitated and did not know how to answer Twain’s question.
Twain pulled out a note from his wallet and handed it to the store manager as he said, “Ten pounds for a bet on my departure.”
The remark sent a shockwave through the store manager. Apparently, he could discern the meaning behind it, so he was not in a hurry to collect the money. Instead, he looked up at Twain.
“The payout is yours if the bet wins. The loss is mine if it’s lost.” Twain did not ask for proof. He put the ten-pound note on the table at the betting station and turned to walk away.
After getting back in the car, Twain waved to the betting station manager who stood dumbstruck at the door before he started the car to drive away.
※※※
The next morning, Nottingham’s earliest edition of the local newspaper published a piece of news, which immediately attracted widespread attention.
“…The owner of this betting station, Mr. John Farrell, revealed that at about 11.30 p.m. last night, Tony Twain suddenly came to his store and chatted with him. Then he paid ten pounds to place a bet on his own departure…”
“You’re reading the newspaper during breakfast again, Tony,” Shania put her lily-white hand out in front of Twain, who sighed and folded the newspaper before handing it to her.
“Have you thought about how to face the fans and the media this afternoon?” Shania asked after she put away the newspaper.
“Not yet,” Twain shook his head. “I’ll think about it when the time comes.”
He really did not think of any good ideas. He could only walk up, sit on the stage, and then figure out a way. How should he deal with questions from the reporters and fan representatives? It was useless to consider such a problem now and prepare a script. He had to handle it according to the situation. Anyway, he was good at giving directions on the spot and was most accustomed to dealing with sudden occurrences.
However, what was reported in the newspaper should give the fans a heads-up, so they wouldn’t be too surprised and disappointed when the news was actually announced.
“It’s nothing. Am I, Tony Twain, not known for refusing to play by the book?’”
Twain wiped his mouth to indicate that he had finished eating.
Shania rose and cleaned up, while Twain’s cell phone rang.
A look at the caller ID told him that it was Pierce Brosnan.
“Hello, Mr. 007.” When Twain was in a good mood, he would make these little jokes. Brosnan knew him well, so he was surprised. He said, “Listening to your voice tells me you’re in a good mood, Tony.”
“Of course. What can happen to make me feel bad?”
“The press conference this afternoon…”
“Ha. I’ve already made a decision. There’s nothing to worry about.”
“I read the news in the papers this morning. Is it true?”
Brosnan indeed called to confirm the matter.
“What’s true?” Twain deliberately acted confused.
“Is it true that the manager of a betting station said you went to him late at night to place your own bet on your departure, Tony?”
It was useless to deny it, so Twain openly admitted it and said, “Yes. I went to place a bet, but the store manager will earn the winnings if there’s any, and the loss will be mine if the bet’s lost.”
Brosnan laughed bitterly on the other end of the line and said, “Do you still think you will lose?”
Twain shrugged and said, “Who knows?”
Brosnan understood Twain. He did not think that Twain was going to stay just because of his deliberately mystifying remark.
“I actually did not call to ask about this. I wanted to ask if you need me to coordinate with you at the afternoon press conference.”
Twain and Brosnan did many such things before in the past. Whenever he encountered troublesome reporters, Brosnan would stand up and help Twain to change the topic. If Brosnan had not done this, he would not have gained Twain’s trust and naturally would not be able to become the author of Twain’s biography.
“There’s no script for us to rehearse in advance,” Twain tactfully declined Brosnan’s offer.
“Then I can only wish you good luck. You know the fans are very passionate, Tony.”
After hanging up, Twain shrugged at his wife, who was looking at him, and said, “I think Mr. 007 is really worried about nothing.”
Shania smiled and did not speak. In fact, she was also a little worried…
※※※
After a morning of canoodling with Shania, Twain drove alone in the afternoon to the Crimson Stadium to participate in the press conference.
It was a special press conference, because not only the reporters attended it, but also fan representatives chosen by the club. The head of the “red shirts”, whom Twain had a direct dialogue with outside the training ground at the time, was also among them.
Twain was upstairs to meet with Evan Doughty first.
“Are you nervous, Tony?” Evan asked.
Twain said with a shrug, “What’s there to be nervous about?”
“It’s not always easy to say ‘no’ to people who love you…”
Twain grinned and chuckled silently.
In fact, he was silently muttering words that Evan Doughty would probably not understand, “Damned if I do and damned if I don’t…”
He could see from upstairs the media and reporters coming in and out below, as well as some people who, he could tell at a glance, were fan representatives. It seemed that there were quite a lot of people.
Not only that, fans who were not invited to the press conference stood in the square outside, holding signs expressing their desire for Twain to stay.
“If I were you, I wouldn’t be leaving such passionate fans,” Evan Doughty half-joked as he and Twain stood by the window together, looking at the people below.
Twain did not respond to his quip. In fact, he did not say a word again until he appeared in front of the reporters and officially began the press conference.
Sitting in front of everyone, Tony Twain had his signature playful smile on his face. Some people called it a ‘gentle smile’ which of course was nonsense. Gentleness was not something that characterized Twain. It made the people below the stage slightly relieved. Twain did not look like he was going to give bad news.
Twain sat on the stage and observed the situation below. Although the hall did not reach the point of overcrowding, all the seats were full.
Seeing Twain come out, the debates in the hall gradually subsided and eventually completely disappeared. Only then, the press coordinator announced the official start of the conference.
According to the procedure, Twain would speak first, followed by free time for the press to ask questions. Therefore, the media and fans sat below the stage and turned their eyes to Twain, waiting for him to speak.
Twain did not announce his decision first, but said, “I know what you want to ask. About the incident last night, yes, I did do it. The answer is quite obvious, isn’t it?”
As soon as that was said, everyone knew what Twain’s final answer was. The fan representatives could not hide the disappointment on their faces, but no one was making a clamor. They were still waiting for Twain to continue speaking.
Twain looked at the fans off the stage. He automatically filtered out the reporters.
These people supported him, and he was very sorry to disappoint those who loved him.
“I am sorry,” His voice became low, “that I’ve failed to live up to the expectations of the fans. Even though I made this decision for personal reasons and my family’s sake, I still want to apologize to the fans.”
In fact, Twain did not have to apologize, because he never deceived the fans. When he came back at the beginning, he had already stated that he would only be here for half a season. The enthusiastic fans strongly urged him to stay on, which eventually made him stand up today to make this speech.
However, as much as Twain could set himself against the media and the will of the club’s senior management, his relationship with the fans had been good. Therefore, he did not mind standing in front of the fans to placate them and say some words from his heart.
“I have some things that I would like to say to you,” Twain kept looking at the fan base seated on the left-hand side and ignored the media on the other side.
“Truthfully, um……” Twain’s speech was an impromptu performance. He never prepared any speeches, so now he did not know where to start. Twain scratched his head and said, “How should I put it? I have a happy family. For ten years, I have loved my wife, and my wife loves me. Generally speaking, I should be satisfied, but it was not so. My wife and I have been apart more than we have been together for these ten years. I have houses in Nottingham and Los Angeles, but most of the time my wife was alone in the house in Los Angeles and I had the home in Nottingham to myself. I don’t know if you can imagine what kind of life that was. I’m tired of it. I want to be able to spend the rest of my life with my wife, whether in Nottingham or in Los Angeles. I admit it’s somewhat selfish. However, I’ve given my best 11 years to Nottingham Forest, leaving behind great memories. I think that should give me the right to be a little selfish, shouldn’t it?”
He looked at the fans below the stage. No one answered him.
“Initially, I could have retired completely. When I decided to come back at the time, it was because I did not want Nottingham Forest to slip into the abyss. I wanted to pull the team up. However, I can’t keep holding on and not let go. I will grow old one day… In fact, I’m already old.” Twain tilted his head to the side to show the fans below the white hair on his head. He had not dyed his hair since his 50th birthday. His appearance now was a far cry from how he looked at the World Cup. In comparison, he did appear old now.
“No team in the world can rely on one manager forever. Don’t tell me you were not proud of Nottingham Forest before my time. Before me, wasn’t there Brian Clough? What you love should be Nottingham Forest, not Tony Twain. I’m very honored to have been the manager of such a glorious team for 11 years, but I’ve never forgotten that the name on the front of the jersey is far more important than the name behind it,” Twain declared.
“I think my departure is the right decision for the Forest team. It’s a decision that will make the Forest team stronger in the future. I believe in this; hence, I made the decision. As for the results, I’m leaving it to time to prove it.”
“If you truly love the Forest team, please support my decision. The future Nottingham Forest team doesn’t need me. There’s no way I can continue to lead the Forest team forward. There’s a more suitable candidate than me waiting for everyone.”
At this point, Twain stood up, which was an indication that he was leaving.
“Thank you, everyone, for your support over the past 11 years. I would also like to ask you to keep up your support. I apologize to you once again, but I want to live my own life and hope you can understand.”
Having said this, Twain turned around and walked out without looking back, leaving behind a room of people who had not yet recovered from the shock.
Only when his figure disappeared completely at the exit, people finally reacted. The fan representatives were silent, while the reactions from the reporters were much more intense.
“In other words, is it true that Tony Twain will retire completely at the end of the season?”
“Are you still questioning the veracity of the news?”
“That was really cold. He just left after he said his piece. He did not even leave any time for us…”
“It felt like he was reading from a script…”
“I even prepared a lot of questions… Now what? We have nothing different from any other press outlets. Nothing else to do than release a record of his speech!”
Pierce Brosnan did not participate in this pointless discussion. He was distracted.
This time, it was not a hunch of his, but a plan that had been confirmed – an era was about to come to an end for the Nottingham Forest fans.
※※※
Nottingham Forest would play in an away game this weekend. The banners urging Twain to stay had disappeared. Twain saw another banner in the stands of the Forest fans that had come along:
“Thank you, Captain!”
...
Chapter 1020 - Shania’s Good News
Her husband took the team to play an away game and her daughter had gone with the nanny to play outside. Shania finally had some time to herself. She curled up on the couch in the living room and was looking through the work arrangements that her agent, Mr. Fasal, had prepared for her.
It was now April and the work for the spring season had just ended while the work for the summer was still undecided. However, she had decided to reject all future jobs. Her current thinking was very simple: she was 29 years old and was already considered a ‘veteran’ at this age as a model. Her physical condition did not permit her to continue in this line of work. Moreover, the modeling industry would not give preferential treatment to an older model. The younger generation of models was very fierce, just like when she was when she first made her debut. She planned to quit the modeling world and stay at home to support her husband and be with her child. Uncle Tony always said that he was going to make it up to her. So, had she thought about making it up to Uncle Tony?
They had never spent a Christmas together in all the years since they had and gotten married. She wanted to make up for it.
Shania picked up the phone and dialed her agent’s cell phone number.
“Mr. Fasal?” Despite their years of working together, Shania had always insisted on addressing her agent in this respectful manner as a sign of deference. How could she have such a status, had it not been for Fasal’s hard work over the past decade or so? How else could she not have anything to do with the dark secrets and unwritten rules of the entertainment and modeling world?
“Yes, what’s the matter?”
Shania heard some noise on the phone and asked, “Are you outside, Mr. Fasal?”
“Ah, yes. I was in the supermarket. I just came out, ha-ha!”
“Is it raining outside?” Shania listened carefully and heard the endless pitter-patter sounds of water.
“Your ears are very sharp. Yes, it’s raining here. I’m glad I drove. Anything the matter with you? Oh, hang on a second, it’s not convenient to talk here. Wait till I get into the car.”
This was followed by the sound of footsteps. The sound of the rain was getting louder and louder. Finally, there was a bang, and the sounds of the rain and footsteps were gone. Then came the rustling sound of a seat belt being pulled.
Having done all this, Fasal spoke again. “All good now. What’s the matter, Shania?”
“Well… it’s like this, Mr. Fasal. I hope you can help me get rid of all the runway show arrangements from now on…”
Fasal thought he had misheard and gave a cry of surprise. Then he wondered if this could be a joke of Shania’s. Shania was somewhat unpredictable. She would always do some unexpected things. She had rejected some work before. However, to reject all the job opportunities in one shot… what was going on?
“Did I hear right? I’m in the midst of planning your jobs for the summer…”
“You heard right, Mr. Fasal. I have looked at the memo in my hand and there are already five jobs scheduled… I hope you can decline them for me.”
“Did something happen?” Fasal was more baffled.
“No, I’m fine.”
Shania answered calmly, and Fasal could not discern anything. “Then how about Tony…”
“He’s very well, too.”
“Then why are you…”
“I’ve thought it over for a long time, Mr. Fasal.” Shania continued to curl up on the couch, holding the phone as if she was chatting with a friend on a lazy afternoon. In fact, every word she said next was more shocking to Fasal than a thunderbolt from the distant sky.
“I’m going to quit the modeling business altogether. No, it’s not just modeling. I’m not going to make any more movies either. I’m tired of being a star, Mr. Fasal. I want to be able to live a normal life like an ordinary person – taking care of my child at home and spending time with my husband. I hope to have more time with my family.”
“We can reduce your workload appropriately. You don’t have to quit completely. Besides, isn’t Tony retiring completely after the end of the season? He can accompany you…” As an agent, it was normal for him to react like that. He definitely would not immediately nod in agreement with his star’s request for retirement.
“No, that’s not enough, Mr. Fasal. To be honest, Mr. Fasal, I don’t think I have a talent for acting. If I didn’t have a lot of friends, I wouldn’t have made it in Hollywood…”
“Don’t say that. You’re great…”
“Thank you, Mr. Fasal. In fact, you have arranged for all those good reviews of me after every movie, right? Truthfully, all those movies I’ve been involved in, I haven’t watched them again, and I don’t let Uncle Tony watch them either. I think I do a bad job on camera, but I have a bunch of very good friends who can tolerate me doing that. Now I’m tired of it, and I don’t want to go on like this. I want to start a whole new life. I haven’t figured it out yet at the moment, but I can be sure that it has nothing to do with the runway shows or acting. I don’t like to do the runway shows, but I have to make money from it. I like movies, but I don’t have the talent for acting. I think it’s a good idea to quit completely.”
Shania poured her heart out openly as if she was chatting with her agent with no intention of talking business.
After she had finished talking, Fasal was silent for a moment before asking, “I wonder why you have made such a decision now. It is not just some idea about spending more time with Tony that you have thought of recently, is it?”
“Well… I have thought about it long ago, but the reason that prompted me to make my decision was that I went to the hospital yesterday.” Shania turned her body around and leaned against the back of the couch, looking outside the window at the happy Teresa playing in the yard.
“The hospital?” Fasal was shocked and asked, “Are you not feeling well?” He thought of a possibility: Something went wrong with Shania’s health, so she had to give up her job. To tell the truth, filming and runway shows were not easy work. The workload was heavy and relentless.
Shania had nothing to hide from the agent, who had been with her for more than a decade. She came out with the truth. “I missed my period last month.”
“Huh? Oh!” Fasal yelped twice in surprise, and then he did not know what to say. However, his mind was clear because he knew what was going on…
“I gave Dr. Sandy a call and he suggested I go to the hospital for a full checkup.”
Sandy was Shania’s personal doctor, who had worked with her for years. Fasal knew this too.
“So, I went. As you know, Professor Constantine of the Royal Hospital of Nottingham University is a good friend of my husband’s. He promised to keep it a secret for me and never let the media know. The result…”
Fasal seemed more excited than Shania. He quickly asked, “What’s the result?”
Teresa and the nanny were playing in the yard. The bright sun was shining on them, and the afternoon in April was already warm. A fine sheen of perspiration appeared on the foreheads of her child and the nanny, glistening in the sun.
How beautiful the afternoon was…
In fact, after knowing the result, in addition to the excitement, Shania was somewhat worried deep down as well – will Tony and I still live comfortably and also wholeheartedly love Teresa in the future? Will Teresa feel left out?
However, after observing the scene outside, she felt her previous fears were unfounded. She loved Teresa, even if she was not her biological daughter. Tony loved Teresa, too. In that case, why would Teresa worry about being left out?
“I’m pregnant.”
Looking at Teresa playing in the yard, Shania smiled.
Fasal, who was sitting in the car, slowly opened his mouth and then simply laughed.
“That’s wonderful news for Tony. It’s even better news than winning the World Cup…”
However, Shania stopped his train of thought.
“Mr. Fasal, I want you to promise me that you will not tell Uncle Tony the news.”
“Huh? Why? You should know how much Tony wants to be…”
“Of course, I know, Mr. Fasal. It’s precisely because I know this that I can’t just tell him the news now. The league tournament is coming to an end and his team is at the most critical juncture. I don’t want to distract him. I’ll tell him at the right time, and you must keep it a secret for me until then.”
What else could Fasal say? Shania was being sensible and right. He nodded in agreement and said, “But I’d still like to congratulate you and Tony. His greatest wish has finally been fulfilled… I thought you guys wouldn’t try to have another child now that you have Teresa.”
“We really didn’t try. But who would have imagined, I’m pregnant… I don’t know what to say. But I’m very happy, maybe it’s God’s will…”
If Shania had understood Chinese culture, she would definitely say “a scrutinized flower never blooms, but an untended willow tree grows.”
As it turned out, after they had Teresa, Tony’s desire to have children was no longer urgent, and it could be said that he did not have the need at all anymore. Shania stopped thinking about the matter. However, the couple’s regular sex life was always going to happen… Shania was only 29 years old. Taking good care of herself made her look like she was in her early twenties.
As a result, just relaxing and enjoying each other without consciously trying to get pregnant unexpectedly gave the husband and wife such a big surprise…
Fasal promised not to announce the news. He also understood why Shania wanted to retire. There was really no way to work as a model while pregnant or with a baby. However, he still planned to persuade Shania to return to the entertainment industry some time after having the baby. She did not have to be a model, but she could do some related jobs.
Shania did not say yes. She just told Fasal that she would think about it after at least a year of maternity leave.
Fasal had no other way. He could only drop the subject at this point. He knew that Shania was also a very stubborn person.
“As for the matter of declining the jobs… it’s not a problem. We just need to pay some compensation…”
Shania asked for the specific amount of compensation. Fortunately, it was all within acceptable limits. However, Fasal felt that Shania had better not give up the May 10 event. It was a new product launch for Dior, and Shania was invited to present Dior’s new women’s fashion collection to the media as the spokesperson.
Dior was the first endorsement brand signed by Shania when she first entered the modeling world. It was important for her modeling career. And Shania was well aware of this point, so the relationship between the two parties was very good from the beginning to the present.
Fasal’s reason was that no matter what Shania did in the future, it was always good to have one more friend. The relationship with Dior was so remarkable that it would be a pity to give it up. Furthermore, if it was her last runway show as a model, choosing the new product launch of a brand like Dior as her farewell show, it could also be considered as an expression of Shania’s gratitude to Dior. He believed that Dior would also make good use of this to publicize the event.
After listening to Fasal’s analysis, Shania also thought it seemed reckless to reject the job.
“Well… Mr. Fasal, you’re right. I’ll listen to you.”
Fasal was an excellent agent and Shania put a lot of faith in him.
When the matter was settled, it was time to let him get busy while all Shania needed to do was rest at home. It was just as she had looked forward to, to support her husband and be with her child.
After hanging up, Shania thought about looking at the calendar. When she spoke to Fasal on the phone, she always thought the date May 10 sounded familiar.
As soon as she opened the calendar, she saw a circle drawn around this date. She understood at once how that familiar feeling came about.
It was the last round of the Premier League tournament…
Seeing this date, Shania suddenly had an impulse to call Fasal back and ask him to decline the job with Dior. However, in the end, she held back.
She really could not decline the event, but she had to make it up to her husband.
She had to keep the matter a secret until that day came.
She wanted to give her husband a surprise with the best gift in the world and welcome him home.
...
Chapter 1021 - Retirement
Fasal did not divulge Shania’s decision to leave the entertainment industry on the 10th of May to anyone else, but Shania still received a lot of attention from the media.
Shania’s agent suddenly announced that she was going to turn down her modeling jobs at the fashion shows that would be held in Paris, Tokyo, Shanghai, and New York and that she was willing to compensate for the losses. However, he did not provide a reason as to why Shania had suddenly turned down those jobs, and that has led to inevitable speculation in the media.
Some people believed that Shania was suffering from a health issue because a source claimed that he saw Shania going to the hospital. This conjecture was actually quite close to the truth. The only issue was that they had thought about it too negatively. There were also people who guessed that Shania was not in the mood to work because she was experiencing a problem in her relationship with Twain. However, this guess could not be farther away from the truth. Shania and Twain were well known to be a loving couple, and many regarded them as their role model. There might be a 21-year age gap between the two of them, but they did not have trouble communicating with or understanding each other. In addition, there was no news or reports that have hinted at a problem in Shania and Twain’s relationship thus far.
Most of the guesses that the tabloids came up with were nonsensical. They were always trying to think about things in a negative light. Those with good intentions would definitely be able to see what lay beneath the surface.
Twain rarely read celebrity gossip magazines. One reason for it was that he was not a fan of any celebrity, and thus he did not need to read those magazines to understand what was going on in the life of his idol. Another reason was that he spent most of his time on football and had no interest in news that was not related to the sport.
However, he had to read the articles pertaining to his wife. He could not possibly fail to show an interest in what was going on with his wife, even if he knew he could just ask her directly instead of reading about it in a magazine…
The players crowded around to have idle chat during a break in between their training sessions. Likewise, the coaches had formed a group of their own to chat as well. Everyone was discussing various topics that interested them. The coaches were more gossipy than the players were, and they were chatting among themselves. Twain had never thought that elderly men could be this gossipy. They were almost like bored housewives.
“Hey, Tony. Did you read the latest edition of Time Out?”
“The entertainment magazine? You know I don’t read those, David.”
“I think you should take a look at it. Did you notice anything odd about your wife these few days?”
Twain found Kerslake to be odd. Why would he suddenly care about his wife?
However, Kerslake was a man who has worked with him for several years. He must have asked that question because he had his best interests at heart.
Twain thought about what his wife was like over the past few days. He did not find anything about her unusual. She would always return home with a smile, and everything about her demeanor was normal as well.
Kerslake observed Twain’s expression from the side and realized that Twain really did not know what was wrong with Shania. He decided not to explain anything to him, because he was afraid that his words would affect the training session. Twain should just buy the magazine and read it for himself later, he thought.
The training session ended soon after. On his way home, Twain passed by a newsstand and bought a copy of the magazine that Kerslake had mentioned earlier. Time Out was a well-known fashion and entertainment magazine, and it was not hard for him to get his hands on a copy.
Twain saw his wife’s name on the cover page and quickly found the article after looking at the page number that was indicated on the cover.
“Shania Twain has surprisingly turned down all her upcoming jobs, and according to her agent, Fasal, she would not be taking on any new jobs either. This is puzzling…”
Twain frowned after reading the article. It was indeed puzzling, but he quickly guessed the reason behind Shania’s actions…
※※※
The nanny finished preparing dinner, and Shania waited for her husband in the living room.
Twain came home soon after. However, the first thing he passed to her was not his coat, but rather a fashion magazine.
“What’s this about, Shania?”
Twain flipped open the magazine to the page that he had earmarked before, pointing at the article.
Shania glanced at the title and immediately knew what the article was about. A smile emerged on her face as she looked at her husband. “I’ve decided to retire, Uncle Tony.”
Her answer was not surprising to Twain, but he was still confounded. “Why would you want to retire? Aren’t you doing well in your job?”
“29 years is considered old for a model. I don’t want to continue in this job any longer.”
“You could act in movies…”
“You know I don’t have the talent for that, Uncle Tony.”
Twain was rendered speechless. It was just as Shania had said. He knew very well that she was not particularly talented at acting, and she would definitely not be able to become the main cast of any movie without the help or recommendation from her friends. However, she could not possibly keep relying on her friends forever. She was not the kind of person who would want to do that either.
“But still… You don’t need to retire. What on earth are you thinking, Shania?”
“Before I answer that question, I have a question of my own for you, Uncle Tony. Why did you decide to retire at the end of this season?” Shania smiled and stared at her husband. She did not care about the gloomy look on Twain’s face.
“Because I want to spend more time with you, of course…” Twain answered straight away without thinking.
“And my answer is the same, Uncle Tony.” Shania was pleased that her husband had fallen into her trap. She took a few steps forward and embraced Twain before resting her head on his chest.
“You don’t need to do that at all, Shania. I retired so that I can spend time with you, but you can continue working…”
“I’m not interested in my current job. I just want to stay at home and spend time with you and our daughter.”
Shania’s reason made sense because she has never enjoyed being a model. She did have an interest in acting in movies, but sadly, she did not have the talent for it.
Twain hugged his wife and did not know what he should say. Shania’s decision was too sudden, and he found it hard to accept.
And, most importantly…
“Why didn’t you tell me anything before?”
Shania felt Twain’s arms tighten around her. She knew that her husband was a bit discombobulated.
“I didn’t want to bother you since you were busy with work. Actually, I only came to this decision two days ago after discussing it with Mr. Fasal. I’ve been trying to find a good opportunity to speak to you about it, but I didn’t expect the entertainment magazines to get their hands on the information this quickly…”
Shania’s explanation made a lot of sense, and Twain could not find anything wrong with it either. However, he still could not help but feel like there was more to Shania’s sudden decision to retire. It was not as simple as she said it was…
However, what could her true reason be? Twain did not have a clue.
Twain felt like his wife was hiding something from him as he held her in his arms. However, there was no use in asking if she was not willing to tell him anything. He could only hope that it was not going to be a piece of bad news…
※※※
The tabloid reporters were truly skilled. It only took them a week to figure out the truth behind why Shania had suddenly turned down all her jobs. It was not because she was ill, and neither was it because of a problem in her marriage. It was because she had decided to leave the entertainment industry!
The news of her decision to leave came as a shock to many. Shania was a world-renowned supermodel and Hollywood star who had many fans from all over the world, and she was also the brand ambassador of numerous fashion and luxury brands.
However, such a superstar was going to leave the entertainment industry forever. How could her fans accept such a piece of news?
Shania’s official website was instantly flooded with comments from passionate and angry fans.
A large number of her fans did not believe in the news. They thought that the media was just spouting nonsense.
However, Shania subsequently admitted that she was going to leave the entertainment industry during an interview, and her words shattered the last shred of hope that her fans had.
“… I don’t wish to make my supporters sad. However, this is a decision that I have to make because I want to spend more time with my husband and daughter in the future. It was a tough decision to reach… However, to me, family always cane before career. I can only apologize to those people who like and support me…”
“This is not a break but a retirement. I will not appear as a celebrity any longer. I would like all of you to remember me as Tony Twain’s wife and Teresa’s mother. I am going to enjoy my life as an ordinary woman from now on.”
Shania has always come across as a confident and opinionated woman. She demonstrated her toughness when she insisted on marrying Tony Twain, who was older than she was by 21 years, despite the negative attention from the public. Her decision to leave the entertainment industry behind and take care of her husband and child as a simple housewife was yet another example of her toughness.
It did not matter what others thought, said or did. She would never change her mind.
There were some celebrities who liked to hypocritically claim that they were ‘tired of living in the limelight’ and that they ‘wished to lead an ordinary life’. However, those celebrities would all be looking for ways to capture the attention of the masses once again when they did lead ‘ordinary’ lives. In fact, they might not even be able to live a week without public attention.
Naturally, there were also people who saw Shania as being just like those celebrities who craved attention. They believed that Shania had only announced that she was going to leave the entertainment industry because she wanted to generate attention for herself and for Dior’s product launch in May. Why else would she stay on with Dior when she has turned down all her other jobs?
Their rationale made a lot of sense – all of this must be a publicity stunt by Shania and Dior! They would not change their minds about the matter even though Dior released a statement and said that it was not a publicity stunt. Every action was just a cover-up, many thought.
Shania did not refute those claims. Everything she said would only end up aggravating the situation anyway. Besides, her days of being a celebrity were over, and she did not need to care about what the media thought of her any longer. They could say whatever they wanted. It was not as if their words had any impact on her.
Shania carefully guarded her secret from Twain as she spent her next few days at home. She wanted to keep the truth from him until the very last moment and give her husband a huge surprise. Shania was brimming with excitement as she thought of the day when she would see the look of surprise and happiness on Twain’s face.
※※※
The media continued to speculate about Shania’s decision to retire over the next few days. Numerous tabloid reporters appeared near Shania and Twain’s house in Nottingham, and they would rush up to interview Shania when she left the house or when she returned home. Fortunately, Teresa has been following her celebrity parents around for approximately half a year or so by now and had grown used to seeing hordes of reporters flocking up to her. Otherwise, the sight of so many strangers before her would have terrified her.
Shania gave the same response to every single reporter who came up to her:
“I’ve decided to retire, and I’ve already said everything that I’m supposed to say. There’s nothing else for me to tell you now.”
Some of the more idiotic tabloid reporters decided to interview Shania’s husband instead since Shania refused to comment. They hoped to get more valuable information from Twain.
However, they forgot one very important thing. Twain was a man who was notorious for being extremely hard to interview, and all the sports reporters in England could attest to that. The tabloid reporters would definitely not find it easy to deal with him either.
Nottingham Forest’s training session ended, and Twain coldly looked at the reporters who had flocked up to him. “I want the reporters who are not interested in sports to leave. I will not answer any of your questions. Don’t try to pretend to be a sports reporter either. I know every single reporter who’s supposed to have an interview with me here. Everyone else, please leave, or I’ll call the security.”
Some of the tabloid reporters did not believe Twain’s words, and they went up to him pretending to be sports reporters. However, Twain immediately called the security guards and got them to kick the sneaks out. The reporters tussled and yelled about ‘the freedom of the press’ or ‘the public’s right to know’ as they were being dragged outside, but Twain turned a deaf ear to them. He sent every single tabloid reporter out of the premises and even blacklisted them. They would not be able to enter without permission in the future.
Twain did not have anything against the tabloid reporters. It was not as if he had not accepted an interview from a tabloid reporter in the past. However, the circumstances were different this time around, and he needed to deal with them differently as well.
What are they thinking? This is the worst possible time for them to interview me, he thought. The final Premier League match would be held on May 10, but Nottingham Forest was still in the 7th place! They were two points behind 6th, and there were four matches remaining in the league. If Nottingham Forest would not be able to overtake the sixth-place team by the end of the season, then all the hard work that they had put in this whole season and all the hard work that he had put in for half a season would be for naught!
How could Twain possibly allow those damned tabloid reporters to disturb him and his team now?
The reporters were here to ask Twain about his private affairs, but the truth was that he did not understand what was going on with Shania either. With the end of the season drawing near, he had no choice but to prioritize work for now, and he would think about everything else later. He refused to think about matters irrelevant to football and allow the tabloid reporters to interview him about Shania.
Nottingham Forest had another round of training after Twain had kicked all the tabloid reporters out of Wilford. Twain wanted to prepare his team for the last four matches of the Premier League.
Nottingham Forest would face just one strong opponent in their last four Premier League matches. Perhaps fate was at play here, because the strong opponent that they would have to face was the Manchester United team led by Mourinho. The two sides would meet on Forest’s home ground. The match would be Forest’s last Premier League match of the season, and also Twain’s farewell match.
All three of Nottingham Forest’s opponents before their match against Manchester United were weak by Twain’s standards. However, half a season ago, Nottingham Forest would not have been able to say with certainty that they would win against those teams.
Twain’s plan was to cement Forest’s position in the 6th place before the match with Manchester United. This would ensure that the last match of the season would not end up being a death match between the two sides and there would be less pressure on his shoulders as well.
This was the ideal scenario for the team. Why should Forest put themselves in a situation where they would have to fight to the death with Manchester United? They should just ensure that they won their first three matches.
Life was not like a novel. There was no need to leave the biggest and most crucial fight until the end. Twain would not do that and he would not allow his opponents to do it either. In order to climb up to 6th place, Twain had to ensure that his team was able to win three of their four remaining matches, and he also needed his opponent to commit mistakes and lose points. However, he was not particularly worried about the second point, because the current 6th-place team, Manchester City, had a much tougher run of fixtures ahead of them as compared to Forest.
Manchester City would have to face three tough opponents in their four remaining matches, and one of their matches would be a Manchester Derby… Twain did not believe that Manchester City would not drop points in the derby match. Even if the match ended as a draw, Nottingham Forest would still be able to climb up to 6th place based on goal difference.
There were only four matches remaining for the season. There was no room for error for Forest.
The entire team could feel the tension in the air due to their need to battle for 6th place.
...
Chapter 1022 - Sixth in League
The most speculated match in the current league was obviously the Manchester Derby where Manchester City was challenging Manchester United on away ground.
Before this game, Manchester United had the support of all of the Nottingham Forest fans because their loss would give Nottingham Forest a chance to overtake them.
Mourinho was asked this question in his pre-match interview and was proud and arrogant as usual.
“Nottingham Forest? What does it have to do with me? This is the Manchester derby, not the Nottingham derby… Of course we will win, but not for anyone else… Whether it’s the Manchester derby or anything else, victory is what I’m after.”
He refused to answer questions regarding Nottingham Forest or Tony Twain.
Despite this, Nottingham Forest fans would still be supporting Manchester United because they would definitely not support their direct rivals, Manchester City.
Twain did not express any opinions about this match either. Ever since his return, he had rarely expressed his opinions about other people openly, even if it was his old rival, Mourinho.
However, it was unrealistic to say that he did not think much of this match. How could he not care about the match that concerned his own team?
It was just that he did not have the time to care about the match, because the Manchester derby and Nottingham Forest’s match were taking place at the same time.
David Kerslake was sitting in the coach’s seat with his headphones on. He was tuned in to the radio, listening to the latest progressions from the other match. Once there was news, he would definitely tell Twain.
“Manchester City scored; they are leading… D*amn it! What is Mourinho’s team doing?”
That was how he complained when he heard the news of Manchester City scoring.
The cheers from the Nottingham Forest fans were also reduced.
Twain had his hands on his hips. He stood by the field, not saying anything.
After around three minutes had passed, there was news coming on again. This time, even before Kerslake revealed the news, there was a series of cheers bursting from the stands.
At last, there was a smile on Twain’s face.
“Manchester United have equalized the score!” Kerslake excitedly shouted at Twain. In this chaotic environment, he had to raise his voice to ensure that Twain was able to understand what he was saying.
It was only a brief moment of attention for Manchester United; then Twain focused his attention on the field again. Nottingham Forest was challenging West Ham on away ground so that was not an easy game either.
The score was now 0:0. It was ten minutes after the start of the second half, and the two teams were in a deadlock on the field. The West Ham fans were delighted and chanted, “Even if Manchester City loses, you can’t win anyway! Trying to go to Europe? No way!”
Twain was preparing to do some substitutions, replacing the exhausted Balotelli with Agbonlahor, while making adjustments to move Chen Jian into the defensive midfielder role, allowing Wood to advance a little.
Because Chen Jian displayed outstanding performance in this half of the season, his opponents had already researched him. He had suffered many violations in this competition, so why not allow him to retreat a little instead? Let him distance himself from the opposing defenders and allow him to display his rhythm control.
Chen Jian’s and Wood’s characteristics were indeed similar, but under Twain’s coaching, the two did not have a conflict being on the field at the same time. On the contrary, they could combine to become a dual force. Once one has been thwarted, the other would take over his job and continue to lead the advance of the team. This was the advantage of a “dual force”.
Twain’s adjustments saw effect immediately. West Ham’s defense was previously focused on Chen Jian but had now shifted to Wood. Although the playing styles of the two were similar, there was a difference in their capabilities. The opponents were able to defend against Chen Jian but it might not be as easy to defend against Wood.
Wood launched a sudden attack while West Ham United had not yet adjusted. His forceful advancement through the middle path messed up the defensive lines of West Ham and then he passed the ball to Agbonlahor who only came onto the field for a few minutes. Agbonlahor broke into the penalty area and shot the ball towards the goal. The West Ham goalkeeper dived for the ball and hit it out, but this allowed Mitchell, who was coming over from the other side, to take advantage and easily shoot the ball into the goal.
That was when the Nottingham Forest fans in the stands burst into a bigger cheer than the one they gave for the Manchester United goal just now. The people at the coaching seats let out a long sigh of relief. Tony Twain’s team excelled in playing from ahead so they had nothing much to worry about. Now more people were focusing on the match on the other field so they only needed Manchester United to win over Manchester City to allow Nottingham Forest to take the lead over Manchester City after the match and become sixth in the league.
This ranking meant that they would likely qualify for the European matches next season.
And Manchester City would be kicked down into the abyss.
Once Nottingham Forest took the lead, they were in full control of the match. The home team, West Ham, wanted to even the score but they were afraid to press forward to attack, worried that they would instead allow Nottingham Forest to score another goal. The commentator for the match was sighing; the match had become hopeless earlier than expected.
On the other field, the game had entered the most exciting phase.
The city derby between Manchester United and Manchester City, after Ferguson’s departure, had lost a lot of firepower. With Mourinho’s arrival, the two sites were again on each other’s toes. It was impossible for Mourinho, with his big mouth, to refrain from offending other people. Coupled with the inner meaning in the Derby, the firepower in the match was at its peak when Manchester United swiftly equalized the score, starting to progress in the other direction.
First, it was a player of Manchester City who did a slide tackle to a striker in Manchester United, making him fall onto the ground. This earned a yellow card for the offender. Following that, a Manchester United player tackled down another Manchester City player out of vengeance, but he was only given a verbal warning, which gave rise to dissatisfaction within the Manchester City’s players.
Subsequently, both sides kept playing dirty on the field, giving slide tackles and performing indecent acts for the ball. The head referee had to blow the whistle and give cards continuously.
In the 77th minute, the players of both sides finally clashed.
At that time, Manchester United’s midfielder passed a straight ball behind him, and Manchester City goalkeeper Josh Connor came out and pounced on the football, but Rooney, a 32-year-old veteran, was just as hot-tempered. He did not pull back and fiercely charged into Conner.
It was going to be exciting.
Connor slumped on the ground in pain, while Rooney did not have any intention to apologize as he stood up, patted his buttocks and moved on.
He was immediately surrounded by angry Manchester City players who saw their old team captain suffer. The Manchester United players came forward to gather as well, and the two sides bumped into each other aggressively.
The referee’s whistle was no longer able to calm them down and in the end, the coaches from both sides had to come onto the field to pull the players apart.
In the face of such a scene, if the referee gave yet another verbal warning and nothing else, this would only create more chaos on the field.
Desperate times called for desperate measures.
So the referee raised his hand and gave one red card to Manchester City and two red cards to Manchester United, one of them for Rooney who started the whole chaos.
This refereeing naturally upset Mourinho, who roared angrily on the sidelines, accusing him of unfairness. If it were not for the assistant coach who quickly pulled him back down, he might have even been sent into the stands.
Manchester City coach Mark Brown was equally angry. He thought that his team was the victim throughout the entire situation, so why did he need to send out a player?
Clashes between the two sides, from the field to the coaching seats, were an integral part of the game. If there were no aggressive scenes in the City Derby, it would be easily forgotten by everyone.
※※※
The news about the conflict between Manchester City and Manchester United, including both sides needing to send out players, was immediately announced to Twain.
Kerslake’s excited expression was mirrored by the crowd and many were like him, happy about this news.
The best outcome would be Manchester United winning Manchester City, but after both sides going through this tough battle and injuring their stamina, Manchester United had to suffer their fair share of injury to get this pitiful victory. Then, Nottingham Forest would definitely be able to take advantage of this situation.
Now things were definitely progressing into the “best scenario” they had thought of.
There was also a smile on Twain’s face. It was clear that this was definitely the intended consequence for him.
He was not worried about Manchester United losing on the home field to Manchester City.
On this side, he stepped up his demands on the team’s offense. A one-goal lead was the most uninsured score in the world.
A series of Nottingham Forest attacks then paid off. Wood’s long-range shot scored through the goalmouth for West Ham United, with Nottingham Forest leading 2-0 at home. With less than ten minutes to go, Nottingham Forest taking down this match with a victory was a no-brainer.
But on the other side, the format of the game was much more dangerous.
At Old Trafford stadium, Manchester United’s attack was impacted since they had to send off two players. Manchester City’s moves grew aggressive because they thought that they had been subjected to unfair treatment. They actually pressed Manchester United all the way into their penalty area.
It angered Mourinho and he made a substitution. Instead of increasing the defensive strength, he replaced a defender with a striker, ensuring there were still two players on the striker line. Through this substitution, he wanted to express his ambition to the other Manchester team–we must win!
Then the morale of the Manchester United players was restored. Their potential was supposed to empower Manchester City and they were on the home field as well. Slowly, they took over the situation.
As the match entered injury time, Manchester United attacked Manchester City’s penalty area with their beautiful team coordination on the frontcourt. Lee Barnet, who was dribbling the ball, was tackled down onto the ground by the captain of Manchester City, Richards. The head referee gave a penalty kick without hesitation.
The penalty was a death sentence for Manchester City, giving a penalty kick during injury time. There would not even be time to allow them to even the score.
Manchester City players naturally surrounded the referee for a long time and protested, but to no avail. The referee felt that sending out a man from Manchester City and two from Manchester United did not look good on the home field of Manchester United, so some sort of balance was needed. The tackle by Barnet was then naturally something he could not overlook.
Just like this, Manchester United won the Manchester derby at home with this controversial penalty, beating Manchester City and cementing their first place in the league.
By the time the news finally reached Twain’s ears, he and his team were already in the changing room. This news allowed the whole team to break into a large celebration. Everyone knew they successfully kicked out Manchester City and, occupying the sixth place in the league, they just needed to secure this position in the last two games, which would allow them to participate in the European matches in the next season.
Not only were the excited players cheering, they wanted to continue celebrating, but their plans were quickly stopped by Twain’s gestures.
“There are still two rounds left in the league, we have one game away from home and one home game against Manchester United. If you think you can start celebrating now, you might cry at the end of the last match.”
Twain said that coldly.
Suddenly, the jubilant atmosphere in the dressing room came to an instant stop.
“Remember, the season is not over yet, and it’s too early to celebrate. These last two games are the key. It is the time of the last sprint. Pals, I hope that you don’t let the team down right before the finishing line. If you want to celebrate, wait until the end of the game against Manchester United.”
Having said that, he was the first to turn and walk out of the changing room.
The players in the dressing room were silent for a moment before they got out of the room one by one, took the bus and left.
Twain’s words were like throwing cold water onto them, but Twain was not afraid that this would affect their morale. If the team that he trained for more than half the season was so fragile that they could not accept criticism, there would be no point in talking about going back to Europe.
Nottingham Forest would have to return to the European matches next season, whether it was for the Champions’ League or the European league. They just needed to appear on the name list of the European matches. This was the last gift Twain wanted to give Dunn.
※※※
Nottingham Forest and Tony Twain both got the result that they wanted, but someone was still furious.
“The referee’s performance in this game was very poor! My team was wronged, no one should be punished, only that guy wearing black should be punished!”
Mourinho angrily criticized the referee at the press conference. The “man in black” whom he mentioned was the head referee.
“We will raise a complaint regarding the refereeing on this game.”
A reporter stood up and asked a question that instantly turned Mourinho from fire into ice.
“Are you worried that these two red cards will affect Manchester United’s last-round match against Nottingham Forest?”
Mourinho, who had just angrily abused the referee, did not immediately answer the reporter’s question in the same tone. He just stared at the reporter for a while, then answered in a calm voice, “I’m not worried.”
That reporter wanted to ask another question, but Mourinho already pointed at another person, and the subject then returned to the conflict in the match that everyone was most concerned about.
The reporter sat down a little reluctantly. He wanted to talk more about the upcoming battle between Nottingham Forest and Manchester United.
Although there were still two weeks to go before the game, the reporter thought that the match in-between could be skipped entirely. The final face-off between Tony Twain and Mourinho, the sequel that was finally happening after many years, was the type of exciting story that was more entertaining than whatever conflict that happened during the match.
How could anyone fail to see that?
...
Chapter 1023 - Before the Last Game
The reporter who had asked Mourinho at the press conference if he was worried about playing against Twain was clearly prescient. While the media in Manchester were still hyped about the aftermath of the Manchester Derby, the media in Nottingham and elsewhere had already promoted the final battle between Tony Twain and Mourinho.
“Mourinho has never won against Tony Twain during his time as a manager.”
Such a record, which greatly embarrassed Mourinho, was once again rummaged through and retrieved from a dust-covered heap of waste paper, to the extent that people who saw the record had a sense of déjà vu. They felt like they had gone back to nine years ago. At the time, the clash between Twain and Mourinho for two games in a season was a unique sight in the Premier League.
Ever since Mourinho was ousted from Chelsea by Abramovich, such a showdown between two madmen had not been seen again. Later in the European tournament, Twain and Mourinho also played against each other but Twain still had the upper hand. It just too difficult to encounter each other in the European arena. During this time, the fight between Mourinho and Nottingham Forest was also in the mix. It was not just a feud between Mourinho and Tony Twain.
What the media were interested in was purely the showdown. It was a battle that belonged only to Tony Twain and Mourinho.
What kind of sparks could fly when two unruly self-important managers collided together?
It was something to look forward to.
Now that the scene was back in the Premier League, how could the media not be excited?
The media was extremely anticipant. Even the record of the two men’s first game had been analyzed again to give fans a renewed look at their feud.
“…It is said that Tony Twain had always tried to ask Mourinho to have a drink together after a game, but Mourinho always turned down the invitation. No one knew why he refused, but Twain finally made it happen. Before the World Cup in Brazil, they had a drink together as respective guest commentators for their national television stations. No one knew exactly what the situation was, and no one saw them drinking together. Twain himself revealed it in his autobiography, but did not provide any more details…”
“What is the relationship between Tony Twain and Mourinho? They’re opponents… or maybe it is more appropriate to say they are rivals. Their only goal after they met was to beat and crush each other. However, one scene still haunts me: when Mourinho left Chelsea, the reporters rushed to ask Twain what he thought of the incident, and Twain uttered a swear word for Abramovich the moment he opened his mouth. It was a real shock to everyone at the time. People thought Twain would be happy to lose a strong enemy…”
“Therefore, a friendship between men is one of the most puzzling things. If someone were to ask Mourinho, do you plan to make any allowances for Tony Twain in the last game of his coaching career? I’m sure Mourinho would definitely answer, I’ll give him a defeat.”
That was the way it was.
Indeed, a reporter did ask Mourinho. He caught hold of Mourinho at Carrington’s training base and threw the question out.
“Tony Twain will retire from professional football completely at the end of the season. Do you have anything to say about losing such an opponent?”
Mourinho replied, expressionless, “I will use his defeat as a farewell gift to him.”
※※※
“That’s cold…” Twain clicked his tongue, holding a newspaper.
However, he did even better. When reporters asked what he would do to Mourinho, he stated that it was not the time to talk about Mourinho and Manchester United because they still had one more game before that and their opponent would be Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club. Wolverhampton Wanderers have already secured a relegation spot and would be in the English Football League Championship next season. In the face of such an easy opponent to overcome, Twain still implied that they were more important than Manchester United, which was the highest level of contempt for the enemy, not taking the opponent into account at all.
Was Twain really not taking Manchester United seriously? If it was really so, he would never have won so many honors. Strategic contempt for the opponent and tactical emphasis on the opponent were Twain’s methods.
He was just using this to engage in psychological warfare with Mourinho. As for whether it was effective, he did not care. Mourinho was also an expert at psychology, and Twain did not put stock into it. He still had to rely on tactics to deal with Manchester United and Mourinho.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club was relegated early and they lacked fighting spirit in the last two rounds. Although it was an away game, it was predicted to be an effortless victory for the Forest team. Such an opponent was not worth too much thought. As a result, Twain’s focus had been on dealing with Manchester United these two weeks.
Mourinho’s Manchester United team did not have a sole feature like Wenger’s Arsenal. The impression that Arsenal had given people for more than two decades was that its offense was natural and unforced, complex and diverse as well as delightful to watch. However, they were slightly inferior in confrontations and combat, which was the reason why they were not as good as Manchester United in terms of winning championships. On the other hand, Manchester United had continued to use Ferguson’s style, with a greater emphasis on physical confrontation and speed in on-ground attacks. They were more balanced and comprehensive than Arsenal.
They had very few shortcomings many strengths. Such a team was seasoned and had a lot of experience. The players had a tenacious fighting spirit and would not give up easily. They would not be complacent just because they were ahead, nor would they lose hope quickly because they were trailing behind.
Such an opponent was the most difficult to deal with.
Nottingham Forest’s style was enough to restrain Arsenal, but not Manchester United.
This game would be a real meeting of force with force. If Twain did not want his last game to be messed up by Mourinho, he would have to work hard.
※※※
Twain was preparing for his last game, while Mourinho was trying to get his two players to evade the penalty of suspension, at least during the game against Forest. He decided to appeal to the English Football Association to buy some time. According to the English Football Association rules, a player who had been shown a red card during a match did not automatically start a suspension, but the suspension would only take effect after being examined and verified by the Football Association.
As long as the Manchester United Football Club appealed, it could be delayed. It was just that a delay of two weeks was… unlikely.
Mourinho did not care. He just wanted to appeal and drag it out a little.
At the same time, as a good manager, he could not put all his eggs in the appeal basket. He had to be prepared to play against Nottingham Forest in the away challenge without Rooney and Evans.
If it had been the Nottingham Forest team of half a season ago, he would not be wasting his time on it. Now it was different. He would definitely not underestimate this particular Nottingham Forest team. In front of people, he always appeared to refuse to bow down to Tony Twain, but in his heart, he did not dare to take Twain lightly.
Strength counted for a lot in the football world. The best way to prove one’s strength was to gain victories and win trophies. A manager who had won 16 important trophies within 15 years absolutely could not be taken lightly.
Mourinho was not stupid. He knew it was not easy to beat Tony Twain’s team. Therefore, he was extra careful.
What were the strengths of Nottingham Forest? What were its weaknesses? How had their condition been in the last few rounds of the league tournament? How was the situation with the team’s injuries? Had the mentality of the players changed with the approach of the end of the season? Did Tony Twain’s announcement that he was retiring make a deep-seated impact on the players?
These questions hovered in Mourinho’s mind and he needed to figure them out.
He was already well aware of Nottingham Forest’s strengths and weaknesses, having played against this team for so many years. He also understood Tony Twain very well. How could he not? However, knowing the strengths and weaknesses of the other side did not mean that he knew how to deal with them.
Fortunately, he still had two weeks.
※※※
As the league tournament drew to a close, a lot of people had things to do. Some people were busy making a last-ditch effort for the season’s goals, either to win the title or to secure a spot in the league. While others were trying to get a good ranking and obtain a bigger share of the broadcast fees after the league tournament ended.
Some others were thinking about their next season.
Dunn was among the last group.
Two days ago, after Nottingham Forest defeated West Ham United by 2:0 in an away game, he received a call from someone claiming to be Evan Doughty, the chairman of the Nottingham Forest club.
Just listening to the voice, Dunn could tell if this man was really Evan Doughty. He had not had any contact with the Forest club for seven years, so it was understandable if he could not recall Evan Doughty’s voice. However, he believed the man was the chairman of the Forest Club, as Twain had once told him that Nottingham Forest would contact him during this period to discuss a matter about a contract.
It was just that he did not think it would be the Nottingham Forest club chairman who personally contacted him…
Could Evan Doughty be putting on a show of courtesy? Or was Tony’s influence at Nottingham Forest so great that even the club chairman had to show him some face?
Dunn did not want to delve into the issue. It was none of his business. Since Evan Doughty had called, it meant that it was time to think hard about the matter of leaving Notts County and returning to Nottingham Forest.
Actually, Evan Doughty remained skeptical about Dunn. However, he was somewhat hopeful since he was a candidate that Twain had strongly recommended. After all, he still believed in Twain’s vision.
They could not speak properly on the phone, and besides, such an important matter had to be discussed face to face.
Evan Doughty and Dunn arranged a time to meet alone and talk.
After all, Evan would have to listen to Dunn’s thoughts on the Nottingham Forest team and find out about Dunn’s plans to see if he could put the Forest team’s future in the hands of a young coach who had yet to achieve any outstanding results thus far.
Although he listened to Twain, he was not a fool without a brain.
If Dunn could really come up with something to his satisfaction, then signing Dunn on would be fine. As for the Notts County team… he would just give some compensation. Anyway, a manager’s compensation was not high. Nottingham Forest would still be able to afford the money.
After he agreed to meet Evan Doughty, Dunn ended the call. He began to think about how he could say goodbye to Notts County. After all, it gave him a stable platform to build the team according to his own ideas. They gave him seven years. No matter how terrible the results were initially, he was not pushed out of the manager’s position. It was impossible for him to have no feelings for Notts County.
However, he had to pursue a larger stage and a wider sky. The ceiling above his head was not his goal. Tony understood him and thus had given him such an opportunity. He could prove himself again on a bigger stage, lead the Forest team to regain its lost glory and dignity, but also to seek the dream long buried in his heart…
Notts County still ranked in the middle of the English Football League Championship this season, with no hope of promotion. Moreover, the Notts County club’s top echelon seemed to have no intention of promotion. To them, the current results were already quite good. Without the support of external funds, it could only position itself at this spot.
Since the club had no ambitions, he would go his own way.
※※※
Pierce Brosnan sat in an office that belonged to him alone. He was thinking about the game in two weeks’ time. It would be Tony Twain’s retirement game, so reporting on such a highly publicized game would be a challenge.
Many media people were currently focused on the game. If he did not have an incisive point, how could he stand out among such a fierce news competition? Moreover, print media obviously had a disadvantage as compared to television and online media.
Tony Twain was leaving, and the Nottingham Evening Post had curated a special issue. Brosnan was the editor of the topic. He needed to coordinate the staff and resources to strive to make this the best issue he could.
First, however, he needed to identify a theme and an angle. In what way could he delve deeper into the report to achieve the most desired effect?
He simply let his hand go off the keyboard, got up and walked to the bookcase. He began to flip through the materials in there – past issues of the Nottingham Evening Post. He hoped to be able to find some useful materials from them.
When he flipped open the newspaper, a familiar headline caught his eye.
“We Were Raped!”
It was only then that he realized what edition he had pulled. He looked at the date: January 4, 2003. It was the first time he and Twain first took the stage…
Tony Twain in the photograph was still young. The bossy and domineering character was already faintly visible in the position of his eyebrows. Who knew at the time that such a young rookie with shocking language could become the best manager in England’s history?
The people and the things of that year…
Brosnan had a sudden flash of inspiration.
Why should he just produce one issue?
How could a single issue be enough to describe Tony Twain’s course over the past 15 years?
Brosnan felt that no matter how skilled the reporters who wrote and described Twain’s experience were, it would not be as impressive as Twain’s own account.
All he had to do was dig out every step that Twain had taken over 15 years and present it to the readers. Then he would let them follow the topic of every issue and reminisce on the ups and downs of the past 15 years together.
It would be sufficient. The “chronicles” of Twain in every upcoming issue would certainly become valuable material worthy of collection.
...
Chapter 1024 - God to God, Dunn to Dunn
Dunn saw Evan Doughty show up at the cafe’s entrance right on time, exactly to the minute of their appointment. Evan Doughty did not bring anyone and nobody near him looked like a reporter. Dunn breathed a little easier.
Evan Doughty stopped at the door and looked around. Dunn did not raise his hand to indicate his seated position. Doughty soon found him. He walked straight up to Dunn and sat down on the opposite side.
The waiter came up and politely asked him what he would like to drink.
It was not a famous coffee shop. Such an ordinary café was common and nondescript. That was why Evan Doughty picked such a place. He casually ordered a regular cup of coffee. He was not here today for a coffee, but to discuss the future of Nottingham Forest with the Chinese man in front of him.
There was probably no precedent of hiring a Chinese man as a manager in European football. The Chinese football standard was very low. How could a good manager be produced in that kind of environment?
If Dunn knew what Evan Doughty thought, he must have felt like crying and laughing. He was a true-blue Englishman, while the much-admired Tony Twain was, in fact, a hundred percent Chinese. He did not know how Mr. Evan Doughty would feel if he knew the truth.
Was it important whether he was Chinese or British?
As long as he had the ability, what difference did it make?
The meeting between the two men officially began when the waiter served the coffee.
“I really did not expect the Chinese lad of back then would reach such an achievement today,” Evan Doughty said as he looked across at Dunn. He was not pretending. In fact, when Twain introduced Dunn to him at the time, he really did not think that the Chinese kid without even a coaching certificate would be here today, sitting face to face with him and possibly facing the future of coaching Nottingham Forest.
“Frankly speaking, Dunn, Although Tony approves of your succession, I still have some doubts. You know…”
“I know. I lack certain experience in coaching top teams,” Dunn took the lead in the discussion. He was not angry because it was true. Having worked in the football world for more than a decade, seven years as a manager, he was already well aware of the only truth in that world: results represented strength, and strength represented everything. He did not have any results worth commendation, so he would naturally be looked down upon.
“Ha, it’s good that you know,” Evan Doughty laughed drily. “Tony thinks very highly of you, and I think he has his own reasons. Let’s not talk nonsense. Can I hear your plans for the team’s future? If you were to coach the Forest team, which direction would you take it?”
Dunn had been thinking about this question since Twain came to him about taking over the position as the Forest team’s manager.
Now he already had a basic answer.
“I think Nottingham Forest needs to be knocked down and rebuilt.”
Dunn’s first words shocked Evan Doughty. He had thought that the foundation Twain left behind would only require minor alterations and adjustments, and it would be fine. It would maintain stability and the results would naturally improve. He did not expect the first notion that this Chinese man came up with was to overturn everything completely.
“Why? Don’t tell me that the foundation Tony has left for you is not good enough.”
Dunn smiled and said, “He did not leave me anything.” Seeing that Evan Doughty was puzzled, Dunn asked, “Other than signing Chen Jian during the winter transfer period, did he propose to you any other players to purchase?”
Evan thought about it carefully. Indeed, he did not. Tony did not mention which players he was going to buy, except Chen Jian. It was reasonable to say that the strength of the team was not optimal, and the winter period was a great opportunity to bolster it. However, Twain was unlike his usual self and did not make any moves in the transfer market. The media had been watching Nottingham Forest throughout January, but the team bade its time with the transfers.
Evan was surprised at the time but did not think of the real reason behind it. He only realized now that Dunn reminded him. So what was the reason for this?
“And isn’t he always switching the players within the team?” When he saw Evan’s expression, Dunn knew he had hit the mark, so he followed up with another question.
Evan looked up and glanced at Dunn. The Chinese man had guessed it again. If Tony had not revealed his reasons to him in advance, maybe he and Twain really thought alike…
To knock the team down and rebuild it?
But was it really necessary to get to this point?
At the thought of knocking down everything that was built before, Evan Doughty felt some heartache.
In fact, Twain did not reveal his ideas to Dunn because he did not want to interfere with Dunn’s intentions. However, from the things that Twain had done, Dunn had deduced what Twain was doing, which was to pave the way for him to take over.
He was really a meddlesome guy…
“Now this team still has remnants of Tony Twain’s direction, but Tony and I have completely different styles of managing. His team may not be suitable for me. Mr. Doughty, do you know why, no matter how many managers you had changed in the last four seasons, you couldn’t get the team back to its former standards?”
“Changing the managers too often?” Evan Doughty comprehended it this way: the managers changed too frequently, so the tactical thinking was not unified. As a result, the players were at a loss and their loyalty to the manager was reduced. Hence, the results were naturally poor.
Dunn shook his head and said, “The root cause was that the managers you changed later were not Tony Twain. Tony had coached the Forest Team for 11 years. Starting from the youth team to the First Team, he had long imprinted on the team that it was useless to change people. The players simply could not accept anything from anyone but him. However, if I took over the team, the situation would be different. Tony can’t come back and stoke the fire again. If you want the team to have long-term development, you have to start over. It was why Tony had been cleaning up the old players without buying new ones during the winter transfer window.”
Hearing Dunn’s rhetoric, Evan Doughty was surprised. He did not expect Twain to think so far ahead. At the same time, he had to view the Chinese man’s abilities in a new light.
“Tony has always wanted the team to get rid of the dependence on him and to be able to shake off his imprint. He has been thinking about it since the time he had a heart attack. However, he never could do as he wished. Just before he retired for good was his last chance.”
Nottingham Forest was on its own. It was not Tony Twain’s Nottingham Forest anymore.
Dunn always remembered this.
At the thought of Twain, and of himself as well, Dunn was suddenly full of confidence in himself. A wave of pride surged in his heart.
He told Evan, “Mr. Doughty, do you want the team to be called ‘a strong traditional Premier League team’ in a few years’ time? Do you want to see the team play in the Champions League every season? I can’t guarantee you that we can lift the Champions Trophy a few years from now. I can’t guarantee that I can become like Tony Twain and win 12 trophies in 11 years either. If you just want to win, I can’t promise anything. However, I can lay a solid foundation for your team. The foundation would pave the way for Nottingham Forest to become a powerhouse team. Mr. Doughty, do you like to ride in a roller coaster or keep your feet on the ground as you move forward?”
Doughty thought that he had come here to test Dunn, but now Dunn was testing him.
However, he had to face the issues that the man had raised up because these questions were on his mind.
Tony Twain had led the team to win 12 championships in 11 years. In this way, the team was still being described as an upstart. In the past, he was unwilling to accept that once Tony Twain retired, Nottingham Forest might not be successful. As it turned out, when Tony Twain left, Nottingham Forest really could not play well.
What was the reason that caused it? Why was Manchester United able to stay in the top four of the Premier League even when Ferguson left, while Nottingham Forest was in decline?
It really seemed like a roller coaster ride, from the peak to the bottom in an instant.
Did he just want the next championship title or the long-term future?
“Don’t powerhouses need to win the championship titles as well?” He asked, still wary.
“A powerhouse team needs the championship titles. But just winning championship titles does not make a team into a powerhouse,” Dunn explained to him. “Chelsea won many titles in the Mourinho era. However, had anyone admitted that they were champions? Now that you already have many championship trophies, it’s time to satisfy another condition.”
Evan Doughty did not ask Dunn what the condition was, because it was sitting opposite him.
“I want to keep my feet on the ground and move forward,” Evan finally answered Dunn’s previous question. He also answered the question in his own heart.
Dunn laughed.
From 1996 to 2019, he went around in a big circle and came back to the starting point.
※※※
Twain knew about Dunn’s contract with the club from the first moments because it was Dunn who called to inform him.
On the phone, Dunn thanked Twain.
“Thank you, Tony.”
“You’re making me embarrassed by saying that, Dunn,” Twain was embarrassed himself and added, “The position should have been yours from the start. I’m just giving it back to you.”
“Based on what I had done before, I could stay in that position for maybe half a season. If it were not for you, I wouldn’t have grown like that. Therefore, I want to thank you, not just because I am going to coach Nottingham Forest again. If I hadn’t met you, I might have just paddled through the rest of my life.”
Twain and Dunn both remembered their souls and bodies from before January 1, 2003.
There was a brief silence on the phone.
It was not an awkward silence. Both men seemed to be caught up in their own memories, enjoying the silence, which was left undisturbed.
Me and him, he and I, had it not been for that “accident”, we should have lived our lives separately. What would it be like? No one knew for sure. In short, they had both undergone irreversible changes, and no one could say whether those changes were good or bad for either of them.
Those notes pasted on the fridge, the “must win!!!” note, the familiar face holding a book in the streets of Chengdu waiting to cross the road, the brother in the old home who could not sleep. In the past, those images would mingle together and would not be able to be separated from one another.
“I have nothing to say, Dunn, except wish you good luck. However, you have to be careful. If you do badly, I will not hold back and will abuse you in the media.”
Dunn’s light laughter rang out on the other end of the line.
“I hope I won’t give you the chance.”
After ending the call, Twain was still holding his cell phone.
It had been 16 years. He finally returned the team to Dunn. The last sense of his guilt was gone. Earth to earth, dust to dust. Anyway, a proper ending was a good thing.
What would happen to Nottingham Forest next was beyond his control. He just wanted everything to be okay and hoped that Dunn would succeed. He hoped that he did not misjudge him.
He gave the team 12 years as the captain. Before people could get tired of him, it was better to leave as a dashing legendary figure in the football world.
※※※
Dunn put his cell phone aside and looked again at the stack of papers on the table. This was the contract he had just signed with the Forest club today and it would automatically take effect after the end of the English Football League Championship season.
Nottingham Forest would inform the Notts County club. They must pay compensation to Notts County. Dunn was not worried about Notts County not letting go of him. They could not even keep those players with potential, so naturally, they could not keep him. It was the same logic.
It was just that the Notts County fans might be angry for a while.
Since he joined the Nottingham Forest club in 1996, he had worked his way up from doing odd jobs. He had now truly become the manager of Nottingham Forest. He suddenly developed a dreamlike sensation. Was he really going to coach the team?
He had coached the team briefly once in 2003. However, at the time, the team performed badly, and he was a rookie. Today, he had yet to achieve results that would make people proud while Nottingham Forest had already swept through Europe led by his other self to establish an undeniable presence. Was he capable to lead such a team back on the road again?
Thinking of this question, Dunn smiled bitterly. It was immature to worry about it at this moment. No matter whether he was capable or not, he had already signed the contract. He could not get off the bus, whether he did well or badly.
He closed the contract and put it in the pullout drawer. Then he got up and stretched his back.
Becoming Twain’s successor? It was a challenging job. He did not know how people and history would evaluate him in this role in a few years’ time.
Would he and Tony be like Paisley and Shankly?
Only time would tell…
...
Chapter 1025: After Achieving the Goal in Advance
“The match has ended! 3:0! Nottingham Forest has won!”
The camera was not on the players when the commentator shouted the aforementioned words, and it was not on Balotelli who scored a brace in the match either. Instead, the camera cut to the tactical area and zoomed in on Nottingham Forest’s manager, Tony Twain.
Twain had only just stood up when the cameras focused on him, and his assistant manager, Kerslake, patted him on the shoulder. Thereafter, Twain turned around and walked towards where the Wolves manager, Alan Pardew, to shake his hand. The handshake was customary after every football match to show respect to the opponent.
Pardew was not resentful or upset after losing to Twain at home because his team had already been relegated. He told Twain that he did not want him to retire during their handshake.
Twain did not say anything and only smiled in response.
Twain had heard many such comments over the past few weeks. Some of those comments were sincere, and some of them were made out of courtesy. Twain did not care which kind they were. He was going to bid farewell to this sport after one last match, and he did not care about what others thought at all. He was not going to get in other people’s faces over their actions or words any longer.
Twain walked away from Pardew and returned to his team shortly after.
The first thing he saw when he walked back was Kerslake’s smiling face. “The latest news! Tony! Manchester City has lost!”
Twain smiled when he saw how ecstatic Kerslake was. Manchester City’s loss meant that Nottingham Forest had been guaranteed a spot in next season’s Europa League, and they would not need to go all out against Manchester United in the next match.
“I don’t care if we play terribly in the next match, Tony. I don’t even care if we lose! Haha!” Kerslake yelled excitedly amidst the cacophony in the stadium.
“That can’t happen, David,” Twain shook his head. “I cannot end my managerial career with a loss.”
David Kerslake knew that the man before him was still competitive. He did not say anything and only smiled in response.
The news of Manchester City’s loss quickly spread throughout the entire Forest team, and it was even broadcasted within the Molineux Stadium, which served as the home grounds for the Wolves team. It was the Wolves’ way of congratulating Forest. Only a relegated side like them would be in the mood to congratulate their opponent.
The Forest players hugged each other excitedly after hearing the news. Manchester City’s loss meant that their efforts for the past half a season were not for naught.
While everyone else was celebrating the good news, Forest’s assistant manager, Freddy Eastwood, was concerned.
“I’m worried that our players would lose their fight in the last match if this goes on,” he said to Twain.
His words made sense. Forest’s ultimate goal for this half a season was to qualify for the Europa League, and everyone has been fighting to achieve this goal all this time. However, now that the goal had been achieved, the team would surely lose their drive and perform poorly in their last Premier League match.
One just had to look at the Wolves team and how they performed in the match that just ended. They were the perfect ‘role model’. Their players were devoid of motivation for the entire match since they knew they had been relegated and there was nothing to fight for. They tried to put up a semblance of a fight before Forest scored the first goal, but their morale was completely gone the moment Balotelli scored a free-kick, and they surrendered on the spot.
However, Forest’s opponent for the last match was not an unmotivated team like Wolves. They were up against Manchester United, who was ranked at the top of the table.
Twain did not share Eastwood’s concern. He could not possibly let his players walk on a tightrope all the time after all. It was not beneficial to put his team under immense and constant pressure. If the players lost their fight for the last match, then so be it. There were other ways of winning a match besides putting pressure on the players to perform.
In addition, qualifying for the Europa League by defeating Manchester United was never the goal of the team from the start either. The players have trained a lot over the past two weeks, but they have never once trained with that goal in mind. Hence, there was no need to be worried about the players’ motivation levels going into the match because they did not intend to rely on the players’ fight and determination to win.
However, the situation described by Eastwood could still happen. The players could end up performing poorly because of their lack of motivation. Thus, one of the jobs that Twain and his coaching team had to do over the next week would be to prevent that situation from occurring.
“Don’t worry, Eastwood. It does not matter what sort of problem we run into. There’d always be a solution to it,” Twain patted Eastwood on the shoulder. “Bask in the joy of our victory for now. Don’t fret.”
Eastwood glanced at Twain. “I will believe in those words since you are the person saying them.” He was referring to Twain’s statement of ‘It does not matter what sort of problem we run into. There’d always be a solution to it.’”But what happens once you are gone?”
Eastwood did not know that Dunn was going to take over Forest as the next manager. However, even if he knew, he would most likely doubt Dunn’s abilities as Twain’s successor.
There was probably no one else in the world who would believe in Dunn’s abilities besides Twain.
“I’m not the only qualified manager in England,” Twain answered Eastwood.
He did not expect Eastwood to shake his head solemnly and say, “There is only one Tony Twain in this world.”
※※※
“We have qualified for next season’s Europa League once again. Comparing this result with the results that our team achieved half a season ago would only make us miss Tony Twain even more,” Pierce Brosnan wrote in the Nottingham Evening Post.
“We often use the words ‘he possesses the ability to change the outcome of the match’ when we want to describe an outstanding player, and I would like to dedicate those same words to Tony Twain. He is a man who deserves those words. You might ask, what is the difference between the Nottingham Forest team now and the Nottingham Forest team from six months ago? The current Nottingham Forest team has a new player, Chen Jian, as well as Twain as its manager. Chen Jian was introduced into the team by Twain, and Twain is the man who brought victories to Forest and also led them to sixth place. Frankly, we all knew the truth since a long time ago – Tony Twain is a man who can bring victories and trophies to his team. He is a man who is capable of changing the outcome of a match all by himself.”
The number of events that commemorated Twain increased in number after the match against Wolves ended. No one could bear to see Twain leave the team, and there were more and more voices that called for him to stay at the club. However, everyone knew that they would not be able to change his mind.
The tickets to the home game against Manchester United were already sold out. However, many people were still looking for tickets online. They all hoped to be able to get the chance to send off Twain at the Crimson Stadium.
The Nottingham Forest fans were proud of the fact that they had an outstanding manager like Twain. There were clever vendors who offered fans and tourists the opportunity to ‘take photos’ with Tony Twain by placing a life-sized portrait of Twain outside the Crimson Stadium. Their business was overwhelmingly good, and numerous people wanted to take a photo with ‘Tony Twain’. They even had customers who had traveled over from faraway lands, and those people stood out with their exotic looks.
The match garnered not just the attention of the local press, but of the press from all over the world as well. The Premier League Management Committee made the decision to broadcast the match live across the world. The Premier League was currently being broadcasted to 256 countries, and there were more than one billion viewers globally. Their decision effectively meant that one billion football fans from around the world would have the chance to witness the last match of Tony Twain’s managerial career. It was certainly a high-profile ‘farewell ceremony’ for a football manager.
Numerous countries began publicizing the match before its kick-off. They advertised it as a unique match that was like no other.
“The farewell match for the most successful football manager in England’s history!”
“The feud between two of the most prominent football managers: Tony Twain and José Mourinho!”
“Which team will lift the Premier League trophy in the end?”
A few things made the match a must-watch. Firstly, it was the last one before Twain’s retirement. Secondly, Twain and Mourinho have been rivals for over ten years, and it would be interesting to see how a match between them would unfold. Thirdly, the match would determine who would end up as the champions of this season’s Premier League. Manchester United might be ranked top of the table at the moment, but they were only ahead second-place Arsenal by a single point. If Manchester United lost to Twain’s Forest and Arsenal won against Fulham, then Arsenal would overtake Manchester United and become the champions of the Premier League.
That was an outcome that neither Mourinho nor the Manchester United fans wished to see happen.
The press in Nottingham focused solely on matters related to Tony Twain. The press in Manchester, on the other hand, focused on whether Mourinho’s team would be able to retain its Premier League title. Surprisingly, they did not have high hopes about Manchester United’s chances of becoming champions – they believed that Nottingham Forest would not go easy on them, because neither their fans nor their players would wish to send off their legendary manager with a loss.
The people who believed that the Forest players would lose their motivation and fight after qualifying for the Europa League in advance were foolish. The match against Forest was undoubtedly going to be a tough challenge for Manchester United.
Mourinho thought the same way as well. He had a solemn expression on his face during his interview, and he did not think that his team could relax despite being in the first place at the moment. When asked about the match, Mourinho said, “…I don’t like predicting the outcome of any football match. However, I think my team can defeat Nottingham Forest…”
His words sounded forced. They were more like words that had been said to boost his team’s morale than an expression of his confidence.
Then again, perhaps Mourinho was trying to let his opponents become arrogant by deliberately showing weakness. Who could tell what was really on his mind?
※※※
Eastwood’s concerns never came true. The players did not appear to have lost their motivation or fight for the upcoming match when he observed them during their daily training sessions. In contrast, they seemed to be brimming with fighting spirit. None of the players wanted to miss out on playing in such an important match due to their poor performances during training.
Eastwood could not help but lament at how great an influence his boss had, and he became even more worried about who would be able to control the players after Twain left…
Twain did not seem to be in the least bothered about all the news that was being published about him at the moment or with how some of the people around him were in a state of worry. He did what he has always done over the past decade. He left the training sessions in the hands of his coaching staff while he stood by and twiddled his thumbs.
He was just like an old man nearing retirement who would turn up at work every day just to make himself a cup of tea and take a walk.
Twain did not take walks and neither did he make himself tea at work. His work only consisted of standing by the side of the pitch at the moment. There was nothing else for him to do now, as he had already finished all that he had to do in preparation for the match against Manchester United. He was busy coming up with the tactics for the match a few days ago, but now that he had finished everything, he was free. All that was left to do was to get the players to practice his tactics, and he did not need to be involved in it. He would only get busy on the day of the match.
The only thing he had to do now was stand by the side of the pitch with his sunglasses on and watch his players train.
However, he has been watching players train for the past 16 years, and he has grown a little sick of it. Thus, he would allow himself to get distracted from time to time nowadays and would not pay attention to their entire training session.
Twain could no longer quite remember who the players in the team were when he first took over as the manager. Back then, he did not know how he should train a football team, and he had very little knowledge about his players. He certainly did not expect that he would go on to become one of the most successful managers in the country at that time.
What would people think if they knew that the real identity of such a successful football manager was actually that of a Chinese football fan who did not know much about professional football?
This was definitely a secret he would need to take to his grave.
A few random thoughts suddenly struck Twain. What if there were other transmigrators or time travelers like him in this world? What if one of those geniuses who contributed greatly to mankind actually came from the future?
Those were certainly interesting thoughts. Maybe Wenger was actually a transmigrator or time traveler who had managed to hide his true identity really well? That would explain why he was skilled in spotting talented youth players.
Twain became lost in thoughts thereafter. When he finally snapped out of his reverie, he realized that the training session was almost over.
The team’s assistant managers, Kerslake and Eastwood, gathered the players before them. They were all going to listen to the manager say a few words before they left.
In truth, Twain rarely spoke at the end of the team’s training sessions, and it was not mandatory to listen. However, as Twain’s departure from the team drew nearer, the players began demanding for Twain to speak to them more. Hence, Twain would always say a few words – be it comments about their training or any other matter, at the end of the training session these days.
The players ‘just liked listening to the boss’ voice’, as Gareth Bale put it.
Everyone wanted to listen to Twain speak, and today was no exception.
Twain saw Eastwood wave at him and he walked over.
“Honestly, I’ve already said all that I should say, and I can’t think of anything else now,” Twain shrugged. However, he knew that he had to say something.
“We’ll be playing in our last Premier League match of this season in three days’ time. After seeing how our training sessions have gone over the past few days, I think we are definitely ready for the match. Frankly, I never believed that any of you would lose your motivation and fight after we achieved the goal in advance. So, tell me. Did any of you lose your motivation for the next match?”
Twain asked this as he looked at the players around him.
“That will never happen, boss!” Gareth Bale was the first to answer, and his teammates nodded their heads in agreement. “We know we still have to bring you victory for the last match!”
Twain smiled happily. He then clapped his hands once and said, “Then isn’t the training session over? What else can I say? You are all dismissed!”
The looks of distress on the players’ faces caused Twain to smile even more happily.
The day where he no longer had to rake his brains and think about what to say to satisfy his players has finally come. When he was younger, he liked to use impassioned speeches to motivate his players. He felt that speaking in that manner made him look good. However, now that he was old, he did not like to do things in such an eye-catching way anymore. He preferred to use silence and actions to show his strength now.
After all, actions spoke louder than words. A more effective way of hurting one’s opponents would be to roll up one’s sleeves and fight them rather than spending the whole day scolding them.
Twain might have gotten on with age, but his claws were still sharp and he was still a threat. All doubters were welcome to the Crimson Stadium on the 10th of May, and they would be able to see for themselves if he has truly lost his edge.
...
Chapter 1026 - Dusk and Dawn in Wilford
Twain stood on the training ground number 2 in Wilford. A dense forest was in front of his eyes, and the mottled shadows of the woods were at his feet. The day’s training had ended, and the players had left, but there was one more man practicing on the training ground.
Twain stood on the sidelines and watched the man who was practicing.
The scene was familiar to him.
In the afterglow of the setting sun under the darkening red sky, Wilford appeared fragmented by the dividing shadows of the forest on the west side. The whole training ground was quiet. There was no sound but the thuds of a football being kicked and hitting the goalpost, net, and wire fence. There was the occasional cry of a bird. It was a big contrast to the noisy scene during the day.
When he was still young, he had been here to watch the man in front of him practice countless times. At that time, the man was only a child.
In the blink of an eye, more than ten years had passed. He himself was about to retire, and the man in front of him was the standard-bearer of the team. At the same venue more than a decade ago at the same time, did Tony Twain think about the future?
While Twain was lost in contemplation, the man on the field had already walked up to him, perspiring all over.
“What are you looking at?” He asked.
“Admiring the scenery,” Twain replied. He continued to look at Wilford, shrouded in twilight. “Don’t you think everything here is like an oil painting? I also remembered that you once kicked the football straight into the river in the youth team training ground. It was also dusk at the time and the sky was dark. That football could not be recovered in the end. Ha!” He laughed as he talked. “I don’t have that many days left to enjoy this landscape.”
George Wood turned and followed Twain’s gaze. “Hasn’t it always looked like this for the last sixteen years?” He was used to looking at it because he stayed almost every day to give himself extra practice. “Stay if you haven’t seen enough.”
Twain shook his head and said, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder. If I stay, I won’t feel that all this is beautiful. I would only take it for granted. I have been in Wilford for twelve years and I’ve only recently noticed it’s really beautiful here. In the past, I had always come and gone in a hurry.”
There was a moment of silence between the two men. Twain continued to admire the view in front of him. In fact, the scenery of Wilford was not that striking, but in his current frame of mind, he would certainly be moved.
Did Twain think this evening was beautiful because he had reached the twilight of his coaching career? The sun, which once radiated boundless light and heat in the blue sky, was now setting in the west.
“Go take a shower and change your clothes. Don’t catch a cold,” Twain said to Wood next to him, breaking the silence.
Wood did not object and just nodded. He turned and walked away.
By the time he had finished, he found that Twain was still on the training ground. He had wanted to go up and say goodbye before he left but he did not expect Twain to stop him.
“Have you thought about the matter of when you’re going to retire, George?”
Wood stared blankly and then shook his head. He said, “No. I have not planned it yet. But it won’t be when I’m 40 years old, anyway.”
Hearing him say so, Twain laughed silently.
He had only casually mentioned this age and did not think Wood took it seriously.
“I’m not going to advise you to play until you’re 40. You’re definitely better aware of the situation than I am. However, be sure to invite me when you retire. I have to see for myself what kind of scene the sendoff of the greatest team captain in the history of Nottingham Forest will be like.”
Wood was silent for a while and seemed to remember something. It was a while before he said, “It probably will not be better than yours.”
“What’s so great about a manager’s retirement?” Twain shrugged it off and said, “When the game ends the day after tomorrow, it will be over with a press conference.”
Wood did not really know what it would be like when a manager retired because he had not experienced it. According to conventional reasoning, he should have retired earlier than the manager, because it was considered normal for a manager to work for 20 years, while it was not easy for a player to stay that long.
There was a moment of silence between the two men.
Twain did not want to talk while Wood had something on his mind.
After a while, when the red clouds in the western skies had darkened, Wood opened up and said, “I think you’re a little different from how you were in the past…”
“In the past? A little different?” Twain did not understand Wood’s abrupt words.
“Do you feel like your temper is a lot better than it used to be, because of your age?”
“Ha!” Twain laughed. “Is it because you see that I don’t often start a war of words nowadays? And because I don’t scold people to their faces?”
Twain and Mourinho both behaved with restraint in the game against Manchester United. Other than “greeting” each other once at the start, there was no news or active provocation. There was none of the so-called psychological warfare either. This made the media feel very disappointed.
Wood did not say a word, but it could be surmised that he agreed tacitly.
“I’ve been arguing for so many years, I’m tired of it,” Twain waved his hand.
“But I don’t know why…” Wood hesitated as if he did not know what to say, and finally, he spoke out. “I preferred the way you were before… you were very energetic. Everybody liked it.” The “everyone” he meant was not all the Forest players, but the few remaining “old guys” in the team, such as Gareth Bale, Joe Mattock, Agbonlahor, Mitchell… and so on. It was the group of players who had followed Twain to dominate the football world before his last resignation.
Twain turned to glance at Wood. He did not know what to say. He only reached out to touch Wood’s arm.
Retirement was nothing to him. He was just a little reluctant to leave the players whom he had watched grow up. These days, the players used every opportunity to interact with him. He certainly knew what they were thinking. No one could bear to part with him.
However, all good things must come to an end.
Twain did not want to continue the melancholy conversation, so he asked a question of particular interest to himself. “How are things between you and Miss Vivian?”
“Nothing much to tell,” Wood was clearly evasive in his answer.
Twain guessed something but did not say it. He went on to change the subject.
“George, do you have any plans for the evening?”
“No,” Wood replied.
“Well, then come home with me tonight.”
Wood glanced at Twain.
“Shania went to Paris today, and it’s a little quiet without here at home. Teresa will be very happy to see you.”
Shania left the United Kingdom this morning and flew to Paris to prepare for her last runway show and to attend a thank-you party. However, her social life was much quieter than before. Perhaps because it was known that she was quitting the modeling and entertainment world, people thought that she was no longer a worthy celebrity, so there were much fewer people who would deliberately fawn on her.
It was actually quite good this way. Shania liked it very much. She herself did not enjoy those social activities. Many times, it was because of work requirements and friends’ invitations that she could not decline. Otherwise, she would stay at home during her breaks, instead of going around to be on cameras and show off. Although she and Beckham’s wife, Victoria Beckham, were good friends, she and Victoria were two completely different people.
With Shania away, Twain felt even lonelier and Teresa also missed her very much. Shania had wanted to take Teresa with her to Paris, but Teresa had to go to school, so she stayed at home in the care of her nanny.
Twain was not worried about their child. The nanny was very, very good and he was sure Teresa would be well cared for.
It was just that he inevitably still felt lonely.
That was why he invited Wood to his house again tonight, even though Wood was reticent and not very talkative. He did not know how to play with kids either. However, without knowing why, Teresa liked to be with her ‘older brother’ Wood. She would be very happy when Wood was around.
Twain could not see the playful side of Wood, so he could not understand why Teresa especially liked the stern-looking George Wood so much.
If it was not for the fact that the two were so far apart in their ages, Twain would have really worried about the possibility of his daughter falling in love with George in the future… Uh, it was too much of a digression.
When Twain brought up Teresa, Wood could not refuse. He nodded and accepted Twain’s invitation.
“Would you like to ask Miss Vivian to come with you as well?” Twain suddenly asked.
“She’s working overtime…” Wood realized he had a slip of the tongue.
Twain laughed delightedly.
Amid his laughter, he turned around and patted Wood on the shoulder, signaling that they should go.
Wood did not make a move right away but turned and watched Twain walk ahead. He found the man’s back a little hunched. Perhaps because he was laughing?
The last afterglow of the sunset was swallowed by the horizon, and the quiet Wilford was shrouded in the night. A gust of wind blew and the trees behind them rustled. The wind stirred the hair and clothes of the two men. Wood could not help looking back at the inky black woods while Twain walked out without turning his head back.
※※※
Teresa, who had been waiting a little longer than usual for her father to come home from work, relaxed her frown after she saw Wood follow her father into the house.
In Wood’s company, Teresa happily spent the first night her mother was away. By the time Teresa went to bed, it was 11 o’clock. Twain wanted Wood to stay at his place since there were many guest rooms anyway. However, Wood did not agree. He wanted to return home.
Unable to do anything about it, Twain had to send Wood out.
At the gate of the yard, while they were waiting for the bus, Twain assumed the role of a fatherly figure and thanked Wood. He also told him that he was allowed to be 15 minutes late for the next day’s training session.
However, at the training the next day, George Wood was still the first one to arrive.
※※※
The day in Wilford began early. The mist from the night began to evaporate in the sunlight. The layers of fog rose from the thick woods and were blown by the breeze to every corner of Wilford as well as above River Trent.
At this time, Wilford was still quiet and only the staff arrived early, ready to start the day’s work.
Tony Twain came as early as they did. Instead of going to his office, he went straight to the training ground and greedily breathed in the fresh air of the early morning.
The staff members were busy on one side and said hello to Twain when they met him without stopping the work they were doing. Twain strolled alone between the individual training grounds. Stepping on the sodden turf, the hems of his pants and leather shoes would be all wet soon.
He did not take notice of it and focused on the task.
After he finished taking a round of the First Team training ground, he went to the training ground of the reserve team and the youth team. He supervised them all before he went back to the office to rest. Meanwhile, the players were arriving in succession, getting ready to start the day of training.
It was the last day of training before the Forest team’s game and also Tony Twain’s last training session in his coaching career.
By the time Twain went into his office to take a break, there were already many reporters gathered outside the Wilford training ground, all of whom came to witness Tony Twain’s “last lesson.” Although they only had 15 minutes of public filming, that did not halt their enthusiasm.
Pierce Brosnan saw Carl Spicer in the crowd. He did not have much of a good opinion regarding the person who had been persistent in smearing Twain. Since he ran into Spicer, he would naturally go up and ridicule him for a bit.
“Hey, Carl,” He greeted him warmly as if the two of them were good friends who had known each other for years.
Spicer certainly was aware of who Brosnan was, so he knew the latter took the initiative to greet him not to talk about old times.
“Well, isn’t this Mr. Pierce Brosnan, Twain’s ordained reporter?” Spicer responded cynically.
The nickname, which was used in the press circle to mock Brosnan, was by no means a compliment.
Brosnan was not angry, but smiled and said instead, “Looks like you’re in a good mood, Carl. Is it because the person you hate the most is finally going to say his goodbye?”
Spicer did not hesitate and nodded. He never denied his dislike of Twain in public, which was much better than those hypocrites who appeared to praise Twain to his face but cursed him behind his back.
Seeing Spicer take the bait, Brosnan laughed more smugly as he said, “I’m thinking… Once Tony retires, where are you going to get someone to abuse and maintain the ratings for your show?”
The expression on Carl Spicer’s face froze instantly. He was not a fool. He immediately realized that Brosnan tricked him. However, he was unable to answer in the face of such a question. He really relied on abusing Twain until he became famous and eventually a television presenter. And once Twain retired, who would he target next? The admonishment of a person was also an art. He could not attract so many views just by scolding any Tom, Dick or Harry off the streets.
Looking around the English football world, and even the international football world, a figure like Tony Twain, who was widely controversial while receiving many honors at the same time and being very popular with the people, was extremely rare.
Mourinho might barely count as one such manager. However, scolding a foreigner would not attract much attention in England. Mourinho’s influence in England was a long way off as compared to Tony Twain.
Although Spicer hated the arrogant and conceited Tony Twain who had made him suffer a lot of humiliation, he also had to admit the one fact, which greatly embarrassed and infuriated him: that once Tony Twain left, he would be out of play!
It was no secret. Everyone in the circle knew Carl Spicer got in a leading position by abusing Twain. Some people were very dismissive of him, even those who equally hated Twain.
Many people laughed when they saw Spicer looking like this. Seeing other people making fools of themselves was a common sport of people all over the world. Even British gentlemen were no exception.
After Brosnan singled out Spicer’s biggest point of embarrassment, he ignored the man and turned to focus on the team’s training.
Spicer was also thick-skinned – after fighting with Twain for years, he would have already committed suicide if he were otherwise. After the initial embarrassment passed, he stood there as if nothing happened and continued to direct his men to shoot footage of Tony Twain.
His show was not about the Forest team’s training. There would always be Tony Twain, alone, in his shot. This also confirmed, in another way, how right Pierce Brosnan was.
Only Tony Twain existed in Carl Spicer’s eyes while Tony Twain’s eyes held the whole world.
※※※
Tony Twain, whose eyes held the whole world, finally appeared in front of the reporters’ cameras.
Today he wore a casual shirt and a pair of dark blue jeans, which looked different from the getup he wore while directing a game on the sidelines. As compared to the managers who were used to wearing sports attire to lead the teams, he did not look like a real manager. However, no one was surprised, because Tony Twain had been like this for sixteen years. People no longer wondered about what they saw.
Twain appeared in front of the public, wearing sunglasses, and caused a commotion. Fans on the east side loudly chanted Twain’s name and the cheers only gradually died down when Twain waved to them.
No reporters were surprised by such a scene. They had long become accustomed to witnessing Twain’s influence.
They just instructed the photojournalists and camera operators to seize every moment of shooting.
“This is Tony Twain’s last training session! Don’t shoot anything else, just focus on him!”
Twain did not care how the others filmed him. He was used to it, even though the battle array this morning was a little bigger than usual…
However, he himself deserved such attention.
The one thing good about Twain was that he was realistic. He would take the credit when it was rightfully due. He was never self-effacing.
There was nothing for him to do on the training ground. He watched for a while and saw that the players’ performance was normal. The crowd of reporters did not affect them… however, he could not tell what was normal or not at the moment because everyone was running laps for the warm-up …
Twain observed them for a moment before turning his attention to other areas. The east side was surrounded by many fans, more than usual. These fans were determined to ask for autographs from and photographs with Twain after the game.
Twain’s eyes superficially scanned the crowd, but he suddenly fixed his gaze.
He stared at a man in the crowd. He had a strange expression on his face, which was both excited and surprised.
Whom did he see to make him forget everything else?
In the crowd, Fat John, Skinny Bill, and their other buddies surrounded a man.
That man was Michael Bernard, whom Twain had met in Los Angeles before!
...
Chapter 1027 - Last Training Session
Twain held back his urge to walk over to the side and figure out what was going on. He withdrew his gaze from the crowd and focused his attention on the training session once again. He still did not understand why Michael would appear at the training grounds, but he felt that he would get the answer he sought at the end of the training session.
Twain thought he was hallucinating when he saw Michael in the crowd. He wondered if he had time traveled again. Did I time travel back to 2003? Wouldn’t that just mean that I am trapped in an endless loop? That was what he thought
He looked at the players who were training on the pitch and heaved a sigh of relief when he saw an aged Bale. If he had time traveled back to 2003, Bale would definitely not have appeared before him.
Twain could finally relax and focus all his attention on the training session once he was certain that he had not time-traveled to the past.
The media was given 15 minutes to take photos of the training session. However, 15 minutes was too short and not enough for the reporters. They wanted to stay longer and take more photos, but the security guards promptly appeared before them.
Left with no choice, the reporters reluctantly packed their bags and left the training grounds. They then waited to be allowed entry into the training grounds a second time for their interviews outside the premises. The Forest fans, on the other hand, could remain at the side of the pitch. The ’15 minutes’ rule did not apply to them.
One concern was that a reporter could dress up as a fan so as to remain on the training grounds. However, based on Twain’s experience as a manager for the past decade or so, the possibility of that happening was very low.
Only one training session was planned for today since tomorrow was the match day. The players would train in the morning before resting for the whole afternoon. Thereafter, the entire team would check into their hotel and then make way for the stadium the next day.
The players were mainly going to practice on their set pieces for today’s training. Set pieces were especially useful when the team needed to break a deadlock in a match, and the coaches would always schedule drills that got the players to practice on their set pieces prior to every match.
However, training did not go very smoothly that day. The players would often commit mistakes, and this resulted in a largely ineffective training session. One of the players who kept committing mistakes was Gareth Bale. He repeatedly failed to send the ball to the assigned spot during training, and it caused his teammates to run to the front of the pitch for nothing time and time again.
What could be causing his poor performance?
Twain decided to halt training for a short while. He wanted to find out what was going on with Bale.
“Bale,” He waved at the man nicknamed the ‘Little Monkey’ and gestured for him to come over.
Bale lowered his head and ran towards Twain.
“What’s wrong? Your head’s in the clouds.”
“Uh… Nothing…”
“Did you quarrel with your girlfriend?”
“No, I did not…”
“Then tell me what’s going on. Is there something that I shouldn’t know about?”
Bale lowered his head and hesitated for a brief moment before raising his head to look at Twain. “I got distracted when I thought about how this is going to be your last training session, boss…”
Twain did not know whether he should laugh or cry at Bale’s words. So I am the problem, he thought to himself.
He then looked at the pitch before him. All the players were looking their way because the training had been paused. Only then did he notice the same emotion that Gareth Bale had just exhibited in the eyes of all his players.
In truth, Twain had lamented about how this was the last training session of his managerial career as well. However, he got rid of those thoughts the moment training began. After all, it was a day just like any other. There might be a few more reporters than usual, but everything else was the same.
However, there would definitely be people who could not bear to see him leave…
Twain quickly realized that this kind of emotion should not appear during training. It would only influence the effectiveness of the training session negatively. It was very important that his players practice their set-pieces because set-pieces might end up becoming the key to winning the match tomorrow.
Bale continued to stand before Twain with his head lowered. He looked like a child who had just done something wrong. But what wrong did he do?
Twain looked at the meek expression on Bale’s face and let out a sigh.
“Follow me,” he told Bale before walking straight towards his players.
Bale dragged his feet along and followed behind Twain obediently.
Two assistant managers and six coaches watched as Twain walked towards them, but no one said a word. Tony Twain usually would not interfere with their work, because everything that had to be done for today’s training session had already been decided during their meeting on Monday. However, if he halted the training session because he had something to say, that something had to be very important.
Twain walked right into the circle formed by the players and stood in the middle. Bale, on the other hand, came to a stop next to Aaron Mitchell. Mitchell bent over slightly and asked him in a hushed voice, “Hey, Little Monkey. What did the boss say to you just now?”
“He wanted to know why I was performing poorly.”
Mitchell stroked his chin. “You did perform poorly today.”
“So did you,” Bale nudged Mitchell in the ribs.
Mitchell giggled.
“What did you say to him?” Mitchell asked softly after he finished giggling.
“I told the boss that I’m performing poorly because this is his last training session with us.”
Mitchell fell silent after hearing Bale’s answer. He probably would have given a similar answer if he had been the one who was asked the question earlier.
“Did he say anything to you?” Mitchell asked after a brief moment of silence.
“He told me to ‘follow him’.” Bale pointed at Tony Twain who stood in the middle of the crowd.
Both players looked at Twain.
Their boss stood in the middle of all of them. He then raised a hand to signal that he had something to say.
“Lads, I can see something in your eyes.” Twain was about to make an impromptu speech before his players, and it was probably going to be his last time giving a speech during a training session.
“It’s wrong for you to feel that way now. Do you have any idea what you are doing right now? This is a training session, and we have a very, very important match tomorrow… Don’t tell me that there are some of you here who think that tomorrow’s match is not important because we are already in the top six.”
Twain turned right and left and surveyed the players around him.
“If you have the leisure for thoughts like how this is going to be my last training session with you lot, it only proves that you either think you can win tomorrow’s match easily, or you don’t care about the results of tomorrow’s match. Both of which are not what I want from all of you!”
Twain paused to catch his breath. The sunlight was quite strong today, and a thin layer of sweat had formed on his exposed forehead. Twain felt a little short of breath as he stood under the sun. His physical condition reminded him once again that he had made the right decision to retire.
“I know some of you have not been in Forest for long and are not part of the team that won the Treble years ago. Actually, there are very few players from that team here today. I can understand how those senior players would feel.” Twain looked at where Bale was. He was not sure if it was a coincidence, a deliberate act or a habit, but Mitchell stood to the left of Bale, and Joe Mattock stood to the left of Mitchell. The player standing behind Mattock was Agbonlahor, and the player standing to Bale’s right was Nkoulou. Gago stood to the right of Nkoulou, and Chris Cohen stood in front of Gago. The only player who did not stand with them was George Wood. He stood across from them, with the new players of the team.
“But it’s precisely because I understand how they feel that I’m so upset. Do you all remember the words that are written on the walls of the tunnel? ‘Victory is all that matters’! That is Nottingham Forest’s philosophy. Have you all forgotten?”
Twain stared into the eyes of the senior players on the team. He wanted to see something different from what he saw earlier.
Bale took a step forward. He and Wood have played under Twain for the longest time, and they also had the most experience in the team. However, Wood would not be willing to speak up on this matter, and thus the job fell on Bale’s shoulders.
“But boss… it’s not that we want to lose the match, or that we think we can win the match easily. It’s just…. We just got distracted when we thought about how this is going to be your last training session with us… Yeah, that’s it.”
“Then how do you intend to make me believe that you won’t get distracted in the match tomorrow? We’d be playing in the last match of my managerial career tomorrow, mind you. That’s way more important than my last training session, isn’t it?” Twain winked at Bale humorously. However, Bale did not smile.
Some of the new players laughed at Twain’s words. They clearly did not understand their boss well enough.
Twain did not mind the abrupt laughter. He stared intently at Bale. He wanted the latter to give him an answer that would satisfy him.
What kind of answer could Bale possibly give? Could he possibly say ‘I think we won’t make that kind of mistake, boss’? His boss would definitely not believe him, and those words might end up angering him instead. His boss might have become gentler now, but no one dared to look down on him. The words that he said on the very first day he returned to the team still remained fresh in everyone’s minds –’If any one of you thinks I’m old, then go ahead and try me!’
Those words of his were powerful and they resounded in the players’ hearts.
Twain had merely hidden his ambition under a friendly exterior. His past, fiery self could very well surface again if something provoked him.
“I cannot guarantee that we won’t get distracted tomorrow, boss…” Bale chose to admit that he was wrong under Twain’s intense stare.
“Then I want you to forget about how this is going to be my ‘last training session’.” Twain waved his hands dismissively. “I want all of you to practice just like you would on any other day. If I see any of you getting distracted during training one more time, I will not hesitate to take your name off the starting list or the team list for tomorrow’s match.”
Twain walked towards Kerslake and patted him on the shoulder after finishing his words. “I leave everything else to you, David.”
“Don’t worry, Tony. I’ll handle things from here,” Kerslake told Twain.
Twain walked away from the crowd and stood by the side of the pitch. He became a spectator once again.
He then sent a cursory glance at the eastern part of the training grounds. The fans were still there, and they seemed to be discussing something excitedly. They must have found the incident from earlier interesting.
The edge of Twain’s lips went up. Look at the fans. They are all acting normally. The players should really learn a thing or two from them…
It was clear that Michael Bernard was the center of attention among the Forest fans. Everyone had crowded around him subconsciously. Michael did not say much as he stood in the middle of the fans. It was hard to imagine that he used to be the boss of a group of hooligans and the leader of the Forest fans over a decade ago. He was dressed in a shirt, trousers and leather boots, and he looked just like any other office worker.
It would be even better if he were carrying a briefcase, Twain thought evilly.
He definitely had to go and find Michael when the training session was over. However… he probably would not be able to meet him anytime soon.
Twain thought about the group of reporters who should still be standing outside the training grounds at the moment. He would definitely be busy for quite a while when those reporters heard that they could enter the premises once again…
※※※
The team was finally able to practice normally after Twain had chastised them earlier. None of the players dared to lose their concentration under Twain’s watchful eye now. In fact, everyone worked even harder than they used to because no one was willing to be dropped from such an important match due to a lapse in concentration during training. Twain did not want the players to think about how tomorrow was going to be the last match of his managerial career, but it was impossible for them not to think about it. However, the players knew that they had no choice but to suppress those thoughts for now. They had to convert all their emotions and thoughts into their drive for tomorrow’s match.
The players wanted Twain to speak to them after the training session was over, but Twain waved his hands and refused their request.
“I’ve already said all that I should say for now. I’d just be repeating whatever I already said if I gave another speech now. I have no interest in wasting your time. I want all of you to shower and change into a new set of clothes now! Don’t catch a cold!” He was about to turn around and walk towards the reporters when he added, “Oh, yes. Let me say this. All of you did very well during the training session earlier.”
Twain did not walk towards the fans. He knew that the restless reporters would not let him go.
Just as he expected, he was surrounded by a horde of reporters the moment he walked to the entrance of the training grounds.
Countless microphones, recorders, and mobile phones were thrust out towards him.
“The last match of your managerial career is going to take place tomorrow. Is there anything that you want to say about it, Mr. Twain?
“I’m feeling peaceful. Thank you.”
“What do you think about your chances of defeating Mourinho’s team?”
“I don’t know, that’s not up to me to decide. You should ask God instead. The only thing I know is that my goal is to win.”
“Manchester United would be able to retain their Premier League title as long as they win against you…”
“I know that. The fact that I’m still able to encounter such an interesting situation before I retire makes me very happy,” Twain smiled. His smile was genuine because the situation was indeed very interesting. He worked hard to prevent his team from being in a situation whereby they were at the mercy of Manchester United, but he did not expect the tables to be turned so that it was Manchester United who was at their mercy.
Twain was not a benevolent soul who would show sympathy to others when there was something that he sought. He was actually the complete opposite of that. He was a vile man who would be more than happy to kick Mourinho into the abyss.
It was true that he drank with Mourinho in Brazil before, but that was all in the past. He had returned to his job as a manager, and Mourinho was his opponent for the next match. That was all that mattered now.
“Do you feel a little sad knowing that today is your last training session with the players?”
If the reporter had asked Twain this question yesterday, he would have most likely nodded earnestly in response. However, Twain had already felt sadness and reluctance to leave yesterday, and he did not want to have those feelings once more today. Besides, he was already 50 years old this year. There was nothing he could not put behind him at this age.
He shook his head and said, “My mind is filled with thoughts of tomorrow’s match at the moment. I’m not thinking about anything else now.”
There were a lot more reporters than usual today, and as a result, there were a lot more questions as well. Twain patiently answered each and every question that was posed to him. He did not lose his temper or storm away as he would in the past. His temper has certainly improved considerably.
The reporters crowded around Twain and asked him questions for approximately 20 minutes. They only stopped when Twain waved his hands and refused to be interviewed any further.
The players had already left the training grounds by then. Most of the fans who stood at the eastern part of the training grounds were gone as well.
Twain glanced at the fans who had stayed behind, and he did not see Michael among them. It looked like he would have to make a trip down to Burns’ bar later. He has an entire afternoon’s worth of time to burn anyway. There was no need to hurry.
Right as Twain turned around to walk towards the car park, he suddenly heard someone call his name from behind. The voice sounded very familiar.
Twain turned back around and saw Michael Bernard standing under a tree by the side of the road!
...
Chapter 1028 - I Haven’t Lost Yet
“Tony!”
As Twain got rid of the reporters and walked to the parking lot, he heard someone calling his name behind his back. When Twain stopped in his tracks and turned to look back, he saw a familiar face.
By the side of the boulevard, under the lush trees, Michael Bernard stood in the mottled light and shadow. When the wind blew, the leaves rustled, and the light and shadow moved along, making him look rather indistinct as if he were a phantom.
“Your camouflage came in useful, Michael. If you hadn’t called me, I could barely see you.”
Twain walked over and smiled at Michael, who was standing under the trees.
“Camouflage?” “Michael did not react at first until he looked down at the mottled shadows on his body and then realized it really looked like a camouflage costume…
He laughed. Twain’s joke made him feel warmth.
“Why are you back here? Don’t you have to work?”
“I quit my job,” Michael said to Twain with a serious look.
The remark froze the smile on Twain’s face.
“Just kidding! Ha!” Michael seemed to know how to appear deadpan. His serious expression just now transformed in an instant and was replaced by a happy smile.
“In order to watch your last game, I took three days off and arrived last night.”
Twain nodded. No wonder he did not see Michael yesterday afternoon but did see him on the sidelines today.
“From the way you’re dressed…” Twain looked him up and down and said, “don’t tell me you did not even go home and came straight from the office.”
Michael became a little embarrassed and said, “Actually I was on a business trip to Italy and I just applied for leave and came here… I was not on vacation, so I only have these clothes. At least I’m not wearing a suit…”
Twain nodded to express understanding.
“Does your wife know you’re here?” Despite talking to the couple in Los Angeles and knowing that Michael’s wife no longer cared about the past and Michael’s love of football, Twain still could not help but ask.
“I gave her a call.” Michael was not joking this time.
Twain believed Michael’s words. Michael was now a really nice guy. The former hooligan who had abused him in the pub was nowhere to be seen.
The two men sat down next to the lawn by the side of the road. They did not care that it was actually quite dirty here.
“Thank you for coming to see me,” Twain said, looking at the training ground across the road.
“I’m here to say a proper goodbye to the past.”
Twain turned his head back and looked at Michael, listening to him continue speaking.
“It has been 16 years, Tony. Time really flies so quickly. Many things have happened to us. But I did not come to you today to talk about the old times.”
Twain smiled and replied, “We had talked about the old times that night in Los Angeles.”
Michael nodded in agreement.
“Actually, I just wanted to come back and see you.”
“It’s not as if you have not seen me before or that you’re not going to see me later. You talk as if we’ll never see each other again…” Twain quipped.
“But this is the last time I see you as a manager.”
Twain was momentarily taken aback. He forgot his identity. It was indeed the last time in this capacity, the last time he acted as a manager. No matter what the situation was in the future, he would not come out of retirement and take a leading position, even if it was the end of the world … But then again, what did the end of the world have to do with his being a manager or not?
However, a manager… Twain looked up at the blue sky. He had not expected back then that he would be in this position for so long, that he could achieve so much. God, Dear God, what was the purpose of you throwing me here at the time? Was it to give me this dream? But I don’t believe you are so good…
Twain gently shook his head. He often used to ponder this question. Then with the passage of time and living well in this world, he slowly stopped thinking of it. There was no need to lament here and now about how heaven made a fool out of him.
Therefore, he changed the subject and asked, “Have you gone to see Gavin?”
Michael nodded and replied, “There was a bunch of flowers. Was it yours?”
Twain shook his head. He made a guess and answered, “Must be George’s.”
“He still remembers…”
“What are you talking about? Your son was his first fan. How can he not remember?” Twain glared at Michael. Wood was not good at expressing his feelings, but he had a warm heart. If Vivian could eventually conquer Wood’s heart, she would be the happiest woman in the world, because she would have found a man of remarkable constancy.
Michael nodded and gave a dry laugh.
“If Gavin were still alive, he would be 29 years old now, right?” Twain asked.
“28 years old. His birthday was July 11th,” Michael replied.
“You remember it so well.”
“I’m his father!” Michael straightened his chest and answered proudly.
Twain smiled.
“Go to my house at noon and I’ll introduce you to my daughter,” Twain stood up and straightened his pants. His daughter was still waiting at home, so he could not go back too late.
Michael also stood up, but shook his head and said, “No, John and the others are waiting for me.”
Twain gave a shrug to express regret.
“Do you have a ticket?” Twain asked before they parted.
Michael nodded and said, “Yes. After I told John and the others that I was coming, they prepared a ticket for me right away.”
Upon hearing this, Twain turned back and looked at Michael curiously. “When did you decide to come back?”
“After you held the press conference to announce your retirement. I just thought I should come back and send you off no matter what.”
“Thank you,” Twain thanked Michael for the second time today.
“We’re old friends. I ought to.”
When he was finished, Michael waved to Twain, and the two men said goodbye.
Twain had walked more than a dozen paces when he suddenly heard Michael shout behind him, “Tony! I won’t let you off if you lose the game!”
Twain looked back to see Michael brandishing his fist at him. He was suddenly thrown back as if he had seen the last game of 16 years ago. Before leaving the pitch, Michael had brought his son along. He had brandished his fist at him and threatened to teach him a lesson if the team was not playing in the Premier League next season.
After saying that, the next time he saw Gavin was in the hospital morgue.
Twain stood there in a trance, but Michael did not wait for him to answer. He turned around right away and walked in the opposite direction.
By the time Twain recovered, Michael Bernard’s figure was long gone.
He thought of Michael’s words before he left and laughed.
“How can I possibly lose? I haven’t lost to Mourinho as of yet!”
※※※
Mourinho’s team warmed up at the Crimson Stadium while he gave an interview to a television reporter. Speaking of tomorrow’s game, he was confident and stated that his team would eventually win the league tournament.
“I’m here to win the game and collect the championship trophy.”
Manchester United’s official television reporters were delighted and reassured by Mourinho’s remarks, while BBC television reporters had a different view.
“You have never defeated Tony…”
Before the reporter could finish speaking, Mourinho interrupted his words.
“I’m not interested in discussing the past. Every game is on its own.”
The question greatly ruined Mourinho’s mood. He seemed uncooperative with the next answer, even though the question was from Manchester United’s television station. He was dismissive.
Such an interview naturally did not yield much valuable news. Many of the reporters that came after would complain that the BBC reporter was too tactless with his words. How could he ask Mourinho that question? Everyone knew that Mourinho hated his record of “not defeating Twain” being brought up by other people and used as fodder.
The matter was the same as hinting at Twain’s being unable to produce a biological child despite being married for so many years. It was simply vicious to the extreme.
In fact, Mourinho’s inner pressure was greater than Twain’s at the time.
Who made Arsenal bite so closely at their heels?
By the last round of the league tournament, Manchester United was two points ahead of Arsenal, with its net goal advantage taking the lead. In the final round, as long as Manchester United tied with Nottingham Forest, they could defend their title. If Manchester United’s last game was played against any team other than Nottingham Forest, under the situation of finishing their season’s target ahead of schedule, the chance of Manchester United winning was higher. However, it just so happened that it was Nottingham Forest…
Mourinho never thought Tony Twain would let him off the hook, just like he would absolutely not let Tony Twain off the hook in the same situation. These two men wanted to step over each other’s dead bodies to take the top stand. How could he show any mercy?
It was also this reason that put Mourinho in a bad mood lately. He always showed a grim face to everyone. He was under more pressure than anyone else was. If he lost the game, it was not as simple as losing the league tournament. For him, his career as a manager could still be very long. He could still win as many league titles as he wanted in the future. However, if he were to lose to Tony Twain, he would never have a chance to break that ridiculous bullsh*t record again. After Twain retired, he naturally could not lead the team and compete with him. He would bear the shameful record of “never having defeated Twain” forever and never live it down…
He felt terrified just thinking about it!
If it became a reality… How could a man as proud as Mourinho accept it?
There was one more reason for Mourinho’s bad mood – Rooney’s absence had upset him. Although Rooney was already 32 years old, he still had an important role in the team as an experienced striker. His absence was a big loss to Manchester United’s ability to fight.
Plus, it was an away game…
Was there ever a last-round league game that was unluckier than this?
※※※
Compared to Mourinho, Twain was calmer and more collected during interviews before the game.
“He has never beaten me? To tell you the truth, I’d almost forgotten about the matter…” Twain looked amazed as if he had really just recalled this. However, no one would believe his words. The media was hotly publicizing the feud between the two men these days and repeatedly mentioned their common history. How could he forget it?
“I don’t think the past record is of any help to the game tomorrow. No man ever steps in the same river twice,” Twain, who said this, looked like a philosopher, but he was just putting on a smokescreen. Mourinho certainly did not believe that Twain would let him off the hook just because they had drinks together once. However, some people in Manchester United would believe it.
“Manchester United is a very strong team. We lost to them in an away game in the first half of the season, so I can’t say for sure I will win tomorrow’s game.”
Twain adopted a humbled stance and appeared modest as if he could not pose a real threat to Manchester United’s position.
Before the game against Arsenal, Twain had vowed that his goal was to win the game. At the time, people thought that it was just talking to boost morale. In fact, the Forest team could not have won against Arsenal in the away game. As for the result?
Arsenal lost on its own home ground to Nottingham Forest.
Now he himself stated that Manchester United was very strong and spoke humbly at present. Naturally, it implied that he thought his team had little chance of beating Manchester United.
When all was said and done, which of his words were people supposed to believe?
Twain did not care what other people thought. He went on:
“The last game? No, I don’t see it that way. It’s just a regular league game. Yes, a regular league game.” Twain repeated it as if he was worried that others would not believe him. “My coaching career has been very successful. I don’t need to rely on winning this game to have a perfect ending.”
It was true on closer inspection. As a manager, he had won all the championship titles there were to be won. What could possibly be better than this to complete a successful coaching career? As for getting entangled in a game, perhaps Twain would really throw the last game? Did he and Mourinho not appreciate each other’s talent?
The media thought so and it was directly reflected in their programs and articles.
As a result, in the football program that night, there were experts who predicted that Manchester United would win big in tomorrow’s game and the defending champion title definitely belonged to them.
At the end of the show, they even showed footage of Twain talking about his life after retirement. “I’ll take a break for a while. I will take a nice long trip with my wife and bring our daughter along. And then… I haven’t figured it out yet. Ha-ha!”
Twain’s laughter on the television was a little insincere. The show host, who was optimistic that Manchester United would be able to defend their title, also laughed. He thought that Tony Twain really looked harmless and Mourinho’s league title was definitely his to take.
The game had not started yet. How could a man, already thinking about life after his retirement, withstand and compete against a man who must win the game or else end up with a ruined career?
...
Chapter 1029 - There Is Only One Tony Twain
There was no need to say more than was necessary about every situation before the last game because it was no different from what happened before in those important games in history. The only difference was that most of the fans who came to watch the game today were not wearing any Forest jerseys with the names and numbers of certain players. Instead, they wore commemorative T-shirts in either red or white colors.
The commemorative T-shirts were already on display at Nottingham Forest’s souvenir shop long before Twain held a press conference to announce that he was definitely retiring at the end of the season. They came in either red or white. The front of the t-shirt looked like the Nottingham Forest jersey, while the back had two numbers. The number “12” on top represented the 12 years Twain had coached the Forest team, and the “12” on the bottom represented the 12 championship titles that Twain had led the Forest team to win. Above these two sets of “12” was Tony Twain’s name.
Almost every fan passing by in front of the camera would turn their backs to the camera to show the two sets of “12” and Tony Twain’s name, and then give a thumbs-up.
As a reporter, Pierce Brosnan wore such a t-shirt to the live coverage of the game.
Twain’s team was doing warm-up inside as the fans lined up outside the stadium.
Both teams carried out the warm-up a little early today because the final round of the league tournament had to start at the same time, and the Forest Football Club prepared a small farewell ceremony for Twain to be held before the kickoff. So, they could only arrange for the warm-up time to be earlier.
The fans who first entered the stadium were busy looking for Twain’s figure below in the stands, but they did not get what they wanted. Twain was stopped by Evan Doughty at the door of the locker room and had not come out yet.
“Tony, you’ve only got 15 minutes in the locker room,” Evan reminded Twain, for fear that once he got caught up with his speech, he would forget the time. “We have to kick off at the allotted time or we’ll be penalized. You know this game is very time-sensitive…”
Twain waved his hands impatiently. How could Evan be so garrulous today? “I know, isn’t it just a fight for the league title? It’s almost like our home team is in a supporting role.”
Evan chuckled. In the eyes of many people, the Forest team would indeed play a supporting role today. Manchester United was equally in a supporting role. The real protagonist was this man in front of him.
When he faintly heard the live broadcast outside reminding that the warm-up time was nearing the end, Evan took his leave of Twain and turned to walk away.
Twain, on the other hand, returned to the locker room to wait for the players to come back so he could say a few final words. Evan was worried that 15 minutes were not enough for him to speak. However, Twain was no longer the old Twain of more than a decade ago who liked to talk volubly and make impassioned speeches. He had nothing to say. 15 minutes were more than enough for him.
※※※
As the two teams warming up outside began to exit from the field, the big screen on the Crimson Stadium removed the emblems of the two teams and the time display and faded to black.
There were not many empty seats in the stands by this time. The fans outside the square also dwindled as the number of spectators increased. Some of the people without tickets had gone to nearby pubs early, waiting to watch the live broadcast on television.
After the last of the Forest players left the pitch and entered the tunnel, the stands were full, and few fans could be seen at the entrances. The big screen, which had been black since the beginning, gave a flash and then a word appeared on the dark background.
“He.”
Then the single white word faded away and blended into the background.
The image flashed again and slowly brightened. Tony Twain’s silhouette appeared on the screen.
Loud cheers suddenly broke out in the stands.
The image faded out again and was followed by one of Tony Twain and Evan Doughty. The two of them shook hands in the middle of the screen and an open document was placed on the table below. It was a photograph of Twain’s first renewal of his contract with the club.
After the image faded out, a sentence appeared on the black background:
“This was the best contract in the club’s history.”
The remark drew cheers and applause at the scene.
As the fans looked up at the two big screens at both ends of the stadium, the staff members were carrying clean-up trophies to the pitch, one glittering trophy after another. The different-shaped trophies were carefully lifted out and placed on the turf in the center circle.
※※※
In the locker room, Twain was telling his players the mission of the game.
“Did I lie to you about what I said yesterday?” Twain asked.
The players sitting around him shook their heads one by one.
Seeing the answer, Twain laughed and said, “Very good. Listen, guys. This game is just a regular league game for us. However, our opponents are under a lot of pressure. It is a game that they can’t afford to lose. Should we give them a break and throw the game? Absolutely not! I’m not going to talk nonsense. You’re all professional players. I just hope you can look up at the words on the wall when you’re making your appearances.”
Having said this, Twain repeated the tactical arrangements that were laid down last night. He wanted to make sure every player on the pitch knew what he was going to do.
“There’s nothing new about our tactics, and our old rivals should have studied them. But whether they have any way of curbing them after studying them thoroughly is another matter…”
Twain spread his hands and shrugged.
※※※
The footage of Twain leading the team to win every championship was being played on the big screen.
From the first EFL Cup to the last UEFA Champions League title, each trophy had a short segment.
“…Even if we have to climb! We’re going to climb up too!” A green field appeared on the screen and the Forest players were sitting around on the ground with Twain crouching in the middle. On closer inspection, many of the players were unfamiliar-looking. Many people almost forgot their names now, and Twain in the frame was very young-looking. This was the picture before the penalty shootout of the 2004 EFL Cup final. At the time, a number of players left the team after the Forest team’s promotion to the Premier League. “Losing at the last step is no different from losing at the first step. We will all be considered losers! We have to win! We must win!” Twain in the picture roared with his fists clenched. His appearance inspired not only the Forest players in the picture but also the live spectators 15 years later.
Cheers and applause rang out for a long time.
However, the scenes that thrilled them even more were still coming.
The screen gave a flash. The flag of the UEFA Champions League fluttered in the wind at the Olympic Stadium of Athens. The next second, Albertini used a banana shot to break AC Milan’s goal. The Forest fans in the stands cheered the goal as if they were there. Some of them even shouted Albertini’s name, “Demi! Demi!”
There was one regret in this game. As Twain did not want it to be special, he always claimed it was just a regular league game. Therefore, he did not send tickets to old friends before the game, as he had done in the final games before. It was not known if those people would come…
In the stands, a man nudged his friend with his elbow and said, “Hey, they’re calling you, Demi.”
※※※
“…Nottingham Forest’s tactics are nothing out of the ordinary. George Wood and Chen Jian must be their midfield hub. You need to put a tight grip on them. Our midfield and backfield should boldly press forward and ferociously intercept in the midfield. We cannot give them too much space and time to take the ball. As long as we can force them to be flustered, our winning rate will increase dramatically.”
In the Manchester United locker room, Mourinho was analyzing the Forest team’s tactics and setting out their own.
Unlike the joyous atmosphere outside, the mood in the away team’s locker room was so heavy that it could almost be cut with a knife. Everyone was listening quietly to the manager for fear of missing a word.
Everyone was like this as the game was very important for Manchester United. They had failed and were defeated in both the Champions League and FA Cup this season. They could only compete for glory in the league tournament. They must not lose in this last game. Otherwise, they would really end up with nothing this season.
They did not know if they should say they were lucky or not.
The opponent of the last round of the league tournament was Nottingham Forest, definitely not a weak team. However, they had almost completed their goal of the season ahead of schedule and one could expect them to be a little lax.
However, it was Tony Twain’s farewell performance… Could his team allow a defeat to spoil the mood?
Mourinho did not know what was on his players’ minds. He just repeated the tactics to be used in today’s game over and over again, while at the same time reducing the pressure on the players to have them stop thinking so much, keep their sense of normality and treat the game as a regular league game.
To be honest, Mourinho himself did not believe it when he said that it was going to be an ordinary league game. There was another reason for it, if not for the issue of which team the league title would belong to.
It was Tony Twain’s last game. Although he was in the locker room, he could guess what was going on outside. In a moment, there would be a ceremony specially prepared for Twain. His players had already received a request from the Forest Club to join in and line up at the exit to welcome Twain as he made his appearance.
What a big procession! To think that Ferguson’s last game before his retirement did not even have such a welcome formation…
His team agreed to the request, but he would not be in line to applaud and welcome Twain as he made his appearance. That he should pay homage to Twain? Over his dead body!
※※※
As both teams completed their pre-match preparations and walked out of the locker rooms early, the big screen above the stands was still playing a documentary about Twain.
This time it was the 2006 Champions League final. In that game, Nottingham Forest, which was one player short in the opening 18 minutes, took a one-goal lead until the 76th minute. Eventually, Barcelona scored two goals in a row and the team lost the championship trophy due to a visibly marked decline in fitness. That game was a heavy blow for Twain and his young Forest team.
This time, the content that appeared on the big screen had never appeared on any public media before.
It was a video of Twain’s terrible rage in the locker room after the game.
“…The imprinted shame of a loser? A sh*tty silver medal?!” If a piece of content was ed on the public media, there would be censorship of any foul language and all one could hear was the constant beeps. However, the version that was played in the Crimson Stadium was unadulterated. There was absolutely no blocking of words or processing. It was the real Twain.
“There’s only one champion. What is the silver medal for? The junk shop? To go out with a smile and act as a prop for the winner? To make their championship title look more resplendent? To suck up to them?! I won’t go! Isn’t Barcelona great? Let them have it!”
Then, as soon as the image changed, Twain held out his arm and put up three fingers in front of many reporters. “This is the third Champions League trophy in the history of Nottingham Forest, thank you!”
In the next second, Twain took the stage with a grim face to collect the silver medal. Then he walked down and went straight to the entrance of the tunnel, where he hung the silver medal on the neck of a young ball boy. Having done all this, he walked into the tunnel and disappeared before the eyes of the public, not caring about how it looked to all the people present.
Seeing him do so, the fans at the Crimson Stadium not only did not feel that their manager was rude and ungracious, but broke out with more cheers. Some people even clapped and stamped their feet to cheer on Twain’s performance.
They liked such a rampant and untamed Tony Twain. Perhaps a different man would act in a more refined manner, but Twain suited the public perfectly. Nottingham was full of people with personalities that despised authority. They were all proud, from Robin Hood to Brian Clough. Tony Twain was no exception. No one would be surprised by Twain’s conduct. Such a manager was the best in their opinion.
How could he have won 12 championship trophies in his 12 years of coaching career without this imposing manner of despising every authority in the world?
Did anyone think he was arrogant? He must be a loser!
※※※
Amid the cheers, the players from both sides came out. Instead of going to the field directly, they lined up on both sides of the tunnel, waiting for the main protagonist to appear.
The big screen in the stands faded to black again, and a sentence appeared slowly on it:
“Let’s welcome…”
The fans who saw the remark shouted in unison, “His Majesty the King!!!”
Amidst the roars of “His Majesty the King”, Twain came out of the tunnel.
He saw the players from both teams line up waiting for him, as well as the club chairman, Evan Doughty, who was standing behind the championship trophies in the center circle. Of course, he also saw the signs and posters hanging in the Robin Hood Grandstand.
He raised his hands and waved to everyone. He walked among the applause of the players on both sides and went all the way to the trophies in the center circle before stopping.
The black screen and words on the big screen were gone, replaced by an image of Tony Twain’s “coronation” upon his return to the City Ground Stadium after successfully defending the Champions League title. In the picture, he was dressed in a red-and-white royal cloak, holding his crown high and facing the glittering stadium grandstand, dotted with twinkling lights that came from the cameras’ flashes.
Evan Doughty handed the wireless microphone to Twain, pulled him to stand behind the trophies, and then retreated.
The reporters flocked to the front of the trophies and formed three rows. The first row of people sprawled on the ground and held the cameras in their arms. The second row of people knelt on one knee, holding the cameras. The third row of people stood behind the first two rows and was busy with the tripods.
By the time they finished what they were doing, there was a series of sounds of shutters being pressed.
For the reporters, especially those who were lying down, with the 12 trophies of varying sizes placed in front of Twain, it was a real imposing sense.
After he waited until the reporters finished taking photographs, Twain held up the microphone. When they saw his action, everyone in the stadium gradually quieted down without any reminder. The thunderous cheers, which came wave after wave earlier, gradually faded, and eventually completely disappeared. Everyone was waiting to hear what Twain had to say.
Twain initially thought that he had seen countless big spectacles and would be unaffected by today’s scene. However, when he was just getting ready to speak, he found that he was a little choked with emotion.
He quickly shut his mouth. He did not want the 60,000 spectators to hear his voice shaking. That would be mortifying.
Still, he did not escape. The high-tech televised broadcast immediately cut a close-up to Twain’s face. His teary eyes were exposed to everyone.
Seeing him look like this, shouts erupted in the stands: “Stay, Your Majesty!”
Listening to the shouts, Twain just waved his hands and motioned for them to calm down. As the scene became quiet again, he subdued his emotions and said into the microphone, “Thank you…”
Having uttered these two words, he could not control the emotions in his voice.
Twain only realized at this time how much he hated to have to leave everything behind. He could not even say ‘goodbye’.
As he struggled to speak, no one made any other sound. They were waiting quietly.
Twain bowed his head and was silent for a moment. He finally got his emotions under control again.
He cleared his throat and said, “Thank you all, thank you.”
In response, countless arms waved at him in the stands.
The live broadcast began to play the song that was originally used to send off Albertini. It was Sarah Brightman and Andre Bocelli’s “Time to Say Goodbye.”
When the song played, a man in the stands also wiped the corners of his eyes. He remembered the past from many years ago.
“It’s time to say goodbye, Tony…” He sighed.
“I am proud and honored that I have coached this team for 12 years. I am proud and honored that I have only coached a football club team at Nottingham Forest in my life. It was not I who shaped Nottingham Forest. It was you who shaped me,” Twain reached his hands out to the fans in the stands and the players who were standing on the sidelines.
Applause rang out.
“Today is my last game and I hope you enjoy…” With this, he took a pause.
Everyone thought he was going to say, “…the game.”
However, Twain turned his head to the other side and found Mourinho behind the crowd. His old rival was expressionless.
“…I hope you enjoy Nottingham Forest’s victory to the fullest.”
Twain looked at Mourinho and laughed.
As soon as that came out, the expression on Mourinho’s face did change, and he no longer looked as calm as he did just now.
Having messed with an old rival, Twain was in a good mood. The melancholy of parting no longer oppressed him.
Twain raised his hands again and waved them around.
“90 minutes later, let’s say farewell again! Goodbye, guys!”
Having said this, Twain put down his microphone and continued to stand in the center circle to wave. Another round of cheers erupted in the stands. The Forest players stood at the side and watched as their boss reveled in the cheers alone. They were also applauding. Gareth Bale even whistled. They were now full of motivation and fighting spirit. They were eager for the game to start right away so they could rush up to tear Manchester United to pieces.
Whom did the league title belong to?
What does it have to do with us? We just want to give a victory to the greatest manager in Nottingham Forest’s history as a send-off!
You are the embodiment of victory, the godfather of champions. In this last game, only a victory is fit for you, boss.
※※※
Twain had already retreated from the field. The staff members moved the 12 championship trophies back to the honors room and the reporters returned to their respective posts. The players from both sides made their appearances again, and the cheers in the stands gradually stopped.
A line of words appeared on the two big screens:
There is only one Tony Twain!
...
Chapter 1030 - Old Antique
Mourinho definitely did not underestimate Nottingham Forest and Tony Twain, so he was not surprised when Nottingham Forest launched an aggressive attack on his own home court.
However, despite this, the difficulty of the game still gave him a headache.
Nottingham Forest was bent on taking down Manchester United on their own home court and planned on using the victory to bid farewell to their head coach. One could tell from their expressions during the game that they wanted to fight for the league championship.
Manchester United naturally did not want to give up the victory of this match so easily. If they were to lose to Nottingham Forest, it would basically mean that they threw away the league championship. Who would want to fall right in front of the finishing line?
The game was in a deadlock from the start. The competition from both sides of the midfield was super intense. In this match, George Wood and Chen Jian were initially supposed to lead the offense, but Manchester United’s heavy pressure forced them to stay in defense. Likewise, as Wood and Chen Jian were defending the center path, Manchester United’s offense was unable to get in and unable to threaten the goalmouth of Nottingham Forest.
The midfielders were unable to organize an effective attack but Nottingham Forest was not panicking. They had other ways, like long passes.
Wood and Chen Jian pulled their positions to the back, becoming full-backs and basically camping at the defensive line instead of running forward to attack. While organizing an attack and holding the ball, they would simply see who had a chance ahead before sending a long pass over. Mitchell was 2.1 meters tall and as conspicuous as a lighthouse at the front, making a long pass over then allowing him to further pass the ball or hold it. However, other than his outstanding height, he also had impressive dribbling techniques and was able to control the ball under his feet without much issue.
Balotelli, on the other hand, was running near Mitchell, looking for a chance to shoot the ball into the goal.
By comparison, Manchester United was a notch lower in terms of their offense without Rooney, and long passes were impossible even if they wanted to do them. Their striker, in front of Nottingham Forest’s defensive midfielders, looked overly thin and weak…
To deal with Manchester United, Twain used two weeks to allow his team to become more solid. Their style of play was much more stable and so were their in-between actions. However, from the first half of the competition, the priorities of both teams were not on attacking but instead on stopping the opposing offense with small actions that would not be seen by the referee.
This was the last game where Twain would be the head coach, but the first half was not exciting at all. The high-quality offense from both sides was limiting. However, the fans on the audience stands were still enjoying the game and thought it was worth watching. The Manchester United fans were concerned about whether their team would be able to obtain the championship. So they did not really care about what the scene was like; they were not like Real Madrid or Barcelona fans who prioritized the outlooks of the game over the results. Nottingham Forest fans were likewise not the kind of group who focused on a beautiful game. They would be happy as long as the team won.
Only a part of the neutral fans would think this global live-streamed match was a little uninteresting, but the intense collisions were still exciting. It was a football match so it was not like there would be a goal, an exciting shot, or an incredible save every minute. However, a true fan would not let go of any small detail that occurred during the game.
And there were plenty of details in this game…
When Balotelli made a high free-kick, the scene was not showing Balotelli. Instead, they cut over to Twain, who was in the coach seat. Twain, in the shot, was violently shaking his head, regret plain on his face. Then the camera panned to Mourinho. The Portuguese was expressionless; it was almost as if he was not worried that his team would fail in its defense at all.
Next up, George Wood did a tackle on Manchester United’s midfielder, Adrien. As a result, Adrien, who was three years younger than Wood, was defeated and lost his possession of the ball in front of Manchester United’s penalty area. Upon seeing this scene, Mourinho’s face changed immediately and he repeatedly complained about to his assistant, who was beside him.
Nottingham Forest, on the other hand, took the opportunity to launch an attack. That was their most threatening attack in the first half. Wood passed the ball to Chen Jian, who was putting up a stance for a long shot but instead held the ball and passed it to the middle road as he saw Gareth Bale who was running forward. Mitchell leaned on Manchester United center-back Evans to take control of the ball as Balotelli ran forward past him, attracting the attention of Manchester United’s full-backs. Just when everyone thought that Mitchell was going to pass to Balotelli, who was running forward, Mitchell suddenly used his heel and kicked the ball behind him. Gareth Bale has already run into the penalty area, where he was neither offside nor guarded.
Bale did not hesitate when such a great opportunity was presented to him and made his shot immediately.
The ball went straight into the corner, but luckily, Manchester United’s goalkeeper, Ruffy, was focused as he swiftly dived and hit the ball out of the goal.
The attack brought a huge cheer and applause from the stands; it was counted as one of the rare highlights of the first half. Twain did not feel regret at seeing the ball miss, but Mourinho immediately stood up from his seat. In the face of Nottingham Forest’s smooth flow of offense, he could not sit still.
Actually, Manchester United, only needed a draw against Nottingham Forest to win the championship. However, Mourinho had never considered this possibility in his mind. He knew that Twain’s capabilities were limitless, so if his plan was simply placed on the level of “drawing to gain victory” the final result might be a loss. If he were determined to win, the team would more likely obtain their desired result.
Then Manchester United made an adjustment. Nottingham Forest was too confident, while Manchester United was hiding at the back. Mourinho wanted the team to press forward, using one or two high-quality attacks to lower Nottingham Forest’s spirit.
10 minutes after the adjustment, the whistle ending the first half was blown.
※※※
“0:0! Mourinho should be satisfied with the scoreline. His team just needs to secure a draw in the last league match to win the league championship with a goal advantage,” The narrator John Mortensen described it like this, but in Mourinho definitely did not think it this way.
In the dressing room, Mourinho was relentless in his criticism of his team’s performance in the first half.
“Do you know what kind of game this is? This is a match to determine if we’re about to turn into heroes or laughing stock!”
Mourinho was flaring up at the players, partly because he thought of the competition between him and Twain. His players were not as competitive as Twain’s and it was embarrassing for him.
In contrast, Twain praised his team’s performance in the first half.
Generally speaking, Nottingham Forest was pulling ahead In the first half although there were not many quality offenses. The sturdy play that Twain set up for his team were making Manchester United very uncomfortable.
Twain did not say much other than the praise he was doling out, as if this were a usual league game. These people were professional football players who had played countless league games. They had been training for this since they were young, so they were supposed to be able to handle this although their opponents were a little stronger and the stakes of the game were greater. It was only a pity that he was unable to continue leading them.
He left the rest of the time to the players. Pushing open the doors, he went out.
Twain had a lot to say, but he could not. He was afraid of disrupting the players’ emotions and mood; he would not know how to feel if the players lost the match because of him.
Twain came to the tunnel alone. The workers there saw him and he saw them as well. He waved at them, signaling that nothing important was happening and that they should continue doing what they were doing. He had only wanted to take a breather.
Twain had a reputation in this field; no one would dare to approach him without his encouragement.
Hence, from inside the chaotic football field, he was able to gain a period of silence.
At this time, Twain suddenly wanted to smoke. He had not smoked since his heart attack, and it had been exactly ten years since he quit smoking. Strictly speaking, he should never smoke or even think about doing it but he suddenly felt like having just one last cigarette today. He wanted to light up a smoke.
He patted his pocket—of course, it was empty.
Twain chewed his lip.
Although he would return to the stadium in the future, it would be impossible for him to return as a head coach. Upon leaving, would he still have feelings for this position? Twain discovered that he did not have any. Maybe it was because the feelings he had for this stadium were too shallow due to the short history. If it were the stadium in the city, perhaps he would feel otherwise. Back when the city stadium was about to be demolished, he even specifically drove back to see it one last time, going so far as to meet Kenny Burns during the sunset and chat with him for a while.
Now in this modern and beautiful stadium, there was no way he could develop similar feelings.
He remembered the first time he came there. He always gave “the smell of history” a snort of contempt. He had thought it was a term for outdated things, hence he looked down on the old infrastructure and artifacts in the club. Little did he know that one day, he would be the one reminiscing about those “outdated antiques”.
It must be because he had become as old as those old antiques.
Since the outdated and backward were about to leave the stage, retiring during this time would not count as humiliating, right?
※※※
By the time Twain returned to the changing room, the players were already preparing to leave for the game under assistant Kerslake’s instructions. Twain was waiting by the entrance of the changing room as he tapped their shoulders, sending them into the field.
There was not much difference between the first and second halves. Although Mourinho wanted his team to strengthen their offense, Nottingham Forest’s defense was still secure as ever. However, Nottingham Forest still continued to use the long passes just like in the first half to harass the defense of Manchester United, not allowing them to press forward as easily.
As time went on, Manchester United’s attack began to wane because they felt that even if they got a draw in the end, the league championship would still be theirs.
A draw was in fact what Manchester United wanted as a result— what was a victory over Nottingham Forest against the championship? However, on the side of Mourinho, it was an outcome that he could not accept. Even dismissing how dangerous this mindset of aiming a draw was, it was a personal feud. Mourinho would definitely not allow his team to draw against Nottingham Forest.
Twain was retiring after directing this game. If it ended in a draw, wouldn’t that mean that he had never been able to beat Twain?
That was not going to happen!
Mourinho rose from the manager’s seat as he shouted over the cheers of the Nottingham Forest fans. He wanted his team to strengthen offense, sending both midfielders in the attack.
Mourinho was not happy with the prospect of a draw and the Nottingham Forest players were unhappy with the scoreless tie.
Mitchell was in a good unguarded position but Balotelli did not see this. Instead, the latter chose to shoot the ball himself at the goalmouth and missed. Mitchell could not stand Balotelli’s actions as he complained loudly, “What are you doing? My position is far better, can’t you see?”
Balotelli ignored him. He only shook his head and regretted that he had missed an opportunity.
His attitude has upset Mitchell. Balotelli’s relationships with other people within the team had always been average. As he wanted to walk forward and argue with Balotelli, Wood pulled him back.
“That bastard! Doesn’t he know that we need to pull ahead and score to win?” Mitchell complained to Wood.
“You don’t have to be the one to bring up the issue,” Wood pointed at the side of the field. Mitchell gave a look and fell quiet.
They all saw the head coach rise from his seat and walk to the side of the field.
In the next second, they heard Twain scream.
“Mario! What are you doing?! You should pass the ball!” His voice could still be heard even in such a noisy environment. It really made people suspect he had a loudspeaker within his body. “Pass, pass, pass! Pass the ball to your teammates who are in better positions! You are no longer a child, you don’t need me to teach you this kind of stuff!”
In fact, he roared loudly the players were not able to hear clearly what he was saying, but the words expressed an attitude–their boss was very angry!
Balotelli was not well-liked within the team. He did not give face even to George Wood but he was respectful to Twain. Seeing how Twain was angry, he immediately knew it was because he did not pass but instead chose to shoot.
Therefore, he waved his hand towards Twain, indicating that he would definitely do better next time…
Only after this did Twain return to his coaching seat and sat down.
This little detail delighted the narrator, Mortensen.
“Tony is still the king here, though he didn’t mean to show it. But if the always unruly Balotelli looked tame under his instruction, no one would suspect otherwise.”
Balotelli, who had just been reprimanded by Twain, became more humble. Once he had other chances, he always passed the ball and did not dare to play the game on his own.
※※※
There was really nothing much to talk about in this last match. Nevertheless, for the Manchester United fans, it was intense and unnerving.
As the second half of the game time faded, there were more and more exciting scenes. Perhaps due to the mood of the two coaches, the two teams started to become more competitive.
Wonderful shots began to appear, and of course, more wonderful saves also happened from time to time. It must have been a pleasure for the neutral fans.
However, despite the excitement, the score was still 0:0. No one was able to score a goal.
During that time, Nottingham Forest hit the post once, while Manchester United hit the crossbar once. Both teams seemed to have bad luck.
The match time passed quickly after the exciting offenses back and forth between the two teams.
It looked like this match was about to end with a 0:0 score.
If that were the case, the Manchester United people would be thrilled, because it would mean they had successfully secured the championship. Only Mourinho would be unsatisfied because he would no longer have the chance to win over Tony Twain…
...
Chapter 1031 - This Is Fate
Mourinho was not willing to settle for a tied game. When the game still had 15 minutes left before going into injury stoppage time, he brought on attacking players and continued to strengthen the offensive, hoping to blast open the Forest goal and end the record that embarrassed him before the end of Twain’s last game.
Amid his bellowing, the Manchester United players also realized that they must win the game – and that in the event of a last-minute sneak attack by the Forest team, the entire season’s effort would be wasted.
The news came that Arsenal was already 2:0 ahead of their opponent in another stadium. If nothing else happened, Arsenal would definitely win.
Manchester United could not place their hopes on others and could only rely on themselves to score a goal to ensure that their fate was still in their own hands…
Seeing Manchester United step up on the offensive, Twain rose from his seat. He went to the sidelines to whistle and make hand gestures. Following this, Nottingham Forest tightened their defensive line and locked down on their defense.
It was actually a defensive counterattack.
The harder Manchester United attacked, the more chances the Forest team would have. Twain trained the team and taught them to remain patient in the face of the opponents getting the upper hand. As a rule, nothing was more important than patience.
As a result, even if Manchester United stepped up their attack, the Forest team’s defense showed no signs of panic, as if they had been long prepared for their opponent’s move.
In that time, Manchester United had obtained no less than five times to shoot but did not actually pose a threat to the Forest team’s goal due to the joint efforts of the team. The rear defensive line led by George Wood cut across in front of the Manchester United players, leaving them in despair.
Even though Manchester United dominated the game, the Forest team’s supporters were not worried that their team would concede the goal. Nevertheless, some people felt the chances of a draw between the two sides were very high…
However, John Motson did not see it that way.
“I know Tony. I’ve been doing commentary on the Forest games for more than a decade. This scene in front of us really makes people think of …”
What would people be thinking of with the Forest team under siege from Manchester United?
“Nottingham Forest is like a spring. The stronger the external force they are under, the tighter their compression is, and the opponents should be wary of being stung by the rebound…”
Mourinho clearly knew it. He and Twain have been rivals for more than a decade. So how could he not read the signs?
He lifted his wrist to look at his watch. It was less than five minutes until the injury stoppage time and the score was still 0:0. Now he had to make a choice.
Should he continue to attack and try to score a goal before the end of the game to win the game and defy his destiny? Or should he stop here, stabilize the defense, hold on to the draw and win the league tournament?
Mourinho did not think about it for long. As the Manchester United manager, he quickly made the right choice. The interests of the team were more important than personal grievances. What could be more important than to take down the league title?
At this point, Mourinho walked toward the sidelines and got ready to deliver his latest instructions.
A step ahead of him, Twain had already gone to the sidelines and shouted toward the pitch, “Geo—rge—!”
Wood heard Twain’s shout in the noisy environment. Although the latter was already 50 years old, the boss’ hoarse voice had a special frequency and was always able to penetrate through the din to transmit its message to Wood’s ears.
Seeing that Wood had turned his head to look over, Twain did not waste his breath but just gave a wave of his hand while he said, “Attack, guys!!”
Seeing his hand gesture, Wood had not given any indication of following it yet, while Bale was already excited. In the second half, his side was closer to the technical area, so he could clearly hear Twain’s words. He simply imitated the boss’s gesture and waved his hand forward as he yelled, “Attack, guys!”
The Manchester United team was also attacking at this time.
The scene where Wood and Chen Jian both almost rushed toward Adrien at the same time was a rare sight. Before, it was always one player from the Forest team’s defense who would rush up to intercept the ball while the other player guarded on the side, waiting for the opportunity to exploit any gaps.
Adrien was a little flustered with the Forest team’s sudden move. After he flicked the ball to the left to avoid Chen Jian’s right leg, he knocked into Wood. In a panic, he lost the ball under his feet.
When Wood saw Adrien about to collide with him, he moved sideways to cushion the impact and turned around to separate Adrien from the ball. In this way, he intercepted the other player’s ball.
Wood, who had intercepted the ball, then tapped the ball to Chen Jian behind him with his heel. The ball just happened to bypass underneath Adrien’s feet. Adrien looked at the football but could do nothing.
After Chen Jian got the ball, he did not dribble it himself but directly sent a long pass to the front to give the ball to Mitchell. By this time, Manchester United had just completed an attack and Mourinho’s latest instructions had not been transmitted yet. The players did not know they should have retreated. Consequently, the Manchester United players reacted slightly slower in defense.
After Mitchell stopped the football, he turned around and started to dribble the ball forward. His pace was wide, and his footwork was excellent. With a height of more than two meters, he still managed to control the ball with ease. Once he took large strides, the Manchester United defender, Evans, could barely keep up with him.
Seeing this, Mourinho changed his mind at the last minute. Instead of shouting “pay attention to the defense” on the sidelines, he shouted, “Foul!”
Before they could enter the penalty area, it was the wisest choice to foul as soon as possible to stop the Forest team’s attack. It did not matter even if they were penalized with a red card. Anyway, it was only a few minutes away from the end of the game. They would just have to grit their teeth and hang on.
Evans appeared to have heard Mourinho’s roar on the sidelines. He reached his hand to grab Mitchell and shovel him under his feet. He succeeded in disrupting Mitchell’s breakthrough but failed to keep the ball under his feet. He let it roll in the other direction.
Balotelli, who plugged in from the back, managed to receive the ball that Evans shoveled over. Manchester United’s other center back, Cathcart, did not expect Evans’ tackled ball to fall at Balotelli’s feet. Before he was ready to intercept Mitchell in front but now he had to hurry to change direction and pounce toward the Italian.
When Balotelli saw Cathcart still unable to come up at that moment, he dribbled a few steps forward. He ran near the top of the arc of the penalty area and suddenly lifted his leg for a long shot!
The Manchester United goalkeeper, Ruffier, had long anticipated Balotelli would make such a move. He rose high into the air and punched the ball out with both fists.
The Nottingham Forest fans in the stands let out a huge sigh. It was a shame that the attack did not result in a goal this time.
Many people clutched their heads in their hands, lamenting.
However, in the next second, the clutching hands reached out and pointed back to the sky.
What did they see?
In full view of everyone, Nottingham Forest’s number 13 player, wearing a gold armband, appeared in front of the football’s drop point like a divine warrior from heaven and then lifted his right leg to meet the football.
“George WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO—”
Motson stood up from his seat. He raised his voice and shouted in a way that did not belong to the style of an English commentator.
He could not predict what was going to happen. However, when he saw Wood taking the stance of lifting his leg to meet the football, he was suddenly fired up and could not hold back.
He just wanted to roar.
Once the football descended, Wood did not dilly dally to adjust the ball, but directly volleyed the football with one shot!
Ruffier had just landed on the ground at this very moment and was struggling to get up to get ready to pounce on the ball again.
The football bypassed the left-back, Fábio, who rushed over to defend. The strong wind painfully brushed past the Brazilian’s ear and caused his mouth to tighten.
Ruffier used all his might to get up and pounce but he did not have enough momentum. The height of his jump was limited. The football flew over him and there was no surprise on this side…
“GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!!!”
The football hit the net hard, swinging it. Countless Forest fans in the stands raised their arms in triumph.
Those arms waved as if the wind had blown through Sherwood Forest, creating a huge noise.
“Boom—!”
“George Wood! George Wood scores a goal at the 88th minute! Nottingham Forest leads by 1:0! A 1:0 lead! Manchester United’s title dream is in jeopardy… No, it’s almost shattered!”
“It’s a powerful strike! George Wood scored his personal 11th goal of the season!”
“Ah-ha! It is an incredible scene. Mourinho once again loses to Tony Twain. Is this fate? Will anyone still say it’s not?”
The commentators gave their comments on the goal in succession.
After giving Wood a close-up shot for more than ten seconds, the television cameras cut to the sidelines and focused on the expressions of the two managers.
Mourinho angrily threw away the notebook in his hand. He would always write and scribble in it whenever he was directing the games. This notebook was useless now and he had thrown it to the sidelines in his frustration.
Next to him, Tony Twain held his arms high and rushed out of the technical area to hug the people around him. People could see that he was very excited. There was nothing more perfect than to conclude his coaching career with a victory.
“Congratulations to Tony Twain and congratulations on his victory in his last game.” In the eyes of the commentators, Mourinho’s side had already lost the game. If Mourinho could hear these commentators, perhaps he would not be satisfied with throwing a single notebook. He must have felt that he had received a great insult – the game was not over yet and a group of scumbags could not wait to announce his failure. How could he not be angry?
However, no matter how furious he was now, he could only endure the cheers and celebration of his opponents. Accordingly, his face looked ashen from choking back the anger.
On the other side, the Nottingham Forest people were wildly celebrating.
George Wood broke free of his teammates’ hugs. He ran all the way and kept waving his hands all along, signaling to the people in front of him to quickly get out of the way.
Then he crashed headlong into Twain’s arms.
He rushed so quickly and violently that when he crashed into Twain, the latter grimaced in pain.
“George, you really…”
He felt the force of Wood’s arms holding him, gripping him so that he could not really speak.
However, he did not tell Wood to let up. He just grinned and bore it. To other people, it looked like he was laughing.
Twain did not know how long Wood held him. When he finally let go, Twain breathed a sigh of relief.
However, he did not complain. He just patted Wood on the back.
Wood’s action inspired the other players. After Wood and Twain finished embracing, the next people who rushed up to hug the boss were Gareth Bale, followed by Joe Mattock, Aaron Mitchell, Mario Balotelli… There was even a line at the back. It looked like everyone was going to come up and hug Twain. If that went on, by the time Manchester United could kick off again, the game would already be in injury stoppage time.
The referee had to intervene.
“Gentlemen, I know how you are feeling right now, but the game has to go on.” The referee also felt a little awkward. He could not speak too harshly at the Forest team’s home ground. He could only tactfully advise the players to go back to their positions.
However, his influence here was far from enough.
No one reacted to his words at all.
Twain certainly saw the referee in a bind at the back of the crowd. This was his last game, and he did not want any hiccups to happen. Therefore, he stopped the players who wanted to come up and hug him as he said, “Okay, guys, it will soon be dawn by the time we wait for you to finish.” Although he thought he was being funny, no one laughed.
Everyone just looked at him.
“Go back.” Twain did not say more. He waved his hands, turned around to walk back to the technical area and sat down right away.
Seeing him like this, the players knew they had to get back on the pitch and continue playing.
When they had all reluctantly returned to the field, Twain stood up again and roared toward the field, “Don’t let yourself slack off! If you let the opponent equalize the game at the last minute, I will make you pay!!!”
He could see that many people were in no mood to continue fighting at all, so he yelled out again to motivate them.
In fact, he worried too much.
In the final minutes, Manchester United was bent on fighting back, but their attack was undisciplined and carried out individually. Mourinho was also at his wits’ end about it. He could only shrug his shoulders at the sidelines. In the end, he simply sat in the technical area and did not get up. He watched the pitch in silence.
Looking at the Manchester United players blindly shooting and running on the pitch, his heart suddenly sank with the feeling that the game was as good as lost.
Truly outrageous. He just couldn’t beat Tony Twain!
He clenched his fists tightly, totally unaware that his knuckles had turned white.
Soon he heard the referee whistle once, a second time in the next second, and followed by the third whistle right after that. The game was over.
...
Chapter 1032 - The Final Curtain
When the referee blew the whistle thrice, the Crimson Stadium boiled over. They gave a parting gift to Twain, one last victory, as they wanted.
Only Manchester United players and fans were left sad and dejected. They appeared particularly desolate in the happy atmosphere.
Twain, who had wanted to go shake Mourinho’s hand after the game to complete the ceremony, knew Mourinho was not a patient man. However, as soon as he got up, he was hugged by David Kerslake next to him. The assistant manager said nothing, just squeezed him.
A group of reporters swarmed up next to them and took endless frenzied shots.
When Twain broke free of Kerslake’s embrace after some effort, he turned his head to look for Mourinho and was surprised to find that the other man was still standing outside waiting for him!
Twain pushed aside the press and walked toward Mourinho with an extended hand.
“I thought you would have already left, Mr. Mourinho.”
Mourinho, who lost the title, did not look good and obviously was in a bad mood. He shook Twain’s hand and let go.
“I just don’t want you to write in your memoir that José Mourinho is a rude and ungracious man. I should go. I want to congratulate you on winning another game. I’m very glad you retire today.”
Having said that, Mourinho did not care about the reactions of onlookers, let alone the look on Twain’s face. He simply turned around and left the noisy pitch.
Twain was surrounded by reporters and watched Mourinho’s back as he left. He felt a mix of emotions for a moment. He was definitely not overjoyed by his victory over his old rival. On the contrary, he felt a great pity for Mourinho.
As the sky darkened, the flashes around him pulled Twain back to reality. He looked at the reporters around him, ignored them, and went straight to the pitch. In the middle of the pitch, his players were waiting for him.
In the stands, 60,000 fans were loudly chanting his name.
“The game is over. Nottingham Forest won and Manchester United lost its league title. However, none of these things matter. What’s important for us is that a very important and special person finally has to bid farewell…” John Motson, the commentator for the game, said emotionally.
He now recalled his first encounter with Twain. At the City Ground stadium, Twain was knocked to the ground by his own player after a dismal first half and then left the field. He became a big joke in the whole of English football world for that round of league tournament. Motson was responsible for the commentary in the game. At the time, he bowled over with laughter in the commentator’s box and was merciless with his ridicule.
He did not expect to be friends with Twain down the road, to be a fellow commentator alongside Twain for the England national games, or to witness the young man become one of the world’s most successful managers step by step and turn into the godfather of Nottingham Forest.
Amid the cheers of 60,000 people, Twain walked into the middle of the pitch and gathered his men.
“Boss, can you stay?” Gareth Bale asked with tears in his eyes.
Twain just smiled and shook his head.
“I don’t think your health is a problem at all, really. We’ll be able to pull a few more years together. We can leave together at that time. How about it?” Bale continued to implore, unwilling to give up.
Twain reached out his hand to touch Bale’s arm and said to him, “When I bade farewell to Demi and the others at the time, I also felt this way. But they still left. This is life. You always have to say goodbye. It’s no big deal. Besides, we’re not saying goodbye forever, are we?”
Bale bit his lip and retreated to the side without saying another word.
Balotelli looked at Twain, wanting to speak several times, but stopped. When Twain understood what was on his mind, he said to him, “Stay or leave, it will be fine either way, as long as it’s what you want. You’re a genius, Mario. But a genius is not fit for all situations. When I’m gone, you should go your own way.”
Patting Balotelli on the shoulder, Twain turned to Mitchell.
He looked up at Mitchell’s face. The kid seemed to be making a face at him like he wanted to cry and laugh simultaneously.
“Aaron. I still want to say you should step up your strength training. I hope you can be more comprehensive…” At this, he smiled and continued, “Why am I still talking about these things? Anyway, I’m not your manager next season. If you can’t break through the impenetrable line of those strong defenders, the person who worries will not be me, ha!”
Twain laughed, but Mitchell cried instead.
Twain ignored the snot and tears running down his face. He patted Mitchell on the shoulders. He turned around to look for the others.
He did not want his parting to look sad and mournful. He was already more than half a century old. Was it necessary to be like this?
Therefore, he lightheartedly talked to each player, said a few words, and moved on to the next person.
As he did so, the shouts from the stands continued. None of the 60,000 Nottingham Forest fans had left the stadium. The Manchester United fans had mostly dispersed from the stadium along with the Manchester United team.
The two large screens in the stadium’s stands were replaying Twain’s documentary shorts.
The live televised broadcast continued.
※※※
Shania was waiting in the dressing room to make her appearance. It would be the final time she would appear on the runway. Now her mind was not on her job, however. She held a cell phone in her hand and was playing the television footage. It was the scene from Twain’s farewell at the Crimson Stadium.
Thanks to the ever-changing technology, she could watch live television streaming here. In this way, she accompanied Uncle Tony on the last journey of his career.
The commentator’s voice on the phone was very clear.
“I don’t want to repeat Tony Twain’s achievements at this point. I just want to admire the scene – more than 60,000 fans staying in the stands, unwilling to leave. Twain is with his players. He’s speaking to them one by one… What does this make me think of? A general about to retire is inspecting his troops and officers for the last time. He shakes hands with them and thanks them for their support and work over the years…”
Shania was engrossed in looking at the screen of her cell phone. Twain was in the middle, surrounded by the players while the reporters surrounded them all. The fans were at the periphery, singing songs and shouting the names of the main character.
The hairstylist fiddled with her hair and made final preparations. There were other models in the dressing room, but Shania acted as though there was nobody else present and did not care how others viewed her.
The scene should be sad, but Shania was smiling, like the man in the middle of the screen.
“All right, my dear.” The hairstylist motioned for Shania to lift her head and look in the mirror to view the whole effect.
It was hard to believe that the woman in the mirror was almost thirty years old. Her long hair was trailing over her shoulders. She looked young, beautiful, vivacious and sassy with the tips of her hair curled.
Shania made a face and then turned off the live television streaming on her cell phone.
It was time for her to make her appearance.
※※※
Twain walked up to Wood. He was the last one.
Looking at his team captain, Twain did not know what to say. Wood was sensible and obedient. There were some things that were unnecessary to repeat, as he had said them before.
What else was there to say now?
Looking at Twain standing in front of him, Wood did not know what to say either. However, it was not like he had nothing to say. Rather, he had many things he wanted to convey and did not know how to begin at this moment.
Even at the moment of farewell, he was still so awkward with words.
It was the same when he was facing Demi, and it was like this with Twain now.
In the end, Twain said nothing. He just put his hand on Wood’s shoulder and gave it a hard squeeze.
After saying goodbye to the players, he said his farewell to the coaches, starting with the team doctors and going all the way to the assistant managers. He shook hands or hugged each, one by one.
In the end, he approached Freddy Eastwood and muttered in his ear, “Dunn will come to take over my position. He is a great manager. However, he needs a great assistant. You will stay and help him, right?”
Eastwood nodded in agreement.
Twain let go of the other man when he got this promise and turned to Kerslake.
“Whether you leave together with me or stay here, it’s your choice, David.”
Kerslake looked at the people around him and said to Twain, “I’ve changed my mind, Tony. Nottingham Forest is a good place. I’m going to stay here.”
Twain laughed and patted him on the shoulder as he said, “The right choice.”
Having done all this, he told the two assistant managers, “I’m going to the press conference in a while, so I won’t be going to the locker room. There will be many reporters blocking my way today. You don’t have to wait for me to come back. You can drive straight back to the hotel once the players pack up and dismiss them on the spot. As for me, I’m going home by myself.”
The two men nodded at the same time and did not object to Twain’s arrangement.
Seeing that both of them agreed, Twain walked outside with confidence. After two steps out, he looked back and the players and coaches were still standing there with no intention of leaving.
Twain waved to them and said, “Go back, don’t catch a cold.”
Then he walked forward again, and he did not look back this time.
Along the way, the shouts of the fans were deafening. The flags and banners with his portrait on them in the stands fluttered nonstop. On the stadium broadcast, Sarah Brightman and Andre Bocelli sang at the top of their voices “…Time to say goodbye…”
Twain then walked to the entrance of the tunnel. Behind him stood the motionless players and colleagues. In front of him, there was a large group of reporters carrying cameras and filming equipment, shooting as they followed. The flashes brightly lit up the way under his feet until it was blindingly white.
When he walked to the entrance of the tunnel, many fans in the stands on both sides suddenly threw confetti. The fluttering confetti made Twain raise his head. He saw several familiar faces in the crowd.
Michael Bernard, Fat John, Skinny Bill, and even the pub owner, Kenny Burns, were there. When he saw Burns, he was suddenly interested. He stopped and asked, “In so many years, you only left the pub when the City Ground stadium was to be demolished. Why have you come today?”
Burns said to him, “An era was torn down with the City Ground stadium. Your departure means the same as well, Tony.”
Twain stopped talking and waved to him and the others. He continued to walk down the tunnel amid a flurry of confetti.
※※※
Joe Mattock sighed, “This is the last time I will see the boss appear in front of me in this capacity…”
Wood stood at the front of the team. When he heard Mattock’s words, he suddenly had the idea of rushing up to Twain, but until Twain disappeared into the tunnel surrounded by the reporters, he did not put the thought into action.
He unexpectedly felt that he was timid, and not a tough guy.
He was a coward who could not show his feelings freely in front of a large crowd.
He was not as good as Mitchell, who was willing to shed tears in front of Twain, and Bale, who said to Twain, “Can you stay?”
As the team captain, he was really inadequate at this time…
Seeing Twain completely disappear from view, David Kerslake’s voice rang out. He usually had a loud voice, but he sounded weak at this time.
“Let’s head back, guys. Go back for a shower, change your clothes, get out of here. Your vacation has begun.”
As the players began to walk off the pitch, Wood looked up and found the fans in the stands slowly leaving the stadium. However, he knew that these people would gather in the square outside the stadium. The departure of a special person would not end like this.
He pulled off the captain’s armband, held it in his hand, and walked off the field with his teammates.
※※※
Michael Bernard, who walked out of the stadium, had no intention of staying on even though a large crowd had already gathered in the square again. They still loudly chanted Twain’s name, and the scene was very enthusiastic.
“Let’s go back to the pub for a drink, guys,” Michael said to his companions.
“Don’t you want to stay and send Tony off?” Skinny Bill was puzzled.
“We’ve already sent him off,” Michael pointed in the direction of the gate and added, “Tony, who will come out of the gate later, will no longer be Manager Tony Twain. I want to go back for a drink. All the shouting during the game has made my throat dry.”
“Me too,” Burns said next to him.
The two men held a high prestige among the fans. Since they had said so, there was no further objection.
“Okay, let’s go back for a drink in salute to…” Fat John suddenly did not know what to say.
“In a salute to the last 16 years, and to say goodbye to the people and games of those 16 years,” Michael raised his hand.
He waved goodbye to the Crimson Stadium.
※※※
Pierce Brosnan had no time to stand aside and put on an act to proclaim that “an era is over”. He had been busy since the final whistle. He was too busy to stop and reflect on it – it was Tony Twain’s final game!
Like his peers, he centered Tony Twain as the focal point and followed him from the east to the west on the field as he bade farewell to the players, said goodbye to the fans, and then went together with him to the press conference hall. Now as he looked at Twain seated at a table full of microphones, cell phones, tape recorders, and interview equipment in front of him, he had time to think about the half-hour that had just passed.
The Forest team won the game against Manchester United. Tony Twain maintained his winning record against Mourinho during the course of his coaching career. These were not the important points. Thinking back on Twain’s farewell to the players and coaches in the middle of the pitch, he felt that Twain’s influence would not diminish with his departure. On the contrary, his influence here might even become stronger.
Cruyff remained the godfather of Barcelona even after he left. He had published a variety of articles and commentary about Barcelona in the media. He gave praise when Barcelona played beautifully and criticized when they did not play well. He even had a say in matters such as the selection of the manager, which player to sell and which player to buy. The Barcelona coaches could not ignore his advice…
However, unlike this flying Dutchman, Brosnan felt that Twain’s influence would not be demonstrated through the above examples.
In fact, judging by Twain’s conduct after he retired for the first time, he would not mention Nottingham Forest much again, as if the football club had never appeared in his life. He would never interfere with the Forest team’s team building policy and would not comment on the Forest team’s employment strategy. Whether the Forest team played well or terribly, it would be other people’s business. He was peculiar like that. He would use this kind of indifference to express his feelings for the Forest team. It seemed that the more distance he maintained, the more it would let him feel the affection was pure.
However, despite this, looking at today’s scene, his place in the hearts of the Forest fans remained unshakable. He believed it would be the same years later. He did not have to say anything or do anything. However, as long as someone mentioned his name, that invisible influence would begin to show.
Robin Hood died more than 900 years ago, and his influence was still present. People had repeatedly sung about him and written about him in literature, plays, and games. Tony Twain almost deserved the same treatment, didn’t he?
Brosnan, who was lost in contemplation, snapped back to reality when the press officer said, “the press conference starts now.” The room, which was quite noisy earlier, immediately quieted down. Everyone looked up in anticipation and looked forward to Twain delivering his farewell speech.
Mourinho had already left. While most of the reporters were still on the pitch, he had been interviewed by several Manchester media outlets and then hastily departed to leave the stage to Twain alone.
What a considerate opponent…
Twain looked at the eager reporters below and cleared his throat. Just this gesture was enough to make the people sit up straight, lean their heads forward, and prick their ears.
Twain chuckled mischievously.
※※※
The runway show was over. Shania had just been led out by the designer to make the curtain call. Now she was standing in front of a backdrop, being interviewed by the reporters.
“Yes, it’s true that I’m quitting the modeling and entertainment world. I had seriously considered it before I made this decision,” Shania admitted the fact, which had long been hotly speculated, to the media for the first time.
“I’m completely retiring from the industry and I won’t come back in the future.”
Shania fiddled with her brown hair. With her makeup removed, she looked like a completely different person as compared to the cool beauty on the runway stage. Now she had a gentle smile on her face as she patiently and meticulously answered every question from the reporters without showing the slightest bit of impatience.
“After my retirement, I’ll be with my husband and daughter before I think about the future… Maybe I will be a fashion designer.”
The reporters still wanted to find out the real inside story. For them, the answers that could be found in the press were of no value. People would never find out the whole truth.
“The real reason for quitting?” Instead of expressing she was fed up with the question posed by the reporter, Shania showed a smile to make hearts flutter.
“It’s very simple. I’m pregnant.”
When Shania casually threw out the remark, no one in the room had any reaction at first. With an expression of anticipation on their faces, they waited for the real answer to come out. No one realized that the true answer had already emerged.
“Ah…” The reporter who asked the question reacted the quickest. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something but could not utter a sound.
Shania looked at the quiet reporters in the room and winked mischievously. It turned out to be quite interesting. She had succeeded in surprising them all.
※※※
“…I have nothing to say.”
Twain said this to the eager reporters in the press hall at Nottingham’s Crimson Stadium.
“I know a lot of people like me and a lot of people hate me. I never thought of trying to change the way you think of me, even today. However you usually describe me, you shall write the same tomorrow. Anyway, I will not read any of it. I’ll be retired tomorrow.”
Twain spread his hands. He saw many of his enemies in the crowd, such as Carl Spicer and Christopher Beesley. He would no longer bicker with and hold grudges against these people. He did not need to create any more hype. He did not need to attract the firepower of the media to relieve the pressure on the players either. From today onward, he could finally completely unload the heavy burden from his shoulders and sleep through the night peacefully.
“I just want to say goodbye to all of you.”
After saying this, Twain actually stood up and left!
The reporters panicked. How could they let him go just like that? They’ve prepared so many questions. How were they going to ask him once he left? Once he was out of the door, he was no longer the Nottingham Forest manager. He would be out of the reporters’ reach.
A group of reporters got up from their seats, kicked over chairs, and tried to stop Twain from leaving.
“I still have questions, Mr. Twain!” Christopher Beesley held up his notebook and shouted. The notebook was full of words. “You can’t just leave like this. The press conference isn’t over yet!”
“I already said it was over,” Twain said to the Liverpool Echo reporter who had wished him dead with a smile.
“But we have the right to ask questions. You are a public figure…” Beesley was still making the final struggle.
“I have the right to refuse to answer.”
Twain gave a shrug.
Carl Spicer had initially wanted to shout a few words. However, after seeing Beesley’s fate, his lips quivered for a while and he made no sound.
Twain did not leave directly from the side door. He walked down the steps and toward the main door from the middle passage of the press seats, intending to leave directly from there – it was closer to the stadium gate.
The reporters got up one by one. However, no one really dared to go up and stop him to ask questions.
On the contrary, everyone deliberately or unintentionally gave way to him.
Just as he was about to get to the door, Pierce Brosnan suddenly shouted out, “Goodbye, Tony!”
He raised his hand and stopped in the midair, wanting to wave goodbye to Twain before he realized that Twain had his back toward him and could not see.
Twain, who heard him, did not look back and did not stop. He just raised his right hand, waved, and opened the door to walk out.
※※※
The lobby at the main entrance of the stadium was through a short corridor. Twain unexpectedly found a man there.
“Mr. Fasal? Aren’t you supposed to be with Shania?”
The smiling man standing in front of Twain was Shania’s agent, Fasal. No wonder Twain would be surprised and asked him the question. As long as Shania was traveling for work, Fasal would always keep close to her. Why was he here now in front of him? Could it be that Shania finished her work early and came back?
Thinking of it, Twain looked behind Fasal, hoping to see his wife.
“No need to look, Mr. Twain,” Fasal smiled and said to him, “Shania is still in Paris. If nothing out of the ordinary happens, she should have just finished her last runway show.”
“Then you…” Twain grew puzzled.
“I’m here to tell you the good news. Since Shania can’t leave yet, I’ll be the one to do it. I am afraid you won’t believe it coming from another person.”
At this point, Fasal handed Twain a piece of paper.
“The results of the hospital’s checkup.”
Twain was baffled as he took the paper. With one glance at it, he saw his wife’s name written in the box of the person receiving the checkup.
Before he could continue to read, Fasal’s voice sounded again, “Congratulations, Mr. Twain. Your wife is pregnant.”
Instead of jerking his head up to look at Fasal, Twain lowered his head and stared blankly at the printed page. He could not believe the news he had heard.
“Two months ago, Shania went for a checkup. She’s pregnant. But she did not tell you yet so as not to affect your job and left the news until now to give you a retirement gift.”
Fasal noticed that Twain’s hand, which was holding the checkup sheet, was shaking. He suddenly remembered that the man in front of him had had a heart attack before. What if he could not bear the excitement of the news and had another one?
Fasal dared not think of such a thing. He hurriedly called out, “Mr. Twain, are you all right?”
Twain then looked up and glanced at Fasal. He opened his mouth and said, “I’m… good… very good…”
Having said this, he caught his breath and continued, “I’m fine, thank you for telling me such good news, Mr. Fasal.”
Fasal had thought that Twain would be so excited and say a lot more. He did not expect Twain to finish this sentence and want to go.
Instinctively, he asked, “Where are you going, Mr. Twain?”
“I’m going home,” Twain said as he walked out of the hall.
※※※
“I think the whole police force of Nottingham is here!”
A fan, who was stopped outside by a human wall made by the policemen, complained.
These people could not be blamed for complaining. The fans originally planned to get up close and personal with their idol. However, the policemen stood guard and forcibly pushed back the fans, making way for a five-meter-wide passageway from the stadium gate all the way to the parking lot.
Learning the lesson from the John Lennon incident, they could not guarantee that there would not be a fanatical and crazy fan who would abruptly carry out a murder and make Twain stay for good just because he was unwilling to let him leave. It was no joke, so the local police force kicked into high gear for fear that another Mark David Chapman would appear among the fans.
When Twain appeared in front of the crowd, the fans in the square burst into loud cheers. They created an uproar and the policemen present were overwhelmed by the crowd and struggled.
Twain was not surprised to see the scene. He stood on the steps and waved to the excited fans. Then he lowered his head and walked down the steps through the already crooked passageway outside.
The BBC 5 station broadcasted the scene to the world.
Amid the cheers of tens of thousands of people, their king strode down the steps of the throne and walked down a red carpet outside the palace. He left the crown on the throne. The magnificent palace did not give him the slightest regret, and he turned a deaf ear to the voices of his subjects.
In the raging red crowd he, clad in black, was so calm. He folded the note in his hand, carefully put it in his pocket and patted it gently. Then he took out his sunglasses, put them on, and sauntered slowly through the excited crowd.
The 16 championship trophies, the ups and downs of the last 16 years, the days of being revered by millions of people, as well as endless arguments surrounding him, were left behind step by step.
More than a thousand years ago, the Roman conqueror returned home after victories in wars.
He would enjoy the honor and glory of a triumphant return and a moving parade.
There would be trumpeters, musicians, and exotic beasts from the lands he conquered.
There would be chariots full of treasures and confiscated weapons.
The conqueror rode the chariot to return victorious.
The prisoners of war sat in front of the chariots in chains.
His children, dressed in white robes, stood with him in the chariot or rode horses next to him.
A slave, holding a golden crown, stood behind the conqueror.
He whispered a warning in his ear:
All glories are as transient as the fleeting clouds.
...
Chapter 1033: Epilogue: When I’m Sixty Years Old
The yellow light from the crystal chandeliers on the ceiling could not light up the bar completely. However, in the constantly rainy late autumn, it could bring a hint of warmth to the heart.
Many people had come to the bar with the old-fashioned deco. They gathered in groups of three or four to chat about the day or perhaps other things. However, everyone glanced at the door as if waiting for someone.
Soothing music was playing in the bar. It was an old song, the Beatles’ When I’m Sixty-Four.
When I get older losing my hair.
Many years from now.
Will you still be sending me a Valentine?
Birthday greetings, bottle of wine.
…
The bar was not loud, so the Beatles’ soft voices were clear. Everyone kept their voices down and chatted in low tones.
Outside the door hung a sign – Closed for Business.
With a head of white hair, the somewhat hunched Kenny Burns sat behind a somewhat damaged wooden bar, holding a glass in one hand and a towel in the other.
His eyes looked straight ahead, through the old-styled glass window covered with a layer of condensation, to see outside.
A construction site had already broken ground across the street. The white fence was pushed to the ground and it became so dirty that its original appearance could not be discerned. An excavator was parked on the side of the road. The rain was a bit heavy, and work has stopped on the construction site.
It was still a row of two-story residential buildings a year ago.
It was said that a big supermarket would be built here in two years. Behind the Forest Bar, there was also a construction site where several high-rise buildings would be built for new offices. Wilford had become the new development center in Nottingham.
The bar on the corner stood alone for a long time between the two construction sites, fully surrounded by construction machinery. It was like a solitary island surrounded by mechanical monsters.
There was a roar of a car engine outside the door, followed by the sound of a car stopping. Hearing the sound, the people in the room stopped talking and turned their gazes to the entrance.
The person who pushed the door open was a woman. Everyone was a little disappointed at first, but then they all stood up.
“Madam,” They all deferentially greeted the woman who only stood at the door.
“You guys gave me a shock, suddenly standing up like this…” The speaker pushed the door open but did not come in right away. Instead, she was waiting for someone.
Seeing her like this, everyone waited as well. Each person stretched their neck out and gazed outside the door, like ducks hanging from the crossbar.
The second person who appeared at the door was Wood. Wood took over the woman’s job and held the door. The woman stepped outside.
Although they had not seen the man yet, everyone heard the familiar and somewhat hoarse voice.
“Don’t grasp onto me. Do I look like I can’t walk?”
“All right, all right, you can lead me along if you want. Just hold my arm and it will do. But don’t make it look like you’re lending a hand to support a patient…”
Before the voice faded away, its owner appeared at the door.
When the slightly hunched figure came in, everyone in the bar opened their mouths and shouted, “Boss!”
Seeing the scene in front of him, the aging man opened his mouth and laughed. He raised his hands and said, “Long time no see, guys.”
The whole bar was waiting for the man – Tony Twain was finally here.
The woman supporting him was naturally his wife, Shania.
※※※
Twain took off the old-fashioned wide-brimmed hat he was wearing, and Wood tried to catch it, but Shania got to it first. Next, a gray scarf and black windbreaker were also handed to her. Shania went to hang up the clothes, and Twain sat down in his chair, surrounded by people. He raised the glass of soda water on the table and said, “I’m not drinking any alcohol. You all do as you’d like.”
Following which, everyone came up, wanting to talk to Twain.
The first person to succeed was Kenny Burns, the owner of the bar, a man older than everyone present.
He walked slowly toward Twain, pulled out a chair and sat down. Upon seeing this, everyone discreetly drew back.
“Look at you, getting so old,” Twain scoffed at Burns.
“You’re no better, Tony,” Burns looked at the man opposite. His hair was much whiter than before, but he was in good spirits. Twain’s complexion was ruddy, and he appeared stronger than himself.
However, on second thought, he himself was 75 years old while Tony was only 60, 15 years younger than he was. Thinking back, was he not full of vigor, hale and hearty when he was 60 years old? People would always grow old. It was the law of nature.
“I almost lost my way coming here. The area has changed a lot. Ha!” Twain laughed.
When he sat in the car on the way here before, he started to laugh at the sight of the environment and Burns’ bar. Neither Shania nor Wood, who was driving the car, knew why he was laughing. Of course, they would not find out. They might never know for the rest of their lives. Seeing the Forest bar surrounded by construction machinery and a completely dug out construction site, the word “holdout” naturally sprang into Twain’s mind. In Twain’s view, Kenny Burns was clearly the holdout here. The buildings adjacent to the bar were all demolished, only the bar remained. However, it was said that it could not escape the fate of being torn down.
“It’s a re-planning of the area,” Burns said as he looked out of the window at the excavator. “By the time it is over, my bar will be closed.”
Twain was not surprised. He nodded and said, “And what will you do?”
“I’ll go home.”
Hearing him say that, Twain paused for a moment and then realized that Burns’ home was not here, but in Scotland. He had lived here for decades and this made people think he had always been from Nottingham…
The City Ground stadium was torn down and the Wilford training base was also demolished. Now even the bar had to be torn down. Everything that had witnessed the past years disappeared one by one before his eyes. Twain suddenly became quiet.
Burns knew what Twain was thinking. He lightly patted the table. “Fortunately, bars and pitches can be torn down, but memories can’t be taken away.”
Once he said it, there was a smile on Twain’s face. He thought of a song. Burns certainly had not heard the song, but the meaning was exactly the same. He nodded and said, “The memories are still there. Where are John and the others?”
He also remembered the fans.
“It’s not as crazy as it used to be. After all, they’re older. Now it’s their children’s turn to be crazy. It’s just that they don’t come to my place. The young people say my place looks gloomy and not suitable for young people.”
Twain chuckled. Burns’ bar did look old and dilapidated. Even though he kept it clean and tidy, he could not get rid of the feeling of a yellowing photograph and old film. It did not change much from when he first came here, except that there were more group photographs of himself leading the team to win championship titles during those years. However, those group photographs now looked a bit faded.
“I haven’t seen them in a long time…”
Twain muttered to himself.
Today was his first visit to the bar in ten years. There was a sense that things had remained the same, but people had changed.
Since his retirement ten years ago, he had traveled with his wife all over the world. They had lived in the West Coast of the United States for a while and spent some time in = Nottingham. They even lived in China and people who did not know them thought they had been in China for many years.
As the media had stated, Twain’s retirement life was quite carefree. If it had not been for a problem with his health early last year, he might have been able to continue to live a life free of worries.
“They would sometimes ask about you,” Burns said as he looked out of the window at the excavator. “A bunch of the old guys would get together and talk about you. I had seen John admonish his son, slap him across his head and scold him for bullsh*tting about things he hadn’t experienced, ha…”
Twain was curious about what John’s son had said.
“It was nothing. John just said Dunn did just as well as you.”
Hearing these, Twain laughed mischievously.
“John scolded him for that. Dunn only won two championships in ten years. It’s a far cry as compared to your 16 years and 16 championships. How could he do as well as you? The old guys always like to remember the past…”
“Wrong. When they start to recall the past, it means they are old,” Twain corrected.
“Aren’t we reminiscing about the past now?”
“That means we’re old, too,” Twain replied.
※※※
Pepe and Piqué got hold of a few people from the defensive line of that time and came up to take a group picture with Twain. Twain told them he had his own bronze statue outside the Crimson Stadium, which was completed four years ago. Pepe said that with the real man in front of them, why would they go and take a picture with the statue? His words were widely endorsed by the guys. After putting it to a vote, Twain became the top candidate for group photographs.
Several people stood in front of the camera, crowding Twain in the middle, and smiled brilliantly under the flash.
With the help of his grandfather, Piqué joined the Barcelona club’s board of directors and was expected to become the club’s president.
Pepe, who traveled between Brazil and Portugal, had opened restaurants in both locations. He no longer worked in a football-related field. Pepe looked a little thicker than before with a round stomach and stood out in the crowd. His face was even rounder.
Gareth Bale, Rafinha, Akinfeev, as well as Pepe and Piqué, the Forest team’s main defensive line in its heyday, gathered around Twain, giving a sense that they had gone back in time. The Russian had returned to his native country and became the goalkeeper coach of the FC Lokomotiv Moscow team. He was currently the goalkeeper coach of the Russian national team. Most players chose football-related jobs when they retired.
Rafinha, who was hired by Arsenal, became Arsenal’s football scout in Brazil, in charge of unearthing Brazilian talent for the club.
Bale joined the Football Association of Wales. He became the most successful player in Welsh football after Giggs. It only made sense for him to enter the Football Association. Now the naughty appearance of the “little monkey” of that time could not be glimpsed in Bale. Impeccably attired, he was infinitely closer to looking like an official.
However, when Twain called him “little monkey”, he still happily answered to it.
After the people from the rear defensive line left, a few people from the midfield approached. Twain was surprised and asked, “Did you all plan this? Are you all coming in waves?”
Everyone laughed and gathered around him. They took another group photograph.
When Ribéry left the Forest team at the time under the cloud of suspicion that he had run away, a clash erupted when everyone met on the pitch later. Now, when the past was mentioned, it felt more like “all was forgiven and forgotten with a smile”. It was just that his smile was still ugly to look at as the scars on his face were still there. As he got older, he was less scary, however. He now ran his own agency and became an agent for a number of French players. He was considered a successful businessman. In the Nottingham Forest team, there was currently a French player he had introduced as an agent.
The two men took the first turn and then everyone came up to take photographs with Twain. There were group shots and single shots. Twain took advantage of the time during the photo-taking with them to chat briefly and catch up with everyone.
Those guys, who shook up stadiums and went on a rampage in the European football world, had all retired and became portly middle-aged men. Some of them were still in touch, while the other people only met again because of the gathering. Most had other careers and lives. But today, in the bar which was about to be torn down, they had regained their original identity as Nottingham Forest players under the command of Tony Twain.
After the group photographs, they continued to chat together in groups of three or four, recounting the football events they missed for many years or chatting about those extraordinary old days on the field.
Twain did not participate. He sat with his wife, Shania, quietly looking at everything in front of his eyes and feeling deeply satisfied.
He suddenly remembered a long-forgotten past matter. He usually did not think of it at all.
If he remembered correctly, it was in May 2004, when he was here for a similar party. However, the leading characters at the time were Brian Clough and his men. They were celebrating the 15th anniversary of winning the Champions League. At the time, watching those people talking arrogantly together and recalling the times during the 70s, he felt very envious as an outsider. He had a fantasy in his mind that one day he, too, would be able to sit here with his former men and remember the days of being the king of Europe.
Now the fantasy came true. The setting remained the same, but with different people.
As the assistant manager for the championship team, Dunn was also invited today. He was now the manager of Nottingham Forest and had taken a special leave of absence in order to attend the gathering. At this moment, he was sitting aside, chatting with his old colleagues. Twain found him. He did not know if he would share the same vision of passing time at this point.
He got up and walked over slowly. He sat down beside the coaches.
“Guys, I’m so glad to see you’re all here.”
Everyone got up to show respect in succession when they saw Twain coming over. They were only seated after Twain sat down.
Twain glanced around and asked, “Where’s Freddy?”
“Oh, him. He said he considers himself a player and ran off to talk about the old times with his old teammates,” David Kerslake, who was older than Twain, pointed sideways, and Twain glanced over. Sure enough, Eastwood was sitting down with Ribéry and talking about something.
He grinned and turned his gaze back.
“You’re all old.”
“Aren’t you as well, Tony?” The big guy answered him.
Most of these people continued their previous work in the Forest team, which was arguably the group with the least changes. David Kerslake was still the assistant manager for the Forest team, while Eastwood became the head of the youth camp.
“How are your two daughters, Tony?” Someone in the crowd asked.
As soon as Twain heard the question, he became animated. He puffed his chest and said proudly with his head held high, “Teresa is a fine girl. As for Liv … Fortunately, she looks more like her mother.”
There was a burst of laughter in the crowd.
Teresa was already 14 years old, delicate and pretty. Whenever he looked at her, Twain felt sorry in his heart for Teresa’s birth parents – how could they bear to abandon such a beautiful and lovely daughter?
Liv was Twain’s youngest daughter, the baby that Shania gave birth to during the year of his retirement. She was now nearly ten years old. Unlike the gentle and quiet Teresa, Liv was lively and active, with her character like a typical Western girl, quite like her mother.
To his delight, Liv and Teresa had a good relationship. Liv did not snub o bully her gentle and quiet, shy and introverted older sister. This might have something to do with the example that he and Shania led by – after Liv was born, Teresa was worried that she would lose her parents’ love, but the couple reassured her with more love.
To his annoyance, Liv preferred the sunny West Coast of the United States as compared to cold Britain. Her character was a bit like an American and she was overly lively. To make the little girl happy, the family spent more time away from the United Kingdom, so Twain gave up his job at the BBC 5 station. Now he just published his own articles in newspapers and online, but he did not rely on it for his livelihood.
There was a selfish motive deep down in Twain’s heart that he had never told anyone. He wanted his two daughters to like China, so it was the place where he spent the most time in, other than the United States and Britain. He missed China intensely, especially as he got increasingly older. Perhaps his Chinese spirit deep in his bones was causing it. Perhaps it was as the saying that “in old age, an expatriate returns home”…
In any case, these two treasures, his daughters, were Twain’s source of greatest pride and accomplishment. For him, the brilliant achievements of his 16-year coaching career and all his important championship trophies had long become obsolete and were not worth mentioning anymore. Perhaps the Forest fans and club players felt proudof the trophies that Tony Twain had once won. Perhaps many people still relished the memories of Twain’s 16 years of legendary experience. Or maybe the media were now complaining that the current star players were all clowns playing to the gallery while missing the most annoying ‘clown’ of all … but Twain did not care. He felt that the greatest honors and championship trophies of his life were to have a happy family, a loving wife, and two healthy and beautiful daughters. When he transmigrated 26 years ago, he had lost his family. However, at the time he did not care because he felt that he was young, and it was time to focus on his career. Now he felt like he had gone one big circle. What was the ultimate purpose of his career? To let his family live worry-free, to live peacefully with his loved ones…
God had let him understand it in the year he turned 50 years old, and it took him another ten years to cherish it even more.
Nothing in life was more important than his family. It would be so until his death.
Twain was excited to tell the old guys he had not seen for years how lovely and intelligent his two daughters were.
Indeed, he was showing off and flaunting his own family. However, no one thought he should not do it.
Looking at the way he was glowing with health and vigor now, the same man in high spirits of more than 20 years ago appeared in everyone’s sight. No one felt sorry about it.
How amazing it was.
David Kerslake held up his glass to Twain and said, “Seeing how happy you are, I…” He looked back at his old colleagues around him and turned to look at Twain again to add, “No, we’re all very happy.”
Twain raised the soda water in his hand and paid tribute to the old men who had raised their glasses one by one.
“Thank you all.”
There was another man who toasted Twain, with whom Twain was familiar. However, he had not spoken at all. There was a little tiredness in the corners of his eyes and some graying of the hair on both sides of his temples. The wrinkles on his forehead were noticeably more prominent. Seeing him gave Twain an illusion of the reverse flow of space-time and mirror reflection. He saw how he would have appeared in his 40s had he not transmigrated.
This was the current manager of Nottingham Forest, the Chinese man, Dunn. It was his sworn brother, whom he had exchanged souls and bodies with.
When he found Twain looking at him, Dunn returned a smile.
He moved over and sat down beside Dunn. He lowered his voice and asked a question in Dunn’s ear, “Are Pa and Ma doing well?”
Dunn nodded imperceptibly. “They are very well.”
With the answer, Twain raised his head again and there was a smile on his face. Then the two men looked at each other without saying a word.
Despite traveling all over the world, Twain still paid attention to matters that had to do with the Forest team. Nonetheless, he had never evaluated the Forest team in any public forum. Now facing Forest’s current manager, he was still the same and did not mention anything.
It was like when he first coached the Forest team. No matter whether he did well or not, Brian Clough always did not say anything. Other than to tell him not to be too stressed or overly proud, he would not mention anything else about his achievements.
He was very immature at the time. However, Dunn was not immature now. He knew what to do and what not to do. Didn’t he do a pretty good job at the Forest team in the last ten years? Although he only won two league titles, he completely solidified the foundation that Twain did not cover before.
Under Dunn’s leadership, Nottingham Forest was gradually breaking away from under his influence. Burns’ story was a good reflection of that. A new generation of football fans felt that Dunn was doing a good job. Wasn’t it the best reward for his ten-year coaching career?
This was good. He was not required to come out and comment to show the outside world the influence he still had on Nottingham Forest. Retired people should stay retired. Otherwise, it would have been better to continue coaching. Twain disdained the cowardly behavior of wanting to be the top guy at a football club and yet worrying about failures at coaching.
Therefore, while they looked at each other without saying a word, Twain did not say “you have done well” or “you’re not good enough.” Dunn, too, would not take the initiative to talk about his coaching achievements to Twain. He had his self-respect.
Twain raised the glass in his hand to Dunn and said, “Happy 10th anniversary, Dunn.”
Dunn returned the toast and said, “I wish you good health, Tony.”
※※※
As the sky darkened and the rain outside got heavier, the enthusiasm in the bar was exceptionally warm. Everyone was chatting animatedly and the noise in the bar was gradually getting louder, drowning out the sound of the music. Not only Twain, but some of the other people had not seen each other for years. They were also busy with their lives and careers after their retirement and usually did not have the opportunity to get together to chat like this.
The gathering on the anniversary of the five Champions League winners gave them such an opportunity. Of course, they had to get hold of the friends of yesteryear to have a good chat, ask about their lives over the years, reminiscence the years spent together in competition, chitchat about interesting people and things. Even the feuds of those years had become exceptionally warm memories in the context of this afternoon.
Under such circumstances, Twain had decided to go home.
He tapped the table in front of his wife and said to her, “Let’s go back.”
Shania was a little surprised and asked, “Don’t you want to stay a little longer? Don’t you have a lot to say to the old guys?”
“It started out that way, but after I saw them, I suddenly had nothing to say. It’s nice to just look at them. Anyway, I have seen enough and I’m a little tired.”
Shania knew that Twain was really tired, so she nodded and agreed. “Let’s say our goodbyes to them before we leave.”
The two of them stood up and suddenly caught the attention of all the people present.
“He’s still in recovery from a serious illness, so he doesn’t have as much energy as you guys,” Shania told everyone.
Twain pursed his lips and said, “Don’t listen to her. My illness was something that happened last year. I’m in good health now.”
“Madam’s right, boss. You have to listen to her,” someone in the crowd said.
“Yeah, Tony. Take care of your health so that we can get together again in ten years.” Everyone reached out and waved to Twain as they made plans for another reunion ten years from now.
“Okay, we’ll get together again in ten years.” Twain put on his coat with Shania’s help and wrapped his scarf around his neck. He finally took the hat, held it in his hand, and waved at everyone.
George Wood, who had been talking to his teammates before, squeezed in from the crowd and said, “I’ll take you guys home.”
Shania shook her head and said, “I’ll drive. It’s not easy for you to get together with everyone. Just stay to have fun a little longer.”
George Wood retired four years ago at the age of 38. As the greatest team captain in Nottingham Forest’s history, his retirement was almost comparable to the departure of Twain. The scene was so sensational and moving that a tough guy like Wood had tears in his eyes when it was time to say goodbye and even choked with emotion several times. Twain was in the stadium box and witnessed everything with his own eyes. His eyes also moistened as 60,000 people chanted “Saint George.”
George Wood’s retirement fully ended Nottingham Forest’s golden age. The last player Twain was familiar with had left the football world stage. From then on, one could only look back on history when Nottingham Forest’s most glorious period was mentioned.
In the summer after his retirement, Wood married Vivian, the nurse whom he had been in love with for more than six years, and formed a new family. Now their child was already three years old and they lived a happy life.
Now Wood looked like a typical steady family man. His immature manner was completely gone.
After Wood heard Shania’s words, he turned his eyes toward Twain.
Twain nodded and said, “Listen to her, George. Even I have to listen to her, ha-ha!”
The big man laughed again. Wood gave up and stood aside. It was only when Twain passed by him that he said in a low voice, “I’ll come to see you again in a few days.”
“Well, bring your wife along with you as well as your son,” Twain nodded gently.
As he walked to the door with Shania’s help, Twain put on his hat and once he was properly dressed, he raised his hand to wave to everyone as he said, “No need to see me off. It’s raining heavily outside. Goodbye, guys. It’s nice to see you all still healthy and active. I’m really happy, ha-ha!”
Amid the laughter, Twain turned around, and Shania held up an umbrella for him, sheltering both of them underneath. The two of them stepped into the rain. The rain striking the umbrella made a crackling sound and the water accumulated at the roadside reflected the two of them. The crowd gathered around and saw that Shania was holding an umbrella in one hand while supporting Twain. It was somewhat inconvenient to open the door with one hand. Several people rushed out of the crowd to come forward and help. Eventually Wood grabbed the umbrella from Shania while Bale supported Twain. Eastwood opened the car door for Twain and said, “Chief, please get in the car.”
Shania did not have anything to do. She stood next to Twain and smiled at him. “You see, what a grand farewell ceremony.”
Twain turned to look at Eastwood, who opened the car door for him, and smiled. Then he looked back at the door of the bar, which was already crowded with people. Everyone stood under the eaves and looked at him.
Twain waved to them and motioned for them to go back. Then he turned and got into the car.
Eastwood closed the car door for Twain while Wood sheltered Shania with the umbrella and took her around to the door on the side of the driver’s seat to help her into the car.
Shania rolled down the car window and reached out to say goodbye to them. “Goodbye, thank you, everyone!”
Everyone waved and said goodbye in return.
Then the car started up and slowly wove through the parked construction machinery on both sides of the road, splashing the roadside water. As it drove away from everyone’s view, only the yellow taillights loomed in the rain and finally, even they disappeared in the rain and fog.
The rain was still falling as it pitter-pattered on the ground. The players still gathered at the door, looking at the direction in which the boss disappeared.
After a while, Bale asked, “The boss left just like that?” There seemed to be some disbelief in his tone.
“Well, he’s gone,” Wood replied, “Let us head inside and continue.”
Despite having said that, he did not move. Everyone likewise just stood at the door to continue looking at the direction in which Twain left.
Burns did not follow outside. He was in the bar and watched the scene of Twain leaving in the car through the windows covered with condensation. People squeezed outside and the bar, which was hot and noisy just now, suddenly emptied out and quieted down.
The music playing in the stereo had just finished a loop and gone back to the song in the beginning.
You’ll be older too, and if you say the word,
I could stay with you.
I could be handy, mending a fuse,
When your lights have gone.
You can knit a sweater by the fireside.
Sunday mornings go for a ride,
Doing the garden, digging the weeds,
Who could ask for more?
Will you still need me, will you still feed me?
When I’m sixty-four…
...